Brig Harcharan Singh
1) Many realities of history fade into oblivion, as timely and adequate exposure was not made in the public domain. Incidents connected with national security and sacrifices of our soldiers must be recorded in history as ”Nations who forget history are condemned to repeat it”. The morale of Armed Forces and will to sacrifice is connected with the pride, which a nation takes in recognising the services of its soldiers and looking after the families of those , who died in Line of Duty. The words of George Patten exhibit the spirit of a grateful nation,towards sacrifices of a soldier , I quote ”It is foolish & wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather, we should thank God that such men lived”. Question remains, is the nation doing enough for families of soldiers who were Killed in Action ( K I A ) ,or the sacrifices are forgotten , with passage of time.The family/ Children of these KIA soldiers, undergo a trauma. We will evaluate the actions taken by Govt in J&K, to include specific initiatives taken by the Lt Governor in the recent past, with reference to requirement of Winning Hearts & Minds, a crucial strategy for any State , embroiled in menace of Foreign sponsored Terrorism.
2) Perception Management. Insurgency is eliminated through measures taken to eradicate the Root Causes , which would have alienated the local population over a period of time, thereby bringing back the affected population to the national mainstream. The process includes both Hard and Soft measures.Continuous collection of Intelligence by various Int Agencies gives out the area of concern. Measures to win Heart & Minds and elimination of Terrorists goes side by side.Good governance is important to tackle the grievances of the locals. Role of Media is very important in the normalization process. The unconditional sacrifices of our Security forces indicates high morale of our soldiers. The welfare measures for families of dead soldiers and implementation of various welfare schemes, gives out a loud negative or positive message to the society, based on the priority and effective implementation of these schemes.State Govt has a major role to play in implementation of these schemes, release of funds and processing of connected files for approval. Let’s see certain initiatives of the state govt towards Good Governance.
3) Certain Recent Initiatives in J&K. Till a year back, certain decisions of the state govt raised a big question mark on the intentions. Policy on Grant of education scholarship to children of slain Terrorist and amnesty or unwillingness to legally proceed against people involved in violence/ killing of innocents definately lowered the morale of Security forces.On the contrary , clearcut and good policies provide a clear Mandate for operations to Security forces and ensure speedy disposal of files in time bound manner . ”Good governance assures corruption is minimized – – – Voices of most vulnerable in society are heard in decision making and it is also responsive to the present and future needs of society ” . We would examine certain recent initiatives of govt and see if these new rules/ initiatives have positively resolved issues concerning soldiers/ESM. a) As per a recent directive, all employees are required to provide progress of office work to their superiors. b) During the visit of the Union Home Minister recently, the commitment of the Govt to look after the welfare of security personnel was reiterated.. c) Four families of martyred police personnel were handed over Govt orders for jobs , under SRO 43. d) Also, very definite actions are being taken against corrupt officials , including certain terror Funding cases, being investigated by NIA.. e) Actions to free the land from the control of encroachers/ land mafia.
* The new initiatives are meant to tackle Terrorism with Hard and Soft measures,address corrupt practices,streamline procedures,provide economic packages with correct environment and to win Hearts and Minds . Lets see, sensitivity of State administration towards soldiers/ families of Veer Naris , in light of these initiatives and other generic issues.
5) State Policies – – Are they Sensitive towards Soldiers.
* For giving a decent living for soldiers, retiring at a young age of 38 years, one has to see the initiatives initiated by the neighboring State of Punjab. A Cl IV job to even well educated family member of KIA in J&K is an excuse and illogical as compared to a well defined policy of an assured govt job in Punjab , which caters for even a job of a Cl A post in govt ,as per education qualification of the candidate. Family members of our soldiers, killed in action , outside the geographical boundaries of J&K , are not eligible to apply for any govt job.It very well fits in the definition of discrimination, as no soldier ever questions fighting terrorist in or out of boundries of J&K. Ex Gratia grant has been raised to 20 lakhs recently,after decades of unwarranted delay, whereas neighboring states have already started grants touching / crossing Rs one crore.
