A village in Kashmir where people love the Army

The Kulali-Marrah villages in Kashmir were a hotbed of militancy until a few years ago when the Army cleaned up the place

By Manisha Sobhrajani

The twin villages of Kulali-Marrah, tehsil Surankote, are located somewhat mid-way between the Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu & Kashmir. This area has been ‘in the news’ for several reasons over the last few years – the most prominent being that it was a safe haven for militants, estimated to be close to 1,800 in number, until the year 2002. The region was considered a ‘liberated zone’, where the Pakistani flag was a common sight on roof-tops.

Today, in a complete turn of events, locals, mostly Muslim Gujjars, adore the Army, and the one thought that is of constant concern to them is: if troops go from Surankote, they will be in big trouble. While the rest of Jammu & Kashmir would do anything to get rid of security forces, villagers in Kulali-Marrah cannot even imagine life without the Army.

The year 1998 saw the beginning of militancy here with most mujahids being Kashmiris. They were on good terms with the locals who supported them whole-heartedly, and provided them with food and shelter. Soon they were overtaken by mujahids from the other side, and there were 12-13 Pakistan-supported organisations operating in the area, including Lashkar-e-Toiba and Hizbul Mujahideen. Kulali-Marrah even became a resting camp for people crossing over. The Hill Kaka area became somewhat of a permanent set-up for these militants. Their demands for food and shelter became increasingly aggressive, and they began harassing the locals, especially the women.
According to Army sources: “They made the men work as porters without pay, disrupted the limping government machinery, and freely used the money, assets and resources of these people. Their patience gave away when the militants started killing local civilians.” The youth from the area combined their efforts with the Army, killing many militants and displacing the others in what was to become a major cleaning operation–Operation Sarpvinash, which took place over the period of one year in 2003.

During Operation Sarpvinash, the main area of operation was closed, restricting the movements of the local Gujjar population. Many of their houses, called dhoks, which fell within the closed area could not be used, neither could they till their land nor take their cattle for grazing. This continued for two successive years (2003-4), as a result of which they incurred huge financial losses. But still their love for the Army has not waned.

A village elder explained: “We know that people in other parts of J&K dislike us because we have
supported the Army in favour of cleansing the Kulali-Marrah area of militants. But they don’t understand why we did this. We were literally pushed into a corner, and had little choice.”

Barring one school, which is operational under the Army, there is no other. Illiteracy is rampant among the elder population, particularly women. Other than a kachcha road which was constructed by the Army to carry out Operation Sarpvinash, there is no other way to get there. The road literally disappears during monsoons, and winters is a tough time as well. Electricity has recently reached the village, all thanks to the Army. It is no surprise then than the villagers in Kulali-Marrah, and in other parts of Surankote, have cordial relations with the Army.

In a small town called Mandi, a group of young Muslim men, led by Mohammad Ali Mir and his fledgling NGO called Shaheed Maj Rohit Sharma Memorial Society challenge the popular notion of Kashmiris protesting against the government and the armed forces.

This NGO is named after a martyr of the Indian Army. Late Maj Rohit Sharma was a young officer serving in his battalion, 8 JAK LI, at Mandi when on 17 June, 1998, he was informed about the presence of three militants in a nearby village. The brave officer immediately moved to the scene where he and his team eliminated the militants. However, during the operation, the young officer, barely aged 25, lost his life. It is said that on that day, the entire Mandi town was shut down and all villagers joined in his funeral rites.

Today, the memory of this brave soldier is being kept alive by Mir’s NGO. Every year from 1999, June 17th is commemorated by financially helping the poor and the widows. The NGO also remains in contact with the father of Late Maj Rohit Sharma, Dr. V.V. Sharma.

Surankote’s Kulali-Marrah villages are also known for their unique and first of its kind all women Village Defence Committee (VDC), a force to reckon with, according to a senior Army officer. VDCs are self-protection groups formed by the local people in their respective villages. Such groups were advocated by the Government of India in the early 1990s to combat militancy wherein villagers were provided weapons and trained in their use by the police.

(Manisha Sobhrajani is an independent development sector worker in Kashmir. She can be reached at manisha.sobhrajani@gmail.com)