The fallout of a ban

On February 28, amid a continuing crackdown on the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) and other hardliners and separatists, the Union home ministry notified a five-year ban on the organisation. Over 350 JeI functionaries, including its incumbent chief Abdul Hamid Fayaz, and cadres were arrested. Many of them were picked up from their homes in operations that began February 22, in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack. Acting on instructions from Delhi, district officials in the Valley also seized sealed JeI property.Back in the summer of 2016, months before the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen poster boy Burhan Wani, an intelligence dossier sent to the MHA had warned of the trouble ahead "A consequence of the coming together of the PDP-BJP last year was that a section, especially youth on the fringes who were attracted to the PDP during the [assembly] elections, felt 'betrayed'. This included a large number from the Jamaat and separatist camps," states the dossier. However, all the three 'mainstream' political parties in the Valley have criticised Delhi for proscribing the Jamaat.Mehbooba Mufti, who has perhaps benefitted the most from the JeI's support in the PDP's south Kashmir bastion, was furious: "Radicalised Hindu groups representing fringe elements are given carte blanche to spread misinformation and vitiate the atmosphere. But an organisation that has worked tirelessly for Kashmiris is banned."Former PDP minister Naeem Akhtar says the Jamaat could not have given better proof of its distance from violence than its 2003 decision to expel Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Founded in 1942, the JeI participated in electoral politics for 20 years till 1987, but has since officially confined itself to educational, social and religious reform. Through its affiliate Falah-e-Aam (educational) Trust (FAT), it runs some 300 schools for close to 100,000 students in the Valley. Kashmir's chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq labours the point that FAT schools are not madrasas but, in fact, English-medium schools offering the NCERT curriculum, and duly recognised by the J&K school board. Although the FAT isn't included in the MHA ban order, it's difficult to run the schools with JeI bank accounts frozen..preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}Delhi's view is evidently contrary to this and based on warnings by the Intelligence Bureau and other agencies. In 2016, for instance, one report from Srinagar spoke of the "recent trend of JeI-J&K taking ownership of dead militants and militancy by attending funerals, visiting their (militants') homes and issuing statements supporting them." In fact, senior BJP leaders like national general secretary Ram Madhav have no qualms admitting that the decision to clamp down on the Jamaat is part of efforts to neutralise militancy's "overground support infrastructure." The crackdown on the JeI has been accompanied by unprecedented NIA (National Investigation Agency) and income tax raids on separatist leaders, including at the residences of the Mirwaiz, Yasin Malik, Shabir Shah, Masarat Alam and Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai.J&K police officers say the disruption of the so-called OGW (overground worker) network-through the JeI ban-will help security forces crack down on militants in the southern hinterland. It will, they say, help create conditions more conducive to the holding of elections to the Lok Sabha and state assembly. "Also, in the short term, the non-availability of Jamaat cadres will hurt Kashmir-centric political parties, chiefly the PDP," said a senior police officer.Lending credence to apprehensions in the Valley that the BJP would go beyond the JeI ban, the Narendra Modi government, on February 28, partially amended the contentious Article 370 through a presidential ordinance, extending SC ST reservation benefits to J&K. Both the National Conference and PDP have challenged the move as "unconstitutional" and argued that it is aimed at "disempowering" J&K in the absence of an elected state government. Given the BJP's hardening position on petitions seeking the abrogation of Article 35A pending in the Supreme Court, the tinkering with Article 370, which assures a special status to the state, through a questionable ordinance, isn't inspiring confidence in the Valley.Published By: Manisha PandeyPublished On: Mar 8, 2019--- ENDS ---

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The fallout of a ban

After the JeI ban, the Centre has also issued an Ordinance tweaking Art. 370, which has the Valley parties fuming.

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