As the view that India is "losing" Kashmir is getting stronger, shrill voices are coming through ex-army ranks to hand over Kashmir to the army. One such demand has come from Major Gaurav Arya (veteran), who calls himself “unapologetic patriot”, in a blog, which says, “Kashmir does not need a healing touch. That bus has left long back.”
Insisting that Kashmir “requires is immediate surgery”, Arya, who is all set to join Arnab Goswami’s new venture Republic TV, funded among others by Kerala’s NDA leader and tycoon Rajeev Chandrashekhar and likely to go on air within few weeks, insists, “Surgery requires the spilling of blood. So be it. Hand over Srinagar to Indian Army immediately and put the entire Kashmir Valley under Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).”
AFSPA provides complete immunity to armed forces from citizens seeking to approach the court of law against complaints of atrocities.
Arya joined Indian Army in 1993 and served with Kumaon Regiment. From 1994 to 1999, was posted in Rajasthan, Punjab, Tibet border, and J&K, and operated along the Line of Control and was also involved in anti-terror operations.
Pointing out that this should be done by abolishing the elected PDP-BJP government in J&K, Arya wants President’s rule in the state, with a governor who is “ruthless, yet balanced… a former General of the Indian Army and also someone with vast knowledge of Kashmir and its people; perhaps an ex-GOC of XV Corps.”
Arya advises the government, “For 10 days, cut off the Valley completely – no Internet, no mobile or landline connectivity, no flights, no TV or radio, no road traffic (incoming or outgoing) and no postal service/ couriers.”
Following this, he says, “housekeeping” should begin, adding, “Don’t touch the innocent. Don’t spare the guilty. You have the names and addresses of all those who waved the Pakistani flag and pelted stones. Get the boys to pay them a visit.”
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| Major Gaurav Arya |
Wanting to make Hurriyat irrelevant, as it is does not take part in electoral process, Arya wants Kashmir’s stone pelters to be sent to prison for a year, “but never within the state”.
In fact, according to him, they should be states where “language, food, climate” are a problem for them, such as “Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Andaman & Nicobar.”
Wanting India to have an Enemy of the State Act which ensures that” once “a person is declared enemy of the state, the property in the person’s name belongs to the government”, Arya says, “Using this Act, the properties of all leaders of Hurriyat Conference must be attached and then auctioned, the funds used for welfare of soldiers.”
Calling all these “elementary” points, according to Arya, “Human rights are important, but they are not the reason that the sun rises in the East and sets in the West. Let’s not make these rights the cornerstone of our national philosophy."
Arya quotes an Indian jawan posted in Srinagar as telling him: “The last time they pelted stones on Army and tried to interfere in an operation, the Army shot three of them dead. We don’t have that luxury. Unshackle us for a few hours, just a few hours, and that will be the last day of stone pelting in Srinagar.”
In fact, according to him, they should be states where “language, food, climate” are a problem for them, such as “Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Andaman & Nicobar.”
Wanting India to have an Enemy of the State Act which ensures that” once “a person is declared enemy of the state, the property in the person’s name belongs to the government”, Arya says, “Using this Act, the properties of all leaders of Hurriyat Conference must be attached and then auctioned, the funds used for welfare of soldiers.”
Calling all these “elementary” points, according to Arya, “Human rights are important, but they are not the reason that the sun rises in the East and sets in the West. Let’s not make these rights the cornerstone of our national philosophy."
Arya quotes an Indian jawan posted in Srinagar as telling him: “The last time they pelted stones on Army and tried to interfere in an operation, the Army shot three of them dead. We don’t have that luxury. Unshackle us for a few hours, just a few hours, and that will be the last day of stone pelting in Srinagar.”
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