The Indian Government has clarified that it hasn’t formed a Group of Ministers (GoM) to look into the affairs of Jammu & Kashmir. The denial came following reports by mainstream media outlets claiming that a group of five ministers has been formed.
The PTI had claimed in its report on Wednesday, which was reproduced by various media outlets including TOI, Business Standard, Deccan Herald, Economic Times and The Week among others, had claimed that a GoM had been constituted to look into the development, economic and social issues in the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh that is due to come into existence on the 31st of October.
The report had claimed that according to government ‘sources’, “Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister for the PMO Jitendra Singh and Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan are part of the group.” It was also reported that the first meeting of the group will take place in the first week of September.
The Government has now asserted that such claims are untrue and no such GoM has neither been formed nor under consideration.
Pakistani federal minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain took to Twitter today to rebuke Congress ex-president Rahul Gandhi for his flip-flop on India’s decision to revoke Article 370 which gave a separate status to Jammu and Kashmir and a subsequent bill aimed to bifurcate the state into two Union Territories.
Enraged by Rahul Gandhi’s turn-around, Fawad wrote that this “confusion” was the biggest problem with Congress’ politics. Dressing down the Congress scion, the Pakistani minister said that Rahul should learn lessons from and “stand tall” like his “great-great” grandfather, India’s former Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
Biggest problem of your politics is Confusion, take a stance closer to reality, stand tall like your great great grandfather who is a symbol of Indian Secularism and liberal thinking , “ye daaġh daaġh ujālā ye shab-gazīda sahar
vo intizār thā jis kā ye vo sahar to nahīñ”.. https://t.co/ufP518Ep83
The Pakistani Minister appeared quite irritated by the sudden U-turn Rahul did on the recent Kashmir issue, in which, for all this while, Congress had been one with Pakistan. After months of mirroring Pakistan’s lines and casting doubts on the government over issues of national security, Rahul Gandhi’s sudden modified tune left Pakistan completely flummoxed.
Rahul had tweeted today saying that though he disagrees with the government over many issues, he wants to make it clear that ‘Kashmir is an integral part of India’. He also asserted that there is no room for Pakistan or any other country to interfere in it. Rahul’s statement was significantly different from what his party’s Lok Sabha chief had stated in the parliament.
Rahul then stated that there is violence in Jammu and Kashmir and it is because Pakistan instigates and supports it. He added that Pakistan is the prime supporter of terrorism in the world.
However, this is not the first time Pakistani minister has shown disappointment in Rahul Gandhi, who along with his party have mostly acted as an abettor to the terror state.
Earlier, in response to one of Rahul’s Tweet, Fawad had expressed angst over Rahul Gandhi not winning 2019 elections and Tweeted: “Had you been a leader and a man enough would have taken a just stand on #Pulwama Today world would have been better sans #ModiMadness Your coward politics allowed India to become a prey of Fascism and Extremism”.
Fawad Hussain had then said that Rahul Gandhi was a coward to not take a “just” stand on Pulwama.
Actually, Pakistan for all this while had been savouring Congress’ rhetorics which aligned well with that of its own. It had recently written to the United Nations accusing India of carrying out human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir. As usual, this time too, Pakistan quoted former Congress President Rahul Gandhi to back up their claims of human rights violation.
Pakistan in their letter mentioned that former Congress President Rahul Gandhi has also ‘noted’ that “people dying” in Jammu & Kashmir, in light of events “going very wrong here”.
After India’s decision to abraograte Article 370, Pakistan had repeatedly used the statements of Congress leaders to further its argument.
Pakistani analysts and strategists in their media debates had even named the Congress as a ‘sympathiser’ of Pakistan. Recently, Imran Khan had even copied Rahul Gandhi’s favourite lines against RSS and the BJP and had stated that the RSS and PM Modi are planning a Nazi-like imposition of Hindutva ideology in India.
Moreover, during the Pulwama attack, several people from within the Congress party and its cronies had floated the theory that Pulwama was not perpetrated by Pakistan backed terrorists but was an “inside job” by the Modi government. This was also a stand vehemently peddled by Pakistan to shield itself after sending state-sponsored terrorists to bleed India.
It must be mentioned here that as a response, after the government conducted the Balakot airstrikes deep inside Pakistan territory to neutralise JeM terror camps, Pakistan and Congress had in one voice demanded proof of the airstrikes from the Modi government.
During the Pulwama attacks and after India’s retaliatory Balakot airstrikes, Pakistan had used Congress and other opposition leaders’ statements to peddle its nefarious agenda.
However, what still remains a mystery is the sudden switch in Rahul’s stance on the Kashmir issue. Whatever might be the reason, be it a desperate attempt to save his own party from losing all respect in the eyes of the Indian voter or a temporary glitch, this is for certain that this slambang may cost the Congress party dearly. It might lose all its credibility within Pakistan which it had carefully crafted in these many years.
Pakistan today issued a NOTAM (notice to airmen) and Naval warning in view of possible missile test firing from Sonmiani flight test range near Karachi. Pakistan has also closed all three air routes for all international flights due to ‘operational reasons’. Sonmiani, located in Balochistan, is a rocket launch facility operated by Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission and is also used by Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission and National Defence Complex for testing solid-fueled ballistic missiles.
However, as soon as the notice was issued, Indian Twitter users started speculating whether it was in response to the cryptic tweet popular Twitter user, @pokershash, a social media activist who doubles himself as Twitter troll when it comes to give Pakistani ministers a run for their money. On 27th August, @pokershash tweeted a cryptic message to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistani Army spokesperson, former Pakistani minister Senator Rehman Malik and Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, whom he had recently fooled on Twitter by pretending to be a Pakistani with insider information on undercover RAW agent in Pakistan.
As soon as news about restriction on airspace came out, netizens could not stop laughing at how the parody country perhaps got spooked by two Twitter trolls who have given the country a run for their money, whatever of it is left anyway.
Meanwhile, @pokershash is already planning his next move it seems. He has already asked the Railways Minister of Pakistan to allow him to send him a Direct Message on Twitter.
Pakistani minister of Railways, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has predicted a full-blown war between India and Pakistan in October or the following month. Founder of the satire website The Fauxy and popular Twitter user @being_humor who also trolls Pakistani leaders in his free time, had recently fooled former Pakistani minister Rehman Malik by making him believe that a screenshot from the film Singham was actually custodial torture of former Union Minister P. Chidambaram in CBI custody. Malik had even said he’d send the image to the UN as a proof that Indian politicians who are opposing the abrogation of Article 370 are being tortured by Modi regime.
Pakistani politicians, who have to hold high level committee meetings to decide national price of roti and naan, appear to have reduced their collective IQ lower than the GDP of the terror country. Meanwhile, Bilawal Bhutto, who went on an extremely amusing and satisfying rant on Pakistan PM Imran Khan has his DMs open on his Twitter account. In case any of you is bored and just want some entertainment.
Journalism professor Margaret Simons in her submission to the Australian Competition and Consumer Petition, which was then preparing a report on social media platforms, flagged a rather pertinent issue. She said that “the current inquiry should not assume that Western digital platforms will be the only ones to gain a foothold in Australia.”
