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The Hindu
29-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
War not an option and it's the right time to restore statehood to J&K: A.S. Dulat
Amarjit Singh Dulat, former chief of India's external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), and an expert on the Kashmir question, speaking to The Hindu in Bengaluru in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, said, despite jingoistic calls, war was not an option. 'I have always maintained war is not an option. Let us hope there is no war. Even if it comes to that, it is not just the last option but the last bad option. Neither country can afford a war,' he said. Asked about other offensive options before the Government of India to create a deterrence against such attacks on Pakistan, he said while that was for the government to decide, deterrence could be built 'by increasing security, and ensuring the local Kashmiri is happy and is on our side'. 'I agree with the Prime Minister when he says the perpetrators of this attack should be found and punished. So let us find them,' he said. On restoring statehood Mr. Dulat stressed on the importance of taking the Kashmiris along and expressed concern about some actions by the Union government in the region in the aftermath of the terror attack. 'For the time being, everybody in Kashmir is one and all the Kashmiri leaders have said they are with Delhi. This is a rare opportunity that should not be squandered away. The local Kashmiri should not suffer for whatever has happened. But slowly, there is a concern developing. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah have also made statements that locals should not be targeted. The demolition of houses in this fashion is a concern to me as well,' he said. He suggested that, as a confidence-building measure, this was a good time to restore the statehood for Jammu and Kashmir. 'Whatever the Government of India does, it should take the local Kashmiri along. In this context, it is not a bad time to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. The elected government in J&K should be supported and given credibility,' he argued. 'Tourism is not normalcy' When quizzed about the narrative that claimed that a large number of tourists going to Kashmir as proof of 'Naya Kashmir', where violence had come down, Mr. Dulat said, 'Clearly terror has not gone away and tourism is not normalcy in Kashmir.' 'Violence had indeed come down. But it comes down and spikes again. Our armed forces have come under increasing attacks in the thickly forested Poonch Rajouri region for the past few years. In the last year, there have been more attacks in Jammu. Recently, there were a few attacks in Kathua, and it came up close to Udhampur. That's where you start climbing to the [Kashmir] Valley, and [it] is the route to Pahalgam. Obviously, these terrorists seem to have created some bases in this belt; it is not as if they are coming and going every day. So, if you see this pattern, terror has not gone away,' he said. Making a passionate argument for restoration of statehood to J&K, he said, in fact, a short period of peace in the [Kashmir] Valley was after the recent Assembly election in which the National Conference swept the polls. 'The common Kashmiri felt finally there was a government of his (the voter's) in power. He slowly realised that it's only a half government. This needs to be corrected,' he said.
The Hindu
28-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
War is not an option; this is not a bad time to restore Statehood to J&K, says former RAW chief A.S. Dulat
Amarjit Singh Dulat, former chief of India's external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), has had a long engagement with Kashmir, of which he has written about extensively. Following the recent terror attack in Pahalgam that left 26 dead, The Hindu spoke to him on the emerging situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Edited excerpts: How do you see the recent terror attack in Pahalgam? This was the worst of the worst attacks as innocent tourists were killed. Except for once earlier, when U.S. President Bill Clinton was visiting, tourists haven't been targeted. If they attack in Srinagar, it is difficult to escape. So they have selected this meadow outside Pahalgam. Unfortunately, there was no security, and it was 20 minutes before anyone could reach there, by which time the attackers had fled. There has been talk of a 'Naya Kashmir', a rhetoric that terrorism has diminished in the past few years while tourist traffic has increased. But the Army has been facing casualties in the Poonch Rajouri area for some time now... Violence had indeed come down. But it comes down and spikes again. The Poonch-Rajouri region is a thickly forested area. There have been a number of attacks on the Army in this region. In the last one year, there have been more attacks in Jammu. Recently, there were a few attacks in Kathua, and it came up close to Udhampur. That's where you start climbing to the [Kashmir] Valley, and [it] is the route to Pahalgam. Obviously, these terrorists seem to have created some bases in this belt; it is not as if they are