Days after the dastardly Pulwama terror attack which shook the country to the core and left over 40 CRPF jawans dead, around 2500 Kashmiri youths participated in the Army recruitment rally against 111 vacancies which was held at Baramulla. This new development shows that all hope is not lost in the valley and that the youth are upbeat about joining the army even after an attack of this sort.

Youths turn up for recruitment drive

While speaking to ANI, one of the Army aspirants said, “By joining Army, we can serve the nation and also protect our families and take care of them as we hardly have any employment opportunities in the Valley,” reported Times Now. Whereas, another aspirant said that this is a good opportunity for them as they cannot go outside of Kashmir and said that if more Kashmiri personnel were deployed in sensitive areas then they can talk with people to help deal with the ongoing crisis.

This development stands as an example of a stark contrast with the rest of the country were people of Kashmiri origin and Kashmiri students are harassed. Some others even claimed that the government should aim at increasing work opportunities for the youth there.

Meanwhile, the Army reportedly wrote in it’s Twitter handle, “Youth of Kashmir turned in large numbers to join the Armed Forces. The recruitment drive is being conducted at Gantamulla, Baramulla. Immense patriotic fervour, an idea of better life and career in Army are great cause for Kashmiri Youth.” Video posted on Twitter shows Kashmiri youths standing in a long queue even during snowfall. Reportedly, more recruitment rallies are scheduled in Srinagar later this week.

Recruitment rally is being organised at Baramulla area wherein thousands of youths from North Kashmir region (Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipura) districts have participated. The enthusiasm of Kashmiri youth to become part of #IndianArmy is indeed inspiring.@SpokespersonMoD pic.twitter.com/zhUHKCCuD9 — ADG PI – INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) February 21, 2019

The problem of unemployment has been plaguing the Kashmir valley. In 2016, the unemployment rate in Jammu and Kashmir was higher than the national average where over 24% of the population between the ages of 18 to 29 years was unemployed. The huge turnout of the Kashmiri youths for Army recruitment comes at a time when the country is enraged over the Pulwama attacks. This only goes on to show that the youth in Kashmir are determined to fight back and redefine the state’s social and economical status.

Also Read: Pulwama Attack: The Suicide Bomber & The History Behind Terror Outfit Jaish-E-Mohammed