Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain
The remarks of the Army Chief at a recent wreath laying ceremony are too well known to reiterate. Yet a brief backdrop to the same will help. In three terror related incidents in the Kashmir Valley, senseless interference by flash mobs at encounter sites resulted in diversion of focus from the ongoing operations leading to loss of six lives of soldiers against eight terrorists killed. In an environment which is surcharged by Separatist propaganda this phenomenon has been happening since 2015; a new found tactics to protect terrorists and enable their getaway, an adaption of the street protests to the advantage of terrorists. In the interim the Army, CRPF and JK Police had found temporary answers through some well-crafted SOPs but this could not last. The Army Chief, a veteran of many encounters in Sopore and Baramula, in empathy with the challenges his officers and men face, made no bones about the fact that the Army would no longer accept such interference by mobs and would take tough measures against those who indulged in acts which were not in support of the security forces (SF). Neither was this an intemperate remark, nor a sanction for freedom to his troops to be indiscrete. It wasn’t even a warning, just a message that the Army may not stand still next time it is targeted.
For those less initiated on these issues the remarks of the Army Chief cannot be taken at face value but given the sharp political divide perceptions will be taken as per convenience. Perhaps to understand the Army Chief better it is best to explain the Army’s concept of operations to get a measure of what the status of the current environment in Kashmir really is.
The Army has progressively softened its operations as the strength of terrorists dwindled. The concept still revolves around strong counter infiltration at the LoC belt, search and destroy in rural and jungle terrain, precision intelligence based counter terrorist operations in semi urban and urban areas, secure lines of communication and most importantly, conduct of people friendly operations. The last is the most important. As the situation improved over the years the scope for people friendly operations increased as did the leeway for restoring dignity to the people.
The scope of cordon and search operations has changed drastically. Operations are now more focused, intelligence driven and involve very small cordons with minimum inconvenience to the people. The change has even gone to the extent that collateral damage in the conduct of such operations is minimized even at some risk. Attempts are made to flush the terrorists out and not raze houses to the ground with help of Rocket Launchers and explosives as was done in the past. This has been the humanization of conflict. It has come to be institutionalized in the Army’s concept. General Rawat has been schooled in this thinking and when he makes a statement it is with full consciousness of the institutionalized concept.
Since 2015 the Army’s Victor Force in South Kashmir in particular had observed the change of tactics by the terrorists which were obviously under the guidance and supervision of sponsors from across the LoC. Temporary solutions to this were found through joint coordination between the Army, CRPF and JK Police. Only minor casualties were suffered due to the efficacy of the SOPs established. However, in the three recent encounters, which have all been in North Kashmir, there appeared a pattern of very intense disturbances by flash mobs resulting in fatalities suffered by the Army. It is the Army which does the close in and flushing out operations hence its casualties. From 2008 the Army has witnessed mobs and some of its vehicles have even been burnt.
In Sep 2016 when the decision to induct two brigades into South Kashmir was taken I wrote a piece of advice. It was on the lines that the one thing the Army could not afford was the loss of its moral high ground; it was always correct in its approach to the conflict. The soldiers did not disappoint me as I had reports of stone throwing in Shupiyan town while the Army was conducting a medical and vet camp for the local people three km away at their camp at Balapur. This is the moral high ground I referred to. However, this can all be upset by intemperate behavior of the locals instigated by leaders who have no qualms about the effects on the lives of ordinary Kashmiris.
None of what the Army Chief has said will adversely affect any of this moral high ground. The Army will continue doing all this and even more just as right through the current most adverse winter in 25 years, it has kept its tempo of engagement activities with youth and others at a high pitch. What it will definitely do is that along with the CRPF and JKP it will get to be much more pro-active in offsetting disturbances by detention of rogue leaders who instigate mobs. The Army will still rescue women in the family way from remote villages, help victims of accidents or natural calamities; none of it will change because the concept of operations remains the same, The Army Chief hasn’t said he is changing any of that.
So what is the hullabaloo about? It is all about convenience of interpretation. The only mistake General Bipin Rawat made was that he did not organize a lecture on concept of Army operations, for political leaders and the media in Kashmir, to educate them. There is no doctrinal change either. The Army Chief’s words have given a little more freedom to the field commanders to make their operations a little more ‘mob proof’. How will that be done? Perfectly situational, as the commanders on ground will assess, ideate upon and come to their deductions; just as they did earlier in South Kashmir. So the perfect storm raised is only due to political reasons and for the purpose of a little rabble rousing by the Separatist ideologues and their supporters.
The ‘experts’ who love to advise the Army and deeply suspect its military intellect are most upset. The traditional Army baiters and bashers were at it on the channels and all those who have a practical orientation to operations and outreach in the Valley were the targets. One could almost hear the Pakistanis snigger at the plight of the Indian Army. Democratic India perceives that the best demonstration of democracy is to demonize its Army. People who have never seriously looked at the domain of information as a weapon are suddenly telling the Army that its Chief must be temperate while its field commanders can say and do anything. Honesty and straightforwardness has a price. Those who say that the Army’s recent casualties haven’t been even a small percentage of those suffered in the Nineties must surely be living in cocoons. In a world driven by social media and the information revolution thank God the Army at least is mindful of its casualties, others could be damned.
Having said all the above the bottom line has to be the fact that the Army needs to recover from the successful onslaught of negative propaganda unleashed by unthinking quarters. It needs to redouble its outreach the way only it has an understanding to do so. Its knowledge of the sensitivity of the Kashmiri people is beyond doubt and only it can lead the program to educate the youth that what they do is against their own interest. Instead of stones there must be books in their hands. Instead of the skill in aiming stones they must have the skill to work technical equipment and repair it when needed. Instead of organizing endless protests they must have the ability to experiment with their entrepreneurship. In short they must be the masters of their destiny to a better life shorn of hatred. The Army will stand by them in their ventures; they and everyone in the Valley know that well enough. Only it is a little difficult to acknowledge which side their interests lie.
(The author is former GOC of
Srinagar based 15 Corps)
(Abridged under permission from original version in Rediff com)
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