Ever since Omar Abdullah tweeted photographs and video of an Army Convoy using an apprehended stone -pelter as a human-shield,many so called human right activist have been venting out their anger on social media and News channel debates.It has now come in the open that the company commander -Major Gogoi had to rush to a polling station after receiving call from ITBP &local Police.They were surrounded by a mob who was about to lynch them.
Despite being in such an extreme pressure situation,Major Gogoi kept his nerve and with intention to avoid killing the stone-pelters who were baying for his and his troops blood,he took the decision to use one of the stone-pelter as a human shield.
Instead of commending Major Gogoi,people like Omar Abdullah are raising hue and cry over the tactics employed by the Major.
People like Omar Abdullah live under the blanket of freedom provided by Indian Army.Instead of being greateful to IA,these people question the manner in which IA provides it.
Garrisoned in a hostile environment far from home,our troops give their prime years in the security of our nation and when they retire they are labelled as a burden on exchequer and denied their rightful pension due,this despite Army personnel start retiring at the age of 33.
When it comes to our country,there are many Omar Abdullah's,who want Army to maintain law and order but when the same Army use strong arm tactics they are the first one to protest.
Many veterans who served in J&K during it's worst years have been voicing this human shield incident as wrong on the part of Major Gogoi.Their line of arguement is-by employing strong arm tactics against stone pelters we are playing right into the hands of seperatist and their masters across the LOC. To some extent this may be true but this is easier said than done.Employing too much restraint has it's negative impact also.The mob becomes more belligerent and will get more emboldened like what happened last week when one of the protester slapped a CRPF jawan.Such incidents brings down the moral of the troops.
Some Veterans may say that incidents like using human shield negates the goodwill reated by ARMY through it's people engagement programmes such as Operation Sadbhavna which 2 years ago established 46 schools in Kashmir.Also,in the past 5 years more than 7,800 youths of Jammu and Kashmir have embarked on educational and national integration tours sponsored by the army.These trips are aimed at providing them exposure to the development in the other parts of India, the new educational opportunities, other cultures and religious sites that demonstrate the secular character of the county, India's constitutional institutions and heritage sites.Operation Sadbhavana is not only a tactical or strategic maneuver of the army but it was also a resolve by men in uniform to come closer to the populace and develop a bond of mutual faith and trust which a soldier enjoys across the country.
Winning Hearts and Minds” (WHAM) activities had an impact in influencing a hostile populace to a more neutral position. The concept emerged during the early years of the insurgency in the Northeast, when units deployed in those areas undertook small scale civic action programmes such as holding medical camps and providing basic goods in remote areas. The small gains manifested into bigger employment of resources by the Army as the protracted insurgency had led to a complete breakdown of government machinery and people were denied basic facilities in terms of health care and education. The Army’s presence and assistance thus had a positive impact on the minds of the local population.
Though such programmes made the difference in North-East ,it is unlikely to help end the bloodbath in J&K.There are many reason for this.
People like Dr Farooq Abdullah often tells on TV,peace in Kashmir can never be achieved withouth talks and composite dialogues with Pakistan.Though 2003 ceasefire between India and Pakistan and gradual thaw in bilateral relations further brought down both the violence and the infiltration levels. But once the talks collapsed in 2007, a new form of resistance — mass protests and stone-pelting — emerged.And it will never end if we don't deal with Pakistan,the way we should deal with it.
People like Dr Farooq Abdullah and many other Indians don't realise,the reason Pakistan sponsors terrorism in Kashmir is to avenge it's humiliation of 1971.They started with Punjab and when we effectively supressed the Punjab Problem,they shifted it north to Kashmir.
The reason Army's people engagement program won't work in J&K because young Kashmiris are being fed on a diet of blood and shahadat.They have been emboldened by the lack of resolve of any government in Delhi to tackle -Pakistan.The bitterness in Local population is driven by purely driven by primordial religious difference.From nearly a quarter century the valley has been ethnically cleansed of its minority Hindus.Such people who kill innocents in the name of religion can never stop their gruesome crimes howsoever well executed programmes such as Operation Sadbhavna will be.
Such people can never be won over.
