[Reader-list] The Khaki Fidayeen

[Aditya Raj Kaul]

The Khaki Fidayeen
 *Five brave policemen who have broken the backbone of militancy in Kashmir
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RAHUL PANDITA

Link - http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/nation/the-khaki-fidayeen*

As gunfire crackled in the snowscaped Srinagar chill of early January, with
two fidayeen fighters—wholly rolled, strapped and sold to their
‘cause’—holding Lal Chowk’s Punjab Hotel under seige, a handful of Kashmir’s
police officers were overcome with déjà vu. And itchy fingers, that burning
need to be there as part of the operation, countering terror with all
they’ve got. Equally if not more dedicated to India’s own cause, the
legitimate cause of Peace in the Valley, these men in khaki are clear they
have what it takes—if only the government would deploy them. Back in 1989,
when the insurgency broke out, the J&K Police was ill-equipped to handle it;
some policemen were even suspected of sympathy with insurgents. Today, the
force actually has police officers trained in counter-terrorism. Most of
them are Kashmiri Muslims, and when they say they would’ve wrapped up the
26/11 job in just ten hours, it doesn’t sound like an empty boast. They’re
India’s Khaki Fidayeen. *Open* profiles five such policemen. They’ve already
helped steady things in J&K, and are raring for action...