It is a national shame that one Colonel and 19 soldiers have been killed in action while many more injured in a “fist and club” non-military action with the Chinese PLA in the Galwan River Valley. There are unconfirmed reports of 43 PLA casualties.
Ironically, it was at Galwan River Valley, 80 km upstream from the current Line of Actual Control (LAC), near Samzungling, that a military confrontation took place before the 1962 war on 4 July when a platoon of 1/8 Gorkha Rifles was surrounded by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The post remained under siege thereafter and was maintained by Mi 4 helicopters. A company of 5 Jat was inducted by helicopters from 4-12 October to relieve this platoon. On 20 October, this company fought a heroic action at the Galwan post with 36 out of the total 68 soldiers being killed in action. Interestingly, the route to this post then used to be via Hot Springs- Kongka La area and not from the Shyok river. Just compare the heroic 1962 operations with the current fiasco.
The writing for the latest tragedy was on the wall. Beginning April end, the PLA had intruded at multiple points across the LAC in Eastern Ladakh with a clear strategic intent to trigger a border incident to impose China’s hegemony on India and stop further development of border infrastructure in sensitive areas, which threaten Aksai Chin.
Also read: China believes India wants Aksai Chin back. PLA has likely secured 40-60 sq km in Ladakh
Unprofessional political and military response to the crisis
The political and military response was surreal. Focus remained on domestic politics. Denial and obfuscation were the principal tools. The crisis was handled as a border management problem — a pattern we have become used to seeing after Depsang 2013, Chumar 2014 and Doklam 2017 — and not as a military operation to contest the preemptive tactical offensive undertaken by the PLA.
India missed the obvious signals: the deployment of regular PLA troops — all arms formations; build-up of reserves in the rear; precautionary build-up all along the LAC; the choice of areas of intrusion — our vulnerabilities; and seizure of the heights at places of intrusion. India’s intent was to dare and call the Chinese bluff.
But it is this approach that resulted in the horrendous spectacle of the commanding officer of a unit being clubbed to death in full view of his troops. The military hierarchy itself failed in its professional responsibility to advise the government to use force as per professional norms. The blood of these soldiers is on the hands of the government and the military hierarchy.
The 1996 border management agreement does lay down norms to exercise restraint in use of weapons during LAC confrontations. But that is an agreement for border policing in normal times and not during military operations which were ongoing in the intrusion areas. The agreement does not lay down any restrictions on carriage of weapons. Moreover, when the lives of soldiers or territory is threatened by the enemy, the commander on the spot can use all weapons at his disposal, including artillery fire. The decision to not carry weapons was deliberate and a wrong one taken by the military hierarchy, which resulted in this tragedy.
History is replete with examples wherein the disengagement process is used as a ploy to attack the enemy. “Never trust your enemy” is a principle taught to every recruit. Every child knows the story of the “Trojan Horse” in the battle of Troy. Indian Army fell prey to the design of the PLA.
Border management is distinct from border defence. The former requires linear movement and visible “flag showing” in the valleys and along the roads and tracks. The latter requires holding the dominating heights. The military violated this cardinal principle of high altitude and mountain warfare by not securing the heights either preemptively or after the intrusion.
Also read: India’s Fingers have come under Chinese boots. Denial won’t help us
Kongka La moment
Make no mistake, this is Narendra Modi’s Kongka La moment. In the 1950s, lacking in economic and military resources, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had followed the pragmatic, traditional ‘forward policy’ to flag the frontiers using the Intelligence Bureau (IB), the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and the Assam Rifles.
By 1951, India pre-empted China and secured the areas up to the McMahon Line in the Northeast using the Assam Rifles. This was a remarkable feat because until then, Tibet exercised de facto control over Tawang and parts of Lohit division. In the western sector, China pre-empted us and secured Aksai Chin and built a road through it linking Xinjiang to Tibet. However, by mid-1959, we managed to plant our ‘flag’ in all other areas using the IB and the CRPF. Most of these areas were east of present-day LAC at varying distances.
At this juncture, our police/paramilitary posts/patrols came face-to-face with the Chinese border defence units and India granted asylum to the Dalai Lama in March 1959. This led to China hardening its position and it came out with its 1959 claim line in Ladakh. Being militarily weak, the best option for India was to negotiate and accept the actual ground positions as a mutually agreed border without giving up our claims for a final settlement. However, Nehru decided to continue with the brinkmanship on the premise that war will not take place.
