Arjun Ray's book is based on the dialogue around the counterinsurgency doctrine, arguing that the main strategy towards this aim should be preventing people from feeling alienated. The central focus of this strategy, which the author in his capacity as an army man successfully executed in Operation Sadhbhavna, is the people. The author believes that killing is counterproductive and the army must change its role from ‘winning wars’ to ‘preventing wars’.

He also calls upon the media to be more responsible in discharging their role in nation-building rather than being a bystander.

The author proposes a three-pronged strategy to achieve success—preventing conflict by addressing human security through human development, pursuing a policy of atonement and forgiveness, and eliminating trust deficit between the State and the marginalized—the three pillars of Operation Sadhbhavna. The failure on the part of the State and the army to follow this strategy, with terrible human cost and devastating consequences, is charted through the examples of the Naxalite and Kashmiri experience.

Culture of Silence and Critical Consciousness

Culture of Silence and Critical Consciousness

Culture of silence and critical consciousness

When we are alone to dream, that remains only one dream. When we dream together, that is not anymore one dream; it's the beginning of reality.

—Dom Holder Camara, Archbishop of Brazil

All developing societies exist in contradiction, and India is no exception. India lives in three ages—the Agriculture, the Industrial and the Information Ages. Men and women belonging to each age carry forward their mindsets and psychological baggage into the future. This poses a tough challenge for any politician, reformist or change-leader in shaping the critical consciousness of the common masses. Which constituency does one address? Where does one begin? This was a challenge we faced in Ladakh and answers had to be found. The ...

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