The Indian Armed Forces are not just limited to guarding India’s geopolitically sensitive borders, but are a source of livelihood for the soldiers and their families, a business opportunity for firms that supply the Army resources, a provider of education and values to lakhs of students who attend Army schools, a ray of hope for the receivers of Army donations and charities and last but definitely not the least, a source of inspiration for those who never give up.
From the perspective of the Kashmir Valley, which has been in political and economic turmoil and a victim of Pakistan’s proxy war against India for over seven decades, the Army has been like a mentor — honing the skills of the local youth to prevent them from picking up arms against their own country. An exemplary tactic, which combines passion and compassion, much unlike the inhuman ways adapted by other armies around the world. A blaring example is China, which is using unimaginably callous techniques to counter the Uyghur uprising against China. From forcing Muslims to eat pork to forced abortions of Muslim women, Anti-Islamic detention centres, banning Muslim names like Mohammad and converting mosques into livestock stables, we have heard of unprecedented atrocities unleashed on the Uyghur rebels.
The Indian Army, however, has adapted a very humane approach towards the Kashmiri youth who were radicalised by Pakistan proxy agencies into creating rebellion against India. The Army has won a place in Kashmiri hearts and minds due to their long-term vision and gradual efforts to empower the Kashmiri youth in more ways than one.
Whether it is organising special classes such as Super 30 and Super 50 for educational uplift of students, or boosting the morale of Kashmiri youth in sports, providing for their training and organising competitions for them, or encouraging artistes, giving the youth opportunities in event management, the Indian Army has done it all successfully attaining for itself the faith and respect of the hopeful Kashmiri youth.
So, are we saying the Indian Army in Kashmir walks away with the ‘Godfather’ award? Practically speaking, ‘No!’
Where have they faulted, one would ask, one who looks at Kashmir from the outside, from an emotional periscope. What else can an Armed Force possibly do to win hearts?
The answer does not lie in “what else”, but “till when…”
It is unfortunate that most of the efforts by the Armed Forces are short-lived up to the tenure of the commanding officer of a particular project– usually undertaken by the Indian Army Sadbhavana wing. So, let’s say if one Army officer is regularly organising cricket matches in a particular area, say North Kashmir’s Karnah, during his tenure, he empowers many — the players, event managers, media companies, refreshment vendors, etc.
But here is the catch.
The moment this officer is transferred, which is usually within two years, the empowered youth of Karnah is back to square one.
The unemployed youth, with no one to encourage or award their sporting skills, and no more events, crowd or sales, everyone goes back to the point where they started from — the point of being “ignored”.
A new officer comes along with limited interest to carry forward the preceding officer’s initiatives. He possibly may want to start a new initiative, with a new list of youth to show his higher-ups that he managed to “tame more number of Kashmiri youth” in comparison to his predecessor, or he may not fancy the “initiative trend” at all. After all, Sadbhavana or projects related to it, are optional and not a primary duty of an army officer who is trained to protect the border.
NGOs are being set up in Kashmir for a holiday-cum-philanthropic work, but guess what? They mostly take favours from Kashmiris themselves. For example, an NGO in Kashmir organises craft events in schools, and tells the students to “purchase the material” from them. So, what happens to the artistes and painters whose work the army tried to showcase in some events? Who cares!
Aamir Khan films his movie in Ladakh, yes, but brings a 700-person team from Mumbai, with zero income to Kashmiri supporting actors, dancers, make-up artistes. The only exceptions being those who own hotels. So, what happened to those singers, dancers and actors who the army was trying to promote through its various concerts? Who cares!
This short-lived elation of Kashmiri youth was witnessed even in the early 90s when some daring youth, de-tracking from the largely accepted path of Tehreek e Azadi, choosing the forbidden path of liaising with the Indian Armed Forces, helped them successfully conduct anti-militancy operations, earning the tag of ‘ikhwanis’ or ‘traitors’ for themselves in the Kashmiri society. These helpers of the Indian Army, who were ostracized from the Kashmiri society, were left at the mercy of God when the commanding officer of that operation got transferred, possibly promoted to a high life in the elite army circles of Delhi while the ‘Ikhwan’ was left with no social acceptance, no job, no security, no placement and no business as he was socially boycotted.
