It was a quite unique gathering and maybe for the first time, that on July 04, 2011, in Srinagar, Army brass, Kashmiri craftsmen, political leaders and civil government officials got together, when chief minister Omar Abdullah released a coffee table book titled “Handicrafts of Kashmir”. GOC 15 Crops Lt. Gen. Syed Atta Hasnain, Army officers, master Kashmiri artisans and others were present together on this occasion as this book had been published by the Army’s counter-insurgency Rashtriya Rifles’ Kilo Force. A photo feature of the development of handicrafts of Kashmir, the book showcases the artistic skill of artisans and fantastic creation of designs. Speaking to the gathering, the chief minister lauded the role of the Army in the social activities in the state. He said that the initiative of the Army to help in publishing of an informative and creative book on Kashmiri handicrafts would go a long way in projecting Kashmir’s artisans and their painstaking and very artistic hand-crafting of curios and utility items.
While such praise of the Army from political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) does not come often or easily, it does come quite often and spontaneously by locals, who the Army has been assisting in a number of ways from time to time.
Since the late 1980s, Jammu and Kashmir has been in the news for all the wrong reasons, when terrorist attacks from across the border began targeting this “paradise on earth”, chasing out Kashmiri pandits and leaving behind the skeleton of what was once the most beautiful valley in the region.
Since 2011, Mr Abdullah has been projecting the improved security environment in the Valley and has been strongly recommending removal/revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act from at least part of J&K and also been suggesting that the Army be removed from parts of it. He has been harping on the reduced number of cross-border terrorist attacks in the state this year as a proof that there is no major threat and that the Army should withdrawn from it. Mr Abdullah’s view that the Indian Army’s presence in J&K is hampering the further normalisation and development of the state is quite warped. Because J&K, particularly the Valley, has enjoyed many benefits from the presence of the Army. While the Army’s presence, apart from its deployment on the Line of Control (LoC) in the major cities and towns in the Valley, was an unavoidable necessity in earlier years since the late 1980s. If the Valley has again become a destination for tourists, it is only because of the long haul of counter-insurgency/terrorism operations, mainly led/conducted/coordinated by the Army, that Central and state police could manage some of the districts and towns which had been almost taken over by the Pakistan Army/ISI supported terrorists.
In fact, after the bus service to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir began, Kashmiris on both sides of the LoC realised the stark difference in development between the two.
The British always stationed their Army units away from the centres of habitation and these secluded pockets called cantonments. These gradually evolved into small, self-sufficient entities catering to the needs of armymen and their families with a local market usually called Sadar Bazar. This explains why there are a number of robust markets in old British cantonment towns by the name of Sadar Bazar.
The presence of the Army in any area in India has been a catalyst in its development.
However, this important aspect is usually overlooked, as is being done by the current state government. Being manpower intensive, the Army requires considerable administrative support for its routine functioning. Take for example rations. While rice, wheat-flour and cereals may be procured from elsewhere, the Army has to fully rely on local sources for supply of perishable items like vegetables, milk, meat and poultry products. This is actually a boon in disguise for people residing in these remote areas. Because the locals who earlier could not market their produce in the hinterland due to the prohibitive transportation and storage costs, now have a buyer at their doorstep. For example, the Army in J&K buys approximately 33,000 litres of milk daily.
Further, since the Army guarding frontiers is deployed in inaccessible areas, local means to sustain the troops have to be employed as lack of surface communication network precludes use of vehicles.
In J&K, the Army spends approximately `96 crores hiring porters and ponies every year, which is a major source of employment/earning for locals. Similarly, the Army spends approximately `120 crores for hiring transport for movement of men and material within the state. This means that by its presence itself, the Army is actually a major employer in the state, promoting enterprise in remote areas and ameliorating the lot of locals. The presence of the Army in remote areas also promotes the improvement of infrastructure and facilities in them.
If Ladakh today is a popular tourist destination, then the credit for the same goes to Indian Army as the Leh airfield was created in 1948 to facilitate landing of Indian Air Force planes carrying troops to repulse the Pakistani intruders. Similarly, the road from Leh to the spectacular Pangong Tso Lake (where the final scene of 3 Idiots was shot) was originally a foot track which was converted into a motorable road to transport and maintain troops guarding the Sino-Indian border. And as in the past, habitation has sprung up on the fringes of the places where Army units and detachments are located. The area which was a beautiful and isolated part of the country has, thanks to the Army, become a popular tourist destination and is enjoying generating revenue with the fledgling tourism industry in the region.
Another major employer of locals is the Border Roads Organisation whose Project Beacon constructed high quality roads as major arteries in difficult mountainous terrain spanned by bridges and continuously maintains them as they are prone to damage due to landslides caused during rains and other natural causes. So, while roads and tracks constructed for military use improves connectivity for the locals, the maintenance of the same provides them ready employment. In an area where there are no major industries close by, this can be seen as virtual home delivery of job opportunities to the locals.
The Army also has a culture of extending its basic facilities to the locals on humanitarian grounds. Thus, emergency medical aid including evacuation of sick and the ailing, advice on local developmental programmes are all part of normal routine for the Army in these places. Providing medical care in areas where the state government is yet to make inroads is a major boon to the local population. In fact the bonding between the Army units and the locals becomes so strong that it is not unusual to hear of cases of the locals petitioning the civil administration and even ministers to cancel the transfer order of units.
In 2004, as part of Operation Sadbhavana, projects were undertaken to electrify remote rural villages and hamlets with solar panels and windmills and provide job opportunities to the poor people of these back ward areas. Two such projects by Romeo Force of Rashtriya Rifles were in Barsada and Kulali villages at the mouth of the Hill Kaka Region in Poonch district.
An officer I interacted with, recalled an incident during 1980s, when someone spread the rumour that after the Upshi- Manali route to Ladakh would become commercial, the Army would discontinue using the Srinagar – Leh route. This rumour spread like wildfire and it took the chief minister’s personal assurance to assuage the fears of the perceived revenue loss by the locals. Another similar incident relates to decision of the Army to vacate Mhow in Madhya Pradesh since the civil administration expressed its inability to supply the requisite amount of water and electricity to the Army. This resulted in such a large scale agitation by the locals that the civil administration had to relent. While the Army seldom publicises the role it plays in assisting development in remote areas as well as providing employment to local inhabitants and so, the nation at large may be oblivious of the same, the locals of remote areas remain indebted to the Army for improving their lives.
The irony in J&K is that chief minister wants to oust the Army, whose presence and sacrifice of many soldiers, brought back law and order to the Valley.
With Pak Army/ISI still inducting trained and well-armed terrorists into J&K across the international boundary till Akhnur and the 740-km-long LoC and, thereafter, the only deterrent in place to prevent a full scale terrorist attack is the presence of the Indian Army. If it is withdrawn from J&K, the state will once again be vulnerable to all kinds of mischief planned by Pak Army/ISI and now with a major Chinese military presence in PoK. For the development of J&K, which can only be maintained or progressed further with security, the Indian Army must be retained there till the problems with Pakistan are resolved.