The violent clashes between Hindus and Muslims on Eid day August 9 was not the first time the small town of Kishtwar found itself in national media. In the last two years, the district has attracted attention several times for involvement of its local youths in terror acts as well as for a controversial Facebook post that brought it to the brink of a communal row in 2012.

Related: 60 injured in Kishtwar Eid clashe

However, if from Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's angry outbursts and the BJP's stalling of Parliament to even Finance Minister P Chidambaram's drawing of a 1990 comparison, Kishtwar appears a communal cauldron, those who know this beautiful region and its history well and understand its unique position in the gap that separates Jammu from Kashmir say that is just half the story.

Their anger is directed at the government that acted too slowly, at the elements that fanned the tension, and at others for whom playing up the incident served well. It's not just about Hindus against Muslims, they say. Dig deeper, and it's about anti-national elements trying to use religion to divide a region that has long known peace, and finding willing collaborators on the rival side.

Kashmir: Minority business community threatens to move out of Kishtwar

"The Kishtwar-Doda belt is a wonderful place, full of natural beauty at par with, if not more than, the Kashmir valley. The people living here are industrious, many of whom have done very well for themselves despite odds. But now our area is in the news for all the wrong reasons," rues Amjad Hussain Sheikh, a local resident.

Located about 230 km from Jammu, Kishtwar, earlier a part of Doda district, was given district status in 2007. While estimates differ, government officials say the ratio of Muslims to Hindus in the population is 55:45.

Related: Masked men of Kishtwar

Unlike Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu division which also have a substantial Muslim population, the Doda-Kishtwar belt in the Chenab valley is different because of its proximity to Kashmir, with a road connecting the area to Anantnag district.

Kishtwar is also known the world over for its sapphire mines and saffron. It has to its credit legendary poets like Nishat Kishtwari, Ulfat Kishtwari, Ghulam Rasool Kamgar and Jaanwaz Sahib Doolwal.

Ghulam Mustafa Malik, who retired as director, fisheries, of the state, and later died in Afghanistan, was considered an expert in fisheries globally. He was credited with bringing the trout to Kishtwar from Afghanistan.

While the area has produced politicians like Om Mehta who was minister of state for home in Indira Gandhi's cabinet, leaders of the Plebiscite Front (a political party that sought plebiscite to decide the fate of J&K, which was patronised by Sheikh Abdullah) were also from the same area.

While communal tension has never been a real issue here, closeness to Kashmir means Kishtwar was to become a fertile hunting ground for Kashmiri separatists. In the mid-90s, following incidents of militants killing locals to pressure residents, especially those living in secluded hilly areas (most of them Hindus), to provide food and shelter, the state government began setting up village defence committees (VDCs) here.

The members, mostly villagers, were provided weapons, largely rifles, to help them take on militants. The results were instant, at least in the initial years. Many hardcore militants were felled by VDC members, most of whom were ex-servicemen. But then allegations started surfacing of VDC members becoming a law unto themselves, using government-provided arms to threaten members of the other community, or using these to settle personal scores.

The advent of militancy and the emergence of VDCs changed the contours of Kishtwar. "Before the advent of militancy, people of both the communities used to live together peacefully. While there certainly was the occasional communal tension, it never grew too big. Mostly tempers would cool down after the intervention of elders. But once militants from Kashmir started using our area as a safe shelter to escape or lie low, things started deteriorating, resulting in ebbing of trust between the two communities," says a resident who didn't wish to be named.

Then, sensing an opportunity to cultivate support in the Doda-Kishtwar region, Kashmiri separatists like Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Geelani started demanding disbanding of the VDCs for "terrorising" Muslims.

Hindus believe the Eid attack too, which left three dead and four dozen injured, was pre-planned and aimed at forcing the minority community to migrate out of the area and to push the state government into disarming VDCs. Working against the VDCs is the growing charge that these committees  predominantly comprising Hindus  use the weapons provided to them to browbeat Muslims.

Throughout Ramzan, there were reports of intermittent firing by VDCs in villages around Kishtwar town. In a region kept on the edge by the state's politics, a small incident on Eid day provided just the right spark. Celebrations were proceeding peacefully in the town and villages on the outskirts when a stone pelted by a miscreant in Kuleeth area sparked off clashes, which engulfed the entire town in no time. By the time the Army was called in and curfew clamped, two people had died and over 60 injured, with members of both communities indulging in large-scale arson and looting.