As the Army officials tend to “tame more Kashmiris within two years of a posting”, a derangement of Kashmiri political careers is also being witnessed. Unlike what is seen in other states of India, Kashmir has failed to nurture stable youth political leaders because the Army continues to “switch” from one potential leader to another to lead the organisational process of public events like protests against terror attacks and flag hoisting events. The youth, instead of following a few leaders to guide them into becoming ideal, nation-loving, responsible citizens, are ganging up against one another, fighting tooth and nail to grab the leading position in the next event. Instead of uniting as citizens of India, they are getting divided into lobbies led by the temporary Army officers.
Kashmir is witnessing a dangerous trend of discord and dissension among its youth, unlike in the days of Hurriyat, where Kashmiri people stood united with the ideology of their leader SAS Geelani. That ideology was undoubtedly toxic, especially for the sovereignty of India, but what’s happening today is more dangerous. Instead of two groups — the secessionists versus the Indian nationalists — it has now come to an individual level – ‘youth against youth’.
All kinds of opinions are heard, being whispered in the corridors of Army Offices, “Sir don’t care to help him, he is a nationalist only for money”, “Sir that guy’s whole family is twisted”, “Sir, his father was a womaniser”, “Sir, her mother was a drug peddler”, “Sir, she is of loose character”, “Sir, he speaks negatively about LG”, Sir, she is not even Kashmiri”, are some of the common accusations hurled by young Kashmiri nationalists against others to grab favours from the officials.
The open arm welcome to home minister Amit Shah, the protests in the Valley against the killing of Kashmiri Pandits and bringing down of Hurriyat Office in Rajbagh by Kashmiri Muslims is a clear indication that Kashmiris are no more in a state of war against India. In fact, they have turned whole heartedly Indian by mind and soul. Yes, they have turned Indian but they have also turned “against each other” in the name of ‘Indianness’. The fight is no more against Pakistan, but within own circles, rendering the Kashmiri nationalist community in a dangerously implosive situation.
The mounting magnitude of discord has depressed the common Kashmiri youth so much that the youngsters are now seeking ways of escaping from the turmoil which is now clearly “internal” and multiplying at a dangerous speed. Most youth are seeking educational and job placements outside J&K. What will that leave us with? A Kashmir without Kashmiris? Adorned with 54 different security agencies, who stay fleetingly in Kashmir till their tenure is complete.
While the government has blind trust on its various departments in Kashmir, it is unfortunate that vested interests are ruining the chances of letting Kashmir become normal, despite the abrogation of Article 370. Normalcy is the government’s main objective in Kashmir, but it cannot be subjective. Today, for sure, there are zero incidences of stone pelting and much lower number of cases where terrorists attack civilians, but, certainly, this isn’t what the government intended in the name of “normalcy” that the Kashmiri youth are eyeing for each other’s flesh.
The redundancy of livelihood and the subsequent “youth against youth” movement is certainly not what the government hoped to achieve in Kashmir when decided to do away with Article 370 and 35A. Despite its emphasis for Naya Kashmir, the Centre is left with no choice but to again bring back to power the political parties that sold their nationalism to Pakistan. Despite the youth turning to the path of nationalism, not a single youth from Kashmir has been empowered or capacitated up to the point that he can lead a new generation of India-loving Kashmir dedicated to economic uplift in different fields. The sprouting of numerous small nationalist political parties, which fizzled out due to the temporary nature of their “support system” and the existence of other such temporary nationalist parties, which finally breathed their last when Ghulam Nabi Azad came back to J&K and launched his own party.
“Used” and “forgotten” are the words that today sum up the nostalgia of nationalist Kashmiri youth who played the most pivotal role in giving a direction to the Kashmiri society when it witnessed the abrogation of Article 370, the Internet shutdown, the downfall of Azadi movement, the killings of police officers, and the second round of Pandit Exodus in May 2022. Their contributions are only remembered till the tenure of the concerned officer, and after that, they are left to fight with one another to survive within the limited scope of income possibilities in Kashmir.
Jai Kashmir, Jai Hind.
Yana Mir is a journalist and social activist. She is the Vice-President of All JK Youth Society. She tweets at @MirYanaSY. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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