Desert Corps organises Kashmir Webinar

Pune, 6 April 2022

In order to gain an insight into prevailing security situation in J&K, a webinar presided by Lieutenant General JS Nain, Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Sena Medal, Army Commander, was conducted by Desert Corps under the aegis of Pune based Southern Command.

The conduct was focused on evolving social, political and economic contours in Kashmir, post abrogation of Article 370 and the consequent paradigm shift in the global and national security scenario. It was followed by an interactive session on the future Road Map.

Eminent practitioners who have dealt with Kashmir from various pillars of governance, presented their candid views on current issues.

The panelists included Lieutenant General DP Pandey, GOC Chinar Corps, Lieutenant General KJS Dhillon (Retd), Ex GOC Chinar Corps,who was at the helm of affairs during the Pulwama incident, along with Mr Rajendra Kumar, Ex DGP J&K and Mr TCA Raghavan, former High Commissioner to Pakistan and a foreign policy expert. The domain experts like Mr Aditya Raj Kaul, renowned journalist, Mr. Bashir Assad, a well-known writer and an activist, Mr Ayjaz Wani, Mr Raja Muneeb and and Dr Ashok Behuria, South Asia expert at IDSA, also shared their views & indicated way forward.

The speakers expressed their views on changing dynamics in Kashmir and it’s implications on the security situation. The threat assessment in the global, national and regional perspective with likely effects on the prevailing situation in J & K was also deliberated upon. An in-depth assessment of the agitational dynamics and white-collar terrorism was presented in one of the sessions to enlighten the audience with the hidden agenda of our adversaries.

The webinar made an honest attempt to get various stake holders helming the response calculus on the future prognosis for Kashmir and it’s people, besides emphasising the requirement of a concrete and cogent “Whole of The Nation” approach for ensuring ownership at all levels of governance.

The Army Commander in his concluding remarks reiterated the major takeaways from the webinar and impressed upon young officers to remain abreast of the situation prevalent in the country and understand the emerging dynamics of Kashmir on the geo strategic front.

He stressed upon the felt need to revamp the education system to ensure that the youth remain aligned to main stream and the necessity of preventing narco-terrorism and guarding against infiltration in Principal Institutions. He reiterated that the decisions taken in the last few years including abrogation of Article 370, delimitation and planned statehood to J&K is reflective of a strong and decisive leadership which is pursuing a secular, pluralist agenda, crucial for the development and betterment of J&K. An audit of the infrastructure development and socio-economic impact may be considered, to enable better policy making decisions, he said.

The Army Commander advised all stakeholders to be prepared to pre-emptively counter Pakistan’s next strategic design. India stands for peace and resolution of issues through diplomacy and dialogue, however the conditions should be right and cessation of the proxy war by Pakistan is a prerequisite for the same, he said.

The webinar was attended by about 1100 Officers from 32 different stations under Southern Command.

The initiative was widely appreciated for the insightful talks given by the panellists with the audience emerging more empowered and educated.

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PIB Pune | M.Iyengar/D.Rane