For over three decades, the breathtaking vistas and spiritual depth of the Kashmir Valley were systematically scarred by the toxic machinations of a failing state located to our west. Pakistan, a nation born out of a fractured identity and sustained by a pathological obsession with India, has relentlessly pursued a cowardly policy of bleeding India through a thousand cuts. This desperate neighbour, perpetually on the brink of fiscal and moral bankruptcy, found its only relevance in the export of jihadist ideologies and the systematic radicalisation of our youth. The lessons from Kashmir are therefore not merely about counter insurgency; they are about the ultimate triumph of the Indian civilisational ethos over the narrow, nihilistic and destructive ideology exported by the Pakistani military intelligence complex. The evolution of India’s de-radicalisation models in the region reflects a profound understanding that the gun is only a symptom, whereas the disease is the poisonous narrative brewed in the terror factories of Rawalpindi and Muridke.

The Indian approach has matured into a sophisticated and compassionate architecture that recognises the deep rooted psychological warfare waged by Islamabad’s handlers. Unlike the brutal and often counterproductive methods seen in other global conflict zones, India has pioneered a whole of nation strategy that pairs firm security measures with a deep, democratic embrace. This transformation began with the realisation that the youth of Kashmir were the primary victims of a massive information war orchestrated from across the border. Pakistan’s masterminds, having failed in three direct wars, turned to the digital domain and the misuse of sacred pulpits to spread an alien strain of thought that sought to erase the inclusive Sufi traditions of the Valley. The emergence of the hybrid terrorist was a calculated move by the Inter Services Intelligence to create invisible killers who could blend into civil society; however, the Indian state responded by launching a cognitive counter offensive that focuses on reclamation rather than just neutralisation.
At the heart of this effort is the flagship Sahi Raasta program, an initiative that has become a beacon of hope for those who were once lured by the false promises of martyrdom broadcast from illegal Pakistani radio stations and social media handles. This structured residential program does far more than just impart vocational skills; it actively deconstructs the binary, hateful worldview that Pakistani recruiters spend years instilling in gullible minds. By engaging with psychologists, religious scholars and successful role models from within Kashmiri society, participants are shown the reality of India’s pluralistic success versus Pakistan’s sectarian misery. It is a powerful process of unlearning the lies of the enemy and relearning the values of a secular, progressive democracy. The success of this model is evidenced by the hundreds of young men who have transitioned from being pawns of a foreign power to becoming productive citizens who now aspire to contribute to the nation’s growth.
Complementing this cognitive realignment is the poignant and uniquely Indian initiative known as Operation Maa. This program recognises that the most potent weapon against Pakistani radicalisation is the bond between a mother and her child. In an environment where foreign handlers urge young boys to throw their lives away for a lost cause, the Indian Army chooses to pause high stakes operations to bring mothers to the front lines. These mothers are given the microphone to appeal to their sons to lay down their weapons and return home. This strategy weaponises love and maternal instinct to jam the extremist frequencies that Islamabad relies upon. It is a stark and telling contrast: where the Pakistani handler on a secure app urges a boy to commit a suicide attack, the Indian soldier stands ready to offer that same boy a second chance and a path back to his family. This humanitarian approach has brought dozens of youth back from the brink of certain death, exposing the cold and calculating nature of the Pakistani terror machinery which views Kashmiri lives as nothing more than expendable fodder.
Furthermore, the macro level strategy of Military Civic Action under Operation Sadbhavana has effectively inoculated the broader population against the virus of extremism. While Pakistan continues to fund religious seminaries that teach intolerance and narrow the mind, the Indian Army has built a network of Goodwill Schools and coaching centres that open doors to the future. The Kashmir Super 30 initiative is the most glorious example of this contrast; it takes underprivileged youth from the Valley and prepares them for the country’s most prestigious entrance exams. India is busy making Kashmiri youth into engineers, doctors and civil servants, while the Pakistani deep state remains obsessed with turning them into Improvised Explosive Device makers and stone pelters. The fact that thousands of local youth now compete for a handful of vacancies in the Indian Army and the Jammu and Kashmir Police is the ultimate rejection of the Pakistani narrative. These young men and women are choosing to defend the very constitution that Islamabad has spent billions of dollars trying to undermine.
The landmark decision to abrogate the temporary provisions of Article 370 in August 2019 was the strategic death knell for the separatist ecosystem that Pakistan had carefully cultivated for decades. By dismantling the artificial legal barriers that allowed Pakistani narratives to fester in isolation, the Indian government fully integrated the region into the national developmental mainstream. The silence of the once frequent stone pelting incidents and the end of the shutdown culture are clear indicators that the people have seen through the lies of the Pakistani sponsored Hurriyat leadership. These self-styled leaders, who sent their own children to study and work in the safety of mainland India or abroad while urging the children of the poor to die in the streets, have finally been exposed for their hypocrisy. The new dawn in Kashmir is defined by record breaking tourism, the hosting of global events like the G20 summit and a surge in infrastructure projects that were stalled for generations due to Pakistani meddling.
Even as we celebrate these successes, we must remain vigilant against the desperation of our neighbour. The horrific terror attack in Pahalgam was a clear attempt by Pakistan backed proxies to disrupt the return of normalcy and target the innocent. However, India’s response, characterised by both tactical precision and strategic resolve, showed that the cost of such misadventures will be unbearable for the perpetrators. When the Pakistani Defence Minister himself admitted in a global interview that his country has been doing the dirty work for decades, it was a rare moment of honesty that stripped away any remaining facade of their moral or political support for Kashmir. The world now sees Pakistan for what it is: a state that uses terror as a tool of diplomacy and sacrifices its own people’s future to fuel a futile conflict.
The ultimate lesson from the Kashmir model of de-radicalisation is that democracy, development and a strong sense of national identity are the most effective antidotes to extremism. India has shown that it is possible to win hearts and minds not through empty rhetoric but through tangible empowerment and the rule of law. We have reclaimed the narrative of the Valley by highlighting the inclusivity of the Rishi Sufi tradition and contrasting it with the grim reality of life in Pakistan administered Kashmir, where dissent is crushed and development is non existent. The youth of Kashmir are finally realising that their destiny lies in being part of a rising global power rather than a failing, terror exporting neighbour. As the shadows of the past three decades finally recede, the story of Kashmir will be remembered as the greatest defeat of Pakistan’s ideological war and the greatest triumph of India’s resilient and compassionate democracy. The path ahead is one of continued integration, where the lessons learned in the Valley will serve as a global blueprint for defeating state sponsored radicalisation through the power of hope and the strength of the national mainstream.