1. SADAF ANJUM MASOODI
ALIGARH MUSLIM
UNIVERSITY.
NEAR TO DEATH EXPERIENCES
AND WELL-BEING AMONG EX-
MILITANTS IN KASHMIR.
2. INTRODUCTION
The armed struggle in Jammu and Kashmir
(J&K) started in 1989. Hundreds of young
men crossed the border into Pakistan for
arms training, riding the wave of popular
sentiments (Sonpar, 2001). Statistics on the
number of people involved in militancy
through the years vary depending on the
source, but all agree that the numbers are
considerable. It is estimated that the number
of ex-militants in Jammu & Kashmir would be
at least 30,000.
3. MILITANTS AND EX-
MILITANTS.
Who is a militant? A common question that needs an
appropriate answer. The English word ‘militant’ comes
from the Latin word “militare” meaning “to serve as a
soldier”. A militant is a person favoring confrontational or
violent methods in support of a political or social cause.
However, the current meaning of militant does not
usually refer to a registered soldier: it can be anyone
who subscribes to the idea of using vigorous,
sometimes extreme, activity to achieve an objective,
usually political. An ex-militant is defined as one who is
no longer a militant. This may have come about through
surrender or through capture and imprisonment (Sonpar
2007). This lot continues to suffer immensely
because of various problems like stigmatization,
4. NEAR TO DEATH EXPERIENCES
Greyson (2000a,pp.315-316) describes Near
Death Experiences as “profound
psychological events with transcendental and
mystical elements, typically occurring to
individuals close to death or in situations of
intense physical and emotional danger. These
elements include, ineffability a sense that the
experience transcends personal ego, and an
experience of union with a divine or higher
principle”.
5. Cont..
Near to death experiences (NDEs) have
become the focus of much interest in the
last 30 years or so. Such experiences can
occur both when individuals are objectively
near to death and also when they simply
believe themselves to be. The experience
typically involves a number of different
components including a feeling of peace
and wellbeing, out of body experiences,
entering a region of darkness, seeing a
brilliant light, and entering another realm.
6. WELL-BEING
According to Angner(2008), even the
philosophical literature refers to the ‘simple
notion’ of well being (i.e.‘a life going well’) in a
variety of ways, including a person’s good,
benefit, advantage, interest, prudential value,
welfare, happiness ,flourishing, eudemonia,
utility, quality of life, and thriving.
Well-being is generally understood as a quality
of people’s lives. It is a dynamic state that is
enhanced when people can fulfill their personal
and social goals.
7. Cont…
Manzoor ul Hassan, mental health columnist of
the leading newspaper in valley i.e., Rising
Kashmir, mentions in one of his articles about
mental health of Ex-Militants ‘this population
suffer from severe and enduring mental
illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder
and autism disorders, often complicated by co-
morbidity.
Feelings of inadequacy, betrayal, frustration,
depression and anxiety were common. The
psychological distress of some respondents was
of a clinically significant proportion. Poor well-
being on many counts is often associated with a
8. Objectives of the Present Study
To study the effect of Near Death Experiences
on well-being of Ex-Militants.
To study the effect of duration of imprisonment
on well-being of Ex-Militants.
To compare the degree of Near Death
Experiences and Well-being between two
Groups of Ex-Militants i.e., Group A( 0-2yrs)
and Group B (3-5 yrs) of imprisonment.
To assess overall well-being of Ex-Militants of
Kashmir
9. Research Questions
Is there any relation between Near to
Death Experiences and General well-
being?
Is there a negative relation between
imprisonment and well-being?
Is there any relation between Tenure
of imprisonment on well-being?
10. Sample and Method
Sample: The Study included 100 Ex-Militants, aged
between 30-40yrs. The participants was drawn from
different parts of Kashmir especially Kangan, Kulgam,
and Baramulla. S.H.O of the concerned district was
contacted and information about Ex-Militants was
obtained for the sampling purpose. sample was divided
into two groups Group A and Group B on the basis of
the duration of their imprisonment. Group A consisted
of 50 subjects who were imprisoned for (0-2yrs) and
Group B also included 50 subjects whose duration of
imprisonment was (3-5 yrs).
