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Read the lips of Army Commander, Northern Command
by Jaibans Singh on 02 Aug 2020 10 Comments

On the eve of Kargil Vijay Divas, Lt. Gen. Y.K. Joshi, Army Commander, Northern Command, one among the heroic commanding officers who led their units in the Kargil War in 1999, gave an interview to CNN News 18. The 13 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles that the then Lt. Col. Y.K. Joshi commanded in the Dras-Muskoh sector of Kargil was conferred the citation of “Bravest of the Brave” and won two Param Vir Chakra, eight Vir Chakra and 14 Sena Medal. Captain Vikram Batra, PVC (Posthumous) and Rifleman (later Subedar) Sanjay Kumar, PVC, belong to this unit. Lt. Gen. Joshi too was awarded Vir Chakra.

 

The programme, titled “The Man with a Mission”, was essentially an ode to the brave soldiers Lt. Gen. Joshi commanded during his career, his “Bravest of the Brave” battalion, and the Indian Army. In the interview, the General spoke of the heroic action of his troops under Captain Vikram Batra which led to the capture of the crucial Point 4875. This gave him the honour of having commanded the “finest troops in battle”, for which he felt a sense of reverence and gratitude. He described the charge to the top of Point 4875 led by Captain Batra as a daredevil act that has no precedence in the annals of warfare. Point 4875 has been renamed “Batra Top” to keep the memory of the epic battle alive for all times to come.

 

In a very emotional comment he acknowledged the soldierly attributes of the troops that he is presently commanding in the Northern Theatre by saying that even today the Indian Army is full of courageous soldiers like Captain Batra, always ready to respond to the call of the Nations. This comment makes the heart of every Indian swell with pride.

 

Gen. Joshi discussed the current situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China and the Line of Control (LOC) with Pakistan, and frankly admitted that the situation is an ongoing challenge wherein the Indian troops are “acquitting themselves with distinction in defending the territorial integrity of the nation and its sanctity”. He made no bones about the fact that in Eastern Ladakh, India will need to be prepared for a long haul, an aspect similarly defined by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during his recent visit to Ladakh. 

 

The General clarified that the Indian army has been engaged with People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China in a military dialogue to resolve the situation, first by disengagement and then transcend by de-escalation. He emphasized that the process will be conducted on principles of mutual and equal security for both sides, and India’s territorial integrity would not be negotiable: “While we are investing sincerely in this ongoing endeavour to bring about peace along the border, we also remain prepared at all times for any eventuality”.

 

The seriousness with which the Indian army, under his watch, is applying this policy is visible from high degree of vigilance of our troops in the Ladakh sector. Rapid buildup is underway with enhanced aerial and ground combat patrolling, even as commanders on both sides work towards a restoration of the status quo ante, with both sides withdrawing to their previous positions with a common area in between. General Joshi said his troops are well equipped and battle hardened, especially the Ladakh Scouts; he spoke glowingly of the support the Indian Army is receiving from the people of Ladakh.

 

Regarding the situation along the LOC with Pakistan, the General said there has been a 40 per cent increase in ceasefire violations from Pakistan mainly to facilitate infiltration of well-equipped foreign terrorists. He added that efforts are on from Pakistan to recruit local Kashmiri boys into the fold of terrorism and provide support to them in terms of money, weapons etc. He expressed confidence in controlling the situation due to synergy between all security forces and receipt of actionable intelligence, both human and technical, which is leading to incisive and clinical counter terrorist operations with minimum collateral damage. The terrorist ranks are depleting at a very fast pace.

 

He urged Kashmiri youth not to fall prey to propaganda or come under the influence of the Pakistan sponsored Over Ground Workers (OGWs), adding that the Army is making special efforts to wean away youth from the cult of terrorism with a three-pronged strategy - prevent, protect and empower. This approach was vindicated by Inspector General of Police, Kashmir Range, Vijay Kumar, confirming that there is no terrorist left of local origin, hailing from Srinagar. The IGP tweeted: “After #killing of #LeT #terrorist Ishfaq Rashid Khan yesterday, no resident of #Srinagar district in terrorist ranks now”.

 

Sadly, some sections of the media tried to pick holes in the interview by selectively quoting a single line from General Joshi’s comprehensive narrative and distorting it. However, this got little traction from the public at large. The Commander, Northern Command, made it very clear that the situation in eastern Ladakh will be resolved with application of a mature yet firm policy and without compromising the territorial integrity and sanctity of the nation. He is supremely confident of the capacity and capability of his troops to achieve this end, and is willing to show patience to avoid escalation. But should such escalation take place and conflict become imperative, our troops are well poised to face the challenge.

