In Chandigarh, former Army chief Gen VP Malik releases book on Kashmir insurgency of 1989-90

Former Army chief General V P Malik released the book at the event that was attended by several veterans and academics.

The book, ‘Unmasking the Kashmir Insurgency: Deconstructing the State Response -Revisiting 1989-90’, consists of chapters of the Colonel’s first-hand experiences and also of counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir obtained through RTI and exclusive interviews.

Through the book, the author provided a picture of the state’s paralysis, institutional failures, intelligence lapses, and the moral vacuum that accompanied the mass displacement of Kashmiri Pandits.

Speaking at the event, Col. Kandhari said, “I did not write the book as a scholar looking at the situation from the outside. I wrote it as someone who lived through the events, who wore the uniform, and who still carries the memories and questions that never found answers.”

While former Army chief General VP Malik released the book, Colonel Daljeet Singh Cheema was the Guest of Honour at the event.

In his keynote address, General Malik said that it is an interesting book that carries huge lessons for today and tomorrow in Jammu and Kashmir.

Col Cheema said, “The root cause of the insurgency is that Pakistan has never accepted the Partition as fair to them and it resulted in the first war of 1948 between the neighbours. After 1971 , Pakistan realised it can never win a conventional war against India, so it evolved the ‘Pakistan Military Doctrine of Bleed India’ with thousand cuts.”

(The authors are interns at The Indian Express.)