The Indian Army is engaging the youth of the Kashmir valley through Musical events and sports tournaments, which have seen a rise in the recent past.
According to a report published by The print, the aim of the activities which have risen sharply in the recent past are merely aimed to keep a check on the Militant recruitment in the Kashmir valley.
As reported by The Kashmiriyat earlier, the recruitment of local youth into militant groups has grown sharply since the BJP has come into power.
Quoting an unnamed official in south Kashmir, the report said “We have increased our outreach programs. There is regular interaction with the youth now which includes music festivals, sports tournaments and even visits to Army establishments.”
Data available to The Kashmiriyat reveals that the Congress-led UPA Government saw as many as 154 local youths taking up arms to join Militant groups, however, the number has drastically risen to 857 during the Modi Led NDA Government till December 2020.
The Figures available to The Kashmiriyat reveal that 1962 Militancy related incidents have occurred since 2014 at an average of more than 327 attacks per year. 614- The highest number of attacks took place in 2018, while the number dropped down to the lowest in 2020 at 96.
According to the report of the Ministry of Home Affairs in the year 2019, between January 01 and July 15, 75 security personnel and 23 civilians were killed in several incidents, while in 2020, 35 soldiers and 22 civilians were killed. Only 1 IED attack occurred in the year 2020, although in 2019 there were 6 such attacks.
In 2020, 225 militants and 60 Government forces personnel, including 16 policemen were killed in more than 100 anti-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir while 38 civilians also lost their lives in militancy-related incidents.
“We are going to increase outreach programmes by being in regular touch with the youth. Our first focus is to ensure surrender. However, when the militants open fire, there is no other way than to fire back”, the official was further quoted as saying.