Before calling him Gen Dyer, go face the stones and bullets in the Valley

Venkaiah Naidu called Chatterjee's remarks "idiotic", "atrocious" and the "height of perversion."

In the year 2013, there were 300 militants active in the Valley. The number came down to around 250 by 2014. With the new offensive launched by the Indian Army in the Valley, the number is at 180 today. The Army has given itself a deadline to wipe out militancy in the Valley before the winter sets in, in December.

The Army has been given a free hand by the Government of India to deal with the situation in Kashmir. The terrorists are no friends of India, the stone pelters are no angels and such situations need to be dealt with an iron fist.

The battle in Kashmir is not an easy one for the Army. One one hand they have to brave the bullets fired by the militants and on the other face the stones pelted by the protestors. Army officials say that they too want peace. But what do you do in a situation such as this where the problem does not seem to end.

In the midst of this tough battle, there are the likes of Partha Chatterjee who, in a recent article, seemingly compared Army chief General Bipin Rawat to General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer who was responsible for the Jalianwala Bagh massacre. Chatterjee in his article compared General Rawat's justification of Major Leetul Gogoi, who tied a Kashmiri civilian to an Army jeep, to the testimony Dyer provided defending his command to fire upon unarmed protesters at Jalianwala Bagh.

These statements were criticised heavily. Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu called Chatterjee's remarks "idiotic", "atrocious" and the "height of perversion," and said that Gogoi had "done a great job of saving lives".

Army officials say that they are on the job and would not let such issues come in the way. We have a job to get done and our utmost priority is to restore peace in the Valley. We have tried to talk, requested peace, told Pakistan to tone down, but nothing has worked.

The only way forward is to wipe out the militants and ensure that the people of Kashmir live in peace.

OneIndia News