WHY ‘OPERATION GREEN HUNT’ WILL FAIL

The government says there is no ‘war’ against Naxals – yet it’s preparing for one. However Operation Green Hunt is a disaster in the making. Why? Because the government has so far failed to identify the root of the Naxal problem - namely itself.

As with numbers – P Chidambaram has his way with words too. “We do not wage war against our own people” said the enlightened Home Minster; this even after it became evident that the Naxals were on a warpath against the Union of India, their orgy of mass killings and beheadings continuing unabated. But away from the preying microphones, the minister wasn’t exactly walking the talk; on the contrary, he was busy charting out the largest military operation against the Naxals ever undertaken by any government.

True that Chidambaram’s ambitious plan of a virtual blitzkrieg against the Naxals was pruned down by the CCS – but even in its abridged form, it’s a mobilization of massive proportions. Sample this – New Delhi is sending twenty-seven thousand troops to the Naxal hit areas, six (or more) Mi-17 choppers will provide air support (with special forces GUARDS on board), a special forces school and a brigade HQ to be set up in Chhattisgarh (add to this the local state forces and specialized anti Naxal forces who will join in) The Home Minister might not want to admit it – but the ‘war’ it’s denying is set to break out in November.


The first theatre of action is likely to be Gadchiroli in Maharashtra and Kanker in Chattisgarh … forces will try to push the Maoists into ‘Abuj Marh’ (literally means ‘unknown jungles’ in the local dialect) area of Chhattisgarh, it’s an old Maoist stronghold and its here that Naxals are trained to this day. It’s here where the decisive battle may be fought. Now all this sounds great on paper – but the only problem is that – the forces don’t know who they are supposed to be fighting against (!!!!) Since the distinction between a Maoist and a tribal is vague – the job of dealing with them becomes all the more challenging. So it brings us to three questions that must be answered by the government, before any more blood is spilt.

First Question- Will ‘Operation Green Hunt’ be successful? Honestly the answer is a big NO. Call me a Naxal sympathizer, but like me, if you ever face the brutal wrath of the local police in heartland India - your world view will witness a paradigm shift within seconds. I was in West Bengal last July – covering the offensive launched by the state administration to counter the Naxlas in Lalgarh. It was here, during one of the shoots that my cameraperson and I were chased down a road in Midnapore district by the West Bengal police and hit with sticks.

Our crime ??? We had dared to shoot the police breaking down doors and hauling up village youngsters for ‘questioning’. (What happens in these ‘questionings’ I don’t need to tell you) When journalists could be treated like dogs by the police – I began to grasp the plight of the local villagers who don’t have a voice – or redressal system of any sort. The moral of the story is very simple – between the two evils of Naxalism and Police, the tribals choose the former. Atleast Naxals don’t rape, maim and kill without reason.

Second Question – Who started the Fire?
There is little debate that the government did; and every time we refer to the Naxals as a ‘menace’ we add credence to the theory that naxals are some sort of alien virus that came and ravaged our picturesque countryside that was otherwise peaceful, plentiful and prosperous.
Let me make it clear, I abhor the mindless philosophy of the naxals and their warped world view – but unlike a myopic government I also see Naxalism as a manifestation of popular discontent - created by the laxities in the system, sadly Naxalism has thrived because these glaring shortcomings have not been addressed.

The Home Minister says that he will follow a ‘clear and hold’ policy – which in less flashy terms – means that once the area has been cleared of Naxals, the government will provide development to the area. It’s a brilliant idea – only if it had struck the government in the course of the last 62 years, then things would not have come to such a head. Its ironic, but the Naxal ‘menace’ may finally bring some development to these impoverished regions of India.

On my tour of Lalgarh – this is one saying that I came across time and again - “That in the night if you hold your hand to your face in this region – you would not be able to see it - Its so dark” This axiom actually hits home the point of how backward (or pitch dark) many regions of this nation can be. Here Sexsex, Liberalization, Nuclear Deal, etc don’t mean a thing– because words like Education, Clean Water, Medicines and Property Rights are still struggling to make inroads. The mandarins in North Block need to see the abject condition of the tribals and the exploitation of the villagers in heartland India to appreciate why tribals support the Maoists.

Why would tribals armed with ancient bows and arrows want to take on the might of state and central paramilitary forces in Lalgarh and elsewhere? Either they are crazy or their levels of desperation are such that they don’t mind dying. Sadly the government thinks that the tribals must be crazy.

