Maj. Gen. Vinod Saighal (retd. Indian Army)
The following aspects that have not received the requisite degree of consideration to date need to be looked at urgently in order to come out with a New Kashmir Policy, that will make clear the limits to toleration of agitations that lead to prolonged unrest, deaths and economic disruption in the lives of ordinary people in the Valley.
In a nutshell the new features of the revised policy could include inter alia:
Spelling out the government’s view on what has been termed as ‘political’ engagement with the separatists. Opposition political parties at the Centre and in the State have emphasised a political solution rather than the administrative measures being undertaken. None of them have spelled out as to what their idea of a political dialogue could be. The same applies to media persons. Each one of them must propose a clear enunciation of what they propose. All-Party or Single Party dialogue with the separatists has been continuing on and off for decades. This time around consideration has to be given to the fact that the separatists have been infiltrated by jihadi elements from across the border; possibly marginalising the separatists of yore and calling the tune.
The underlying causes of the agitations are generally known to all. These are lack of employment opportunities and poverty in spite of massive grants to the Valley over the years. Evidently, the monies made available to successive state governments have not reached the people. It is common knowledge that these have been siphoned off and enriched the rulers and their henchmen. Who is to blame for this state of affairs? Evidently the political dispensations that have been in power, the foremost being the National Conference. Notwithstanding the ongoing fulminations by their leaders the blame for the economic decline in the state rests largely with them.
Whenever the situation gets out of control segments of the Kashmiri separatists and political parties demand implementation of the Kashmir Accord, Delhi Agreement and other agreements dating back primarily to the 1950s. The demands for ‘Azadi’ and greater autonomy stem from these accords. After over 60 years these accords while not being declared ‘null and void’ by any Indian government to date need to be reconsidered based on the circumstances obtaining then and now. For example, when the agreements were signed Kashmiriyat was acknowledged by one-and-all as the identity of the state. Syncretism flourished and became a model to be adopted across the troubled nation traumatised by the recent partition and the large-scale killings and displacements in the sundered subcontinent. The Prime Minister of the time being himself from Kashmir was particularly influenced by the syncretism that obtained in the state and used it as a basis for his policies of communal harmonisation throughout India. They had a beneficial impact on all sections of Indian society of the time.
At about the same time so much was happening in and around India at the end of World War II. To the north, China had militarily seized Tibet and obliged the young Dalai Lama to enter into the 17-Point Accord with Beijing. It was never implemented. After over many decades it lies in tatters. Meanwhile, both Pakistan and China have demographically swamped the areas that had been occupied by them in Tibet, Xinjiang, Gilgit and Skardu and POK, drastically altering population and denominational ratios, often with extreme violence and harshness. In fact a joke going around in the UK states that there are more Mirpuris in the UK than in Mirpur. How Pakistan and China continue to deal with unrest in the provinces with no holds barred is too well known to require elaboration.
When elements in the Valley demand azadi they must spell out what exactly they mean by it. ‘Azadi’ from what(?) should be the main issue to be considered. In most developing societies in the world ‘freedom or azadi’ generally means freedom from hunger, freedom from want, rapid movement towards MDGs (Millennium Development Goals). Countries in the subcontinent are nowhere near meeting these goals. The Kashmiris shouting for azadi would have seen the azadi that obtains in and around them with erstwhile compatriots to the West and Tibet and Xinjiang. The Indian government in spite of six decades having elapsed has not even gotten the law that prohibits non-state subjects from holding property in J&K modified, something which no other country would have countenanced for so long.
Most importantly, and above all, Kashmiriyat that obtained in the 1950s when the agreements were signed is all but dead. The Hindu Pandits still languish in miserable conditions away from their homes, fearful for their lives were they to attempt to move back. Kashmiriyat has been replaced by the dreaded Islamist ideology that is sweeping across the entire Muslim world and even in countries where Muslims have emigrated to in large numbers. Amazingly, and whatever anyone might say, compared to other countries where the jihadis and jehad have taken root, these have still not been able to strike roots in India. In the Valley strong action by the state and the centre in concert has to remain the order of the day as jihadis from across the state are profiting from the unrest to boost their strength through infiltration, as well as through local recruitment. Concomitantly, reasonable demands from elements that are suffering at the hands of the separatists should be discussed and implemented at the earliest.
Powerful jihadi tanzeems like the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jamat-ud-Dawa and others raised, nurtured and equipped primarily to create trouble in Kashmir and India are enormously strengthened within the Vale due to the present agitation. None of these were present even in Pakistan during the 1950s when the accords were signed. While the government of India will have to look afresh at the options available to it and act fast to stem the unrest in the Valley the separatists and jihadi supporters in the Valley should also realise that collectively they are destroying the future generation of young people in the Valley by inducing very young children to thow stones on security forces.
The parents of children less than 14-years old have also abdicated their responsibility. The consequences for all concerned could be far-reaching. The people of the Valley, governments at the State and Centre as well as the Army and paramilitaries must realise that the ISIS in Iraq and Syria is harvesting young children of both sexes for suicide missions and infiltration, calling them ‘Cubs of the Caliphate’. Similarly Boko Haram in Nigeria. So far children in the Valley have been mobilised only for stone throwing and the occasional grenade throwing. If firm and immediate action is not taken to nip mobilisation of children in the bud the consequences could turn out to be very grim for Kashmiris in the Valley in the first instance and later beyond Kashmir.The bottom line for all concerned is that there is no way that any government in India can compromise with the security of any part of J&K and India.
