What Army does when there’s no war

So what do you guys do when there is no war ” Mahesh Nair blurted out on an evening over a drink during a visit to his childhood friend and a few of his fellow officers at the EME Officers’ Mess at Khumbathang in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir. “The subsequent discussion was a revelation for me. I learnt of unknown, remote and inhospitable places where the Indian Army operates ,” he recalled while interacting with this newspaper The Iron Fist part of the book records images and accounts of the Army on India’s borders. The most troublesome of these includes the world’s highest, harshest and frozen up to -50 degrees Celsius conflict zones in Jammu and Kashmir, further made more dangerous by the Pakistan Army and the India-specific terrorist groups it has produced and continuously keeps inducting since the late 1980s. Then come the plains of Punjab, the vast desert of Rajasthan with almost 50 degrees Celsius summers and the great salt marsh of the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. The Velvet Glove part poignantly projects the social face of the Indian Army, providing invaluable multi-faceted civic assistance to people affected by that terrorism in J&K and those of the vast scenic but largely under-developed and insurgency-ridden northeastern region (NER), under an extensive programme codenamed Op Sadbhavna, which Mahesh Nair expressed, is one of its best kept secrets. Inspired to photo-document, the risks and rigors of the Army on India’s wide range of borders and of its unique commitment of Sadbnavna in J&K and NER, Nair, an IT professional-turned photo journalist, requested for access and assistance from the Army for this massive task. Sensing his fervour, the Army responded positively. The result after months of travel and few thousands of photographs, embellished with informative reader-friendly narrative, is a book, which Indians not so aware about their country’s troubled borders and foreigners, particularly of countries fighting the post 9/11 “war against terror” must read. “Winning of hearts and minds”, ironically abbreviated as WHAM, which the Indian Army has been practising for last six decades while dealing with insurgency and terrorism, used to scoffed at by many of the Western nations, who are learning about its vital importance the hard way while fighting various terrorists connected to the 9/11 attacks and Pakistan, in Afghanistan. “By this time, I was not surprised to learn that the Army posts here are at 18,000 feet and above and the snowfall in winter can be up to 30 feet with most posts getting cut off. But I was shocked to hear that one of the posts that got cut off the previous winter was still unreachable in June!” exclaimed Nair. Launched in an organised manner in 1998, almost 10 years after Pakistan’s proxy war of terror was unleashed in J&K, Operation Sadbhavna was the implementation of the Army’s policy of winning hearts and minds by providing the much needed healing touch to the terrorism-affected population in the Valley. The multi-faceted activities undertaken by the Army, in coordination with Central and state governments under this project, encompass all aspects of socio-economic development of the affected people, including education, women’s empowerment, community development, healthcare and infrastructure improvement, especially in remote areas. At a time when education had been hit very hard in the Valley by Pakistani or Pakistan-supported terrorists destroying many schools, the Army adopted a four pronged approach. Firstly, approximately 1,700 existing damaged or destroyed schools were renovated and 60 new schools were constructed in villages which did not have any schools. The Army also constructed two residential schools at Rajouri and Pahalgam at an approximate cost of '21 crores. Secondly, assistance was provided to existing schools by way of computer labs, furniture and upgrading libraries. Thirdly, children and elders are conducted on all-India tours to foster national integration. Fourthly, children of economically backward villagers are sponsored free education in the Army Goodwill Schools as well as sending deserving children to Army Public School elsewhere in the country. Nair comments on a couple of scenes: “I noticed a school in a place that I would call ‘way beyond the back of beyond’. A casual chat with the principal revealed that the school catered to kids from surrounding villages — all extremely remote — and that it had been built by the army as a part of their Sadbhavana project. The computer centre, which imparts computer training, attracts children from the nearby schools, young adults and even some enthusiastic older people. It was a unique experience to watch the ‘fierce’ soldiers patiently teaching children and a few youngsters how to handle computers.” To ameliorate the lot of women, the worst of victims of terrorism, 50 women empowerment centres (WEC) have been created where training in computer education and skills like knitting, tailoring, shawl weaving, carpet-weaving and fashion designing are being imparted. The Army has established more than 200 community development centres, 250 vocational training centres, numerous infrastructure development projects, like construction of roads and bridges in remote areas, provision of water supply, electrification of villages by constructing 1,000 micro hydel projects and construction of stadiums and play fields. The Army has also constructed three model villages (one each in Baramula, Kupwara and Poonch district) after the devastating earthquake of October 2005. Healthcare being an area of principal focus, regular medical and veterinary camps are organised in remote areas (almost 2,000 organised since 2000), the Army has also constructed 49 health centres where basic equipment like ultra sound, X-ray and ECG machines are available. The essentially nomadic and vulnerable Gujjar and Bakerwal community frequently targeted by terrorists are in dire need of education, health care, animal husbandry and basic sanitation and civic amenities. The Indian Army’s special focus on them has amounted to over 1,100 Gujjar and Bakharwal children are studying in Army Goodwill Schools, a number of hostels so that their children can study in selected government schools and tented schools, a novel project to teach migrant children health and veterinary camps are being established all along migration routes to provide essential health and veterinary care to migrants and their flock. A number of dairy courses are also being run to provide requisite knowledge to start their own modern dairies. The state government authorities have been incorporated so that loans are provided. A number of electricity projects like micro hydel projects have been set up, solar powered lights, cookers and lanterns and equally important water supply schemes, are being provided to the community in some of the remote areas. At some places temporary shelters have been constructed and items of use like poly-sheets and blankets distributed. The community people are also being taken on motivational tours. For people reeling under terrorism exported by the Pakistan Army, the devastating earthquake in October 2005 came as another great blow that rendered thousands homeless, along with many fatal and non-fatal causalities, and posing a challenge of enormous proportions. The Army’s immediate and spontaneous response provided comprehensive relief and helped coordinating the entire relief work with various NGOs and the state government. The Army provided approximate 3,000 tents, 15,000 thousand blankets, hundreds of sleeping bags, thousands of corrugated iron sheets and large quantities of rations as immediate assistance to the affected people. Being the Ramzan month, particular care was taken to provide meals, as per religious requirements. As a long-term measure, the Army constructed shelters and houses for rehabilitation of the villagers.