On 25 August 1959 at Longju, in Lohit division, the PLA took a soldier from the Assam Rifles as a prisoner of war (POW). The first violent incident took place on 21 October at Kongka La in Ladakh, where nine CRPF personnel were killed, three wounded and seven taken as POW. Until then, the goings-on at the frontier regions had been secretive and public perception was managed by denial and obfuscation.
However, the border clashes and casualties led to immense pressure from the public and in Parliament. Nehru lost his nerve and abandoned a fairly successful strategy despite China offering a status quo settlement. All his subsequent actions were panic-driven, tactical and bereft of strategic thought. Diplomacy was abandoned. The pragmatic frontier-flagging ‘forward policy’ adopted until then was replaced by a more aggressive ‘forward policy’, which actually became ‘forward movement of troops’, to call the Chinese bluff. Less by design and more by default, Nehru blundered into a military confrontation on an unfavourable terrain and with an army that was unequal for the task. Rather than calling the bluff of the Chinese, our own bluff was called.
Interestingly, Kongka La – Gogra – Hot Springs, is one of the areas of current intrusions.
Also read: PM Modi’s silence on LAC stand-off is benefiting China. India must change its script
Modi’s situation and what now
Modi’s dilemma is the same as that of Nehru. Militarily, due to a quantum jump in technology-driven capability, China has a clear edge over us. Like Nehru, PM Modi has given priority to the economy over the military. He relied upon diplomacy to handle China. Lulled by the experience of Depsang (under UPA 2), Chumar and Doklam, he approached the present crisis as a border management issue.
Misreading the situation and poorly advised by his compliant military hierarchy, Modi played a dangerous game of brinkmanship, reducing the Army to the sorry pass of operating without arms in deliberate military operations. The horrendous murder of 20 soldiers in the Galwan Valley has brought the issue in public domain. India now knows about the inept handling of the situation on the LAC, both politically and militarily.
Modi now has to take the strategic decision. There are two options. The first is to swallow the bitter pill, rely upon diplomacy, exploit the brutality of the incident that led to a large number of casualties on both sides and achieve the political aim – status quo ante April 2020 and demarcation of the LAC. In other words, extract from China what Nehru failed to accept in 1959. War is always the last resort and even a bully knows that.
The second option is to salvage national pride and fight a limited war to achieve the same political aim. Make a declared intent to localise the war in a specific area as was done during Kargil but be prepared for an escalation. Under no circumstances must we rush into a conflict/war. Vendetta and retribution are emotions that compromise clear-headed military planning. War has to be at time and place of our choice. Weather and climate play a critical role in high-altitude warfare.
Prime Minister, in this hour of reckoning, the nation stands solidly behind you and I, as a veteran, place my services at nation’s disposal. Notwithstanding the asymmetry in capability, our armed forces will deliver.
Lt Gen H S Panag PVSM, AVSM (R) served in the Indian Army for 40 years. He was GOC in C Northern Command and Central Command. Post-retirement, he was Member of Armed Forces Tribunal. Views are personal.
The print=Congress spokesperson::: what Modiji has done 6 yrs, congress couldn’t do 60 yr
What can a government do in six years which was neglected in the past 60 years? Previous period of 2004-14 can only be passed off as ‘ Puppet govt.’ which had no money to buy Rafael fighters. But we don’t even produce own combat rifles today. Early 1960s saw our own HF-24 s, capable of Mach 2, but scrapped after 147 were produced, why? 1971 wàs a high point for us but the then PM was afraid that FM MANEKSHAW would want to take over. Perhaps that is why our forces get unfair treatment by leaders looking over their shoulders in fear.
Blah blah blah. Modi has insurance for the next 10 lives. That insurance is the Nehru-Gandhi family and the Congress. Whatever went wrong between 2014-2020 is the fault of someone else. Always.
Juveniles all.
Mr Vishwas: All that brainwashed, blinkered bhakths like you can do is pin the blame on previous governments rather than hold the present government responsible for its own follies, self-goals and jingoistic bluster that got India into the pickle it is in now. And the extent of your brainwashing by a bunch of semi-educated Gujaratis is so complete that today, if you get mugged in the streets of Madras, your wife leaves you or India loses a cricket march, your ilk will blame Nehru !
