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Of Militarisation, Counter-insurgency and Land Grabs in Kashmir
It is sometimes claimed that Operation Sadbhavana, a counter-insurgency programme deployed to win the "hearts and minds" of the alienated masses of Kashmir has been successful. The local populace, however, considers these programmes as a tactic devised by the army to bolster its credibility and reach. The army occupation of large swathes of land in Kashmir has resulted in depeasantisation of rural areas, compounding the alienation of the people. This paper examines the narratives underlying the Sadbhavana programmes, military land grabs, and the counter-insurgency methods adopted in strife-torn Kashmir. It suggests that the army's belief that it can battle insurgency, which is essentially a political issue, through development projects and "effective governance" is an erroneous perception of reality.
This research was conducted in Kashmir. Given the situation in Kashmir, it would not have been possible to conduct the research without the support of some fellow scholars, journalists and friends in the region, besides our respondents. We wish to thank all of them. We would also like to thank Jennifer Franco, Tony Fuller, Emilia Szekely, Wajahat Ahmad, Inam ul Haq and an anonymous reviewer for comments on this paper. The study was written up at the China Agricultural University, Beijing, and the Centre for Research and Development Policy, Srinagar, under the supervision of Jingzhong Ye.
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