Analysing The Kashmir Situation: Is Hard Power The Better Option?
Geopolitics|July 2017

A surge in violence - stone pelting, attack on security personnel - and an expansion in the scope of violence - bank robberies, attack on native Kashmiris - suggests that public discontent over Indian rule in Kashmir is rising. LT. GEN. SYED ATA HASNAIN (RETD.) analyses the situation for Geopolitics

Syed Ata Hasnain
Analysing The Kashmir Situation: Is Hard Power The Better Option?

When Geopolitics asked me to write this piece with the given theme it was after long that I was being asked whether hard power could be an approach in ‘resolving’ Kashmir. For those familiar with the history of the 27 year old proxy war it would not be difficult to recall that the last time the Indian Army effectively employed a higher degree of hard power in the Valley was during the early Nineties. Thereafter, almost all senior commanders of the Army have followed a calibrated approach in balancing hard with soft power. Hard power alludes to the use of different shades of force to prevent the violent side of the separatist resistance movement becoming dominant. It is employed in different degrees of counter violence from the LoC inwards to the hinterland.

For the less informed it may be appropriate to remind them that the situation in Kashmir through the nineties remained extremely challenging. A descriptive analysis may be good for the reader as public memory is short.

This story is from the July 2017 edition of Geopolitics.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the July 2017 edition of Geopolitics.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM GEOPOLITICSView All
Lessons From Gaza And Lebanon
Geopolitics

Lessons From Gaza And Lebanon

The ongoing war, loosely called the Gaza War, is actually being fought in two different loosely connected segments; against the Hamas with a spill off in the West Bank and East Jerusalem areas against Palestinian factions and against the Hezbollah in Lebanon with a spill off in Syria. Treating Israel-Hamas War and the Lebanon War as separate entities, RAJ MEHTA explains the lessons from these wars

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 2024
POSITIVE STEPS TOWARDS POTENTIAL REGIONAL COOPERATION
Geopolitics

POSITIVE STEPS TOWARDS POTENTIAL REGIONAL COOPERATION

It has been a whirlwind of diplomatic activity for India recently. India participated in both the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation SCO) summit that took place in Islamabad on October 15-16, and the 16th BRICS Summit was held in Kazan, Russia, from October 2224, 2024. These back-to-back summits within a short span of time underscore India's active role in shaping regional and global diplomacy, balancing national interests with multilateral cooperation

time-read
8 mins  |
November 2024
THE EAGLE'S EYE TEJAS MK-II RADAR PIERCES VEIL OF THE SKY
Geopolitics

THE EAGLE'S EYE TEJAS MK-II RADAR PIERCES VEIL OF THE SKY

The Tejas Mk-II, featuring DRDO's GaN-based Uttam AESA radar, marks a major leap in India's defence, enhancing range, precision, and multi-target tracking capabilities, highlights GIRISH LINGANNA

time-read
4 mins  |
November 2024
PRIME MOVER
Geopolitics

PRIME MOVER

The indigenously developed Wheeled Armoured Platform (WhAP) has received a boost with its first export order from the Kingdom of Morocco

time-read
8 mins  |
November 2024
TRANSFORMATIONAL INDUCTION
Geopolitics

TRANSFORMATIONAL INDUCTION

The GA-ASI MQ-9B will dramatically enhance the ISR and precision strike capabilities of the Indian armed forces

time-read
10 mins  |
November 2024
TACAN PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION
Geopolitics

TACAN PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION

Navigation systems have evolved significantly since the Viking era, with Tactical Air Navigation TACAN) now widely used for air and sea travel. Post-World War Il, reliable systems became essential for safety and efficiency, as highlighted by DR. SUJAN KUMAR SARASWATI, in this article on TACAN’s operational principles.

time-read
10 mins  |
November 2024
AIRBORNE TRACKER
Geopolitics

AIRBORNE TRACKER

Indigenous efforts towards AEW&C and AWACS platforms need to be stepped up even as international programmes extend the current state-of-the-art for such aircraft, highlights

time-read
9 mins  |
November 2024
AFFORDABLE LETHALITY THE INDIAN DILEMMA
Geopolitics

AFFORDABLE LETHALITY THE INDIAN DILEMMA

India's defence dilemma is now being complicated by the lessons learnt in the Ukraine and Gaza wars because these conflicts are reshaping the way wars are fought in the modern world.

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 2024
FROM IMPORTS TO SELF-RELIANCE IN ARMS
Geopolitics

FROM IMPORTS TO SELF-RELIANCE IN ARMS

Self-reliance in Defence Production needs new ideas, new definitions _es and an appropriate methodology, argues AMIT COWSHISH

time-read
9 mins  |
November 2024
"THE INDIAN AIR FORCE IS WORKING HARD TO REMAIN A CREDIBLE AIR FORCE"
Geopolitics

"THE INDIAN AIR FORCE IS WORKING HARD TO REMAIN A CREDIBLE AIR FORCE"

Commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on December 21, 1984, Air Chief Marshal AMAR PREET SINGH PVSM AVSM took over as the 28th Air Chief of India on September 30, 2024.

time-read
5 mins  |
November 2024