Counter Point: Is Sadhbhavna about education?

Massive controversy erupted in Kashmir after the All India tour for Kashmiri girls undertaken by the Army came to light.  The Army claimed the ‘educational trip’- coming under the rubric of the Sadhbhavna program- was in the nature of a quest   to enhance awareness towards the educational institutions, the rich cultural heritage and developmental activities in other parts of the country. The Army had organized this tour with effect from 05 Dec to 15 Dec 2015 for the youth of Kashmir. However, the people of Kashmir were not convinced of this ostensible rationale trotted out by the Army. People spewed out their outrage on social media and criticized both the Army as well as the girls. While the nature of the criticism leveled against the young girls was in bad taste and at times downright rude and uncalled for, the fact remains that public opinion about the nature of the trip remains valid.

‘Operation Sadhbhavna’ at the end of the day is a counter insurgency technique that falls under the rubric of what is termed as ‘Winning Hearts and Minds’ (WHAM) in the annals of counter insurgency (COIN). In a counterinsurgency context and under conditions of insurgency, the state or authorities dealing with insurgency institute programs that are aimed at a certain segment of the population to make them part of the counterinsurgency narrative. These can be former insurgents, a select group of intellectuals and opinion makers, eminent people or even children. The state’s counterinsurgency program corresponds to this sequence. It has been tested and tried in Kashmir but while the state may have contained militancy and insurgency, the overall and dominant narrative in Kashmir remains wedded to separatism. In this emotionally and sentimentally charged atmosphere, the Army- an institution that, to say the least, is not liked in Kashmir- picks up a group of girls as part of its WHAM strategy. Notwithstanding the sentiment in Kashmir about the Army or the overall political sentiment, in a conservative society like Kashmir, cherry picking a bunch of young girls for an all India tour with male guides and organizers would be a recipe for raising the hackles of people and thus annoy Kashmiris.

So from both perspectives- the nature of Kashmiri society and the very partisan and political nature of the Sadhbhavna trip- the program was and is badly conceived and motivated. While the reaction of Kashmiri’s to the trip may have been intemperate and rude, the anger at it is not wrong. Why were young girls-impressionable and to some extent, gullible, chosen for the trip? When the motivating premise of the trip was political and inspired by reasons of the state, why after the trip leave them vulnerable to cop abuse and even potential harm? Why make a propaganda coup out of it?

All in all then,  a politically motivated program by the Army – a counter insurgency approach- was adopted by the Army to alter the world views of young girls in the name of  ‘education’. This is the general critique of the program. More specifically, it has been pointed out by some that  some separatist leaders like Mirwaiz Umer Farooq’s criticism of the program is rather hypocritical.  Mirwaiz Umer, it has been stated, got educated in a Christian Missionary School despite the fact that his parents or family’s nature was that of a priestly aristocracy of Kashmir. If Umer or his parents had no qualms about being educated in a Missionary school, then why the furore over the Sadhbhavna girls? The implication here is of double standards. But this criticism misses or chooses to elide over one important point: the Missionary Schools like Burn Hall or Tyndale Biscoe sought to merely educate; not convert. To the contrary, the Sadhbhavna program seeks to convert. It is in the nature of both a PR exercise as well as propaganda. This is the essential and fundamental difference between the two. So it appears that criticism against Umer is motivated too. This is not in the nature of defense of Mirwaiz but is meant to be a corrective to motivated opinion.

In the final analysis, if we are to review the Sadhbhavna program and its contents, these will be a failure. They are like lip gloss that obscures the real problem and issue. If the state is to really resolve all issues pertaining to Kashmir, within and without, then the most appropriate and prudent way out is to garner political will to resolve it for good and not through politically motivated counter insurgency techniques that are in any way doomed.

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