Monthly Archives: August 2018

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 2

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The government on Friday said that besides the last week’s order to deploy additional 100 companies of Central Paramilitary Forces in Jammu & Kashmir, no more personnel are being moved to the state.

Clarifying the position of the government over the reports that additional 280 companies of security forces are in the process of being deployed in the Kashmir Valley, sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said it is reiterated that 100 companies had been ordered for deployment about a week ago, which are in the process of reaching their destinations. “This has apparently led to speculation of induction of additional forces,” a senior official said.

Sources said that based on the assessment of internal security situation, training requirements, the need for paramilitary troops to be rotated for rest and recuperation, “induction and de-induction of central forces is a continuous and dynamic process”.

They insisted that it had never been the practice to discuss in public domain the details of deployment and movement of paramilitary forces deployed in a particular theatre.

Media reports quoting sources in Srinagar on Friday suggested that over 280 companies of security forces are in the process of being deployed in the Kashmir Valley. They suggested that the forces, mostly CRPF personnel, are being deployed in vulnerable spots in Srinagar and other parts of the Valley, they said.

What “on going situation” in Kashmir would require the army AND the Air Force to be put on alert? This isn’t about 35A or delimitation. This sort of alert, if actually issued, would be about something very different. https://t.co/FTYG36F6aD

Srinagar, August 1

Over 280 companies of security forces are in the process of being deployed in the Kashmir valley, official sources said today.

The security forces, mostly CRPF personnel, are being deployed in vulnerable spots in the city and other parts of the Valley, they said.

However, no reason was given for the sudden deployment of over 280 companies (28,000 troops) late in the evening, the sources said.  All major entry and exit points of the city have been taken over by the Central Armed Paramilitary Forces (CAPFs) with a token presence of local police, they said. 

Officials said security has been withdrawn from some isolated shrines because of intelligence inputs that foreign terrorists are planning to target police guards there.

Summer vacation has been pre-poned at educational institutions and they will be closed for 10 days starting Thursday, they said.

Local residents have started panic-buying essentials as they are linking the deployment of forces to apprehension of deterioration in the law and order situation.

The Centre had earlier ordered deployment of about 10,000 central forces personnel to Kashmir to strengthen counter-insurgency operations and law and order duties. — PTI

Army, Navy and Air Force Individual services among the three armed forces have their own systems, equipment, working environment, value system, training and doctrines , DNA

PM Narendra Modi’s announcement that India will, at last, have a Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) has been welcomed by the strategic community and the Armed Forces. However, it is well realised that it’s a decision which should have been taken at least 15 years ago. It is also fully known that the complexities involved in making the CDS concept work effectively are hardly likely to make the process smooth or short. Public information on the obstacles, complexities and contentious issues, being relatively poor this is an early attempt to draw interest and explain some of the basics involved.

Individual services among the three armed forces have their own systems, equipment, working environment, value system, training and doctrines. Belief in one’s own service is intense and agreeably necessary to keep high the motivation level and ‘esprit de corps’. Each is a master of his domain and believes that his service is the prime mover capable of delivering national security with some support from the other services. While the common aim of all is the security of India there is often a difference of opinion on how to achieve that. There is a high level of bickering on the allocation of financial resources and threats are perceived with a coloured eye of garnering more for one’s own. However, with development of technology and modernisation, there is an increasing need to optimise resources and jointly work towards the common aim making use of the core competency of each service jointly working in an environment of integration. The realisation about this emerged in the Second World War with single domain knowledge and capability unable to deliver in the face of the increasing complexity of war.

