Politicisation of Indian forces in IIOJK as retired Indian police officer joins BJP
Srinagar: The joining of a retired Deputy Superintendent of Police, Dara Singh, and his supporters in the Bharatiya Janata Party in Srinagar has raised questions over the politicisation of government institutions and the growing penetration of Hindutva politics into the apparatus in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Dara Singh joined the BJP in the presence of BJP IIOJK president and Rajya Sabha member Sat Sharma, Leader of Opposition in the IIOJK Legislative Assembly Sunil Sharma, Lok Sabha member Jugal Kishore Sharma and other senior party leaders. The BJP described the induction as reflecting growing confidence in its ideology and leadership.
The development is significant as the entry of a former senior police officer into the ruling party after retirement has renewed concerns about the ideological alignment between sections of the military establishment and the BJP-RSS combine.
Critics have long raised questions over whether personnel sympathetic to Hindutva ideology are being encouraged within state institutions and subsequently brought into active politics after completing their service.
The latest induction has also drawn attention to a broader pattern in which retired police and government officials have joined or openly supported the BJP and other organisations associated with the Hindutva political ecosystem. Such developments, observers say, can further undermine public confidence in the political neutrality of institutions responsible for maintaining law and order in the disputed territory.
Sat Sharma said the induction would strengthen the party’s organisation and public outreach, while Sunil Sharma and Jugal Kishore Sharma welcomed Singh and his supporters into the party.
The development comes amid continuing concerns over the use of extensive crackdowns, arrests, raids and surveillance against Kashmiris, with critics alleging that state institutions have increasingly been used to advance New Delhi’s political agenda in IIOJK. Observers said the joining of former police officials into the BJP after retirement warrants closer public scrutiny, particularly in a territory where the apparatus plays an unusually prominent role in political and civic life.