That apart, as the son of a proud, patriotic IAF serviceman who saw action in 1962, I would take strong umbrage at your insinuation that the Indian Armed Forces would behave like their Pakistani counterparts and would involve themselves in politics. I refer to your ir-responsible and utterly baseless canard:
“then PM was afraid that FM MANEKSHAW would want to take over”
At no stage was there any talk or even rumours about Field Marshal Manekshaw (RIP) or other top brass in the Indian Armed Forces getting involved in the politics of the nation. The Indian Armed Forces remain in the barracks and are answerable to the duly elected political leaders of the citizens of India. As they should in a democracy. And the Indian Armed Forces have never weakened the democratic foundations of India, on the contrary, they strengthen it by being an apolitical force. And Field Marshal Manekshaw was a professional soldier who never ever aspired to be anything but a soldier. Do not insult his memory and his legacy by your puerile, politically motivated insinuations.
DO NOT EVER DOUBT THE APOLITICAL NATURE and DEDICATION OF INDIA’S ARMED FORCES. DO NOT FOR A MOMENT THINK THAT THEY WILL BEHAVE LIKE PAKISTAN’S FORCES.
Very well said, Kili.
Thanks Mr Rajiv .
What Bolton revelation gotta do with this?
I am so sorry about this article by Gen Panag. There are casualties on both side and its quite likely that the Chinese suffered more, that should be very clear to all. As far as the build-up is concerned, we have got equal built up all across. It’s not that we have been surprised. The only surprise was the conduct and barbarian attitude of the Chinese Army. They dd not follow the rules of the games and engagement, yes that way we were surprised but even then we recovered and fought back and inflicted casualties on them which were not expected by them. Now this article- such a provocative and senseless heading to provoke the public sentiments. I am sure all those who know Gen Panag know what he is writing and why he is writing, I do not have to say much on that. Let us be logical and not sentimental in taking decisions. Our public knows that.
Fantastic. The sagacious analysis by this guy reveals the pathetic competence of many of our military personnel who by the sheer dint of their claim to deep insight merely by the number of years they enjoyed the privilege of free ration and accommodation and a handsome severance package to enjoy the rest of their lifetime.
This is a war. Enemy attacked. Indians gave a fitting reply. Period. Real soldiers do not shed tears.
Imagine the situation in India if guys like this writer had unrestricted powers to do what they deemed fit! It’s because of the saner civilian brains that keep the nation alive.
Real soldiers don’t try to enlighten others by lopsided analysis; they just do the bidding. That’s their duty.
Mr Feng: You pontificate:
“.. Enemy attacked. Indians gave a fitting reply ..”
Your jingoism leads you to forget a lot of things that very likely caused the attack and its aftermath. For, there is a lot more to it than “Indians gave a fitting reply”. You omit to mention that India lost territory and China gobbled up Indian territory. And still occupies it.
But far more seriously, you do not go into why China attacked. You seem to be completely oblivious to the fact that jingoistic rhetoric aimed at a domestic audience might have been taken seriously by the Chinese. After all, didn’t Amit Shah loudly proclaim on Aug 5, 2019 that India would retake Aksai Chin that she had lost to China in 1962? Maybe he did that to please the jingoists like you who like to hear such thrilling news from the Vishwaguru, its 56 inch chested PM and his man Friday. But, behind the scenes Indian diplomats worked overtime to persuade the Chinese that India did not plan any attacks on Aksai Chin. Clearly, that fell on deaf Chinese ears.
Admittedly, there are many domestic and foreign policy considerations behind the Chinese attack. But there is a heavy price to be paid for Islamophobia and this sort of Arnab Goswami & Amit Shah led chest-thumping and armchair nationalism.
Since we are dealing with China, it is perhaps worth quoting the ancient Chinese general Sun Tzu
“It is more important to out-think your enemy, than to outfight him”
PS: I am pretty sure that you will not be smashing your Chinese made smartphone anytime soon. Let me know if you have smashed it though.
