April 19, 2007: India is not ready to declare
victory in Kashmir, but it's looking more and more like that. India believes
there are still about 1,400 Islamic terrorists in Kashmir, about 40 percent of
them from Pakistan, and the rest locals. As a result, India is reorganizing its
security forces in Kashmir. For a population of ten million, Kashmir currently
has 65,000 police, 23,000 Special Police and 40,000 part time security
personnel (guarding 3,000 villages). Moreover, two army corps are stationed
there as well. The new security force will mainly be 200,000 locally recruited
police, in fifty battalions. Eventually, many of these battalions would be
moved to other parts of India. Five of the fifty battalions have already been
formed. India may not form all fifty battalions, even though the program is
pitched as a way to solve the unemployment problem in Kashmir. Years of
terrorism have wrecked the economy.