INDIAN ARMED FORCES AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN COUNTER TERRORIST OPERATIONSAND ROLE OF MEDIA

INTRODUCTION

Human Rights are those minimal rights which every individual must have byvirtue of his being a “member of the human family”, irrespective of any otherconsideration. They are based on mankind’s demand for a life in which theinherent dignity of the human being will receive respect and consideration.1

Human rights propagate the dignity and freedom of human being in the society.The notion of human rights is the most precious legacy of classical andcontemporary human thought to culture and civilization. The struggle topreserve, protect and promote these basic human values has continued in everygeneration in each society.

The Universal Declaration of human rights adopted by UN on 10 Dec 1948 inits preamble has proclaimed that “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights isa common standard of achievements for all people of all nations”.2 Humanrights ideology postulates human dignity and recognition that every humanbeing, irrespective of race, religion, colour or sex, is born equal andentitled to the rights as a human being. The UN Charter pledged to promote andencourage respect for human rights, and envisaged not only the traditionalrights but rights like higher standard of living and economic progress.

The constitution of our country provides the basic human rights andfundamental rights to its citizens. Being natural rights, it is of utmostimportance that human rights be protected at every cost by each individual andorganization in the country. Especially so the Indian armed forces which isheld in a very high esteem by the citizens of its country.

In India, the traditional application of humanitarian law to the armedforces is almost as old as the armed conflicts themselves. There are severalexamples of prescribed humane behaviour for the forces during conflict inRamayana and in Mahabharata. These are a part of our cultural legacy. Evenduring British colonial rule of India, the armed forces followed the concept of“Naam, Namak, Nishan: Be Honourable, True to your salt, and uphold the Flag”.3 In Kargil war,Indian battalions recovered over 270 dead bodies of Pakistani soldiers afterre-capturing posts occupied by them. The Indian troops gave all of them aburial befitting a soldier as per Muslim rites. Upholding human dignity,personal values, and mitigation of collateral hardship to the public are cornerstones of the professional ethos in the Indian Armed Forces. Such an ethos issystematically imbibed in all ranks through training, motivation, andenforcement of stringent discipline, and monitoring of operations. The respectfor human rights thus comes naturally to all ranks. Also, secularism,1 Saxena Ajay and Singh Indu, Human Rights in India and Pakistan, New Delhi, Deep and Deep Publications, 2004, p. 4. 2 Kumar Ran Vir Air Commodore and Sharma B P Group Captain, Human Rights and Indian Armed Forces, New Delhi, Sterling Publishers, 1998, p. 2.3 Malik V. P. General (Retd), Human Rights in the Armed Forces, New Delhi, Journal of the National Human Rights Commission of India, Vol. 4, 2005.

discipline, integrity, loyalty, espirit-de-corps, apolitical outlook areessential values that are inculcated in the forces. These values contribute totheir civilized behaviour.4

The Indian armed forces have been engaged in CT operations in Jammu andKashmir and the North-East since the last six decades. While the terrorists andmilitant organizations carry out gruesome acts of violence and savagery, whichare gross violations of the human rights of the other peaceful citizens of thecountry, it is the armed forces that in performance of their duty are malignedfor violating human rights and perpetrating violence. It has to fight militancyon one hand and at the same time be on guard always for any human rightsviolations on the other hand. It definitely appears to be a very difficult gameif one understands the limitations with which the Indian armed forces have tooperate in the environment where there is no enemy. While discharging itsduties the Indian armed forces is most vulnerable to human rights violationsand the same is being exploited by the terrorists/terrorists through the media.The general populace and the media fail to understand the true context of theoverall situation before lamenting the armed forces with human rightsviolations. It must be appreciated that soldiers too are humans who are givento normal human emotions and human vulnerabilities. They also deserve theirshare of human rights which are invariably not paid heed to by the governmentand the society as a whole. While it may be fashionable to condemn the armedforces for alleged violation of human rights, activists and human rights watchdog organizations should raise their voice equally forcefully against violationof human rights by terrorists and their ilk. Hence, the Indian Armed Forcesimage has been tarnished by the local, national and international media whichimmensely assists the terrorists.

India is signatory to International Humanitarian Law and all 12conventions on terrorism. India firmly shares the perception of MadridDeclaration, which advocated “harmonisation of domestic law regardingcompensation for the victims of terrorism and the drafting of an internationalstatute for the victims of terrorism”. India is one of the active participantsin the deliberations of the Counter Terrorism Committee set up by the Chairmanof the Security Council pursuant to Resolution 1373. The Indian Armed Forcestook immediate cognizance of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 andvoluntarily established its Human Rights Cell in March 1993, six months priorto the establishment of the National Human Rights Commission in India. COAS’Ten Commandments laying down the Code of Conduct for all ranks operatingagainst armed insurgents and terrorists i.e. Do’s and Don’ts, are recognized bythe Indian judicial system, and by the United Nations.

Despite Indian armed forces utmost sensitivity towards Human rights, itshas been frequently painted as ‘monstrous institution of the state’perpetrating widespread human rights violations by those very countries that inthe first place are responsible for funding separatism, insurgency andterrorism in India. These allegations are fuelled by large scale media coverageand can only be put in the correct perspective by understanding the methodsemployed by the various terrorist organizations and the operational environmentin which the Indian armed forces operates today. The doubts about human rights4 Ibid.

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conduct of the soldiers in India and abroad arise currently on account of lackof understanding about terrorism and insurgencies, the difficulties faced indealing with them, and human rights aberrations that take place in suchoperations.

The media is known to be a powerful force in confrontations betweenterrorists and security forces. Media influence on public opinion may impactnot only the actions of governments/armed forces but also on those of groupsengaged in terrorist acts. From the terrorist perspective, media coverage isan important measure of the success of a terrorist act or campaign. Especiallyin hostage situation, the media may provide the only independent means ofinformation for a terrorist and coverage can complicate rescue efforts.Governments can take the help of media in an effort to arouse world opinionagainst the country or group using terrorist tactics. Public diplomacy and themedia can also be used to mobilise public opinion in other countries topressure governments to take, or reject action against terrorism.5

The challenge to both the government and press communities is tounderstand the dynamics of terrorist enterprise and to develop policy optionsdesigned to serve the interests of government including the security forcesfighting the terrorists, the media, and the society. The media and the armedforces have common interests in seeing that the media are not manipulated intopromoting the cause of terrorism or its methods. On the other hand, neither themedia nor policymakers and law enforcer want to see terrorism, or CToperations, eroding constitutional freedoms, including that of the press, whichone of the pillars of democratic societies. The challenge for policymakers isto explore mechanisms enhancing media/armed forces cooperation to accommodatethe citizen and media need for honest coverage, while limiting the gains,uninhibited coverage may provide terrorists or their cause. Communicationbetween the armed forces and the media here is an important element in anystrategy to prevent terrorist causes and strategies from prevailing and topreserve democracy.6

REALITIES OF OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT IN CT

An insurgency is like a child nurtured in its own environment and no twoterrorists are similar. They differ substantially from one another and are aproduct of at least three factors. One is terrain that always influencesoperations. Another is the quantity of weapons available and the efficiency ofits use by the terrorists. The third is the cause and the degree of supportthat it enjoys from the populace.7

5 FICCI Task Force Report on National Security and Terrorism, 09 Nov 2009, pp 103; Internet www page at URL:< http://www.ficci.com/SPdocument/20032/terrorism-report.pdf >(version current as of 10Dec Oct 2009) 6 Ibid, pp 104.7 Banerjee D Maj Gen, Counter Insurgency Operations in the Indian context, USI Journal Jul– Sep 1992, pp 348.

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Environmental Realities. In general, environment is characterised by thefollowing :-

The general atmosphere is vitiated harbouring on mistrust anddisloyalty.

The populace, in general, is both the doer and the victim, since itis from this pool that a misguided section rises up to be theterrorists/ undergrounds, forging many a misdeeds on the residualpopulace.

Three bastions of state administration i.e. bureaucracy,politicians and judiciary come under tremendous pressure because ofconstant threat of retribution. Terrorists attempt to terrorise andintimidate those in key positions and some are even coerced toacquiesce with them.

Terrorists attempt to politicise and subvert police and ParaMilitary Force (PMF) and endeavour to induce fear in them throughintimidation, lynching and other forms of retribution. Some of thesepolicemen may also identify with the militant cause and harbour a softcorner for them.

Media is by far the most important and effective tool in the entiregamut of a disturbed environment. It is actually comparatively lessimportant what happens than how and what gets reported.

Civil administration largely becomes ineffective. Authority of thegovernment and rule of law stands defunct in the face of jungle ruleby the terrorists.

