The Rediff Special/ Suhasini Haidar
Kashmiri children see India in a new light,
thanks to army's Operation Jyoti
They are school-children, their ages ranging from 11 to 17 years, but their faces seem older, more hardened. They have seen far more of life than the average teenager. And they are on no ordinary school-trip, but on one of the most novel experiments the Indian Army has conceived during its operations in the troubled Kashmir valley.
Since last year, various battalions of the army stationed in Kashmir have been sponsoring groups of school children from the state on tours around India. The different groups, comprising 25 to 30 children each on an average, are accompanied by a few of their teachers, and have been taken so far to Delhi, Agra, Ajmer, Jaipur, and on one trip, even as far as Bombay and Goa.
"The idea," says army spokesperson Colonel Shruti Kant, "is to tell these children that they belong to India, and their country is much larger than just their valley."
"I was really happy when I was chosen for this trip," says Sheikh Mohammed Iqbal, an enthusiastic 15-year-old. "I had only seen India on a map before. Now I have seen it with my own eyes."
Other youngsters in this group of 20 echo the same sentiment. For many of them, leaving the Kashmir valley itself was like crossing an international border, and some even speak of "coming to India", as if it were another country.
"This is just the sort of feeling we want to conquer," says Colonel R K Khullar, commanding officer of the battalion that has sponsored this batch of students. "We want them to see themselves as citizens of India, as much as any kid from UP or Tamil Nadu."
While in Delhi, the students have seen the Red Fort, Purana Qila, the Secretariat buildings, and the national museums. While these sights were to be expected, also on their itinerary are meetings with top army officials, and even a visit to the defence minister. If these meetings may seem unusual for kids, they are definitely pleased with the attention they have been receiving while in Delhi.
Many of the students on this trip (all Muslim) say their favourite sight was the Jama Masjid. In fact, students on earlier trips have said they were surprised to even see the mosque standing, as stories circulating in Kashmir had told of how "Hindustanis had razed the Jama Masjid to the ground".
Indoctrination for these children, coming as they do from Kupwara, a one-time hotbed of militancy, is a fact of life. Violence in the Valley in the last decade has meant a loss of livelihood for their families, and a loss of childhood for them. None of these kids was more than 4 or 5 years old when the insurgency took a turn for the worse in 1988.
The father of 17-year-old Shakeel Ahmed has a master's degree, but as there are few academic jobs in Kashmir now, his family subsists on agriculture. Sheikh Mohammad Iqbal is the school principal's son, but he doesn't yet know what sort of job he can get, as there are no factories in the valley. Mushtaq Ahmed Lone, 16, says his favourite subject is biology, and he would love to be a doctor. But he says it is unlikely he will ever get admission into the medical college in Srinagar, as it is known for corruption and capitation fees.
Army officers recognise that this will be the hardest problem to tackle in Kashmir. All these young men constitute the new generation in the valley, and without a decent livelihood, they can easily stray into militancy. "That is why we try to catch them young," explains Colonel Shruti Kant. "If the 20-odd students on this trip can be shown enough of a peaceful world so as to turn them against militancy, they can spread the word to at least 200 more."
Another problem, specifically for the students on these trips, is the fear that the militants in their areas will "punish" them or their families for accepting the army's hospitality.
"There is definitely a risk of retaliation from militants against anyone who is seen to be friendly with us," admits Colonel Khullar. "But we are there to protect our people."
In fact, the fear of retaliation was so high that when the army first proposed these trips to local village committees, few volunteered. So the army went about setting up "goodwill camps" in various villages, where free medical aid, veterinary aid, and reconstruction of school buildings, places of worship, etc, which had been destroyed, were undertaken.
"Convincing the parents was the hardest part, " says one officer. "And on the first trip, we even had to bring a cook from the village, in order to reassure the families of the students that their children would be fed only halaal meat!"
Several trips later, the Indian Army is pleased with its endeavour. At a function organised on Monday to introduce the students of the latest batch to Lieutenant General Chandra Shekhar, the vice-chief of army staff, he said he is very happy with the enthusiastic response that this experiment, code-named 'Operation Jyoti', has received. "At the end of each trip, we take back students who have not just seen new parts of their country, they go back with a new confidence and pride in their country."
Another encouraging development, he said, is that many of the boys on the trips have asked about joining the Indian Army. In fact, the army now plans to undertake a similar project in the areas of the North-East that have been hit by insurgency.
For the boys on the excursion, however, it isn't yet evident just how far this trip will change their lives. What is apparent, however, is just how much they have enjoyed themselves. Even the more sober and dignified amongst them display their excitement in an almost naïve way as they describe the tall buildings, old monuments, posh cars, and everything else that they have seen. "The most exciting thing on this trip for me was the train journey from Jammu to Delhi," gushes 16-year-old Aijaz Ahmed Khan. "It was amazing how much of the countryside we were able to see."
For Mudassar, who is only 11 years old, it was the people in Delhi that amazed him. "They all look so different," he says self-consciously, wondering at their darker skins. "We have met people from so many different religions."
Ironically for a child from the strife-torn valley, Mudassar had been warned by his mother of the crime situation in the capital. "My mother said to be careful of dakoos (dacoits)," he says.
In Jammu, the boys were taken to see a Hindi film, something most of them said they had never seen in a cinema hall. Over the years, all cinema halls in Kashmir have been destroyed by the militants, or converted into army bunkers. They aren't that deprived of films, though, says Mushtaq Ahmed, proudly explaining that his village has a VCP which shows one film every week. His favourite hero? Aamir Khan, of course.
They now look forward to their next stop, Agra. All of them have heard of the Taj Mahal and seen pictures of it, and they are naturally keen to see it. "It was built by our ancestors, the Mughals," explains one 16-year-old proudly.
Little Shahid Rasool, 10, the youngest of the group, has another reason for wanting to go to the Taj. Shyly, he says, "My mother in Wawarkhan village [Kupwara district] said she doesn't think she will ever get to see the Taj. So I want to buy her a small replica of it."
Their next stop will be Ajmer, and a visit to the famous dargah (tomb) there.
For any child who knows little beyond his mountains, fields and orchards on one side, and gunfire, grenades and army patrols on the other, the trip around India is obviously a novel experience, and these wide-eyed youngsters from Kashmir are no exception.
They are enchanted by everything that they have been able to see, especially as it has been made possible by the very men they had been taught to fear.
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