 

(Jaibans Singh is a geo-strategic analyst, columnist and author)
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Thankyou for an informative piece.
Dr. Vijaya Rajiva
August 02, 2020
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This article is full of lies and is grossly misleading .First of all indian army was ill prepared to then (Kargil time) and obviously now as rajnut Singh is running around like a headless chicken for weapons.
It is such a shame what indian army has been doing in IOK, killing unarmed civilians, kidnapping young boys , using them as human shied, raping women (seems like a favorite pass time of Indians) , the recent killing of a grand father who took his 3 year old grandson to buy sweets is there for all to see the "bravery" of the indian army.
It is an open secret that indian army's officers would kidnap some villagers shoot them in cold blood and plant some weapons on their dead bodies and claim to have killed some "LET terrorist " and then claim promotions.
After 71 indian military went into a lull feeling that they have given a death blow to Pakistan and this false sense of "victory" is showing the results now, their condition is such that cannot face Pakistan alone and what to talk about China here, the recent slap fest only proves my point!
The recent purchase of Rafael jets and the hoopla in india just shows how desperate the 56" chested person is to divert the people's attention away from his defeat he got in Ladakh (as he declared it to ba a union territory) and is trying give the impression of invincibility , my worry is what if few of these toys are shot down by either china or Pakistan ( just like abhi nunden) how will the red eyed person react then.
News is that 15000+ Sikh soldiers have quit indian army and opted not to take benefits and join Khalistan cause and not to mention Gurkhas here who should be a concern for indian army brass wether to trust them or not.
observer
August 02, 2020
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@ Observer.
You" This article is full of lies"
This statement of yours shows you lack the grey matter in your head.
All that is stated by the eminent author here are facts.Point 4875 was captured by capt Vikram Batra and his boys. How can this be a lie? You are not even an ordinary soldier.Who are you to evaluate the performance of the Indian army? Without being prepared , the Indian army cannot win a war. As the Indian army won the kargil war , your contention that Indian army was ill prepared is lies ,false malicious propoganda and bulshit.

Who are you to decide whether a part of India is IOK? Kaskmir is part of Bharat and all Bharateeyas have a right to occupy Kashmir or any other part of India. Kaskmir is not yours or anyone else's private property.
Your claim that the Indian army killed unarmed civilians and raped women needs to be substantiated with evidence which you have not been able to furnish.Hence this remains a lie stated by you. Be thankful to the Indian army for not handing you over to the NIA.
Panikkath Krishnanunni
August 03, 2020
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@Observer: You are a coward jihadi or a brainless italian court jester. Either way I will not waste my time countering you.
P M Ravindran
August 03, 2020
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Our troops are the best in the world, led by equally professional and patriotic officers. The only citizens of this country who keep their promises even at the cost of their lives. Even though the nation cannot pay them back adequately there is a lot that needs to be done towards being just to them.
P M Ravindran
August 03, 2020
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@ Shri Panikath Unnikrishnan and Shri Ravindran

No point in trying to respond to Observer. He is an angry frustr atedIndian Muslim. Give him some slack.Unfortunately for him his parents did not opt to go to Pakistan during Partition. He can still go there if he wants to. Nobody is standing in his way.

Fortunately for Bharat, there are still some sensible Muslims living here.

I was reading the other day about the importance of Rafael. Pratap Rudy, a former pilot, gave a detailed account of its advantages. He flew one of them and the equipment and controls there are simply fabulous. Pakistan, ofcourse, is no match for India. The Chinese have more arms in quantity, but are ill tested . The only time they went to war against India was in 1962, when the soldiers with all their bravery were slaughtered because of the incompetence of the Nehru government which did not provide them with proper clothing, even footwear etc.or even arms.

Times have changed. The Indian air force has dominance in the sky.
China will not risk a war, not even an armed conflict. At Doklam they got a bloody nose. At Galvan valley despite their treachery, their soldiers were dealt a heavy blow also, even though XijiPing has kept their numbers a secret and has even denied his soldiers a proper burial.

Compare that to the honourable burial Bharat's soldiers received.

All in all, China won't immediately flex its muscles again, although they may try some stunt before the winter sets in. The Indian army is well prepared. As someone quipped the other day, it is no longer chini chini bhai bhai, but chini chini bye !

PM Modi was superb in his speech the other day at his northern visit.
Bharat wants development and peace, but is prepared in the event of Chinese expansionism.
Dr. Vijaya Rajiva
August 03, 2020
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Very straight and focussed article. Kudos to Mr Jaibans Singh.

