One of the seniormost pracharaks in the RSS—in fact, third in the hierarchy—Dattatreya Hosabale is said to be close to the prime minister, having worked together in the ABVP. The views of the soft-spoken Kannadiga with a post-graduate degree in English is taken seriously by the government. He took time off for a conversation with Bula Devi on the volatile situation in Kashmir. Excerpts from the interview:
What is your assessment of the Kashmir situation after the attack on the army in Uri?
The government is aiming at taking a hard stand against those who are out to create trouble in Kashmir and acting on the diktats of anti-India forces outside the country. There are also forces inside the country that are anti-India. They are out to tarnish the image of the government, both at the Centre as well as at the state level.
A section of senior BJP leaders feel it is now a war-like situation. Would you agree with the perception?
I am not a war-monger and this is definitely not a war-like situation. War takes place between two nations. I don’t want to comment on it. The situation in Kashmir, however, definitely demands strong action from our side.
What kind of action can be taken?
First, the Hurriyat need not be given any credence. Second, a strong message has to be sent to Pakistan. The security forces need to be given full freedom to deal with the situation and the government has done so. Finally, proper coordination between the Centre and the state government is a must.
In January this year, an air base was attacked in Pathankot and now an army camp was raided in Uri. Shouldn’t some accountability be fixed?
Of course, we need better security and intelligence coordination. There were indeed small lapses in case of both Pathankot and Uri.
What can be done at the diplomatic level?
The government has already conveyed a message that India would not tolerate this kind of pin-pricks and nonsense from across the border, and that India can also raise issues against Pakistan in international fora.
But we have always maintained that it is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan?
True, we have always maintained that it is a bilateral issue and I feel we should stick to it.
Do you think there is some sort of a gap between the ground reality and what is being presented to the government?
Media is to a large extent responsible for this confusion over Kashmir and this has been so for the past 50 years. Politicians can be faulted at times, but the fact remains that the national media has painted a picture as if it is only the stone-pelters and terrorists who represent Kashmiri society. How many of them have highlighted the plight of the Gujjars and Bakarwals, the Sikhs and others? On Kashmiri Pandits, how much focus was given by the media, barring in the last two years? In fact, as organising secretary of ABVP, I had led a nationwide movement in 1990 and the media did not care to cover it.