The concerns that Simons raised would resonate with Indians as well who have noticed how way tech giants such as Facebook and Google have played havoc with the privacy of its users. As bad as they are, they are still based in the USA and the current world order, which is a manifestation of Western hegemony, can still be negotiated with rationally to a certain extent.
Facebook and Google, especially, have come under intense scrutiny for their obscure and mala fide practices and pressure is mounting on them to act in the good interests of its users. However, there is another hegemony that is threatening to upend the current world order. In fact, its very goal is to undermine the current international order. The very success of its operations depends on the extent to which it will be able to alter the current dynamics of world politics.
I am, of course, referring to China. The Chinese are rather explicit in their goals and they make very little effort to hide it. As a country that is predisposed towards hostility towards India, China’s success could only be detrimental to us. Should they be successful in their efforts, it could mean disaster for India. Thus, we find ourselves in a situation where our interests ally with those of the USA and the great collaboration between the two countries that we see currently isn’t a mere coincidence or a consequence of the friendship between its leaders.
It is an open secret now that Google attempted to manipulate the results of the 2016 US Presidential elections due to the personal animosity of its employees towards Donald Trump. It is also quite well known that Facebook has been manipulating the political opinions of its users. Twitter is not alien to accusations of political bias and its with good reason that they have been accused of such. It is under this context that we need to view the meteoric rise of the Chinese video-sharing app TikTok.
Some of us may be prone to dismissing such concerns by assuming that TikTok is an app where stupid people go to showcase their stupidity. But it has much more far-reaching consequences than that. Recently, we witnessed the manner in which some TikTok ‘celebrities’ incited violence following the death of the thief Tabrez Ansari. The country witnessed significant violence following the incident and it’s unclear still the extent to which TikTok contributed to it.
TikTok is owned by a Chinese company called ByteDance which is often touted to be the world’s most valuable start-up. Digital media platforms are known to collect the personal data of users and TikTok is no different. In its privacy policy statement, it says that it collects “information when you create an account, and use the Platform, such as your contact details, content you create, your location, and credit card details. We also collect the information you share with us from third-party social network providers and technical and behavioural information about your use of the Platform. We also collect information contained in the messages you send through our Platform and your contacts if you allow us access to your phone book on your mobile device.”
It includes information that the user submits voluntarily on his or her own while registering for the site or linking it to other apps such as name, age, gender, address, email address, social media login details, telephone number and financial and credit card information and photographs as well as language selection. Furthermore, it includes the user’s customer profile, the comments made on the Platform (including any Virtual Items contributed to any user-generated content), account and billing details, including but not limited to, the user’s Apple, Google or Windows account, PayPal or other third-party payment channel account where required for the purpose of paying or withdrawing cash. It also includes user-generated content, photographs and video content that the user chooses to broadcast on the platform.
If the user chooses to link TikTok with their accounts on other social media platforms, then TikTok will be able to access information shared on these platforms including his contact list. It doesn’t stop here. TikTok also collects ‘technical information’ about the user that includes the user’s IP address, location-related data and other unique device identifiers, browsing history (including content viewed in the Platform), Cookies, the mobile carrier, time zone setting, mobile or device information including the model of the device, screen resolution, operating system and platform and information regarding the use of the Platform.
Moreover, if the user chooses to find their acquaintances through the contacts in their phonebook, then TikTok can collect information regarding their contacts as well including names, phone numbers, addresses and any other information that the user has stored in their phone regarding their contacts. If the user wishes to do the same through their Facebook accounts, then TikTok can collect the names and profiles of their Facebook contacts.
It only gets worse here onwards. TikTok collects and analyses the personal texts that users send to each other on their platform. It actually reads all the personal information that a user has revealed to their contacts on the platform assuming it to be private communication. Now, we can only speculate about the kind of information that people may choose to share in private messages but we can be fairly certain at least a certain extent of those can be extremely compromising for the user.
TikTok can also retain user data indefinitely, long after the user has deleted his or her account. It says so as much in their statement.
The most concerning part, however, is the part of the document which discusses the entities with which it shares the information it collects from its users. Apart from business partners, advertisers and advertising networks, cloud service providers, analytics and search engine providers, and other such entities, TikTok also shares user information with law enforcement agencies and public authorities “if legally required to do so”.
The problem here is, TikTok being a Chinese entity, is legally required to share its information with the Chinese government if such information is sought by it. Considering the nature of the Chinese regime, it appears obvious that the said information has been sought from TikTok and it doesn’t far-fetched to assume that TikTok has shared it with them given the fact that it is legally required to do so. Consider this for a moment, all the information that we have mentioned above in the article, including private texts between its users, is now quite possibly in possession of the Chinese government.
In addition to these, TikTok has a couple of India-specific regulations but that doesn’t subside the rising tide of apprehension.
Even more of a concern is the fact that TikTok has been rising in popularity across the world. Quoting from a report published by the Peterson Institute of Internation Economics published in January this year, “According to market research firm SensorTower, by October 2018 TikTok commanded around 30 percent of monthly downloads of social media platforms on iPhones in the United States, surpassing Facebook’s Instagram and Google’s YouTube. At the end of the year, it charted at number six in Google’s worldwide ranking of apps for the Android mobile operating system, ahead of Netflix and Amazon Shopping.”
The report further states, “Chinese authorities have ample leeway to request information from the private sector, on broadly defined public safety and security grounds, which include “stability maintenance”—another name for suppression of dissent. There have been multiplereports of dubiously motivated data access, some even involving Chinese operations of American companies. TikTok’s privacy policy for both the United States and the European Union states that data may be transferred to China. This transfer is legal, as long as users give their consent.”
In India, by May 2019, ByteDance had 300 million monthly active users across its three platforms: TikTok, Vigo Video, and Helo. These are astonishing numbers that should concern the Indian government. TikTok alone has over 120 million monthly active users.
Considering what we now know about the unimaginable power of tech giants like Facebook and Google and the vast breach of privacy that TikTok is capable of, and some would argue, have already pulled off, it is not difficult to imagine the numerous ways in which the video-sharing platform is a threat to Indian national interests.
It would be perfectly within TikTok’s powers to promote content on its site that could threaten communal harmony in India. Content generated by people has a life of its own and it is completely unpredictable the manner in which they might manifest themselves in the actual world. The recent TikTok controversy following Tabrez Ansari’s death provides a unique glimpse into it. What if TikTok altered their algorithms to promote such incendiary messages to promote social discord in our country at the behest of the Chinese government?
ByteDance has already bowed down to the Chinese government before. In April last year, the company was ordered to shut down Jinri Toutiao after the authorities decided the news stories featured on it were ‘opposed to morality’. Touitao is one of the largest news aggregators in China and it is owned by ByteDance. The company responded by pledging to increase its team of censors from 6,000 to 10,000, the job ads for which noted specifically that candidates with ‘strong political sensitivity’ would be preferred, and it vowed to pour even more resources into developing an Artificial Intelligence-powered automated censorship apparatus.
