Day 52 – Q 4.With the abrogation of Article 370, there is a fear of Jammu & Kashmir becoming a playground for external state and non-state actors trying to destabilise peace and order in the valley. Do you agree? How can this threat be averted? Suggest.

4. With the abrogation of Article 370, there is a fear of Jammu & Kashmir becoming a playground  for external state and non-state actors trying to destabilise peace and order in the valley. Do you agree? How can this threat be averted? Suggest. 

धारा 370 के निरस्त होने के साथ, जम्मू और कश्मीर में बाहरी राज्य और गैर-राज्य अभिनेताओं के लिए एक खेल का मैदान बनने का डर है जो घाटी में शांति और व्यवस्था को अस्थिर करने की कोशिश कर रहा है। क्या आप सहमत हैं? इस खतरे को कैसे रोका जा सकता है? सुझाव दें।

Introduction:

Article 370 acknowledges the special status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir in terms of autonomy and its ability to formulate laws for the state’s permanent residents.

Body

Jammu and Kashmir becoming a playground for external state:

• Strategic location: Jammu Kashmir location is at the confluence of India, Tibet, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Central Asian Republics makes it one of the most geo strategically important regions of the world
• China: Chinese forces humiliated the Indian Army and captured Aksai Chin, which roughly forms 20 per cent of Jammu and Kashmir. This gave China a big foothold in Jammu and Kashmir.
• Geographical route: The state lies on the old silk route between ancient China and Central Asian Republics. Its vicinity to the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the flagship project for China’s Belt Road Initiative (BRI), also enhances its geostrategic potential.
• CPEC: The CPEC passes through Gilgit-Baltistan, a part of Jammu and Kashmir. China has got its own and troops for security of the development projects in the corridor.
• Ladakh: Ladakh which is of strategic importance between Tibet and Pakistan has been a source of disputes between India and China.
• Islam culture: Due to its deep mystic moderate Islam culture, it has the potential of reversing the cultural Jehadi threat to the Uyghur region of China in the north.

Jammu and Kashmir becoming a playground for non-state actors:

• Taliban: The withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan describes the drawdown of United States Armed Forces and increased tension of Taliban in Middle East.
• Various terrorist groups: various terrorist groups are seen in Jammu and Kashmir and there is huge risk of intruders.

Steps for threat to be averted:

• Intelligence unit: Within the intelligence community, the different branches need to coordinate better when it comes to intelligence sharing between them, ensuring there is a single stream for the dissemination of counterterrorism intelligence.
• Defence infrastructure: Needed to allocate resources towards reaching the goal by overhauling its defence infrastructure and procurement policies.
• Feasible option: India has asked Pakistan to take credible and irreversible steps to end cross-border terrorism and dismantle terrorist infrastructure in territory under its control.
• FATF: India is also a member of FATF (Financial Action Task Force) whose aim is to establish international standards for combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
• NIA: Officers of the National Investigation Agency are going from door-to-door at crack down cross border terror funding.
• Regional organizations: Bilateral summit meetings with various countries, and at regional and multilateral forums, such as Shanghai Cooperation Organization, G20, BRICS, among others. Manifestation: zero tolerance to terrorism; rejection of any justification for an act of terror; delinking terror from religion; need for all forces believing in humanity to unite in fight against terrorism has found greater acceptance.
• Satellite: ISRO launched an earth observation spy satellite RISAT-2B that can take high resolution images of the earth during day and night, and also under cloudy conditions to keep an eye also on terror camps across the border in Pakistan.

Conclusion

It is the consensus of government and public to maintain peace and harmony of the nation for the welfare of all.