* As per J&K govt rules, for cases of ” Die in Harness”, a family member is given the job in the same department. The employees of Sainik Welfare Deptt are being made to run from pillar to post , without offering an alternate post to dependents of such cases in any other deptt, stated clearly in the rules.
* Four plots of War Widow Colony , Jammu, were encroached upon by the Land Mafia in 2015 ,through fraud entries made in land papers by Revenue Deptt. Mistake has to be condoned through the channel of Home Deptt/DC/Div Com/ Finance Secy. The delay and reluctance in the matter indicates a low / nil priority for matters pertaining to soldiers/ Veer Naris.
* Important case of Ikhwanis is being discussed below being a classical case , where soldiers/ their families feel left out, when utility is not felt any further.
* Problems being faced by Ikwanis . At the peak of terrorism in 1990s, a group of locals/ surrendered terrorists ( Ikhwanis), joined hands with govt/ army/police, to fight other terrorist groups. In 2004, recruitment of Ikhwanis was started in Army TA Battalion, located in Kashmir.These Ikhwanis excelled themselves in anti terrorist operations, with one of them even being decorated with prestigious gallantry award of Ashok Chakra, while he was Killed in Action. Continuously on hit list of Terrorists, some of them even were killed in front of family members, while on leave.To ensure security, they were allowed to build houses in Ikhwan Colony, in 1997 – 98 in Distt Kulgam, in an function inagurated by govt . Army/ Police protection was provided to the colony for some period.
* Presently, around 30 Ikhwani families are staying in the Colony. Till date , no formal govt allotment orders for the land has been given to the families. Case is with Div Com.
* Police Cases. Certain FIRs were lodged against individual Ikhwanis & case was not finalized, when the soldiers were in army service.The Commanding Officer of TA Battalion should have got the police case settled, which was not done. The soldiers find it difficult to defend cases after retirement, in individual capacity, after lapse of 20 years or so.In such one case (FIR 96/2001 filed on 13 March 2001 at PS Kulgam), the bail was denied to three Ikhwanis by the Court , who retired in 2019/20 from the army. After court orders of 15 March , police authorities transferred them to Kot Balwal Jail(Jammu). As per family members, undertrials terrorists attacked them in jail on 16 March, after which all three Ikhwanis are lodged in three separate jails of Jammu Division.Timely trials, when they were in Army , would had given them speedy and timely justice. Mental agony of these individuals / families/ children could be well imagined, who have lived under threat of gun and will continue to face the legal process, even shunning the path of violence. Fair trials after a lapse of 20 years will be a traumatic and costly affair with a question mark on efficiency and intent of police, which finalized the Charge Sheet after a delay of 20 years or so.
6) Recommendations. Post abrogation of Art 370, a lot of new initiatives were expected . ESM and soldiers were expecting changes in the attitude of the State towards soldiers/ESM . The recent policy of weekly progress of files seems impressive, but it has not finalized the holding of the annual Lt Governors Sainik Welfare Board Conference, last held in 2018.. All welfare related decisions are made and pursued during this conference. Weekly progress seems more on papers.
7) The comparison of welfare schemes, Govt Jobs & incentives given to soldiers/ ESM / families of KIA in neighboring states is well known. The yawning gap must be covered at the earliest. As is said, Justice Delayed is Justice Denied.
8) The terrorism is a war of Hearts and Mind, we cannot afford to alienate the friendly population. The case of Ikhwanis is an reflection as to how we donot bother to look after the interests of those who were and will be target of terrorists for supporting the State, at the peak of terrorism. Decisions like grant of Schlorship to children of slain terrorists and apathy of senior officers towards migrants of Riasi, Talwara exhibits indifferent attitude of our Administrators and politicians. We expect a new approach which exhibits the resolve of govt to look after the welfare of soldiers/ ESM, with components of sensitivity, timely action, prioritization and expression of a sense of gratitude for their sacrifices.
(The author is Ex-Director State Soldier Welfare Deptt)
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