What’s the guarantee that ByteDance will now bow to the Chinese government again to further social discord in India? What if it already did so during the controversy following Tabrez Ansari’s death by promoting content that incited violence? We can only speculate but it’s not too far-fetched to assume such a scenario. It’s in the interests of the Chinese regime to foment instability in India and it’s not a secret that the regime uses Chinese private enterprises as weapons its war against the current international order.
As for altering algorithms to promote specific content on their platform, it’s an open secret as well. Grave accusations have been labeled against Google and Facebook in this context in the aftermath of the 2016 US Presidential elections and expose have been made as well. The Tech Giants do it, it’s not even a doubt anymore. Before long, we will have to put some thought into how to deal with the American tech giants but right now, it’s of paramount importance that we deal immediately with the menace of TikTok.
If its popularity continues to rise unabated, TikTok will be in a position to influence the outcomes of elections in our country and thereby, undermine the very basis of our sovereignty. Some people of a particular political dispensation might be wont to say, “Banning is not the solution!” Well, as of this moment, we don’t have any better.
Recently, the government had issued notices to TikTok and Helo over the apps being used for anti-national activities, both these apps are owned by ByteDance. The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) had also sought an assurance that the data of Indian users were not being transferred and will not be transferred in future also to any other foreign government or any third party or private entity. Earlier, a Tamil Nadu Minister had sought a ban on the app citing harm to Indian culture as the reason. The Madras High Court had also put an interim ban on the app after it was found hosting pornography.
The ban by the Madras High Court may have come for other reasons but it was a necessary step to thwart the rise of TikTok. A report by Sensor Tower estimated that TikTok could have added 15 million users, if not for the ban. May, the report adds, could have been TikTok’s best month, surpassing December 2018. In short, the ban worked. Considerable damage might already have been done but more can be prevented if the Indian government takes adequate measures to protect our sovereignty.
Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid has predicted that a full-fledged war between India and Pakistan will take place later this year, during October-November.
Addressing a public meeting in Rawalpindi on Wednesday, the minister said that the people who think there is room for negotiation with India are fools. “I can foresee a war between Pakistan and India in late October and November, December,” he said. He added that he has started preparing people for the war.
Sheikh Rashid said that while world leader made a mistake in understanding Modi, he didn’t make that mistake. He said that 25 crore Muslims in India are looking towards Pakistan. He said that people in Pakistan must stand with the voice with Kashmir by forgetting all differences, else history will never forgive them.
Addressing the youths, he said that if Pakistanis don’t stand with Kashmiris, Jinnah’s dream will remain unfulfilled.
Saying that there is no point in talks with India, he said, “Jinnah had assessed the anti-Muslim mindset in India long ago. Those who still think about the possibility of dialogue with India are fools.”
Rashid said that the time for a final struggle for the Kashmir issue has come and the war with India will be the last this time. He said that Pakistan has 130 million youths, who live for Islam and Pakistan and who die for Islam and Pakistan. His comments indicate that although he talked about an Indo-Pak war, he is also looking towards a Jihad by Pakistani youths who are ready to die for Islam.
Rashid said that India wants access to Afghanistan, but Pakistan is an obstacle in that path. India also wants access to Chabahar Port, but Gwadar Port comes in the way. He said that Pakistan is lucky to have a friend like China who is supporting Pakistan against India.
Rashid also attacked the international Muslim community for standing with India in the Kashmir issue. “Why is the rest of the Muslim world silent over the issue?”, the railway minister asked. He said that if others keep silent over Kashmir, Kashmiris will not look towards anyone, they will make their decisions on their own, and we will know that in the next 1-2 months.
He alleged that the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is not serious to resolve the Kashmir issue. “The UN Security Council is not resolving the Kashmir issue, if it is serious then the vote would have been done now,” he said. “Kashmir is on the brink of destruction due to barbarian and fascist Narendra Modi, and Pakistan is the only obstacle in front of him”, the minister added.
He said that PM Imran Khan’s speech at the United Nations on September 27 is of vital significance.
After the abrogation of Article 370 by India in a bold move aimed towards the full integration of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of India without any riders or conditions, the ‘Liberal’ world has been losing their mind. While India received support from the international community, the pro-Pakistan voices within India have come in dozens to demonise India and the Indian army. Amidst the cacophony and old video of propagandist and habitual liar, Arundhati Roy went viral on social media.
Pakistani ISI agent Arundhati Roy speaks like her mentor @ImranKhanPTI . I am not surprised. Before independence, communist wanted the British to divide India into 17 different parts,2day they are with Pakistanis. #ArundhatiRoyhttps://t.co/jy9fFIgInw
In this 2011 video, Arundhati Roy can be seen peddling hate and lies against the Indian State. Interestingly, she also says that Pakistan has never deployed troops against its own people in the matter in which India has.
The Press Release by Dr Allah Nazar Baloch of BLF condemning Arundhati Roy
Baloch pro-independence leader Dr Allah Nazar, commenting on renowned Indian writer Arundhati Roy’s statement on Pakistan, has said that we were thinking that Ms Roy is a human rights activist. She writes on human rights issues. She is highly knowledgeable. And hoping that someday she will bring forth the serious human rights violations being committed in Balochistan. But instead, she utterly rejects the ground realities altogether. Instead of trying to make herself aware of the history of this region, her words are evidence of her ignorance.
Dr Allah Nazar Baloch said that ignorance of Arundhati Roy was a surprise because Pakistan’s military brutality does not require any introduction or explanation. Yet here are some facts before Arundhati Roy:
First, it was Pakistan’s army that invaded the newly established Balochistan (from British rule) on March 27, 1948. They not only usurped our sovereignty but also started the Baloch genocide which continues to this day. And it has intensified over time. Thousands of Baloch have been killed by this time. Thousands are incarcerated in Pakistani army jails. Millions of people suffer from forced migration.
Secondly, it was Pakistan that massacred millions of Bengali people right before the eyes of Arundhati Roy. Hundreds of thousands of Bengali women were raped. When India reached to help the Bengalis, ninety thousand Pakistan Army troops surrendered.
Thirdly, in Pakistan’s history most of the time there has been a direct military rule and basic human rights have been suspended. While during the so-called democratic periods, the army has run the government from behind the scenes as it does today.
Fourthly, in the Pashtun areas besides Balochistan, the naked aggression of the Pakistani army is visible to the whole world. Thousands of Pashtuns have been killed. Thousands are missing. Millions are under siege in the military-sponsored camps after the forced evacuation.
Fifth, the overwhelming military barbarism in Balochistan and Pashtun areas reminds the World War II era where the Pakistani army is attacking with heavy artillery, warplanes and gunships. A human tragedy has been born here from Pakistan’s war crimes. The human tragedy of Baloch and Pashtun has shaken the world’s conscience.
But Arundhati says that “Pakistan army was never used against its own people. Her statement not only makes her commitment to human rights questionable but also shows the complete disregard of Pakistan’s history.
Dr Allah Nazar Baloch said that Balochistan has been turned into a cantonment. On every five kilometres, Pakistani army outposts and camps are set up where the disgrace of honourable Baloch has become a commonplace. After the signing of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project agreements, the way the villages and settlements on its route are being bombed and destroyed by military operations, only those wearing Pakistani spectacles cannot see. Otherwise, the rest of the world can see clearly. All the people like Arundhati Roy have different options: whether they present their writings and speeches with truth or keep themselves ignorant of the circumstances and favour falsehood.