Efforts of government in controlling the situation by enactingrules/ laws are proclaimed as draconian and undemocratic. Defiance ofthe rule of the land is an established norm of behaviour of theterrorists.

States inimical to our Nation-State continue to wage proxy wars asis being done by Pakistan in J & K and to some extent by our Easternneighbours in North-East. Terrorists receive covert and overt supportin many forms, which in fact, is the lifeline to keep the disturbedsituation going.

Nature of Militant Activities and Targets

The environment being confronted by the armed forces will not be completewithout understanding the nature of the terrorist’s activities and theirtargets.

Terrorists snipe at the VIPs/key persons, particularly those whoeminently oppose their ideology and those who may be involved indirecting/executing operations against them.

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Disruption of communications and denial of use of lines ofcommunications by blowing up bridges, railway tracks, and so on byusing remotely controlled devices.

Elimination of the sympathisers of the security forces, relativesof police and government officials and those assisting the armedforces.

Kidnapping and hijacking of affluent and prominent people to securerelease of apprehended terrorists as well as attract media attention.

Sabotage of government installations to include important offices,treasures, TV/ radio station, essential services etc.

Ambush important convoys and VIP columns to inflict casualties.

Indiscriminate killing and maiming of innocents in buses, trainsand public places to spread terror.

Terrorising society by carrying out political murders.

Terrorists make extensive use of propaganda and psychologicaloperations through sponsored newspapers, posters, leaflets and media.

Nature of Military Operations Conducted by the Armed Forces8

Military End State. The desired military end state from CT operationsentails creating conditions that are conducive to the attainment of politicalobjectives. Since conflict termination and their political resolution is theultimate end states sought, such conditions besides enabling the initiatives bythe economic and informational elements of national power to consolidate, alsofacilitate initiation of political dialogue for a negotiated settlement.

Overarching Concept. Since the centre of gravity for such operations is thepopulace, operations have to be undertaken with full respect to human rightsand in accordance with the laws of the land. The application of military powerin such operations is so regulated that it enhances the control by civilauthorities in the conflict zone besides strengthening their hands. Thisunderscores the importance of people friendly operations that are conductedwith a civil face.

Concept of Application of Military Force. It is imperative for any counterinsurgency/militancy operation to succeed that an integrated approach by allagencies of the Government is adopted. The basic tenets of successful CToperations are as following :-

People Centric Operations . To attain a secure environment, themilitary operations should aim, firstly, at neutralising all hostileelements in the conflict zone that oppose or retard thepeace initiatives and secondly, at transforming the will and attitudes

8 Doctrine for Sub Conventional Operations, Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence (Army), December 2006

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of the people through a dexterous and integrated application of allresources. The neutralisation of terrorists and their support basemust be in consonance with laws of the land so that the civil face ofgovernance is always visible. Terrorists must be afforded fullopportunity to surrender and only those terrorists, who do not acceptthe offer and continue to resist, should be neutralised throughkinetic means. For this a liberal and a practical policy should be putin place by the Government. The handling of over ground workers toomust always be as per laws of the land. The orchestration of themilitary operations should be such that they also induce the desireddegree of agitation fatigue amongst the supporters of the cause.However, since this lever works both ways, it should be imaginativelyemployed, as it can prove to be counterproductive and can at times,convert even the champions of non-violence into violence seekers. Theendeavour should be to bring about a realisation that fighting thegovernment is a ‘no win’ situation and that their anti governmentstance will only delay the return of peace and normalcy. Therefore,distancing from the terrorists is in their own interest and the onlyplausible course of action. However, the manifestation of such arealisation can take from a couple of years to decades as attitudestake time to form and to change.

Manoeuvre versus Attrition Warfare . As the endeavour in such acampaign is to enhance the control of government agencies in theconflict zone, military power should be predominantly employed totarget the minds of the terrorists and other antagonist players in theenvironment. This in turn highlights the importance of manoeuvrewarfare, which ensures placing of our resources at a position ofadvantage vis-à-vis the terrorists. It also helps in creatinginsecurity for the terrorists that resultantly forces them on the backfoot and makes them reactive to our proactive approach. However, suchapplication alone cannot achieve the desired military conditions.Therefore, taking recourse to attrition warfare concept in the initialstages of the campaign cannot be avoided. The inset figure highlightsthis aspect.

Integrated Approach . Since the ultimate aim of the national effortis to strengthen the hands of the local civil authorities, themanagement of the campaign must always show a civil face. Therefore,the counter insurgency operations, notwithstanding the primacy of themilitary in the initial stages, should always be coordinated at thehighest levels through the creation of an ‘Apex Security Mechanism’headed by the senior state executive. Such an arrangement facilitatesthe monitoring of various prongs of the campaign in the properperspective. However, for facilitating synergy, the senior most ArmyOfficer should have the clear responsibility and authority for alloperational planning and execution. Some of the recommendations ofthe Group of Ministers on Internal Security in this regard are placedalongside.

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Hence, successful CT operations need to be conducted on the following planes: -

Psychological operations including civic-action programmes.

Intelligence operations to obtain contact/actionable intelligence.

Tactical operations to kill or apprehend terrorists/insurgents andensure domination of area by Armed Forces.

CI operations to eliminate insurgency from grassroots.

Lines of Military Operations. The thrust of military operations in thecounter terrorist scenario will be on executing coordinated operations rangingfrom the border areas to the hinterland. Various lines of military operationsare :-

Effective sealing of the borders to preclude trans-border movement ofterrorists and war waging material. This should be undertaken in anintegrated manner to ensure that the terrain, obstacle system, troopdeployment and surveillance devices are optimally enmeshed to enableeffective sealing operations.

Establishment of a comprehensive CT grid in the hinterland with focuson:-

o Denial of population centres to the terrorist.

o Providing security to the military lines of communication.

o Ensuring security of various vulnerable areas and vulnerablepoints.

Effective public information and perception management initiativesconstitute a vital component of the campaign. This is an area wheremedia can play a crucial role.

Undertaking civic actions to address the aspirations of the populaceand winning their hearts and minds.

Types of Operations. The following are the few operations, which are carriedout by the armed forces while operating in counter terrorist environment : -

Ambush . Conventionally it is defined as a surprise attack launchedfrom a concealed position upon an unsuspecting, moving or temporarilyhalted enemy. The same is applicable while fighting amilitant/insurgent/terrorist as well. The ambush is characterised bysurprise, speed and violent firepower. The most difficult task in CTenvironment is to recognize hostiles from amongst innocent civilians.At times hostiles take innocents as their guides at gunpoint. At suchtimes these civilians may suffer casualties. Generally, the hostilesget away fast and try and mix with the locals, which compound theproblem further.

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Raid . In a conventional warfare, a raid can be said to be anoperation, usually small scale, involving a swift penetration intohostile territory to destroy the enemy and hisinstallations/headquarters. It is characterized by surprise,firepower, shock and violence of action. Generally raid is carried outon the militant training and administrative camps and hideouts. It isthe surprise and shock action with speed, which cause human rightsviolation if the civilians are around or have been kept as hostage.

Cordon and Search Operations . The aim of undertaking cordon andsearch of a village may be to screen villagers, apprehend hostiles

visiting them or to seize arms and ammunition. Innocent civilians haveto suffer throughout the day or till such time search is over. If theterrorists are hiding in an innocent civilian’s house and shoot outtakes place, it may cause collateral damage to civilian property. Evenif the damage is repaired/ recovered, terrorist organizations get apropaganda material to degrade the image of armed forces and media isalways ready to buy such news for their benefit.

Search and Destroy Operations . The armed forces carryoutsearch and destroy operations to either capture/destroy theinsurgents/ terrorists and their camps/ hideouts or to recover arms,ammunition, insurgent literature, documents and equipment. A precisionsurgical operation based on hard intelligence is one of the mosteffective operations with minimum human right violations.

Spot Searches/Mobile Check Posts . A mobile check post isestablished to carryout spot checks to apprehend insurgents/suspects,detect and recover arms/ammunition/explosives/documents and otherequipment being carried by terrorists/insurgents. It creates adeterrent on insurgent activities by imposing caution and gainintelligence about insurgent activities. Mobile check posts areestablished at random without pre-warning and it contributes inlowering of insurgents’ morale, but may lead to human rightsviolations as the innocents get stranded, searched and get delayed fortheir jobs.

Hence, the environment in which the armed forces have to operate in a Lowintensity conflict Operation (LICO), the following facts emerge: -

Lack of timely intelligence.

Lack of clear-cut political directive.

Inadequate cooperation from the civil and police officials.

Indifferent and non-cooperative attitude of the locals andpoliticians.

Problems of isolating terrorists.

False allegations by civilians, supportive of or at the behest of

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terrorists.

False propaganda by terrorists, which could be published/publicizedby vested interests or by the media for sensationalism.

