Ever since I hung my boots, I have been mulling over the idea of sharing my experiences with likeminded denizens, especially the youth of society, with the hope that somewhere, someone might get motivated to don the uniform! If not, at least I will get to share my thoughts and ideas with those who may care to lend their ears to the ramblings of a not-so-old soldier! Having spent the best years of my life in the Army – 37 plus years, not to mention the nine years of training at various institutes, namely the Rashtriya Indian Military College at Dehardun (1974-79), the National Defence Academy at Pune (1979-82) and the Indian Military Academy at Deharadun (1982-83), I now find myself at a crossroad which is quite alien to me. No parades, no bugles, no salutes, no worries about impending operations et al.  It’s a strange feeling to be ‘free’ from the shackles of discipline, away from the prim and proper fauji  lifestyle and of course, devoid of sounds of gunfire! Perhaps, the full import of a life out of uniform is yet to sink in; after all, a timeline of 46 years in uniform is certainly not a short span of time by any stretch of imagination. But then, it was a journey worth the while filled with events, milestones, anecdotes and trivia galore, every little detail of which are deeply embedded in my repertoire of memories. Perhaps, there will be a time to collate and compile them into a memoir – a memoir of a soldier who gave the best years of his life to a profession he was passionate about. But for now, I felt it may be more pragmatic to write about some contemporary issues which impact all of us, directly or indirectly. So, before I walk down the memory lane, which I certainly will at some point in time, for now I will touch upon a subject that has had an immense impact in our lives in the recent past, and on the future of our state. No, not COVID! I am referring to the ongoing Indo-China border standoff, on which numerous articles have been doing the rounds in various forums and groups the last few months. So, as a part of my ‘musings’, let me share my take on the subject in a layman’s term without getting into too many military details, this, based entirely on my understanding of all that has been written about the present crisis. 
The present day border standoff  has come about because the PLA, in violation of all bilateral agreements and confidence-building measures in place for nearly three decades, has been trying to push the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to its 1959 Claim Line. In the aftermath of the now-famous Galwan Valley clash of 14/15 June 2020, the PLA and Indian Army have indulged in a ‘cat-and-mouse’ game on the barren heights in and around the Pangong Tso, trying to garner tactical and strategic advantages in the region. In retrospect, I do not blame Jawaharlal Nehru when he tried to justify the loss of Ladakh in 1962 by saying that not a blade of grass grew in the region. But, as we all understand, it is more about territorial integrity and national pride. Here, it is pertinent to mention that some of the operations undertaken by our forces during this confrontation are the kind of stuff that would make our hearts swell with pride, and provide an excellent recipe for another blockbuster Bollywood film. The kind of stuff filled with tales of guts and glory, of raw courage and bravery, of leadership and espirit-de-corps, a la ‘Surgical Strike’. Significantly, our forces have secured most of tactical heights and controls part of Pangong Tso which were previously held by China. 
With the Indian Army occupying key heights, it now has the pivot to restore status quo ante at the LAC if talks do not succeed. Militarily speaking, despite the yawning differential between the military capabilities in China’s favour, the difference in terms of available quantum of force for application in the eventuality of a war is not much in the mathematical matrix of defence preparedness. It is a fact that today China is well prepared to graduate from its ‘salami slicing’ strategy to a more aggressive posture, perhaps, to teach India a lesson for its temerity to upstage the PLA and giving them a bloody nose. However, if one were to believe in the old dictum that ‘it is the man behind the machine that wins a war’, India is any day superior to China in terms of quality of troops. To that extent, it may not be too farfetched to claim that India has the best soldiers in the world! Moreover, mountain warfare is about heights as the Kargil War exemplified, and here, India’s superiority over China in high altitude mountain warfare has never been in doubt. Indian soldiers have enough high altitude experiences such as Siachen Glacier, North Sikkim etc, whereas, PLA soldiers will need to acclimatise for 10-14 days before they are deemed combat ready. There are reports that the Chinese soldiers deployed on the LAC are falling sick by the dozens due to high altitude effects, reinforcing the fact that they are chocolate soldiers in the garb of bullies! On the contrary, India has now grown beyond its traditional defensive mindset and has adequate offensive operational plans in place, backed by a strong political will, to ensure a quid pro quo in case of a war, unlike how it had unfolded during the 1962 debacle. No gainsaying that in 1962 China had comprehensively defeated India, and that’s probably the reason why China continues to carry this legacy as a proof of their military superiority and hence, the nagging efforts at bullying India on the border issues. Notwithstanding, it will warm the cockles of your heart to know that today the Indian posture, especially in Kameng sector, is more than adequate not only for its defence but to carry the offensive back into Chinese territory.

