When will the politicians stop playing
games in J&K at the cost of national security. On the one hand they condemn the violent protesters as
Pakistan’s agents and stooges as they rampage through the valley killing
members of security forces, torching police stations, throwing their vehicles and occupants into the river .
Yet when security forces act mainly in self-defence the rioters whine
shamelessly about use of excessive
force. I see no reason for the Centre to be apologetic about use of force as
force at rising levels is precisely the basis on which local police, central
para-military units and finally the army are called in.
It is laughable that we spend crores on
training security forces to use force and then when the need for force arises
we go all soft and ask the jawans to use minimum force ! As for the army we
spend crores on honing their killing skills and then exploit them by using them
as transport agents, medical attendants, construction workers and so on. When
they are called upon to maintain order and subdue violence by the use of force
they are asked to exercise restraint. Why ? When they are called in they are
facing frenzied, murderous mobs who aim to kill the jawans. They indulge in
arson and ransack armouries. What do the government think they do with the
weapons they carry away ? Do ayudha puja ?
Political considerations supersede even
national security and those in power and the opposition should be ashamed of
themselves and their pussy-footing. Excessive and minimum force are a matter of
discretion which should be left to the force commander. I am partly relieved
that this fact was recognised by Jaitley in the Rajya Sabha. Violence should be
subdued by force and if it costs lives I would rather that that cost is borne by the rioters than the jawans.
