Centre's Floundering Tactics

The military and political line advanced in Kashmir by the Modi government has had catastrophic social, political and security consequences. But the government is not willing to change its tactic for reasons of expediency.

- Venkitesh Ramakrishnan

“For over two years, the veteran was repeatedly flagging the pitfalls in Kashmir. Now the whole system is bearing the brunt of being indifferent to his views, or responding almost flippantly.” This statement is from an informal interaction between two relatively young civil servants in the Union Home Ministry on May 3, the day on which the Ministry of External Affairs summoned Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit to record its outrage over the killing and mutilation of the bodies of two Indian soldiers in the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch in Kashmir. These civil servants’ responsibilities in the Home Ministry include monitoring and facilitating certain areas of the functioning of a couple of Indian paramilitary forces that are operational in Kashmir. The veteran they were referring to was Amarjit Singh Dulat, the security affairs specialist, whose long innings in the Indian security establishment in various capacities included one as Adviser on Kashmir to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in 2001-04. Dulat’s stints in the security establishment, as chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and as Special Director, Intelligence Bureau, were marked by years of sustained information gathering and assessment in Kashmir. Not surprisingly, he is widely regarded as one of the most authentic and respected observers of Kashmir and related issues.