The Government of India is facing a difficult situation as regards the Army and Paramilitary deployment in Kashmir. A very interesting dichotomy. A typical dilemma. Double bind or quandary. On one hand every one who matters in authority in Srinagar or Delhi claims that militancy has died down. Infiltration is considerably decreased. Violence is on decline. The number of militants estimated to be operating has now been reduced to 500 or 600. On the other hand there is no lessening of the security grid both by the Army (Rashtriya Rifles) and by the Paramilitary Forces. Rather there is more induction of troops every now and then. The deployment of Paramilitary troops in all urban areas and regular Army in all rural areas continues without any change. The sand bag bunkers inside the city have been replaced by permanent brick structures. There is an intricate network of these forces covering entire urban and rural population. Most of the houses of Pandit migrants within the city as well as in rural areas are occupied by paramilitary forces. In earlier times Kashmiri Muslims all over the valley had Pandits as their next door neighbours. There were some typical Pandit colonies. These have now been replaced by colonies of the paramilitary troops. Apart from this forces occupy many government buildings, private lands, and orchards. Many hotels are also occupied by the forces. Regular rent is being paid by the defence and home ministries for the occupied accommodation. The troops with their bunkers, pill boxes, road side obstructions, rolls of barbed wire, and drop gates are part of normal landscape in entire Kashmir. Overtly, people have stopped noticing these as something extra-ordinary. These are taken for granted. Something which cannot be helped. However, the inside feeling is of resentment and most of the people would like to get rid of these forces constituting an over bearing security presence. There are two aspects for any withdrawal of security forces, which is now almost a universal demand. Both the mainstream regional parties as well as the parties demanding “Azadi” want troops to withdraw at least from the civilian areas. First is a logistical problem. If the troops are withdrawn from all the civilian areas where can these be accommodated? All permanent Cantonments and Security Establishments are already full. Most of the troops both of Rashtriya Rifles and Paramilitary are additional inductions in the state. If these are to be removed from civilian areas, there is only one choice. These have to be taken out of the state. There is no alternate accommodation within the state to house these for any future eventuality. The other aspect of the dilemma is political. This extensive security grid covering all civilian areas is a lid over all “unwanted” political manifestations. After every incident involving security forces there are massive protests with usual slogans for “Azadi”. The security grid allows these protests to be isolated and contained within specific areas. In the absence of such a massive security presence in all civilian areas it would be impossible to prevent snowballing of these massive demonstrations all over the valley as happened in 1990. At that time the alienation had just started. Before that time people used to be friendly to all types of troops as they had not seen their ugly and brutal face. Now the alienation is total and complete. It takes just a small incident for the peoples’ resentment to burst out with full force. Bandipore, Kangan, Handwara, and a number of other similar incidents are examples of the simmering volcano. The Indian policy makers and think tanks very clearly understand the implications of total removal of the security grid from the civilian areas. They know that such a step would create an uncontrollable situation of public fury and they will have millions on the roads asking for “Azadi”. The other dilemma is that the Indians have no trust on the local police in regard to maintenance of internal security. Presently most of the top positions in the police set up are under their control. However, the basic soldier or the constable is absolutely untrustworthy. In the early years of militancy it had been reported that not only were the police personnel sympathetic to the cause but were actually assisting the violent movement. There was even a mutiny which had to be controlled by the intervention of regular Army that had to lay a siege around the police lines. The only trusted people are the members of the Special Operations Group (SOG) and the Special Task Force (STF). These are mostly drawn from the non-Kashmiri speaking areas. Members of these groups are hated by the common people for their high handed approach and brutality. They are not very much liked even within the force itself. Thus the most commonly talked about demilitarisation or withdrawal or relocation of troops from the civilian areas is a big dilemma for the Indian Government. It is a catch 22 situation! (Dictionary meaning: Situation in which an action has consequences which make it impossible to pursue that action.) However, the most funny thing about the whole situation is that the people who are presently given the highest security rating of Z and Z-plus are pleading for the withdrawal of the security grid. They must be fully aware that once the entire apparatus is removed, they will be the first ones to face the wrath of the people. It would be physically impossible for them to continue to live here in the face of a popular uprising led by the kith and kin of thousands martyred during last two decades or so. One can draw only one conclusion. These persons in the heart of their hearts very well know that the Government of India will never withdraw or relocate the troops. They are only befooling the people by projecting the popular demand to gain their sympathy for the next round of elections. There is another facet to the situation which remains invisible but is in a way decisive. This pertains to the vested interests. The whole security grid involves expenditure of hundreds of crores every year. It is reported that only petrol worth millions of rupees is consumed every day by the vehicles utilised for security duty. All sorts of items not even remotely related to security are debited to this head of account. The removal of the security network will deprive a host of people of a very lucrative process at all levels right from Srinagar to Delhi. The recent expose of a racket in Siachin where stores meant for troops stationed at high altitude had found their way to local markets with the connivance of the highest authorities is a pointer to this aspect of the problem. There is plenty of money in the entire enterprise! Last but not the least, the most detrimental handicap in reducing, re-locating, or withdrawing the troops is the Indo-Pak mistrust. In 1947 when the deployment of forces of both the countries was not even one tenth of the present strength, the entire world could not persuade them to withdraw their troops from two sides of the State. Now after sixty years when the strength has phenomenally gone up and they have fought three bloody wars involving casualties of hundreds of thousands on both sides, will they be willing to demilitarise? One tends to be sceptical after visualising all aspects of the problem. However, the Nature sometimes has strange ways of settling things in a manner which no one is able to visualise in advance. The seed of violence which both countries nurtured in Kashmir has spread all over the sub-continent. Pakistan is facing a virtual civil war. Instead of fighting in the way of God they are fighting each other. India is no less vulnerable. Increasing cases of suicide and fratricide. Eruption of violence in the highly developed IT centres unconnected with Kashmir and having links abroad. Increasing naxalite violence. All these are contagions from Kashmir. The fast awakening other backward classes too may choose this path to level their scores with upper castes. Ultimately both the countries may face an economic downslide due to increasing violence and may have no alternative but to bring peace to Kashmir which has been the original source of all troubles! Like the violence, the peace too can spread fast from Kashmir. The sooner the leaders on two sides realise this, the better it would be for all of us.