The Country Does Not Want A Déjà Vu !
A programme - Salute
the Soldiers, marking the 50th anniversary of the Indian soldier’s
great saga of valour and courage during the Chinese aggression of 1962 was
hosted by Mr Tarun Vijay, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha (Uttarakhand) and
presided by the Governor, Uttarakhand H E Aziz Qureshi, at hotel Madhuban, at 5
PM on 19th Oct 2012. The purpose behind this effort was essentially
to pay homage to those sons of the soil, who took part in this Himalayan
Blunder and achieved martyrdom. The reasons
for the documented military disaster of 1962 were solely the preserve of the
political leadership - of an emerging and young sovereign democratic republic. The
sentiment which prevailed and embraced the gathering was one of victory for the
stoic and uncomplaining Indian soldier who fought with what his country
provided him with then, and which was inadequate, obsolete and often unworthy. The
state of Uttarakhand was unequivocally lauded by the Governor and other
distinguished dignitaries from the Army, who adorned the dais, for its salutary
contribution to the strength and character of the Armed Forces, which remains
its distinguishing feature. There were those who had participated in the Sino -
Indian conflict or else were intimately related and connected with men who had
made the supreme sacrifice of their life, in the service of their motherland. The
Governor felicitated and honoured the mother of a hero from 4th Garhwal
Rifles, Rifleman Jaswant Singh, Mahavir Chakra, who laid down his life in the
battle fought around the Nuranang Bridge, which lead to Sela Pass. Also, the 98 years old Lt Col Inder
Singh Rawat, Kirti Chakra who was the Commanding Officer of 4th
Garhwal Rifles, immediately after the war, received a standing ovation from the
audience, when the Governor saluted him before presenting to him a shawl and a
memento. There were others too from the Garhwal Rifles and Kumaon Regiment who
were felicitated, amidst a resounding of claps and cheers from the gathering.
The piece de résistance of the evening was the
talk of Lt Gen (retd) O P Kaushik, who spun a web around the audience with his
baritone voice, grasp of details, depth of knowledge, poetical interludes,
statistical enumeration about the military and communications network and force
availability of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the autonomous region of
Tibet, and a clinical strategic analysis of such a reality in our context and its
implied threat to our territorial integrity and security. The People’s Republic
of China poses an ominous threat to our land mass, which is contiguous to Tibet
and the part of Jammu & Kashmir which was acceded to it by Pakistan. This
is with the intent and purpose to make the figurative palm of Tibet into a hand,
comprising the fingers of Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, Assam and Arunachal. The force
levels and the military hardware which India can muster against any future
aggression from China, should an eventuality arise for it, seem extremely
remote and beyond the realm of possibility; given our unwillingness to accept
the threat which looms large and real. The chances of us as a Nation, doing a ’62
upon ourselves is pregnant with possibilities, only because we continue to
ignore and treat lightly the indicators which presage a military situation from
developing into a war. Our political and bureaucratic leadership is found
wanting to pry deep into the meaning of China’s resolution of its border /
boundary disputes with all others excepting India; only because it has a desire
to settle it by military means and truncating from the sovereign mainland of
the nation a sizable chunk, that it believes to be its traditional, historical
and cultural part.
The present times, which are riddled with a string
of scams and the compulsions of coalition politics haunting the ruling
government, does not augur well for our country’s future. While economic power
is an enduring factor which underscores development and progress in the growth
of a Nation, it is its military strength and power which guarantees the
environment for the former. The current political leadership seems to fall
short of the people’s expectations to deliver it from the vice like grip of
corruption and crony capitalism that is eating into the vitals of our polity
and society. The need of the hour, therefore, demands a dynamic and strong
leadership, which can ride rough over populous policies and make the Nation
strong, both economically and militarily. It must now be an iron hand in a
velvet glove that both heals the afflicted and crushes the crooked. Without
imputing any political leanings or else motives to me, the country must make a
very hard choice of rising above petty partisan leanings and political
jingoism, and put into power a political arrangement that best serves the interests
of India. The threat that is most likely to simultaneously develop from our North
East and West, and probably attempt to encircle and crush us in a pincer like
operation, is only a matter of time and cannot be wished away or prevented from
happening by diplomatic interventions alone. It must get backed by unmistakable
military preparedness and transcending the denial mode; as gripped our
political psyche when 1962 happened. The times have changed from what they were
in ’62, when the military values and sheer ruggedness of the army’s cutting
edge, was a cut above what we have now. Sheer grit, courage, bravado, stoicism,
unquestioning mindset and an intense feeling of patriotism among soldiers, was
a rule then, than an exception. The same cannot be said now, when market forces
have besieged the people and their thinking like never before, and the military
is not an exception to the situation that prevails in the country. A big
question mark hangs over our response to a situation that seized the army in ’62
and the same from happening in the future similarly. It may not be so. A
Rezangla or a Nuranang, which were battlegrounds in ’62 and where a rag a tag
Indian soldier, equipped with antiquated weapons and material, fought and died
in the spirit of last man - last bullet, could only be a chimera in a future
situation. Therefore, in a country where the political leadership is corrupt
and is driven more by expediency, which is aimed at vote bank politics that
invests heavily in considerations of religion, caste, community and class; the possibility
of history repeating itself is probably waiting to happen. Do not make the
Indian soldier into cannon fodder, by disregarding the visible indicators that
stare at us from the plateau of Tibet. The nation does not want a déjà vu.
Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal
+919410900051
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