OPEN TO OPINION

Budgam: Breaking the myth of excessive

force by security forces in Kashmir
It is relevant to draw a comparison of standard operating procedures adopted in
the Valley with those followed by UN peacekeeping forces.

POLITICS | 6-minute read | 30-03-2017

COLONEL VIVEK CHADHA

---
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The Kashmir Valley has witnessed a disturbing trend in the recent past
with protests in the vicinity of ongoing encounter sites between
security forces and terrorists, thereby interfering with the conduct of
operations. ALSO

The extent of these intrusive and obstructionist actions reached a level,

wherein, terrorists were able to make good their escape. The actions of
these violent mobs have also led to injuries to security forces personnel
and in some cases fatal casualties.

An encounter in Budgam district of Kashmir on March 28, 2017, saw

the killing of a terrorist. It also witnessed mobs attempting to disrupt
the operation by throwing stones at security forces, leading to injuries
to over 60 personnel and three “protesters”, part of a violent mob.

These attempts have become a regular feature of operations in

populated areas. As a result of one such operation, a warning was given What i
by General Bipin Rawat, the Chief of Army Staff, against such Hindu
obstructionist actions. However, this had little effect on the violent
mobs, which have remained unfazed despite repeated warnings.

This raises certain questions regarding the actions of the mobs, the
means available with security forces to stop them from interfering with
operations and the justification for the same.

Foremost among the accusations one hears is the distinction made by

security agencies between “protesters” in Kashmir and elsewhere in the
country. It needs to be clearly understood that a so-called protester
who rushes the cordon of security forces in a bid to disrupt an ongoing What i
military operation against a terrorist, often to the extent of causing
is pres
death of soldiers, falls under the category of abetment of a crime, which
in this case is a terrorist act.
China?

There were many protesting voices when General Rawat warned of

strict action against “overground workers” if they continued to disrupt
lawful operations. There were attempts to construe this as treating
“protesters” as terrorists, despite this not being either the context or
content of the message given by the General.

Let me prove here that “protesters” who directly abet attempts at

facilitating the escape of a terrorist or the death of security forces
personnel can indeed be dealt with by lethal means at the disposal of
security personnel, which is not only justified under Indian legal What X
provisions but also UN mandated missions. rule in
The first aspect that deserves clarity is the interplay between terrorists India a
and “protesters”, who attempt to facilitate their escape or directly cause
injury or death to security forces personnel. Section 107(3) of the You Ma
Indian Penal Code (IPC) explains abetment as, “When either prior to or Top 10 A
at the time of the commission of an act, does anything in order to #1 For M
facilitate the commissioning of that act, and thereby facilitate the Antivirus To

commission thereof, is said to aid the doing of that act.”

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This explanation clearly indicates that the actions being witnessed in

Kashmir are abetment of a terrorist act, wherein, protesters attempt to
break the cordon of security forces to facilitate the escape of a terrorist.
Further, the actions are also linked with a terrorist act, which has been
defined by the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act 1967 as amended in
2013.
POLITICS ART & CULTURE SCI-TECH MONEY HUMOUR VARIETY VIDEOS VOICES MORE

Section 15 of the Act states: “[15. Terrorist act - (1) Whoever does any
act with intent to threaten or likely to threaten the unity, integrity,
security [economic security] or sovereignty of India or with intent to
strike terror or likely to strike terror in the people or any section of the
people in India or in any foreign country, - (b) overawes by means of
criminal force or the show of criminal force or attempts to do so or
causes death of any public functionary or attempts to cause death of
any public functionary… commits a terrorist act.”

The activities of terrorists are clearly in violation of the law in question.

In fact, it could further be argued that stone throwing and violent mobs
that attempt to facilitate the escape of terrorists and cause bodily harm
to government functionaries also fall under the purview of this law.

Finally, it is relevant to draw a comparison of standard operating

procedures adopted in Kashmir with those followed by UN
peacekeeping forces. Security forces in Kashmir are required to employ
an escalatory ladder in terms of employment of force. This implies that FATF h
the least lethal option is employed first and it is thereafter followed by Pakist
more lethal ones.

Second, they are further mandated to use minimum force

proportionate to the challenge at hand. This is the reason that police
and central police forces are seen employing lathi-charge, teargas,
PAVA shells, water cannons, before even contemplating pellet guns and
rifles. Third, due warning is given to the people in the language they
understand prior to employing force.

This is a standard operating procedure. Besides the warning given by

the forces employed in operations, the same has also been repeated by No, Jus
the CM and Chief of Army Staff. Fourth, firing as and when resorted to, visit w
should be controlled. This is clearly illustrated by the large number of
security forces personnel who have themselves been injured despite
grave provocation. Fifth, medical aid should be provided to the injured
Back to Home More from Colonel Vivek Chadha | POLITICS | Latest of the lot
at the earliest.

Similar guidelines are in place in UN mandated peacekeeping missions

like South Sudan. This includes the principle of minimum force and as
a last resort, to open fire and employ deadly force. This is ideally done
Is Je
under orders of the on-scene commander unless circumstances do not
Discover
permit the same under life threatening conditions. About Je
Y-Jesus

The specific precautions while opening fire include: “a. Shots should be
aimed and controlled. Indiscriminate fire is not permitted b. Take all
feasible precautions to avoid, and in any event minimise, collateral
damage. c. Fire no more shots than necessary.”

