INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
region, especially the youth, through a "propaganda machinery", Army chief General Bipin Rawat today said.He said this in response to a
question from a school student from Chhattisgarh during an interactive session at the South Block here."Lot of false information,
misinformation is being fed to people in Kashmir, especially the youth, like Kashmir is an independent nation, or that the Army has
forcefully occupied the valley, it is separate nation, separate entity or that India is an anti-Muslim country," General Rawat said when
asked why stone-pelting incidents were taking place in Jammu and Kashmir.The Army chief said that propaganda is being spread that Kashmir
must "gain independence" from India.On Maoist situation in Chhattisgarh, one class 12 student asked, what were the demands of the Maoists,
to which, the Army chief replied, "It is a conflict of ideology their demand are not very heavy, and they can be brought to the
mainstream."On stone-pelting, he said, "There are two ways to deal with stone-pelting issues, one is a harsh way, to take actionthe other is
to make them understand that such acts are not good for the person doing it or for the state itself."And, so people are being told that if
we they want peace in the valley, then "terrorist activities must stop," he said."We conduct national integration tour, and when youth from
Kashmir come to Delhi, they see no bunkers, no jawans patrolling the streets
And, they get the message that if peace comes in the valley, the bunkers and the patrol units will disappear, and life would be normal,"
General Rawat said.He also said that the incidents of stone-pelting have happened in other places too, like Palestine and Africa.Twenty
students, 17 boys and three girls of DPS, Raigarh, from class 6-12, interacted with General Rawat as part of a school tour to understand the
Army life better.During his address, he exhorted the students to work hard and not get disheartened by failures and aspire to join the Army
to serve the nation."You folks are already wearing green jackets, and after your class 12, I hope many of you will apply to join the army,"
he said.Jammu and Kashmir is currently under the governor's rule since June 20, the fourth time in the last one decade, after the BJP
withdrew support to its alliance partner PDP, forcing Mehbooba Mufti to resign as the chief minister of the state.General Rawat last week
terrorists who create violence and disturbance in the valley
Our aim is not to cause inconvenience to civilian population who are not indulging in arson or violence," he had said.
