There is a need to analyse how much foreign money is pouring into Kashmir to foment trouble, said Major General (Retd) RK Kaushal during a talk on Violence Free Kashmir organised in the city on Saturday.
Kaushal was in the city to be part of this event organised by the discussion group Vichar Vedh at Patrakar Bhavan. Also present on the occasion were Professor Vijay Naik from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mumbai and members of Vichar Vedh, a forum which encourages discussion on humanitarian, secular and democratic values. Through these discussions Vichar Vedh hopes to bring forth alternative policies in the social, economic and political fields.
Kaushal in his presentation said, “There are a lot of provoking pictures of Kashmir which can be seen on the internet but they need to be taken with a pinch of salt. I was in the valley for six years even during the Kargil war and the ground situation is many times much different.”
He added that there is a need to also understand the mindset of soldiers working in Kashmir. He said that the army there is under constant tension and their situation needs to be understood.
“For bringing peace in Kashmir what needs to be analysed is how much of foreign money is coming to Kashmir. According to me what is aiding militancy is corruption in Kashmir,” he added.
Presenting his views on the current situation in Kashmir and the history of Kashmir, Professor Vijay Naik from IIT Mumbai shared a few statistics. He said, “After independence between 1990 to 2011, 43,460 people have been killed in Kashmir. Out of these, the total Kashmiris killed are around 34,000 ,which is a huge number.”
He stressed that it is important that for ensuring peace in Kashmir not only the people of Kashmir but others from various parts of India introspect and see what can be done.”
He also called for greater understanding and analysis of the reason for the rising restlessness in Kashmir, the increase in violence due to terrorism till 1990 and how its intensity reduced after 2002.
