In Jan this year, at the Annual DGPs meet, a paper came into prominence where the Indian Army was criticised for losing control over 26 of the 65 Patrol Points (PP) on the LAC of the Ladakh Border. The paper was later removed from the website. I am happy that the Police Meet highlighted the aspect albeit blaming the Indian Army. In all probability the paper wanted to highlight the fact and put the NSA in the dock who dictates the policy. By the way, it was again the NSA – MEA Combo which has ensured that the Indian Army uses medieval weapons in border skirmishes while confronting the PLA; an arrangement which only shows lack of professional knowledge of our negotiators. A defence source has also commented that it is the role of the MEA to delineate the LAC and the Army has no role to play in it. Also, please elucidate, who has stopped the movement of graziers from their traditional grazing areas just because the PLA has put cameras on vantage points? Just because the Chinese would observe; are we losing our access to our own territory? Elected representatives of Ladakh have bemoaned the loss of grazing fields due to the disengagement process, where the buffer zones have come up in our own areas. In last Sep, the BJP also lost the by-election for Temisgam seat for the Ladakh Hill Council by a convincing margin. Konnchok Stanzin, a councillor of the council has also resigned from BJP as the interests of tribal and nomadic population are not being protected. Is it indicative of general discontentment among the people?
DGPs’ meet will gladly wind up their meet concluding that it is the Army who wants to appease the Chinese as obviously they do not want to confront the policy makers? I have no doubts that the DGPs know who frames the nation’s policy? If they were so sure that it was the Army’s doing; why did they remove it from the website? By the way, I am sure they also know that neither the CDS nor the three service chiefs are members of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). Who then articulates our defence policy?
In our context we are not even patrolling the PPs mutually agreed in 1996. Who is responsible for these orders? It is worthwhile to study our Country’s security architecture before we arrive at conclusions. Alternatively, the DGPs were diplomatic enough not to blame their own ilk; the NSA being a police officer who is almost solely in charge of the Nation’s security structure? He has the ear of the Hon PM, who believes that he is the last word on security, strategy, operational plans, and method of conduct of the large-scale military campaigns. I am really worried whether the country is being taken down the garden path by a single and sole adviser. I have written on it before, how the NSA exposed his lack of knowledge of the Indian Army in his interview to the Print while defending the Agniveer Scheme. Please refer to my article ‘National Security Slapdash; At the Mercy of Armchair Strategists’ written in August last. I have also asked repeatedly in my articles; what is the problem in formulating our National Strategy? No answers have been forthcoming as the NSC do not want to commit anything in written as they may be held accountable in case of any future failures. It is again the age old ‘playing safe strategy’ which our bureaucrats excel.
On one hand, the Chinese have constructed over 624 model villages integrated with the border outposts to ensure the sanctity of the LAC. This is the follow out of what Xi said on 9 Mar 2013 in a panel discussion at the National People’s Congress; “To govern the country well we must first govern the frontiers well and to govern the frontiers well we must first ensure the stability of Tibet”. In 2017, he had also written to Tibetan herdsmen living near the Arunachal Pradesh Border to set down roots and safeguard Chinese territory.1 Please pray tell me; by not patrolling our own areas; are we helping the Chinese or defending our country?
Now, like the Chinese, we have also come out with a program called the Vibrant Village Program to safeguard the frontiers from encroachment by the Chinese. A sum of Rs 4800 crores has been allocated to construct 662 villages in the first phase on the Sino-Indian Frontier. A belated step albeit correct! Just look at our strategic vision of our National Security Apparatus; we have learnt a lesson after losing since independence over 40,000 SQ KMs of Ladakh area to the Chinese. Why did we not think of it before? It is only after the Chinese have implemented it our strategic copycat community wakes up and sees merit in the system. I have always been telling that our politicians and bureaucrats from the times of Nehru do not have any strategic vision; they just bumble, and stumble their way to enlightenment several decades later: Things that could have been possibly done initially, with some deliberate thinking had our professionals were not obsessed with feudalistic servility that constrained them to advise their masters what they wished to hear. Now the Chinese have told us what to do, we have jumped to the same conclusions patting ourselves for our foresight and clairvoyance.
