Indian Defence Review

While reading an article  (http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/Pakistan/Decoding-Indo-Pak-ties-It-s-talks-versus-fights/Article1-1105336.aspx?hts0021) in the Hindustan Times which advocated more talks and less fighting with Pakistan, in response to the article, I stumbled upon a series of comments by a gentleman who calls himself  ‘Pink’, which left me dumbfounded.  Because if true, and there’s no reason to believe otherwise, the implications are staggering, not just for the Indian Army, but also for the nation.

The article was published two days after the ambush of an Indian patrol by Pakistani soldiers in the Poonch Sector, in which five Indian troopers were gunned down. Subsequently, Defence Minister AK Antony gave a clean chit to the Pakistani army, saying the killers were dressed in Pakistani army uniform. He was forced to retract that statement following the outrage that followed.

But nevertheless, says Pink,  ‘There is pressure (on the army) from the government to be ‘nice’ to the Pakis and militants and some careers have ended when officers have stood by their guns.’

I have taken the liberty of compiling some of Pink’s comments below. These comments deserve a response from the government, which seems to be bent on neutering the Indian army in a methodical, diabolical manner. It is time we Indians stood up for our forces.

– Ramananda Sengupta.

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Comments by Pink:

The current government is proving itself so incompetent and is down right hand in glove with paki establishment in wanting to obsolve pakis on any wrong doing what so ever!! I wonder if power that be wanted to issue statement saying aliens came and caused the “incident”! I have a question for gurus, Can there be a political pressure on Army to not to retaliate even for such a gross provocation? Does it mean the local commanders have to offer drinks and snacks to invaders and twiddle their thumbs while PMO and MEA pour over language in a draft to be read out to indian parliament to ensure that Indian public does not think paki’s are responsible for ongoing terror against India! What kind of compulsion makes current government act and behave as they do??

Indian Army officers need to be far more direct and stick their neck out but they are genuinely worried about the consequences to the army – remember the scathing attacks in part of the media during the pay commission and VKS issues. I don’t think there is any sell out…in fact I am sure there isnt. But there is an incapability to come to terms with and deal with the realities outside their professional domain. For example just earlier this evening I was speaking to an ex GoC 21 Corps (strike corps) and he said very similar things. He had also served at AHQ and he said that sometimes it feels the government is not our government but our adversary’s. He said lets say the Brigade Commander authorizes a raid. In this day and age people can be court martialed for this and the media will smash the reputation of the army and the govt will wreck whatever is left of our professionalism, discipline and ethos. This is the reality they have to deal with. They can be tried for war crimes and called rogue even if they are doing what would seem sensible in any sane country.

In the same gathering someone else told me that after the last incident the CO 13 RajRif almost revolted with the rest of his troops and insisted he allowed to go in and he was not allowed. A serving CO (third generation) of a unit in the valley told me that his father who had commanded a unit in the same area was shocked at how bad the situation was and said that even in 62 we were not scared of being hauled up for defending ourselves and exercising normal operational latitude.

Remember Lt Gen Kapil Vij in Op Parakram. His actions were normal and consistent with the protection of his command in the context of the orders he had been given by the AHQ. And what happened ..he was sacked overnight on the insistence of Brajesh Mishra for doing his job. It was a BJP govt then. Then a Corps Commander could be sacked for doing his job, now a Company Commander can.

These guys can take on physical danger (even the worst of them) and pay the price on the battlefield but they cannot take the ignominy of being branded anti national and take on the mental pain and harassment that will be heaped upon them if they ‘dare to question civil authority’.

The Indian Armed Forces will not disregard their political orders. Its just not going to happen.

Having said that we need someone to fall on his sword. We need a Manekshaw, Hanut Singh or SK Sinha but then given the state of our polity I wonder if even they could make a difference. I never thought I would say this but I wish Indira Gandhi was here !

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I had a chance to speak to one of the recent very well regarded GOCnCs Northern Command (can’t take names sorry) and he made a couple of points. I am giving a sanitized version here. Things are worse than this.

1. There is deep concern in the armed forces especially army about morale of troops and officers when they feel their own government does’nt support them and has no coherent policy. In the age of media everybody sees what is happening and soldiers are not fools. This is very corrosive.

2. There is pressure from the government to be ‘nice’ to the Pakis and militants and some careers have ended when officers have stood by their guns.

3. Arty is a serious concern and even if there was the political will to inflict damage and respond ‘for effect’ small arms cannot inflict the damage. Our mortars are no good. We need arty!

4. The strategic situation is unfolding much like what most of us feared and our govt and our public discourse has no conception of it.

5. I asked him why people like him don’t speak up. He said we do but perhaps we are too nuanced and not emotive and direct. He said the problem with being direct is that you will have to criticize the government, bureaucracy and polity because its crystal clear what the problem is. But Indians do not understand national security at any level and that would lead to aspersions being cast on the motives of the armed forces and emasculate them even more. This might make a bad situation worse and cost lives. So its very tricky.

6. So whats the solution I asked him. Will we need to have a major catastrophe and pay a huge price in blood before we wake up from our stupor?

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What does India want to accomplish in Pakistan?

1. It IS about talking AND fighting. Even Hillary Clinton has used the Talk/Fight/Talk metaphor.

2. India’s goal of strengthening the politicians will not work without weakening the PA. Post 1971 is an example. The PA was in disgrace and the peoples rose.

We must defeat the PA is small but public ways—some directly across the LOC by making it a two-way street so we’re not playing defense all the time, and others by leveraging the non-state actors in Pakistan such as the BLA and TTP through plausibly deniable means.

The PMO/MEA duffers think there is no alternative to talking. I say talk and fight they are not mutually exclusive. You can’t play football by allowing the other side an unlimited number of freekicks.