Acts of indiscipline by frustrated individuals.

Retaliation or repression by troops suffering casualties.

Called very late to deal with the situations.

Overplaying of restrictions put on locals.

Lack of clarity of role of media in insurgency and professionalismamongst local journalists.

Free and irresponsible media. Chaos and anarchy unleashed byterrorists, forces the media and people to project what the terroristsdictate

MEDIA IN CT OPERATIONS

In India, the rapid growth of media left the armed forces gasping forbreath just trying to keep pace. The Kargil war was brought to the sittingrooms live, making Tiger Hill and Tololing household names and so creating agroundswell of nationalistic fervour as never before. The three day longterrorist attack in Mumbai on 26 Nov 2008 was monitored by the world audienceon their TV screen. However, the same media was unsparing in bringing thegruesome details of the accidental killing of the three innocent students inKupwara by the security forces creating a wave of criticism and condemnation ofthe armed forces. A lot has been learned by the Indian armed forces throughtheir mishandling of the media in Kashmir and proper exploitation in the KargilWar wherein as per Major General AB Sayyad, Additional Director General PublicInformation of the Indian Army “….the media helped in demoralizing the enemy,even as it raised the morale of own troops”.9

The Role of Media in Society and Nation State

In his treatise ‘On War’, Carl Von Clausewitz identified a holy trinity ofthe People, Military and the Government without whose support the effectiveconduct of war is not possible. “The media is an essential link between thethree constituents of this trinity.”10 In civilian parlance the media is alsocommonly bestowed with the title of the ‘Fourth Estate’, the other three being theLegislature, Executive and Judiciary. The main difference between media and theother three ‘estates’ is that the media believes that it owes allegiance tonobody, to no government or institution, except the people. It is a law on to

9 And The Argument Continues, Cover Story, FORCE July 2005, p 24.10 Aiyengar, Lt Gen S R R, Military – Media Interface, Defence Management, Sep 2003.

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itself, being answerable or accountable only to its audiences - that too out ofthe need for self-preservation.

Today’s media sees itself as a watchdog, judge as well as independentobserver of international as well as national events. It possesses thepotential to make or mar political power structures and thus is a majorpolitical actor. In addition, it is an essential component of a nation’s socialfabric, conscience-keeper, economic monitor, cultural mouthpiece and a kind ofcollective emotion regulator. Combining all this, the media emerges as one ofthe ‘central pillars’ of nationhood, the ‘lifeblood’ of any state, creatingawareness and informing the citizenry, shaping public opinion, defining the‘image’ of the nation in the global consciousness, creating a collectivenational and international conscience, serving as the glue that links nationalsecurity to diplomacy, economic development, socio-politics, governance and ofcourse the military. Important role of media in a nation state is :-

(a) Media is essential for acquisition and dissemination of news andother information needed by the masses to form opinion which isespecially true in a democracy. Mahatma Gandhi on his first broadcast inthe All India Radio studio called the microphone SHAKTI.11

(b) Forum for development, exchange of public opinions and attitudes.The public opinion is the direct result of media projections to thepeople’s instincts and presumptions which are shaped substantially bymedia over a long period of time.12

(c) Act as a ‘watchdog’ for the people by preventing/revealing abuses byinstitutions of power and also educate the people.13 Billy Russellaccompanied the English Army in Crimea which made Generals realise thepower of war dispatches and began to fear the might of the pen. It wasfor the first time that the War Office realized that the public had somesay in conduct of wars.14

Military- Media Relationship

Historically speaking, military-media relationships have generally beenbased on mutual suspicion the world over and India is no exception to thisrule. The army and media are inter-dependant. They do need each other and infact in today’s world they cannot do without each other. The obvious corollarythus should be of a healthy and a harmonious relationship. However, they vieweach other with suspicion.

Characteristics of the Relationship. An analysis of the roles of themilitary and the media and their mutual expectations indicates the relationshipas complex and characterized by following features :-

11 Zachariah Aruna, Media Power, New Delhi, Kanishka Publishers, 1999, p 45. 12 Maitra Ramtanu, Challenge to Create Informed Citizenry, New Delhi, Kanishka Publishers, 1998,p5. 13 Saxena Ambrish, Transparency in Government Functioning and Right to Information, New Delhi, Kanishka Publishers, 1998, p 69-71.14 Parthasarthy Rangaswami, Here Is The News, New Delhi, Sterling Publishers, 1994, p 118.

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It is symbiotic and both are mutually dependant to perform theirrespective roles. Both are components of national power andresponsible to protect national power but incapable of performingsingle handedly.15

In a democracy it is complementary. Both have the common aim ofupholding the constitution. Military protects the sovereignty bypreventing wars by deterrence, winning wars or overcoming nationalcrisis within and the Media protects the citizens’ rights by keepingthem informed, educating them on national security, preparation andindirectly voicing the strategy of deterrence by projecting state ofreadiness for a military struggle.

It is collaborative, there are many specific aspects in which theycan cooperate and collaborate for mutual good. For development of themilitary their problems and inadequacies in terms of resources gethighlighted more effectively by media. An Indian paper in Kargil Warhighlighted a severe shortage of clothing and the soldiers got it.Similarly the media gets a wide circulation and economic gains withthe sensational war coverage.

It is adversarial. The military attempts to progress operations byrestricting flow of information, the media detests controls. There isa general lack of understanding and empathy for each others’ roles,motivations, strengths and weaknesses. There is a mutual distrust andsuspicion of each others’ intentions and lack of understanding theconstraints. The essence of successful warfare is secrecy and theessence of successful journalism is publicity.16

Difference in perceptions, from the point of view of media and armedforces are as under :-

Conflicting Ideologies . It must be appreciated that there arefundamental conflicts in the basic ideologies of the two institutions.While the military is trained to win i.e. impose its will by fighting,the media is trained to report what it perceives to be the truth atany cost. To win, the military needs to maintain secrecy of itsoperational plans and conceal some information both from its enemy andown people. On the other hand the media’s role of informing the publicenjoins it to overcome secrecy and report even unpalatable butinevitable aspects of operations.

Differing Stands . On account of their conflicting philosophies aswell as different outlooks and experiences both the institutions havecome to adopt differing positions on some basic issues. Some of theimportant ones are : -

o Operational Security and Troop Safety . Both agree that media mustcover war and operations while ensuring that media reports do not

15 Noorni A.G., “The Defence Services and the Media”, Trishul, Vol 4, No 2, Dec 91, pp. 78.16 Mercer Derrik. The Fog of War, London, Heinemann, 1987. p 2.

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impair operational security and troop safety. The media feels thatsince it is responsible for informing the public, it must betrusted. But the military feels that it is up to the operationalcommander to decide which piece of information impairs operationalsecurity.17

o Access to Battlefield . The media considers that it has a rightto be at the site of conflict and report independently. Whileaccepting the inevitable media presence in the battlefield themilitary feels that the presence of a large number of independentlymoving reporters in the military operational area is impermissiblein certain combat situations.

o Military Image . While the military considers that the media mustassist in projecting a good image, as it is necessary for winninghearts and minds of people, the media feels that it must reportboth good and bad news, irrespective of the consequences. DuringWorld War II, ironically, it was the British media which glamorizedRommel, The Desert Fox, described as a General comparable toHannibal, who inspired affection amongst his men and respect fromhis enemy.18

o Media Attitudes . The general media attitude towards the militaryis that of feeling of superiority and self-righteousness. It feelsthat military denies access unnecessarily and feels restrictionsimposed by the military on the media promote ‘news management’. Itbelieves that the military is not doing enough to make its jargonto be understood by the media and the public and thus has itself toblame for the poor coverage in the media.19

The problem of media in interacting with Indian Armed Forces can besummarized as under:-

Inaccessibility of Indian armed forces to the media for any first-hand information. Media works generally on deadlines and theinformation from Indian armed forces is invariably delayed. Suspicionin the mind of media that Indian armed forces is not forthcoming withinformation and carries out censorship at its level.

Exaggeration on the part of media of local version of any event.

Media tends to shy away from defence services due to variouspolitics, economic matters and reasons such as their obsession withsocial issues. It lacks understanding and knowledge of the defenceforces.

Journalism is largely individualistic, very independent minded and

17 Ibid, p 3. 18 Trevor Royale. War Report, Worcester, Mainstream Publishing, 1987. pp 147-14819 Thomas Oommen K, Why a Negative Perception of Armed Forces – A Media View, Trishul, Vol 4, No 2,Dec 91, p. 86-88.

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even egoistic. Reporting is based on perception of the journalist.

Objectivity and human error in reporting.

Commercialization of media and it being largely owned by agenciesoutside the country thus they might not be nationalists in outlook.

Media is torn between the need to survive and the search for truth.

