DESPERATE KASHMIRIS JOIN INDIAN ARMY

Srinagar, 15 Shaban 1436/2 June 2015 (MINA) – Sitting idle with no hope for recruitment, Muslim youth in conflict-ridden India administered Kashmir valley, are being forced to compromise their points of view regarding Kashmir, as thousands join the Indian army, deemed by many as the enemy.

“Unemployment has routed the future of thousands of youth in this conflict-torn Muslim-majority state, forcing them to join the Indian Army one time the ‘hate force’ for Kashmiris,” one of the aspirants, Abdul Qadir Khan of south Kashmir, told OnIslam.net.

For Khan, having a qualified post-graduation degree did not entitle him to get government job in civil departments, On Islam quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

Facing the daily urgency to earn livelihood, he participated in a army recruitment rally organised at Rangreth training center at Srinagar.

“There were only 55 posts and the applicants were more than forty thousand, which creates havoc and dozens of youth got injured in a stampede,” he added.

Unemployment in the Muslim majority India controlled state has reached an alarming stage, and the number of available jobs far outnumber those made available by the government sector.

Ahmad Din, a young Kashmiri from Gujjar, in south Kashmir’s Anantnag District, said he left for the recruitment rally early in the morning and on reaching at the site he got injured in a stampede.

However, Din wants to go and try his chances another time.

“I am the only son among five sisters and my father has been in bed since last fifteen years. With no source of income, I wanted to join the army,” Din told OnIslam.net.

“Joining the Army is not a sin, though the 90s situation made lots of Kashmiris hate it. But when you don’t get employed, one has to do some efforts to get a job and join forces.

“Burning issues confronting people of Jammu and Kashmir, particularly the unemployed youth, cannot be postponed until the political part of the Kashmir problem is addressed,” he added.

Some people may call it a change in mindset, but the fact is that unemployment has inundated the the lives of youth, forcing them to join Indian forces. So, it may or may not be a change in mindset, Abid Bashir another young aspirant added.

Unemployment Factor

For many Kashmiris, unemployment has worked as a secret ingredient to lure many Muslim youth into joining the Indian army, detested over the past two decades.

“There was a time when people were not interested to join the army, but the increase in unemployment has forced youth to opt for the job in Indian security forces,” a retired college teacher told OnIslam.net.

“Youth who are adopting this change have perhaps shunned the ideology they might be keeping during the on-going turmoil due to the unemployment,” the teacher, who wished to remain unidentified, added.

“No doubt separatist leaders call the Indian army ‘a force of oppression’, but what about those Kashmiri Muslims who are working in police, CRPF, Air-Force and various branches of Indian army, are they also a part of oppression?” said Zakir Hussian Khatana, another asked.

“When it comes to those who oppose it they called it as oppression, but one thing is sure that the ideologies never die, joining security forces as a part of a job is neither a compulsion nor change in mindset but need of the hour and part of life.

“Alhamdulillah we are Muslims and Kashmiris. No one on earth can change our status, but when it comes to seeking a job there is no bar in joining army or any other department either central or state owned department,” Khatana told OnIslam.net.

A retired government employee opined that youth are feeling distressed and disillusioned in the absence of ample job opportunities, seeing this as the main reason they move to join the army.

“All that is required is to devise comprehensive youth-oriented policies with long lasting employment schemes,” he noted.

“There are thousands of jobless youth who wish to join the army or any other state or central department, to earn their livelihood. But with the unavailability of jobs in the state-owned departments, we are forced to join the army,” he added.

Kashmir is divided into two parts and ruled by India and Pakistan, which have fought two of their three wars since the 1947 independence over the region.

Pakistan and the UN back the right of the Kashmir people for self-determination, an option opposed by New Delhi. (T/P011/R04)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)