Introduction:

The insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir began in 1989 and has ebbed and flowed in the intervening years. In 2018, the death toll for militants and security forces in Kashmir touched the highest point in a decade, according to official figures, with more than 400 killed. The state of J&K is now under President’s rule owing to the failure of the coalition government, thereby wiping out of the people’s mandate. The absence of any meaningful political process to address Kashmiri grievances points to a more violent situation in the coming years.

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Previous approaches to this problem:

• In 2004, a fresh “rehabilitation policy” was implemented by the then PDP government under Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
• It sought to provide “facility to those terrorists who undergo a change of heart and eschew the path of violence and who also accept the integrity of India and Indian Constitution to encourage them to join the mainstream and lead a normal life”.
• This policy had made provisions to provide vocational training for militants who surrender if they wished to pursue a trade, and a monthly stipend of Rs 2,000 for the first three years.
• One of the key decisions in the 2004 policy was the establishment of counselling centres “where all the returnees along with their wives and children would be lodged for a period of three months or for such longer time as would be necessary”.
• In 2010, the focus was on facilitating the return of ex-militants from J&K who had crossed over between January 1989 and December 2009 for training but later gave up insurgent activities “due to a change of heart and are willing, to return to the state”.

Challenges of the previous policies:

• Those who intend to return saw surrender as an insulting process and there was a sense of defeat attributed to the word ‘surrender’ or even ‘rehabilitation’.
• Senior police officers acknowledged that these counselling centres never came up and no one returning to the mainstream was committed to counselling.

• Social stigma attached is very difficult to be erased.
• The money given and the rehabilitation measures were paltry.

The newly drafted Return Policy for militants in Jammu and Kashmir:

• The proposed policy is essentially a revised version of earlier initiatives but with a renewed focus on socio-economic re-integration.
• The policy draft “is presently at the pre-SAC stage” and is subject to clearance by the state Home Department and the chief secretary.
• Jobs, reformative measures, and a monthly stipend of Rs 6,000 are the key points of a new “reintegration policy” draft that is under the consideration of the J&K government under Governor’s rule currently, to encourage militants hailing from the state to give up arms.
• According to the draft, the new initiative addresses the need for rehabilitation at a policy level through a two-pronged approach: reformative measures and opportunities of livelihood.
• The idea of developing this policy is to initiate reconciliation and institutional-level integration of people who left or joined armed groups.
• The initiative, however, will not cover militants found to have been involved in “heinous crimes”.

Rationale behind the new draft policy:

• The Army after the deadly Pulwama attack has made it very that anyone who picks up the gun, will be executed unless he surrenders.
• There is a very good surrender policy being initiated by the government so that they can join the mainstream.
• It is essential for the government to demonstrate its will to reach out to alienated youth.
• The successful implementation of a surrender policy is of utmost importance in J&K as there are a large number of surrendered or released militants (around 25,000).
• The successful rehabilitation of one hardcore surrendered or released militant will motivate others to follow suit.

Conclusion:

The policy is a step in the right direction. Although time consuming, it will bear the necessary fruits of peace and harmony in J&K. It will take a lot of effort on the part of everyone to implement it successfully, especially the civil society and political establishment have a major role in motivating and bringing them back into the mainstream.