The way to fight a dirty war?

There should be absolutely no doubt in anyone’s mind that tying Farooq Ahmed Dar, a shawl weaver from a village in Kashmir’s Budgam, to the fender of a Rakshak jeep to use him as a human shield and parade him through villages to “deter stone-pelters” has damaged the Indian Army’s image. The nastiest was when Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat not only defended the act, which had triggered outrage in Kashmir and beyond, but also chose to honour Maj. Nitin Leetul Gogoi, the officer who was in the eye of a storm over the episode and facing a court of inquiry ordered by the Army itself, with his “commendation card”.

There were protests from human rights groups and criticism from most political parties after the video on the April 9 incident went viral. The photograph showing Dar tied to the Army jeep was also used extensively by the world media. For some critics, the image, in a way, refreshed the brutalities committed by the American Army on civilians in the Vietnam War. The finishing touch making the action the cruellest and offensive has been the award to Maj. Gogoi by the Army Chief for taking this action. Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, tweeted, “Indian Army Chief shows criminal leadership, backing as ‘innovative’ troops’ use of Kashmir man as a human shield.”

At home, a number of very senior retired officers of the Army also decried the use of human shield. In fact, one of them, Lt. Gen. H.S. Panag, who has served in Kashmir, went to the extent of saying: “This image will end up being the defining image of the Indian Army, just like the Napalm girl was for the Vietnam War.” And when Maj. Gogoi was honoured, Lt. Gen. Panag had to say: “IA traditions, ethos, rules & regs swept away by the ‘mood of the nation’! I stand by my views even if I am the last man standing!”

Never before has the Indian Army come under such criticism at home and abroad. The use of humans as a shield in a war is not unknown. It has happened during many wars in the past and in recent times. In enemy territory, soldiers do use civilians as shields to prevent sudden attacks from the enemy, specially guerrilla fighters. This is specially so when the troops are passing through civilian areas. However, these things usually happen only in a war and in enemy territory. When it comes to Jammu and Kashmir, as is said by the government day-in and day-out, the security forces are faced here with “limited terrorist actions” and not really full-fledged armed conflict in the state. Yet the Army is being used against own citizens. No one uses one’s own citizens in one’s own country as a protective shield, no matter how grave the provocation is!

Tying an innocent man in front of a jeep and parading him through 30 villages or so to instil fear among the population is preposterous. In spite of these what may be called urgent tactical considerations from the viewpoint of an Army fighting a war, such an act is a grave violation of the basic human rights and is strictly prohibited under the Geneva Convention.

As it turns out, Dar, a poor weaver, had nothing to do with stone-pelting or any protests. In fact, he had come out to vote in an election almost totally boycotted by most people. The unfortunate episode has clearly demonstrated that the present ruling elite and some Army officers consider Kashmir as an enemy territory and, according to them, there is a “war-like situation” here.

As it turns out, Dar, a poor weaver, had nothing to do with stone-pelting or any protests. In fact, he had come out to vote in an election almost totally boycotted by most people. The unfortunate episode has clearly demonstrated that the present ruling elite and some Army officers consider Kashmir as an enemy territory and, according to them, there is a “war-like situation” here. The Army is supposedly fighting a war against its own people. Such an attitude is not going to improve the situation, but worsen it further and in turn damaged its own image further.

The Article First Appeared In Asian Age

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