Third Question – What is the course of action to follow then? Well to begin with, stop foolhardy adventurism against the Naxals. A little respect for your enemy enables you to plot a faster and more comprehensive win. For instance, the government thought (foolishly) that arming villagers against Naxlas was a brilliant idea…now after years of denying it – the government admits that the Salva Jadum ended up doing more harm than good. Even the NHRC notes that Jadum members along with security forces were responsible for “widespread arson, rape, forced disappearances, suspect encounters and extrajudicial killings”

Once the forces have learnt to give some respect to the lives of people – work can start to give them some fundamental rights and development too. The corrupt administration has to be revamped to usher in progress at the grassroots level. Poor governance resulted in rise of Naxalsim, that’s a fact that even the government has accepted now. End of debate.

The Tribal Bill exits only on paper – States like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh have not even acted on it. When you don’t give a tribal his basic rights and tell him to stay away from the forests that he’s always depended on – you are effectively making him a Naxal sympathizer/Naxalite – it would be interesting to see how the government wants to combat this situation with FORCE (???!!!)

True that these measures will take time – but then the problem was not created overnight, six decades of neglect cannot be swept away with one security sweep. The Home Minister perhaps should knows this by now.

And talking about security sweep – the most decisive push against the naxals till now had been Lalgarh. The Lalgarh experiment was even described as a success in many quarters. It certainly did not look like success to me when I was there – and certainly doesn’t look like one when I study data coming out of the region.

For instance – since June 18, 2009 (when the Naxals had been pushed out of the region)

- 82 people killed (ofcourse most of them CPM carders)
- 15 CMP office ransacked in broad daylight
- 100 housed (again mostly of CPM carders) – ransacked / burnt
- Thousands of people chased away from their homes.

If this is the situation AFTER the security crackdown – the efficacy of force becomes only too obvious. The government should use force where it works – namely along the borders. Here it should use its head.

The dragon cometh … Slowly

Spend a few days along the Sino-India border and you will experience the palpable tension that is mounting along the LAC. Remember, China is no Pakistan that brazenly intruded into Kirgil, instead the dragon is moving slowly, stealthily – nibbling away at Indian territory while the government proclaims that all is well.

The first thing that we noticed in Leh was the eerie silence there, (and I am not talking about spiritual silence @ 11,000 feet, kind of thing) the silence of the official machinery on China was baffling. Chinese incursions into India were making national headlines – but Ajit Kumar Sahu the Deputy Commissioner of Leh assured me that some ‘isolated instances were being blown out of proportion by the media’. But if that was the case – why did the same Mr. Sahu shoot off a letter to the government, confirming repeated incursions by the Chinese? Why was it that the man who had blown the whistle on the Chinese incursions had suddenly become so nonchalant???

Within twenty-four hours of us landing in Leh one thing was clear– there was an unofficial gag order in circulation – over any mention of the border dispute. After initial news of Chinese incursions and rock paintings leaked out from the Ladakh sector – the local administration had surely been censured. When our cameras weren’t even allowed in the offices of the Deputy Commissioner, SSP and the ITBP – we knew that something was amiss. The only option for us then was to see for ourselves what was happening along the Sino-India border.

Pangong Tso (Tso: Ladakhi for lake) would have been a tourist haven had it not been geographically situated along an intensely disputed territory. At an astounding altitude of 13,900 ft, the 134 km long lake extends from India to China along the Line of Actual Control, 60% of the length of the lake is controlled by China – the rest is with India. The six hours that it took us to reach Pangong from Leh explained the need for India to accelerate its border highway project. While China has built double width paved roads, right upto the border – we are still to make all weather roads even between major transit points. As our car pitched and rolled on unpaved roads we saw something more astounding along our way… hundreds of army trucks were moving to and fro from the advanced border posts – old military bases being spruced up and new military check posts being set up – even filed guns had been positioned at specific locations, their barrels pointing towards China. (see pic) So even as SM Krishna was reassuring the nation that the border with China was ‘most peaceful’ the army was taking no chances, ensuring that another Kargil does not happen. (China sure does have the inclination and the military might to embark on such an adventure)

We stopped for tea at Changla Pass (the world’s third – highest pass) and here our ‘papers’ were checked. (An Inner Line Permit is required, even for Indians, to visit the lake as it lies on the Sino-Indian Line of Actual Control) When we quizzed a jawan about the heavy deployment of men and machines at the border with China, we got a standard monosyllabic answer, ‘Exercise’

It was late in the noon when we finally made it to the Pangong Lake, the breathtaking views aside – you realize the strategic importance of the lake – for you can see Chinese territory from here. It was a chance meeting with (Retd.) Company Major Hawaldar Wanchoo here – that proved to be an eye opener. A veteran of the Kargil war, Wanchoo quit the Indian Army in 2000 to start is own little resort. But the locals still flock to him and tell him what they have spotted on the Chinese side.