Temporary structures were set up for higher direction and attempts were made to create seamless systems for joint functioning. Formalisation took place 15 years later with the setting up of permanent organisations to help optimise the plethora of emerging technologies including nuclear weapons. Different nations as per the ethos of their armed forces and the threats perceived, took longer durations to change mindsets and overcome inevitable resistance from within. China’s People’s Liberation Army adopted formal structures of integrated theatre commands only as late as 2016. The US Armed Forces, the most advanced of all, were forced into the adoption of the same through legislation in 1986 after a series of failures and near-failures. The Goldwater Nichols Act provided for a single appointment to direct overall strategy, but provided greater command authority to ‘unified’ and ‘specified’ field commanders; a unique system of integrated theatre commands with different sets of responsibilities vested. The Indian Armed Forces watched the international developments, made feeble attempts at jointness at the tactical level but the real level where it was needed, the strategic remained ignored for long. This was mainly due to the reluctance to give up ‘turf’.

It’s only after the experience of the Kargil War 1999 that the Kargil Review Committee (KRC) made strong recommendations for adoption of a joint structure for functioning at the highest level with enough expression on the inevitable need for this. The Group of Ministers followed this with an endorsement. However, willingness to go the full way with an empowered CDS placed above the three Service Chiefs and available for single point advice to the government was lacking. In 2001 the government accepted a half-baked measure of setting up a Headquarters (HQ) Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) manned by personnel from all three services as an adjunct organisation to assist the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) whose Chairman was one of the Service Chiefs. The ability to rise above narrow service loyalty remained a problem as before. The KRC had also strongly recommended the induction of uniformed officers into the MoD to give it a truly integrated character and better functional capability but this failed to carry through. Two joint commands were set up with the Andaman & Nicobar Command (ANC) and the Strategic Forces Command (SFC). Later the Naresh Chandra Committee elaborated on the need for a CDS but the issue continued to languish from committee to committee.

The decision has at last been taken but the structure is yet to be elaborated. Going by the PM’s short announcement it seems as if the CDS will be placed higher to the three Service Chiefs in the pecking order; will the rank be above their four-star status is unknown. It is inevitable that the joint commands and the newly set up agencies catering to the domains of space, cyber and special forces will report to the CDS while the three service chiefs will be responsible for the operational control and logistics of their services. This arrangement is fine but to optimise the decision to its real value the entire structure of the armed forces will finally need to undergo change to integrated theatre command system. This will be a long drawn and sequential process but a decision towards that can be looked forward to now that the CDS has been approved. There are 17 different regional or task-oriented commands of the three services. Can these be integrated to create four or perhaps five? The obstacle to this reorganisation will inevitably be turf loyalty, besides the potential of losing a number of senior appointments. The last is a consideration only because of the dwindling slice of the pie of higher status than the three services enjoy. It can be overcome again with an understanding of the political community.

The role of the newly set up Defence Planning Committee (DPC) under the National Security Adviser may also require a review although with the current high status of the NSA it is only a question of making some adjustment. The concept of single point advice which the CDS is sought to provide may not really optimally work out unless he has power over the three service chiefs. However, it’s best to adopt the system as advocated initially and work towards progressive changes to create a structure for optimal integrated functioning. There will be many faults and many a heartburn but at the end of the day if the nation benefits from them everything will be worth it.

Arun Joshi

Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 5

History took a new turn this morning when the Centre scrapped provisions of the Article 370 of the Constitution that granted a special status to the state and also bifurcated the state into two UTs in a move that is rife with consequences that come with J&K losing the statehood in one stroke.

The consequences are not in sight immediately, but these will be there in the days and weeks to come for both sides, those who are delirious over the end of special status of the state and its bifurcation, and also those who have been confined to their homes with unprecedented turnout of forces on streets and biggest-ever clampdown on information-dissemination network.

As of now, there can be a euphoria in certain quarters because the move is seen as a massive push for the national integration, and it may be so, but the other side’s reaction is not known, and even if there is any, there is such a clampdown that it may not be known until the things sink in their minds.

Today’s changes have three parts—(a) the saffron party has delivered on its pledge to end the special status of the state and the special rights and privileges of permanent residents of the state, and thus integrated it with the rest of the country overriding all legal and the constitutional hurdles with a presidential order under clause 1 of Article 370, and secondly merging the bifurcated state—now two UTs of J&K (with legislature) and Ladakh (sans legislature).

