Seeds of Kashmiri youth’s alienation lie in graveyards

September 2018

Tikpora Lolab (Kashmir): It was on October 11 that her brother was killed during a gunfight with the security forces. Her tears have since dried up, but the flow of mourners continue unabated in their house in the beautiful Lolab Valley of Kashmir. Asimah is trying to come to terms with the death of her brother Manan Wani, but she keeps saying one thing: “It (joining militancy) was so sudden that we did not realise it. We knew when he picked up gun that he will kill someone or get killed.”

The despondence in Asimah’s voice is also palpable in Manan Wani’s father – Bashir Ahmed Wani, a lecturer at a college in nearby Sogam area. Sitting stoically as mourners continue to pour in from across Kashmir, Bashir exhorts the politicians to find a solution to wrest the growing trend of youth picking up guns. “I am not a politician. I cannot tell why children are picking up gun. It is for the politicians to find a solution,” Bashir said.

Manan Wani has shocked people across cross-sections of Kashmir conundrum for leaving behind an illustrious life that waited for him and picking up guns. But, the story emerging from the profiles of recent militants killed at the hands of security forces is a sordid one. In these stories parents are rendered helpless in stemming the growing number of youngsters opting for militancy to push back the high-handedness of security forces. Similar disbelief is writ large on the face of the father of Ashiq Hussain Zargar, the 23-year-old joined Hizbul Mujahideen and was killed along with Manan Wani. Ashiq was the sole bread winner of his family.

After Burhan Wani’s death, everyone in Kashmir had come out on streets and pelted stones. The state police responded by invoking the Public Safety Act (PSA) – 1978, which allows preventive detention of people against whom there is no criminal track record.  Hundreds of people, including juveniles, have been jailed on administrative orders of the deputy commissioners following the death of Hizbul Mujahideen Commander Burhan Wani. Those detained were treated like hardened criminals and children as young as 15-year-old were put alongside criminals. “Everyone had pelted stone after Burhan Wani’s death. What police did was to slap PSA against the young. Many a times the police men would ask Ashiq to come. He was scared that he would be tortured, so he ran away,” said Ashiq’s younger brother Firdaus, his eyes emotionless. Ashiq had been missing for 5 months and they had filed a missing person report.

Harangued parents have run pillar to post to locate their children arrested under PSA. From 2016-February 2018, 1,150 people were detained under PSA. As many as 55-60 per cent of the detainees were in the age group of 15-28 years. Under PSA there is no trial as all detainees are considered guilty. Sometimes, even if the parents manage to get the PSA order quashed against their child quashed, the police immediately gets another detention order against them. Under the Section 8 (ii) of the Act, a person can be detained for up to 2 years from the date of offence, if the offence is prejudicial to the security of the state.   

“PSA is being used to target the youth. And the no-talks stand of the Centre is increasing militancy. Most militancy recruitment are successful due to trust deficit in the youth,” says Waheed Ur Rehman Para, the youth president and Spokesperson of Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The narrative of ‘dignity in death’ among the youngsters has gained traction and is reflected in the spike in number of militants in the valley from the all-time low of 78 in 2013 to nearly 360 in 2018. The number has increased even as the security forces have killed around 170 terrorists/infiltrators since January 1, 2018.

“The government needs to understand that the seeds of the youth’s alienation are in the graveyards. Today, the killings of the ‘militants’ have been incentivised over surrender,” Para added. The 30-year-old politician from Pulwama has been in the forefront of sports movement in the valley to help the enraged youth channelize their energy. He has also survived an assassination attempt in August this year.

The stand-off between the youngsters and security forces have been evident during the funeral of Manan Wani. As the news of his “encounter” – as the killing by security forces are called in the valley- spread thousands of youth from all parts of the valley converged in his village. The police fearing a repeat of Burhan Wani, blocked the roads to Tikpora and detained many of them under PSA. The bail amount asked was Rs. 30,000. Many harried parents, barely able to contain their tears, have been meeting local politicians to get their children freed even after two weeks. These funeral processions in reality have become the recruitment advertisements for militancy.

The arbitrariness and the perpetual continuity of the PSA has resulted in many youngsters going in hiding. “There are children in the village would go and stay with their relatives, and only dare to return to their homes during night,” Ashiq’s brother Firdaus said. With 63 per cent of Kashmir’s population under the age of 30 and 70 per cent below the age of 35, the elderlies are finding it difficult to mitigate their sense of frustration and alienation with the system.

Bashir Wani summed up the fear and frustration of parents in Kashmir by saying: “I have been working hard all my life hoping that Manan would grow up and do something for the society. The path that he chose for himself has caused me immense pain. It is for all of us (society and the state) to find out why our children are becoming violent.” 

(This piece was written during my last visit to Kashmir in September 2018.)