A feeling of superiority and self righteousness by the media.

Conflicting philosophies of media and the Indian armed forces.

The media on its part has to understand the Indian armed forces and thecircumstances under which it has to operate and work towards bettertransparency in interaction with the Indian armed forces. The solution to theCI situation lies in severing the link between the terrorists and localpopulation. Media is the most important tool which can help in achieving thistask. However the role played by media in LIC has left much to be desired andneeds careful analysis.

Access and Controls over Media in Battlefield

Free Access to Media .

(a) Justification. There are some more basic reasons for the mediato be given access to the battlefield in a democracy like India. Freedomof speech and expression is guaranteed by the Constitution. Citizen’s‘right to know’ is accepted in all democracies. Media has an importantresponsibility of informing the public, independently recording eventsfor history and acting as a ‘watch dog’ of the public. It must beassisted in performing its crucial role for democracy to thrive. Soldierswho die in war represent the values of their societies.

(b) Benefits of Free Media. Free media bestows benefits to thenational cause. Free flow of information and ideas brings out the truthto the people. Superior merits of truth reveal to the people which factsand ideas to believe. Diversity of news and views convinces the peoplethat the news flow is free.

Controls over Media.

(a) Justification. Every freedom has certain limits. Unaccountablefreedom is lethal. In India such curbs are sanctioned by Article 19 ofthe Constitution. The main justifications for imposing certain controlsover the media are :-

(i) To ensure operational security, troop safety, conduct ofoperations should not be hampered needlessly by the presence of alarge number of journalists moving about on their own and thatproper perspective is maintained while miseries of war are beingreported, especially in the visual media.

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(ii) To sustain the national resolve to win.

(b) Effects of Excessive Restrictions on Media. Overdose of the best ofmedicines may kill. Similarly excessive restrictions on media haveprofound ill effects as follows :-

(i) Media may begin to publish the enemy’s version of the story.

(ii) Loss of credibility of the media.

(iii) Restricting access has the effect of curbing on the spotreporters, who know the truth and consequently strengtheningarmchair commentators, who base their views on third party reportsand speculation.

(iv) Stonewalling the media does not reduce its ability to hurtwith bad reporting but cripples its ability to help us with goodreporting.

The Interface

Both the media and the military, so central to the preservation ofdemocracy, function for the welfare of the nation and society at large and areinterdependent. Their often contentious relationship is characterised by thefact that theirs is a symbiotic relation, in the sense that both need eachother to perform their respective roles. They are complementary andcollaborative since both have the common aim of upholding the constitution. Themilitary protects the sovereignty by winning wars and the media protects theright of the citizens by keeping them informed. At the same time it is anadverse relationship which causes conflict. The military attempts to supportits operations by restricting and modifying the flow of information, the mediabrook no constraints in its working.

The difference in perceptions, the hurdles and the conflicting needs ofmilitary and media need to be interfaced. The paradox can be only resolved bymutual understanding. The military needs to grant the maximum possible freedomand access to the media for covering operations. This has been aptly recognizedby none other than Field Marshal S H F J Manekshaw. While speaking on theoccasion of releasing Lt Gen Depinder Singh’s book ‘The IPKF in Sri Lanka’ on19 Nov 91 at New Delhi, the Field Marshal recalled that in 1971 journalistswere given full liberty to cover the operations and hence they (Armed Forces)received excellent cooperation. He continued “...on the contrary, everythingwas kept secret in the IPKF operation. If the Press had been given full freedomand taken into confidence, the IPKF operations would have got a good Press”. Hefurther deplored that even in anti-terrorist operations in Assam and Kashmir ahigh level of secrecy was being maintained.20

The armed forces and media therefore must understand the compulsions ofeach other. Only by this will there be a change in attitude both collectivelyand individually. They both need to take certain measures to bridge their gap

20 Noorni A.G., Op Cit, p 78-85.

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and harmonies their relationship.

Media Responsibility in Low Intensity Conflicts

In CT operations, if the armed forces want to emerge victorious in thebattle of winning hearts and minds of the people, they need to have media ontheir side. For this an effective media management is required. However itwould be naïve and disastrous to mistake ‘media management’ for ‘newsmanagement’ and attempt the latter.

Defence is news and people are deeply interested in information, realhard information which is sparse. The need for credible information is feltwhen involved in low intensity conflicts, insurgencies and providing aid tocivil power.21 During these operations the military comes in for flak hence anurgent need to resolve the problem of communication between the military andthe media. The national interest demands a solution urgently and for posterity.

In low intensity conflicts since media inadvertently becomes a tool ofpublicity and recognition, it stands to lose credibility of its clienteleunless it takes a moral stand. The terrorists seek to achieve their goal ofbreaking the spirit of the opposition by creating sensation in the ranks ofarmed forces, public and international media. The media consider it their dutyto report all that they see or perceive, not only to satisfy the ‘citizens’right to know’ but also because terrorists actions sell well. Such a naturallysymbiotic relationship between the media and terrorists sometimes leads toempathy among the journalists (for the terrorism) and is often exploited by theterrorist. This tendency gets reinforced by the compunction of the reporters toget ‘scoops’, ‘exclusives’ and ‘investigative factual’ in order to score overtheir rivals. This tendency leads to competitive sensationalism, nexus betweenterrorists and journalists and some times to indiscretions to the extent ofjeopardizing operations. During the hijacking of the Lufthansa Airlines jet toMogadishu in 1977 a journalist broadcasted over radio that the Captain of thejet was passing messages in the garb of normal transmissions, leading to theexecution of the pilot by the hijackers. Similarly, intense pressures from themedia on the Indian Government during the Kandahar crisis forced wrongdecisions thus sending wrong signals.

Unconventional conflicts are here to stay. Media’s role in such conflictsis very sensitive for the state, humanity and their own survival and finebalance has to be maintained by the media. Neither should it become a tool ofthe terrorists nor should it blindly tow the line of the establishment. It mustmaintain its credibility by objective reporting. Thus the media must work outits own code of conduct. USA’s most renowned newspaper, The New York Times in1989 editorialized against the publication of terrorist threats. The Britishhome secretary banned direct radio and TV interviews with the spokesmen ofoutlawed groups.22

General Impact of Media on Society in CT Environment

21 Noorni A.G., Op Cit, p 83.22 Paschall Rod. LIC 2010 Special Operations & Unconventional Warfare in the Next Century, New York, Brasseys US Inc, 1990, p 108.

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The vernacular and regional press have a larger cumulative readershipthan that of the national dailies. It is these Indian language newspapers thatactually mould public opinion at large due to their regional flavour. In CTenvironment, these papers have a larger local impact. The guaranteed freedom ofmedia has led to unchecked growth of the media in India. The media has alsocome under pressure from the terrorists in the insurgency ridden states. Itmoulds the public opinion by its selection and presentation of news, analysisand comments. Media provides feedback to policy makers on the pulse of society.

Because of the irresistible news value of terrorist/insurgent actions, asymbiotic relationship tends to develop between the insurgents and the media.The terrorists stage events and the media, perhaps helpless and unconscious ofthe consequences, reports them. The impact of a terrorist attack can only befelt if it is reported. The compulsion of the reporters to get ‘scoops’,exclusives and investigative factual in order to score over their rivalsreinforces this tendency. Hence media enhances the impact of terrorism onsociety and helps it grow.23 This occurs consciously or otherwise byhighlighting the might of the movement vis-à-vis helplessness of the governmentmachinery leading to demoralization of the public, which in turn makespotential sympathizers move closer to the insurgency.

23 Indian Media Falls for the Jehadi Bait, Internet www page at

URL:<http://pragmatic.nationalinterest .in/> (version current as of 07 Jan Oct 2010)

Reporting a terrorist attack on a hotel in Srinagar on 06 Jan 2010 leading to death of onepoliceman and injuring three civilians, Prabhu Chawla, Editorial Director of the India Today Groupof publications posted a tweet “Terrorist stage a bloody comeback in J&K after partial withdrawalof army from the valley- fidyeens kill policeman”. This resulted in national news channels (NDTV,CNN-IBN, Times Now) into an overdrive with hyperventilating commentary and a flurry of images fromSrinagar covering the screens. The Hindi news channels, as is their wont, were a few notches higherin sensationalising the attack. At one point, it seemed that some of the news channel owners weresecretly wishing for another 26/11 in Srinagar, now that they had the cameras and journalists inplace to provide the live feed.

It can’t be disputed that a terror incident in any part of the country, including Srinagar,is genuine news which has to be conveyed to the nation by the electronic media. But it is theopinion laced with facts — facts which are scarce at the instance of live television coverage andhave to be buttressed with opinions — and the tone and tenor of conveying those opinions thatcreates the wrong impression. The journalists close to the incident obviously do not have thebenefit of time and distance to convey the right perspective and can be forgiven for theirexcitement. However, it is the anchors and the news editors — and more so, senior editors likePrabhu Chawla who have an onerous responsibility to strike the right balance and correct thedistortion in such coverage.

