While the neighboring Pakistan
needs to be taught a lesson for sponsoring terrorist attacks in Kashmir, there
is also need to address the Kashmir problem internally. There is no doubt that
there are many things, which needs attention including the radicalisation of
the youth in the state. It is indeed sad to hear that it was a local young
suicide bomber who caused the Pulwama attacks, which needs further probing as
to why the misguided youth are being attracted towards militancy and terrorism.
For some time now there is an
intense debate, whether a sizeable number of educated youth are joining
militant ranks in some parts of south and north Kashmir. As former Union
minister Yashwant Sinha notes that the radicalisation is not because of one
reason, but it is a combination of things. This includes the role of Pakistan,
Wahabism and Islamic fundamentalism. The alienation is another factor as also
the proxy war from Pakistan side, for the youth getting recruited by the
militant organisations like Jaish-e-Mohammad. The Inter-Services Intelligence
(ISI) sponsored propaganda and intolerant religious and ideological narratives
have been instrumental in eroding the ideals of ‘Kashmiriyat’ and gradually
taking them towards jihadist culture.
As former chief of the Army
staff Bikram Singh has noted in a recent article that compared to 131 youth who
joined various terrorist outfits in 2017, the number in 2018 rose to over 200.
Some new terrorist outfits, such as ISIS-Kashmir and AnsarGhazwat-ul-Hind
aligned to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Al Qaeda ideologies,
have also grown in the past few years.
Experts point out that these
are the children from the conflict zone, who have seen guns and rifles on the
streets when they were growing up. They missed their childhood and had seen
only violence and conflict, which robbed them of their childhood. The second
thing is lack of educational opportunities. Thirdly, they do not find adequate
jobs.
Former RAW chief A S Daulat
feels that they are getting radicalised because they feel that they have no
hope. The Jamaat-e-Islami is going about systematically. They also had the
support of the PDP, which won the elections with the support of the Jamaat.
Now, there is huge disillusionment in the Jamaat over PDP. Social media was one
of the major tools the militants use to propagate their ideology and to corrupt
the young minds of the Valley.
The only way to reverse this is to bring them
round. There is an imperative need to look inwards and correct things, as even
now it is not too late. The fact that a Kashmiri kid decided to be a suicide
bomber in Pulwama shows this is the answer from the kids to the flawed Kashmir
policy of gun. The young boy was one of those who felt he had no hope left in
Kashmir. His father is a farmer and the boy was shot in the leg some time back
perhaps for pelting stones on the streets. So he decided to blow himself up.
This attack shows the extent of extreme alienation of the youth.
The counter narrative is the
immediate requirement and the government as well as the political parties
should address this on a priority. The Kashmir Governor Satyapal Malik told me
that after six in the evening there is no activity in the villages and to
address this he has started cinema, radio shows and some sports activities for
the young to keep them occupied. It is a welcome step that the Governor has
already set up some groups for a counter narrative and also talking to Maulvis
to get them on board in tackling fundamentalism. Governor Malik feels that the
mainstream politicians are not taking responsibility. The hardcore radicals are
not many and he had told the forces to address the problem of homegrown
radicalisation. He is worried that the youth are talking of ‘Jannat me jaane ka
hai’ language.
The immediate thing is to set
our house in order. More guns are not the answer, but something else needs to
be tried. Kashmir experts like Daulat feel radicalization could be reversed if
proper measures are taken. As a first step the Centre could talk to the state
leaders like Dr Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti, and even
Hurriyat as you really cant talk to the suicide bombers. The next should be
installation of a popular government as a democratic government is the real
answer to settle things in the state and not the Governor’s rule. Above all,
there is immediate need to calm down the sentiments and bring back normalcy in
the state. Confidence building measures
are needed and bashing up the Kashmiri boys and girls in Chandigarh or
elsewhere is not the answer, as it would further alienate the Kashmiri
youth. This would have further reaction
in the state. In short, what is needed is a steady and long- term Kashmir
policy. (IPA Service)
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