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Uncharitable

This refers to the report "Withdraw Army from Kashmir, says Arundhati Roy" (Aug. 31). Her observation that the Indian media are suffering from schizophrenia is uncharitable. Outspoken journalists and photographers have died reporting news from the Valley. A brief visit to the State, during the course of which she claims she found numerous cases of repression, is not enough to gauge the reality in Jammu and Kashmir. Ms. Roy will do well to remember that armymen are also human. She should stay in Kashmir a little longer to see how many jawans die fighting insurgents. Ms. Roy should let the army do its job and do what she is good at — writing interesting fiction.

Col. Mange Ram Bharwan,
Hissar, Haryana

It is not as if the army loves to fight insurgency and armymen like dying, fighting terrorists. Ms. Roy claims that the media are schizophrenic. But it is through the same media that she voices her views on the situation in the Valley. Her reference to `Indian occupation' of Kashmir is unacceptable. India is the defender, not the aggressor. She should stop making irresponsible statements on real life issues.

Koti Sreekrishna,
Mason, Ohio

It is unfortunate that after losing so many army personnel in the proxy war in Kashmir over two decades, armchair intellectuals make irresponsible statements. The army is not sitting in Kashmir at its will. Making idealistic statements on what ought to be is not the same as having AK 47s and grenades explode on our faces.

Satya Dev,
Hyderabad

I would like to remind Ms. Roy that soldiers know the brutality and suffering of war, low-intensity conflicts and counter-terrorism more than anyone else. A few visits to the troubled State do not give her the right to make statements that hurt the sentiment of armymen. She should live in the State to experience the real Kashmir, which is safe thanks to the security forces.

Benny Thomas,
Bangalore

Ms. Roy has accused the media of presenting a false, rosy picture of normalcy in Kashmir. Which means hundreds of mediapersons from different countries, covering what Ms. Roy calls "Indian-occupied" Kashmir, are not doing their duty.

What is worse is her comparison of the "Indian occupation's" atrocities with the Pinochet regime in Chile. Our soldiers certainly deserve better. Like our politicians, Ms. Roy seems to revel in playing to her gallery of fellow activists. All the foreign media have to do is quote her to malign the Indian security forces.

Gopal Sutar,
Manipal, Karnataka

Ms. Roy's suggestion that it is the Army's presence that is responsible for atrocities in Kashmir is not convincing. The suffering of the people of the State, including Kashmiri pundits, is because of militancy. If the security forces are withdrawn, the plight of the people will become worse.

Anoop Kumar,
Kochi, Kerala

Ms. Roy's call for the withdrawal of the Army, if implemented, would be the first Kashmir-specific CBM. As Vice-Chancellor of the Kashmir University, I heard many whispers that had the security forces not chosen to camp in schools, colleges, hostels and thickly populated civilian areas for 15 years, civilian casualties would have been much lower. Our security concerns have overlooked our emotional and human rights concerns.

Jalees A.K. Tareen,
New Delhi

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