The government of Jammu and Kashmir has admitted to it only now, but the locals have been telling Wanchoo for months, that the Chinese have been nibbling away at Indian territory – inch by inch and not by yards. First the shepherds are shooed away (sometimes harassed) when they take their sheep out to graze along the border…then Chinese troops indulge in ‘aggressive patrolling’ and finally China quietly constructs permanent structures in otherwise

disputed/Indian territory. Along the Pangong lake itself – the Chinese enter Indian territory as many as five times a week! Not only that – the so called ‘no man’s land’ between the two nations has virtually disappeared with the Chinese walking right upto the Indian observation posts.

So is the media crying horse over nothing? Empirical data suggests that we better tighten our belts, pull up our socks and wear our reading glasses to understand the new ‘great game’ that is afoot.

FACT – China wants to keep India engaged in talks, even as it continues to build military pressure in the area. Talks have been going on for three decades –with no breakthrough, is proof enough

FACT – China is consolidating its national power (with special focus on Tibet region), once that is done, expect more pressure on the LAC with India

FACT – the military muscle mismatch between the two countries is wide and is increasing day by day … China and NOT Pakistan is a more potent threat

FACT – Long before we lost Askai Chin in ’62 – there had been reports of Chinese activity in the area…from ’57 onwards India chose to ignore the clear signals of Chinese aggression.

Whatever the Foreign Minister or the Army says – these are historical facts that can’t be dismissed; facts that point out that China is again eying Indian Territory (even though they are moving forward at a glacial pace). The question is – will India stand around like a dinosaur or respond to the climatic change – for even a class five student will tell you that failure to adapt to the changing situation – can result in annihilation.

YSR’s Copter Crash: The Inside Story

Even days after the crash, the ELT on the CM’s chopper remains missing. Why? Because the locals may have just walked away with it as a souvenir, this even as the forces were busy clicking pictures of themselves in front of the mangled chopper. The crash site had become a tourist spot.

It was as if all of Andhra Pradesh had converged at the Idupulapaya estate; YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s favourite retreat and sadly his final resting place, a befitting (though chaotic) farewell that reaffirmed the popularity of the former CM and the diehard following that he had. But even as the human tsunami that hit Reddy’s funeral receded, people had one burning question in their minds – What/Who caused the death of their beloved Chief Minister? From the roadside tea stalls to the drawing rooms of the rich and powerful – that’s the one consuming question in Andhra Pradesh. From Naxals who shot down the chopper to political rivals who murdered YSR to natural causes, no conspiracy theory is being discounted.

Now a full fledged inquiry has been ordered into the crash, the DGCA is taking the matter ‘seriously’ and even representatives of Bell Helicopters have been roped in to ascertain the cause of the crash. However there is slim chance that this belated action would yield any tangible results. The reason for that is the government did not even follow the very basic rules of crash site investigations, failing to cordon off the site, allowing ‘souvenir hunters’ a free run and trampling over hundreds of pieces of helicopter debris that was strewn over a 500 meter radius. The Chief Minister’s helicopter had crashed in the most inaccessible of places – and yet even as the elite Greyhounds looked on, the crash site became a tourist spot.

3^rd September – 8.00am: It was close to twenty-four that the CM’s helicopter had disappeared. We had air dashed from New Delhi the previous evening and driven all night to reach Rollapenta (74 kilometres east of Kurnool) which had been the last contact point for the CM’s helicopter. But soon we got word that YSR’s copter had indeed crashed in the core forest area of Nallamala (near Atmakur)

10.00am: With no motorable road to speak of – it was a combination of SUV’s, tractors and walking that brought is close to ‘Pavurala Konda’ (Doves Hill) where the copter had crashed. Not long ago this was the area where the Naxal ruled – and for good reason; no mobile or road connectivity, undergrowth so think that you could not see beyond five feet, an area so remote that even the GPS gave up on us.

