Yogi's Corner

Has the carapace of political neutrality of Indian Armed Forces (AF) finally been broken?  So feel the concerned citizens including most of the senior veterans.  In a chat with the media on this New Year’s Day, the outgoing Chief of the Army Staff was hiding a smirk when he said, ‘armed forces stay away from politics…’.  Unfortunately, his three-year tenure was marred by General’s controversial public pronouncements; at times politically loaded ones. Latest one to draw sharp criticism, from opposition parties and senior veterans alike, was his veiled condemnation of opposition leaders protesting Citizenship Amendment Act. It was a needless foray into the realm of politics.  In a democracy, AF functions as per the Constitution under the directions of the elected government. They are expected to remain politically neutral.  Regrettably, in Indian context this principle appears to have largely been compromised in recent times.      ...

            India's super-cop, KPS Gill, aptly summed up the plight of Kashmiri Pandit (KP) community in his observation that ‘The Pandits have become the targets and victims of one of the most successful, though little known, campaigns of ethnic cleansing in the world. Programs of a far lesser magnitude in other parts of the world have attracted international attention, censure and action in support of the victim communities, but this is an insidious campaign that has passed virtually unnoticed and on which the world remains silent'. Indian state and its national political parties of all hues are far more culpable for this callous indifference. Article II of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948), defines Genocide as " …...acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: killing members of the group; ...". Article V of the Convention man...

            For its political greed, BJP abandoned its core ideology in Jammu & Kashmir and, in the bargain, revealed that it too practices same realpolitik as its political opponents do.  Riding on Modi’s popularity wave, state BJP coined slogan ‘Mission 44 + ’ that aimed at winning a majority in the assembly elections in 2014. Winning 25 seats was no mean an achievement. Unfortunately, BJP squandered this advantage by aligning with soft-separatist PDP whose voter base comprises of hardliners who also resented their party’s alliance with what they considered a “Hindu nationalist ’party. Gross inaptitude and corrupt practices of local BJP leadership made matters worse. Notwithstanding the tall claims that it had widened its base in Kashmir region, BJP is either naïve or in self-denial to think that loyal cadres are created by inducements alone. It is a known fact that in the past also many such ‘loyal cadres’, like Deen Mohd Cheetah, Abdul ...

            The landscape of Kashmir is dotted with magnificent religious places that bear an eloquent testimony to thousands of years of Hindu spiritual heritage.  They create idyllic spiritual ambiance for the devotees. The temples and shrines are inextricably linked to the physical and spiritual existence of Kashmiri Pandits (KPs). These are the defining landmarks and symbols of their faith. Apart from being inalienable Spiritual Centres of KP Community, these shrines and temples have immense heritage value. Several of these temples have been mapped by INTACH, a Valley based NGO, under the auspices of UNESCO- as part of thousands of years of Kashmir’s Hindu heritage that must be preserved and protected.             Historically, Hindu temples and their other places of worship in the Valley have been subjected to desecration and plunder ever since advent of Islam t...

Come January 2019, insurrection in Kashmir will turn thirty. How do we assess the present status of this insurgency in the Valley?   Indeed, insurgents are setting the narrative in Kashmir. A report compiled by the J&K Police, in August 2018, establishes this reality. Over the last decade, the number of active insurgents hovered around 200, even touching a low of 78 in 2013 – lowest since 1990. Police report projects their present figure to be 327 of which majority, 211, are locals. While Hizb-ul- Mujahideen (HM) and Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) - estimated cadres 141 and 128 respectively- retain their dominance, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) too have strengthened its base this year 1 . In the backdrop of high attrition rate, 200 in 2017 and 130 thus far this year, these numbers are ominous. The insurgency in the Valley has had its lows- periods of relative peace- yet it has sustained all this while and end to this conflict seems nowhere in sight. Over the last three decade...