58% Indians believe govt should use more military force in Kashmir: PEW study
Srinagar, Mar 28: A majority of the Indians believe that their government should use more military force in dealing with the situation in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The latest survey by PEW Center says that a majority of Indians (55 percent) see the situation in Kashmir as a very big problem.
“More than half (53 percent) say circumstances in Kashmir have gotten worse over the last five years, and a majority (58 percent) believes the Indian government should use more military force than it uses currently in dealing with tensions in the area,” the PEW report has said.
PEW which provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the world has said that Indians largely view Pakistan as a threat and believe the situation in Kashmir warrants more military force.
“In the Center’s spring survey last year, 76 percent of Indians said Pakistan is a major threat to their country, including 63 percent who said it is a very serious threat. This view was shared by people in rural areas and urban centers, supporters of both the prime minister’s BJP and the Congress party, as well as Indians across age groups. Additionally, 65 percent said terrorism is a very big problem in India,” the report said.
It also said that the recent escalation in tensions between India and Pakistan after the Pulwama attack has turned the long-running territorial dispute over Kashmir into a potent campaign issue for Modi.
The report said that in the aftermath of the violence in Pulwama, Indian social media platforms saw such an uptick in fictitious or purposely misleading stories related to the attack that the head of Facebook India’s Integrity Initiatives tweeted that he had “never seen anything like this before.”