The responsibility of historians is the heaviest and the highest,” Dr Baloch said. They fuel the future in order to help future generations to choose the right path. In such a case, if a person like Arundhati Roy shuts her eyes on Pakistan’s conduct and forms her self-righteous opinion, then surely she is oblivious of her responsibilities.
This has greatly hurt the sentiments of Baloch people, especially the families of Baloch national martyrs and thousands of missing persons. The Baloch people hope that she will correct this mistake and do justice to history. And of course, the Bengali nation is expecting the same.
The Allahabad High court today dismissed Raghav Bahl’s writ petition challenging the Income Tax department for initiating action against him in a black money case.
The owner of ‘The Quint’ who has been testing rough waters after falling in the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) radar, had filed a writ petition in the Allahabad High court challenging the show-cause notices sent to him and the subsequent actions taken against him by the ED after the federal agency had filed a case against the media baron under PMLA for undeclared foreign assets.
Bahl had submitted before the court that the purchase of the said London property was disclosed in the income tax returns for AY 18-19. Claiming that the I-T Dept had initiated the actions to tarnish his image in public eyes Raghav submitted before the court that he had been denied a personal hearing before the prosecution was initiated against him.
The revenue counsel, however, defended the I-T department’ actions, by arguing that there were contradictions in Bahl’s submissions.
The counsel had submitted that Bhal showed the London property as directly held asset in his Income Tax Return (ITR) for AY 18-19 after the prosecution has been launched under Black Money Act for under-reporting of investment in foreign assets by 2,73,000 British Pounds as well as for not disclosing the foreign bank accounts which were allegedly in the name of Bahl’s minor son.
The Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), a police FIR equivalent, was lodged by the federal agency in the month of June after taking cognisance of an Income Tax Department complaint against him and others.
The I-T Department had filed a charge sheet against Bahl before a court in Meerut under the provisions of the anti-black money law or the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act of 2015.
According to the IT department, Bahl has not disclosed his foreign assets, a property bought in London. The economic intelligence agency has sought details from the IT department regarding the offence allegedly committed by Bahl.
Bahl was served a Show-Cause notice on May 1, 2019, seeking information about the property and the source of funds for an investment made in that property.
On October 11, 2018, the IT officials had searched The Quint owner’s premises. Sleuths from the department had raided his residence in Noida to search for documents and other pieces of evidence related to the case.
Raj Kumar Modi, in an admission to the tax officials under oath, had alleged Bahl of using his shell company to launder money and evade tax. Modi is the Managing Director of PMC Fincorp, a shell company, which Bahl had allegedly invested money in.
Modi has reportedly made a statement to IT officials where he claimed that Bahl’s chartered accountant had given him ₹100 crores in cash “to convert into white”.
According to reports, Raghav Bahl and his wife have invested ₹3.03 crore in the penny stock company PMC Fincorp LTD. In spite of the company not indulging in any trade activity, the price of the shares shot up to ₹848/share in the next two years from the initial price of ₹5.50/share when Bahl had bought them. Bahl had then sold his shares following which the share prices appear to have crashed again.
However, in a press release, Bahl had denied the allegations levelled against him. He has asserted that every transaction had been fully disclosed and assessed to tax.
In fact, the entire left-leaning media had then come out in support of Bahl, crying political vendetta.
Bahl had claimed the money invested in the property is from the income on, which taxes have been duly paid. He also claimed the information has consistently been disclosed in the Foreign Asset Schedule of the Income Tax Returns of Raghav Bahl, his wife and children.
The Gujjar-Bakarwal community in Kashmir has come out to protest against Pakistan, accusing the neighbouring country of trying to fan communal tension in the valley.
Protesting against the gruesome killings of the two individuals, people from Gujjar community hit the streets in Srinagar to register their protest against Pakistan sponsored terrorism in the state. They asserted that Pakistan is trying to stoke communal tensions between Hindu-Muslims by sending terrorists in the Valley. The people of Gujjar community demanded from the government that the families of the two people killed in the state should be given Rs 20 lakh compensation each.
A member of the Gujjar community, who was protesting against the grisly murder said, “I want to say to all our leaders who are deliberately trying to paint a gloomy picture of Jammu and Kashmir that we are at peace. Pakistan should not interfere in our case. Pakistan should live by itself and let us live also. Two Gurjar people were killed without any reason. We are living peacefully in the state. Pakistan wants to disrupt Hindu-Muslim brotherhood.” He also demanded a compensation of Rs 20 lakh to be given to the family of the deceased.
A couple of days back, Pakistan sponsored terrorists had abducted two individuals belonging to Gujjar community from the Tral area near Manshar Bhaik and were subsequently killed. Two Bhakerwals, named Abdul Qadeer Kohli and Manzoor Ahmed respectively, were reportedly abducted from their ‘Dhok’, a temporary shelter in the Tral region. Mutilated bodies of the Bhakerwals were found by the security forces from Tral forest.
Following the abrogation of Article 370 and subsequent bifurcation of the state into two union territories, there were reports claiming that Pakistan has upped its ante in fomenting unrest in the Valley by planning to carry out terror attacks in 7 Indian states including Jammu and Kashmir. The normalcy is gradually returning in the state and restrictions are being lifted in a phased manner, after evaluating the on-ground situation. However, smarting from India’s daring move, Pakistan continues to engage with terrorists in inciting unrest in Jammu and Kashmir.
When it comes to Jammu and Kashmir, India has always been at the receiving end of massive propaganda machinery. As is to be expected, one of the major actors purveying anti-India propaganda and news is Pakistan. Pakistan has always been very good at using the offices of western journalists and myriad organizations to further its interest and paint India as an occupying force in Jammu & Kashmir. In fact, as the sordid saga of Ghulam Nabi Fai shows, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had even managed to influence noted Indian journalists, track-two specialists and other self-proclaimed thinkers to further Pakistani interests at the expense of Indian concerns.
One of the pet propaganda theory which emanated long back from Pakistan is that India has 700,000 troops deployed in Kashmir valley with the express purpose of holding down the people of Kashmir. As Ajai Shukla notes in this piece on this very subject:
“Pakistani propaganda and Kashmiri human rights organisations, such as the influential J&K Coalition of Civil Society, repeatedly state that India controls Kashmir by deploying 700,000 security-men across the state. It is often alleged that half the Indian Army is based in J&K”
However, the situation has now further evolved. The latest number of Indian security personnel in Jammu & Kashmir is 1 million! Yes, that’s 1,000,000 troops deployed in Jammu & Kashmir with the express purpose to hold the local population, according to media that doesn’t much care about facts.
Some others have a more nuanced approach; they claim that 500,000 or half a million troops are deployed in Kashmir (as against Jammu & Kashmir) to hold the province and ‘subjugate’ the local population.