coming and going every day. So, if you see this pattern, terror has not gone away, and the region has never been fully normal. Tourism doesn't mean normalcy in Kashmir. There was spontaneous opposition to the attack in Kashmir this time. How do you see the Kashmiri sentiment evolving? A short time of peace in the Valley was after the recent Assembly election in which the National Conference came back, sweeping the polls. The common Kashmiri felt finally there was a government of his (the voter's) in power. He slowly realised that it's only a half government. Law and order is now under the Lieutenant Governor. So the State government cannot be blamed for this attack. For the time being, everybody in Kashmir is one and all the Kashmiri leaders have said they are with Delhi. This is a rare opportunity that should not be squandered away. The local Kashmiri should not suffer for whatever has happened. But slowly, there is a concern developing. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah have also made statements that locals should not be targeted. The demolition of houses in this fashion is a concern to me as well. Whatever the Government of India does, it should ensure to take the local Kashmiri along. In this context, it is not a bad time to restore Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. The elected government in J&K should be supported and given credibility. There have been demands for a 'fitting response', including even war with Pakistan. What do you think is the right response to build deterrence, given that previous trans-border actions don't seem to have achieved it? I have always maintained war is not an option. Let us hope there is no war. Even if it comes to that, it is not just the last option but the last bad option. Neither country can afford a war. What other offensive options we have is for the government to decide. But we have to create deterrence by increasing security, and ensuring the local Kashmiri is happy and is on our side. Let us hope that better sense prevails. I agree with the Prime Minister when he says the perpetrators of this attack should be found and punished. So let us find them.
News18
28-04-2025
- Politics
- News18
Pahalgam And After: Collective Will Is Bedrock Of Collective Response
The imperative for this hour of trial, as called upon by PM Modi, is to firm up our resolve and our will to display our collective national will to stand as one nation In the 121st episode of Mann Ki Baat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed the innermost emotions of the entire nation on the Pahalgam terror attack. Only those who made it a crusade, since 2019, to engage in litigation, misinformation and disinformation, to prevent Kashmir from being normal, would disagree with the emotions expressed by PM Modi. These interest groups with a global footprint, many of whose members have sympathised with and justified the acts of Pakistan-sponsored terrorists and terror groups in the past, made it their mission to discredit the Modi government and its vision of a 'Naya Kashmir". A near-normalcy in Kashmir would only mean the end of their business. It would mean the shutting down of their shops and propaganda parlours. These groups need to be loudly called out, their intellectual co-partners need to be identified and exposed. For all those who have been to Kashmir post 2019, post the abrogation of Article 370, PM Modi's words would ring true. An unprecedented degree of vibrancy was returning to schools and colleges, tourism had peaked, the whole of India wanted to soak in the ambience of the state and rightly so. With the constitutional integration complete, it was a greater integration of the mind and emotion that was taking place. From pipe water connection reaching remote villages for the first time since Independence, medical colleges and connectivity, an increasing pace of infrastructural growth, to a steep rise in investment and rise in employment opportunities, Kashmir was striding towards normalcy. The increasing success of young Kashmiris in international sporting events, winning medals from Yogasana championship to kickboxing to skiing championship, was indicative of the détente in the minds of Kashmir's gen-next that was gradually taking place. The opening of the first cinema halls in three decades in Srinagar was a sure sign that despite gargantuan challenges and resistances from the break-India elements, Kashmir was inching towards a greater normalcy. True to his pledge and words, PM Modi and his government have seen to the democratic process being put on track. The 'Naya Kashmir" vision needed to be based on an authentic and credible democratic foundation. The elections in Kashmir, both the Lok Sabha and the assembly elections later, saw a record turnout of voters, never seen or heard of in Kashmir in the past. The BJP did not come to power, but emerged, for the first time, as the principal opposition party with its Leader of Opposition in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly. It did not blame EVMs, did not question the process; instead, PM Modi rejoiced at the peoples' choice. For him, the process, the democratic exercise and participation, was more important and