When defence is linked to terror

Chitale said army officers were angry for the failure of the government in tackling terrorism. 8220;They are also losing faith in the judiciary for its failure to give prompt and proper punishment to terrorists,8221; he said.

8220;Incidents like India handing over a terrorist to the enemy in the plane hijack case and politicisation of the Afzal Guru issue are having a demoralising effect on the army, forcing the officers to plan their own ways for countering terrorism,8221; he said.

Chitale had formed the Maharashtra Military Foundation MMF in Pune in October 1993 and a few years after that started a Commando Academy at Badlapur.

8220;I wanted to form suicide squads for carrying out attacks in Pakistan. I had also informed the Central Government and the Army Headquarters about my plan. My first suicide squad was ready in 2002. I had to close the academy for some reasons, but I am still training the youths in self defence techniques and motivating them to join the army,8221; he said.

Asked about the association of retired army officers with Hindu outfits, he said, 8220;Officers are generally not against Muslims. There are excellent patriotic Muslim officers in the Army. Politicians are showing no will to counter Islamic terrorism. So some retired officers may think of countering Islamic terrorism for which they may develop contacts with Hindu organisations8221;.

VOICES
Even the top brass in defence forces are unhappy with the way politicians are tackling terrorism. But the possibility of retired officers joining extremist groups for countering terrorism is rare. Officers below the rank of major might be thinking on those lines8230;
hikant Mehendale, Military historian

Some officers feel there is no religion but a lot of politics and economics behind terror activities. But the majority of the officers, especially those who have worked more in border areas, feel that terrorism in India is religion based. These officers say they were not able to speak about it openly while in service,

Anand Saraf, founder Sainik Mitra Parivar

I don8217;t feel that officers who have served the army would ever take to the extremism to counter Islamic terrorism.
Col retd Pradeep Brahmankar, Apex Careers