Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Deal sternly with terrorists' that was published in Newsband

Deal sternly with terrorists

The Indian government is trying to come up with a perfect policy for Jammu and Kashmir. Security forces are asked to “arrest” newly recruited members and go after the hardened militants. They are also told to ensure that militants surrender during encounters.

The emotional upsurge at funerals of militants killed in encounters was aiding recruitment by terror outfits. The killings and encounters were not yielding the desired results. There is a correlation between the funerals and men joining terror groups thereafter.

There has been a surge in local Kashmiri youth joining terror groups after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces. A new recruit in the militants was an assistant professor at Kashmir University, who was killed in less than 40 hrs after he joined the Hizbul Mujahideen. The young militants are barely trained and don’t last more than a couple of hours when cornered by the security forces. Some say they should be arrested or convinced to surrender. This will give time to rethink to new recruiter.

The central government should be firm when dealing with terrorist and their supporters. Shoot the terrorist while arresting the supporters should be the policy of the government and should be implemented immediately. However the supporters should be informed that if they are charged and found guilty by the court and sentenced for more than 30 days (including Saturday and Sunday) jail, they will lose their University placing and also their jobs. Lastly to avoid publicity of the terrorist killed, the government should not hand over the bodies of terrorist to their family. This will put an end to the emotional upsurge at funerals of militants killed, which also attracts large group.

If this government and future governments don't find a solution, be assured that the UN will intervene. The present tactics of armed forces to flush out terrorism from the Kashmir valley through gunning down the radicals is absolutely correct and the need of the hour. Don't change the strategy now. We have the example of complete wiping out of the LTTE terrorism in the Sri Lanka, which could be possible only and only because of strong offensive strategy. Many people don't understand the language of love and peace. No pity or soft stand needed for such people. Certain level of force is very much needed at times for the establishment of civic sense and environment.

We need some updation in policy like inclusion of black ops for separation loving people, high technology weapons such as vortex cannon and sonic guns for stone peltors, and nice soft hearted people for negotiation with peace loving people.

Army, CRP and JK Police are doing a commendable job by eliminating dreaded terrorists. Those who use guns to kill innocent people deserve no mercy. When the heat is on terrorists, there should be no let up in the security. Terrorists do not deserve pardon. They are anti nationals with pure hatred towards India as seen by the "India occupied Kashmir" comment on social media by one of the students which was then professionally handled by Sushma Swaraj. Let the army do its job. This is a long haul process and will not get quick results but the results when we get it will be long lasting.

There is no doubt that there is real alienation among the people of the valley. Now that the infiltration levels from Pakistan has gone down and the militancy has become highly localized, the people of the valley increasingly see the militants as their own and security forces as outsiders. This explains why increasing numbers of youth in the valley are picking up arms, and why villagers pelt stones at security forces to let their boys escape during encounters. This issue cannot be solved through brute force. Sooner or later the ruling dispensation in Delhi will have to realize that Kashmir is a real political problem in need of a political solution. Kashmir militancy has become a hydra.