Ground Realities in Kashmir as the Army Battles Foes at the LoC

Ground Realities in Kashmir as the Army Battles Foes at the LoC M Hanes August 22, 2016, 6:50 pm 3 ‘Having an opinion is my fundamental right. At least I am entitled to this.’ This is what a government official in Kashmir said after I condemned him for suggesting a random hypothetical concept for the present scenario in the valley. My question to this official was simple and straight. Why is the PDP government doing nothing to bridge the gap or overcome the political vacuum? Why is it in payback mode to the self-crafted strategy of stone-pelting since 2010? What steps are being taken to control the forced agitation by the separatist leaders, and why are the MLAs and government officials looking silently through their windows, sitting firmly on their elected seats, as the “Valley burns”? In a section of his answer, he said: “How can we control the militancy, it is from the other side. What is the army doing at the line of control? Instead of increasing their presence in the city, they should be present at the LoC.” He even gave a friendly tip to enquire into the matter of ‘vested interests of the army in allowing the insurgency’. If I am to compare myself with a pressure cooker, by this time the safety valve was already gone. But I reminded myself that debates are to be won by decent exchange of facts and not by the ‘whose decibel is highest’ ideology. Thus, in order to find the answers from the ground reality, I requested a visit to a post of the Indian army at the LoC, and luckily it was granted. Keeping my security and ease of travel in mind, I was made to visit the ‘Kaman Post’ on the international border where a peace treaty was signed in 2003 and which, at present, serves as a gateway to the trade and bus route between India and Pakistan as a symbol of goodwill. The Pakistan side of the entrance had a hoarding with two lines in Arabic and Kashmiri which meant ‘Pakistan se rishta Kya, la illahi illahla!’ (‘What’s our relationship with Pakistan, there is no god but god!’) This is one of the slogans which are chanted by the separatist leaders in the valley, especially in mosques on Fridays. Hoarding on the Pakistani side of the entrance to ‘Kaman Post’. (Photo: M Hanes/The Quint) Hoarding on the Pakistani side of the entrance to ‘Kaman Post’. (Photo: M Hanes/The Quint) As a response, the Indians have put up a hoarding, which said “Mazhab nahi Sikhata aapas mai bair rakhna” (‘Religion doesn’t teach us to hate each other’) Although the word ‘secular’ has lost its meaning amidst the meaningless, glorified jargon used by India’s mainstream media and politicians, in this particular moment the essence of it dawned on me as the colour of saffron when put in Kahwa; both typical of the valley. The colour further darkened when I saw bullet marks on the posts dated 2011. This excursion didn’t serve the purpose, so I further requested a visit to any ‘difficult army post’ at the LoC, which was luckily granted. As per protocol, I was to spend a night at one of the camps, which is at an altitude of approximately 9,340 feet above sea level and then next morning march up to the post, which is at an altitude of approximately 13,420 ft above sea level. With the enthusiasm of beginner in a rugby team, all packed and set, I went as per the plan. After reaching the camp, as I went to freshen up, I realised there was no concept of a pipeline water system – two buckets of water dedicated to lavatory was considered a luxury. The next part was the electricity; just four hours per day owing to the proper functioning of generators and availability of stocked kerosene and diesel. The network was also a lost cause altogether. On asking one of the soldiers, I learnt that the network is unstable and unreachable. Their only hope was an Airtel tower nearby which was destroyed in a thunderstorm a month ago and since then, most of them have not spoken with their people back home. One of the soldiers coyly added, “I never got an opportunity to call home and check on my wife and newborn child.” Hoarding on the Indian side. (Photo: M Hanes/ The Quint) Hoarding on the Indian side. (Photo: M Hanes/ The Quint) Being Vulnerable is Not an Option It was almost 7:00 pm and the camp was lit. We finished dinner and retired to sleep. My first night in a sleeping bag inside a moderately built cottage was far from calm and, sonorous in silence, I was conscious of each minute passing by. Finally, somewhere in between the light of my dead mobile and the buzz of my playlist, I fell asleep. It was 11:00 pm when I woke because of a call on the army internal telephone line provided in the room. The moment I opened my eyes, I started gasping for air; the room was pitch dark. As the heaviness of the dark night started enveloping my spirit, I picked up the phone; it was a friend on the other side. It’s beyond the power of my pen to make one realise the assurance of hope and life in that minute through a known voice. Because