In this article, we take a look at the probable number of troops deployed in Jammu & Kashmir to handle both internal and external factors. The reason it is important to consider the external factor is because people tend to forget that the Indian Army is deployed on Line-of-Control primarily to prevent any attack by Pakistan Army to take Jammu & Kashmir by force. Counter-infiltration is just one part of their overall responsibility.
Half a million or million troops in Kashmir? Says who?
Normally, it is the Pakistanis who comes with such fantastic numbers. And as a matter of fact, a couple of years back, they did come up with the fantastic number of 1 million Indian troops in Kashmir. In a report dated 30 November 2016, Dawn newspaper of Pakistan carried this headline:
However, this number did not then get much traction and seems to have died its natural death.
But the situation seems to have changed drastically ever since the Indian Government has announced the revocation of Article 370. It was widely reported in the press that the government had shifted a considerable number of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel to Jammu & Kashmir to tackle any fall-out of the decision, both in terms of Law & Order (L&O) as well as attempts by terrorists to disrupt peace in the state.
This accretion of CAPF personnel in J&K has been used by many journalists and news channels to proclaim absolutely absurd and fact-free numbers about the strength of Indian Army and other security personnel deployed in Jammu & Kashmir with the express purpose of ‘holding’ down the state.
First, let’s see who said what –
(1) Deccan Chronicle, Vikram Sharma– At the very top is this distinguished journalist and this newspaper which published this absolutely atrocious headline:
“Forces deploy 1 million to guard every inch of Kashmir valley”
There are some numbers thrown about in the article which do not make any sense in the context of the headline. Also, it seems nobody at Deccan Chronicle understand even basics of Mathematics. Because if they did, they would’ve realized that their own article shows that the number of CAPF personnel in J&K, even after factoring in the latest surge in numbers, is only 1,05,400. And that the normal strength of CRPF in the state is 60,000 (mentioned in the article itself)
So, where are the balance 8.946 Lakh troops? I guess the journalist wants the readers to figure that out!
By the way, this is not the only howler in the article. There’s more comedy here. Sample this from the article:
“On the International Border (IB), the BSF has a deployment of nearly 60,000 men which has also been increased in the last month”
First, Jammu & Kashmir shares ONLY 193 kilometre of International Boundary with Pakistan. This boundary runs from Jammu-Punjab border till the point where Line-of-Control (LOC) starts near Akhnoor. Pakistan calls it the Working Boundary. On the Indian side, we’ve BSF manning the border while on Pakistan’s side, we have the Rangers. The LOC on both sides is manned by each country’s respective army.
Second, which part of the International Border is the journalist talking about? And where are these 60,000 troops?
And third, what has BSF deployment on International Border (IB) has to do with troops in Jammu & Kashmir or revocation of Article 370?
Against my better judgement, I’m hoping that the journalist does not mean that 60,000 BSF personnel are deployed in the narrow 193-kilometre Working Boundary/International Border.
(2) Asian Age, Vikram Sharma– Same journalist, same trash.
(3) The Wire, Farooq Shah– Well, how can ‘The Wire’ be left behind when it comes to peddling such nonsense? However, the author is slightly more nuanced and we see the appearance of ‘half a million troops’:
“While India has started efforts to earn its permanent candidature, it can’t justify the presence of over half a million soldiers operating in Kashmir”
By the way, this ‘half-a-million’ nuanced appeared later. Initially, the article had another number. Guess what? Yes…..drum roll………1 million!
From the footnote of the same report:
“The figure for the number of army soldiers stationed in Kashmir is approximately half a million, and not a million as was stated in an earlier version of the article.”
I guess, someone realized that 1 million number is too much for even them to pull-off and reduced it by half. I mean, the last thing they expect is for anyone to check this number.
(4) Al Jazeera: When it comes to anti-India propaganda, how can Al Jazeera be behind? Here again, it repeats the same half-a-million number. Here is how it goes:
“Before India ended Kashmir’s special status and split it into two territories to be directly ruled by New Delhi, tens of thousands of Indian troops were deployed to curb a potential uprising, in addition to the half a million troops already stationed there”
(5)Then, you have the usual suspects – Forbes.com and The Guardian:
“Not only that, it has effectively instituted mass detention of Kashmiris by rushing in thousands of troops in addition to the half a million already stationed there.”
Is it me or the language seems eerily similar when the number of troops is mentioned? This instance of quoting a random number of Indian security personnel in Jammu & Kashmir is a perfect example of an urban legend being perpetuated by vested interests. No one here has done any homework to understand the real picture.
And there is a reason behind the same – all of them are simply not interested! Because half-a-million or one-million troops fits perfectly well into the narrative of occupying forces, human rights violation, world’s-most-dangerous-place kind of nonsense that these worthies want to build.
So, what’s the reality? Let’s have a look.
How many troops does Pakistan have in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir?
Whenever it comes to the topic of the number of troops which India has in Jammu & Kashmir, people forget that the main objective of Indian Army deployed in Jammu & Kashmir is to thwart any attack by Pakistan Army to capture the state, like it did in 1947, 1965, 1971 and 1991. Not only that, the Indian Army is expected to take the fight into Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) and reclaim as much territory as possible.
The strength of the Indian Army deployed in J&K depends on multiple factors – the strength of the Pakistan Army on the other side, offensive and defensive objectives, geographical limitation etc.
Outside of military circles, no one to date has done any assessment of disposition of Pakistan Army in POK to explain the strength of the Indian Army.
In this section, I present to you a short analysis of the strength and spread of Pakistan Army opposite to India in J&K sector. This will tell the readers of the kind of threat which the Indian Army needs to guards against.
What we term as POK, Pakistan has divided the same into two geographical segments. One is the Azad Jammu & Kashmir while the other is called as Gilgit-Baltistan. Of the total land area of POK, AJK comprises of only 15% while balance 85% area falls in Gilgit Baltistan. For political and geostrategic purposes, Pakistan has separated Gilgit-Baltistan from ‘Azad Jammu & Kashmir’ and maintains very tight control over the region.
Pakistan Army has a considerable presence across POK. However, the bulk of the Pakistan Army in this sector is deployed in what Pakistan calls ‘Azad Jammu and Kashmir’ opposite the Jammu region and Kashmir Valley. Because the LOC in Gilgit-Baltistan region runs across the very high mountainous territory, and the region itself has few narrow valleys to permit east-west or vice-versa movement of troops from both sides, the density of troop deployment is low. Geography of the region itself is expected to act as the main deterrent for any large scale attack from India.
Rawalpindi based X Corps of Pakistan Army is responsible for the defence of the entire Kashmir front. This front extends from northern tip of Siachen Glacier to north of Jammu. There are three infantry divisions and one infantry division equivalent formation under the X Corps.
The break of Pakistan Army’s deployment in the region is as follows:
The break of Pakistan Army’s deployment in the region
The location of X Corps, its infantry divisions, FCNA and some of the brigades is shown on the map below. Also, shown on the map is the location of corresponding Indian Corps HQs and divisions. I will be explaining the Indian Army deployment later in detail.