Srinagar incident was not really that big news to make huge headlines on television. Thereare bigger terrorist strikes with larger causality which don’t attract much media attention. It wasthe accessibility of the site to the electronic media that fuelled the headlines and was preciselythe reason the site was chosen by the terrorists in the first place. The media played intoterrorist’s hands and those booming headlines led to distorted impressions and sensationalistopinions declaring the return of terrorism to Kashmir.

Finally, we must return to the question that haunted the nation after the Mumbai terrorattacks of November 2008. Is the Indian media wittingly or otherwise playing into the hands of theterrorists and furthering their agenda? Spokesperson of the Jamait-ul-Mujahideen, the jehadi groupthat claimed the Srinagar hotel attack, rang up the PTI to say that they had carried out the attackto “send a message that militancy is not over in Kashmir”. The tweet by the Editorial Director ofthe India Today Group of publications is perfectly in sync with the message being conveyed by thejehadis. The message has been sent. The media has fallen for the jehadi bait hook, line and sinker.

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Media isolates the terrorists/ insurgents by depicting their acts in thetrue colours of ruthlessness and brutality. This arouses anger, anguish andrevulsion in society leading to alienation of the terrorists from the supportbase.

Impact of Media on Terrorists.

Media provides the insurgents an exaggerated sense of importance asnews maker. Gallup Poll of 1986 in USA proves that 51% people feltthat Press gave too much coverage to terrorists and this increased thechances of future terrorist acts.24 It propagates and enhances the‘terror effect’ of violent acts.

Terrorist actions are designed to play to the galleries via themedia, which magnifies the element of horror into every domestichousehold. This creates a backlash of public opinion and theestablishment appears fragile and helpless. All this is ultimatelydesigned to provide a bargaining lever to the terrorists for securinga potent bargaining lever.25

Media displays the ‘muscles’ of the terrorist/insurgent movement,displaying a Robinhood kind of image, especially when these movementsare backed by some external power. It extends the local effect ofviolent acts to a wider area and even threats get wide publicity. Itprovides the terrorists/insurgents with a large domestic andinternational audience. It confers recognition and status on themovement, conveying that it is a ‘struggle for a just cause’.

Terrorists/insurgents play to the media and begin to manipulateit.26

Impact of Media on Security Forces in CT Environment . Being part of the samepolity, the security forces are also affected by the media, both positively andnegatively. These effects are:- 27

Assists the security forces in countering terrorist propaganda,especially false allegations by revealing the truth. This is possibleonly when a media policy exists.

Motivates and builds morale of security forces by recognizing theirsacrifices thus giving them a sense of fulfilment.

Conversely, media’s biased and negative coverage of CT operationshas an adverse effect on troop morale.

Sometimes compromises operational security because of indiscreteleaks of plans, moves and activities of security forces. e.g Mumbai

24 Paschall Rod. LIC 2010 Special Operations & Unconventional Warfare in the Next Century, New York, Brasseys US Inc, 1990, p 108.25 Kumar Rajiv, Combating Terrorism in India, Wellington: Trishul, DSSC, July 1991, p52. 26 Uberoy V Maj Gen, Combating Terrorism. Ambala Cantt,Directory Publications, 1989, p. 18527 Ibid. p. 186.

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terrorist attack of 26 Nov 2008.

Overzealous reporters sometimes hamper negotiations during hostagecrisis.

Presence of media during actual operations helps curb human rightsviolations and also counter false charges of human rights violationse.g. Operation BLACK THUNDER and Hazratbal crisis.

ALLEGED HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS, ITS CAUSES AND REPORTING BY MEDIA

The armed forces may be called upon to provide aid to civil authoritiesfor maintenance of law and order, counter insurgencies, combat terrorism andhelp the public during natural calamities. While undertaking counter terroristoperations, the armed forces come in contact with the public and unavoidably,use some force, minimum though it may be. The understandable but misplacedanger of those who do not come out unscathed may well be directed against thearmed forces, in the form of accusations of human rights violations. The armedforces are thus required to handle difficult situations during CT duties withfirmness and courtesy so that its reputation for being impartial, friendly andprofessionally competent is maintained.

By and large, the basic instinct and reaction of a soldier is to protect thehuman rights and uphold human dignity. The factors responsible for developmentof this attitude and reaction to a large extent are: -28

Military Discipline . The strict military discipline militatesagainst any wrong doing by a soldier. A soldier is trained to do onlythe correct and proper things from the time he is enrolled into theservice. Any violation is strictly dealt with by the superiorauthorities.

Compassion and Camaraderie . A soldier develops these attributesin the course of his service, as he has to frequently deal withcasualties and operate in an environment of danger. These stand him ingood stead while dealing with civilian population and forbid anindividual from violating human rights.

o Treat Everyone Alike . Armed Forces are an all India cadreand treat everyone alike. This contributes in upholding humandignity and human rights of persons belonging to all communities.

o Apolitical Entity . Armed Forces are not politically alignedwith any ideology or party. They serve the State and uphold theFundamental Rights of the individuals as enshrined in ourConstitution.

28 Indian Armed Forces G S Pamphlet, Human Rights, Indian Armed Forces Headquarters, Nov 1996. pp. 60-61.

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o Need to Cultivate Civilian Population and Creation of Goodwill. Armed Forces can function more effectively and smoothlyduring peace and war if the civilian population is with them intheir endeavour. This makes them more considerate to civilian needsand to uphold human rights.

Common Allegations of Human Rights Violations. There are occasions when thearmed forces are faced with serious allegations of human rights violations.Some of the common allegations of human rights violations are : -29

Murder.

Rape and molestation.

Illegal arrest, arrest of innocent person and wrongful confinement.

Death in custody.

High handedness, censorship, Ill-treatment, discrimination againsta particular community.

Causing death/injury due to negligence and torture.

Inhuman and degrading behaviour and cruelty to fellow human beings.

Interference with right to work, earn a living and denial ofprocuring the necessities.

Harassment, extortion, theft, trespass, occupation of anypremises/property, desecration of a religious place etc.

Reasons of Human Rights Violations.

Nature of CT Operations . With the aim of avoiding beingpredictable and often due to the scanty information available, theoperations by the armed forces are often launched at random withoutpre warning and may lead to human right violations in terms of causinginconvenience and delay to the locals. At times casualties might alsoresult.

Training of the Armed Forces . A soldier’s training lasting overyears puts him in the correct frame of mind to fight a conventionalwar which is his primary task. Toughened physical and mentalconditioning, aggressive, bold action and shoot to kill are thehallmark of his training. Even though, they are given training foroperations in the CT environment prior to their induction in suchoperations, it is quite likely that their basic training as soldiersgovern their actions in peak of encounters especially when bullets aredirected on him resulting in causalities of his comrades. Compounded

29 Ibid. pp. 70-76.

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by the presence of civilians in the vicinity, they at times get caughtbetween the crossfire and thus violation of human rights result.

Basic Handicap . Who/where is the enemy? A fear of unknowncontinuously harbours in the minds of a soldier due to theuncertainties, which they face during the course of action. These leadto hardening of attitudes and stiffness in action. The armed forcesfunction against an unknown enemy who is familiar with the terrain, iscapable of using sophisticated arms and enjoys the support of localpopulace, media and human rights organizations.

One Sided Human Rights . While the actions of the armed forces areclosely monitored by human rights organizations, the same is notapplicable to the acts by the terrorists. The media too, is apparentlyoblivious to the blatant human rights violations by the terrorists.More often than not, the media underplay the human rights violationsby terrorists for fear of retaliation by the terrorist organisationsand sometimes advertently or inadvertently highlight the human rightsviolations by security forces to seek favours from terrorists.

Lack of Knowledge of Laws Guarding Human Rights . Due to the acuteshortage of officers, there are a number of occasions when theoperations are being handled by Junior and Non Commissioned Officerswho might not be adequately equipped with knowledge pertaining to lawsregarding human rights. In such circumstances despite the bestintentions, violations of human rights may occur.

Emphasis on Instant and Tangible Results . The units and formationswhich are employed in CT operations are under constant pressure toshow results in a quick time frame. The success is invariably measuredin terms of the number of weapons captured and the numbers ofterrorists killed. This also leads to an unhealthy competition andresults in one-upmanship and forces the units to carryout desperateand irrational actions sometimes, which results in violations of humanrights.

Lack of Trained and Professional Interrogator . The Armed forcesespecially the Army does not have an institution that can teach thebasics of interrogation to the officers and other junior leaders. Thetroops on ground in enthusiasm to extract the actionable informationinadvertently violate human rights.