The current standoff is Ladakh-centric, but the possibility of this extending to the Central Sector (Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal) and Eastern Sectors (Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh) cannot be ruled out.  In the Eastern Sector China has always perceived Arunachal Pradesh as part of ‘South Tibet’, and bases its claim on the argument that historical ties existed between the Tawang and Lhasa monasteries. As such, Tawang is key to the defence of the entire sector - from Tawang to Tezpur in the Assam Plains. Moreover, the 400 years old Tawang monastery was the birth place of the sixth Dalai Lama in the 17th century and is the second largest monastery after Lhasa and it is plausible that the 14th Dalai Lama chooses his successor from the Tawang monastery. China also perceives that asylum granted to the Dalai Lama by India enables him make speeches around the world to keep the Tibetan issue alive. In addition, the existing strong Tibetan culture in some parts of Arunachal Pradesh and pockets of Tibetan settlements in various parts of the country such as Dharamshala, Mysore etc provoke Chinese fears of a covert pan-Tibetan movement for independence in the future. It is also a fact that Tawang and part of West Kameng district were taken over by India in 1951 under the stewardship of Major Bob Khathing, an Assam Rifle officer who was brought back from retirement for this task, by Daulat Ram, then the Governor of Assam, after receiving written instructions from Sardar Patel, then the Deputy Prime Minister, ordering the annexation of Tawang. Apparently, before 1951 the Monpas were Tibetan subjects and gave tribute to the Lhasa monastery. This administrative dimension is not lost on China and based on that, China pursues an aggressive policy on Arunachal Pradesh to deter India’s so called Tibet card. However, the most plausible reason for laying claim on 90,000 sq km of Arunachal Pradesh (less Longding, Tirap and Changlang), which has gone much beyond the original claim of the Tawang region, is to force-create a ‘bargaining chip’ for the future if and when the two countries sat for serious negotiations. China could then appear to concede their claim on Arunachal Pradesh, albeit reluctantly, to legitimise its occupation of Aksai Chin in the western border. A typical Chinese way of bullying its friendly neighbours!
At this point in time, India and China may be on the verge of a breakthrough in resolving the tense border standoff in eastern Ladakh with both sides broadly agreeing on disengagement of troops from all major friction points in a time-bound manner. The specific proposals for the disengagement and restoration of the status quo ante as existing in April were finalised during the eighth round of high-level military talks between the Indian and Chinese armies on 06 November. Both the Indian Army and Chinese PLA are looking at sealing the pact in the next round of Corps Commander-level talks. One hopes that India will not fall into the Chinese trap of a ‘you first’ approach and lose out on the advantages which have accrued post the Galwan Valley episode. Not surprisingly, the latest satellite imageries have indicated China making a nine km road inside Bhutanese territory that could give them an alternate route to the Zompelri ridge which the Indian Army had prevented Chinese forces from accessing in 2017 during the Doklam standoff. This has happened in spite of an agreement to maintain status quo; implying that it would be wise to tread with caution keeping in perspective the Chinese traits of treachery and cunning in their affairs of warfare and negotiations while inking the final agreement. It has to be a ‘give and take’ on equal terms. Our message should be loud and clear that it’s a new India China is dealing with – an India with oodles of confidence and aggressive mindset backed by a strong political will unlike in the past. So, China...be warned!
(The views expressed are the writer’s own. He can be reached at jarkengamlin@yahoo.in ) 

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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