Deployment of Pakistan Army in AJK and Northern Areas
All the green coloured markers on the map represent the Pakistan Army while the blue-coloured ones represent the Indian Army. As against 17-18 infantry brigades of Pakistan Army in the region, for sake of clarity, I’ve marked the location of only 13 brigades. For security purpose, except Siachen Brigade, I’ve not shown the location of Indian Army brigades but only those of Corps HQs and Infantry/Mountain Divisions deployed in J&K region.
From the map, you can make-out the spread of Pakistan Army arrayed against India in the region. Also visible is the fact that most of Pakistan Army infantry brigades are very close to LOC on their side. And it is also quite evident that there is very heavy deployment of the Pakistan Army in this sensitive area.
Strength of the Pakistan Army
Now that we know the ORBAT of the Pakistan Army and its geographical spread in the region, let’s look at the strength of Pakistan Army. This will give you the context of Indian Army deployment in the J&K region across the LOC on the Indian side.
We can work out the strength of the Pakistan Army as follows:
As the table shows, the Pakistan Army has 17 to 18 infantry brigades deployed against Jammu & Kashmir.
Now, each infantry brigade generally has 3 x infantry battalions.
But many of Pakistan Army brigades in the sector are over-strength i.e. they’ve between 4-6 infantry battalions.
For the sake of convenience, let’s assume that each brigade has 4 x Infantry battalions.
Total infantry battalions – 4 x 18 = 72
Manpower per infantry battalion – 850
Total fighting manpower – 850 x 72 = 61,200!
Please remember, this is only the fighting manpower. Each Infantry Division consists of fighting and support troops. Support troops include communication, engineers, logistics, transport, military police, medical facilities, artillery etc. Hence, the overall strength will be much higher than this number.
Total manpower of an infantry division is in 16,000-18,000. But since all formations of PA are over-strength, one can safely assume that divisions would be larger in size with average manpower being 20,000. And in case of 12 Infantry Division, because it is almost equivalent to two infantry divisions, we can safely assume 50% more strength i.e. 30,000 troops. Add another 10% for various sundry organizations under Corps and Divisions and static formations.
Therefore, between the three infantry division and FCNA, Pakistan Army has about 100,000 troops deployed in the region. It is my considered opinion that this number is still on the lower side and that to this total we can easily add another ~20,000 troops to cover for various static military installations and sundry formations.
So, the final tally of Pakistan Army deployment in what Pakistan calls AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan (Pakistan occupied Kashmir) is 120,000 troops, which is almost 22% of the active Pakistan Army strength.
It is important to remember here that purely from military point-of-view, Pakistan Army has such a huge deployment in the region. Not to mention it DOES NOT face any terrorism or insurgency in the areas where these formations are deployed!
To this, I’ve yet not added the component of Mujahid Battalions. This force is trained on the lines of Territorial Army and its overall strength is 60,000. A high percentage of its battalion is deployed by Pakistan Army in AJK for defensive tasks.
If we add 30,000 more personnel from this unit, we’re talking about 150,000 Pakistan Army plus reserve troops in the region.
Order of Battle (ORBAT) – Indian Army
Military operations in Jammu & Kashmir falls under the purview of Udhampur based Northern Command of the Indian Army. The Area-of-Responsibility (AOR) of Northern Command stretches from Himachal Pradesh-Tibet border to Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh to Siachen Glacier, then covering an area from Turtok to Kargil to Drass, western Kashmir till north of Jammu.
Northern Command formation sign
Northern Command under its ORBAT has three Corps HQs (14 Corps, 15 Corps and 16 Corps) and seven infantry/mountain divisions. Of these seven infantry/mountain divisions, one mountain division is Northern Command reserve, which is to be used as per requirement. Since, it stationed outside of J&K, it has not been considered in the workings.
The break-up of the Indian Army in J&K is given in the table below. It also includes the Indian Army’s commitment along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.
The break-up of the Indian Army in J&K
Without getting into brigade-level details, let’s consider the number of divisions in the J&K area.
We have a total of 06 divisions and we assume that each division has ~25,000 troops.
So, in total, Indian Army deploys ~150,000 troops in the region in its six infantry/ mountain divisions from a purely military perspective.
To this 150,000, add another 20% simply to cover various static formations and some other troops.
This gives a total of ~180,000 troops in the entire J&K theatre from eastern Ladakh to Akhnoor.
If we remove 3 Infantry Division and other formations dedicated to Eastern Ladakh, we’ll have a ball-park number of ~150,000 troops facing Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.
Long story short, there is near parity between Indian and Pakistan Armies when it comes to troop strength deployed on either side of LOC and Siachen Glacier.
Indian troops on LOC (source:https://images.app.goo.gl/it42ctk8JmexfRJp7)Indian troops in Siachen (source:https://images.app.goo.gl/r4raZiPgSKsGcarHA)
From the Indian Army’s perspective, these troops are required for offence/defence against Pakistan in the region. From time to time, some troops might be diverted to Counter-Insurgency Operations in the Valley but the same is a secondary role. Even if there is a complete absence of terrorism and insurgency in the Valley, these troops would be required to man the LOC.
So, How Many Troops Do We Have?
The responsibility of Counter-Insurgency Operations (CI Ops) in the valley rests primarily with Rashtriya Rifles (RR), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Jammu & Kashmir Police (J&K Police). Each of these organizations has a fixed set-up in J&K and their strength can be ascertained.
During specific events, like Amarnath Yatra and recent revocation of Article 370, these organizations are augmented with additional troops inducted from outside the state. For example, the Indian Army might divert formations from its conventional set-up for CI Ops or it might induct additional army units from outside the state. Similarly, companies of CRPF and other Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) like Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Shashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Border Security Force (BSF) are inducted into the state from other regions.
In this section, we first look at the standard strength of these organizations in J&K. Then, we also factor into account the surge in their numbers in context to the recent developments. All the information used in this analysis is based on open-source material.
Rashtriya Rifles, or RR as they’re more popularly known as forms the backbone of India’s CI Ops in J&K. RR consists of men and officers drawn entirely from the Indian Army, though for technical & budgeting reasons, it is placed under Home Ministry.
RR Units are a unique experiment by the Indian Army to create a fighting formation tailor-made for counter-insurgency operations. And by all accounts, this has been a successful experiment. From its inception to 2018, when it celebrated 25 years of continuous operations, it has neutralized 16,300 terrorists.
“Organizationally, RR is the only regiment where troops from the infantry and other arms and services operate under a single banner. Each battalion with 1,200 troops has six rifle companies. The infantry component comprises 60 per cent troops in four rifle companies. Two rifle companies are from other arms chosen from field artillery, air defence artillery, armour and engineers. The remaining troops comprising Task-Oriented Teams from various services are meant to provide logistics back-up to an RR battalion. These include each RR battalion having an engineers’ platoon, a signals’ platoon, a medical detachment and elements from the Army Service Corps. Because this force is employed for CI ops, it does not have heavy weapons like a regular infantry battalion and is without organic artillery”.
There are 05 Counter- Insurgency Force (CIF) Headquarters in J&K which control all the RR units. These CIF Headquarters, in turn, are controlled by the two Corps HQs of the army.
