Eye witness-my memories of Manipur CRPF girls in Srinagar

The CRPF inspector saluted me as he in tow with two women constables,  entered my office at Radio Kashmir Srinagar. He used to come often like that. Knowing that he would ask for use of the STD facility phone for talking to some place in India,  I told him to come the next day as I was busy with my work. I had a feeling that the inspector was taking too much advantage of me by coming rather frequently making calls. The telephone bills would rise and only  I was to justify those being for official purposes. I had started  telling people not to disturb me even when there was no big pressure of work. The CRPF inspector came again the following day with two women constables in tow.  He saluted and sought my permission to come in.  Unwillingly,  I nodded for him to come in. "This girl wants to make a call, sir. It is urgent, sir".  I pushed the telephone towards him without saying anything as if to convey that he was rather annoying me through his repeated requests for STD calls.   

The woman constable dialled the phone, said hello and her name and started weeping and then crying. The other woman constable was trying to console her..I looked askance at  the inspector. "Her father had been killed in tribal clashes in Manipur. He was a priest in a church", said the inspector.. All my annoyance evaporated. I offered her water and consoled her.I even felt guilty for the way I turned her away the day before.  I offered tea to all and listened to her story.  

"Her father was killed a fortnight ago but she came to know later. Her husband who is also a constable in CRPF at Delhi, informed her. She has a two year old son . Her husband looks after him", told the inspector. What a human tragedy and how these brave women from Manipur were facing it! A  CRPF bus would bring women constables every morning and drop two of them at every central government office. They would be screening,  physically as well as through a metal detector all women employees and visitors along with their belongings.  The bus would collect them at 4 PM or so to take to their barracks. "This is not an easy job. People don't like being screened. But screening small kids coming for Children's Programme on Sundays at the radio station is rather pinching though children take it playfully," a woman constable told me later.  "Earlier we were doing it perfunctorily. An explosive device। was recovered from the school bag of a student of Central School in Badamibagh Cantonment. There could have been a big tragedy.

Now we search everyone thoroughly", said another.  Those were the days I witnessed first hand in Srinagar during the nineties when militancy was at its peak. Reports say things have improved  in Kashmir valley. But have the days changed for CRPF women constables of North East and other states posted there on security duties away from their homes and families ? That is a main question.