Still an alpha bait

The question of army brutality in the Kashmir Valley has once again been highlighted after two schoolboys were gunned down for not stopping at a military checkpost in Budgam earlier this week. With the Indian Army now accepting responsibility for the unprovoked killing, hackles have been raised over a number of concerns pertaining to the conflict-torn region. While overreaction on the part of the military apparatus is old news for the valley dwellers, shooting two young boys dead is perhaps a recent peak even for the cold and heartless army operators who speak through the barrel of a gun and forego judgement and self-restraint at the altar of reckless militarism.

With assembly elections barely weeks away in the National Conference-ruled state, it is obvious that the Army is overzealous to maintain ‘law and order,’ and especially because of its added ammunition from Armed Forces Special Powers Act, the impunity and immunity that they forces are used to in the Valley remain unmatched. Precisely the reason civilian casualty, and there have countless such ‘collateral damages’, becomes a matter of only supplementary concern, barely registering with the governmental radar, whether in the state or in the Centre. It is important to remember that despite incidences of homegrown militancy going down at present, the situation across the border, particularly in Pakistan and Afghanistan, is way too delicate to be left without a tight leash. 

Given that Pakistan is reeling under escalated attacks from Tehreek-e-Taliban, the latest being the Wagah blast that killed over 60, and that Afghanistan is a ‘graveyard of foreign policy’ from which US is busy extricating itself, India cannot afford to lose sight of infiltration into Kashmiri territories. Yet pre-election caution cannot be a cover for this unpardonable overstep on the part of the armed forces. An unbiased, fast-tracked inquiry into this is urgently needed.