These comparative conditions clearly illustrate that missions mandated

by UN Security Council operate under similar conditions as security
forces in J&K. It is also evident that the use of lethal force against not
merely violent mobs but those supporting terrorism and causing
grievous injury to security forces, is the norm that is followed by
security forces across the world, including UN missions. In fact, the
restraint seen in Kashmir is rare to witness as will be borne by
comparative casualty figures of UN peacekeepers employed under
missions.

On the contrary, the incitement of children to repeatedly cross clearly

laid down red lines, thereby pushing them into harm's way by
separatist leaders and Pakistan, is a violation of the human rights of
Kashmiri youth. This cannot be compared with the principle of
peaceful protest, which is indeed the democratic right of every citizen
in the country.

Therefore, the comparison of violent mobs in Kashmir with peaceful

protests elsewhere in the country is a fallacious and mischievous
attempt at obfuscating reality as it exists.

Also read: Avoiding another season of disasters in Kashmir

#Indian Army, #Kashmir crisis, #Budgam

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or
position of DailyO.in or the India Today Group. The writers are solely responsible for any claims arising out of the contents of this
article.

Writer
COLONEL VIVEK CHADHA
Colonel Vivek Chadha (Retd) is a research fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses
and author of Lifeblood of Terrorism: Countering Terrorism Finance.

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P.B. Joshipura 3125 points

PJ
11 months ago

Couple of machine gun attacks on these mobs should do the trick.

Like Reply

Boochi 115 points

B
11 months ago

The restraint exercised by Indian armed forces is just extra ordinary. Given the
situation you know what Chinese, Russians or American would do. First quell the
mob and then answer questions later. You can't take Indian Armed Forces patience
for granted.

Like Reply

Harsh Wadhwa 3700 points

HW
11 months ago

It's shameful that Army chief gave a stern warning, and these Kashmiri Muslim
$n*akes brazenly cocked a snook at him day after day ... and our helpless armed
forces just watched ! What prevents them from mowing down all of them if they
thwart the anti-terror operations ? Fear of $i*ckular Neta's or Fi*beral Pre*st*tutes ?

Like Reply

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This National Science Day, what India can

do to stop being an embarrassment
Quality of education and research needs a big boost in institutions outside the so-
called elite centres like IITs.

SCI-TECH | 3-minute read | 27-02-2018

ALSO

DINESH C SHARMA @dineshcsharma

66
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We will be celebrating National Science Day tomorrow (February 28).

Unlike other "days" which are observed because they mark the birthday
of someone or an important event in the past, science day is the
Why N
celebration of a discovery. looks l

It was on February 28, 1928, that Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman

made the details of his seminal discovery about the scattering of light,
which came to be known as the Raman Effect and won him the Nobel
Prize in physics two years hence.

Over the years, however, the science day has been reduced to an annual
ritual, a day when platitudes are echoed and Raman’s portraits are
garlanded. There is little serious discourse about science, its role in
society and more importantly, problems scientists and young
researchers face. It’s time we move from tokenism to introspection. Why A
edition
India’s performance in science and technology has been impressive,
chang
with early investments in developing a robust infrastructure both for
research and teaching, and a second round of institution building in
the past fifteen years or so.

Some of these initiatives, like establishing a chain of Indian Institutes

of Science Education and Research, incentivising research in
universities and expanding research institutes in the life sciences area,
have shown good results in a short time.

India is also participating in mega science projects like the Large

Hadron Collider and gravitational wave observatories under LIGO.
With this, India is firmly positioned as a major player with the Wirele
necessary capacity and skills in some of the most cutting-edge areas of less di
science and technology. know a
However, India is lagging when it comes to investments in science
proportionate to its GDP or number of researchers per million of
population. On these indicators, we fare poorly when compared with
developed economies and even those in the BRICS grouping of fastest
growing economies.

R&D spending of 0.69 per cent of the GDP is not such a great figure for
a nation that aspires to be counted among the top five scientific nations Mukes
by 2020. In contrast, China spends 2.05 per cent of its GDP on R&D, Invest
Brazil 1.24 per cent and Russia 1.19 per cent. takeaw
Relian
The exodus of talent to the West is a problem that has plagued
scientific research for a long time. Now, the government has launched a
new fellowship scheme to retain young researchers to pursue doctoral
and research studies. All such schemes are temporary.

We need to develop an ecosystem that attracts and retains talent in

different branches of science and engineering. For this, quality of
education and research culture needs a boost in universities and
institutions outside the so-called elite centres like IITs.
In the 1960s, IIT Kanpur was established with help from a consortium
What's
of American institutions led by MIT. At the end of the ten-year project,
Congr
the review panel of MIT commented that “we wanted to create an
Indian MIT not an MIT in India.” The statement is relevant even today. from i

(Courtesy of Mail Today)

Also read: Who is responsible for Sridevi’s death?

Who are the PNB officials who colluded with Nirav Modi in the…

#Education, #IIT, #Rresearch, #Science Day

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or
position of DailyO.in or the India Today Group. The writers are solely responsible for any claims arising out of the contents of this
article.

Writer
DINESH C SHARMA @dineshcsharma
Journalist, columnist and author based in New Delhi.

Like DailyO Facebook page to know what's trending. Like 462k

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