Among the 11 arrested for the Eid clashes was separatist Hurriyat leader Moulvi Abdul Qayoom Matoo. The violence, even many within the Muslim community admit, was set off by a procession led by Matoo raising anti-India and pro-Pakistan slogans. Matoo had been arrested by police for such activities earlier also and sources say he had been behind the appearance of provocative posters in the town carrying photographs of JKLF founder Maqbool Bhat and Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, both of whom were hanged in Tihar jail.

In the arson that followed on Eid, anti-social elements targeted properties owned by both Hindus and Muslims. Take the case of ex-MLA Jalal-ud-Din Qazi. Of the 20 shops owned by one of his close relatives that were razed, 18 had been rented out to Hindus.

A senior police officer, who estimates that there are about 10,000 VDC members in Doda, Kishtwar, Reasi and Kathua districts of the Jammu region, calls the demand to disband VDCs

"laughable". "He (Geelani) probably doesn't know that there are many Muslims too who are part of VDCs. Since all these years he and others like him have been unable to find a foothold in the Doda-Kishtwar area, they think this demand could endear them to a section of the locals. But this is a fallacy. While there have certainly been instances of some VDC members acting in a high-handed manner, generally the VDCs have done a great job," the officer says.

Former Union minister of state for defence, three-time Lok Sabha MP from Udhampur-Doda constituency and currently unattached MLA Chaman Lal Gupta too warns against removing the VDCs. "It would be a very wrong decision. If this is done, the area will become open to Kashmiri militants. Geelani is raising this demand only because he is trying to create a wedge between Hindus and Muslims and to turn this area into a hotbed of militant activities."

In the past five years, several militants accused of having carried out attacks in various parts of the country have been held from in and around Kishtwar. Which is what makes people like Gupta very wary. "Due to our area's closeness to Kashmir, many Kashmiri separatists lure local youths from Kishtwar to become militants. In recent years, this trend is very visible. Unfortunately, the state government has no plan to check this," he says.

A substantial section of the Muslims question this theory of separatists trying to fan a communal divide, and accuse RSS affiliates like the Bajrang Dal and VHP of inciting clashes. Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram also told the Cabinet last week that intelligence agencies have reported that the Bajrang Dal was involved in stoking communal violence in Kishtwar.

However, what leaders in Kishtwar say is that political parties are only trying to fish in waters muddied by attempts to spread militancy here.

Gupta, a former BJP state president, asserts that as far as the party is concerned, there is no question of it gaining. Often credited with having played an important part in building the BJP base in the state, Gupta was thrown out of the party along with six other MLAs for having allegedly cross-voted for a National Conference candidate in elections to the J&K Legislative Council in 2011.

"How can the BJP gain? You need leaders to build on advantages. Where are the leaders in the state unit of the party today? It would be foolish to believe that one visit by Jaitley will result in votes," Gupta says. (Arun Jaitley, the BJP's leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, arrived in Jammu a day after the Kishtwar incident but was detained at the airport before being sent back.)

Gupta is also categorical that there is no Hindu-Muslim divide in Kishtwar. "The Hindus and Muslims of Doda-Kishtwar are smarter than all the Geelanis of the world. They know what is best for them. Wait and see, they will soon forget this incident as they know they have to live and prosper together. This incident, I think, was an attempt to divert attention from the mal-administration of the National Conference-Congress government," Gupta says.

Agrees J&K High Court lawyer Ved Bhushan Gupta, now living in Jammu but who continues to be an influential voice of the Doda-Kishtwar belt. "What happened on Eid was unfortunate and deliberate. But the bonds that exist between the two communities will not break due to such incidents. However, the government needs to be vigilant against attempts by some anti-social elements to create disharmony. The growth of fundamentalist and anti-India forces in the area needs to be checked," he says.

Ved Bhushan Gupta cites examples to buttress his point about the two communities not being at loggerheads. "The annual Urs at the local ziarat sharifs used to be organised by the family of Lala Taj Ram Shah. Similarly, the upkeep of many Muslim shrines in the area is still being done by the family of late Lala Amar Chand Shah. Muslims play an important role in the annual Machail Yatra through Kishtwar. The annual Sarthal Mata pilgrimage is possibly the only pilgrimage where animal sacrifice is offered both by Hindus and Muslims to appease the goddess. The only difference is that Muslims slaughter the animal the halaal way while Hindus take the jhatka route," he says.

In fact, apart from exposing the rift being desperately driven by militant groups in Kishtwar, what the recent clashes also reveal is the growing tension between the NC and Congress. In private, many Congress leaders accuse Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of failing to take on a leadership role in controlling the situation at the earliest. "It took three days for the Chief Minister to arrive in Jammu and get involved in restoring peace. Can a state like ours afford such a laid-back response?" wondered a senior Congress leader.

