Sanjha Morcha

KASHMIR NEEDS HOPE AND BELIEF THAT INDIA WILL SOLVE ITS ISSUES’

 

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Retd army general who served in J&K urges for greater use of ‘soft power’ in the Valley and reiterates the need to engage with the people and change how they perceive India

As debate rages over the death of five protesters in the Kashmiri town of Handwara, Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain feels that the army needs to ease up on using its power arbitrarily against citizens.

“The army need not come in contact with mobs in Kashmir. We need to use 80 per cent soft power and 20 per cent hard. Instead, we are doing the reverse,” Hasnain said, while speaking on ‘National Security and the Threat of Radicalisation — A perspective’ at Abasaheb Garware College on Sunday. The lecture was organised by Maharashtra Education Society and Akhil Bharatiya Poorva Sainik Seva Parishad, Pune.

Hasnain was handpicked as general officer commanding (corps commander) at the Srinagar- headquartered 15 Corps when Kashmir was rocked by the turbulent stone-throwing agitation in 2010. All military operations in the Valley are controlled by them and they are popularly known as the Chinar Corps. His approach had weakened the militants and created an atmosphere of hope in the Valley which saw a major increase in tourist traffic afterwards.

“During the beginning of militancy in 1989-90, it was necessary to use more hard power. But, things have changed now. The number of militants has come down to 250 from over 5,000 during the early 1990s. My experience shows that the army generates only 10 per cent intelligence, while the rest comes from the special operations group of the J&K police. The army should remain in the rural areas and the police and Central Reserve Police Force should deal with mobs,” the general said.

“Soft power involves the army penetrating the villages and helping people in various tasks to create a bridge with them, while ensuring that this approach is not misused by militants and hardliners. When I met the people of J&K, they would hand over small chits mentioning their problems. I found that there had been no effort to connect with the masses in the last 25 years. There is a need to create hope among Kashmiris and change their perception about India,” he further explained.

“Maoists use ideology while terrorist organisations like ISIS use religion to lure people. None of the Indian Muslims joined Al- Qaeda but there have been attempts by at least 27 to join ISIS,” stated the second generation army officer. Without naming Darul- Uloom, Deoband, one of the largest Islamic institutions in the world, Hasnain said, “The Saharanpur-based institution should come out against (Islamic) terrorism more often and not once in three years.”

He also believes that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence is trying to create problems using certain fault lines. “We need Indian nationalism and not subnationalism based on regions within the country. Anti-national elements use social media aggressively to create rifts which we should guard against,” he concluded.

█ We need Indian nationalism and not sub-nationalism based on regions within the country. Anti-national elements use social media aggressively to create rifts which we should guard against

– LT GEN (RETD) SYED ATA HASNAIN