1.00pm: Hours later the fifty member search party had thinned down to a dozen and with no GPS data – we were just roaming aimlessly. By now all the five bodies had been extricated from the mangled remains of the helicopter and airlifted to Kurnool and we thought it best to retreat from the area before the light faded. But even as we were returning dejected, we came across a team of the Greyhounds, the elite anti-naxal force that knew the Nallamala jungle like the back of their hands. Since the Greyhounds were headed for the crash site we tagged along… another ten kilometres of steep rocky terrain and we finally managed to reach the crash site.

4.00pm: We were the first journalists to make it to the crash site and my cameraperson Manhoar Reddy was worried that we may not be allowed to shoot at the crash site. But what we witnessed next was most startling. After airlifting the bodies – the government had virtually abandoned the site, even as the Greyhounds and the CRPF men lounged around – local villagers and tribals walked all over the crash site. Picking up stuff and kicking pieces of metal. Far from cordoning off the area – people were allowed to pick up pieces of the helicopter and walk away. More than twenty hour hours after the crash there was the reeking smell of Aviation Fuel and burnt human skin. It was as if the helicopter had rammed into the hill at full speed – then rolled upwards – before exploding in a fireball, YSR would have had very little or no time to react. With two hours worth of fuel in its tanks – the Bell 430 must have created quite an explosion the remote jungles of Nallamala. That’s why the Emergency Location

Transmitter (or ELT) might not have worked – the force of the impact and the ensuing fire may have reduced it to a heap of metal and as for the Cockpit Voice Recorder (or CVR) not much will come from it. Even if the CVR has not been damaged with people walking over it – it will only replay the voice of the pilot and not the aeronautical data of the helicopter (like a full fledged black box that stores data like speed – altitude – engine performance) Going by the way the helicopter slammed into the hill – even the pilot might not have had time to realise that he was flying so low that he slammed into a hill.

5.00pm: Before I left the crash site, a local pointed out a dismembered leg to me, clear indication that the commandoes who had airlifted the bodies had done a shoddy job out of it. We had arrived at the crash site just hours after it was identified from air – it’s impossible that the experts had conducted a survey of the area before we came – and by the time we left the crowds were swelling, curious locals thronging the area for a quick dekko. The YSR’s crash site had become a public spectacle.

4^th September – 2.00am: After more than 24 hours on the road (with forty kilometres of walking in the jungles) we were back in Kurnool feeding visuals of the crash site to the newsroom. But even before the questions about the crash/sabotage could be raised the next morning – our tired souls knew the answer. With this kind of ham handed investigations into the crash – YSR’s death will remain just another unsolved air crash. It’s only in India that even a Chief Minister’s death does not merit a proper scientific investigation. Surely the king of Cuddapah deserved better.

BJP: POLITICAL ILLITERACY AT ITS BEST

The seeds of vivisection of India having been sown, ceaselessly, year after year, as much by us (Hindus and Muslims) as by the post Second World War enfeebled British; for they did of course divide to rule, but we also divided ourselves; what else could then follow but a destructive break-up? Jaswant Singh in Jinnah: India – Partition – Independence

So does Jaswant Singh really sing paeans for Jinnah in his ‘controversial’ new book???

The BJP has been ripped asunder over that question and Pakistan has fallen in love with Singh for his ‘unpatriotic efforts’, but the fact remains that the limited few who have actually gone over the six hundred odd pages of Jinnah: India – Partition – Independence, have found tons of scorn for the ‘megalomaniac’ Jinnah, a stinging critique on Nehru for his inept handling of events leading up to the partition/creation of India and derision for the British Raj, for its haste to split India.

Logically it’s the Congress, not the BJP that should have been hopping mad over the ‘revelations’ in the book, but Congress’s ‘ignore don’t react’ policy stands it in good stead. (Of course any historian worth his salt would tell you that the book does not bring to light a single new fact) Nevertheless BJP loves to shoot itself in the foot. Instead of using Jaswant’s writings to its advantage (by showing historic blunders made by the Congress) – the saffron party decided to light a keg of gunpowder by banning the author from the organization and his book in one state. That ill-informed action set off a chain reaction that continues to gather momentum with each passing day. Had Rajnaath and Co. even read the following excerpts from the book – they surely would have taken a different line. But then this is not the age of the literate politician, is it?