It is ridiculous to think that merely having more casualties on the Chinese side justifies the fact that Indian troops were not given clear directives and didn’t even have weapons or permissions to fire. Any life sacrificed foolishly in utter vain is a life too much. Soldiers are prepared to die, but not like this.
What about the ground lost?
Modi should have taken the advice of Rahul, Sonia Gandhi and Anthony. They would have advised to hold the gun in reverse and fire.
?
They did not hold any gun at all!!!!!
It was a daring military operation that was well planned and well executed by 16th Bihar Regt. They approached the Chinese and asked them to evict the post. The CO led from the front and inspired his regiment to go on the offensive against Chinese, thereby inflicting severe casualties and also evicting them from Point 14. Tacit approval was given by the Goc-in-C of the Northern Command to the area brigade for this mission. In the end Chinese suffered more than the Indians and the objective was achieved! If this is an Inept Leadership of the Indian Army then I am wondering what different did you do as the commander?
Wow Sandeep, it looks like you were right there shining a torch up some chinese soldiers. This narrative is so vivid and first hand.
Was Mr Sandeep there observing the fight or was he hallucinating in his armchair in some middle-class flat?
Was your IT cell team getting live streaming updates from ANI on the ongoing border operation?
I am a regtular reader of Gen.Panag’s columns in The Print. Ideally, readers would love to read inputs from the perspective of defence, not commentary on politics from former General. I do not say that this government has handled the present border crisis in the best possible manner. But, the comparision of present situation with Nehru’s times in patently wrong and unfair. Nehru’s forward policy was not just flagging frontiers with flags. He set up police outposts with hardly any back. Chinese merely swept away. When Chou En Lai suggested trade off between Axai Chin and NEFA, Nehru lectured him ignored him, sent him to people like Morarji Desai. The soldiers’ boold on Nehru’s hands was on account of totally ill-equipped army. Whereas, in the present case, India is well equipped. While India tries to stick to rules and agreements between the countries, China breaks them with impunity. Hardheaded decisions should be taken. No body is going to give marks to India for sticking to rule book.
Why does everyone who writes an article always – says something along the lines of – “vendetts, ritribution, pratishodh, revenge” are not advisable etc etc.
Why does everyone assume that every politician lacks brains and only those who write articles have the brains ?
Agree, that we should not rush into politically inspired retribution, and walk into a situation of Chinese advantage.
China since 1984 has been converting and integrating their commercial and military production. Unless the Indian army is able to deploy greater firepower assets in shorter response time and with flexibility of locations than what Chinese bring to Aksai Chin, we should avoid political bombast of restoring Aksai Chin.
In early 1990s India and China had similar levels of competiveness in key advance technologies, in terms of infrastructure, exports and manpower availability., e.g. DRDO and Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) had similar number of R&D Scientists and Engineering staff. While we have maintained our numbers, and Chinese have increased these to 150,000.
Unless we start making integrated plans along with Ministry of Finance, and build up to have preponderance of ‘useable’ firepower, we will not be sure of handling escalatory retaliation.
56 inch now is 5.6 inches
The tone and tenor of the article is political and not nationalistic. It’s more interested in demoralizing the political leadership of Modi and his government. I don’t know When journalists learn to support our government in such national crisis
If journalists and media are to learn to support the government, then why do they need to stand as a separate pillar of democracy?
Mr Murtada: Good question. But are we living in a democracy or in a state that is increasingly repudiating democracy and replacing it by fascism? Political scientists now talk of “elected authoritarians”. They are the much ballyhooed “benevolent dictators” that the middle classes so yearned for – an Indian version of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew. And then when people themselves do not want a free press and only want a press that sings praises to their all-knowing, infallible Messiah, is it any wonder that the role of the press as a pillar of democracy is toppled?
Indeed, any criticism of PM Modi is met, not with arguments but with abuse: you get labelled a Congress supporter, a presstitute, a follower of Pappu, an Italian stooge and many other invectives. Whilst that may be an indication of the fact that the arguments against Modi are true and that the paid and unpaid bhakths are unable to argue and hence resort to name-calling , it nonetheless destroys a freedom that few developing countries enjoy – freedom of speech.
As Ugandan dictator Idi Amin (1925-2003) said:
“There is freedom of speech, but I cannot guarantee freedom after speech”
In India, in addition to the state that seems to follow Idi Amin’s ideology, citizens too seem to follow him.
