Two weeks after roaming the hinterlands of Jammu and Kashmir, many who follow my travels and read my opinions- asked for the same on the current state of affairs in the state.
My discussions on this topic have continued with men in uniform belonging to both the CPOs, as the Armed Forces and and also the civilians of the state even after my return. And here is my view.
The Army was a saviour as recently as the weekend of 7th April (when it snowed in the Valley and flooded the Poonch River) and a villain no sooner than 10 days later, seen strapping a civilian to a jeep, so reminiscent of how the Israelis treat stone pelters in the Occupied Territories.
On the other hand, the CPOs continue their utterly hapless task while the civilians led by their leaders continue on a path that cannot lead anywhere but to condemn yet another generation to violence.
Two news reports prompted me to finally snap out an sense of detachment or numbness, and pen what I feel are the first steps towards betterment in that state, so beautiful with it's mustard yellow bloom and yet so noisy with the sound of stones reverberating off the tin of the hapless uniformed mens vehicles.
One- Ageless photos of stone pelters have lost meaning and the Centre or State leadership should give a clear set of instructions to the men of the CPOs. I really wonder what instructions are issued to the men inside the vehicles seen below? They sit there and get stoned or they run in the streets only to get slapped or abused, with no instructions-atleast that's what it looks like to everyone down in 95% of India that watches TV every night.
We await a disaster with Constable Hanumantappa of the CRPF from Bidar, Karnataka worrying about the failed IVF treatment and his inability to bear children or some BSF Havaldar Surjit from Fazilka, Punjab worrying about his sons being on drugs and beating their mother, his wife for money- these guys, surrounded by these mostly hired stone pelters in Anantnag, to snap and open fire and trust me before he can be overpowered by his own men, they can kill or maim atleast 30, if not more of the protestors.
That will be the spark that will consume the state and cause the situation to spiral out into a full blown civil war scenario.
To protect the sanity and the morale of these boys - they need instructions- whatever they may be from returning to barracks or to surrounding villages and containing the stone pelters to some local geographical boundaries.
Second- over the last 3 days, the IB and it's electronic intelligence wing rounded up close to 300 WhatsApp group Admins and 'counselled' them and deleted these groups- fantastic I say. Now here is what you do with this situation. That itself meant that some 75000 youth were instantly taken off the coordinated attacks grid. They will surely rebuild- but atleast we know what to do .
Sequester these Admins and fly them to Conferences as state guests to Vellore or Kalaikonda and keep them for 2 weeks for an education on how they should enter mainstream politics and to cease and desist from violence. As bad as it sounds- this is the only practical manner to dissuade them from their current path. The Port Blair jail was used rather effectively by the British... Let's use Vellore for a conference, sounds easier and less harsh. Return them unharmed and untouched, use isolation as very rude prod to behaving and capitulate, and become good leaders.
The local Kashmiri has to realise that like the LTTE tried for decades to browbeat a state into giving the Tamils Independence, all it needed was a firm and merciless hand at the helm of the state to bring down a brutal hand and crush them. Unfortunately the ego of the rest of the country will want that to happen sooner or later as the remaining States are being fed a steady diet of it's CPO men being pelted, slapped and abused. One day this populace will demand the firm hand.
In summary-
A constabulary without any clue of it's role. The seething anger of the majority of India's population at their manhandling, and the locals equally clueless on their future, leads to only one direction- destruction. Isolate the agitation leaders and educate and encourage them to enter mainstream politics. It's very easy to convince how much your village and state mean to you once you leave it behind just for a few days. the Army under Op Sadbhavana built roads, laid water pipes and run schools on the Line of Control, near Bhimber Galli for example, that educate thousands of students- that very army should go back to its primary task of training and preparing itself for the defence of the nation and not policing a task that the police are being made to fail at.
The GOI needs to undertake this two pronged approach before that land throws up yet another generation that has no idea what it's elders are leaving behind.
My discussions on this topic have continued with men in uniform belonging to both the CPOs, as the Armed Forces and and also the civilians of the state even after my return. And here is my view.
The Army was a saviour as recently as the weekend of 7th April (when it snowed in the Valley and flooded the Poonch River) and a villain no sooner than 10 days later, seen strapping a civilian to a jeep, so reminiscent of how the Israelis treat stone pelters in the Occupied Territories.
On the other hand, the CPOs continue their utterly hapless task while the civilians led by their leaders continue on a path that cannot lead anywhere but to condemn yet another generation to violence.
Two news reports prompted me to finally snap out an sense of detachment or numbness, and pen what I feel are the first steps towards betterment in that state, so beautiful with it's mustard yellow bloom and yet so noisy with the sound of stones reverberating off the tin of the hapless uniformed mens vehicles.
One- Ageless photos of stone pelters have lost meaning and the Centre or State leadership should give a clear set of instructions to the men of the CPOs. I really wonder what instructions are issued to the men inside the vehicles seen below? They sit there and get stoned or they run in the streets only to get slapped or abused, with no instructions-atleast that's what it looks like to everyone down in 95% of India that watches TV every night.
We await a disaster with Constable Hanumantappa of the CRPF from Bidar, Karnataka worrying about the failed IVF treatment and his inability to bear children or some BSF Havaldar Surjit from Fazilka, Punjab worrying about his sons being on drugs and beating their mother, his wife for money- these guys, surrounded by these mostly hired stone pelters in Anantnag, to snap and open fire and trust me before he can be overpowered by his own men, they can kill or maim atleast 30, if not more of the protestors.
That will be the spark that will consume the state and cause the situation to spiral out into a full blown civil war scenario.
To protect the sanity and the morale of these boys - they need instructions- whatever they may be from returning to barracks or to surrounding villages and containing the stone pelters to some local geographical boundaries.
Second- over the last 3 days, the IB and it's electronic intelligence wing rounded up close to 300 WhatsApp group Admins and 'counselled' them and deleted these groups- fantastic I say. Now here is what you do with this situation. That itself meant that some 75000 youth were instantly taken off the coordinated attacks grid. They will surely rebuild- but atleast we know what to do .
Sequester these Admins and fly them to Conferences as state guests to Vellore or Kalaikonda and keep them for 2 weeks for an education on how they should enter mainstream politics and to cease and desist from violence. As bad as it sounds- this is the only practical manner to dissuade them from their current path. The Port Blair jail was used rather effectively by the British... Let's use Vellore for a conference, sounds easier and less harsh. Return them unharmed and untouched, use isolation as very rude prod to behaving and capitulate, and become good leaders.
The local Kashmiri has to realise that like the LTTE tried for decades to browbeat a state into giving the Tamils Independence, all it needed was a firm and merciless hand at the helm of the state to bring down a brutal hand and crush them. Unfortunately the ego of the rest of the country will want that to happen sooner or later as the remaining States are being fed a steady diet of it's CPO men being pelted, slapped and abused. One day this populace will demand the firm hand.
In summary-
A constabulary without any clue of it's role. The seething anger of the majority of India's population at their manhandling, and the locals equally clueless on their future, leads to only one direction- destruction. Isolate the agitation leaders and educate and encourage them to enter mainstream politics. It's very easy to convince how much your village and state mean to you once you leave it behind just for a few days. the Army under Op Sadbhavana built roads, laid water pipes and run schools on the Line of Control, near Bhimber Galli for example, that educate thousands of students- that very army should go back to its primary task of training and preparing itself for the defence of the nation and not policing a task that the police are being made to fail at.
The GOI needs to undertake this two pronged approach before that land throws up yet another generation that has no idea what it's elders are leaving behind.
