In a chilling note of caution to parents, especially mothersof youth in Jammu and Kashmir, Indian army said that 83% of all youth whobecome militants start with throwing stones for Rs 500 and therefore needed tobe stopped.This statistic, presented in a joint press conference of securityforces operating in the militancy hit state of Jammu and Kashmir also adds tothe political debate calling for leniency to stone throwers in the valley.15Corps Commander, Lieutenant General Dhillon went on to provide even morechilling statistics for the parents of “the misguided youth” to consider;“Majority of all youth taking up guns are eliminated within the first year ofoperation,” he said. He encouraged the “boys who had gone astray” to lay downarms and return to mainstream since according to him, “the shelf-life of aterrorist who picks up a weapon was very short.”

“7 per cent of militants who pick up guns are eliminated inthe very first week, 9 per cent are killed in the first month, 36 per cent inthe first 6 months and 64 per cent in first one year.” Lieutenant GeneralDhillon said.

The number of stone-pelting incidents in the Kashmir valleyhas dipped under direct federal rule compared to the two previous politicaladministrations — the Peoples Democratic Party-Bharatiya Janata Party (PDP-BJP)coalition that was in power between 2015 and mid-2018, and the NationalConference-Indian National Congress (NC-INC) alliance that stayed in officebetween 2009 and 2014. The state is currently under President’s rule.

A total of 349 stone-pelting cases were registered last yearafter the imposition of Governor’s rule while 355 incidents had been recordedtill July 17 in 2019.

According to data reviewed by Hindustan Times, the totalnumber of stone-pelting cases registered under the NC-INC regime between 2009and 2014 was 2,690 with a spike in 2010, when protests took place againstalleged killings by the army in the Macchil sector.