11. The Near-Death Experience Scale is a 16 item scale
developed by Greyson1983. The scale was found to have
high internal consistency, split-half reliability, and test-
retest reliability.
The General Wellbeing Scale (Faye et al. 2005) is an 18-
item scale developed to assess self-representations of
subjective well-being and distress (Fazio1977).The test-
retest reliability of the scale was .85. The scale’s reliability
has been established by previous studies, showing
satisfactory internal consistency coefficients and item-to-
total correlations; the high internal consistency indicated
the scale was homogeneous and measuring general
psychological state (Fazio 1977).
Tools
12. Result
Table 1:- Shows coefficient of correlation
between NDEs and Well-being of Overall
sample.
Sample R Level of
Significance
Ex-Militants - 0.9* P<0.01
.
13. Table 2:- Shows Coefficient of correlation
between scores of NDEs and Well-being of Group
A, whose tenure of imprisonment is (0-2)yrs.
sample R Level of
Significanc
e
GROUP A (0-2
yrs)
-0.6* P<.01
14. Table 3:- Shows Coefficient of Correlation between
NDE and Well- being of Group B, whose duration of
imprisonment is (3-5)yrs.
sample R
Level of
Significance
GROUP B (3-
5)yrs.
-0.8* P<.01
15. Discussion
The results obtained above clearly shows high
negative correlation between NDEs and Well-being of
Ex-Militants of Kashmir, especially that have
undergone physical torture in detention centers. The
obtained value of r = -0.9* for overall sample. It clearly
depicts that the Near to Death Experiences effect the
well being of militants to a great extent on many
aspects like, physical, social and mental. Every person
I interviewed complained of poor physical health and
many psycho-social problems. The sample was
divided into two groups Group A and Group B. Group
A consisted of Ex-Militants whose period of
imprisonment was (0-2) yrs and Group B consisted of
subjects whose period of imprisonment was (3-5) yrs.
After calculating the coefficient of correlation of both
the groups separately it was found that correlation was
16. Cont…
These findings are consistent with the
findings of (Veneziano, Veneziano, and
tribolet 1987), indicated that less than 1% of
prison population suffered from visual,
hearing and speech impairments but
majority of prisoners suffer from cognitive
and psychological disabilities.
Here also in my findings well-being is low
where Near To Death Experience is high,
and longer the tenure of imprisonment less
is the associated well-being. No study is
done so far to indicate the affect of Near to
17. Implications of the study
The Ex-Militants is a skillful lot which can be used
constructively and purposively as the subjects
reported of having developed interest in art, music
and craftsmanship. The authors (vander Merwe &
Smith, 2006) of a refreshing review summed up
below, point out that the passionate commitment
to social justice that motivates people to join
armed groups can also drive efforts to promote
peaceful social change.
Their military experience is likely to have
equipped them in positive ways: good leadership
qualities including planning, organizing and
motivational skills; team work and the capacity to
combine collaboration with competition; discipline
and respect for a clear system of authority; and
training skills
18. Cont…
Their intimate experience of violence gives
them insight into its dangers and impact on
people’s lives that is stark and real. Those who
have confronted personal trauma and engaged
with the process of reconciling with erstwhile
enemies have first-hand experience of a
process that the rest of society does not fully
understand. We need to deal the problems of
ex-militants more professionally and seriously.
Unprofessionalism in dealing with their
problems can aggravate their problems further
and they may once again adopt the violent
19. “The greatest religious problem today is how to
be both a mystic and a militant; in other words
how to combine the search for an expansion of
inner awareness with effective social action, and
how to feel one’s true identity in both”.
U.K.Leguin
