People in Kashmir are getting tired of militancy: Army Chief

Don’t see serious trouble, but forces ready for any exigency: Gen Rawat on Doklam

18/01/2018

NEW DELHI, Jan 17: The people in Kashmir have realised that it is very difficult to secede from India and they are also getting tired of militancy, Army Chief Bipin Rawat said today.
He laid emphasis on the campaign to bring back the radicalised youth into the mainstream.
This will put an end to the menace of militancy in the State, Gen Rawat said.
“They have seen it for too long and they have realised (that) it hasn’t given them what they had desired for. Let me tell you… With a country like India, to seek independence from a nation where we have strong armed forces, where we have a strong democracy, and a very strong Government, you cannot secede from India. This is what the people have realised,” he said.
Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat today warned that a large scale infiltration bid from across the Line of Control could be made in the next few months.
The border is being kept "alive" by the Pakistani troops to support infiltration, he said.
Addressing the geo-political conference 'Raisina Dialogue' here, he said, "There are terrorist bases very much inside Pakistan and an attempt is being made to revive the insurgency in Kashmir because people do feel that there is some semblance of peace that is returning to the Valley.
"Therefore, we visualise, large scale infiltration taking place in the next few months," Rawat said.
The Army chief also spoke about nuclear weapons and deterrence.
He made the remarks about nuclear weapons while responding to a question on the warning by the Pakistan Army against any "misadventure".
Pakistan's warning had come after Rawat's recent remark that his force was ready to call Islamabad's "nuclear bluff" and cross the border to carry out any operation if asked by the government.
Rawat said nuclear arms are strategic weapons and to talk about their use in the conventional domain is not right. The use of nuclear weapons is decided at the highest level of establishment, he said.
The Army chief said nuclear arms may be weapons of deterrence, but that does not mean that nations will not engage in combat.
He also talked about the threat of biological, chemical and nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists, saying it was a challenge to keep these weapons of mass destructions in check.
This requires greater coordination among the international community, he said at the Raisina Dialogue, an event organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and the Ministry of External Affairs.
Rawat asserted that, "As long as the Pakistani establishment and Pakistani forward posts along the LoC continue to support terrorists in carrying out actions against our forward defence troops, who are constantly required to monitor the LoC, we will have to continue taking action against these people."
On Monday, seven Pakistani soldiers were killed in retaliatory firing by the Indian Army after a ceasefire violation in Jammu and Kashmir, where an infiltration bid was also foiled with the elimination of five Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad militants.
Rawat also said that to deal with the menace of terrorism, the militant and political fronts of the terror organisations, need to be addressed simultaneously.
He contended that terror organisations spread their propaganda more effectively using "terovision" -- the broadcast of news related to militant attacks. He said it is important to ensure that terrorist leaders are not made heroes.
"The (terror) activity will not be carried out if the outfit does not get visibility in the open media because that is how they generate fear. That is how they reach out to people to say that we are here to stay," he said.
He also wondered whether people are willing for temporary curbs on social media as it is used by terror organisations to spread their message.
The Army does not visualise any "serious trouble" post-Doklam episode as the border forces of India and China are holding regular exchange and the earlier "bonhomie" has returned, but the forces are prepared for any exigency, Army chief General Bipin Rawat said on Tuesday
Rawat also insisted that the PLA soldiers were not in the same numbers in the North Dolam (Doklam) area as they were at the time of the (India-China military) stand-off
"They have carried out some infrastructure development, most of it is temporary in nature. But while their troops may have returned and the infrastructure remains, it is any body's guess whether they would come back there, or it is because of the winter they could not take their equipment away," Rawat said
He was responding to a question on Facebook Live, posted by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), one of the organisers of the multi-lateral 'Raisina Dialogue'
"But then we are also there. In case they come (back), we will face them," Rawat added
The Army chief's remarks come in the wake of media reports about China carrying out some infrastructure development in the disputed region
He said the mechanism in place to defuse the tensions between the two countries are working very well
"After the Dolam incident...we have started our border personnel meeting. We are meeting regularly, exchanges are taking place, communications between the commanders at the ground level is on and the bonhomie has returned which was prior to the Dolam (incident)," he said
The Army chief added, "We don't visualise serious trouble but then one has to be prepared for it."
Indian and Chinese troops had been locked in a stand-off for over two months last year in the Doklam area near Sikkim before "disengaging" on August 28
There was also an incident of road building by Chinese civilians at Tuting in Arunachal Pradesh, but that was resolved last week.

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