From correspondents in India, 10:00 AM IST

The hornet's nest stirred by M.K. Narayanan, the National Security Adviser, in his rather uncharacteristic interview with Karan Thapar on CNN-IBN must surely carry a deliberate sting. Otherwise, why should a normally reticent, erstwhile sleuth warn us that the country faces a serious threat to its security and that infiltration into the Indian armed forces and 'sensitive areas of bureaucracy' (read 'intelligence agencies') is a matter of 'concern though not a danger'.

And this public admonition happens to coincide with the arrest a few days ago of two police constables and three soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir for their suspected links to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). This has been picked up by all sections of the media and, in combination with former foreign minister Jaswant Singh's half-hearted innuendo about moles in the Prime Minister's Office, projected as some new sensation.

Yet, in the same interview, Narayanan also diluted his alarmist statements by explaining that possible infiltration into the ranks of the security forces in Kashmir could be because of militant threats to families of security personnel or a few elements succumbing to financial and other inducement rather than some new ideological or evangelistic churning inspired by Pakistani spy masters or Islamic fundamentalist organisations.

In fact, subsequent reports indicate that not only were the families of the soldiers of the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry pressurized at gunpoint to supply food and other 'logistical support' to LeT militants in some remote parts of Poonch district but that the men had kept their senior officers informed of whatever was happening. This is indeed significant.

It is important to put the recent media hype about 'moles' and 'subversion' into a realistic perspective so that the otherwise prevalent atmosphere in the Kashmir Valley of a genuine desire for peace and normalcy is not undermined by renewed suspicion and hostility. It is very easy to quickly forget that only a month ago there were hordes of tourists descending upon Srinagar, Pahalgam and Gulmarg.

Air tickets were difficult to come by, hotel occupancy was virtually 100 percent and traffic jams were creating headaches for local residents. The Amarnath Yatra was in full swing with hundreds of thousands of pilgrims making it to the hill shrine. Visitors were full of praise for the warmth and hospitality offered to them in true Kashmiri tradition. The Srinagar and Mumbai blasts of 7/11 disrupted the situation somewhat but the essential mood continued to be upbeat.

One of the well thought out steps to win the 'hearts and minds' of the Kashmiris has been a conscious effort to recruit young men from the state's majority community into paramilitary forces and, more recently, into the armed forces. The rationale is quite simple.

For one, it would be seen as a demonstration of trust, the lack of which has been a strong element in the general resentment against the central security establishment. Secondly, it would promote integration into the mainstream and build a stake amongst common citizens in the security of the state. And of course it would also open another avenue of respectable employment and income.

The effort met with remarkable success. Quite unexpectedly, this recruitment drive evoked an extremely enthusiastic response, particularly in places like north Kashmir and the Poonch-Rajouri area and the number of aspirants far outstripped the number of vacancies. The ratio

nale was indeed validated.

On the face of it, this induction of large numbers of the otherwise unemployed into the security forces could increase the possibility of infiltration by anti-national elements and create subversive cells within sensitive formations which are engaged in combating militancy. And certainly sceptics will use the recent arrests to sow seeds of doubt.

However, the facts are very different. Even while attacks on security forces have perhaps increased in recent weeks and significant numbers of policemen and soldiers have lost their lives, there is very little evidence to suggest that this has been the result of internal subversion or sabotage. On the contrary, the pattern of attacks continues to be quite random.

Of course, this is not to say that there are no 'moles' within the state police or security forces. It would be naïve to believe that in any situation of insurgency there would not be sympathizers, collaborators and fellow travellers.

But whether this indicates any new kind of insidious infiltration through a well-orchestrated plan, which is qualitatively different from the situation over the last so many years, is quite another matter. There is little evidence to suggest that the situation in Kashmir has intrinsically changed so as to evoke some hardline, paranoid response.

The latter would not only be an over-reaction but would actually be counterproductive to all the other confidence building measures (CBMs) directed towards inspiring confidence, mutual trust and cooperation in restoring peace and normalcy. It is necessary for Narayanan, who is only too familiar with the nuances of the Kashmir scenario, to set the record straight.

(Ashok Jaitly is a former chief secretary of Jammu and Kashmir and currently a distinguished fellow of The Energy and Resources Institute, TERI. He can be reached at ajaitly@teri.res.in)

(Staff Writer, © IANS)