We have fooled the public enough and hidden the real culprits for the loss of territories. Where is the Henderson Report? LAC is decided by the MOEA and the control of India’s security apparatus is with the NSA who has represented the country for the last 22 times as the PMs representative for Border resolution meetings with China’s State Counsellor. The incumbent NSA, himself has represented the country for the last five times from 2015 to 2019. He should further elucidate what transpired in the talk’s other than the official asinine statements that talked about the free and friendly atmosphere that dominated the talks and a very calculated, ingenious, earth shaking, and nail-biting decision that was taken to meet again for the next meeting? The last 25 Meetings of ‘Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination’ (WMCC) between India and China have been held and some faceless bureaucrats have represented India; please ask them what transpired and what decisions were made in these meetings? Both Jai Shankar and his counterpart Wang Yi have met several times (lost count); what decisions were arrived at for the country to follow this Appeasement Policy which only a cowering and defeated power should adopt?
The country also should not forget the sad and dismal record of the country in the 1962 war; all due to the false assurances and incorrect information fed to Nehru by his confidant Bhola Nath Malik, another IPS Officer. Nothing against the Police; as they are domain experts in their field but sadly, they are naïve in strategy and visualisation of the conduct of large-scale military operations. The bureaucrats from the MEA have also not been able to identify our country’s strategic objectives that determine the security structure of our country.
Now, let me be frank none of the negotiators nor the exalted DGPs know the capability of the Indian Armed Forces. They get overwhelmed by the numbers projected in international magazines. Has any one of the negotiators concluded what strength the PLA can afford to apply against our borders? What are Chinese threats on its Eastern Seaboard? Our negotiators have been psychologically routed before a meeting; all they must be doing is to cow down and bend deeply depending on their flexibility in their spines. Why in the world did we vacate the Kailash Range?
The yardsticks that make our foreign policy makers base their cowardice; China’s economy is five time ours; its defence budget is four times ours; its Armed Forces are 2.2 times ours, and its area is three times ours. These figures are enough to terrorise our bureaucrats and make them go crawling before the Chinese. I wonder; how they would ever pursue our national interests from their positions of extreme psychological surrender? God; please save us from ourselves.
Please take the Armed Forces into strategy formulation as a lead agency. None of the exalted bureaucrats or the IPS lobby have any iota of domain knowledge on strategic formulation of our operational plans. One can project our interest only when we have the hard power that is backing it and our preparedness to use it in defiance to intimidating adversaries. When the negotiator has no idea of the armed forces capabilities, he is bound to think the enemy is stronger and we are weaker. Then they conclude that the best option that is available to us is to appease and delay a conflict and gain time so that we can build our strength. If we have not done it for the last 75 years, we have already spent so much time in appeasing China that we will soon lose our DNA to oppose it. Is someone listening?
Are we following the saying ” jis dushman ko haraya nahi ja sakata uske sath dosti karni chahiye”?
Dear Sir, Dosti should not come at the cost of surrendering our territories. If Russia could not defeat Ukraine; Can China ever do it with us? He will rue the day that he started his conflict with us.
Sir External Affairs Minister need to read your comments. If Ukraine is stopping Russian Aggression for one year and going.
He says we are economically smaller as compared to China big amount. He advised we cannot face at present. He bragged that he has served in China for longest time as an Ambassador.
He simply enjoyed perks and privileges as Ambassador.
Very well thought out article. But our politicians, bureaucrats and police are not only incapable but scared of losing their clout. Their short sightedness, shallow knowledge and fear of losing their personal gains will only further harm India.
You have done you job well General Kamath. Kudos to you!
I have no doubts your point will be seen. It is just a matter of time.
I hope it is not too late.
Thanks and Regards
PG great reserch n hard hitting, to the point. Let some one in Delhi read n take remedial action.
Negotiation based on facts, analysis and indepth knowledge requires much efforts. Appeasement is easier.. Hence, policy makers take the easier way. More so when the Armed Forces can easily be made scapegoats when required.
A hard hitting article.
Wonder, if any one is listening.
Hit the nail on the head. Well written as usual. Unfortunate part is such issues are always brushed under the carpet.
Politico-Diplomatic compulsions have consistently overtaken our strategic interests and quite often the Armed Forces have to bear the brunt of consequential fallouts of ill conceived decisions thus made without consulting the prime stakeholders. It’s high time the Chiefs of armed forces were included in the CCS so that the decisions taken have the requisite inputs from the three Services.
Totally agree with you, Sir.