crucial. It was crucial for the realisation of the Viksit Bharat vision. Viksit Bharat did not leave anyone or any region out and behind. It is a vision for the whole of India, for 140 crore Indians. The democratic process in Kashmir was a watershed moment since, on the other side, lay a failing and failed State. An artificial State held together by a calcifying glue of anti-Indianness, a State, somehow pulled through by scrapping the decaying residues of a rejected two-nation theory, a State where the democratic process has long been buried in a grave that is unmarked and untraceable. PM Modi rightly described it when he said that enemies of the nation and the patrons of terror could not accept the reality of Kashmir returning to a vibrant normalcy, a normalcy that is full of possibilities and of hope. The manner in which the terrorists approached the victims and the segregated murder carried out in the name of religion by singling out non-Muslims, is a signature Pakistan deep-state method. The Pakistani establishment did this in the 1950s during pogroms against minorities in East Bengal. The genocidal Pakistan Army applied the same method in 1971, when its soldiers and generals mass-murdered Bengali Hindus in East Pakistan. The fingerprints, footprints and mindset of the Pakistani rogue-State is clearly visible in the method pursued. The terrorists, who were trained in Pakistan's hell-holes of terror, were well-versed with that method. The world has responded to the dastardly and cowardly terror attack in Pahalgam. Leaders from across the world have condemned the terror attack, terming it as 'unacceptable". There has been no prevarication, no equivocal approach, no economy in words from these global leaders when it came to condemning the terror attack. The expression of solidarity was undiluted—the message was that the world stands with India. PM Modi's decisions and steps over the last few days since the attack, his cutting short the state visit to Saudi Arabia, the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, downgrading diplomatic relations with Pakistan, suspending visas for Pakistani nationals, shutting of the Attari integrated check-post, testing of missiles and demonstrating naval and air preparedness, convening an all-party meeting and the Union Home Minister Amit Shah's directive for states to ensure that Pakistanis leave, are all steps in line with the demands of the situation. A mature State, with a rising consciousness of its civilisational essence and fabric, will withstand shocks. A civilisational State responds decisively to affronts to its essence and core, such a response will come, as PM Modi has reiterated and has assured the nation. The imperative for this hour of trial, as called upon by PM Modi, is to firm up our resolve and our will to display our collective national will to stand as one nation. That resolve and collective will shall be the bedrock of our collective response. That undiminished collective will shall keep burning the hearth of our freedom and unity. The author is Chairman, Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation, and a member of the National Executive Committee, BJP. The views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18's views. Get Latest Updates on Movies, Breaking News On India, World, Live Cricket Scores, And Stock Market Updates. Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! First Published:
India Today
24-04-2025
- Politics
- India Today
The message of Pahalgam: ‘Normalcy' and cross-border terror cannot co-exist
In the vocabulary of the long-running Jammu and Kashmir conflict, one word has crept in periodically, namely 'normalcy'. Politicians and pundits have often spoken triumphantly of how 'normalcy' is being restored in the Kashmir Valley. And yet, the stark truth is that for three and a half decades, Kashmir has been anything but 'normal'. The latest tragic terror attack, in which at least 28 civilians were massacred, is only a stark reminder of how, in a bloodied Valley, every time a window of hope is opened, it is firmly shut by the merchants of terror. From a ray of sunshine to a dark abyss, Kashmir is trapped in a deadly how Prime Minister Narendra Modi expounded on his vision of a 'Naya Kashmir' soon after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. Mr Modi spun a dream of how this was a major step towards 'normalcy': Kashmir would soon see, promised the prime minister, a flood of investments, of massive infrastructure development and even a return of Bollywood cinema to the snow-capped mountains and verdant meadows. This would be a 'new normal' where Jammu and Kashmir would be rapidly 'mainstreamed' into a 'new' promised 'normalcy' was a facade. Sure, new roads, highways and tunnels were built as a positive symbol of change. It was now possible to whizz from Srinagar to Anantnag or Baramullah with a speed that was perhaps unthinkable a few years ago. But 'normalcy' isn't just about physical infrastructure. It is ultimately about winning the hearts and minds of the people. And that is where long-standing resentments on the ground refused to go How is it 'normal' when India's only Muslim-majority state is split and downsized into a