JANE KAHAN GAYE WOH DIN

India- Pak dialogue, futile exercise

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         LT GEN VIJAY OBEROI ( RETD)

·         16 Jan 2013

·         Hindustan Times (Chandigarh)

·         Defence Matters (The writer is a former vice- chief of army. The views expressed are personal)

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The killing, and more importantly, savage mutilation of two soldiers of the Indian Army on the Line of Control ( LoC) has put a big question mark on the ' on- again/ off- again' dialogue the two countries keep having, seeking the elusive peace.

My focus today is on these two aspects; the first is tactical and the second falls squarely in the strategic realm. While the former is predominantly military, the latter does need to take note of this deplorable incident while analysing the future of the dialogue.

 

 

DYNAMICS OF LOC

 

It is important to understand the dynamics of the LoC first. The present LoC is the second avatar of the erstwhile Cease Fire Line ( CFL). While the CFL was delineated in 1949, the LoC became the dividing line after our victory in the 1971 war with Pakistan.

Despite these formal delineations, the Pakistani Army did not honour the sanctity of these lines. They commenced encroaching and nibbling on our side of the line, with a view to gaining tactically advantageous positions.

This was naturally resisted by our troops. The eyeball- to-eyeball deployment of troops resulted in the LoC becoming an active and live border, where it was considered a fair game to seize any opportunity and occupy areas across the CFL/ LoC, by both sides.

There were casualties on both sides and ‘taking revenge’ was an established way to pay the other side in the same coin. I have no doubt that even in this case, our army will exact retribution at a place and time of its choosing.

After Pakistan started sending terrorists across the LoC, it started resorting to heavy firing on our posts to divert the attention of our troops. This continued even after agreeing to the ceasefire. Our army adopted several counter- measures to check such infiltration, including an increase i n the number of observation posts, erecting a border fence, increasing patrolling and so on. Such tactical actions will continue in future.

 

 

 

LONGEST CEASEFIRE

 

In the last over six decades, there have been a number of ceasefires on the LoC, but the existing one, which has been in force since 2003, has been the longest.

Even though an active LoC favours our troops, in the interest of better relations we agreed to a ceasefire, so that Pakistan could withdraw troops from the LoC to conduct operations against the Taliban and other insurgents, which were creating mayhem inside Pakistan. However, Pakistan chose not to do so and instead continued to nurture the terrorists, who are still considered assets to fight against India.

Coming to the strategic aspects, the stances and actions of Pakistan in practically all spheres of interaction between neighbouring nations point to it wanting a perpetuation of antagonism with India. The reason is that while many citizens of Pakistan want to live in peace with India, its policymakers do not want i t. Although there is an elected government in Pakistan, it will be naive to think that they are the decision- makers. The Pakistani Army has the last word on all policy matters, including on security, nuclear and foreign policy affairs.

The Pakistani Army wields power on account of only one shibboleth, which is that India is out to gobble up Pakistan and it is only the Pakistani Army that is preventing it. This is such an oft- repeated statement that most Pakistanis, if not all, believe it to be true. The day India and Pakistan succeed in agreeing to live in peace as friendly neighbours, will be the start of the Pakistani Army losing its pre- eminent position i n the power structure of Pakistan. It is obvious that no one i n the Pakistani Army would like to relinquish such a premier position, which abounds in power and pelf. That being so, where is the question of peace between India and Pakistan? Consequently, it is not peace dialogues and formal talks but the whittling down of the Pakistani Army's predominant position as the sole policy- formulating organisation that will bring eventual peace between the two countries. Policymakers in India, therefore, must strive to change the thinking of the Pakistani polity, instead of engaging in futile dialogues and discussions.

 

 

BANKRUPTCY OF IDEAS

 

India has been making overtures for peace for decades, yet all we have received in return from Pakistan is violence of many types, including wars and terrorism; hedging; impossible demands; and subterfuges. The latest consistent policy of Pakistan is to be ' perpetually in a state of denial'. That our political establishment, undoubtedly spurred on by self- styled experts of the ‘Aiyaars' and ‘Nayyars' variety, continues with this futile exercise is both maddening and naive. Either we have no sense of history, or we deliberately do not want to learn from it. It also indicates the bankruptcy of ideas and lack of any policies of a strategic nature.

 

It is nobody's case that we should not live peacefully with our neighbours and resolve all problems and disputes by discussion and in a peaceful manner, but this needs give and take from both sides. So far, it has been a one- sided affair and there are no indicators that the future would be any different.

 

The bottom line is that at the military level, let us not impose unnecessary restrictions on how the sanctity of the LoC should be maintained. The army knows how it should be done.

At the strategic level, we should put a brake on the peace process till a more conducive environment emerges. At the same time, we need to jettison the Composite Dialogue. Much water has f l own down the Indus since it was first compiled. Since then the security, economic and social environment in the sub- continent has changed drastically.

