Children stand guard as parents tend to fields in Hill Kaka village

Kalali (Surankote), Jammu April 22—Can you imagine a sixteen year old boy taking admission in class one and than going to school every day with zeal to learn. This unthinkable happened at village Kalali in Hill Kaka in the year 2003 after militancy was crushed by the Indian army during operation Sarp Vinash.
The tragedy, however, is that instead of attending school, sixteen year old Bashir Ahmed son of Abdul Ahmad of Kalali in Surankote is has been forced to hold a gun and guard his family while they are working in the fields.
Not only he, but children as little as 12-year are standing guard to protect their families from the wrath of the militants, who are keen to avenge the mauling of operation Sarp Vinash, launched by the Indian army.
“ I would have passed matric by now, if there was no militancy in the area but it was only after the militants were erased by the Army and local people that schools started”, said Bashir.
The decision to remove army pickets from the area is retrograde and this will result in massacres, he warned, adding that the children of Kalali have taken up guns as life is more important than anything.
Another child of the village Kalali, Qamran said that they waned to live like other children and enjoy life as they were doing, while army was present in
the area. He reiterated that fear has set in among the locals as they actively participated against the militants during the operations launched at Hill Kaka.
The tragedy is that these innocent hill children, more adept at taming the hillocks and playing with nature have become experts in handling sophisticated weapons. Some of them, a Kalali villager said can even tell what type of guns are being used after hearing the shots.
He further said that not only ordinary residents but the VDC members are also afraid due to the removal of army.
Here it must be mentioned that soon after the sun breaks, these children get ready for the arduous task of protecting their families. Weapons are checked, ammunition counted and a discussion is held about the proceedings of the day.
Thereafter, the families move out with the guard children as fields have to be tended and cattle need to be grazed, for these are the only two ways in which the people of Kalali and other villages fend for themselves.
The Hill Kaka area in which village Kalali falls was called mini-Pakistan, prior to operation Sarp Vinash, during which the Indian Army managed to uproot hard core terrorists, who had fortified themselves in this area.