Lolab : Land of Love an Beauty
LOLAB: Land of Love and Beauty
As it is with any young soldiers, it was my dream too to serve in the Kashmir valley. I wanted to be the saviour of “the heaven on earth” as it was called by Mughal Emperor Jehangir, marred by religious extremism and terrorism. I started for my posting in Rashtriya Rifles (Counter Insurgency Force) with a lot of enthusiasm.
My posting was in the sleepy North Kashmiri district of Kupwara. Despite its breathtaking beauty Kupwara has been infamous in the recent times for all wrong reasons. Fellow soldiers kept on psyching me up with stories of horror, as how Kupwara contributes to the maximum number of gallantry awards every year, most of it posthumously, though. I finally crossed Kupwara town and entered the famed Lolab valley. Somebody told me Lolab stands for “land of love and beauty”.
Within days, I realised that something was missing. The people I came to save, were all looking at me with hatred. Once the intial excitement settled down, I started seeing the reality of how the militancy/ terrorism has become a part of life for people of Jammu and Kashmir. I saw, people sandwiched between terrorists and military and how terrorism and military contribute to the local economy. I even started thinking, neither the military, nor the government were serious about resolving the Kashmir issue. Many deserted homes of Kashmiri pundits were still there as monuments of the tragic past of Kashmir.
My assigned task was to eliminate all terrorists operating in my Area of Responsibility (AOR). The company commander eagerly handed over the task to me and was looking thrilled about the next 'peace posting' with 'family accomodation'. I met some of the so called “sources” or informers, who make a decent living out of the job. I started familiarising the area and meeting all important traders , political and religious leaders of my AOR.
I decided to do things a little differently. Armed Forces world over are trained to eliminate enemies
As it is with any young soldiers, it was my dream too to serve in the Kashmir valley. I wanted to be the saviour of “the heaven on earth” as it was called by Mughal Emperor Jehangir, marred by religious extremism and terrorism. I started for my posting in Rashtriya Rifles (Counter Insurgency Force) with a lot of enthusiasm.
My posting was in the sleepy North Kashmiri district of Kupwara. Despite its breathtaking beauty Kupwara has been infamous in the recent times for all wrong reasons. Fellow soldiers kept on psyching me up with stories of horror, as how Kupwara contributes to the maximum number of gallantry awards every year, most of it posthumously, though. I finally crossed Kupwara town and entered the famed Lolab valley. Somebody told me Lolab stands for “land of love and beauty”.
Within days, I realised that something was missing. The people I came to save, were all looking at me with hatred. Once the intial excitement settled down, I started seeing the reality of how the militancy/ terrorism has become a part of life for people of Jammu and Kashmir. I saw, people sandwiched between terrorists and military and how terrorism and military contribute to the local economy. I even started thinking, neither the military, nor the government were serious about resolving the Kashmir issue. Many deserted homes of Kashmiri pundits were still there as monuments of the tragic past of Kashmir.
My assigned task was to eliminate all terrorists operating in my Area of Responsibility (AOR). The company commander eagerly handed over the task to me and was looking thrilled about the next 'peace posting' with 'family accomodation'. I met some of the so called “sources” or informers, who make a decent living out of the job. I started familiarising the area and meeting all important traders , political and religious leaders of my AOR.
I decided to do things a little differently. Armed Forces world over are trained to eliminate enemies