Inside the forbidden land

Is Doda turning out to be a 'liberated region' for militants in troubled J&K? 

Syed Nazakat / Doda  

The claustrophobic room atop the Kulhand village was lit by a single oil lamp. A thick piece of cardboard covered the windows. The room houses a family of three brothers at night for security reasons. Although Army and police personnel have been deployed in the village after terrorists killed 22 people a month ago, fear is still palpable.  There is nothing much to describe the village except its grueling poverty. "You are in a forbidden land. The militants used to come here and spend nights and then return to forest," says Thakur Singh, 52, one of the survivors of the Kulhand massacre. Thakur Singh wondered why his son along with other 22 villagers was butchered.

The Kulhand incident shows how dangerous the situation in Doda is. It is pointed out that militants have established their mobile bases atop the mountain peaks and are operating unhindered from there in Doda and in the rest of the state. Doda lies between Jammu and Kashmir regions. Since the unofficial policy followed so far is that no real harm can be done as long as militants kept off from populated areas, so no serious operation was ever carried out against militants who lodged themselves at the top of mountains. Following the Kulhand massacre, the security policy has been reviewed.

After Kulhand incident, the army and Special Operation Group (SOG) of the police have launched joint "search and destroy" operation in the mountains of Doda to flush out militants. The massive manhunt involved commandos and combat troops armed with mortars and rocket launchers in the forests of Doda and adjoining region of Udhampur.

Today, after trekking for three hours, while this correspondent was on his way to Kulhand the sound of rapid machine gun came from the nearby forest. Two militants, said a patrolling soldier of Rashtriya Rifles, have been trapped in the ravine. "You better run for safety". With each round of gunfire, a woman working in the nearby field flinched. "We are safe here, but …," she cried, pointing towards other villagers who are working in the nearby field.

Deputy Superintendent of Special Striking Reserve (SSR) force, Vinay Kumar, who is posted at Kulhand, the last post on this side of Peer Panjal range,  says militants have set up safe havens in certain locations by using the local people. The recovery of huge quantity of rice, edible oil, dry fruits and large number of blankets in a dhok (shack) at Desa pass confirms this. "The food was sufficient for at least 50 people. These bunkers are being made by Gujjar community for temporary stay. And terrorists use them as safe hideouts," says Vinay Kumar.

The SSR battalion has been recently raised and trained in mountain warfare. Late one night when Vinay Kumar and his men were returning from forests a Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) commander who is only known by his code name 'Doctor' called on his wireless set and warned him against coming again to his side of the forest. "If you come again here, we will blow you off by IED," Doctor told the police officer. The militants often tune into army and police frequencies to vent their anger.

Some eight kilometers from Chunmata pass there is Basangala pass where LeT militants have made a permanent base camp. The militants have also burnt down many summer camps of army in forests.   What army is now doing is sending regular patrolling and combat units to jungles. But the hilly terrain protects the militants.

With new anti-terrorist operations launched in Doda forests, the militant outfits are shifting their tactics to maintain their positions. According to the security agencies, LeT and Hizbul Mujahideen, who were earlier operating separately in the region, have now formed a joint front against the security forces. The chief commander of LeT Abu Talha and Hizbul Mujahideen commander Kuldeep Kumar (alias KK) have joined hands. Kuldeep is also a new grim face of today's Kashmir militancy. A Hindu by religion, Kuldeep like many other Hindu boys of Doda have joined the fray.

Nobody is quite clear how many militants are operating in Doda forests. Security agencies believe the militants, mostly outsiders, are operating in small groups of 10 to 16 men. The small groups work in such a way that one group doesn't know about the activities and operational plans of the other group. 

Given the conditions, the SPO plan has had its share of serious problems. Most of the SPOs deployed in Doda are assigned not to operational duties, but to Village Defence Committees (VDC). The VDCs are badly armed and untrained volunteer groups, set up to help vulnerable communities in remote mountainous regions to defend themselves. They are no match to militants who are comparatively well trained and equipped with sophisticated weapons.

One point is clear: the security forces are facing a kind of Kargil war like situation in Doda. So they have been demanding helicopters, which could be used for rapid deployment of forces to flush out militants from mountain peaks. They point out the deployment of helicopters in tactical battlefield area would ensure that militants are left with stark choices between armed engagement or death by starvation. So far no progress has taken place in this direction.

A senior military officer admitted that the conventional counterinsurgency measures were proving ineffective because, over the years, militants have also improvised their operational tactics. New Delhi must accept this reality and act accordingly, he advised.  

(Sahara Time, 2006)