Sad but true.
It is the job of journalists to report neutrally, and not “support” one of the involved parties in their article as you suggest. Your suggestion goes against the basic principles of journalism…
The current conflict between India and China is in Jammu and Kashmir. Indias just gives one reason for the occupation of Jammu and Kashmir, that an individual called Harri Singh signed an instrument of accession with India. And the treaty of Lahore and the treaty of Amritsar signed by the British Empire gave him the authority to sign this. But legally under international law Jammu and Kashmir is still independent. On July 18, 1947 the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed by the British Parliament to assent to the creation of the dominions of India and Pakistan.
The Article 7 of the Act provided that, with the lapse of His Majesty’s suzerainty over the Indian states, all treaties, agreements, obligations, grants, usages and sufferance’s will lapse. All such powers and authority reverted to the sovereign authority, the people of the states.
(why keep the liabilities if you are going to give away the assets).
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1947/30/pdfs/ukpga_19470030_en.pdf
Which means that the treaty of Lahore and the treaty of Amritsa were no longer valid and therefore Harri Singh had no authority to sign the instrument of accession. That is why Mountbatten put the text everywhere that the people should decide their future including in the UN resolution 47.
According to the Article 7 of the Independence Act 1947 all such powers and authority reverted to the sovereign authority, the people of the states. The ruler of the state of Junagadh acceded to Pakistan but the Government of India refused to accept this and the Indian army moved in and under this formula a plebiscite was held and it joined India. Hyderabad was invaded by India. Silette was in Assam and they voted to join Pakiatan/Bangladesh under Article 7 of the Indian independence act 1947. The North West Frontear provence joined Pakistan using this too.
Article 370 in the Indian constition was the last line of defence the Indians had defending the fake instrument of accession and even that is now broken.
General Assembly Resolution No.2625/1970 “declaration on principles of international law friendly relations and co-operation among states in accordance with the charter of the united nations UN” also applies to Jumma and Kashmir which states “Convinced that the subjection of peoples to alien subjugation, domination and exploitation constitutes a major obstacle to the promotion of international peace and security, Convinced that the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples constitutes a significant contribution to contemporary international law, and that its effective application is of paramount importance for the promotion of friendly relations among States, based on respect for the principle of sovereign equality”.
https://www.un.org/ruleoflaw/files/3dda1f104.pdf|title=declaration
In all possibilities, China will attack us. I am sure, we shall deliver our best at whatever cost. China shouldn’t be allowed free ride as it happened so far. Jai Hind!
दुर्घटनाओं के पश्चात लेख लिखना वह भी प्राप्त या उपलब्ध जानकारी पर और लोगो को जिम्मेदार ठहराने जैसी कला तो आजकल के राजनीतिक पत्रकारों की फैशन है। जबकि पत्रकारिता का एक और पहलू भी है। कि घटनाओं की पूर्व जानकारी प्रकाशित करना।
You guys are anti-nationalist media.
Tum log kahi Jaa kar doob q nahi marte ho..?
This is highly Politically motivated opinion…
Fake general writing this article. Is he general in Chinese army? Yes than he can say Modi have blood of Chinese army on his hand. Does winter know where mouth is and where is exhaust?
Shut up lefties media and don’t misguided people from such a arrogant article
My earlier comments the name should read
Lt Col Arun Kumar Mehandru (Retd)
Looks like your media is sponsored by China
You should not your military credentials at the end of articles . Write yourself khangress party member . Very disgusting and misleading . Since you have started writing on LAC issue you’r only misleading the audience . You yourself don’t know difference aggression and occupation . In one of articles you claimed china has occupied some Indian territories . In the very next articles you mention China is showing aggression . Why would any army aggression on a territory that his own ? Then you also carefully avoid mentioning occupation claim that you mentioned in first article because you knew by now pictures have come that shew no occupation . You are a stain .
