Kashmir a testing ground for new Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Nirmala Sitharaman’s elevation as first full-time woman Defence Minister is significant for Jammu and Kashmir, where the Indian Army is entrenched on the land and minds of the people, especially since 1990 – the calendar year of the eruption of militancy in the Kashmir valley.
Jammu and Kashmir borders two historically hostile neighbours Pakistan and China. The challenges of guarding the frontiers here from the plains to Siachen Glacier, the highest battlefield at a height of 21,000 feet, are numerous. China needles on the eastern borders in Ladakh, while Pakistan has launched an undeclared war on the western borders with the use of mortar shells on the Line of Control and pushing and promoting terrorism in the hinterland.
The Army is in an unenviable position in Kashmir. During the Kargil war in 1999, there were no hands hailing the troops headed towards the LoC to push back Pakistani intruders. Its movement was greeted with hostile looks. Now that hostility has graduated to the stone-throwing and frequent ambushes.
Addressing the internal security issue will become a priority issue for the new Defence Minister as the Army has paid a heavy price in maintaining a semblance of security within the Valley. More than 600 soldiers have lost their lives. Wreath-laying ceremonies have become too frequent.
It is not only the death census that terrifies the nation, but it directly affects the image of the country whose Army is considered the strongest and an invincible institution of the nation. Wreaths highlight the tributes, but also speak of the terrible loss the nation is made to suffer.
The infiltration from across the Line of Control and the terrorism are bitter realities here. To date no significant counter steps have been successful against the menace that has posed a serious crisis for the Indian nation. The surgical strikes on September 29, 2016, were more of a military documentary than action that could have helped in putting brakes on terrorism.
In her new job, Nirmala is expected to walk away from the role of a BJP spokesperson that she performed with finesse. That was political, now it is a question of the nation’s security and reaching out to the people of Kashmir.
Being a woman, she can understand the pain of women in Kashmir and, luckily for her, the state has a woman Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti. In the longer term, she will also have to take into account how to reduce the role of the Army for internal security, particularly in this state, and make soldiers operate in a more accountable environment.
Her test in Kashmir starts now.