It is seen as a “historical wrong undone”. The state has merged with the country as UTs though, thus depriving the Kashmir-centric parties of their perennial narrative that the state’s accession to India was “conditional” as J&K had not merged with India.

The second part is the creation of the UTs — a high moment for Ladakh Buddhists who had been agitating for it for the past over three decades, but whether Kargil Muslims have the same enthusiasm for it is something that is not known at the moment.

Jammu, which was hoping to be a separate state, is now part of Jammu and Kashmir UT. This region has mixed population and some areas in the Chenab region and border districts of Rajouri and Poonch are communally sensitive.

Thirdly, it would help subdue secessionist forces and tame Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in the Valley. That means the Centre’s direct rule in the new administrative unit—J&K—would help nationalist forces and open up opportunities for development and employment. This vision would be known only after things are in the open.

Had the Bill got support of one and all, the Valley and parts of Jammu region would not have been under curfew.

The entire Kashmir valley and at least five out of 10 districts of Jammu region were under curfew with a complete clampdown on information dissemination and communication networks when Home Minister Amit Shah introduced these Bills in the Rajya Sabha, a clear evidence that the government had fears of backlash in mind. It is not clear as to what would happen and when, but the history of the past over 70 years has been changed, as of now.

Going by reactions of PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and NC chief Omar Abdullah, there are dangerous consequences in store. Only time will tell, whether it is so.

Three takeaways

• The BJP has delivered on its pledge to end special status of J&K
• Separate Ladakh UT is a high moment for local Buddhists who had been agitating for it
• The move would help subdue secessionist forces and tame Pakistan-sponsored terrorism

People queue up at fuel station in Srinagar on Sunday. Tribune photo: Mohammad Amin War

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, August 5

Restrictions were imposed in Srinagar district under Section 144 of the CrPC with effect from midnight. There would be no movement of public. There will be a complete bar on holding any kind of public meetings or rallies. Identity cards of “essential services officials” will be treated as movement passes wherever required.

Meanwhile, all educational institutions were ordered closed across the state as a precautionary measure till further orders.

Internet services on mobile were stopped in Kashmir in the evening, while broadband was also cut late in the night. Voice calls were expected to be cut in a phased manner.

In Jammu too gathering of four or more persons was prohibited under Section 144. The University of Jammu also announced closure, and that all UG and PG examinations to be held on August 5 stood postponed. Fresh dates would  be notified later.

Amidst panic and confusion over what was happening in Srinagar as well as Kashmir at large, there were also unconfirmed claims from mainstream leaders, including Omar Abdullah, that restrictions had been imposed on their movement.

Omar Abdullah✔@OmarAbdullah

I believe I’m being placed under house arrest from midnight tonight & the process has already started for other mainstream leaders. No way of knowing if this is true but if it is then I’ll see all of you on the other side of whatever is in store. Allah save us 9,385 people are talking about this

The Governor was in a meeting with the Chief Secretary, Advisers, DGP, ADG, and IG among others, late at night.

All eyes are on Parliament, which resumes its business on Monday, even as uncertainty and fear have further deepened in Kashmir.

In a tweet, former chief minister Omar Abdullah said: “If officers in the state government are to be believed mobile internet is going down now, an unofficial curfew is going to start…”

Omar Abdullah✔@OmarAbdullah

To the people of Kashmir, we don’t know what is in store for us but I am a firm believer that what ever Almighty Allah has planned it is always for the better, we may not see it now but we must never doubt his ways. Good luck to everyone, stay safe & above all PLEASE STAY CALM.3,852

Kashmir has been on edge for the last few days after New Delhi rushed additional companies and asked Amaranth pilgrims and tourists to leave Kashmir. The series of government advisories in past few days have created massive panic amid reports that New Delhi was planning a major political decision on Kashmir.