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CHAOS ON NATIONAL AND STATE HIGHWAYS- SELF-CREATED BOTTLENECKS
Chaos At Railway Crossings
The concerned government authorities should have been alive by now to the total chaos that results on several National Highways and lesser highways at Railway Level Crossings. This has nothing to do with the railway authorities or the personnel manning the crossings. It has to do with the inordinate chaos that takes place on the road on both sides while vehicles wait for the gate to reopen. What is being narrated in the ensuing paragraphs is the experience of practically all road users whether they are traveling on the finest 6-lane highways that have been created or the roads with lesser width and carriage-way. Example is given of level crossings. The same applies to most types of bottlenecks that exist or are temporarily created.
Every time the booms at the level crossing come down vehicles start lining up on both sides. On highways and roads with high traffic density it does not take more than two minutes for the line to reach back up to about 2 kms. At that stage a car or vehicle with a VIP – real or self-assigned – breaks away to form a second line on the right. This is the signal for two lines to form within the next two minutes. Soon enough impatient drivers start forming the third line, now comprising trucks buses and all sorts of transport including farm tractors. In exactly 8-9 minutes 5 or six lines are formed right up to the edge of the road. A similar exercise takes place on the other side,i.e., hypothetically there is no space to move forward on either side because of the complete packing of the road on both sides.
Where the road is on level ground the system clears itself in about 5-6 minutes, some time in 10 minutes. Where the road is on an elevation should even one vehicle get stuck in the melee, with incessant blowing of power horns, the blockage can last between 30 to 60 minutes and some time up to 4-6 hours. Many people have personally experienced this unnecessary blockage on several occasions, more accurately on practically every long journey by road – the blockage finally being cleared by the arrival of police. Meanwhile, due to lack of coordination and information about why the blockage has taken place motorists, trucks and tractors keep building up at the back adding another hour or two to the restoration of free movement.The phenomenon is not limited to national highways and commerce arteries. It is happening even in cities. One can witness it at traffic lights at various crossings in Delhi during rush hour and in Gurgaon much too often. The cause for these traffic jams of short or long durations is almost invariably lack of patience, indiscipline and lack of heavy deterrent fines.
What Can be Done About it
The first suggestion is for the railway authorities at the level crossings, although they have nothing to do with the chaos that develops on both sides. Wherever it does not exist, railways should extend a central verge or road divider for up to 2-3 kms on either side of the level crossing gates/booms. Mobile police patrols on national highways finding any vehicle on the wrong side, i.e., side from where the traffic from the opposite direction has to flow should impound the vehicle for minumum 12 hours plus levy a heavy fine. The punishment will help curb impatience plus burn a hole in the pocket. At peak periods extra manpower should be positioned to ensure road discipline. Even a single policeman from the nearest police post or motorcycle police patrol would suffice. Once road users realise that they will not be able to get away with lack of road discipline the situation should improve. The extra railway personnel or policemen or mobile patrol need not be always at the same place. Frequently changing places will induce certain caution on wayward road users.
For the State authorities and NHAI knowledge of what happens on highways leading to delays should have automatically led to elementary regulatory mechanisms. Even a token presence from time to time has a commendable salutary effect. Monitoring becomes essential for free and continuous flow of traffic on national and state arteries. Breakdowns due to causes that can be easily remedied should never be allowed to take place. Monitoring will also ensure that when chaos has resulted at a certain location police stations 10,20 and 30 kms away are automatically warned to halt the flow at their locations and monitor progress before allowing forward movement. In the absence of these procedures delays of 10 to 16 hours have been experienced from time to time.
What the PMO, Ministry of Shipping and Roads (especially Ministers Gadkari and Suresh Prabhu) should understand is that infrastructure improvement is oriented towards faster movement of goods and persons, i.e., if there is no free flow 30 days in the month, improving of road infrastructure does not by itself bring in the desired returns either to the government or the entrepreneurs – big or small. In summer perishable goods have to be thrown after long delays or their value reduced by more than half when they land up at ‘mandis’ causing avoidable financial loss to the farmer, retailer and the customer. Delays affecting manufactured goods not reaching the containers or ships to be loaded in time is a nightmare situation for manufacturers. Government planners, especially those dealing with infrastructure and ‘Make in India’ must realise that in most ASEAN countries time taken for a container from factory to ship has been reduced to about 10 days. Slippages, unless due to natural calamities are simply not allowed or condoned. In India no one can plan. On practically every journey motorists come across trucking jams that lead to unnecessary delays all round. The causes for these are known to everyone. Even those manufacturers who have set up factories nearer the ports can never be sure of goods reaching the destination in time due to the blockages mentioned above, in addition to their other headaches. The loss to the exchequer due to long delays at bottlenecks, artificial, temporary or due to natural causes add a phenomenal amount to the energy bill of the country as well as to environmental pollution in cities. Committees being set up to streamline infrastructure should invariably consider laying down guidelines for the problems mentioned above to be tackled speedily as most of them are self-induced. A reckonable improvement in the national finances could take place within the financial year as well as reduction in pollution.
It is amazing that elementary remedies have often to be ordered by the National Green Tribunal rather than undertaken speedily by the concerned ministries and departments, including the police who could be acting far more efficiently and purposefully. Their manpower accretion has to be concurrently planned.