Quote Originally Posted by davidbfpo View Post
An excellent article in a hitherto unknown Indian magazine 'The Caravan' in September; hat tip to two "lurkers":http://www.caravanmagazine.in/reportage/departed

The article is based on interviewing several returnees, alongside a general commentary.
The Govt has a scheme to rehabilitate the ex militants.

Apart from that there are many 'reluctant' militants, in that they were 'shanghaied' while young and taken across, many against their will. Many such columns of young school children being taken across have been apprehended in the past. One such column was apprehended during my time.

I have interacted with militants who have returned to India and they were quite disillusioned with Pakistan and in what is called by Pakistan as Azad Kashmir, where because they observed that instead of Kashmiris ruling the so called Azad Kashmir, they AK Govt was being run by Pakistan and it administrators with a figurehead Kashmiri.

They also felt that Pakistan was not interested in an independent Kashmir and were merely using them, the Kashmiris, so that they could annex Kashmir and make it a part of Pakistan.

Also, they felt that modernity was there in India but not in the so called Azad Kashmir.

And their biggest worry was that as a part of Pakistan, the Kashmiris would lose their identity, which they have in India since the Valley is predominantly Muslim and hence their singular character was up front and recognised and would not be diluted owing to the provisions of the Indian Constitution wherein in non Kashmiris cannot buy land or settle down in Kashmir and that way the Kashmiri character would be in perpetuity, but would not be so in the so called Azad Kashmir, where all are Muslims in Pakistan and hence the bargaining power would not be there.