Mehbooba Mufti✔@MehboobaMufti

In such difficult times, I’d like to assure our people that come what may, we are in this together & will fight it out. Nothing should break our resolve to strive for what’s rightfully ours.

On Sunday, while shops were open and traffic plied normally, there was a general scare among the masses. The fear got further worsened when reports emerged that Union Cabinet was scheduled to meet at 9.30 am Monday morning. Besides the ruling BJP has issued a whip to its parliament members asking them to remain compulsorily present in both Houses from August 5 to 7.

Mehbooba Mufti✔@MehboobaMufti

How ironic that elected representatives like us who fought for peace are under house arrest. The world watches as people & their voices are being muzzled in J&K. The same Kashmir that chose a secular democratic India is facing oppression of unimaginable magnitude. Wake up India

With the Centre keeping cards to their chests, common Kashmiris were seen stocking essentials and medicines.

Sajad Lone✔@sajadlone

It is imperative that we stay calm. Violence has cost us thousands of lives. If we disagree— there r many ways to express dissent. Nothing is irreversible. And nothing is permanent. Justice will prevail.

Meanwhile, an order issued by District Magistrate, Anantnag, asked all petrol dealers against resorting to the sale of fuel without the permission of the DM or the officer authorised on his behalf. The order, it said, has been issued in view of panic stocking by general public in the last few days, which has caused considerable shortage of petroleum products.

Anticipating that the restrictions might come into force, a letter addressed to the Srinagar District Magistrate by  Medical Superintendent of CD Hospital, Srinagar, sought “curfew passes” for the hospital staff.

“With no clarity, we are really worried,” said Shabir Ahmed, a Srinagar resident. “These days we wake up to new fears. Now all eyes are on Monday when Parliament proceedings will begin. It seems we are waiting for some doomsday.”

Members of the business community, too, are seeking clarity from the Centre so that a sense of security was restored among the public.

“On behalf of the business community, we demand restoration of a sense of security amongst the general public, proper assessment of business losses caused and protection against future losses,” said Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCC&I) secretary-general Farooq Amin.

Authorities have stepped up security deployment at vital installations and sensitive areas amid heightened terror threat and flare up of hostilities with Pakistan along the Line of Control (LoC).

After the Jammu and Kashmir administration curtailed the Amarnath Yatra and asked pilgrims and tourists to leave the valley at the earliest on Friday, anxious residents continue to throng markets to stock on essentials and serpentine queues have been visible outside shops and fuel stations.

Cricket trials postponed

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan, the mentor of Jammu and Kashmir state teams who was in Srinagar to oversee the trials for the U-16 (Vijay Merchant Trophy) and U-19 (Cooch Behar Trophy) squads, has left Srinagar, along with the young players.

“We have for the time being postponed the second phase of junior team trials…since there has been a government advisory, I had a meeting with Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association…Accordingly, it was decided that boys need to be sent back home,” Pathan told PTI.

Various educational institutions also directed their students to vacate hostels.

Additional paramilitary forces, which arrived here last week, have been deployed across the city and in other vulnerable areas of Kashmir Valley, the officials said.

The strength of the security personnel has been increased around vital installations such as the civil secretariat, police headquarters, airport and various central government establishments in the city, they said.

Barricades have been erected on many arterial roads, including the entry and exit points to Srinagar, the summer capital of the state.

Riot control vehicles have also been kept on standby in some areas where apprehension of law and order disturbances is more, the officials added. — With PTI inputs

Deeply entrenched notions of patriarchal control have been politically exploited to target and terrorise certain minority groups. The myth of ‘love jihad’ has been promoted by extremist groups to create insecurity and anger in the Hindu community against Muslims by accusing them of following a hidden agenda wherein Hindu girls are enticed by Muslim boys. No such evidence has come forth in the court to date.

