Indian offensive to retake Chinese seized territory : the hidden story. The annihilation of Moldo garrison was assured for the Chinese had clashes erupted.
On 03 Jul, the Prime Minister of India arrived at Leh on a surprise visit. Flanked by his Army Chief and the Chief of Defence Staff, he was received by the Northern Army Commander and the GOC 14 Corps. Both of them are responsible for the defence of Ladakh at strategic and operational levels, respectively.
This visit came in the backdrop of the unfortunate incident at Galwan on the night of 14-15 Jun. The nation was outraged. The death of 20 soldiers sent shock waves through the country. The situation was really grim. The world was eager to hear Narendra Modi. The nightmarish thought of a repeat of 1962 was on everyone's mind.
The Dragon appeared to be too aggressive and dangerous. He had moved up and close with 20,000 troops of the 4th Motorized Division and the 6th Mechanized Division, equipped with light tanks, rockets and heavy artillery, ready to strike deep. India was caught off guard.
Soon after his arrival at Nimu, the Prime Minister was briefed by the Generals on the ground. The GOC 14 Corps briefed him about what action the Chinese army had taken and what they were likely to do next. The PM listened to his General and somewhere during the course of the briefing he said, "I am not interested in what the Chinese have done and what they will do, I am interested in what you have done and what you will do". The interjection was set to alter the future course.
He, after being updated, addressed the freshly inducted troops of the 17 Corps acclimatizing at Nimu. These were the troops of India's only mountain strike corps. They were inducted recently to deal with the dual threat from China and Pakistan. The PM's message was for the world, India's belligerent neighbour and his mighty military machine.
He quoted a shloka to convey that message. It was heard all across the globe. He said, "A brave heart protects the motherland with the power of his weapons. This land is for the brave. Our support, strength and resolve for its defence and security are as high as the Himalayas. I can see this ability and resolve in your eyes right now. It is clearly visible on your faces. You are the heroes of the same land that has repulsed the attacks and atrocities of many invaders for thousands of years. This is our identity. We are the people who worship Lord Krishna who plays the flute. We are also the same people who follow Sudarshan Chakradhari Krishna as an ideal. With this inspiration, India has emerged stronger after every attack".
Time to rewrite history
This morale boosting message was signalling India's strategic intent that ran too deep. More than anyone else, they were the Indian Army Generals who were listening very carefully.
It was time to rewrite history. The unthinkable so far was to be done. It was to be an offensive action of quid pro quo into Chinese-seized territory. The Prime Minister in his address had also said that "The weak cannot initiate peace. Bravery is a precondition to peace". The Generals were quick to understand the shifting paradigm.
From the initial stages of these border tensions, the Chinese had successfully drawn the Indian troops into various face-offs, spreading in penny packets and minor tactical manouvres. Indians were caught in a reactive mode. Indian troops were tied down at a number of places over wide frontages. Stretching from Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) in the north to Pngong Lake in the south, this was roughly 300 km in extent. The initiative was completely with the Dragon.
By early Jul, India had also deployed its troops from the Northern Command reserve. Soon after the Galwan clashes, this Division was moved up from Himachal Pradesh, directly into the front lines in Ladakh, thus beefing up the defences. The holding 14 Corps, however, demanded more and more troops that were ever insufficient - a typical defender's syndrome where the troops are never enough and there is always a piece of ground left to be occupied.
But this was exactly the way Indian army was made to behave while dealing with the Chinese, right from the 1950s onward. The debacle of 1962 had forced upon us a strong defensive mindset. India stood psychologically paralysed in the aftermath. The Chinese exploited this state and made transgressions and intrusions with impunity : an annual feature of sorts.
The differing perceptions of the LAC worked to China's advantage. They would come forward by two steps and retreat by one; thus in five decades we lost hundreds of square kilometres to their salami slicing tactics.
Static defence is a thing of the past
However, the Doklam crisis of Jun '17 changed all that. The handling of this crisis with alacrity instilled the much-needed confidence into our establishment. The Chinese were dealt with firmly from a position of strength. Indians had pre-empted the PLA's move by occupying the dominating ridge line and stalling their planned ingress. General Bipin Rawat was the Army Chief at the helm of affairs and is now India's first CDS.
..........to be continued.
Tailpiece.
Got up at our usual time, the chores and was ready by a half past 9. It was bright and sunny to begin with, by afternoon the sky had become overcast with the onset of a continuous drizzle which by teatime, had become heavy rain. There's a depression over the Arabian Sea and this sort of weather has been predicted over the next 5 days.
My director of the JSS, Kollam had called up and I'd passed on my thoughts.
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