The high point of Mr Amit Shah’s visit, already being touted as a precursor to a dramatic announcement, was the occurrence of two high-level meetings in Srinagar on 26 June 2019, which were attended by a veritable who’s who of the state administration and security personnel, including the Honourable Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, security adviser to the Governor, the DGP, senior police officials, members of the intelligence agencies, the chief secretary and officers of the civil administration, CRPF and BSF, and, of course, the General Officer Commanding in Chief of the Army’s Northern Command and the General Officer Commanding of 15 Corps, that is, me—in effect, the entire star cast of the state security team. Post his review of the security situation, the home minister expressed his subtle appreciation of the way the law and order and security were being handled in Kashmir, especially spotlighting the notable synergy between the police forces, intelligence agencies and the Army, to maintain law and order in the state.
With the political temperature rising and fuelling further speculation about what was to come, the above meeting was followed by another late evening meeting of very select high-level attendees lasting towards the middle of the night, aimed at a more detailed review of the security situation and the possible ramifications of the future government actions, if any. With his schedule chock-a-block with appointments, the next morning, the home minister was slated to meet the family of a police officer, who had made the supreme sacrifice in a terrorist encounter, followed by a few individual engagements before flying back to Delhi.
In this backdrop, I was taken by complete surprise when I received a call in the middle of the night at about 2 a.m., informing me of a breakfast meeting with the home minister at 7 a.m. This information had barely registered when I got another call an hour later, wherein I was asked my choice of food dishes for breakfast. Still in a stupor, I replied that there was no need to tailor the menu to my taste as I would have whatever the others would be served at the meeting. And then dropped the final bombshell—I was told that I would be the only one attending that breakfast meeting as it was intended to be a one-on-one duologue between the home minister and me.
As I arrived for the meeting punctually at 7 a.m. sharp, Mr Amit Shah was ready for the day’s events and what followed was an hour of intense discussion. A lot of sensitive issues and key points were on the table for discussion apart from the delectable food that included aloo parathas and the famous Gujarati dish dhokla during our tête-à-tête. I will not divulge here the exact details discussed for obvious reasons but it will suffice to say that the issues flagged by Mr Shah included the current law and order situation, the potential for it to deteriorate immediately after any declaration by the government, repercussions of the latter on the Line of Control, and the pros and cons from the perspective of an anticipated Pakistani reaction to the path-breaking declaration that was now certain to follow. Ultimately, the home minister was seeking my inputs on the likely situation before and after the government action, as well as assurances that the Team Security Forces would be able to handle any situation that may arise in the state post the abrogation (which, it was by now clear to me, was in the offing).
I must point out, and with absolutely objectivity and great professional inputs, that the home minister was in absolute control and fully conversant with the meeting agenda and knew without a doubt the level and extent of the information he was seeking, including some very intrinsic and key issues related to the Army and its operations, directly or indirectly concerning the situation in the Valley, and implications of the heightened infiltration or any other reaction by Pakistan for the Army on the Line of Control post the abrogation. He had obviously done extensive research and homework before organizing this meeting with me and also had his ear to the ground, and was extremely intuitive about the finer details of every issue being discussed. Further, he also touched upon the flashpoints and the possible events that could occur and, more importantly, how we would handle these eventualities. The fact that my experiences during my previous tenures in Kashmir also came up for discussion during that meeting indicated the depth of our discussion in time and space. At one point, when I was asked my frank and personal view, my immediate response was ‘Agar itihas likhna hai toh kisi ko itihas banana padega (We can write history only if we make history.)’ His parting words at the conclusion of the meeting, as if doing a final check of my resolve or confidence were, ‘What is the guarantee that things will remain peaceful?’ And my honest and confident reply was, ‘I, on my part, give you my personal assurance that the peace will not be disturbed in any way.’ My confidence was based on the recent experience of the Team Security Forces in handling the events prior to and post Zakir Musa’s death, with the entire security outfit acting as a close-knit team to prevent any untoward incident in any part of Kashmir. I must say that the home minister’s knowledge and in-depth assessment of the situation, including the likely fallouts, was exceptional as he had not only covered all bases but was ready with counter-plans for every possible eventuality and contingency. The rest, as they say, is history (itihas). History was in the making and here I am writing about it (Itihas banaya ja raha tha aur main aaj uske bare mein likh raha hun). My words were coming true. I am honour-bound to say no more.
After this meeting, when I reached home, my wife, who had also been awake the whole night due to the multiple telephone calls I was receiving, asked me, ‘How was the meeting with the home minister?’ My instant response to her query was, ‘Bees yuvraj mil kar bhi iss bande ka muqabla nahin kar sakte (Even twenty crown princes together will not be able to match up to this person).’ And I was talking in terms of his decision-making prowess, analytical ability and absolute preparedness to handle any situation with guts and gumption.
This excerpt from Lt. Gen Kanwal Jeet Singh Dhillon’s Kitne Ghazi Aaye, Kitne Ghazi Gaye has been published with permission from Penguin India.