Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, June 17

Security forces are gearing up for a major offensive against the militants after the Centre formally called off the month-long Ramzan ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir.Formal orders have been issued by the Central government to the security forces in the counter-insurgency grid to resume anti-militancy operations across Jammu and Kashmir.Soon after the directions, Inspector General of the CRPF, Srinagar sector, Ravideep Sahi, said they had started the area domination exercise. “The area domination operation has already started. As soon as we get information about militant presence, we will launch an operation,” he said.Earlier today, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had tweeted: “Security forces are being directed to take all necessary actions as earlier to prevent terrorists from launching attacks and indulging in violence and killings. The government will continue with its endeavour to create an environment free of terror and violence in Jammu and Kashmir.”After the unilateral ceasefire was announced on May 16, militants had made their intentions clear. During the entire month of Ramzan that ended on Friday, at least nine security men were killed. While the anti-militancy operations were halted by the forces, the counter-infiltration operations continued during Ramzan that left 24 militants dead.Security sources said the cordon and search operations (CASOs), which had been the backbone of anti-militancy operations in security circles, would resume whenever they get an input about militant presence.”Till this evening, no CASO had been launched, but we will launch operations on specific inputs,” a south Kashmir-based senior Army officer said. South Kashmir witnessed several militant attacks during the Ramzan month.State police chief Shesh Paul Vaid said the forces would carry out operations on the same pattern as they did before Ramzan.Combing operation begins in Baramulla After calling off the unilateral ceasefire, security forces launched the first anti-militancy operation in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district. Sources said after an input about the presence of militants at Mughalpora in Tangmarg, joint teams of the Army’s 29 Rashtriya Rifles and the J&K Police launched a cordon-and-search operation (CASO) in the area. “We have launched the CASO in the area,” police sources said. No, anti-militancy operation was carried by the forces during Ramzan

Srinagar, June 14

Two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel went beyond their call of duty and broke their Ramzan fast to donate blood to a woman suffering from cancer as part of the forces’ ‘Madadgaar’ initiative for locals of the Kashmir valley.Officials said the CRPF’s Madadgaar helpline received a call a few days back from Kishtwar resident Anil Singh, seeking help to obtain blood units for his sister Pooja Devi, who is suffering from leukaemia.The requirement of the Singh family was six units and they said that while they had arranged for two bottles of blood from their family members, they were still looking for four units, a senior official said.Four men of the CRPF posted in Srinagar, Sub-inspector Sanjay Paswan and Constables Ramnivas, Mudasir Rasool Bhat and Mohammed Aslam Mir volunteered for the blood donation. Bhat and Mir, who are observing Ramzan fast, broke their fast and donated blood, he said.All four personnel went to the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences on Wednesday where a woman was admitted for treatment, he said. — PTI

The soldier is identified as Aurangzeb of the 44 Rashtriya Rifles (RR).

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, June 14

An Army man was reportedly kidnapped by militants in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Thursday.

The soldier, identified as Aurangzeb of the 44 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), was travelling to Rajouri district when the militants stopped his vehicle in Kalampora area and kidnapped him. The soldier is a resident of Poonch district.

Meanwhile, Army sources in New Delhi said they were already “taking action” to locate and rescue the jawan.

“The information of one jawan of 44 Rashtriya Rifles who was proceeding on leave having been abducted has come in. Action is being ensured to locate the person and get him,” a source said.

The abduction comes on a day when Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is discussing whether to extend or call off the Ramadan ceasefire that is due to end on Friday.

He was kidnapped around 2 km from the camp where he was posted. With Agencies 

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 11

In a huge relief for pilgrims, flights to Hemkund Sahib resumed from Ghangaria (Chamoli) from Monday.Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) decided to extend the services of private companies Deccan Airlines and Indo Copter till such time new tenders are not awarded. “We have decided to continue with the services of existing companies in the interest of pilgrims as they were facing a lot of inconvenience,” said Rajesh Kumar, Additional Secretary, Department of Civil Aviation.The heli service has been proving to be a boon for pilgrims who do not want to take up the arduous trek due to health reasons. “The 10-minute flight from the base camp at Govind Ghat is most sought after among the elderly,” said Rajesh Kumar.

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 25

Sikh shrine of Hemkund Sahib in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand opened after winter break amidst presence of 8,000 pilgrims on FridayThe proceedings started with the Sukhmani Path following opening of the portal. The portals were opened at 10 am which was followed by ‘ardas’. Many pilgrims took the holy dip in the ice cold water of the lake. The Hemkund is linked to the 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh.Hemkund Sahib Management Trust vice-president Narendrajeet Singh Bindra said that it was after many years that such a large number of pilgrims had come to witness the opening of portals of Hemkund Shrine. The Lokpal temple in close vicinity was also opened for pilgrims at around 9 am after long winter break. With the opening of portals of Hemkund, Char dham yatra in Uttarakhand has gained momentum.

