This is the moderate trying to avoid being the target of terrorists. Abdullah is wrong for many reasons.

One, as Islamic State’s initial success shows, it did not need martyrs to recruit people to the cause of terror. A capacity for violence and a show of strength was enough. Social media-based propaganda, often doctored with loads of untruth, entices unsuspecting youths to the cause of jihad. Or why else would 15-20 people from far-away Kerala disappear, presumably to join Islamic State? The Islamist-separatist movement in Kashmir Valley has learnt valuable lessons from Islamic State. Which is why it is too dangerous to be treated with kid gloves.

Two, showing weakness to murderous jihadis is the worst thing you can do. They can only be overcome by force and effective intelligence to eliminate the kingpins one by one. This should be backed by effective counter-propaganda to prevent others from seeking glory in terrorism. If Wani can create a heroic narrative based on half-truths, surely the security forces can do the same? The war must be joined at the level of propaganda too.

Three, Wani became a hero in death only because his funeral became a media event. Future killings of popular terrorists should not involve the handing over of their bodies to their families. The families can be asked to come for a quiet burial inside a jail, and if they refuse, the bodies can be buried at sea, like Osama bin Laden.

Four, Wani is not just a separatist, he is an Islamist. The Kashmir movement is no longer about azaadi or separatism; it is about eliminating non-Muslims from the Valley, if not the whole of J&K. Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani wants Sharia in Kashmir, not Kashmiriyat. This is why the post-Wani funeral crowds targeted Pandits, who had nothing to do with his killing. It is significant that Wani’s father said he was a “martyr in the service of Allah,” and not “azaad Kashmir”. Islamism is antithetical to secular India. It has to be contained and defeated. The “azaadi” cry is now about communal bigotry, not Kashmiri independence.

So what should India do now?

#1: The first need is intelligence. We have to invest large sums of money in buying and generating both human and electronic intelligence so that we are a step ahead of the jihadis.

#2: We have to move out of a defensive mindset and turn aggressive. This does not mean more use of the army, but less. Terrorism cannot be defeated by the army; it needs a mobile and agile special police force that operates like a guerrilla counter-insurgency outfit. Andhra defeated the Maoists with its Greyhounds. KPS Gill defeated the Kahlistani militants with his police force that used unorthodox methods to tackle terror. When terror is homegrown, the terrorists themselves are vulnerable, as they have families in the same place where they create mayhem. So while the army is slowly withdrawn to the barracks and the borders, special police forces need to be created to neutralise the terrorists one by one. Wani is only the beginning, not the end.

#3: Political moves to end Kashmiri alienation need to be accompanied by hints of changing laws to allow Indians to settle in Kashmir. This move will have support in the rest of India, even if they are opposed in the Valley itself. Threats to change the demography over the next 25 years are important to send a message that terrorism will not be allowed to succeed.

The stakes are high for India in Jammu & Kashmir. If we lose this battle, we have lost the soul of secular India. It is not about a piece of real estate. Kashmir is where the idea of Pakistan should be comprehensively defeated and buried.