union territory by an overnight legislative firman? How is it 'normal' when three former chief ministers are detained and placed under house arrest? How is it 'normal' when thousands of Kashmiris are arrested under draconian preventive detention laws and packed off into prison? How is it 'normal' when schools remain shut for months and internet shutdowns are routine? How is it 'normal' when thousands of security troops are swarming across every nook and corner of the Valley, their overwhelming presence a constant reminder of how the Indian state could not afford to take any risks on the ground? How is it 'normal' when a rogue and dysfunctional Pakistani state continues to arm and train young men to spread fear and violence?The drumbeat of 'normalcy' was spurred on when elections were finally held last year, and the turnout in both the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha was far higher than before. No boycott calls by separatist groups and no sign of voter coercion. The Hurriyat Conference – once projected as the voice of the separatists – was now a rump, effectively emasculated by the all-powerful Indian state machine. Omar Abdullah was the 'elected' chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, his party winning an absolute majority. But how is it 'normal' when the chief minister has almost no powers, not even the powers to appoint or transfer key bureaucrats? How is it 'normal' when an unelected Lieutenant Governor with no Kashmir connect was vested with all the authority, including crucially law and order? The people of Jammu and Kashmir had voted in large numbers in the hope that an election was a prelude to a restoration of statehood as promised by the Centre. That promise remains 'normalcy' narrative also pointed to the record number of tourists who thronged the valley in a post-Covid tourism boom. The tulips were blooming in Srinagar's gardens, the shikaras and house-boats on Dal Lake were over-booked in peak season, trekking in Pahalgam and skiing in Gulmarg were attracting visitors, and new hotels were being planned. The Centre had even promoted J and K as a tourist-friendly destination, with Srinagar hosting a G20 tourism summit in May tourism alone is not a sign of 'normalcy'. 'Normalcy' also means the absence of fear, zero terror and the inability of terrorists to strike at will. The centre claimed, justifiably, that the number of civilians killed in terror attacks had come down in recent years. What the figures masked is a grim reality where encounters between armed forces and terrorist groups continued unabated, where the dense forests in the Poonch-Rajouri region saw a fresh spate of attacks, where, in just the first month when the new government was elected in October 2024, there was a marked spike in is it 'normal' when terrorists continued to indulge in targeted attacks: recall how in October 2021, a prominent Srinagar city chemist, a food vendor and a taxi driver were all gunned down within an hour. The chemist Makhan Lal Bindroo was a Kashmiri Pandit, amongst the few who had stayed back after the 1990s exodus. How is it 'normal' when Kashmiri Hindu families still can't return to their ancestral homes? How is it 'normal' when a religious divide has been stoked by those who used the gun to drive away Kashmiri Pandits? How is it 'normal' when the Amarnath Yatra remains vulnerable to a terror strike?Which brings us to the real source of mischief and terror in the turbulent valley. How is it 'normal' when Islamist terrorists, openly wearing their religion on their sleeves, backed by the Pakistani ISI-army network, continue to spread their tentacles in the region? How is it 'normal' when Pakistan continues to shelter Lashkar modules, when its army chief peddles the two-nation theory and describes Kashmir as Islamabad's 'jugular vein'? Recent years have seen the emergence of 'hybrid' terrorists, groups that are a mix of Pakistani 'foreign' terrorists along with local Kashmiris who are enticed and indoctrinated into the 'jihadi' network. How is it 'normal' when young men still seek solace in the gun amidst persistently high unemployment and a growing drug menace?advertisementThe truth is, the Modi government hasn't been able to eliminate cross-border terror, just as previous governments also failed. The language of muscular nationalist rhetoric in a TV studio has been cruelly exposed on the ground. From Pathankot to Pahalgam via Pulwama, there is enough evidence to show that the Pakistani state continues to sponsor terror and conflict in the region. What fuels this is not just the 'Islamisation' of the Pakistani state but also the creeping religious divide within our society. How is it 'normal' when the political establishment and their cheerleaders are seen to 'normalise' hate and bigotry? The rogue Pakistani army-state wants to use Pahalgam to further widen a Hindu-Muslim divide. We must not succumb to their evil desires. Pakistan must pay the price for its actions. India must remain united in grief and rage.(Rajdeep Sardesai is a senior journalist and author whose latest book is 2024:The Election That Surprised India)(Views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author)Tune InMust Watch
