The basic idea behind the launching of Operation Ujala is the recognition of the fact that even while the Army is engaged in Counter Terrorism operations it can and will act to bring help to the man in the street. While initially its aim are somewhat modest the Army hopes to bring in the discontented and the hostile individuals back into the mainstream and thereby help bring in peace in the Valley, initially and in entire Jammu and Kashmir later.

The Army plans to be the catalyst and a facilitator, thereby provide the impetus to the help being provided to the common man to re-establish himself. Towards that end the Army will provide help in selected ventures.

To achieve their aim the Army has chosen four clear-cut areas, viz.: - Education; Self help and Co-operative ventures; Healthcare and Culture. The Army plans to enter into specific concepts. For example it plans to start hostels for children of the victims of terrorism and even more importantly children of the terrorists killed by the Security Forces, in addition to the orphans and other needy segments of the society.

Again in the co-operative sector the aim is to develop a diary project on the same lines as Operation FLOOD.

All the above projects are meant to be collaborative as well as participative with a healthy partnership between the sponsors and the people, with the Army unit in location only being an agency to provide help wherever possible. The major portion of the funding is to be provided by philanthropic Corporate houses. The basic idea being to create an initial corpus and provide initial start-up outlay, so that the projects become self sustaining and do not require periodic financial resuscitation. In some cases even the Army could be of help.

All finances are to be handled entirely by the local participants who will function in close collaboration with the affected Corporate houses. The Army does not plan to either receive or handle funds. They would however provide assistance to ensure that the funds are properly utilised.

The problem is however over the management. While it is being visualised that some Non Government Organisation should be involved, it has been observed that the bulk of them tend to milk the entire venture for their own ease and comfort at the expense of the actual project. Another alternative of bringing in the civil administration is also fraught with danger as these worthies are known best for their highly corrupt proclivities. The best bet would be to include the local panchayats and closely involve the local women in the ventures.

The Army plans to help in any of the following ways:-

Provide and ensure the safety and security of the staff/employees, associated with the projects.
Supervision of the project to ensure the optimum utilisation of the funds.
Help by providing the initial accommodation and facilities to the individuals engaged in these ventures in border areas where such infrastructure may not be readily available
Sanitisation of the area to ensure the safety of the infrastructure created.
Obtain regular feed back on the progress of the venture and act as a monitoring mechanism on the behalf of the corporate houses.
Act as an intermediary between the sponsors and the local population, managing the venture for identifying of opportunities and problems.
Ensure that the projects are recognised by the identity of the corporate Houses, providing the funds. For example Tata Ujala School, or United Breweries Ujala Hostel and so on.
Some of the possible ventures as suggested by the Army are: -

Sponsor education of children within and outside the State.
Assist in opening co-operative schools - especially in the remote border by providing infrastructure and/ or corpus funds.
Provide resources for reshaping the curricula of madrassas.
Sponsor the visits of cultural troupes that can perform both in urban and rural areas.
Provide expertise and wherewithal to begin co-operatives and self-help ventures. Assist in securing a market for these goods.
Help send talented children to exclusive institutes such as National School of Drama and National Institute of Design.
Provision of sponsorship for artificial limbs project, specialist medical treatment in border areas and up gradation of existing clinics.
Fund regular visits of school children from the Valley to the rest of the country and children from other parts of the nation to the Valley.
Sponsor cultural shows with a message for the people of the Valley.
While the above list is not exhaustive the list misses out what could be the most important and that is health care, particularly the women and the Children. It is in this that the Army can provide the maximum help. They could sponsor Healthcare Centres where the individuals could be paid by the Army from their welfare funds or channlise Government funds by employing individuals on a three years contract basis. With each health care centre having a Physician, with specialisation in Paedriatics, Lady Doctor, two nurses, a componder and an ambulance and a driver. Preference being given to husband wife teams.

The second aspect is to ensure the employment of the educated youth. One such option would be to enroll them as teachers in the above institutions. However even more important is to provide an access to jobs at an all India level. It is the frustration of the educated youth that leads to dissatisfaction and eventual insurgencies.

Interested individuals/organizations are advised to contact or forward their proposals to the following, wi6h a copy to us: -
E-Mail:  opujala@rediff.com
Col Neeraj Bali, SM
Colonel General Staff (IS)
C/o HQ 15 Corps
Tele - 0194-465041 (O) & (R )
Lt Col AK Garg or Maj A Ajayapal
15 Corps Media Centre
C/o HQ 15 Corps
Tele - 0194-467210 (O) & (R)
Fax - 0194-467210