Terrorism at sea is a reality: Navy Chief

On Laskar-e-Toiba activating its sea wing as revealed by Abu Jundal, Indian Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma said: "We had always assumed this will happen. We have already factored in this in our training." 

 

"It is imperative that we recognize the new challenges emerging out of the prevalent uncertain environment and adopt a strategy to address the changing nature of conflict. Besides conventional challenges and geopolitical forces, terrorism from the sea and terrorism at sea are now realities of our times.  In our external environment one of our core concerns is the coalescing of the ‘State’ with ‘non-State’ entities; both of which, individually, in collaboration or as hybrid create a high degree of uncertainty.  Our maritime strategy intends to ensure that there is no schism between the challenges that we face and our capabilities to respond to them. There will always remain uncertainties and adversaries but on our part it is intended to ensure that the levels of asymmetry are never such that they encourage adventurism. 

US woos India to get larger share in defence market

After its new military strategy for Asia-Pacific was received with apprehensions in India, the US on Monday went all out to woo New Delhi to step up bilateral defence trade and cooperation.

US Deputy Defense Secretary Dr Ashton Carter, who was visiting India as a point person of US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, underlined the US commitment for Indian military’s modernization and pitched New Delhi to purchase highest quality military equipment from Washington.

“As a country committed to enduring peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region, India deserves the best military equipment available. And we are prepared to help. We want to be India’s highest-quality and most trusted long-term supplier of technology in such fields as maritime domain awareness, counter terrorism and many others,” Carter said at the function of Confederation of Indian Industries (CII).  

Without naming Russia that has been one of the biggest co-developer of India in various military projects, the US also offered to step up military ties between the two countries to cooperation with joint ventures in important projects. “We can conduct research and co-develop technologies together – like batteries and micro UAVs – good initial steps, with much more to come,” said Carter.

In the last ten years, the Indo-US defence trade has been worth $ 10 billion and in 2011 only India has purchased military equipments worth more than $ 4.5 billion. Carter, in fact, added that government to government purchases from the US is in India’s strategic and commercial interests.

Sidestepping the controversial issues of the US continuing aid to Pakistan and it propping India as a counter to China in the region, Carter contended that the US strategy to deploy 60 percent of its military assets in the Asia-Pacific region by 2020 has nothing to do with China’s rise. “Our re-balance is not about China or the United States or India or any other single country or group of countries: It is about a peaceful Asia-Pacific region, where sovereign states can enjoy the benefits of security and continue to prosper,” Carter added.

In a bid to woo Indian defence establishment further, Carter said that the US is addressing India’s concerns on the US Export Controls and Technology security policies. Trying to mollify the Indian defence establishment that alleged that the removal of DRDO and ISRO off the Commerce Department Entity List was merely on papers, Carter said: “We have an export control system to prevent high-end technology from getting to states that should not have it, but our system can be confusing, rigid and controls too many items for the wrong reasons. We know we need to improve it.”

MHA's evaluation of OFB produced automatic assault rifles complete

The Automatic Assault Rifle manufactured by Ordnance Factor, Tiruchirapalli has reached the trial stage. Dubbed as an alternative to Kalashnikov AK-47, in vogue with the Indian Army's special and counter-insurgency forces, the 7.62 mm home-developed automatic assault rifle has been evaluated by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the weapon is being prepared for "extensive user trials" - in this case the State Police Forces.

The State Police Forces intends to use it for countering insurgency operations.

India to shore up military ties with Afghanistan

Gearing up for 2014 when the US Army withdraws last of its troops from Afghanistan, India has decided to shore up its military engagement with the terrorists-ravaged country by an enhanced training of its next generation military officers and also increasing number of its military personnel posted their for training purposes.

As per this enhanced military cooperation, the number of Indian soldiers in Afghanistan is set to increase and so is the number of Afghanistan cadets being trained in Indian Military Academy (IMA) in Dehradun and National Defence Academy (NDA) in Pune. This programme is the first concrete step after the signing of the Strategic Partnership Agreement signed between Kabul and New Delhi in October 2011. Under the agreement, India, with the world’s third-largest army, had agreed to train, equip and build the capacity of the Afghan National Army, which is presently an infantry specific force.

 Pics of football team of young Afghan girls and boys. The girls were playing in India for the first time. (Photos by Ritu Sharma)

According to well-placed sources, “With Afghanistan we have a strategic partnership and now we are becoming the number one country outside NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) to train the Afghan Army and sign the defence cooperation pact with Kabul. The idea is to target their next generation human capital.”

It has been a “conscious decision” on the part of the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Defence to train the Afghani forces to allow them “to fend for themselves”.