 

Our policymakers and security experts must first formulate a comprehensive security strategy and thereafter the diplomats and others should work out an entirely fresh negotiations plan.

 

This will also give a chance to their counterparts in Pakistan to take stock and l earn that it takes two to tango.

 

   




THIS  IS  HOW WHEN THE TROUBLE STARTRED


 I went to see a  'MUSLIM TRIBUTE BAND'  last night. 

They were called “Bomb Jovi”. They were brilliant.
Their last song “Living on a Prayer Mat” almost brought the house down.
Then this Muslim bloke started bragging about how he had the entire Kura.. on DVD.
I was interested so I asked him, “Can you burn me a copy?”
Well ....... that was when the trouble started.

                                                                                                            (Pradeep  Lall) 

--- from the diary of an old soldier ..... people like Lt Gen Bhagat were still alive ......and the modern breed of Gens was beginning to be born!

 The recent brutal killing of two Indian soldiers by Pakistani troops on Indian soil, then the Indian government's protests and the Pakistani government's denials, etc etc has left me pondering and reminiscing about the good old days.

 I have had three postings in J&K, and I distinctly remember three incidents that took place around NW Kashmir during my first posting at Uri in 1976-77:

 Incident 1: A Maratha Light Infantry battalion was newly inducted in a sensitive sector. On the very first night when the rear party of the previous battalion finally moved out and the main body of Marathas newly moved in, Pakis fired 2" mortar shells on a Maratha forward post. (This has been the usual way to welcome newly inducted Indian Army units by the Pakis for ages.) As soon as day broke, a Major on the Maratha post climbed a tree with an RL (Rocket Launcher, for my civilian friends) slung on one shoulder and two rockets slung on the other, and simply blasted two bunkers of the Mujahid post across the LOC. 

 Thereafter, not one bullet was fired by the Pakis on the Maratha paltan for as long as they stayed there.

 Incident 2: Pakis observed that Gorkha soldiers in their OP (Observation Post) just left the LMG (Light Machine Gun) un-attended for 2 to 3 minutes while they went out of the OP for a pee. One summer day at about 11 o' clock in the morning, in a daring raid, two Paki soldiers sneaked in and ran back with the LMG. 

 Four hours later, which is normally siesta time and security is lax, a team of Gorkha soldiers raided the Pak post and came back with the Paki CO's 15 years old daughter. (Pakistan Army's officers-lot is super privileged. They even stay on border posts with their families.) The Gorkhas did not harm the child, they just made her sit on a chair on top of the OP bunker. Soon enough, a bunch of Paki jawans came up to the LOC with a white flag and the Gorkhas' LMG, and a neat and clean exchange took place.

 Incident 3: This incident happened when Naga Regiment was newly raised in the Indian Army and Pakis had no clue what material the Nagas were made of! (Those with a weak stomach may please skip reading this incident further.)

 The Nagas were also given the customary welcome on their induction, but they did not retaliate. Then, for the next two consecutive nights, a couple of Paki soldiers would cross over to the Indian side, lob hand-grenades at the Naga post and run back. On the third night, a few Naga soldiers laid an ambush and caught 2 Pakis. They brought the Paki soldiers back enough to be hidden from the Paki OP sights. They tied the Pakis to a tree, lit a fire and performed a traditional Naga dance! Then they chopped a leg off one of the Paki soldiers and literally barbecued it over the fire. Both the Paki soldiers were let off the next morning, but not before the were made to hear this dialogue between a Naga Havildar and a Sepoy:

 Sepoy: "Ustaad, inko rakhte hain, bilkul chicken jaisa taste hai."

 Havildar: "Nahi re, inko jaane do, yeh dono bahut kamjor hain. Ab yahan 3 saal rehna hai; tu tension mat le, aur bahut mote tagde milenge."

 This news spread like wildfire, and the Pakis (Baluch Regiment) across the LOC were thereafter not to be seen even through binoculars, till the Naga battalion was replaced by another unit after 3 years.

 Now-a-days, the only reason Pakistanis keeps blatantly bullying us Indians is because we allow them to do so.

 How I miss the good old days. Jaane kahan gaye woh din!

 

 

PAK SAVAGERY ON THE LINE OF CONTROL IN J AND K

Lt-Gen HarwantSingh (Retd)

 

               Pakistani troops crossed the Line of control (LoC) in the Poonch  Sector of J & K and killed two India soldiers. It is not so much the killing but the savage act and heinous crime of mutilating the bodies of these soldiers, which has caused widespread indignation and outrage in India. There is nothing unusual for casualties to take place, on both sides of the L of C due to sporadic firing from either side. It is the crossing of the LoC and committing the brutal and un-soldierly act of mutilating the bodies and beheading one of our soldiers, that has created such uproar in India.

