The Kashmiris have, after enduring significant suffering due to terrorism for decades, united to reject violence and extremism. The Pahalgam carnage which was the result of the region’s worst terror attack on civilians in years brought them out on the streets across towns and villages to express their grief and condemn the gory incident. Their collective action, resilience and a unified stand sent out a clear message: Not in our name. That in the backdrop of oft-repeated criticism that the Kashmiri Muslims sympathise with the separatist cause and the notion that terrorists cannot succeed in carrying out Pahalgam like devastating attacks without local support. While some Kashmiris have expressed sympathy for separatist sentiments, it’s not a monolithic view, and the extent and nature of this sympathy vary widely. How the terrorists reached Baisaran, accessible only by foot or horseback, and where they disappeared after committing the carnage, the answers to these crucial questions are not easy to obtain. The idea that locals may have provided them with logistic support is largely speculative, driven by assumptions, rather a guess unsupported by evidence. The attack was surely aimed to inflame tensions on multiple fronts and the perpetrators have indeed succeeded in their errand. But attacking and targeting Kashmiri students, traders and professionals amid calls for revenge in different parts of the country would help the terrorists’ cause. There is a valid concern in the rational sections of the civil society across the country that such actions would align with the terrorists’ goals of sowing division, escalating tensions and undermining communal harmony. Such attacks need to stop immediately. They are in no way responsible for what happened in Pahalgam. It is the responsibility of the local governments, the law enforcement agencies and the civil societies to safeguard these people from harassment, discrimination or intimidation. Hounding the Kashmiris in mainland India after the Pahalgam carnage would help the terrorists’ cause and have ramifications beyond repair. The consequences of targeting a community that is an integral part of the country, share the nation’s aspirations, and victimising them — through violence, harassment, or discrimination — would not only align with the objectives of terrorists and their handlers but also cause irreparable damage to India’s social fabric, national unity and Kashmir’s integration.
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