Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain
In Part I of this essay an attempt was made to explain the concept of ‘hearts and minds’ and how in sponsored proxy conflict situations this concept needs even greater energy in adoption. A few explanations are necessary about basic understanding of ‘irregular conflict’ in which the ‘people’ form the center of gravity or the hub. Military Civic Action (MCA) is another way of describing ‘hearts and minds’ campaign and both form a part of basic military doctrine while fighting ‘irregular conflict’ when ‘people’ are involved at the core.
Hard power is used to prevent the violent elements dictating the narrative and discourse. In the course of its usage there is inadvertent and in stray cases sometimes deliberate intimidation which results in an alienation effect across the populace. At any stage there is a need to soften the effect of hard power because the populace remains sandwiched between the terrorists and Army. The scope for the Army to carry out MCA is contingent upon the stage of the conflict, the level and type of alienation and the receptivity.
Much against what the Separatists say there is tremendous enthusiasm for the fourth element of Sadbhavna – National Integration, which has been recently in the news all over Kashmir and was not commented on in Part I of this essay. National integration is an element of Sadbhavna which involves promotion of sentiments and aspirations to expand the horizons of thinking to take in the rest of India. Not every person in Kashmir or the Muslim dominated areas of Jammu is a separatist or has separatist leanings. There are many children who watch television, sense the culture of growth all over India and the world and changes in living pattern that brings. It enhances aspirations and leads to a desire to sense this physically and relate to it. You do not have to be a psychologist to conclude that. Ever since 1991 India’s growth story has been phenomenal. At the same time since 1989 J&K has seen an abnormal situation and the generation born around that time has seen little happiness. As it is, it was not easy to travel from the Valley or Ladakh, earlier and that is true even now, although things have improved by leaps and bounds. These tours are organized to overcome this shortcoming and incidentally are not limited to people of J&K; they extend to all people of the North East too on the principle of being distant areas from where travel to the heartland of India is not easy.
All that the Army has done is the creation of a system by which it facilitates travel of a few people to some well-known destinations in India, especially those which are popular to different segments of society. Students are taken as far away as Infosys campus in Mysore to showcase iconic infrastructure involving working and living conditions. Bangalore’s IT institutions make a popular destination for the young. The Golden Triangle, Delhi-Jaipur-Agra, is India’s most popular tourist route; student groups, women only tours and trips for elders are organized to visit these cities to allow them enjoyment and exposure as per their individual interests. Leave it to the Army to determine what the aspirations are; it is always sensitive to that. The elders go to Gharib Nawaz at Ajmer and Nizamuddin Aulia at Delhi, their areas of interest; women and youth often go to historic sites but always have a trip to Delhi’s malls thrown in, with a meal at a MacDonald outlet and perhaps a film at a PVR theater. It is momentary happiness which human beings seek and are entitled to. No one lectures them on politics and ideology and they meet some famous personalities. Each such tour is meticulously planned and with great sense of responsibility. Planning begins a couple of months before and coordination is done with a local Army formation at the concerned location. Care is taken to space the tours out so as not to impinge on the limited facilities the Army formations can offer. Units deployed in J&K make bids for these tours as per demands of the local population. An officer and support staff of a JCO and two or three soldiers always accompanies the tour. More importantly if it is an all-girls tour an officer’s wife invariably accompanies along with lady teachers. Perhaps the Separatists need to send their representatives to enjoy the recreation, education and organization skills on display that these tours provide. No tour is complete without an essay and photographic competition and a full wrap up function at which the parents are invited. Photo albums and even DVDs are provided as memorabilia. I have been witness to functions at which students have cried and refused to return home; such are the bonds that are created. A little happiness goes very far in human relationships and development. This is all education, giving to the mind thoughts and memories to dwell upon.
Allegations regarding Indianization efforts and doctored videos to project happy youth on return are a perversity of the Separatist mindset which the Army should never bother about. No one needs to Indianize these people, they belong to India and except in the intensely negative environment which the Separatists thrive in, these young people think, act and live as Indians and happily at that. Civil society that Geelani mentions in his article is nothing but a representation of separatist sentiments. There are shades of civil society all over J&K and no one holds a common brief for any segment; they are all free to exist and express as anywhere else in India.
A word on cricket, J&K’s passion. When we had the Kashmir Premier League organized in 2011 and 2012 it was with the sentiment that Kashmir possessed the talent but provided little outlet to develop and capture it. The passion with which the meticulously organized tournament was received was enough indicator that Kashmir’s youth had missed what it loved, only because of the negativities of the environment. The tournament was then extended to Jammu region with equal fervor. It is a sad commentary on the Army’s financial managers that they could not go beyond their narrow rules and regulations to continue with what had started as an exercise for the love of sports, something that the populace of J&K is made for. I go to the extent of stating that they (the financial managers) fell for the machinations of the Separatists.
Gowhar Geelani’s credentials get blemished with his utter lack of understanding of the ‘Hearts Doctrine’ conceptualized and introduced by the Army in 2011. By quoting out of context from articles by me and others in professional journals, he misses the essentials which I need to explain to the public. Sadbhavna is insufficient as a concept to bring positivity in an all pervading environment of negativity. Politics are separate, human beings need to thrive and grow away from that. Soldiers are not necessarily sensitive to the emotional and psychological needs of the people of an area in which they serve. They see things in black and white and straight lines and cannot easily apply their mind to emerging situations. Sadbhavna gives material succor and its national integration programs provide platforms for establishing trust. However, it has to go beyond that with deliberate respect for dignity of the people even in the face of constraints. We termed it ‘force ethos’ which is simply the establishment of a belief in respect for local faith, way of life, culture and dignity. By educating all soldiers on the psychological needs of a populace suffering travails of conflict we promoted better attitude, more sensitivity and greater respect for local ways. Convoy management gave civilian traffic more road space and ability to move unimpeded besides reaching work places on time. Awami Sunwais gave opportunity for the civil administration to go to areas which it could not otherwise access easily, and listen to people’s grievances. Seminars were conducted for students to allow them to give vent to their frustration and also be educated about opportunities for training and skill development.
When conflict transformation stage is reached the Army has more time and can focus on assisting in the retrieval of public morale; the Hearts Doctrine was just that, an attempt to go beyond Sadbhavna. It received tremendous response as can be judged by the friends that I personally and the Army in general made and successors continue to make.
At the end of the day the message that must be taken from my explanation of Sadbhavna is that the people are never adversaries of the Army. The Army is constrained to function in a certain way at the early stages of such a conflict because of which a perception is created that it is against the people. Certain population control measures are required to safeguard the people who, as repeatedly said, are the focus and the center of gravity. To offset the perception that the people are the Army’s adversaries deliberate engagement, fraternization and outreach are all necessary. Sadbhavna has done all that and the Hearts Doctrine has added to its value through better understanding of public sentiment and restoration of public dignity. A hundred percent retrieval of what is lost in conflict situations is never possible. Yet, honest effort to regain what is lost is essential.
Lastly, victory in such situations is only gained once the respect and trust of the people is regained. Sadbhavna is just that, a continuous and ongoing humanitarian exercise to regain whatever trust and respect that may have been lost.
(The writer has the vast experience of serving in J&K through seven tenures ending as the GOC of the Srinagar based 15 Corps during the challenging period of 2011-12)
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