Inadequate Time Available to Interrogator . As per the existingregulations the apprehended suspect is to be handed over to the policewithin 24 hours. This included travel time from site of incident ininhospitable areas to the nearest police station. Moreover theinformation becomes in-actionable after some time. Hence, the timeavailable for interrogation is inadequate and in order to extractinformation sometimes it so happens that harsh and cruel methods areadopted to gain information which results in the violation of humanrights.

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Casualty to Own Troops . The security forces tend to over react whensome casualty occurs to their own comrade. This at times leads to theviolation of human rights.

Use of Undesirable Method to Obtain Information . In ascenario where there is a void in the intelligence picture and thereis pressure to obtain some worthwhile actionable information, theindividual gets tempted to use undesirable methods leading to theviolation of human rights.

Provocation by the Terrorists . The terrorists at timesoperate under the cover of the local population. The terrorists fireat the security forces and then merge with the local population. Thisprovokes the security forces to return fire which in turn causesinjuries to the local population resulting in violation of humanrights.

Low Level of Discipline . In case a unit or a subunitsdiscipline is not of high standard, the troops tend to react adverselyin a tight situation which often leads to the violation of humanrights.

Role of Media . The armed forces operations are carried outstrictly on need to know basis with the aim of maintaining secrecy ofplans. As per the prevalent instructions on the subject, only certainnominated functionaries of the armed forces are permitted to interactwith the media. This arrangement provides very little or at times noinformation to the press. In such a scenario, there are numerous casesof wrong reporting by the media, mainly for want of accurateinformation from the armed forces. To add to the problem is theintimidation of the local press by the terrorists. This feature isexploited by the terrorists to the fullest to show the armed forces asbrute instruments of the government involved in rampant violation ofhuman rights.

Causes of Media Highlighting Allegations of Human Rights Violations

Investigative Reporting . Majority of dailies attempt investigativereporting in an attempt to highlight various human rights violations bythe Indian Armed Forces and also at times, with a degree of anti-establishment leaning. They are more than keen to project a negativeimage of the armed forces, with a view to impress upon the internationalforums, that they are the champions of the human rights.

Regional Media . In Kashmir/North Eastern States now, and in Punjabduring the troubled times, the regional media was coerced into silence orturned pro-insurgents. The regional and local newspapers are the mostimportant as they mould the opinion of the target group that matters inthe area of conflict.

Lack of Basic Expertise on Insurgency Matters . The journalists in Indialack basic education on military matters. This lack of knowledge gets

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aggravated in matters relating to lengthy terrorist operations. Itresults in inaccurate and misleading reports based on their ownperception and inclination. The majority of media persons display anabysmal paucity of specialised knowledge about the Defence Services.30

Moreso, the media has little or no knowledge about terrorist modusoperandi which becomes pronounced during particular event reportingespecially without knowledge of overall picture.

Unauthorised Reporting . It is unfortunate that media in India lacksdiscipline and self-restraint. It publishes a lot of controversial news,without the support of evidence. These new items are always derogatory tomilitary operations, motivation and morale of troops. The press does thedamage by printing adverse comments, in catchy headlines while therebuttals are printed only in fine print.

Focus on Commercial Objectives . Most newspapers are a product ofbusiness and operate on business philosophy of ‘what can sell and how’. Theold concept that a newspaper represented ideals, people’s conscience orthe nation’s ethos has worn out and outdated.

Obsession with Violence . Television has increasingly been propagatingthe cult of violence and war. The media’s obsession with the depiction ofviolence has reached such a state that an act of terrorism in Kashmir wasdepicted in the BBC as a sweeping war being waged between the IndianArmed Forces and the terrorists, lifting file shots conveniently, ifinadvertently from the violence ridden Chechnya.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Recommendations for the Indian Armed Forces/Government

Information Warfare – Principle of War . Public affairs planning formilitary operations should be conducted concurrently with operationalplanning, and this should be institutionalised in written guidance orpolicy.

Creating Media Awareness . The urgent step that needs to be taken isto create ‘media awareness’ within the armed forces. Already a step hasbeen taken in the right direction with the introduction of a mediapackage in the curriculum of training institutions. There is also a needto conduct seminars on various facets of military-media relations at thefield and static formations.

Media an Equal Partner . In our democratic nation the media should beaccepted as an equal partner working for the good of the people and thecountry at large. In the effort towards building a more positive image ofthe armed forces, the media must be encouraged to report on operations bybeing present at the scene of action if security permits. Accurate and

30 Singh Depinder Lieutenant General,The IPKF in Sri Lanka, New Delhi, Trishul Publication, 1993, p.187.

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correct information must be made available to media personnel and maximumaccess possible should be permitted. This will help evolve a betterrelationship with the media, and should be borne in mind by militarypersonnel.

Rapport with Media . A conscious effort needs to be made to build up arapport with media at all levels and more so at the level of seniorcommanders and staff officers. Interaction by way of organising seminarsand guest lectures, mutual visits, inviting articles of eminent mediapersons in professional military journals and contribution of papers forprofessional media journals by service officers must be encouraged at alllevels as a matter of policy. Informal interaction between the militaryand the media needs to be fostered and encouraged. Such a policy will payhandsome dividends in the longer perspective.

Ground Rules . Set of firm ground rules should be established as aguide for a mutually beneficial relationship. This relationship should bebased on a positive, open and anti-media bias of the armed forces. Themedia on its part should be objective and fair, as also be understandingabout the constraints under which the armed forces have to operate.

Transparency and Media Pools . Transparency must form a corner stoneof the media policy. The armed forces as an institution needs to realisethat there is a requirement for greater transparency and interaction withthe media. It will lead to greater understanding and awareness ofmilitary matters by the masses. Just how transparency can be of help waswitnessed when, BBC showed a live encounter between the Indian armedforces and the terrorists in Kashmir valley. The television report showedthat the Indian armed forces had offered the terrorist a chance tosurrender, who instead responded by opening fire at the Indian armedforces. In the ensuing encounter, the terrorist was killed. The reportwent in favour of the Indian armed forces and that too by a foreign newsagency that has often been accused of bias. An effective way of achievingthis is by forming ‘Media Pools’ as was done by USA in Gulf War and by UKin the Falkland War. These pools must be composed of accredited andsecurity cleared representatives of international, national and regionalmedia and nominated by their parent organizations. These pools must beactivated during peace, low intensity conflicts and war and kept inreadiness to be moved to the scene of action at short notice. Such asystem will facilitate the media to cover operations in remote locationsby being present at the scene of action, which it cannot otherwise do.Close coordination between the media and military to build confidence ismost essential during peace time to achieve the best results during war.

Feedback System . The armed forces must institute a regular feedbacksystem to gauge the effect of media coverage of defence related issues ondifferent categories of audience viz. citizens from different regions andstrata, ex servicemen, troops and their families. Reputed surveyorganizations may have to be requisitioned to conduct opinion pollsamongst the people at regular intervals to get the correct feedback.Military Intelligence (MI) Directorate must institute measures to get

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direct feedback from troops and their families. This information mustform the basis for formulation of media objectives, selection ofpropaganda themes, mid course corrections and for selecting themes forany research work in organizational interest.

Delegation of Authority to Interact with the Media . The authority tointeract with the media persons should be delegated down to brigade andbattalion levels. There should be no delay in meeting and interactingwith correspondents, simply because official sanction has not beenreceived.31 A few military commanders will create faux pas, but in theoverall information battle, the open stance of the armed forces willultimately inspire confidence.

Training on Media Education . Media education for troops fighting theproxy war must begin at the level of the junior commissioned officers andnon - commissioned officers. The training capsule should be practical andform part of the pre - induction training of a units being inducted forCT operations.32 Training should include the following : -

o Preparing them to interact with the media and removing anyinhibition / fear of the media.

o Role of the media, generating media awareness.

o Organization and role of the PRO and handling of media situations.

o Handling of press briefings, conferences, interviews etc.

Media Training in Units . Selected officers and junior commissionedofficers can be put through ‘unit media course' training. One of thequalified officers can be nominated as ‘Unit Information Officer' (UIO) –the Public Relations Officer’s (PRO) counterpart at unit level.33

Assist Media in Providing Instant Coverage of an Incident . In a LICenvironment, free movement for the media is a problem. The terrorists whofeed the news that suits them exploit this situation. If the Indian armedforces can take the media up to the spot, the initiative will be withthem to silence the human rights activists.34 But this may be selectivelydone keeping the security and operational requirements in mind.

Vernacular Press . The armed forces have to give the vernacular media moreattention and respect. The vernacular media modifies the mood of thepeople and shapes the political leanings in the region of operations.Overemphasis to please the English and the foreign media tends toalienate the regional press. The armed forces should aim to win over thelocal press and the same should be seen in their actions.

