Indian, Pak armies are poles apart
IN the 1971 India-Pakistan war, I refused to shoot an unarmed civilian who was perched on a tree and was tracking our movement at night on the outskirts of Shakargarh in west Pakistan. Even as a newly minted officer commissioned six months earlier, I was mindful of the lofty traditions and ethos of our great Army.
The dastardly massacre of tourists in Pahalgam is in tune with the Pakistan army’s track record of targeting civilians. Having failed in four attempts to wrest Kashmir by force, the preferred course now is a proxy war, a low-cost option to deliver a ‘thousand cuts’. Pakistan’s military did not flinch from unleashing a genocide in its eastern wing, causing an uprising and its dismemberment in 1971. It had only itself to blame and is now facing unrest in Balochistan.
Diverting attention from domestic troubles and keeping the Kashmir issue alive are the raison d’etre for the Pakistan army to survive in the deep trough of its ineptness, with the morale of its soldiers hitting rock bottom. A distinct chasm exists between its leadership and the troops.
That should come as no surprise because the Pakistan army is also infamous for disowning its personnel. It happened at Kargil in 1999 as members of the regular army intruded, masquerading as jihadis and occupying the rocky heights. Disowned by their own army and left on a limb without adequate logistics, those killed were given an honourable burial by the Indian Army in accordance with Islamic rites. When the international media went gaga over this noble gesture, it shamed Pakistan into acknowledging its game plan and accepting the bodies of its soldiers fallen in battle.
Going a step further, an Indian commander slipped a four-line citation in the pocket of a Pakistani officer who fought bravely till the end. This resulted in the highest award for bravery to an Indian and a Pakistani for the same battle on Tiger Hill. It signified the ferocity of the fight as well as the magnanimity of an Indian commander — the spirit of war in full play.
Even as the image of Pakistan and its military leadership plummets further — also considering the venom spewed against India by Gen Asim Munir recently — it will find that terrorism is a snake coiled around its own neck.
Even as terrorists singled out Hindus in the Pahalgam carnage, one cannot forget how Indian troops, as a mark of respect to Muslims and their faith, spent a night in the upkeep of their place of worship after the 1971 war.
A riposte to the Pahalgam carnage is sure to follow. There are ways to make our recalcitrant neighbour feel the pinch on a long-term basis. Meanwhile, the memory of that five-decade-old incident, when I spared the life of an unarmed civilian in war, comforts me that my heart is in the right place.
Musings