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I back Major Gogoi to the hilt- Period

When the Army is being seen as the devil by some Pakistan sponsored Kashmiris, actions such as the one taken by Major Gogoi are fully justified.

By Vicky
|
Google Oneindia News

Major Leetul Gogoi has been both criticised and praised for his act in which he tied a stone pelter to a jeep as a shield to prevent a mob from pelting stones. Major Gogoi has said that the action was necessary and he also added that the man in question was instigating the stone pelters to attack the Indian Army soldiers.

Major Leetul Gogoi

As expected questions relating to human rights were raised. My question to all of you is would you have raised human rights issues had such an incident not taken place and the soldiers of the Indian Army were pelted with stones. I can very safely say, " none of you would have."

This is a very interesting and important episode. There was one person who had said, " would this not become a precedent?" He felt that letting go of Major Gogoi and then awarding him would set a wrong precedent. What does this man have to tell the stone pelters who have set a precedent to attack the Indian Army.

Major Gogoi rightly says that the Army is there for the common people. The Army helps people against those with weapons who fight against the nation. Major Gogoi did what he had to do at that moment. Had he not resorted to such action, there were several stone pelters waiting to attack the Indian Army.

When the soldiers are attacked with stones by a mob which has no rules, the Army is not supposed to fire at them. They can only fire in the air or use the pellet guns. Let us not forget that pellet guns are also being debated under the ambit of human rights.

The religious connection:

To explain what the stone pelters are thinking, one must visit the religious practise during a Hajj pilgrimage. Stone pelting is seen as a protest against the Indian Armed forces. It is one of the most significant forms of protest in the Kashmir Valley and what needs to be borne in mind is the religious significance that the protestors attach to it.

It all began in Palestine where stone pelters came out in large number to oppose the Israeli Army. Stone pelting became prominent in the Valley in 2008 during the Kashmir unrest. However, the most prominent stone pelting protest was witnessed in 2010 and since then it has become a regular occurrence. 2016 has been a very bad year for Kashmir and since the death of Burhan Wani in July, incidents of stone pelting have not stopped.

Stone pelting is not just a form of protest. In this context let us take a look at the ritual called the rami al-jamarat or Stoning the Devil. It is part of the annual ritual during the Hajj pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. During this ritual Muslim pilgrims throw pebbles at three walls called the jamarat which is in the city of Mina, east of Mecca.

Stoning the Devil is one of the rituals acts that must be performed during Hajj. It is a reenactment of Abraham's hajj in which he stoned three pillars representing the temptation to disobey God and preserve Ishmael. As per the ritual, on the 10th day of the month of Dhu-al-HIjjah, the pilgrims must strike one of the larger pillars with seven pebbles. Once this is completed, the pilgrim must shave their hair. On each of the following two days, the pilgrim must hit each of the three walls with seven pebbles. There are 49 pebbles needed for the ritual.

When the Army is being seen as the devil by some Pakistan sponsored Kashmiris, actions such as the one taken by Major Gogoi are fully justified. Spare a thought for the soldier. It is not easy out there and hence I rest my case by saying, I back Major Gogoi to the hilt-period."

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