31 Ray Arjun Maj Gen, Kashmir Diary- Psychology of Militancy, Manas Publications, 1997. p. 89. 32 Ibid. p. 90.33 Ibid.34 Singh B N. Op.cit., p.19.

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Credibility of the Public Relations Officers . In order that PublicRelations Officers carry out their duties effectively, it is necessarythat they maintain close liaison with editors, correspondents, editorialstaff and electronic media. However more important than this, is theircredibility. For this they must have constant and easy access toinformation at their respective station of appointment.

Seek Assistance of the Media . The government and the Indian armedforces should not hesitate to turn to the media for their professionalassistance in handling incidents and in limiting their derivativesocietal repercussions.

Press Briefings . Regular press briefings must be organised for thepress to ensure that they are fully in picture of on-going operations bythe designated official.

Establishing a Government/Armed Forces Terrorism Information Response Centre. The Government might consider to establish a TerrorismInformation Response Centre (TIRC). Such a centre, by agreement with themedia, could have on call (through communication links) a rapid reactionterrorism reporting pool composed of senior network, wire service, andprint media representatives. Network coverage of incidents would then becoordinated by the network representative in the centre. Such a centrecould be headed by a government spokesperson (the Terrorism InformationCoordinator, TIC) who could seek to promptly seize the information andcontexting initiative from the particular terrorist group. Too often,when terrorism incidents occur, there is a vacuum of news other than theincident itself, and by the time the government agencies agree on andfine tune what can be said and what positions are to be taken, thegovernment information initiative is lost.35

Damage Control Measures . This is a very important aspect in view ofthe alleged human rights abuses. Monitoring news items and issuingregular handouts and rejoinders to contradict such malicious propagandais the best way out.

Civic Action Programme . Civic action programme such as conduct ofmedical and veterinary camps, repair and re-construction of civicamenities, conduct of recruitment rallies, fauji melas and so on must bepublicized and adequately reported by media especially vernacular press.

Security of Media Personnel . During conflicts the aspect of physicalsecurity to media personnel is crucial. The media cannot function withoutit and there is no one better suited to provide it than the securityforces. Even during LIC operations, to counter the threat from militants,the security forces must make arrangements to provide physical securityto the press premises, personnel and infrastructure. This is a difficulttask but must be done, especially since it promotes the unspoken

35 FICCI Task Force Report on National Security and Terrorism, 09 Nov 2009, pp 103; Internet www page at URL:< http://www.ficci.com/SPdocument/20032/terrorism-report.pdf >(version current as of 10Dec 2009)

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understanding of ‘give and take’.

Review of Security Parameters . Military must work out the securityparameters in consultation with the Press Council of India and eminentmedia persons to replace the system of censorship during peace and war.The Indian Officials Secret Act must be reviewed in the current context.This will go a long way towards enhancing the credibility of the armedforces.

Budget and Resources . The PR budget of a defence establishment mustbe increased manifold to cover realistic demands of an establishment ofthis size. On the other hand expenditure on training and provision ofresources such as number of PROs, their transport, equipment andcommunications needs to be enhanced. Quality work in media requires goodmoney, case in point – the media campaign “Do You Have It in You”visualized and created by professional advertisers to motivate the youthto join the armed forces.

Recommendations for the Media

More than the military, it is the media's role, which is more importantin countering terrorism. It is essential that media retains its sense ofbalance, be responsible and be fair in reporting. There will always be atendency to tilt towards the terrorists, since their activitiesinvariably are anti-establishment and sensational. The recommendationsfor the media are given in the succeeding paragraphs.

The News . Following points must be kept in sight while reporting thenews : -

o To foster credibility, government and the Indian media must be thefirst to report all activities in an insurgency.

o Terrorist activities should be cover mainly with a view to bringthem into focus without comments or opinions. Since no terroristactivity is positive, it will automatically bring out theirnegative side.

o Emphasise on human rights violations by the terrorists.

o Cover the successes of security forces in adequate details.

o Civic actions undertaken by the government/ armed forces should begiven a controlled coverage to avoid sounding propagating. Anoccasional sprinkling in the news will be convincing.

Self Censorship and Self Restraint by Media . It is difficult butachievable, at least for journalists who are also citizens of ourcountry. As the ‘fourth estate’ the media has an important responsibilityin ensuring that the integrity and cohesion of the nation is notadversely affected. The media must therefore exercise self restraint sothat it does not aid the divisive forces within the nation. Self

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restraint by media is any day preferable to pre-censorship and will onlyenhance media credibility. Media persons put through the grind ofmilitary education are likely to be more pragmatic in their reporting.This can only work on a system of ‘honour-code’ and mutual trust betweenthe security forces and the reporters. A list of sensitive issues onwhich the media must exercise restraint and different sets of securityguidelines for covering defence matters during peace, war and lowintensity conflict must be evolved by the armed forces in consultationwith the media, and notified to them and organisations such as the PressCouncil of India.

Attitudinal Change . An attitudinal change needs to come in media asit relates to reporting of issues relating to national security. Thefocus of such reporting needs to shift from ‘news’ ‘scoops’ andexposures’ to the ideal of promoting national security.

Code of Ethics . There are a few media persons who can go to any levelto get a story. The use of prostitutes to expose corruption byTehelka.com is an apt example. Tarun Tejpal, CEO of Tehelka.com justifiedthe same by saying “Extra ordinary stories require extraordinarycircumstances”. Tehelka may have exposed corruption but is Tehelka alsonot capable of compromising our ethical integrity as a society. A code ofethics thus needs to be evolved for media by the media itself andenforced.

Media Advisory Committee . The Union Government must appoint amultidisciplinary committee comprising of leading personalities of media,academicians in the fields of sociology, psychology and politicalscience, senior retired service officers, bureaucrats and police officersto advise it on effective media and information policies. Such acommittee will prove to be of immense value in fighting the low intensityconflict on a psychological plane effectively. The media, both privateand government controlled, must cooperate whole heartedly with such acommittee.

Press Council of India . If the role of the council in curbingviolation of ethics is to be taken seriously, it does require militaryexpertise in relation to terrorism related reporting. It is recommendedthat at least one member with the requisite expertise should form a partof the council. The member could be a retired armed forces officer ofnational eminence capable of rendering expert advice to the Council insuch matters. There is also a clear requirement for introducing a summaryprocedure for the investigation and trial of cases affecting credibilityof the armed forces. For Councils’ decisions to have a salutary effectthere is need to provide more teeth to it.

Broadcasting Council of India . This must be set up on similar lines asthe Press Council and have television and radio in its scope. Videomagazines must also be included in its ambit.

Military Training of Media Persons . Very few journalists have anyknowledge of operations, organisation or strategy. Selected journalists

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should be given capsule training in military aspects of the insurgencyand if possible attached with a unit undergoing pre-induction trainingfor CI operations. This will enable them to understand the peculiaritiesof CI operations and increase the standard of their reporting.

Accreditation of Defence Correspondents . Requisite qualifications fordefence correspondents, such as a degree in defence studies and the WarCorrespondents course must be made mandatory for a journalist to beaccredited as a defence correspondent. The accreditation must be reviewedperiodically at which time other criteria such as attendance on arefresher / specialisation course must be insisted upon. Efforts must bemade to grant accreditation to adequate number of representatives ofregional media, especially in areas affected by or having the potentialfor low intensity conflicts.

Awareness of Defence Issues . The media must improve its own awareness ofdefence related issues by making concerted efforts in conjunction withthe Defence Public Relations. It must utilize every opportunity tointeract with the defence services by way of seminars, courses andvisits. It has to make effort to regularly upgrade the knowledge of themasses on defence related matters. Periodic feature programmes by defencecorrespondents even during peace time will go a long way in keeping thenation abreast on national security matters.

Media Accountability Bureau . All other organizations except the media dosome stock taking at the end of the year and are accountable.Unfortunately media escapes accountability behind the logic of freedom ofexpression. Though the same needs to be upheld yet media accountabilitybureau needs to be setup with the aim of acting as a deterrent andcleaning the media of its internal ills.

Avoid Pressures from Insurgent Groups . This is more pertinent tovernacular press. Their news is regional flavoured and hence they areattractive target for the insurgents, who try to influence them by threatof violence.36

Mobilise Public Opinion Against Violence . Media needs to mobilise publicopinion and perceptions against violence. Towards this aim, the mediaought to open debates for assessing achievements of militancy whileplaying down the glamour and cult of violence.37

Research and Report Events . It is important to separate chaff beforereporting. Inaccurate reporting of allegations of human rights violationscan cause grave damage to reputation and morale of troops.

