NEW DELHI, July 7: Gair mulki kiraye key tattoo, dehashatgiri aab nahi chalegi. Kashmir chodo (Paid agents of other nations, terror will not work anymore. Leave Kashmir)Allah key sevaye tumhara kaarsaj nahi. Pakistani ISI key behkavey mai mat aana. (There is nobody to help you but Allah. Do not be misguided by Pakistan's ISI)These are some of the verbal missiles in the arsenal of posters, stickers, pamphlets and audio-visual material fired at militants in Jammu & Kashmir as part of New Delhi's ``psychological war.''Coordinated by a secret cell in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), this ``psywar'' cell, as it's more popularly called, was set up by the PV Narasimha Rao government when the Kashmir cell moved to the Prime Minister's Office. During the United Front government, the cell became defunct and the then Home Secretary, K Padmanabhiah, even recommended that it be wound up.Now, the cell has got a fresh lease of life as the Kashmir cell has returned to the Home Ministry. Sourcessay the long-pending proposal of the former Government to wind up the cell has been turned down. Among the recommendations recently made for ``cost-effective'' use of the cell is one from Special Secretary (Kashmir) MB Kaushal. He is said to be in favor of more funds for the cell and for it taking on an enhanced role in generating a pro-Government atmosphere in J&K.Said to have an annual budget of approximately Rs 20 crore, the psywar cell is located in North Block, which houses its high-tech documentation centre on J&K, and in a tiny office in Bikaner House, where all the propaganda material is conceived and designed.The cell is headed by Keki Daruwalla, an IPS officer, who retired as Additional Director in the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). There are two other retired officials working with Daruwalla, a language expert and an area expert. When contacted, Daruwalla declined to comment.Critics of the cell say that it's ineffective. Says former Home Secretary K Padmanabhiah: ``The cell may havedone some good work in the past, but I felt it had already served its purpose.''With the Pokharan-II blasts and renewed tension on the Kashmir issue, the performance of the cell has come in for fresh scrutiny. Senior MHA and intelligence officials feel that Pakistan is way ahead in its propaganda war on Kashmir.The audio cassettes, produced and distributed by the cell, are played by All India Radio's Kashmir station. The cell has also played a role in starting the second Doordarshan channel. However, the response to both has been very cold.Also, the propaganda material sent to the state for distribution is reportedly gathering dust with not many in the security forces convinced of its effectiveness. During the first few years, posters were pasted all over the Valley only to be pulled down the next day.
