There is no doubt in it that army has always won the hearts and minds of people. It has undoubtedly made a successful reach out to masses despite the fact that false propaganda campaigns are continuously run by the enemy just to derail the relation between ‘Jawan aur Awam’.
By : Tahir
The Army in Kashmir has always been there to provide maximum help to the mankind. It has become part of public life in Kashmir. That is the reason people in Kashmir have a great respect for the Army. As a common Kashmiri, i would like to share my experience in respect with the Army. I have so far interacted with hundreds of Indian Army officers and soldiers. Whenever I find an opportunity I try to get engage them in a conversation. The reason behind this thirst is to understand them and their thought process. Honestly stating, I found Indian Army a wonderful force of Human beings. It seems always ready to open itself to public scrutiny though it is legally not bound to. During meetings with public army receives feedback from the public and try to win hearts of the people. There is no doubt in it that army has always won the hearts and minds of people. It has undoubtedly made a successful reach out to masses despite the fact that false propaganda campaigns are continuously run by the enemy just to derail the relation between ‘Jawan aur Awam’.
I personally feel happy when I see army men calling common masses including youth with the words like “SIR” during conversations. Army has been always helpful to the masses at the time of need. It has made tremendous contribution in the valley for the upliftment of masses. It has made contribution in Education, Women & Youth Empowerment, and Health care with simultaneous thrust on capacity building through implementation of community/infrastructure development projects. Through operation Sadbhavana Army has established 46 Army Goodwill Schools and is said to have rendered assistance to approximately 1900 State Government run schools by carrying out infrastructure augmentation. In order to provide opportunity to children from marginalized section of the society it has been bearing the cost of their education. A lot of students are receiving scholarships for studies in schools here and also outside the Union Territory.
Even nomadic population which lives in upper reaches during summer period is provided assistance in many ways. To ensure that children belonging to nomadic families get education Army run special “Shepherds Schools”. It has provide skill development training like operating of computers, knitting, tailoring, candle making, bag making, carpets / basket weaving, horticulture and fashion designing at various Vocational Training Centers for the women community. Un-employed youth of the Sate have also been provided with opportunities to earn livelihood. It has created awareness about job opportunities, competitive exams and eligibility criteria for seeking employment .
The Army organized National Integration Tours to integrate students and opinion makers national mainstream . These tours provide an opportunity to know the rich cultural diversity and varied traditions existing in the country.
To cater for the medical requirements of inaccessible areas, a number of medical centers have been constructed. The army run hospitals are providing a wonderful assistance to the people living in remote areas.
Kashmir has tremendous potential in tourism sector. Tourism being a labour intensive industry provides a very vast scope for employment opportunities but only few places in Kashmir have previously been brought on tourism map. But with the efforts of the army new places are now on tourism map. In border areas of Kashmir due to lack of several facilities people living in these areas use to migrate from these areas. Large number of population have migrated from these area towards towns already for better living opportunities. Now after declaring these border areas as new tourist destinations, people have started to prefer living in these areas and have started involving themselves in tourism sector. This is one of the big and bold decision of the government that it introduced border tourism. This was not possible without the support of Army.
This decision has opened avenues of economic development for the people of border areas. Areas like Keran, Machil, Bangus, Tanghdar, Gurez, and Uri along the LoC in Kashmir, which were used as infiltration routes are now new tourist destinations . During the current year Army conducted big and small events at these places to attract tourists towards these areas. I have personally visited several border areas during the current year. It gave me enough pleasure to learn that Indian Army has been always there to help local people in every respect during the time of need.
People living in these areas have started to reap the dividends of this border tourism and it is expected that tourism in these areas will change the scenario altogether. The arrival of visitors in these areas has been given a flip to the fragile economy of the border areas and credit goes to the Indian Army.
The respect Indian Army has earned in Kashmir is due to its exemplary service it render to the nation and citizens.
Writer can be reached at : [email protected]
