Hundreds of guest workers leave Kashmir in fear, slam government

On Monday, hundreds of workers left the valley by bus and train. Image Credit - Kamran Yousuf

The day was just breaking in Srinagar but 38-year-old Ashesh Kumar had already reached the Tourist Reception Centre (TRC), despite a heavy downpour. Kumar was leaving Kashmir in a hurry, after militants’ rising attacks on non-locals. 

“My family back at home is insisting that I return,” he told Moneycontrol. His landlord and neighbours had tried to give him courage, even offering to supply him with food. But, Kumar didn’t relent especially because his family kept phoning him, asking him to board the next bus.

There are an estimated three to five lakh labourers from different Indian states earning their living in Kashmir. The militants targeting these guest workers has created an atmosphere of fear, and on Monday, hundreds of workers left the valley.

Killings and encounters

On Sunday evening, two guest labourers were killed and another injured in Kulgam district of south Kashmir. The deceased were identified as Raja Reshi Dev and Jogindar Reshi Dev, both natives of Bihar. The critically injured man, who was identified as Chun Reshi Das also from Bihar, was taken to GMC Anantnag and his condition is said to be stable.

A day before, two others had been shot dead in Srinagar and South Kashmir’s Pulwama.

The total number of non-Muslims who have been killed since last week is 11. Most of them were non-locals.

The killings started two days after the police claimed to have gunned down three militants in 24 hours, for their alleged involvement in last week’s killings of members of minority communities.

There has been a series of encounters between the security forces and suspected militants over the past few weeks. Thirteen militants have been killed in the past one week over nine encounters, according to the police. Among those killed are four militants responsible for four civilian killings in Jammu and Kashmir in the first week of October, the police have said. 

The Islamic State Wilayah Hind, believed to be affiliated to the global Islamic State, has claimed two attacks on the workers in Srinagar. The Resistance Front (TRF), an “offshoot” of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, has claimed most of the attacks on civilians this month. 

Golgappa wala’s death

Vikas Chaudhary, who is from Bihar, said that he knew golgappa wala Arbind Kumar Sah who was killed on October 16. In fact, both are from the same district, said Chaudhary.

Chaudhary runs a chaat business too. “I have been selling golgappas in Srinagar for many years and had never thought I would have to leave Kashmir like this,” he said.

30-year-old Sab was killed near his handcart outside a park in the Eidgah area of the Srinagar city.

“I am scared now,” said Chaudhary, who was waiting with Kumar at the Tourist Reception Centre. “I don’t know when I will return… hopefully things will come back to normal soon.”

Several non-local labourers have started leaving Kashmir after a steady spike in the number of attack on them in parts of valley.
pic.twitter.com/G2gg0gKt9E

— Ieshan Wani (@Ieshan_W) October 18, 2021

Forwards peddling fake news are making matters worse. One claiming to be an advisory from the Jammu and Kashmir Police asking all district chiefs to gather non-resident labourers and bring them to the nearest security camps went viral.

The order has since been proven fake. The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir Vijay Kumar called it “totally baseless and a fake order”.

However, Kumar later told Reuters that he had instructed his officers to move workers after three labourers from the eastern state of Bihar were shot at in their rented accommodation on Sunday and two of them had died.

“I have directed officers to shift the vulnerable urgently,” he had told Reuters.

Many labourers from North to South and Central Kashmir were shifted to safer places by personnel of J&K police and CRPF.

‘Here to earn a living, not to occupy’

Sonu Tiwari, who works in a local construction company, wondered why they are being targeted. 

“Why are we a threat,” he asked, in a conversation with Moneycontrol. “We are here to make ends meet. We have nothing to do with occupying anyone’s land... we aren’t in any position to do that.”

At the Srinagar railway station, among labourers who were crowding to leave by the next train, fear and anger were palpable. 

They slammed the government for not fostering a friendly environment in Kashmir. 

J&K: A group of migrant workers leaves from Kashmir's Srinagar after recent incidents of targeted killings of non-Kashmiris by terrorists

"Situation is getting bad here. We're scared, we've children with us & hence going back to our hometown," says a migrant from Rajasthan pic.twitter.com/lcdUosH9eB

— ANI (@ANI) October 18, 2021

Condemnation and tweets

Meanwhile, there was no shortage of condemnations.

Soon after the civilian killings, the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha condemned it and pledged to hunt down the ultras and their sympathizers and “avenge every drop of innocent civilian's blood”. “I pay my heartfelt tributes to the martyred civilians and condolences to the bereaved families,” he said.

Former Chief Minister and National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah, while condemning the killings, posted on Twitter: “Another day, another dose of bad news from the valley. Two civilians, both non-local, shot and killed in a terror attack in Kulgam district of South Kashmir. I reservedly condemn this attack & pray for the souls of the Raja & Jogindar Reshi Dev.”

Apni Party President Syed Muhammad Altaf Bukhari on Sunday expressed shock and grief over the killings. In a statement, he termed the incidents as “extremely brutal”.