These Force HQs with their Area-of Responsibility (AOR) are as under:
Kilo Force (K Force) – Kupwara, Baramula, Srinagar
Victor Force (V Force) – Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian, Kulgam and Budgam
Romeo Force (R Force) – Rajouri and Poonch
Delta Force (D Force) – Doda
Uniform Force (U Force) – Udhampur and Banihal
Kilo and Victor Force are under Srinagar based 15 Corps while Romeo, Delta and Uniform Force are under Nagrota based 16 Corps.
Each Force HQ has multiple Sectors under it. Each Sector is akin to a Brigade and is responsible for fixed geography.
And each Sector controls between 3-4 RR Units which are spread across its AOR. These RR units dominate the rural and countryside areas and actively hunt for terrorists.
Many of the RR units remain deployed under direct command and control of Army brigades and divisions, especially at the LoC
Total Sectors HQ – 17
Total no of RR battalions – 63
Strength of each RR Battalion – 1,200
Total Strength – 75,600
Add ~4,000+ more for troops & officers manning Sector HQs, CIF HQs and other support paraphernalia
Grand Total – 80,000 (approximate)
The main Counter-Insurgency force, which is responsible for almost all kinetic operations in J&K, is only 80,000 in total strength.
CRPF plays an important role in the overall security grid in the state of J&K. Along with Jammu & Kashmir Police (JKP), it is responsible for maintaining the law & order in the urban areas in the state. It also provides security to major events like the Amarnath Yatra. Further, it works alongside the Indian Army and RR battalions during CI Operations. While RR battalions mainly carry out the kinetic operations, CRPF forms the immediate security ring around the encounter site.
The force has done a commendable job of handling stone-pelters and other such agitations in the Valley. And it has done this without giving in to massive provocation from the crowd and many times, at expense of its own life & limbs. Over last 2-3 years, we’re seen numerous videos of crowds heckling, misbehaving and even physically assaulting CRPF parties. Who, in spite of being armed, did not give in to provocation, took these abuses and rather than retaliating, kept their calm.
CRPF Strength in the Valley
While the exact number of CRPF personnel deployed in J&K is not publicly available, it is possible to arrive at a ball-park figure basis snippet of information available in various news reports and data mentioned on the CRPF official website.
Before we proceed further, we need to understand that CRPF has a certain installed capacity in J&K which is permanently based in the state. Apart from this, based on the requirement(s), additional CRPF companies are inducted into the state from across the country. For example, during Amarnath Yatra and before the revocation of Article 370, there was a large scale induction of CRPF companies into the state. In this section, we address the CRPF strength deployed in the J&K under both circumstances.
All the CRPF companies/battalions in J&K come under the Jammu & Kashmir Zone (J&K Zone) of the CRPF. This zone is actually responsible for states of J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh. The organizational structure and exact deployment is given below. This information has been taken from the CRPF India website
CRPF J&K Zone – Organizational Structure
If we simply add-up all the battalions mentioned above (except for 23 additional battalions under Ops Kashmir from other CRPF Zones), we get a total of 93 CRPF battalions under J&K Zone.
However, this is not the correct way because the number of CRPF battalions mentioned against each Sector also consists of additional battalions from other Sectors within J&K Zone which have been deputed to them.
For example, 12 CRPF battalions from Northern Sector are deployed in J&K.
After we remove these duplicate entries, we find that strength of CRPF Battalions and personnel in the state of Jammu & Kashmir is as under:
CRPF Battalions from within J&K Zone of CRPF – 48
CRPF Battalions from other Zones transferred to J&K – 23
Total number of battalions – 71
Troops/Battalion – 1,000
Total CRPF Strength – 71,000
The general number mentioned the strength of CRPF in the state is 65,000. From example, this report from Economic Times dated 12 August 2019 states:
The Central Reserve Police Force has a permanent deployment of about 65 battalions for security and counter-terrorist duties in Jammu and Kashmir, while it has sent in about 120 fresh companies to the region in order to strengthen the internal security grid post the abrogation of provisions of Article 370. While a CRPF battalion has an operational strength of about 1,000 personnel, there are about 100 troops in a company.
So, it is quite possible that I’ve actually overestimated the strength of CRPF deployment in J&K. But I will let this stand because I’m trying here to understand what’s the maximum strength of Indian security forces in J&K and where does this number stand with respect to the much-touted ‘half a million Indian troops’ or its more outlandish cousin – 1 million soldiers!
There was a time when the Indian Army had deployed substantial infantry assets in J&K for the express purpose of CI Operations. For example, 8 Mountain Division, which successfully fought the bulk of Kargil War, was initially deployed in Kashmir Valley for CI Ops. This division had been moved from North-East in the early 90s for this task. When the Kargil War happened, it was the first responder and went on to do the bulk of the fighting under the able leadership of Major General Mohinder Puri (later Lt General).
However, today, while overall command & control of CI Ops remains with the army leadership, it is the Rashtriya Rifles which shoulders the main responsibility of CI Operations. The army might temporarily reassign troops from its formations in the Kashmir Valley for CI Ops but this does not represent an increase in deployment of the army in Kashmir Valley. These troops have already been accounted for in the conventional strength of the army in J&K.
Though, at times, the army does induct troops from outside to handle situations. For example, as per one report in Economic Times (8th August 2019), the Indian Army had moved an infantry brigade from North-East to Kashmir to strengthen the Counter-Infiltration grid along the LOC.
Similarly, a brigade worth of troops had been inducted in South Kashmir when the area had started to heat-up in recent past.
For this study, we’re assuming that the Indian Army has inducted 3 infantry brigades into Kashmir for CI Ops. While two of these have been accounted for through news articles, we’re assuming one more brigade just for contingency.
Indian Army strength dedicated to CI Ops:
Brigades – 03
Battalions/Brigade – 3
Men/Battalion – 850
Total Manpower – 3 x 3 x 850 = 7,650
Let’s round that off to 8,000 men
Other Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF)
Apart from CRPF, another major CAPF is Border Security Force (BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Shashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Assam Rifles.
BSF, ITBP and SSB are mainly responsible for guarding Indian borders and each force is responsible for a specific geography. For example, BSF guards India’s international border with Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. ITBP is responsible for Indo-Tibetan border while SSB looks after India-Nepal boundary.
While no definite account is available of their involvement in CI Ops in Kashmir, it is highly likely that their deployment in Kashmir for this task is zero to negligible. The main reason being that these forces are trained and deployment for a sensitive mission on the borders and can’t spare many troops for other tasks.
However, what is known as BSF deploys 12 battalions along LOC in J&K and that these battalions are under control of the Indian Army.
Even in the recent surge of troops in J&K before abrogation of Article 370, of the 380 companies of CAPF deployed, only 50 have come from ITBP, BSF and SSB. Even here, SSB is contributing 30 of the 50 companies with ITBP and BSF contributing only 10 companies each.
For this analysis, we’ve considered only the recent induction of BSF, ITBP and SSB companies into the state.
Periodic Surge in Numbers
As previously mentioned, more companies/battalions of CRPF are inducted into the Valley if there is a specific development. We take a look at three such events –
(1) Pulwama Attack –GOI has moved additional 100 companies of CRPF into the state after the Pulwama suicide bombing attack on CRPF convoy on 14 February, 2019.
