NEW DELHI: Another terrorist attack and three more brave soldiers have been lost in a futile battle. On April 27, fidayeen struck early morning, as is their trademark, at an army camp in Kupwara. In Jammu & Kashmir, the soldiers have to fight not just the enemy but also their overground workers, euphemistically called ‘stone-pelters’/ ‘misguided youth’, who hamper the operations relentlessly, without fail every time!
Why do we allow these attacks to happen, the modus operandi is eerily similar and so predictable yet we seem to get caught unawares. What is the Government waiting for? Why aren’t these terrorists, whom the local correspondents lovingly call ‘militants’, being dealt with in the way they deserve? The security forces, especially the army, must be given more powers. Restraint is for civilians not terrorists and their agents! Terrorism is a global problem and no country wastes its time in ‘niceties’ any more.
So many bright lives snuffed out before time, their photographs flashed during noisy TV and Twitter debates only to be forgotten till the next ambush! Listen to what Captain Ayush Yadav’s father said, he has lost faith in the Government, much like we have! If soldiers continue to die with this kind of frequency followed by the same lip-sevice from the Government, a time will come when soldiers might well refuse to get posted to this State.
Hostile conditions, an abusive and ungrateful populace, curtailed powers and lack of incentives cannot sustain even the most loyal set of men. It is ironical that while terror-supporters get away with violent acts benevolently dismissed as ‘stone-pelting incidents’, the soldiers who serve the country are hauled up for every action that doesn’t ‘suit’ the sensibility of the long-distance critics!
The Centre must make it’s choice, it’s time to stop running with the hares and hunting with the hounds! If the soldiers have been entrusted the task of guarding Kashmir, the Government and the country must stand by their actions and value their lives. No point in expressing shock at the subversive acts one day and dismissing them as the ‘misguided actions of innocent youths’ the next day. The anti-establishment Gang of journalists, activists and politicians cannot be allowed to play ‘enemy’ every time a brave army man puts his life in danger to protect India. Perhaps it’s high-time we imposed a ‘code of ethics’ on these sold-out ‘intellectuals’? Look at how our journalists cock a snook at the Internet ban imposed on J&K, without caring a fig for national security or solidarity with the army: “For all my Kashmiri friends/followers–want to know whats life like without internet –send me short 30 sec video blogs n I’ll play at 7 pm RT” — a tweet by @sunetrac (sunetra choudhury).
Is it just ‘ideology’ or is there a more sinister motive behind this blatant agenda to tear asunder an integral part of the nation? Do these ‘atheist’ hypocrites, who swear by ‘human rights’ and ‘fair play’, even realise that the ‘azadi’ they claim to support is a mere smokescreen for a plan to establish Islamism in the Valley? Do they ever stop to think that those who scream about ‘oppression’ are themselves the worst kind of oppressors and usurpers themselves?
Each passing day makes it clear that the time is ripe for imposing Governor’s rule in the State. The security forces must be given more powers and media not given a free run of the place, for at least six months. That, is the only way to salvage the situation, otherwise this saga of journalists painting a picture of stone-pelting viragos who ‘actually yearn to bend it like Beckham’ and terrorists who ‘turn out to be innocent sons of headmasters’, will soon drown out the purpose and cause for which so many of our valiant jawans have laid down and continue to sacrifice their lives!(The writer is Associate Professor, Delhi University. Views are personal).