[Reader-list] 'Men in uniform are Kashmir's problem, not solution'

[Rakesh Iyer]

Dear Rajen jee

First of all, I feel the sweeping generalization should not have been made
with respect to women, but with respect to the kind of acts our army has
engaged in with time. First of all, the situation of 1990 is over, and if we
believe that Kashmir is relatively more peaceful than it was last time,
neither the army nor the paramilitary forces should be engaged in
maintenance of law and order. It is only the responsibility of the police to
deal with that in a normal situation. In case of abnormal situations, first
the RAF and the state police force should be used, and only when it's too
much for them to bring the situation under control (either because situation
is bad or because they are accused of being partisan) should Central forces
intervene.

What is the requirement of the army occupying orchards (or even paramilitary
forces doing so)? Has the army taken over the occupation of growing apples
or protecting citizens? Similarly, the army is sent to protect people, not
fleece them or create problems for them. They should set up communication
with the local people and work with them, not against them. If that were the
case, all this problem would not have been seen either in Kashmir, or in the
North-East, or in Chhatisgarh (where the paramilitary forces working with
Salwa Judum activists have been indulging in activities of dubious kinds).

Second, there's a difference between finding out culprits and misbehaving
with people. Even if women have been involved in crimes to protect those
infiltrating from the Pakistani side to conduct terror blasts, that does not
mean that our armed forces (this not only means the army but includes
everyone from the police to the paramilitary forces to the army to those who
do similar functions for the state), have the right to rape them even in
that situation. And we are talking about women who are innocent.

My last point is about the AFSPA. There are accounts and accounts of how
this act has been misused, so this act must be repealed. There is no need
for this act to be there. And again as you yourself said, let us equip the
police and give them the power and the arms (along with responsibility of
course) to properly deal with the situation.

As far as Mufti Sayeed is concerned, I am wondering what would you have done
in a similar situation if your own daughter were kidnapped by terrorists, or
hijacked in a plane as had happened in Kandahar. Anyways, the fact is that
all of us as Indians are total cowards, and whether it be Rubaiyya Sayeed or
Kandahar plane hijack, all of us think about our own relatives only.
Otherwise we would not have been one of the most corrupt nations of the
universe.

Regards

Rakesh