Sunil Sharma, the state BJP secretary who lost the last Assembly election from Kishtwar to the NC's Sajjad Ahmed Kitchloo, also says it's not about communal politics. "Only the government and some separatists want to give it that colour. The battle is between nationalists and anti-nationalists," Sharma says, though going on to add that it is difficult for him to sit back and watch some elements burn the national flag, as allegedly happened in Kishtwar. "Whenever such an act is done, we will not sit back. But there is absolutely nothing communal about it," he asserts.

Kitchloo, who recently quit as minister of state for home after demands for an independent probe into his and his family's role in the Kishtwar violence, too rules out fears of a communal divide. "Some anti-social elements caused the riots; Hindus and Muslims of the area have a history of living together peacefully. But let me ask you... haven't riots taken place in other parts of the country? Why is everyone so worried about Kishtwar? Both communities know they have to live together," he says.

Doda District Congress Committee chief and MLC Naresh Gupta hopes people will be vigilant of the "designs" of the anti-social elements to disturb peace. As does his party colleague and Inderwal MLA G M Saroori, who has a house in Kishtwar. "The judicial inquiry has been ordered. It will bring out all the facts. I only hope peace persists in the area," he says.

Visits but few gains

Despite a high literacy rate of nearly 70 per cent, Kishtwar continues to be an under-developed district. Spread over more than 7,000 sq km, it has only 12 per cent road connectivity. Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who hails from the area, has managed to bring about some development in the past four years. His good standing with the top Congress leadership has also ensured that the district has never lacked in prime ministerial visits, with former PMs Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and I K Gujral, as well as Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi all dropping in. The PM and Sonia have in fact visited the hilly district thrice in eight years  first after a snow tragedy hit the area in 2005, second time to dedicate the Dulhasti hydel project in 2007 and this year to lay the foundation stone of the Rattle hydel project.

Small town, big news

OCTOBER 29, 2012: A video clip on Facebook leads to tension in J&K. The video clip is traced to Chatroo, a remote village in Kishtwar district. Though police arrest three people, both the communities in Kishtwar come on the roads against each other.

September 2012: J&K Police arrest Mehrajuddin Wani alias Javed, an alleged close associate of Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, during an operation in Kishtwar forests. He is accused of having provided logistical support to the hijackers of IC-814 in 1999.

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011: Fifteen people die and 76 are injured in a powerful blast at Delhi High Court. An e-mail by Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami (HuJI) is traced to a cyber café in Kishtwar's Malik market, with police picking up two students, Amir Abbad Dev and a minor.

JANUARY 2009: Hizbul Mujahideen militant Zahid Saroori held from Kishtwar town. He is accused of being behind the blast that killed 12 during the 1995 Republic Day parade in Jammu.

January 2008: Security forces kill the alleged mastermind of 2007 Uttar Pradesh serial blasts, HuJI chief commander Bashir Ahmed Aigazi alias Saba, at Chatroo in Kishtwar district.

At the wrong place at the wrong time

BASHAARAT MASOOD

As the communal clashes broke out in Kishtwar on August 9, two people were killed and several injured. A day later, 65 km from the town, another civilian was killed in Padder.

ARVIND KUMAR: The son of a retired Army officer-turned-politician, he was the first casualty of the clashes in Kishtwar. A 22-year-old student, Kumar was hit by pellets when he had gone inside a shop to fetch some documents. Kumar was the only son of Desh Raj, who joined the BSP after retirement and contested the 2008 Assembly elections from Kishtwar unsuccessfully.

BASHIR AHMAD SHEIKH: Sheikh had gone to his sister's house in Sarkoot village to pay Eid greetings and was returning home to Sangram Bhatta  a village on the outskirts of Kishtwar town  when clashes broke out. Though most of the people managed to escape, Sheikh, who was physically disabled, was unable to move quickly. He was surrounded by a mob and set ablaze. His family remained unaware of his death for a long time. Sheikh's burnt body had been thrown inside the Chowgan ground where the Eid prayers were held. An employee of the Public Health Engineering Department, Sheikh had been regularised only recently. The 42-year-old is survived by his wife and four children.

LASSA KHANDAY: Lassa Khanday had gone to rescue his brother and son who had been wounded in the clashes. He was killed when the ambulance in which he was moving the two was "attacked by more than 3,000 people". The 38-year-old labourer was a resident of Keijoi, the only Muslim village in Padder. "He jumped out of the vehicle and closed the door of the ambulance. But he was surrounded and hit with sticks," says Irshad Ahmad, a resident of Padder. Khanday is survived by his parents, son Altaf (17) and a 15-year-old daughter.

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