five minutes down the line, my mind all stable and calm, again walking a thankless, taken-for-granted lane. Being vulnerable never comes across as an option and strength is the only weapon which attempts in winning these small, major unnoticed battles. Next morning was the decided day for the walk to the post by 6:00 am, all the soldiers were ready in their uniforms; a symbol of pride and oneness. Although if one looks closely and makes eye contact, they would find thousands of stalled stories, waiting for their time to replay from the last paused movement. Yet, one won’t find the baggage of it tying down their spirit. It was as lively and eloquent as the surrounding swaying chinar trees. Frozen food items for Indian army soldiers stationed in Jammu and Kashmir. (Photo: M Hanes/ The Quint) Frozen food items for Indian army soldiers stationed in Jammu and Kashmir. (Photo: M Hanes/ The Quint) Risk Factors We started walking down the track. Had I been granted the luxury of a few pages in JRR Tolkien’s book, I would have happily narrated the path as well, as it was no less magical than a Hobbit shire, just that the boundary line was not marked by cabbage and radish fields. When I reached the decided post, I shifted my focus to the agenda of my quest. I spotted an enemy post. Looking through the binoculars, I found a Pakistani soldier hanging washed clothes on line; the other person was either taking a sun bath on trying to sleep under the open sky. When I enquired if every day is a sunny day over here, a soldier unable to hold out any longer, finally answered my questions. The Pak post is a picnic spot for the militants attempting to enter India. They sit at the posts with the soldiers, who themselves assist in the insurgency. So logically, a Pakistan soldier hardly worries about insurgency in their territory. Indian Army Soldier Pointing towards the happy-go-lucky Pakistani soldier, he added, “Just two days ago, there was a cease fire, but we didn’t have the orders to retaliate. We cannot roam in the open so freely; the possibility of being shot is always there.” As night falls, soldiers continuously march along the LoC line in pitch darkness, without any torches or sources of light. The terrain is such that one false step can prove fatal in the depths of the valley. Sometimes they are required to sit and wait at different points in the mountains acting on intelligence information. During winters, the valley is covered in at least 20 feet of thick snow, which further increases the risk factor during patrolling. In case of an evacuation, 50-60 soldiers are required to take him on a stretcher on foot, through the steep rocky terrain to the nearest base camp which is at least 20-25 kms away from the posts. Evacuation via helicopters especially during the nights is not even an option. This was the time of winter stocking in these posts. One might like to recall the political debates in assemblies regarding ‘special rations’ being allocated to the army. Out of journalistic curiosity, I insisted on witnessing this special ration, which was tinned vegetables and fruits, packed dried potatoes and onions, tasteless ready to eat chicken, rajma, cholle and Dairy Milk chocolates. Sometimes they also have the luxury of dry fruits, which are ultimately wasted. Following a simple drill, ‘drink sufficient water’ instead of ‘being thirsty’ becomes the ultimate challenge for survival in winters. Ground Realities These are the food items on which they will survive for the next six months (October-April) until the snow melts and they resume contact with the rest of the valley. Sixteen posts under one company gets an hour on BSNL wireless landline for phone calls. Theoretically, less than two minutes for each soldier to speak or get a hint of the situation back home. Amongst the few things they do in the Valley for civilians are: Provide them schools and scholarship Provide free medical camps Provide veterinary camps Free youth clubs Free tuitions Free coaching classes for IIT (one must Google the success story of Kashmir Super-30) Engaging youth through sports and tournaments Employment to the locals Career counseling Providing drug de-addiction centres What they don’t do is retaliate when stones hit their convoys, damaging their properties, injuring their men. Recently, two commanding officers were injured in one such instance, one of them being the army personnel whom I met during this trip. He spoke about his men and the lack of bulletproof jackets, and asked me if being a journalist I can raise this issue at the right forums. It was hard for me to articulate that it’s only right and left wing, with hardly any sense of ‘right’ and ‘well-being’, for the people, of the people, or by the people. And finally, what they get is to be a topic in the speculative arguments of pseudo-intellectuals against self-declared nationalists on various forums, where they are juggled from ‘heroic examples’ to the ‘face of atrocities’ without any reference to ground realities