Develop Faith in Official Releases . Journalistic emphasis on descriptionsof what is visible can easily create distortions and confusion in themeaning that is constructed by the audiences because most of what occursin terrorist events is invisible to journalists. Victims and their

36 Seghal B P Singh, Global Terrorism. New Delhi, Deep and Deep Publications, 1995. 37 Ray. op. cit., p. 87.

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friends and relatives are available, but their knowledge is generallylimited to the overt violence and its aftermath. Hence the media mustdevelop faith and rely upon information and statements from theauthorities about the events.

Promoting Use of Media Pools . For coverage of hostage type events thereis a need of use of a media pool where all media agree on the news forrelease at the same time.

Promoting Voluntary Press Coverage Guidelines . The media need toestablish a loose code of voluntary behaviour or guidelines that editorsand reporters could access for guidance. A special national media summitcould be organised for senior network and print media executives todevelop voluntary guidelines on terrorism reporting.

Suggested Guidelines of Media Coverage Including Live of Acts of Terrorism. During the past 40 years, there have been many instances inwhich media coverage of terrorist events was problematic andirresponsible, evoking public criticism and antagonising theauthorities including the armed forces, and indicating the need todevelop a set of guidelines for responsible media coverage of terrorwhich are as under :-

o The media, especially electronic media should refrain fromsensationalizing terror attacks in their clamour to increase theirTRPs.

o The media should refrain from sensational and panicky headlines,from inflammatory catchwords, and from needless repletion ofphotos from ghastly scenes.

o Media should contribute to educating the public and if the needbe, put pressure on the government of the day to pursue measuresthat are credible.

o The media should not jeopardize human life. The media need to beaccountable for the consequences of their coverage.

o The media are advised to co-operate with the government when humanlives are at stake in order to bring a peaceful end to theterrorist episode. This is not to suggest that the police or othersecurity organisations should have a veto power over reporting.What is being suggested is co-operation and mutual respect andunderstanding between the Government agencies and the media.

o The media should not glorify acts of terror. Glorifying terroristsor hailing their training programmes, or displaying weaponry ofsuch groups should be made punishable. Terrorism should beexplicitly condemned for its brutality and violent, indiscriminatenature.

o The media are advised not to take upon themselves to mediate

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between the terrorists and the Government. Special qualificationsare required before one assumes such a responsibility upononeself. Journalists are there to cover the event, not to becomepart of it.

o The media are expected to refrain from making dangerousspeculations about the terrorists' plans, Government response,hostages' messages, and other matters. Speculations might hindercrisis management.

o The media should not broadcast live terrorist incidents thatinclude hostage taking. This is in order to avoid jeopardizinghuman life and impeding the Government's attempts to rescue thehijacked. This is not to say that the media should not cover suchincidents. Rather, there should be a delay of a few minutes duringwhich an experienced editor inspects the coverage and authorizeswhat should be on air and what should not.

o The media are advised not to interview terrorists while theterrorist incident is still in motion. Lines of communicationsbetween the authorities and the terrorists should be left open.

o The media are required to show sensitivity to the victims and totheir loved ones. This critical guideline should be observedduring terrorist incidents and, no less importantly, also aftertheir conclusion.

o The media are expected not to report details that might harmvictims' families.

o The area in which the terrorist incident takes place should not beopen for anybody who testifies that he or she is a journalist.Only senior and experienced reporters should be allowed in. Juniorand inexperienced reporters should undergo a learning processduring which they fathom the complexities involved. Adequatetraining is a necessary precondition.

o Government should convene a meeting of the media barons, bothprint and electronic, seek their cooperation and give them aveiled hint of possible implications of non-cooperation onNational Security issues.

CONCLUSION

The upholding of human rights in a counter insurgency scenario is a verycomplex and difficult task. Given the trying circumstances, our armed forceshave performed creditably. The importance of human rights are well appreciatedand concerted efforts are being taken to ensure that while the Indian armedforces acts with absolute professionalism, human rights are not violated in anyway. It is, therefore, important for us as soldiers and law abiding citizens ofthe country that we take all measures to protect and promote the human rightsof all citizens while operating under trying circumstances. It is imperative

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that we fully understand the concept of human rights and the legal provisionsaffecting the same. The need today is to increase awareness about human rightsin the Indian armed forces. At the same time, it must be realized that soldierstoo are humans who are given to normal human emotions and humanvulnerabilities. They also deserve their share of human rights which areinvariably not paid heed to by the government and the society as a whole.While it may be fashionable to condemn the armed forces for alleged violationof human rights, activists and human rights watch dog organizations shouldraise their voice equally forcefully against violation of human rights byterrorists and their ilk.

The situation obtaining in Jammu and Kashmir and North Eastern Statesraises complex problems of fighting the terrorism in the back drop of an everpresent threat of violation of human rights. At the same time blatantviolations of human rights by the terrorists go unchecked. In spite of its bestefforts, instances of allegations of human rights violations have come upoccasionally, against the Indian Armed Forces. These have been investigated andthe necessary action has been taken against defaulters. However, the majorityof these allegations have been established beyond any doubt to be baseless.Approximately 97% of the allegations of human rights against Indian ArmedForces have been found be baseless and false. For requisite deterrence toprevail amongst the armed forces on the subject of Human Rights, 124 personnelwere awarded exemplary punishments for 54 allegations which were found to betrue. This clearly establishes the importance armed forces attach to HumanRights, which centres on ‘Truth, Justice and Transparency’. The state ofallegations on human rights violations against army from 1994 to 30 Apr 2010are given at Table 1 below.

Table - 1

STATE OF ALLEGATIONS ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AGAINST ARMY FROM

1994 TO 30 APR 2010 38

S/No Items J&K NE Total

1. Number of Allegations Received 981 438 1419

2. Number  of allegations   Investigated

954 409 1363

3. Number of allegations  under investigation

27 29 56

4. Number of allegations  false/baseless

929 380 1309

38 Indian Army http://indianarmy.nic.in downloaded 0n 12 Jun 2009

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5. Number of allegations  found true 25 29 54

6. Number of personnel punished 59 65 124

7. Number of  cases  awarded compensation 

08 13 21

Source : Indian Army

There is thus a grave need to ensure that the allegations are thoroughlyinvestigated and action is only contemplated against actual violations of humanrights. It must be ensured that while security forces respect human rights,their operational effectiveness is not hampered or compromised in any manner onthis account.

Counter insurgency needs to be perceived as a real war at the nationallevel. Only then, can the country emerge victorious. Given the tryingcircumstances, our Indian armed forces have certainly emerged honourably. Butto fight the root cause, the war needs to be extended on all fronts i.e.political, legal, diplomatic, social and media. Greater vigilance needs to beexercised to reduce and contain the instances of human rights violations bythose in the field. At the same time a certain essential amount of dilution ofhuman rights must be accepted and legal provisions strengthened.

There is also a need for an open, transparent and consistent media policyto be followed by both government controlled as well as privately owned media.It is upon the media that the UN and worldwide human rights organizations mustbe exposed to the correct picture, wooed and cajoled to accept our point ofview, our concerns and limitations. The role of the media has a specialrelevance to insurgency and terrorism, which seek and thrive on publicity.There is a delicate relationship between terrorists and the media. Media’sglobal coverage and projection readily fulfils this need. Free speech and freemedia - the basic instruments/ values of every democracy - provide terroriststhe publicity they need to inform the public about their operations and goals.Indeed, democracy is the best arena for those who wish to reach their ends byviolent means. The media have been accused of being the terrorist's bestfriend. Walter Laqueur explains that if terrorism is propaganda by deed, thesuccess of a terrorist campaign depends decisively on the amount of publicityit receives. The terrorist's act by itself is nothing; publicity is all.Dowling (1986) goes as far as arguing that terrorists owe their existence tothe media in liberal societies. Margaret Thatcher's metaphor that publicity isthe oxygen of terrorism underlines the point that public perception is a majorterrorist target and the media are central in shaping and moving it. Forterrorism, the role of the media is critical.39 In recent years insurgents andterrorists have used it to propagate their cause and to magnify their

39 FICCI Task Force Report on National Security and Terrorism, 09 Nov 2009, pp 104; Internet www page at URL:< http://www.ficci.com/SPdocument/20032/terrorism-report.pdf >(version current as of 10Dec 2009)

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importance and status as a force to reckon with. The armed forces also need toreach out and obtain its support in conduct of operations instead of merelyreacting to adverse publicity. Human rights related organizations in India needto monitor closely the material being put on the internet and counter the cyberpropaganda by providing factual and substantiated replies on their respectiveweb pages in real time. The media are helping terrorists orchestrate ahorrifying drama in which the terrorists and their victims are the main actors,creating a spectacle of tension and agony.

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