Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR Dec 15: General Officer Commanding of Srinagar based Chinar Corps, Lt General D P Pandey today asked the militants to be aware of the white-collar militants and appealed them to return to their homes and serve the nation instead of indulging in violence.
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Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function at Shopian, Lt General Pandey asked the militants to be aware of “white-collar militants”, who manipulate them to choose this path and asked them to look at the families of those people who have made them militants.
“Their families are well settled and the youth who pick up guns have been devastated. The youth are the hope for their parents as well as of the country”, he said.
He asked them to surrender guns and return to their homes. “At the age of 17 or 20 nobody is mature and after 25 years of age a person becomes mature. If there is any difficulty, youth can come to us and we will show them the right path,” he added.
Pandey said that “white-collar militancy” is a factory and if one militant dies then next is born. “These white-collar militants research about a particular youth, about his family issues etc. and then manipulate them to pick up gun. The families of white-collar militants always remain well-off. The parents of youth who pick up guns should ask these white-collar militants to let their children also pick up guns.”
He also said that this year there was a decrease in number of newly recruited militants and definitely it will decrease more next year. “It will get finished once the people will cooperate with the security forces and army personnel”, the GOC said.
Earlier addressing a function – Chillai Kalan Festival- at Batpora in Shopian, Lt Gen Pandey, dedicated this year’s festival to the memory of CDS Gen Bipin Rawat and 12 other brave soldiers.
He complimented the whole hearted participation of youth, women and elderly in the event. He appealed to the youth to continue striving for an educated Kashmiri society and contribute in bringing development and peace to the region.
The GOC reiterated that to effectively break the cycle of violence, the society has to address these white-collared militants, who influence and corrupt young impressionable minds of our youths and instigate them to pick up arms.
He cited the example of Mehran Yasin Shalla, 17 years, who had killed the school Principal at a Govt School at Srinagar. He also appealed to mothers to keep track of their wards, since the pain of losing a child is unendurable, that only a mother can understand.
The GOC added that the winds of change can be felt in South Kashmir and it was heartening to see a cultural festival organized in the heart of Shopian. The GOC reiterated security forces’ commitment to provide the artists with numerous platforms to showcase their abundant talent.
The Chillai Kalan Festival set against the breath taking backdrop of snow clad peaks of Pir Panjal, Shopian town welcomed the onset of winters. As part of the festival, an online music competition “Singing Sensation” was conducted over the past two weeks.
The competition witnessed overwhelming participation of youths from South Kashmir, with five finalists vying for the top spot on the final day. Mohammad Saleem was declared as the winner of the competition.
He has been extended a once in a lifetime opportunity to release a song under the label of Warner Music. The event also witnessed release of a book ‘Eternal Soul’, written by Master Syed Faizan Geelani, a student of AGPS, Pahalgam.
A short movie ‘Good Shot’ which captures boundless human emotions and is produced by Balan Productions. Punit Balan was present for the screening of the movie during the event. The movie touched an emotional chord with the audience.
The program also showcased a motivating short film on the Kashmiri veterans of 1971 war. It brought back memories of the war that changed history in the sub-continent.
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