THE DELUSION OF ELIMINATING THE LAST TERRORIST by COL. SHASHANK RANJAN article in The Hindu 15th Jan 2024

     In the wake of deaths of three civilians, allegedly picked up by army for questioning regarding a terror attack in Rajouri-Poonch districts which left four Army soldiers dead,  the article in todays paper is timely.  The author,  backed by his experience in counter-insurgency operations, questions the counter terrorism approach of the Army which views the  'number of kills as a parameter of successful counter-terror campaign'. He calls this approach as 'winning the battle by addressing the symptoms, but at the cost of campaign'. Such an approach could be the reason for re-emergence of insurgency in the valley. He opines that in the present times when the number of cases of terrorism has reduced there is a need to adopt a people-centric approach. Focus need to be on winning hearts and minds of the people. This reluctance to adapt is pushing the tactical level units to chase the kills which continues to be seen as the indicator of success. This dictum ' tangibles prove performance' is prone to be exploited as a short cut for personal recognition. The author points to factors like limited tenures, competitive career environment, false sense of glory and primacy of short term gains, which pushes the formations obsession with numbers of terrorists killed. As per author the 'nation' as a term implies 'people' and defending a nation implies defending it's people and their dignity. The security forces have this obligation, towards people, even at their own cost. Here the role of the leader assumes importance for leadership is all about compensating any cost to the soldier , with the leader standing up to bridge the gap between the requirements of people and soldiers. If people centric approach , which sees the people's wishes as end state, are adopted than the means adopted by field formations will not be compromised. The aim of the state should be to end terrorism and not merely neutralize the terrorists. 

    The link for the article is ...The delusion of eliminating ‘the last terrorist’ - The Hindu

 





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