            Such cowardly acts are normally the wont of Taliban. On all accounts, Pakistan army has been through a phase of Talibanisation.  Shooting women, stoning them to death as a dispensation of justice is reprehensible practice followed by the bigoted and the savage. Whereas soldiering, is an honourable profession where gallantry and chivalry is the hallmark of a good army. It is also in the interest of discipline and good morale that the troops are required to conduct themselves in a dignified manner, both in peace and during operations.

           In the same sector, in early nineties, Pakistani troops crossed over the L of C and established a post in the upper part of Kirni village. A few days later, Pakistani troops were evicted from this post. While the enemy was thrown back, it left behind dead bodies of a soldier and an officer. Next day at a flag meeting at Poonch and in the presence of a few thousand civilians from both sides, the dead bodies were handed over to Pakistan military, observing complete religious rites and with full military honours. Because, for the Indian army it is an Article of Faith that enemy dead must be honoured and the unarmed done no harm. Those who violate this code of conduct are hauled over the coals.

         Pakistan army does not fool around with those who take firm and punitive action against any misdemeanor on its part. In the above narrated incidence, it was expected that Pakistan army would react to, what it felt was an ignominy of being evicted from that post and having to accept two dead bodies in the presence of such a large gathering of civilians. Pakistan army had tremendous tactical advantage in the area, but Indians took the necessary steps to nullify that advantage and cater for such an eventuality. Pakistan army launched two battalion size attacks on two successive nights and both the battalions were decimated by the defensive fire tasks (DF tasks) much before the enemy could close in with our troops. Thereafter, the Pakistan army pleaded for a ceasefire, to evacuate its dead and wounded. Such a firm action by the Indian army resulted in complete peace along the L of C for the next many years.

              There is complete lack of trust of the Pak army and it is this, which has resulted in Indian army’s stance of no withdrawal from Siachen without demarcation of the Line of Actual Control on the ground and delineation of the same on the maps of both countries.  Wherever and whenever India has firmly dealt with Pakistan, the latter has refrained from repeating the same mischief. Be it the invasion of J & K in 1947 or the offensive in the Akhnur sector of J & K in 1965.

Had India acted firmly against Pakistan after the attack on Parliament, in all probability 9/11 at Bombay would not have taken place. These and the attack on Red Fort were preplanned and executed with the full knowledge and support of Pakistani establishment. BJP government then and UPA now, failed in its primary duty to protect the nation.

             It is our failure to deal with Pakistan at Kargil in an appropriate manner and not punish it for it’s perfidy that has left us with the sinking feeling that once we vacate positions at Siachen, Pakistan would invariably occupy these. At Kargil the political executive showed extreme timidity and the military failed to put across the necessity of making Pakistan pay for its mischief, with the result that we paid in heavy casualties in those frontal attacks, up impossible slopes and heights. Further we ended up deploying a division where a brigade was enough and a corps where a division could do the job. Such large addition of troops, North of Zojila ­­­­­ Pass, has sent the Indian defence budget into a tailspin.

              India’s backward bend to create a climate of trust and good neighbourly relations, building bridges of trade and commerce has been a one sided affair. These attempts need to be linked with, end to cross border terrorism. Any mischief by Pakistan needs appropriate reaction by India: politically, diplomatically and militarily.

 The author was a Corps Commander in J & K during the early nineties; and later retired as the Deputy Chief of Army Staff

Pakistan’s Endless Lies & India’s Gutless Pundits

Kunal Verma

 

After the Kargil War, I was filming the eight Pakistani prisoners who had been captured by us in the Dras and Batalik Sectors. The Army PROs had told the POWs that I was from the Red Cross or some such bullshit in the hope that they would talk on camera. The first thing I did with each of them was to tell them that I was from no such organization. I also told them point blank that their country was denying that their Army had been a part of the infiltration and their best chance of returning to Pakistan was to talk turkey and tell the truth or languish in our jails for years. The fear of God and the fact that they would never see their families again worked and they began to talk – all eight of them. As ordinary soldiers they didn’t know too much, but what they said was detailed and clearly established how their regular units had moved into position masquerading as ‘mujahideen’.

 

The visuals of those men, some with bandages on their eyes, was flashed on virtually every television channel and within a week the eight POWs were flown back to Pakistan. That footage is still with me, and the verbal evidence of the POWs blows whatever fig leaf of cover the Pakistani establishment ever had.

 

Kargil was not a one off thing. The same thing had happened in Jammu and Kashmir in 1948. From day one the Government of Pakistan had gone blue in the face repeating ad nauseam that their Army was not involved. Their entire case in the United Nations was based on that one big lie which we could never convincingly expose, despite the fact that Western journalists had splashed photographs of the active involvement of the Pakistan Armed Forces. For my book, The Long Road to Siachen: The Question Why I found some of these images fairly easily, yet no one on the Indian side felt the need to aggressively nail this great big lie. Years later, when Pakistani officers began to publish their own stories, we still did nothing to counter this propaganda.