To tackle the newly uncorked jinn of Jinnah, one must answer the fundamental question – was Jinnah secular in Jaswant’s eyes? The answer is, Yes and No.

In the first part of the book Jaswant takes great pains to show how Jinnah was a nationalist to the core, how he wanted a united India. Even as late a 1937 Jinnah was writing Gandhi, affirming his belief in an India, where Hindu’s and Muslims had equal status… ‘Nobody will welcome an honourable settlement between the Hindus and the Muslims more than I and nobody will be more ready to help it’ But that’s where BJP ‘intellectuals’ stopped reading Jaswant’s book and went off to sleep. (With Sudheendra Kulkarni not around, one doubts if there is any reading going on in the BJP at all.)

Its in the second part of the book that Jaswant tongue lashes not only the Congress but also Jinnah and the Muslim League – because both transformed form being nationalists to mindlessly communal…sample Jaswant’s words; ‘The misdemeanors of local Congressmen, the implications of Congress rhetoric on the riots, errors of administrative judgement, also instances of possible bias might not have strained Congress – Muslim relations as mush had the Muslim League not been around to scratch these already sore vulnerabilities.’ Doesn’t sound like praise at all…but it gets worse.

Pakistani’s who are now dedicating songs in praise of Jaswant Singh might want to turn to page 316 of the book where a heated exchange between Gandhi and Jinnah is recounted. Bapu making a last ditch attempt to reason with Jinnah – asking the Quaid-e-Azam what would he do with the Jats, Sikhs and Christians in Pakistan. Would they have separate nations too??? A cornered Jinnah says that they can all have separate electorates and separate existence if they so wished. (In other words Jinnah was talking about sub-nations inside the sub-nation of Pakistan) A clear inditement of the man who from an ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity had became its biggest opponent and lost his logical faculties in the process.

According to Jaswant, by the time independence was knocking at India’s door – the transformation of Jinnah was complete. Calling for Direct Action in 1946 at the closing session of the League, Jinnah said, ‘Today we bid good bye to constitutional methods …. We have also forged a pistol and are in a position to use it’ So the lifelong lawyer and constitutionalist had ditched the rule book and become a fanatic himself.

Towards the end of the book - Jaswant downright degrades the Quaid-e-Azam over the issue of him suddenly, at the 11th hour, wanting to become the first Governor – General of Pakistan. ‘As for megalomania, who, in reality, suffered a more serious version of it, Jinnah or Mountbatten, is difficult to tell’ that’s the ‘praise’ for Jinnah for which Jaswant was politically executed. That the veteran leader was kicked out for reasons other than his book is no secret – but the BJP did a disservice to itself when it chose to ignore a potent political tool.

It’s a historical fact that Jinnah was secular to begin with (he was not much of a practising Mussulman himself) however his beliefs changed when he saw the Congress lust for power – while the Muslim League continued to played the fiddle. By debating over Jinnah’s ‘secular credentials’ the BJP exposed its own illiteracy. And whatever reasons drove Jinnah towards Pakistan – the Congress high handedness had a major role to play – that’s also a historical fact that Jaswant has highlighted and something that the BJP could have used.

Jaswant quotes V.P.Menon (Reforms commissioner and advisor to the Viceroy) from his book Transfer of Power, ‘The congress decided to have homogenous ministries on its own and decided to choose Muslim ministers who were members of the congress party. This was the beginning of a serious rift between the Congress and the League and was a factor which induced neutral Muslim opinion to turn to the support of Jinnah’ Not only this – Jaswant uses history to indite the grand old party…‘Congress had unanimously passed resolutions, directly or indirectly conceding Pakistan, in 1934, 1942, 1945, and March 1947. Gandhi and Nehru had also referred to partition contingency as a very possible one.’