HOLY DIP

New York, May 20

The New York Police Department has got its first female turbaned Sikh auxiliary police officer, whose induction aims to motivate others to join law enforcement and help create better understanding of Sikhism.   Gursoach Kaur will join the New York Police Department as an Auxiliary Police Officer (APO) after graduating last week from the New York City Police Academy.”We are proud to welcome first Sikh turbaned female Auxiliary Police Officer in the New York Police Department. APO Gursoach Kaur and other Auxiliary Police Officers graduated from the academy. We are proud of you. Stay safe. #sikhsinlawenforcement,” the Sikh Officers Association tweeted.The association said in a Facebook post that it is “proud” to welcome Kaur to the Police Department.”Your service will be a motivation for others to join the Law enforcement Family,” it said.The association is the nation’s first organisation to represent Sikh Officers in Law Enforcement.  Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri also tweeted about Kaur, expressing hope that a turbaned lady officer will help create better understanding of Sikhism in the US.”Delighted to see a turbaned lady officer in NYPD. Hope this fosters better understanding of Sikhism and Sikhs and corrects perceptions in the US so that incident which happened with me in 2010 and recently with Canada minister Navdeep Bains do not recur. Sikhs are ambassadors of harmony,” Puri tweeted.He was referring to the 2010 incident in which Puri, then Ambassador to the UN, was asked by airport officials to remove his turban during a security check at Houston Airport. When Puri refused to remove his turban, the officials made him wait for over half-an-hour in a ‘holding room’.The matter was resolved only after a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) official, accompanying Puri, intervened. India had lodged an official protest with US authorities over the incident.This month, Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Bains said he was asked to remove his turban at Detroit Metro Airport on his way back to Canada last year.Bains was returning to Toronto after meetings with Michigan state leaders in April 2017 and had already passed through regular security checks at the Detroit Metro Airport, but because he was wearing a turban, a security agent told him that he would have to undergo additional checks.”He told me to take off my turban. I asked him why I would have to take off my turban when the metal detector had worked properly,” the minister said in an interview with the French-language paper La Presse.New York Police commissioner James O’Neill had said in 2016 that there are about 160 Sikh officers serving in various ranks and he was looking to expand those numbers.In December 2016, the NYPD had said it will allow its Sikh officers to wear turbans and maintain beards, relaxing its uniform policy to promote inclusiveness and encourage the minority community members to join the force.Under the revised policy, officers from the Sikh faith were allowed to have beards that extend up to one-half inch from the face. The officers may also wear blue turbans ‘with a hat shield it affixed to it’ in place of the traditional police cap.”We’re making this change to make sure that we allow everybody in New York City that wants to apply and have the opportunity to work in the greatest police department in the nation, to make sure we give them that opportunity,” O’Neill had said while making the announcement after a police academy graduation ceremony. PTI

The Big Story: Big chief, small Centre

Chief of Army Staff General Bipin Rawat was in the news again on Thursday, with the headline on the front page of the Indian Expressdeclaring that the army chief believes there is a “need to tell youth azadi will never happen, you can’t fight us”. The interview itself stuck to this sentiment, with Rawat telling the youth of Jammu and Kashmir not to “get carried away unnecessarily”.

The interview was both revelatory and confounding.

For one, Rawat seems to acknowledge that the problem isn’t a military one. “I know that the youth are angry,” he says, adding that, “there isn’t a military solution to this issue.” He claims that he wants politicians, political representatives to go into villages, especially in South Kashmir, to talk to people.

And, most intriguingly, he touched on the demand also made at an all-party meeting in Jammu & Kashmir for an internal security ceasefire, considering the month of Ramzan as well as the Amarnath Yatra is coming up. Rawat said he is “ready to suspend” military operations, but followed that by asking, “who will guarantee that there won’t be fire at our men, at our vehicles? Who will guarantee that policemen, political workers, our men returning home on leave aren’t attacked, aren’t killed?”

Yet, despite this seeming awareness of the political nature of the problem, the army chief went on to make some remarks that betrayed an unhelpful belligerence. The azadi remark for example is both a given – obviously, the Indian Army’s position is going to be against any demand for secession – but also unnecessary, considering any political solution will have to acknowledge the demands for azadi. Similarly, Rawat’s decision to say that his forces have not been so brutal, compared to Syria and Pakistan where “they use tanks and air power” offers little consolation to the many who have lost their lives in Kashmir, and also comes off as a threat.

Rawat acknowledged that something changed after the Hizbul’s Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter in June 2016, and even says, “I am still trying to understand where did all that anger come from”, but he follows that up with a simplistic conclusion, saying “the youth have gotten themselves in Pakistan’s trap. They are being consistently incited to attack us.”

It is possible to argue that Rawat would have to say this, because it reflects what is the position of the Indian Army, not the political establishment. But that brings up the question, why is Rawat speaking at all? At a time when politicians are attempting to find a way through the complete mess that has been the Jammu and Kasmir policy of the last few years, both for state and Centre, why is the Army Chief the one making remarks that are inevitable going to seem provocative for people on the ground.

Rawat has made some truly troublesome statements in the past as well, but after a point it stops becoming a question of what he is saying, and instead one of why he is saying those things. Undoubtedly, Rawat would not have spoken without the Centre’s go-ahead, which leads to the obvious conclusion that the political leadership in New Delhi simply does not have a political answer to this question, and so they would rather have it that the army talk of tanks and air power than try and figure out why people in the Valley have become so angry. In that way, Rawat’s interview might actually end up telling us very little about the Army Chief, and much more about the political leadership that appointed him and now seems to hide behind his uniform.

The Big Scroll:

• “Cold-blooded murder”: Kashmir’s tourism industry is on edge after visitor dies in stone pelting, reports Rayan Naqash.
• View from the Kashmir Observer: Why do people sacrifice their lives to save militants?
• Why Army Chief Rawat’s comments about Assam party should worry all Indians who care about democracy, writes Shoaib Daniyal.