Coping with violence

Interview with Gurbachan Jagat, DGP.

Director-General of Police Gurbachan Jagat is deeply concerned about the implications of the recent events in Jammu - as are most top officials in Jammu and Kashmir's security establishment. One version has it that the massacres in the region are the acts of desperate and marginalised terrorists. But they reflect new strategic realities in Jammu and Kashmir, and could have serious implications for the still relatively peaceful Valley. Constrained by inadequate resources and poor force levels, officials are struggling to shape a coherent response. Jagat discussed the recent massacres, and the measures needed to combat them, in this interview with Praveen Swami in Srinagar.

For the last year matters have been worsening in the Jammu province, and there seems to be no end to the violence. What is behind these killings, and what needs to be done to stop them?

S. SUBRAMANIUM

The first and most important factor is infiltration across the border. Unless we check infiltration through the Rajouri and Poonch borders, this problem will continue. Secondly, this contiguous belt from Poonch through Darhal and Buddhal areas into Rajouri, then into Gool and Mohor in Udhampur and finally from Doda, was once a route to Anantnag and the Valley. But for the past two years terrorists have settled down in these areas and created bases. They believe that massacres will force Hindus to migrate from the higher reaches, giving them a free run in the area. Of course, such killings have the added benefit, from their point of view, of provoking communal violence in Jammu. Finally, as far as Doda specifically is concerned, even reaching remote villages, let alone providing security there, is an enormous job, considering the terrain and the rudimentary roads and communication infrastructure. It can take over 40 hours to reach some points. On top of this, the force level in Doda has gone down over the past two years. The Kashmir Valley is much more compact, but we have much higher force levels here. So we desperately need more people.

Is having more soldiers the answer?

Certainly not. We need sustained operations over a period of time to flush out terrorists from the forests and mountains, and then neutralise them. We then need a good force level to hold the area and make sure they cannot make their way back. But as I said earlier, if we want a lasting solution, then the problem of infiltration has to be addressed.

On that question, what implication do you think this round of border firing, apart from the other issues it has raised, will have on infiltration?

In addition to whatever was taking place anyway, it is my conviction that larger numbers of infiltrators must have made their way in under cover of this firing in this period. This is something we need to give serious thought to.

Why are we unable to end infiltration, to seal the border as some people put it?

See, sealing the border is a concept which is not applicable here. If you see the Kupwara and Baramulla borders, they are mountainous and heavily forested. Fencing of the kind that was undertaken in Punjab is simply not possible. Nor can you man every inch of the terrain. So it has to be a combination of strategies. The Army has a two, three tier system of border operations, and we are working on adding a further tier of our own. Our strategies need to be creative and flexible.

So over the next weeks and months, should we expect an escalation in violence?

Normally the summer months do see an escalation in violence. Maize crops in the Jammu districts ripen, and the fields provide cover to terrorists to come right up to inhabited areas. The end of the summer is also the time that foreign mercenaries begin to go back to Pakistan, before the passes close in autumn. Until the passes close, yes, we should be prepared for high levels of violence.

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