The Afghanistan Army had started sending its troops for training in India in 2005. Since then every year around 250 cadets are being given pre-commissioning training at the premier military institutions like the NDA and the IMA. “Approval has come to increase the vacancy for Afghani troops to about a 1000 cadets per year. It is likely to be achieved by 2014,” sources added.

Also the Indian Army, with its expertise of counter insurgency and counter-terrorism for the last five decades, will be imparting the training to the Afghan troops in this arena as well. Also senior level officers are likely to be provided focused training at three specialized institutions in India: The Commando School in Belgaum in south India, The Counter-insurgency and Jungle Warfare (CIJW) School in Mizoram, in northeast of India, and The High Altitude Warfare School in Sonamarg, Kashmir.

Couple with this, India has deployed its training and medical teams from the Army to train their counterparts in the strife-torn country. Following the strategic cooperation agreement, the number of Indian troops in the country is also set to go up. “Our cooperation with Afghanistan is based on medical training, military training and giving of non-lethal equipment and this is surely going to go up in terms of numbers,” the sources added.

Afghanistan has also sought weapons from India and the proposal for the same is presently under consideration of the MEA and the Defence Ministry. India’s increasing involvement in Afghanistan is resented by Pakistan which fears that the foothold might be utilized by New Delhi to squeeze Islamabad on the Western Front.

The US has decided to pull out its last troop from the Afghani soil by 2014. For India, its military presence in Afghanistan would give it some strategic depth against Pakistan. Since the US forces attacking Taliban in Afghanistan, India has ruled out sending any troops in Kabul for fighting with the international coalition forces. Instead it has been providing Afghanistan with soft assistance in terms of road-construction, education and medical aid as mandated by United Nations.

Israeli Embassy car blast- India in Catch-22 situation

New Delhi, Feb 15: The explosion in the Israeli Embassy car and the ensuing war of allegations between the two arch enemies – Israel and Iran – has put India in a precarious situation whereby the circumstances might force it to choose between either its key energy supplier or important defence partner.

Israel and Iran – the all time foes, who incidentally share good relations with India – are fighting their war in India’s backyard now. Immediately after the blast that left the wife of an Israeli diplomat critically injured, the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pointed fingers at Iran for abetting the terrorist strike.

India so far has refused to take the bait and is treading with utmost caution to not to get involved in the crossfire between the two countries. Sources said that India has sought details from Georgia and Bangkok of the recent blasts which Israel feels are interlinked.

India has given Israeli intelligence agency Mossad’s team to come and carry out probe into the blast, however, it has refused to carry out raids at the house of an Iranian diplomat, suspected by Tel Aviv to have been involved in the blast.

The attack has exposed the chinks in India’s security armour against terrorism as the bomb ripped through the car just 500 metres away from the Prime Minister’s residence without the Indian intelligence agencies having a whiff of it. So far the sleuths have been walking down a dark alley in search of clues. The Indian authorities are maintaining that the investigation so far has not unraveled links of any country with the act.

“This is a delicate situation from India’s point of view as it cannot afford to take sides with one country and yet it needs to bring the perpetrators of the terrorist act to book or else it will be seen as a soft ground to fight other countries war,” sources said.

Oil-rich Iran is crucial for meeting India’s growing energy requirements. The Indo-Iran economic ties received a shot in the arm recently after India worked out a mechanism to pay Iran in Rupees for increasing crude oil import. For 2010-11, India’s total trade with Iran was equal to $13.67 billion, which included imports worth $10.92 billion and exports worth $2.74 billion.

On the other hand, Israel has soared to figure in the top three defence exporters to India. In the last four years, the Jerusalem state has supplied crucial weapons and platforms including Air-borne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS) and crucial missile technology in the Long-Range Surface to Air Missiles (LRSAMs).

India’s problem stems from the fact that Iran is yet to recognize Israel as a sovereign state and Tel Aviv in turn has been opposing Tehran’s nuclear programme. In fact speculations are rife that Israel is covertly planning to bomb Iran’s nuclear development sites.

Even as the verbal onslaught is continuing between the two countries, Israeli Ambassador Alon Usphiz met External Affairs Minister SM Krishna on Wednesday evening to discuss the progress in the investigations so far.

Post themeeting Usphiz said : “The meeting was a very good one. It is just another shining example of support, friendship and intimacy that we have been lucky to be exposed to in the last 48 hours since this very saddening vicious terrorist attack on one of our people took place here in the heart of New Delhi.” Both the parties refused to comment on what transpired in the meeting.

Meanwhile, Iran on Wednesday said that it was looking towards India to verify the reality behind the attack.

“We are not accepting or denying this,” Iranian Ambassador to India Mehdi Nabizadeh said in response to allegations levelled by Israel.

Nabizadeh said: “We hope that India verifies the case to know the real position. Till now their final reaction has not come. We hope it will come.”