Ranjit Powar
Psychologist

A triple murder in Tarn Taran, Punjab, was reported on July 29. The murders were in retaliation to a choice marriage between a boy and a girl from different castes. Both are Sikh families, following a faith which denounces caste. There have been reportedly 300 cases of honour killing in the country in the past three years. Caste or community groups in Haryana hold kangaroo courts to pass punishment on couples who choose to marry in violation of the set social codes. Khap panchayats have dissolved marriages, forced rape victims to marry their rapists, expelled families from villages, and condoned honour killings through social approval, forcing the Supreme Court to come down heavily on them. Women have been dictated to dress traditionally and desist from talking to men outside the family.

Strangely, many a family’s honour is related to the social and sexual behaviour or choices of its women. When and how did this come to be? Through what logic did Indian women become the torchbearers of the family honour? It’s intriguing that instead of a man’s honour being defined by his ethics, conduct and merit, it came to be reflected in the behaviour of his sister, daughter or wife! On the contrary, a woman’s honour remained untouched by the behaviour of the males of her family.

Many social groups justify murders of erring women relatives in the name of avenging the family honour. The terminology which dubs such killings as ‘honour killings’ is in itself an indirect validation of murder in the name of honour. A strict code of conduct is enforced upon girls from infancy. It mainly entails obedience, chastity, endurance and virginity. This code is often internalised by older women for gaining acceptability and merit in a patriarchal system. 

Women may provoke honour-linked violence through forming sexual alliances, refusing arranged marriages, asking for divorce, infidelity, dressing inappropriately, leaving the home without permission, dating or speaking to men who are not family members, being victims of rape or even behaving or dressing  provocatively. Any of these transgressions will result in scandal and gossip in the community, which will directly result in loss of honour for the male members, for whom honour is gained through the control and dominance they exert over females and younger males in the family.

Collective sanction by the community to control and regulate women’s behaviour, freedom and sexual choices gives it validity and acceptability in the guise of culture or tradition. In a society where the norms continue to be set by men, such controls are a reflection of deep-rooted patriarchy with the overt motive of protecting women. The underlying fact is that the male of a patriarchal system wants to keep the strings of the woman in his hands, and cleverly terms this suppression as ‘honour’. Mythical characters like Sita, Parvati and Savitri are held up as examples of virtue and duty for women to emulate. Interestingly, Krishna’s consort Radha is never quoted as such an example.

The prevalence of caste and religion prejudices gives greater acceptance to the right of parents and brothers to control the choice of a partner by their daughters. They must in no way step out of caste and religious boundaries. Over the last some years, self-styled protectors of Indian culture have taken it upon themselves to heckle and attack youngsters who are seen as violating the sacrosanct ‘Indian’ traditions. Self-styled vigilante groups like the Bajrang Dal, RSS, Dukhtaran-e-Milat target youngsters celebrating Valentine’s Day or sitting together in parks. The police choose to look the other way, and at times also support their hooliganism or actively indulge in moral policing.

Deeply entrenched notions of patriarchal control have been politically exploited to target and terrorise certain minority groups. The myth of ‘love jihad’ has been promoted by extremist groups to create insecurity and anger in the Hindu community against Muslims by accusing them of following a hidden agenda wherein Hindu girls are enticed by Muslim boys. No such evidence has come forth in the court to date.

Many minorities like Christians, Coorgis and north-eastern communities are as much a part of this country as the Hindus. Their cultural norms are much more open and liberal in terms of sexual choices and intermingling of sexes. The Nair community of Kerala enjoyed much sexual freedom and could even keep relations with multiple partners at a time. Most communities in the North-East states allow girls to choose their mates. These communities do not have a noticeable incidence of rape or killings.

What gives anyone the right to disregard such liberal traditions and impose a subjective code of conduct as ‘Indian’? These self-styled protectors of a mythical ‘Indian culture’ choose to overlook that Indian is not synonymous with Hindu. Furthermore, that Hinduism never propagated prudish norms in myth or reality.