Frank and forthright, the article has called the spade a spade. Will the government wake up?
http://www.indiandefencereview.com/news/battle-of-kasserine-pass-lessons-for-china/
“The Indian Army could have fought the Chinese on more equal footing, had the political leadership, bureaucrats and pliant military commanders not betrayed the rank and file, out of spite or misplaced motives. The country had enough numbers, equipment, munitions and supplies to take on the PLA, if only the Army had been permitted to acclimatize before hostilities broke out on October 20, 1962. Well trained and equipped Chinese hordes did overrun Indian positions in Ladakh and NEFA (Arunachal). But tiny clusters of Indian jawans, lightly armed with Lee Enfield rifles, sub-machine guns and mortars, kept the enemy at bay, inflicting heavy casualties, especially under the exemplary leadership of Lt Col DS Thapa and Major Shaitan Singh, fighting until their last gasp of life.”
Yes, indeed: Sudip.
Gen Kamath’s analytical pieces on strategic matters, especially regarding China are not only extremely perceptive and pertinent but also address these issues with a forthrightness that the ‘muscular’ political dispensation does its best to obfuscate on the floor of the Parliament. Deluded apologists will not only defend the Modi government irrationally, but also vilify genuine nationalists, whose loyalty to the country and idea of Bharat is much greater than their loyalty to certain boastful politicians!!!
Our EAM says you can’t pick up a fight with a larger economy, that China is. National interests are served by sheer positioning of strength by political, diplomatic or strategic manoeuvres, and not by chai pe charcha or swinging on a swing. Op Falcon had been thus far our best response to Chinese overtures on LAC. The Finance and business lobby keeps pushing Military as a liability and burden on national exchequer.
When PM enjoys so much trust of Indian population which believes Na koi aaya hai na koi ghusa hai. We have a giant PM who has pushed away Chinese from Ladakh. Such is the faith and belief system.
Confronting China requires guts, political will shown at Nathu La in 1967. Today we have neither Sagat Singh not Sam nor IG.
I reason it out in a different manner. It is a well known fact that in our Central Govt offices as well as in the State Govts, the REAL Policy maker is the Clerk at the bottom of the hierarchy. The intermediate Superintendents , Under Secretaries, Over Secretaries and so on just initial the note and pass it up. There are very few thinkers in the Central and State Services. Many of these Under and Over Officers, only think a bit, when a crisis develops. The very recent happenings in Punjab is the latest example.
Intelligence gathering is more from what the Intelligence organisations of other countries feed us. There has been some improvement of late, thanks to the use of Drones and the like. Work Ethics is a distant vision. Dedication is only in the Dictionary for most. Yet our Nation is moving forward only on the Efforts and Determination as well as the Vision of very few in the hierarchy.
The GREATEST Advantage the hierarchy has, is that when things are likely to go beyond their control. the Army is there. Yet the Army has to be controlled totally. And our higher ups do succumb to them and no wonder even the Police Forces and other Class A Services best us. Today the stage has come where the Local GE ( of MES) tells off ( politely) the Station Commander of Star Rank because the GE’s salary is more than that of the Station Commander.
We have the honour of being the only Nation where the Security of the Country is decided by Others and the Armed Forces totally excluded.
Gen Kamath’s article has very analytically brought out the ground reality in our Borders. My own conclusion is ” NOT EVEN GOD CAN HELP US”.
The very apt article shows our shallow articulation of some vague national security issues led by a former police NSA .We may have to learn the hard way, unfortunately
At the start I will say I cannot comment right or wrong on what Lt. Gen has written. But I am sure of one thing. We are no more a foolish nation as we were under the congress. The last remaining fool has been shaming himself in Cambridge. Today we articulate and we do dictate. Is it necessary to send batallions after batallions to teach china a lesson? I am sure the PMO knows our capabilities, our defeciencies and our limitations. If we cannot hit china then china also knows that Ukraine war is a learning. With CPEC gone and with the true strength of Pakistan coming on forefront, china also knows how much to tread, where. I believe while discussion is important, so is it important to trust our government.
Sir, some stark hard hitting realities have once again rolled out from your pen. The police has infact no clue in matters Army…..we cannot forget how the terrorist attack on Pathankot airbase was botched up by the direct handling of NSA. There are so many more examples…. please keep writing so that public at large atleast sees factuals.