CRPF Special DG Bhagat said radicalisation of Kashmiri youths was a "critical issue" which posed much wider threat.
The CRPF on Friday said the incidents of hoisting of ISIS and Pakistani flags in parts of Kashmir were an attempt to portray a contradictory picture of patriotic Kashmiris, and described the radicalisation of youths as a "critical issue".
"There are reported incidents of waving of Pakistani and ISIS flags, but I would rather like to submit that these could just be an attempt by some people, perhaps, to sway it otherwise. "Otherwise, I can always say the people of Kashmir are as patriotic and as heroic as anybody else from the country can be," CRPF Special DG S K Bhagat told reporters here. Bhagat said radicalisation of Kashmiri youths was a "critical issue" which posed much wider threat.
"The situation of the Valley is a bit complex. There are foreign militants and then there are militants who get the local support. So in that situation, especially, there is an attempt from across the border to put in militants who could disrupt the situation which is day-by-day improving," he said. "One thing which I think is very very important is that apart from the challenge of militancy, the radicalisation of youths becomes a critical issue. Perhaps this radicalisation poses a much wider and a much diverse threat viz-a-viz the militancy situation," he said.
The CRPF Special DG, however, said that radicalisation was not religion specific. "That is not the issue. We are not hinting at religion as such because that interpretation is wrong," he said. He said that radicalised youths could be some people who could be "misguided" but there was a need to look into what the people at large want.
"They want a good life, they want a secure life. They want a life in which they can prosper and their aspirations can be met. They can have a grand life. They can actualise what they aspire for."So, those issues are very important and radicalisation is one thing that is a challenge not only for the country...but has international dimensions also," Bhagat said.
Bhagat said the state government faces many challenges in terms of development, education, better networking facilities and also in terms of meeting the aspirations of the people. "The more it is able to do, the better the situation shall be...it is only through the process of development, education, outreach and other things that you are able to take care of these issues which are coming up in large numbers," the senior CRPF officer said.
He said nobody should think the security forces feel that the citizens of Kashmir were different from the citizens from the rest of the country.
"That is just not the issue. Not just the CRPF, the Army, the BSF have taken a sizeable number of people from here into the forces, including some ex-militants also, but there has been no complaint. When we have no complaints from them, including the ex-militants, why should we have complaints from the citizens? he asked.
The officer was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a passing-out parade of CRPF where 648 new recruits joined the force.
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