This message is intended for all veterans of the military and diplomatic corps, who are often viewed as military and strategic analysts on various TV channels following the Sino-Indian Galwan crisis. It is also equally applicable to all TV anchors and correspondents covering military matters for the public. I request that they appropriately highlight these points during their TV debates.
Our experienced troops are highly combat-experienced in numerous wars (1947–48, 1965, 1971, and 1999), besides insurgencies in the Northeastern states, Punjab, and Jammu & Kashmir. The Jats, Ahirs, Sikhs, Rajputs, Marathas, and other troops from the plains of India are extremely mentally and physically fit soldiers to operate in the Punjab plains and the desert terrain. The Gurkhas, Garhwalis, Kumaonis, and similar hill tribes are physically top class operating in the hills from 6000 to 10,000 ft. The Chinese have stationed all TAR (Tibet Autonomous Region) troops against us, who are accustomed to residing at elevations between 10000- 16000 ft and possess exceptional physical fitness to combat in high altitude areas (HAA) with sub-zero temperatures and rarefied oxygen. Therefore, we must increase the number of Ladakh, Sikkim, and Arunachal Scout Battalions, as well as provide arms and services that can effectively counter the Chinese. Deploying such troops in the summer heat of the desert would prove futile, as our plain troops struggle to adapt to the high-altitude areas (HAAs). Additionally, they will excel in gathering local actionable intelligence, navigating cross-country, and possessing a thorough understanding of the local terrain, read like their palms. They will also be able to understand local dialects and languages across the line of actual control (LAC) and solve numerous logistical, motivational, and psychological problems.
Observing these military and diplomatic experts on various live TV channels, I find it extremely frustrating that politicians from all parties often surround them, engaging in pointless debates that primarily benefit our adversaries. This situation has left us mired in the ‘LAC se ek km agey’ (beyond LAC) and ‘LAC se ek km peeche’ (behind LAC) debates, preventing a long-term, permanent solution to marking the international border (IB). Our Armed Forces, being apolitical, are primarily concerned with national security and integrity, and the disrespectful conduct of politicians in TV studio debates becomes difficult for these military and diplomatic veterans to comprehend. Additionally, I must remind all panelists, TV anchors, and captivated audiences that we do not fight wars on TV screens or in TV studios. The armed forces primarily perform this job, with operational rooms (Ops Rooms) ranging from the battalion level to the Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) level. So, let them plan their operations, and field forces execute these plans while in combat. Often, I observe that some anchors provide information about the movements, reinforcements, deployments, and dispositions of our Brigades, armor, mechanized infantry, artillery, and the Indian Air Force (IAF), including the reinforcements of combat aircraft on our forward air base, as well as the operational movements of our naval ships, submarines, and aircraft carriers in the Southeast Asian seas. This is often done for tactical reasons, potentially jeopardizing national security as we hand everything over to our adversaries. Additionally, a number of newspaper journalists provide our adversaries with detailed information about troop movements, the introduction of new weapon systems, and other military operations. Have we ever watched on TV channels or read in newspapers such details about our adversaries? On the 15 June 2020 skirmish, one TV anchor reporting from Leh, in his over-enthusiasm, gave the complete Orbat of the Brigade, of which 16 Bihar is also a part. Do we have a clear understanding of the Chinese regiments, units, and strengths operating in the LAC? We still do not exactly know which Chinese regiments attacked us in Chushul or Walong in the 1962 war, while we give our military maneuvers for free.
My young age limited my comprehension during my first year of service in Darbuk, which began in mid-1963. However, after serving in other HAAs, participating in the 1965 and 1971 wars and insurgencies in Mizoram, Nagaland, and Punjab, and holding intelligence staff appointments at the Army & Corps headquarters, I developed a deeper understanding of the military operational mechanism. Also, many of our defense experts on TV channels and diplomats may not have served in Ladakh and keep yapping operational plans in TV studios or writing on numerous electronic websites like Mission Victory India, Frontier India, Fauji India, and so on. The weather and the high altitude alone play a crucial role in determining the outcome of war in these areas. I have never watched such hysterical discussions on the BBC, Al Jazeera, ABC, CNN, DW, or other foreign channels while in all our Hindi channels, female anchors keep screaming and the English channels feel one up showing military convoys carrying SFF (Para Commandos), guns, tanks, and other military logistical and operational wherewithal violating the basic principles of combat intelligence—’Need to know & need to go’.
Electronic media has brought Israel-Palestine and Russia-Ukraine wars to our drawing rooms and bedrooms, but I have never observed their military experts revealing their operational plans. During the 2024 general elections, some of our top politicians declared the liberation of Pakistan Occupied (POK), a political statement that may garner votes, but militarily represents a major operational plan with international implications. Incidentally, Gilgit-Baltistan, which is part of India, is located in the northern tip of the Indian subcontinent, touching borders with Afghanistan, Pakistan, and China, and is more than six times the area of POK. Despite the ongoing Israel-Arab and Russia-Ukraine wars, India requires a more comprehensive strategy and planning than these two ongoing conflicts!
The majority of our population believes that the Sino-Indian border dispute primarily affects Fingers 4 to 8 in Galwan Valley, Galwan River, and Pangong Tso. The Chinese are a cunning lot after local issues are resolved in Galwan; to keep haunting and fingering us, they can raise border issues in areas opposite right from Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim, and Bhutan to vast Arunachal Pradesh in connivance with Pakistan. Therefore, we require a permanent solution to the international border (IB) problem, rather than relying on short-term measures or half-baked solutions that have resulted in numerous skirmishes, the loss of precious lives, the 1962 War, the 1967 Nathu La incident, Doklam, and now the Galwan issue. We also need to realize as a nation that there is no military solution to resolve our issues with our adversaries; the military is one major national force that gets multiplied by self-reliance and international economic, financial, trade, commerce, diplomatic, aggressiveness, and pressures against our enemies.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cyber warfare as conducted by Israel against Hamas, Hezbollah, Lebanon & Israel with mobile phones and computer explosions have added new dimensions to warfare that we need to master for both our offensive and defensive operations.
…JARA SOCHIYE…!!!