Armies, para military are arms of the State. They can't create nations

Deploy the Army and the problem will be resolved. But Kashmir is not such a case.

The recent dastardly murder of a young Kashmiri officer of the Indian Army brings forth rage as well as sadness. He had committed no crime, had joined the Service of a country he considered his own and had done no one any harm. It is time for introspection. 

I have myself worn the uniform of our armed forces, even if not OG (olive green), for four decades and know every facet of doing so. I first visited Kashmir in 1975 on holiday with my youngish wife. It was such a beautiful place with one difference. They all asked if we had come from India-this, 27 years down the line. In 1980 I visited there as ADC to the Navy Chief. We stayed at the State Guest House VIP Cottage and could move around quite freely shopping for all the things the Valley is famous for. The next trip was in 1994 when I had become a three star and held charge of Policy and Planning of the Defence Forces. We visited establishments in Poonch, Rajauri, Kupwara, Sharifabad- all well known names today, some for the extent of militancy. In Srinagar, we were confined to the cantonment and briefings and could move only under what the Army called "road opening" with several gun mounted vehicles in the convoy. The last visit, against the advice of a good friend, a former Corps Commander, was as a retiree on vacation in 2013 when we stayed in a houseboat. Life was apparently normal but with a uniformed person seen every 100 yards. In all these trips, in varying environments, one sentence was heard more than all others-are you from India.

It is silly for even the most knowledgeable Indian to talk of what ails us in Kashmir much less talk of solutions. But as far as bottom lines are concerned, one thing should be etched in stone. Either it is part of India or it is not. If it is, then it has to be held and administered like any other territory of this country and if it is not then it has to be 'occupied' and managed, by the Army if necessary, as has been the case for much of the last seven decades. There is no half way house. If the former, every Kashmiri is an Indian, good, bad or separatist. We talked to Phizo and to Laldenga in Nagaland and Mizoram in the days gone by and are talking to Muivah today-all of them disclaimed India at one time or another. So must we talk to the Mirwaiz or Shabir Shah or whoever. Had Yahya Khan talked to separatist Mujib ur Rahman who had proclaimed independence following the March 1971 elections and made him Prime Minister, who knows there may have been no Bangladesh today.

Armies and para military forces are arms of the State. They do not decide policy-they only execute. To expect that they can create nations is a fallacy; only people can do that. We have taken an option that does not exist. Deploy the Army and the problem will be resolved. Sometimes that might happen but Kashmir is not such a case. In fact, quite the opposite. Over the years, the awe, respect and fear that a populace must have for their Army has degraded in the Valley. This is ominous.

'It is all thanks to Pakistan' is a proposition that is often made-if that country behaves itself, all will be well. If that be so really, let us go in and teach them a lesson. But that still will not answer the seminal question asked in Kashmir-Are you from India? Only Indians can answer it. Meanwhile, my heart bleeds for the young man whose only crime was to want to wear his country's uniform, like I once did. 

The writer is a former Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command. He has been a member of the National Security Advisory Board