1000s of Kashmiris Join India's Army

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Thousands of Kashmiris in Army recruitment drive

Sheikh Mushtaq (Reuters)

Srinagar, April 4

"The overwhelming response is an apt testimony of the desire for

peace and Awam's (Kashmiri people's) unflinching allegiance to the nation,"

an Army statement said.

 

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When thousands of youth packed into a mountain-ringed field in a

military camp in Kashmir on Tuesday, the question on people's lips

was: Is this another protest against 'Indian rule'?

The answer was surprising.

 

The nearly 8,000 strife-weary Muslim youth had gathered to try their

luck in a recruitment drive by the Army in Kashmir and not to

protest against alleged excesses by security forces in the Himalayan

region.

 

Authorities organised the unusual gathering in Anantnag district as

part of a drive to end separatist militancy in Kashmir by wooing

youth from the region into the Army.

 

"The rally was organised to address the aspirations of the local

youth. Nearly 8,000 candidates turned up for the rally," an Army

spokesman told Reuters.

 

The Army spokesman said the number in the recruitment rally was the

highest since the rebellion broke out in the region in 1989. The

Army organises such recruitment drives once a year.

 

"The overwhelming response is an apt testimony of the desire for

peace and Awam's (people's) unflinching allegiance to the nation,"

an Army statement said.

 

Tens of thousands of soldiers are stationed in the Kashmir valley to

combat militancy. Separatist leaders regularly accuse the Army of

violating human rights. Government officials say perpetrators of

violations are punished.

 

The statement said all candidates were put through stringent

selection procedures.

 

"I am not afraid of militants, I am unemployed from the last four

years. I will be happy to join the Army. Militancy has nothing do

with it," Arshid Ahmad a resident of Anantnag district said.

 

"We are planning to hold another recruitment rally on April 9 in

Baramulla," the Army spokesman said.