Army is meant primarily to protect borders
Muhammad Ashraf
We’ve just heard that the government visualises a bigger role for the Army in Kashmir. There cannot be a bigger cruel joke than this in the context of the proactive role played by the men in olive seen all these years after the outbreak of militancy in the 1990s! The extensive counter-insurgency operations conducted in civilian areas since the onset of the armed uprising had left many blots on the role of the Army. The Kunan Poshpora, Pathribal, Chattisinghpora, Machil fake encounter, disappearances, mass graves and a host of other actions had projected the Army as a colonial force keeping Kashmiris within India by force. In fact, the international media, including BBC, had projected Kashmir as the most militarised area in the world with over 700,000 troops deployed all over, including along the borders. The dark side of the Army’s role has been vividly described in the book The Blood on My Hands, written by Kishalay Bhattacharjee.
In this backdrop, the Army has, however, over the past also been pursuing a programme of winning over the population through its much-publicised programme of “Sadbhavana”. It has been trying to win over the civilian population through various people-friendly programmes like opening schools, sports clubs, sending young people out on “Bharat Darshan” tours and so on. There had been some success in improving relations with the civilian population with the decrease in militancy over the years.
Apart from this, the Army is primarily meant to protect our borders. Its personnel are trained on the lines of “shoot to kill”. Dealing with civilian demonstrations or for crowd control, they hardly have any training or even implements. Normally, the civilian authorities call out the Army under the provision of “aid to civil authority” during natural calamities like floods, earthquakes, etc. They are also sometimes called out during communal riots involving violence between communities. Giving them a bigger role in civilian administration, including crowd control, would be a bigger mistake and would further tarnish the Army’s image. In addition, getting involved in civilian administration will diminish its training and skills with regard to facing the enemy in the event of eventualities on the border, for which it is supposed to be in a fit and trained condition.
Incidentally, the person envisaging a bigger role for the Army in the state has been the one starting her political career by demanding the lessening of its role! She started with the slogan of “healing touch”, which was meant to lessen the role of the Army. She demanded sending troops back to the barracks, removal of bunkers in civilian areas, disbanding of the J&K police force and the withdrawal of the AFSPA, which gives total immunity to the security forces. There were many allegations of the misuse of this immunity. Nothing can be more ironic than this reversal of the earlier popular demand simply to save one’s chair!
The writer is a former IAS officer who served the J&K government in different capacities, including as director general of tourism.
Let there be no repetition of past mistakes
Hari Om Mahajan
The fundamental duty of the Army is to defend the borders. Sometimes it becomes absolutely imperative to ask soldiers to take care of internal security. It’s obvious that the Army is called in only when the law and order machine fails. The situation in Kashmir since July 8 in the wake of the lawful killing of Burhan Wani is such that the internal security issue could not be left to the care of the state police, or even the CRPF, which is not trained like soldiers to meet such contingencies.
The situation in Kashmir is very alarming and grim. There is the need for surgical operations in the Valley so that Pakistani agents, mercenaries, troublemakers, vested interests and self-styled freedom-fighters are isolated and brought to justice for the anti-state acts they have been committing.
The situation warrants military takeover in restive parts of separatist-infested Kashmir. The reason: the seditious crowds at the behest of their masters have been attacking police stations, Army convoys, CRPF camps and all the symbols of the Indian State and burning public property. Another reason is that the state police has abandoned many police stations in parts of the “Talibanised” Valley and the seditious crowds have been defying the civil administration and local police. There are also reports that anti-social elements have been on a looting spree.
The situation in Kashmir is extraordinary, and it can be tackled only by extraordinary means. Those who say that Kashmir is a political problem and it can be resolved through a political process are not speaking the truth; they are simply taking recourse to the politics of rhetoric as in the past. The problem in Kashmir is neither political nor economic. It’s also not an upheaval. It’s a jihad of sorts, which the Indian political class is unwilling to acknowledge. Those involved in the current movement want another communal partition of India — this is the stark reality.
New Delhi has tried many experiments in Kashmir. It has tried to tackle it through incremental concessions and financial and employment packages, but with no result. Contrarily, New Delhi’s policy vis-à-vis politics, Kashmir-type, has only further emboldened the anti-nationals and communalists in Kashmir. Let New Delhi now deal with the situation in a different manner: Army rule for a month or so, with the clear direction that it would protect and help innocents and take care of those who challenge the institution of the Indian State. But this will not be enough. What is needed is the deployment of those Army commanders in Kashmir who mean business and don’t issue statements that Kashmir needs a political solution. A case in point is former Lt. Gen. Syed Ata Hasnain.
One can only hope and pray that New Delhi sees the writing on the wall and hands over Kashmir to the Army, which is known for its discipline, compassion and commitment.
The writer is a former professor of Jammu University who has also served as the state BJP’s spokesman and political adviser to the party’s J&K chief.