The most damaging of restrictive and suppressive attitudes are those propagated by teachers in rural and small town schools. It is commonplace to find girls and boys strictly segregated in co-educational schools. Boys and girls have been known to be reprimanded and even beaten for so much as speaking to each other. In one rural school in Bathinda district of Punjab, an affair between two schoolmates escalated to a feud between two village panchayats. The girl was withdrawn from the school and the panchayat demanded rustication of the boy, who had to take his exams under police protection. Such unhealthy, patriarchal environments instil perverted concepts of ‘honour’, encouraging violence, abuse and even murder.

The Adolescence Education programme (AEP) was a sex education programme designed by the Ministry of Human Resource Development and National AIDS Control Organisation. It faced opposition in various states, including Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Rajasthan, which refused to allow it in their schools. Is it a surprise that many of these states are notorious for the high numbers of honour killings?  According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), between 2014 and 2015, the number of honour killings in India leapt up by a whopping 798 per cent!

Paradoxically, rape is the fourth most common crime in a country which is obsessively concerned with safeguarding the ‘honour’ and virtue of its women!  India has an average of 106 rapes a day and four in 10 victims are minors. The conviction rate for rape remains a shameful 25.5 per cent. Eve-teasing is so prevalent that recently, girls from a school in Punjab appealed to the high court for safety. This, in a society which claims to regard women as its ‘honour’ and worships them as goddesses!

It seems that a schizophrenic chasm runs somewhere between the collective Indian social psyche. Entertainment media like TV and cinema focus overwhelmingly on romantic themes in keeping with public taste. The youth may watch cheap romance on celluloid and fantasise, but god help them if they opt to have normal relationships or friendships with the opposite sex. Such conflicting attitudes reflect a serious faultline in the concept of what is pushed as ‘Indian culture’ or morality.

Natural instinctual behaviour may be regulated and controlled within reasonable limits, but forced suppression and criminalisation of human urges promote distorted and violent expression and take on forms of a social evil. Let’s wake up to the fact that culture is not static; it is a dynamic process which must move in tandem with the larger global, social and technological scenario. Hypocrisy and double standards cannot be camouflaged in the name of a pseudo culture. Indian society must shed patriarchal attitudes and be honest, upfront and liberal to be healthy, safe and progressive. Therein will lie the safety and honour of women.

Arun Joshi

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, August 1

Pakistan has asked all militant groups operating in Kashmir, including Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Toiba, to lie low till the October meeting of the international watchdog against money laundering and financing of terrorism — the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The FATF, at its June meeting in Florida, had set an October deadline for Pakistan to fix the deficiencies in its anti-money laundering measures and in combating financing of terrorism so as to avoid degradation from the grey list to being blacklisted.

Getting on the FATF blacklist could cripple the neighbouring country financially.Islamabad is banking on the support of the United States in light of the renewed bonhomie between the two countries following Pakistan premier Imran Khan’s visit, which saw US President Donald Trump offering to mediate or arbitrate in Kashmir, that was followed by a strong rebuttal by New Delhi.

Before Khan undertook the visit to Washington, Pakistan had arrested JuD chief Hafiz Saeed and his associates to showcase its seriousness in the fight against terrorism. “But all this is an eyewash. Imran Khan is basically concerned over the FATF listing. It is with this line of thinking that the Pakistan establishment has asked the terror outfits to lie low in Kashmir,” sources said.

The militant outfits, as per sources who have been monitoring the situation post the US visit of Pakistan premier, army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa and ISI head Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, have been told “not to plan any attacks till the FATF meets and Pakistan manages to get a clean chit, which is crucial for it to get the foreign investment it so desperately needs”.

There has been no major militant action in the Valley in the recent past, while the security forces have recorded stunning successes in the anti-militancy operations, including the decimation of the JeM leadership in Kashmir that had executed the February 14 Pulwama terror attack.

Watchdog scanner

• Getting on the FATF blacklist could have a wide-ranging impact on Pakistan’s economy
• Could result in denial of loans, development funds its crippling economy needs
• The FATF, in June, had set an October deadline for Pakistan to take decisive corrective measures to combat terror financing and money laundering