Mohammad Hanief Wani
Jammu and Kashmir has remained on the upheaval of death, destruction and turbulence for many decades. In Kashmir valley violence has killed thousands and destroyed innumerable homes. The protests and stone pelting for 30 years have defined the ugly situation of the Kashmir. The stone pelting had become a norm after every Friday prayers in the last 30 years .Stone pelting used to create lot of chaos and commotion and also result in precious loss of lives. Stone pelting had become deep rooted and the local language, it is termed as “Kanni Jung”, which means fighting with stones and the stone palters are called as Sangbaaz or Pathraw Player.
However in the recent times especially after the abrogation of article 370 in year 2019, 5 August the episodes of stone pelting had dropped to large extent.
2008, 2010 and 2016 Kashmir had witnesses severe episodes of stone Pelting resulting in terrible economic and human loss.
2016, Kashmir witnessed 2690 stone pelting incidents in various districts with Baramulla topping the list with 492 incidents followed by Srinagar and Kupwara each with 339 incidents.
The stone pelting had its history in Kashmir alongside gun since late 1980s.
the rise of insurgency and separatist movement in Kashmir conflict, the stone pelting incidents became prominent in Kashmir from the 2008 Kashmir protests in which the separatist movement had taken a new dimension from gun-fighting with security forces to the pelting of stones on them.
The least recorded incidents were 65 in Ganderbal. According to official data of state home department, North Kashmir saw the highest number of 1,248 incidents followed by 875 incidents in South Kashmir and 567 in Central Kashmir.
In year 2021 we came to know that stone-pelting compared to 2019
According to data available with the Ministry of Home Affairs, stone-pelting incidents between January and July have witnessed a drop of nearly 88 per cent compared to the same period in 2019. Injuries to security forces and civilians in such incidents also dropped by 84 and 93 per cent, respectively.
In the year 2022 the stone pelting incidents have almost been zero.
The promising and surprising reality is that
Stone-pelting Fridays have become history, investors are queuing up with over thousands of crore worth proposals, the unemployment rate has reduced due to investments .
Few time back also the government of the Union territory of Jammu & Kashmir has issued an order stating there will be no security clearance to those found involved in law and order and stone pelting cases and other crimes “prejudicial to the security of the State” for passport verification and government schemes and services.
Earlier even the national and the global media while covering the stone pelting episodes before the abrogation of article 370 used to be shell shocked over the rapid intensity of stone pelting and mobs behind it, and this rage used to dominate the global and national hearings on the Kashmir.
Crackdown of premier National Investigation Agency NIA on the Hurriyat activists and jailing many leaders of Hurriyat for abetting these protests, according to the experts have brought down stone pelting incidents to almost zero.
The expert voices and people of rationale state that it is quite obvious that once deadly and furious spade of Stone pelting that used to engulf entire Kashmir is down to record levels. Even the downtown area which used to be the most affected area with severe stone pelting is seeing very rarely now stone pelting .NIA since abrogation has conducted scores of raids across the length and breadth of the Jammu and Kashmir to crack the whip on stone pelting and also destroy the sources of stone pelting.
After abrogation of article 370 the experts state that biggest visible change on the ground is visible and rapid decline of the stone pelting cases across Kashmir Valley and many now seeing it as a thing of the past.