 

As a nation, we are pathetic when it comes to remembering our history or honouring the brave men who died defending this country – sixty-five years on and our political leadership grudges them even a National War Memorial! Not surprising then that October 1947 in Baramula has all but been forgotten, when the tribal lashkar pulled out and raped virtually every woman and girl in the town; or for that matter forgotten the chilling words when Skardu fell and the Pakistani field commander wired back “All Sikhs killed and women raped” or words to that affect.

 

In 1965 they did it again, and then again in 1971, even when the Pakistan Army was fighting for its survival in Bangladesh, they tortured and mutilated our boys. 22 Rajput at Madhumati had two men stripped naked and dragged through the streets behind jeeps while others were tied to trees and their eyes were gouged out! The Indian Government’s response was predictable – 22 Rajput was pulled out of the Eastern Theatre. The Pakistan Army which had behaved in the most barbaric manner possible with the people of Bangladesh were then protected by us from the Mukti Bahini and 93,000 POWs were sent back by a preening Indian Government while some of our own boys even today are reportedly languishing in their jails. Not one of the Pakistani soldiers was tried for war crimes.

 

Our Parliament is attacked and Mumbai is held hostage by ‘non-state actors’, Kashmir has been on fire for thirty years thanks to our hostile friends across the border and all we do is sanctimoniously talk of CBMs and signing Track 2 ‘deals’ where we want to talk of demilitarization of Siachen based on some ridiculous sentimental hogwash of being brothers who have been separated at birth! We want to play cricket and hold hands and sing songs and write articles about ‘Aman ki Aasha’. Sure, there’s nothing wrong in building people to people contacts and keeping dialogue open, but surely it must be on our terms.

 

And now this! Pakistani soldiers behead our boys and we wring our hands in collective anguish. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH US?

 

We’ve brought this upon ourselves! We can’t protect our women, we can’t look after our farmers, or our soldiers – either on the borders or in Chattisgarh – we can’t take a damn step any more without being surrounded with the stench of corruption. As a people we have failed and the Government of India, which is us, have failed the country as we squabble at every level. Every institution is today under attack – be it the Army, the Police or the Judiciary. We watch as our Parliamentarians make monkeys of themselves in the highest edifices of democracy and then go scuttling into their homes behind a barricade of police protection and barbed wire when our children take to the streets. Just imagine what would have happened if the President of India had walked down the Raisina Hill slope and embraced the anguished youth and shared their concern. All we got was lip service. And water canons and a few lathi charges.

 

The underlying message of these protests – be it Anna Hazare or Ramdev or Kejriwal or Sangeeta, Radhika, Madhulika, Meena or Jyoti is the same, even if our screaming, sometimes hysterical media misses it! THE PEOPLE ARE CRYING OUT FOR BETTER GOVERNANCE! Every scandal – be it the CWG, 2G, 3G, Coalgate, Kodankulam or FDI, is a nail in our crumbling wall. When your intestines are bleeding, your women being raped, your fishermen are being shot by drunk Italian Guards as sport, and all you do is make shrill noises on TV, do you seriously expect the enemy sitting beyond your gate to shake his head in sympathy or do you expect him to hit you even harder. If he takes away your heads, it anguishes us today. But as we have regularly demonstrated, we will do nothing about it.

 

I have two simple suggestions:

 

The media must stop covering the Pakistan border. A complete news black out on anything concerning the LOC. The Indian Army is more than capable of making the people who did this heinous act pay. Just leave the Army alone. It is their ghost and they will burry it at their time of choosing.

 

Enforce a Naval economic blockade of Karachi until Dawood Ibrahim, the perpetuators of the Mumbai Attack, and the Pakistani Army personnel who beheaded our boys in 2011 in Kupwara and now in Mendhar are handed over. There should be no compromise on this. The Indian Navy has had a virtual son-in-law status since Independence and all the talk of a blue water Navy now needs to be put to the test. Choke Pakistan economically so that they hurt. Neither the Army nor the IAF have the numerical superiority over Pakistan to conduct any surgical retaliation strike. The Navy on the other hand, has a major edge over the Pakistan Navy. If the rest of the world, especially the US, has a problem with this, tell them to go to hell and shut the door behind them!

 

 

Kunal Verma is the author of The Long Road to Siachen: The Question Why and The Northeast Trilogy. A filmmaker, he has been professionally associated with the Armed Forces for over two decades. His films include The Standard Bearers (National Defence Academy), The Making of a Warrior (Indian Military Academy), Salt of the Earth and Aakash Yodha (IAF), The Naval Dimension and Kashmir: Baramula to Kargil among others. The recently published Northeast Trilogy documents the entire Northeastern region of India.

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