In any town,village or city if people should have any fear.It should be fear of the law.When the local population itself turns into goons,the forces will have to take unconventional steps.And that's what Major Gogoi did.
Despite being in such an extreme pressure situation,Major Gogoi kept his nerve and with intention to avoid killing the stone-pelters who were baying for his and his troops blood,he took the decision to use one of the stone-pelter as a human shield.
Instead of commending Major Gogoi,people like Omar Abdullah are raising hue and cry over the tactics employed by the Major.
People like Omar Abdullah live under the blanket of freedom provided by Indian Army.Instead of being greateful to IA,these people question the manner in which IA provides it.
Garrisoned in a hostile environment far from home,our troops give their prime years in the security of our nation and when they retire they are labelled as a burden on exchequer and denied their rightful pension due,this despite Army personnel start retiring at the age of 33.
When it comes to our country,there are many Omar Abdullah's,who want Army to maintain law and order but when the same Army use strong arm tactics they are the first one to protest.
Many veterans who served in J&K during it's worst years have been voicing this human shield incident as wrong on the part of Major Gogoi.Their line of arguement is-by employing strong arm tactics against stone pelters we are playing right into the hands of seperatist and their masters across the LOC. To some extent this may be true but this is easier said than done.Employing too much restraint has it's negative impact also.The mob becomes more belligerent and will get more emboldened like what happened last week when one of the protester slapped a CRPF jawan.Such incidents brings down the moral of the troops.
Some Veterans may say that incidents like using human shield negates the goodwill reated by ARMY through it's people engagement programmes such as Operation Sadbhavna which 2 years ago established 46 schools in Kashmir.Also,in the past 5 years more than 7,800 youths of Jammu and Kashmir have embarked on educational and national integration tours sponsored by the army.These trips are aimed at providing them exposure to the development in the other parts of India, the new educational opportunities, other cultures and religious sites that demonstrate the secular character of the county, India's constitutional institutions and heritage sites.Operation Sadbhavana is not only a tactical or strategic maneuver of the army but it was also a resolve by men in uniform to come closer to the populace and develop a bond of mutual faith and trust which a soldier enjoys across the country.
Winning Hearts and Minds” (WHAM) activities had an impact in influencing a hostile populace to a more neutral position. The concept emerged during the early years of the insurgency in the Northeast, when units deployed in those areas undertook small scale civic action programmes such as holding medical camps and providing basic goods in remote areas. The small gains manifested into bigger employment of resources by the Army as the protracted insurgency had led to a complete breakdown of government machinery and people were denied basic facilities in terms of health care and education. The Army’s presence and assistance thus had a positive impact on the minds of the local population.
Though such programmes made the difference in North-East ,it is unlikely to help end the bloodbath in J&K.There are many reason for this.
People like Dr Farooq Abdullah often tells on TV,peace in Kashmir can never be achieved withouth talks and composite dialogues with Pakistan.Though 2003 ceasefire between India and Pakistan and gradual thaw in bilateral relations further brought down both the violence and the infiltration levels. But once the talks collapsed in 2007, a new form of resistance — mass protests and stone-pelting — emerged.And it will never end if we don't deal with Pakistan,the way we should deal with it.
People like Dr Farooq Abdullah and many other Indians don't realise,the reason Pakistan sponsors terrorism in Kashmir is to avenge it's humiliation of 1971.They started with Punjab and when we effectively supressed the Punjab Problem,they shifted it north to Kashmir.
The reason Army's people engagement program won't work in J&K because young Kashmiris are being fed on a diet of blood and shahadat.They have been emboldened by the lack of resolve of any government in Delhi to tackle -Pakistan.The bitterness in Local population is driven by purely driven by primordial religious difference.From nearly a quarter century the valley has been ethnically cleansed of its minority Hindus.Such people who kill innocents in the name of religion can never stop their gruesome crimes howsoever well executed programmes such as Operation Sadbhavna will be.
Such people can never be won over.
In any town,village or city if people should have any fear.It should be fear of the law.When the local population itself turns into goons,the forces will have to take unconventional steps.And that's what Major Gogoi did.