Also in Jinnah: India – Partition – Independence Nehru’s arrogant attitude comes under fire on more than one occasion. Case in point, in February 1938 (when there is still some sort of correspondence between Nehru and Jinnah) Nehru feigns ignorance about the ‘issues’ that Jinnah has and writes ‘I am afraid that I must confess that I do not yet know what the fundamental points of dispute are’ At this late juncture in time, when the concept of Pakistan was spreading like wildfire – to claim such ignorance about ‘fundamental points of dispute’ is sheer travesty. But arrogance seems to be Nehru’s trademark; more than eager to grab the high seat of power than the welfare of the communities. That’s why even as Calcutta was being ripped apart by the worst sort of medieval riots in 1946 – Nehru was more focused on the transfer of power plan. ‘Our programme will certainly not be upset because of a few persons misbehaving in Calcutta’ Amazingly the Congress not react to Jaswant’s writings. That’s because the party knows how to let a controversy pass by and die a natural death. Case in point, when Margaret Alva did a Jaswant in the Congress party by raising a stink about the cash for votes scam. Alva wasn’t expelled – just conveniently sidelined - then quietly politically reinstated (this time as a governor). No fuss – no party linin washed in public. In this context, the political immaturity of Rajnath Singh can be understood – but what was the ‘Lau Purush’ doing when Jaswant was being given the marching orders? L.K.Advani would be one man who knew that a secular Jinnah was not taboo. (Or was his dislike for Jaswant Singh so intense?) Jinnah himself never would have imagined that his secularism (or the lack of it) would have caused such uproar half a century later.

Jaswant aptly sums up Jinnah strategy ‘In Jinnah’s mind, partition was a simple, pragmatic solution with the “Two – Nation theory’ as a temporary ideological justification and with a marked sense of a continuing unity with India despite the partition’ When Advani called Jinnah secular – it was a backhand taunt to the Pakistani establishment for the religious mess they had put the nation in, definitely not keep with Jinnah’s vision. Sadly the BJP missed the nuance then as it has now with Jaswant’s book.

Jaswant had needled the leadership the wrong way on many occasions – but he may have saved himself the expulsion had he put the last lines of his book on the jacket of Jinnah: India – Partition – Independence. The final synopsis of the book is a stinging rebuke of the very idea of Pakistan… ‘Pakistan has remained a conceptual orphan, the result of a somewhat barren attainment; ‘barren’ because Pakistan itself, as both the progenitor and as the first born of the idea, has demonstrated that this notion of Muslims being a separate nation does not work’ Jaswant may not have realized it when he wrote it – but those lines may ring true for the BJP soon… for the party risks being a conceptual orphan (of Hindutva), the result of a somewhat barren attainment (Ayodhya), ‘barren’ because it has demonstrated that the notion of a party representing one religious community … does not work.

Legally – Jammu and Kashmir not part of India!

What bunch of hypocrite patriots we are…

Every time we see maps like this, our blood boils.

Every time CNN lops off India’s head in its maps – we call it pro-Pakistani.

Every edition of Time Magazine and every edition of the Britannica Encyclopaedia, coming into India- still have these ‘wrong’ map stamped out.

Technically, you would assume that it would be unpatriotic, blasphemous and downright illegal to use such an ‘incorrect’ map.

Not totally.

Ever wondered what does the law of the land say about the Status of Jammu and Kashmir? The troubled state may be the centre of attention of every governmental agency, but legally speaking it’s not part of India(!!)

Surprised?

Look up the definition of India, as given by in various central acts (part-B states (laws) act 1951). The Central acts define India as "the territory of India excluding the state of Jammu and Kashmir." And we were wondering what Pakistan was making such a hue and cry about!!! Most of the central acts like Indian Penal Code, the Indian Evidence Act etc. describe India as territory of India excluding J&K and most of the acts have been made inapplicable to the border state….its not the act - but the wording that is worrisome.

Ofcourse I am not stating anything new – back in 2007 two petitioners form J&K, B S Billowria and Manzoor Ali Khan filed a petition in the Supreme Court, contending that the separatists, militants, secessionists and supporters of Pakistan in J&K were misusing the definition to impress upon the people -- that Jammu and Kashmir was not an integral part of India.

Interestingly the Supreme Court dismissed a petition that was questioning the basic validity of the definition of ‘India’….True that Jammu and Kashmir requires special provisions, true that our legal definition does not give Pakistan the right to show Kashmir as part of its territory….but the some of the fault lies on this side of the LoC too!

The world perceives parts of Jammu and Kahsmir as a hot-spot/disputed territory. We could make a start towards clearing that perception by NOT wording our laws so blatantly – so blatant that it gives ammunition to anti national forces and sends confusing signals to the international community. No wonder they continue to print wrong maps of India – because we continue to be confused over our position on J&K.