Srinagar, New Delhi:
Srinagar is still, empty, almost lifeless. It is a deceptive quiet that cloaks the dark storms that have hit the Kashmir Valley. A city that is wondering when the clouds shall pass and when the sun shall shine again, a city that is now under the watchful eye of the Indian Army.
At the crack of dawn on Wednesday, 17 columns of the Army were called on to the streets after a week of fragile peace was ripped open by a fresh spate of civilian deaths in clashes between protesters and security forces. (
Read & watch: J&K govt asks for Army to contain unrest: Sources)
A grim Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had worked the phone lines to Delhi and made it clear that it was time to use the last line of defence. And after some debate on the political impact of the move, it was eventually a thumbs up from New Delhi, where the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) met to discuss Kashmir. (
Read: Security panel meets, Pillai to visit Srinagar)
Sources said the Army's mandate is only to be a deterrent against a worsening security situation. The Army, they said, would not be used for crowd control or in crowded inner-city neighbourhoods where it could come in direct confrontation with protesters.
Instead, the soldiers would keep an eye from the periphery, but with the aim of sending out a strong message. The priority right now was to restore law and order and bring down tempers. The Army took out several flag marches through the city.
But is this a move fraught with even more dangers and risks? Can it address the upsurge of anger on the ground? The Opposition says this should never have happened.
"Ironically, the Chief Minister himself has said that the unrest underlines the failure of a political process in the Valley and the urgent need to revive a domestic dialogue," said Mehbooba Mufti, president, People's Democratic Party.
Talking to NDTV on the issue Omar had said, "Absolutely, people don't see light at the end of tunnel, need to address it politically no matter who occupies the office here." (
Watch & Read: Omar interview)
Till last month New Delhi was measuring normalcy in the Valley in terms of the number of tourists flooding it, today, a tourist said he couldn't make it into the city without trouble. A wake-up call perhaps for the Centre, which has also sent Union Home Secretary GK Pillai and the Director General of Military Operations to review law and order in Srinagar.