Yogi's Corner

WE are witnessing an alarming increase in the incidents of killings and suicides by soldiers inside security forces' camps. Such a scenario does not augur well for overall health of the security forces especially so for the armed forces of the country. Recent cases of suicide by Capt Kohli, an incident made murkier by doubts raised about the veracity of official version of the cause of her death, and that by a woman officer reinforce the belief that there definitely is more amiss in the army than what meets the eye. Instead of diagnosing the problem, the political masters, army top brass and the media have deflected the core issues by debating and harping upon problems which are mundane and do not portray the real causes leading to such tragic incidents. Day in and day out, we hear about incidents of soldiers gunning down their superiors and colleagues in arms. The fact that this malaise within the army is not restricted only to combat zones should indeed raise heckles in the top...

IN the haze of victory in Kargil that has enveloped us, not many have yet analyzed India’s response. It would be incorrect to term Pakistani intrusions into Kargil sector a total fiasco. Pakistan’s leadership, both political and military, would have taken limited sustainability of such intrusions into account while planning Kargil operation. Pakistani aim, therefore, would not have been solely to annex territory but also to achieve larger politico-military objectives. On political plane, possible objectives were, firstly, to bring Kashmir back into sharp international focus, secondly, to expand area of conflict to Ladakh region, which  thus far had remained untouched and lastly, to silence Nawaz Sharif’s domestic critics and Islamic fundamentalists. For any operation to be successful, it is imperative that there is goal congruence at political and military levels. This principle would surely have been followed by the Pakistani military planners. Moreover, this operation offered m...

Insurgency in the State of J&K is a decade old now and appears to have firmed in fully for a protracted combat with the security forces. Day by day we are being pushed into an Afghanistan like crisis with frightening consequences. Why we failed to bring the situation under control? Answer to this question lies in proper analysis of our response, both political and military, to the challenge of militancy. Counter insurgency operations are fought on two fronts simultaneously, political and military. On political front, our response has throughout remained confused. Our political leaders are unable to comprehend the basic causes of the problem thus have failed to evolve a consensus on this strategic issue of national importance. Ever since eruption of militancy in Kashmir, successive governments at the Centre appeared bereft of ideas to counter this menace, so much so that the problem now appears to have slipped out of our hands. There hardly has ever been any substance in our pol...

ENQUIRY into the fake killings in Siachen is getting murkier by the day. Everyday there are allegations and counter allegations in the enquiry proceedings and these are widely covered by the media. This open enquiry has tarnished the image of Indian Army no end. In recent times it is second major blow to its reputation after the infamous  Tehalka  expose. That a soldier can stoop so low as to fake enemy killings In order to get decorated is indicative of the fact that the moral fiber in army is already tattered beyond repair. Sadly, such exposes rob the sheen out of legitimate acts of bravery and false the luster of medals awarded in recognition. It needs to be understood that gallantry awards have often left a trail of doubt about them. One need not dig deep into history to substantiate this. Instances are galore in none too distant past when gallantry awards were dished out on narrow parochial considerations or as cover ups. Citations for awards are often jugglery of wor...

Ghulam Mohammad Mir, 29 years old now, hails from a sleepy village in North Kashmir. Besides owning huge tracts of agricultural land, Mir's family also runs a flourishing Kashmiri  Shawl  business. Leading a fairly comfortable life in the village, lure for Mir to join militancy obviously came from some where else. So called Kashmir experts may like people to believe that insurgency in the Kashmir Valley is a direct result of past mistakes of Indian Government and economic deprivation of people, Mir’s story makes such claims appear hollow. The Backdrop : Ghulam Mohammad Mir partook of the elixir of religious extremism, in 1989-90, in the then newly established  madrasa  in his native village. Sustained religious indoctrination of the village youth was carried out by a  molvi , who had travelled all the way to Kashmir Valley from western UP.  Molvi' s discourses were full of venom against Hindus, India and her rulers in Delhi. That  jihad  was t...

Amarnathji Yatra has routinely been mired in controversies ever since outbreak of militancy in Kashmir valley.  Communal forces in the Valley, separatists and political parties alike, have been in the forefront to conjure up pretexts to oppose smooth conduct of this Yatra. Kashmiri Muslims fully understand the economic benefits of this annual event yet, bread on rabid communal fodder; they oppose this age old Hindu religious activity in Muslim majority Valley for reasons religious. Last year’s uproar in the Valley, over transfer of land to Amarnathji Shrine Board, crossed all limits of reasonableness to manifest extreme religious intolerance. State administration had almost capitulated to the communal demands from the Valley had Jammu not risen in a rare spontaneity  against  Kashmiri Muslim hegemony to compel State administration see reason and restore a semblance of secular order. It is not that Kashmiri Muslims want Yatra to be discontinued; ...

Way back in 1964, Marshall McLuhan, renowned media guru, predicted that world would someday shrink to be a ‘global village’ where what happens in one part of it would be known instantaneously worldwide. True to his prediction, emergence of social media is perhaps the most prodigious among various platforms of communication made available by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).  Just by pressing a button one can access information, entertainment, events and even enjoy full interaction with anyone anywhere in the world. Social media portfolio comprises mainly of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and google Hangout. Even WhatsApp, up till now a closed chat group, is trying to jump on to the social media bandwagon. Elections in Social Media Age. World over, individuals, groups, organisations and even nations are using social media and other e-media platforms to mobilize millions of people to support/advance their cause/course. In the political sphere too, it has be...