Make Jammu and Kashmir a welfare state, say experts

At last, one serving Army officer has made bold to state the obvious truth on Kashmir.

In a keynote address, Lieutenant General Dr Prakash Menon admitted that the lack of good governance was the main reason behind the conflict in Kashmir and only by addressing this can the problem be resolved.

Lieutenant General Menon was speaking at a national seminar on Conflict in Kashmir: Challenges Ahead in Chennai on Monday.

He went on to state that it was important for the government to interpret the demands made by the Kashmiri youths for 'azadi' in the right context.

'Azadi is an iconic word for any protest in Kashmir - protest for even water and electricity - and not necessarily freedom from India. People want the basic needs. So we must address this issue,' he said. 'We need to meet the aspirations of the people of Kashmir.'

Stone-throwing warfare

Of late, Kashmiri youths have resorted to 'stone-throwing warfare'. Where is it springing from and whom is it directed at?

The experts termed it as part of a strategy of provocation: A protest is arranged, some people get killed by the police and the protest spirals beyond control.

But then how can these misguided youths be brought back into the mainstream?

Pondicherry University Vice-Chancellor JAK Tareen, who was earlier the Vice Chancellor of Kashmir University, said the trouble stemmed from Kashmiri youths not knowing what the rest of the country is really like.

They have grown up seeing the violence and the killings in their state, and have not heard about the opportunities available in the rest of India.

These youths must be made to study outside their state and the government should sponsor their expenses.

"Opportunity is the punch word for them. Send them to other parts of the country and achieve integration through education. Integrate the youths with the mainstream and make the separatists irrelevant," he said.

The unfinished work

All the speakers at the seminar had served in Kashmir in various capacities and had a clear sense of the real issues there.

They agreed that Kashmir remains an unfinished work in India's nation-building exercise and that the presence of numerous stakeholders makes the problem a complex one.

Kashmir is a prisoner of its own geography, formed as it as by the tri-junction of the borders of Pakistan, India and China.

The speakers agreed that Pakistan will never give up its interest in Kashmir, even if it hurts them internally and externally.

They said India must equip itself to prevent Pakistan from waging a proxy war against us.

However, it would be foolish for India to attack Pakistan and destroy that country, they warned.

In that event, India will be the sufferer: Our country will have to tackle the huge influx of refugees from across the border.

Instead, we have to find a pragmatic approach to solve the conflict in the state.

Intelligence-based operations

Major General Rajavelu, Deputy Commandant of the Officers Training Academy in Chennai, who had served in Kashmir for years, tried to dispel misconceptions about the anti-militancy operation in the state.

He claimed that the Army wasn't allowed to carry out such operations without proper intelligence inputs. This sealed off the chances of innocent people getting killed during the operations.

It was also to be noted that it was the Army that sent the first batch of (Kashmiri) youths to other states for education, he observed.

A welfare state

Other speakers listed the things the government should do to win back the trust of the Kashmiris.

They include rehabilitation of people affected by militancy, reconstruction of the state, education, employment generation, engaging with Hurriyat Conference, and selective and visible demilitarisation.

In short, make Jammu and Kashmir a welfare state. Then nobody in Kashmir would demand secession from India, they underlined.

A word of caution

The speakers warned about more terrorists targeting Kashmir in the near future.

Militancy in Kashmir started in 1989 when the Afghan war ended and Russian troops left that country.

History may repeat itself when the United States withdraws its troops from Afghanistan. Militants may infiltrate into Kashmir and expand the proxy war, they warned.

The country would be able counter this only by winning the trust of Kashmiris by making them feel they are part of India, they suggested.

Also see: Living on the edge in Kashmir | Unsung Heroes series -- The Ice Warriors

More articles by Salil Jose