Peace dividend in Jammu and Kashmir is visible post-Article 370 abrogation

On the eve of the fourth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35 A by the Modi government, data indicates perceptible improvement in the overall security environment apart from significant road-power and economic infrastructure upgrades in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).

The fact is that even if we keep the data aside, the environment of guns, fear and jihad has given way to relative peace with the return of sports and entertainment in the Valley. While state politicians want restoration of statehood and elections in J&K, the big dividend of abrogation is peace in the Valley with hinterland tourists coming in droves to the UT without the fear of a sudden grenade attack by pro-Pakistan terror groups operating in the region. Consider this:

· Grenade Attacks: Before Article 370 was abrogated, the region witnessed 162 grenade attacks. This number has come down to 138 post-abrogation, a 15 per cent decrease, suggesting a positive impact on public safety.

· IED Blasts: The number of IED blasts stands at 19 before and after the abrogation. That the number has not increased to a new mark indicates better security measures, intelligence gathering and a better approach to counter-terrorism.

· Casualties in IED blasts: The casualties resulting from IED blasts have significantly reduced from 57 in the pre-370 period to 13 in the post-370 period—a decrease of 77 per cent.

· Stand-off Fire/Hit and run cases: There is a 42% decline in this category. From 314 incidents in the pre-370 period to 181 in the post-370 era. The significant decrease indicates that the J&K Police has been able to dominate the roads and localities, pushing the terrorists and their overground workers to lie low.

· Weapon snatching: There is a 60 per cent decrease in this category as the number of incidents was 45 in the pre-370 period and a mere 14 in the post-370 period. A decrease in weapon snatching is a booster for the morale of the forces as it shows that the terrorists are on the back foot.

· Stone Pelting Incidents: The most significant marker is in this category as pre-370, there were 5050 incidents. This number has fallen to 445, marking a remarkable decrease of 92 per cent.

· Hartal-Bandh calls: The number of strike calls reduced from 302 in pre-370 period to 31 in the post-August 5, 2019 period. This amounts to a 90 per cent decline and indicates that the people are no longer living under diktats of the terrorists, over-ground workers and radical elements.

· Encounters: Encounters by security forces and counter-terrorist operations have reduced from 539 in pre-era to 369 in the post-era, a decrease of 32 per cent. This decrease indicates that theroutine life of the public does not get interfered by guns and bullets every time an encounter breaks in the Valley.

· Civilians killed in terrorist violence: The number has shown a 11 per cent decrease with 155 civilians killed in the pre-370 period to 138 in the post-370 period.

· Civilians killed during Law and Order duties: There is a 100 per cent decrease in this category with pre-370 numbers at 132 and post-370 numbers standing at a big zero. The injured numbers during L&O duties has come down by 99 per cent with the pre-370 figure at 9303 and the post-370 figure at 117.

· Police officers laying down their lives in the line of duty: This has shown a 57 per cent decrease with the pre-370 number at 345 and post-370 number at 150. There is a 94 per cent decrease in instances of police and security forces getting injured with the pre-370 number standing at 13100 to a decline to 797 in the post-370 period.

· Terrorist recruitment: The local recruitment numbers, as per Jammu and Kashmir police and Union Home Ministry, have fallen from 550 in the pre-era to 448 in the post-era. Simultaneously, the number of arrests of terrorists and terror suspects has gone up from 1584 in the pre-370 era to 2504 in the post-era- a remarkable 58 per cent increase which indicates the efficiency of the CT operations.

· Abductions: Instances of abductions have reduced from 28 in the pre-era to a mere nine in the post-era, marking a 68 per cent decrease.

· Arson: There has been a 60 per cent decrease in incidents of arson from 87 in the pre-370 era to 35 in the post-370 era.

While many within the bureaucracy and media had misgivings over the abrogation of the two articles pertaining to Jammu and Kashmir, data reveals that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah took the right call as it has brought much-needed peace to the Valley. Of course, this could not have been possible without the hard work and sacrifices of Indian Army, JKP, and Para-military forces personnel posted in the UT.