I agree with the failure in stategy and as to what is obvious , everyone wants to know is what talks were going on between both countries for last so many days , there is no disclosure of the same by our military , MEA or the PMO , also even a kid in India knows that the Chinese are untrustworthy , then as you said , why were our soldiers not armed during the conflict , if we had intelligence reports on the number of troops and artillery built up of the Chinese , then what was our similar position taken of which there is no information , if PM was and could get in touch with Chinese President Xi Pingling on any issues , then did PM have a talk with his Chinese Counterpart over the initial conflict between the two armies , if so what was said , there are too many silences on our part , even why did the PM take 2 full days to react before the country over the death of 20 soldiers , also why is Defence Minister so eager to celebrate public openings of road , which led to another border dispute with Nepal who are as agressive ad the Chinese , why is PM yet silent on the Nepal’s behaviour , before closing my comment , I would like to point out why is any Army officer through Social media trying to comment and diapprove on social and community issues , which is beyond the subject these Army officers nir are they authorised to do so , which leads to the conclusion that there indiscipline among the Army brass.
Cunning China took advantage of our immature attitude,china made remarkable progress in military affairs when our politics was busy in fighting among selves, spending on Media trail to degrade one part of society and toppling the elected state govt. China is straight forward in decision while we are waiting for some diplomatic solution we are brave towards poor illiterate citizen while we are diplomat in front of cunning enemy
Should the PM have been wasting time dividing people with thoughtless laws like CAA and NRC, or securing the borders instead?! How could the enemy move so much men and machinery, as well as build infrastructure without anyone noticing?! Like in Pulwama, it’s a big-time intelligence and strategic failure. Will heads roll?! Will there be accountability? Or will it be business as usual because the heads are important for the PM’s domestic strategies and manipulations?! For how long will incompetent chamchagiri take precedence over competent loyalty to the nation and its people, rather than the leaders’!
Does China have guts to fight head to head.
They did this cowardly act when the two sides were in talks.
Indian army is battle hardened army and on the other hand Chinese lack experience.
Indians have upper hand. The article is written some general panag(guess who) and u may understand the motive behind this article.
Anti national Print. Shift your office to China and try doing the same thing and you will know what freedom you people are enjoying in India.
India’s Army leadership is in disarray with Rawat preoccupied with prioritizing his political career, with lack of clarity on what value his office brings; Naravane an unimpressive personality and likely beholden to Rawat and sundry political masters. Sorry state of affairs. China’s timing to create mischief must be lauded.
Hello
Our politicians are spineless. They should shut all imports from China. In the 50s we didn’t have much but went on to become highly successful. I remember my mother making everything from scratch and we were appreciative and grateful for what we had. So why do we need all these Chinese gizmos to make our lives easier. Freedom and dignity comes at a cost. Either we opt for that or sacrifice our freedom for our convenience & greed.
Publishing such things,you think doing great job?…….shame on you…..you are against modi….I can understand……but you are against our army and people too…..shame..shame
Views expressed by General Panang are biased , unprofessional and uncalled for
The Galwan valley incident cannot be called an Army operation calling for use of weapons
Even the Chinese did not use weapons
The incident was triggered off when the Army Colonel along with his jawans objected to the Chinese tent not being removed and being asked by the Colonel to forceably remove it by his jawans
It’s not a matter of shame that Indian Army jawans were killed but a matter of pride that many more Chinese soldiers were killed
The border between India and China remains unclear till date
The first priority is to clearly defined it
This task should be completed with utmost priority
No point blaming the government of which Gen Panang is so critical
He even undermines the Defence hierarchy for reasons best known to him
Neither India not China want or can afford a war
So let us work towards diffusing the situation which is what the government is doing
Let’s support our Army and the Government
Sorry to read this. It’s look like political motivated artical from a soldier. Shame
For defining the border clearly via talks, we must note two things:
1. China is not keen to even define their version of the LAC, even when requested umpteen times. Nevertheless the effort must be made again.
2. No talks are likely to begin if our politicians make brash remarks like we will take back every inch of Aksia Chin, POk etc etc. All grandstanding must cease and vote bank politics must be eschewed.
Good one
Any more BS in-store from your end? I am blocking The Print…how can you be so F_____ against the country and earn from the same country. You dont deserve my viewership. You deserve to lose and you will soon.
The social media warriors abusing the former General should first try to do a few pull ups at home before making their next post. To take on the Chinese seriously you need more than a bunch of emotionally unstable vegetarians. Leave the job to the real men and chew on your carrots guys…
True
True facts. Many in our country are unfortunately just behind emotions and tricks of politicians. Many liku said don’t even analyze
With all due respects, I would vehemently say that the article is politically motivated and based on spurious information to support a narrative.