(2) Amarnath Yatra –As per various media reports, CRPF had deployed 40,000 personnel for providing security and logistics to the Amarnath Yatra pilgrims. This consisted of troops already in Kashmir as well as those inducted from outside the state for this specific task. This report from Hindustan Times, dated June 11, 2018, gives the details:
“There is already a permanent deployment of more than 45,000 personnel from the central paramilitary forces…During the Amarnath Yatra, the Centre will deploy around 225 companies (around 22,500 troops) of central forces along the yatra route. Last year, the additional central deployment was around 175 to 180 companies. This year we have posted around 5,000 more boots on the ground to secure the route,” said a home ministry official on the condition of anonymity.”
For the sake of this study, we assume that GOI had moved 225 companies or additional 22,500 CRPF personnel into the state and further, that these continue to be deployed in J&K.
(3) Article 370 Abrogation – Before the news about the abrogation of Article 370 was announced, GOI had moved in a large number of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) companies into the state. In fact, there were two separate news about induction of CAPF. While it was first reported than 100 companies or 10,000 personnel are being inducted, it was followed by second news about additional 280 companies, on top of 100 companies already mentioned, to be moved in J&K.
While the break-up of 100 companies is available in terms of which CAPF they belong to, the break-up of balance 280 companies is not available. Break-up of 100 companies is as follows:
Coming to the 280 companies, as per one report in Hindustan Times, most of these troops are from CRPF. For the sake of this study, we assume that all of them are from CRPF. As it is, for the purpose of this study, the break-up does not matter because we’re trying to look at the overall number of Indian security personnel in J&K.
Let’s consider the man-power strength across all the organizations involved in CI Ops in J&K as mentioned in this analysis so far. Also, I’m going to consider the latest numbers after the surge in troop strength due to various events mentioned earlier.
Indian Army – 3 x Infantry Brigades (9 Infantry battalions) – 8,000 men
Other CAPF – 50 companies (5,000 men)
Grant Total: 2,29,500 personnel
Now, this is a far cry from ‘half a million’ troops in J&K that every self-proclaimed defender of human rights and liberty has been shouting about.
And mind you, this is the maximum surge number where I’ve liberally inflated some number to ensure we don’t leave out anything. And I’m very sure there is double-counting happening here especially with respect to the strength of CRPF companies. The reason being, I’ve assumed that every company CRPF which was deployed to the valley over 9-10 months has stayed put in J&K. When the more possible situation is that many of these CRPF companies would’ve rotated out of the state on completion of their duties.
One more aspect of the current distribution of strength of security personnel is that today CRPF constitutes 60% of total security personnel in the state. While RR continues to lead the operations, we’ve come a long way when a mix force of RR and the Indian Army used to man every aspect of CI Ops. ‘Additional’ in the chart below means troops inducted into the state for specific events. These are the surge troops.
But isn’t this number large enough already?
The number needs to be seen in the context of the situation on the ground. Security forces have to manage a very large geographical area which varies from the flat valley floor of Kashmir to high mountain ranges of Shamshabari and Pir Panjal Range. In addition to it, the Kashmir Valley is fairly densely populated with a cluster of villages at a short distance from each other. Troops have to dominate both the urban/rural areas as well as hinterland. The objective is to not give any freedom of movement to the terrorists.
Let’s consider some numbers. The combined area of Jammu Division and Kashmir Division of the erstwhile state of J&K is 42,241 sq. km. This is slightly larger than the area of the Netherlands. And in terms of population, the combined population this geography is 12.258 million (source: Wikipedia).
“The US military’s counterinsurgency doctrine, based on its experience in Afghanistan and Iraq, recommends a force level of 20 security personnel for every thousand local people in the operational zone”
Now, dividing the population numbers given above (12.258 million) with the number of troops deployed in CI Ops that we’ve just calculated (2,29,500 personnel), we get a ratio of 53.5.
Long story short, even the maximum surge level deployment of Indian security personnel in J&K, considering the geographical, population and political aspects is quite reasonable. When the troops inducted for specific purposes like recent induction of CAPF before the revocation of Article 370 will move away from J&K, this ratio will further improve.
Conclusion
It is nobody’s argument that ideally, there should not be any troops, whether Rashtriya Rifles or CRPF or Indian Army, on the streets and hinterland of J&K. However, for that to happen, we will have to reach a level where there’s no Pakistan backed and home-grown terrorism in the region. The Indian state simply cannot afford to give any space to such elements and consequently, this requires security forces to dominate the rural areas and maintain a presence in urban areas.
While Pakistani backed terrorism is unlikely to go away anytime soon, it is expected that with the recent reorganization, and resultant development in the region, more locals will be aligned with India. And this will dampen any fissiparous tendencies.
Finally, to those who quote random hyped-up numbers about the number of Indian security personnel deployed in J&K, because you have an agenda to push, do some research and get your facts right!
National Editor of The Hindu Suhasini Haidar tried to spread misleading information by suggesting that politicians can visit Jammu and Kashmir with permission from the Supreme Court. Referring to the news saying that the apex court has allowed Sitaram Yechury to visit Srinagar to meet an ailing party colleague, she asked on Twitter whether other politicians, who were recently sent back from Srinagar airport, also can get such permission from the court.
Will all politicians who have been sent back from Srinagar airport similiarly ask the SC for permission to visit the Valley?https://t.co/GxSxF6uDbW
Today the Supreme Court of India allowed CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury to visit Srinagar to meet his friend and party colleague Yusuf Tarigami. Tarigami has been under detention after the government abrogated the article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, along with most politicians in the state.
Yechury had approached the apex court for permission to visit the state, where restrictive orders are in place to maintain law and order, to meet the party the MLA as he is unwell. While granting the approval, the court made it clear that it was only for the personal purpose of meeting Tarigami, and no other activities will be allowed. The court said that if it is found that Yechury is indulging in any other activity apart from meeting his colleague, it will be considered a violation of the court order.
Yechury was also a part of the delegation of opposition leaders who had travelled to Srinagar and were sent back from the airport recently. But this time he is visiting Srinagar for a different reason, and he can’t participate in any protest or meeting etc. This means other politicians will also have to come up with valid personal reasons to visit to convince the Supreme Court for permission. They can’t seek permission only to visit Jammu and Kashmir, and court has made it absolutely clear that politicians can’t indulge in any political activity.
By posing the question, Suhasini Haidar tried to imply that while the administration is preventing politicians from visiting the state, the Supreme Court is not against it, and if politicians approach the court, the court will grant such approvals. But the court has already made it clear that no political, or any other public activity will not be allowed. This means, even if someone like Rahul Gandhi tries to take SC permission, he may not be granted it by the court if he can’t show any non-political reason to visit the state.
After the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A, the situation is kept under control by the administration. Any kind of public meeting is not allowed, and prohibitory orders under section 144 are in place. While some journalists agree with government’s decision to maintain law and order, others want that politicians of opposition parties be allowed to visit the state, so that they can instigate people to protest against the decision, which will surely lead to serious law and order situation, as everyone knows that protests in the valley mean stone-pelting and other such violent activities.
