Radicalisation is our prime concern, says Army

Arun Joshi

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 15

The local leadership here can play a gigantic role in psychologically battling the radicalisation that is emerging as “the biggest concern” despite the troops having neutralised the infiltration attempts and controlled the militancy within, observed Lt Gen Subrata Saha, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 15 Corps. The corps gets the maximum spotlight because of its challenges in battling Pakistan-backed militancy and guarding the frontiers.

Amid the scene when ISIS flags appear alongside Pakistani flags and the social media glorifies the murderous campaign of the ISIS, particularly after the announcement of Caliphate by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi iin June last year, General Saha noted, “There is an emerging trend of the IS trying to set its footprints in Afghanistan and then in Pakistan. Once that happens, Kashmir will have to watch.”

The signs of that are already visible in Kashmir, where IS flags appeared alongside Pakistani flags. The lone wolf attacks and the element of surprise are the hallmark of the IS, which is different from al-Qaeda, because its recruitment is through Internet and social media. Kashmir, a conflict zone, cannot remain immune to the global trend. “This is our biggest concern,” he said. That is what worried him the most.

For enduring peace and keeping the Kashmiri youth off radicalisation, General Saha, who had visited almost all corners of the Valley, interacted with all groups, ventured into no-go zones and believed in human interaction, said the local leadership needed to step in in a big way. There are many positives, but he counts three of them, which can be built upon with an aim of constructive engagement.

“Despite the dismal results in government schools — there are 8,933 of them — compared to some 1,100 madrassas, parents prefer sending their children to government-run schools. This is the first positive indicator. The second is that the parents instantly report when their children go missing or join militant groups. The day they start taking pride in their sons becoming militants, the game will be lost,” according to the Corps Commander.

The third was he was looking at the talented generation in Kashmir. “There is extraordinary talent in Kashmir and the parents want that talent to be channelised. There has been a phenomenal response to our programmes across Kashmir,” General Saha elaborated with several examples.

“Much of the onus lies with the local leadership to address this concern. Radicalisation cannot be dealt with with some formula from Delhi, it has to come from the local leadership. They should realise that they have a role and play that effectively. Once that is done, things will show up,” General Saha said.

Another concern was the way Pakistan was turning Punjabi militants towards Lashkar-e-Toiba and they were lining up at across the LoC. They were hardened and ruthless militants. There had been more infiltration attempts this year after snows melted in the mountains. Although most of them had been neutralised because of “our extra vigil and presence in the counter-infiltration grid on the borders, the threat cannot be overlooked”, he said.

Local recruitment was also posing a situation. “We are dealing with it effectively,” General Saha said. He is optimistic that things will turn around and for that, the most important role will have to be played by the local leadership. “ We are here to give all the support they need, but the work which they have to do is to be done by them only,” he said while striking a cautiously optimistic note.