It’s meaningless pointless article to blame Modi
Gen Panag’s dislike is well known
Let this be known that he joined Aam Aadmi Party since 2014!
Which Indian prime minister not having blood in their hands to protect the citizens from terrorism every prime minister did the same in Kashmir
This Lt Gen showing up his knowledge in wrong way n blaming his own army openly in a critical time.
Panag your daughter was defeated in chandigarh by BJP, no wonder you are hurting
You suck!!!
Dear General Panag
Please widely disseminate your robust article. It is an eye opener. Public scrutiny is of essence. A political leader should understand that he is accountable to the public. This applies to Narendra Modi as well. Thank you for sharing your informed perspective.
Your posts try and analyse things in a manner that everytime and everything is critical of the government. Makes your so called objectivity suspect. Kindly avoid this be emotional sometime in favour of the country and not Modi. Will do.
Useless Print
Boycott Chinese goods
Mr Pawan : Have you and the rest of your family smashed the Chinese smartphones you all depend on ? Maybe in the spirit of “atmanirbharism”, you will buy an Indian smartphone to the extent such a device exists.
So now, let us see you walk the talk Mr Pawan.
The General has lost his credibility with this article.
Yes, correct.
Don’t like to read the writing on the wall Mr Kalpan Gopal? Prefer to only go by the hunky dory situation that the PM painst and the BJP IT cell injects into your skull?
Inept leadership, shrill jingoism and unwanted sabre-rattling to please a domestic audience has resulted in the sorry state of affairs at the border. But then, it is highly unlikely that your brainwashed ilk will ever hold the sitting government responsible for its egregious incompetence on just about every front. And yes, the current débâcle is the fault of Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Vajpayee, Mannohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi. Amit Shah and Narendra Modi are completely in the clear and have committed no blunders and mistakes. After all, they are infallible Messiahs who make no mistakes. And are brilliant Gujaratis to boot !
Clearly Indians are riding the much ballyhooed bullet train to further economic ruin, social disruption, territorial loss and military humiliation. All Nehru’s and the Congress Party’s fault !
Every one accepted our intelligence failure in Kargil in 1999 but in Ladakh that is not an intelligence failure but a pre-planned intrusion by the Chinese because Modi has removed the special status of Jammu & Kashmir and formed Ladakh as a central territory, or due to other reasons. Indian security forces are always in a defensive position at the border, against all its neighbours and especially China. After the 1962 war behaviour of the neighbours changed towards India, Pakistan dared to attack India 1965 again in 1971 and 1999 and relation with other neighbours are also not stable and there are always ups and downs. Now comes to weapons modernisation of armed forces and I agree with you a very sad state but it will be possible only through private participation in weapons manufacturing. Army has the complaint against weapons which are produced indigenously, from rifle to tank. Shortage of Officers in armed forces is another problem. The Government should set up about 100 more military school and NCC should make compulsory for all schools including private, and in colleges from 1st year to final year. India’s trade deficit with China is about 50 billion dollars per annum and that is not a small amount if India transfers about half amount, 25 billion dollars, is sufficient for modernization of armed forces.
With all due respect to the people in the armed forces now and before and this being very personal I write a few words.
Blood of soldiers on the hands of the PM and government and advisers!!!! Find this a rather extravagant statement. No one wants our soldiers to die, but it’s the occupational hazard that one signs in when you opt for that profession and career. These men now, many earlier and many later are doing something unimaginable to us ordinary people..
The author who seems pretty critical of the present dispensation owing probably to his political affiliation had forty long years to sort out the issue amicably. He was also in certain positions of authority where in he could have altered the course of history but probably couldn’t or didn’t.
If solutions were so dependent on one party alone, we would not have so many disputes! It takes two hands to clap they say, and even if India is all willing for a peaceful settlement, China should be!!
Sorry the compar6 between what Nehru did is inept. What Nehru did was a Himalayan blunder. We are nowhere near it. Don’t behave like churlish Cong n other opposition parties. Support your govt n military.
Very well written! Congrats.
A rascal commend a other rascal, envious