Militancy in Jammu & Kashmir: Post-370 Landscape & Response

1. POST-ARTICLE 370 SECURITY LANDSCAPE

Cue Words	Notes
Structural Shift Since August 2019	The reorganisation of Jammu & Kashmir (repeal of Article 370, split into the UTs of J&K and Ladakh) enabled stricter action against separatist infrastructure — Hurriyat leadership, stone-pelting networks, and hawala funding channels. **Improved Law & Order**: Elimination of routine hartals/street shutdowns and restoration of continuous school terms and business activity; tourist footfall touched a record **1.77+ Crore** annually in the normalisation period, before the 2025 disruption below. **Jammu Tactical Pivot**: As the Kashmir Valley counter-terror grid tightened, militant activity shifted toward the rugged, forested Jammu hills (Rajouri, Poonch, Kathua, Reasi) for surprise strikes on security forces.
The 2025 Pahalgam Attack & Its Aftermath	On 22 April 2025, terrorists killed at least 26 civilian tourists at Baisaran Valley near Pahalgam — the deadliest civilian-targeted attack since 2019 — with The Resistance Front (TRF) initially claiming responsibility. The attack triggered India's Operation Sindoor (a limited cross-border military response against militant infrastructure) and the follow-on Operation Mahadev, which eliminated the attack's perpetrators by July 2025. J&K recorded roughly 90+ conflict-related killings through 2025 (a sharp spike driven by the Pahalgam attack and its aftermath), though incident levels through the first half of 2026 have trended markedly lower — interrupted by isolated attacks, including a policeman's killing in Anantnag in July 2026.

> **Summary**: Post-370 normalisation (tourism, elections, reduced street violence) was real but not irreversible, as the 2025 Pahalgam attack demonstrated — the security paradigm has since bifurcated into a largely pacified Valley core and a persistently active Jammu-hills periphery, with occasional high-impact civilian-targeted attacks still capable of resetting the security narrative.

2. THE CHALLENGE OF SILENT ENABLERS

Cue Words	Notes
Over-Ground Workers (OGWs)	OGWs form the logistical backbone of terror outfits — providing shelter, transport, funds, and reconnaissance without directly bearing arms. Neutralisation relies on property attachment under the UAPA, financial audits of front organisations, and bans on proxy socio-religious groups (e.g., Jamaat-e-Islami).
Hybrid Terrorists	Radicalised, part-time operatives who conduct isolated pistol/grenade attacks (often targeting minorities or migrant labourers) and then revert to normal civilian life. Because they are unlisted in security databases, conventional watch-list-based tracking fails — requiring deeper digital and human-intelligence penetration.

> **Summary**: The shift from armed cadre-based militancy to OGW-supported hybrid terrorism reflects an adversary adaptation to improved conventional counter-infiltration — making financial-intelligence and digital-tracking capacity, not just border-grid density, the next critical security investment.

3. MULTI-LAYERED COUNTER-INSURGENCY MATRIX

Cue Words

Notes

Tiered Grid & Outreach Programmes

**Tier 1**: LoC guarded by the Army using smart fencing (CIBMS) and anti-infiltration obstacles. **Tier 2**: Intermediate zone managed by the Army's **Rashtriya Rifles (RR)**. **Tier 3**: Hinterland security by J&K Police, CRPF, and local intelligence networks. **Operation Sadbhavana**: Army outreach via Goodwill Schools, youth sports, and vocational/IT training to counter radicalisation at the grassroots. **Village Defence Guards (VDGs)**: Community policing volunteers, armed and trained by police, defending remote Jammu-hill hamlets against militant incursions.

> **Summary**: The three-tier counter-infiltration grid handles the kinetic dimension, while Sadbhavana and VDGs address the human-terrain dimension — together forming a layered response, though the Jammu-hills pivot and hybrid-terrorist tactics suggest the grid's density still needs to extend beyond its traditional Valley-LoC focus.

4. AFSPA & TERROR-FINANCE COUNTERMEASURES

Cue Words	Notes
AFSPA — Statutory Mechanics	**Section 3 (Disturbed Area Declaration)**: The Governor of a State, the Administrator of a UT, or the Central Government can declare a region 'disturbed' if necessary to maintain public order — J&K has its own 1990 version of the Act (in addition to the 1958 Northeast-origin Act). **Section 4 Powers**: Authorises commissioned/warrant/non-commissioned officers to fire upon or use force (even causing death) against persons acting in contravention of law; to arrest without warrant on reasonable suspicion; to enter, search, and destroy arms dumps or fortified shelters. **Section 6 Prosecution Immunity**: Prior sanction of the Central Government is mandatory before any legal proceeding can be instituted against security personnel for acts done under the Act.
Judicial & Committee Safeguards	**Justice Jeevan Reddy Committee (2005)**: Recommended complete repeal of AFSPA, calling it "a symbol of oppression," and suggested incorporating protective provisions into the UAPA instead. **Santosh Hegde Commission**: Flagged procedural lapses in counter-insurgency operations and recommended structural reforms to curb excessive use of force. **Naga People's Movement case (SC)**: Upheld AFSPA's constitutional validity but mandated a six-monthly review of disturbed-area status, handover of arrested persons to the nearest police station within 24 hours, and an absolute ban on custodial torture — later reinforced by the *Extra Judicial Execution Victim Association* (2016) judgment requiring inquiry into every encounter death.
Terror-Finance Choking & Grassroots Integration	**NIA Asset Attachments**: Using UAPA amendment powers, the NIA has attached numerous bank accounts and properties linked to terror funding and hawala flows, squeezing local recruitment payouts. **Grassroots Democratic Saturation**: District Development Council (DDC) and Panchayat elections were conducted to build local leadership outside traditional dynastic political networks. **Infrastructure Multipliers**: Mega projects — Zojila Tunnel, Chenab Bridge rail link, AIIMS, and Srinagar Smart City initiatives — aim to structurally integrate the region's economy with the mainland as a "hearts and minds" complement to kinetic operations.

> **Summary**: Beyond the kinetic counter-insurgency grid, the state relies on a distinct legal-immunity framework (AFSPA, judicially bounded since the Naga People's Movement case) for security forces, combined with terror-finance interdiction and grassroots democratic/infrastructure investment to durably erode local support for militancy.

UPSC Mains PYQs

• OGWs in J&K: "The banning of 'Jamaat-e-Islami' in Jammu and Kashmir brought into focus the role of over-ground workers (OGWs) in assisting terrorist organizations." Discuss the role played by OGWs in J&K. Evaluate strategies required to neutralize their network. (15 Marks, 250 Words)
• Article 370 & Security Shift: Evaluate the impact of the reorganization of Jammu & Kashmir and the repeal of Article 370 on the security situation and grassroots democratic institutions in the region. (15 Marks, 250 Words)
• Pahalgam Attack & Counter-Terror Response: Critically analyze the 2025 Pahalgam attack and India's subsequent security response. What does the incident reveal about the limits of post-2019 normalisation in J&K? (15 Marks, 250 Words)
• AFSPA Debate: "The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) has been a matter of intense debate regarding its necessity and impact on civil liberties." Critically examine the arguments for and against the continuation of AFSPA in disturbed areas. (15 Marks, 250 Words)