@Observer seems to have missed the moot point. The article is about Chinese blackmail. And Indian Army gave a befitting reply to that.

It is not about Pak or Kashmir. But since you have made allegations, then you must be well aware that even now the radical elements in Kashmir valley force innocent women of common Kashmiri muslims to serve the foreign jihadis. Often there are media coverage as to how these terrorists were caught while visiting their (forced) girl friends.

Perhaps you would like not to remember that most of such Romeos are trapped because of the information provided by the same girl friends or their families.
Ahmed
August 03, 2020
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Vijaya read the article in "Eurasian Times " with a heading "No Buyers For Rafale Jets: Why Almost Every Country Dumped French Rafales Except India?" , it is nice to see all of you living in denial and in Lala land no wonder indian forces are now scrambling like head less chickens to find any one selling any thing !
Kargil will always haunt you when indian army ran out of coffins and it was USA which pressured Pakistan to go back and NOT indian army, this is on record that indian army officers accepting that .
I still remember that occasion when Mushraf was visiting india on a private visit after he resigned and a indian Maulana told him not to interfere in indian muslim politics which Mushraf said he is not and then in recent Delhi anti muslim riots that same maulana got his butt whopped by hindu (read RSS goondaz) mob and his car was destroyed, it was such a testimony of being a no hindu living in the india of today (the Modi-fied india) proving M A Jinnah's prediction that Muslims will be left proving their "loyalty" to india....how true that statement was ...... a true leader's vision!!!
It is bitter pill to swallow (Laddakh), modi has to tell thousand lies to cover his original lie and irony here is that you all believe in that just like germans believed in Hitler's lies and at the end they got destroyed and became slaves, so wake up Indians (read hindus) as there is still some time left before all is lost.
observer
August 03, 2020
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@ Ahmed,

How true ! The jihadis were caught through good intell. some of it obtained from the local Muslim women who were forced to service them.

It isn't just Observer who pedals lies about the Kashmir situation. You find many Hindus also doing the same thing. Usually from the Congress but also the crytpo Congresswallahs and so on. There is some organisation headed by a woman who talks about human rights violations in Kashmir. Since the abrogation of 370 she does not have access to Kashmir so how would she know about all this. Most likely the BBC, Al Jazeera and so on.

However, you are right about the problem being China. Despite Pakistan's avowed enmity towards Bharat, and the terror attacks, the ceaseless violation of the LOC etc. the country can still handle Pakistan, if only because the freedom Congress did not want to accept Ambedkar's proposal that a transfer of populations was the best solution. The Congress, notably Nehru, was in a hurry to assume the reins of power and the Ambedkar formula called for a 10 year period when India would continue with a British presence at the head and take some responsibility for the transfer. Also, there was the Congress attachment to the idea of a secular democracy which would be a country for all.

Shri Godbole's article on the history of Islamic relations starting with
1857 and the birth of the two nation theory is quite relevant. Jinnah simply copied this idea and gave it a horrific twist with his Direct Action Day.

Observet's observations are that of a poorly informed Indian Muslim who nurtures an enmity towards Bharat. Nothing can be done about it. That is the cross Hindus have to bear.

It is not the first time that Bharat has had to endure invasions and occupations and yet its civilisational strength is unbeatable. And now, ofcourse there is also a central power and a well prepared army.

China will huff and puff and try a few misadventures here and there, but it won't go further than that.

The sensible Muslim population will remain intact, since they know well their fate in the 'Islamic' countries.
Dr. Vijaya Rajiva
August 03, 2020
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Either you have no idea about what you are talking about Vijaya or you on board with modi's ideology of hate and revenge against Muslims in particular and non hindus in general (including low caste hindus).
Cant you see his hatred of Muslims has now turned his "friends" in Arab world against india already and this is apparent by the reaction of Gulf elites .In April, the government of Kuwait, along with a member of the Sharjah royal family in the United Arab Emirates, criticized widespread Islamophobic social media posts in India accusing the country’s Muslims of deliberately spreading the coronavirus and engaging in a “corona jihad.” Modi eventually responded by tweeting that the virus “does not see race (or) religion,” although his government’s rhetoric says otherwise. A month later, the UAE Federal Public Prosecution issued a public warning against discrimination after scores of Indian expats were fired from their jobs for anti-Muslim social media posts. Sectarian prejudice has always existed in India. The room for giving it homicidal expression has expanded exponentially under Modi.The Muslims they (RSS goondas) butchered were not victims of unpremeditated paroxysms of rage but exhibits in an organised campaign to entrench hindu supremacy.
People, there still is some time left...Wakeup!
observer
August 04, 2020
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