words per minute
34
hordosikrisztian
00:00
Speed
Few people would have wanted to occupy the hot seat of director-general of the BSF, especially in recent years when over 30 per cent of the force has been involved in combating militancy in Kashmir. And even more so in 1993, for the year started with the carnage in Sopore and ended with the bloodshed in Bijbehara. Prakash Singh, 57, the current director-general, takes a hard look at what it means to be deployed in the Valley. Head of an organisation that routinely attracts more flak than praise, Singh, in an interview with Special C0rrespondent Harinder Baweja, answers a range of questions with steady composure, controlling occasional outbreaks of anger. Excerpts:
Q. Why has the BSF acquired the reputation of being a trigger-happy force?
A. It is an allegation made by people who want to run down the force for ulterior purposes. If you see the force in operation in Kashmir, you will get over this misconception in no time. There are a number of instances when grenades and bullets are aimed at us, and yet we don't retaliate for the simple reason that in urban, congested areas it is difficult to determine the direction of fire. The force is an example of forbearance and it displays an inexhaustible, well, if that is a very strong word, an enormous amount of patience.
Q. The patience is not visible on the ground. There are several instances of excesses.
A. You can quote instances, that is fine, but please remember that in a month of, say, 100 operations, in 95 of them you will not be able to find any fault. But maybe in three or four, things don't go exactly according to the plans, and maybe in one, some limit is crossed. If you're going to judge the force by 1 per cent of its performance and ignore the rest, I don't think it's fair. We are fighting in the toughest areas. It's not fair to place us in law and order situations-that is not part of our job. I have been telling the higher-ups this, time and again. Even in Bijbehara, where was the police? Crowd control is not our job.
Q. but isn't it that 1 per cent that makes the difference in ground realities in a place like Kashmir?
A. No, I don't think so. Unfortunately, I think, Indians suffer from a complex of self-flagellation. We like to run down ourselves, our force and our system. It's good to be honest and fair but that doesn't mean you have to run down your force. A lot of people think that if they do so, they'll be glorified as models of virtue and paragons of objectivity. I never said you should praise the force, but give it its due and, when you criticise the force, please remember the provocations under which it is working. If you have read Hindu mythology, you'd know that even the gods have been provoked. We are just human beings.