news details |
|
|
| INDIAN ARMY IN THE HIMALAYAS | | | Colonel Anil Bhat | 4/25/2011 8:57:13 PM |
| Independence for India in August 1947 came with a bloody package deal of partition involving one of the largest human displacements in history and the invasion of the mountainous region of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) by tribals inducted by the just-born Pakistan’s Army. Ten ‘lashkars’ (lashkar meaning an army in Urdu) of a thousand tribals each with Pakistan army officers and soldiers disguised as tribals, invaded Jammu & Kashmir for plundering and trying to cut it of from the rest of India.
During the first India-Pakistan War (1947-48), Indian Army, created new records of mountain warfare in military history by not only fighting at heights of 14,000 feet and higher without any oxygen or special clothing and with small-arms of at least fifty years vintage, but also taking tanks up there. 7th Cavalry’s ‘Stuart’ tanks were dismantled and transported in wheeled vehicles to Zoji La (la in Ladakhi means a mountain pass), where they were re-assembled, taking the Pakistan Army brigade there totally by surprise.
The 1947-48 India-Pakistan War was the beginning of Indian Army’s long tryst with conflict. The wars fought thereafter to guard India’s borders and still continuing in low intensity or a stand-off mode are: the Chinese Aggression in October 1962, second and third Indo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971, prolonged conflict in Siachen since 1984 and the fourth Indo-Pak war since 1989, which Pakistan has fought by proxy / export of terrorism to J&K since in the late 1980s. This was escalated by Pakistan Army in Kargil from 1997 culminating to an intense three months hot war in 1999, when 12,000 recently recruited Pakistani soldiers projected as ‘indigenous’ terrorists were evicted from Indian territory with heavy casualties on both sides. Subsequently Pakistan Army supported terror groups spread themselves all over India. The 26 November 2008 multi-target terrorist attack at Mumbai is part of the grand plan of Pakistan Army ‘bleeding India by a thousand cuts’, as envisaged by late Gen Zia ul Haq and furthered by his successors.
The entire 3488 km of India’s border with China and about 700 km of the 3,323 km border with Pakistan is mountainous. So all these wars have been fought or have led to prolonged deployments in altitudes ranging from one and a half to almost three times more than the Alps and in temperatures as low as -50 degrees Celsius.
Siachen, meaning the place of roses, is the name of one of the five largest glaciers in the East Karakoram of the Northern Himalayas, at an average altitude of 5,400 (17,700 feet) above sea level meters and approximately 35.5° N - 76.9° E. Most of the Siachen Glacier, as is the Line of Control, a hotly contested territory between Pakistan and India. The roots of the conflict over Siachen lie in the Western side on the map - beyond NJ9842 – not being demarcated. Both the 1949 Karachi agreement and the 1972 Simla agreement presumed that it was not feasible for human habitation to survive north of NJ9842. Pakistan Army’s occupation of the area in 1984 changed all that.
Indian Army’s regular infantry regiments of troops from India’s mountainous and hilly regions raised pre-Independence are the Kumaon, Dogra and Assam Regiments, Garhwal and Gorkha Rifles and the oldest of para-military but under command of Army, Assam Rifles. Jammu and Kashmir Rifles (JAK RIF) and Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry (JAK LI) were regularized as infantry regiments after Independence.
The erstwhile J&K princely state’s army, which fought against the raiders in the first India-Pakistan war of 1947-48, later got regularized and re-designated as JAK RIF.
Local militias raised for specific sectors, such as Jammu, Leh, Nubra, were initially a paramilitary force under the Ministry of Home Affairs. In 1948, the local Ladakhis fiercely defending their hearth got mustered as 'Nubra Guards'. In 1952, they formed the erstwhile 7th and 14th battalions of J&K Militia. In 1976, J&K Militia was renamed as the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry (JAK LI). 50% of its troops are Kashmiri Muslims belonging to areas of the Kashmir Valley, where, since the late 1980s, Pakistani terrorist supported by Kashmiri separatists have been intimidating their families. So, spending their leave with their families has become a major problem. But that has certainly not affected their loyalty. Worth mentioning is one of their non-coms, who I interviewed while he was convalescing in the military hospital after surviving seventeen gun-shot wounds some time in 1994. Yet another was Abdul Hamid Chara, a former militant, who surrendered, was recruited into JAK LI, died fighting terrorists fiercely in 2010 and was awarded the Shaurya Chakra posthumously.
The Kumaon Regiment with 21 battalions including one of Kumaon Scouts and two of the Naga Regiment, is the most decorated regiment of the Indian Army. Kumaon, extending from the northern end of the Gangetic plains right up to Tibet, is a maze of mountains, some of which are among the loftiest known, including over thirty peaks rising to elevations exceeding 18,000 feet. During the crucial fight to defend Srinagar airfield against raiders in Ocober- November 1947, 4th Kumaon, Major Som Nath Sharma became Independent India’s first recipient-posthumously- of Param Vir Chakra, the highest gallantry award in war. The Garhwal Rifles with nineteen battalions including the Garhwal Scouts has soldiers living in rugged snow-capped mountain ranges with narrow valleys or deep gorges in the middle of the Himalayas, with Himachal Pradesh in the West and North-West; Tibet in the North; the plains of Western Uttar Pradesh in the South.
The Dogra Regiment with eighteen battalions, apart from Dogra Scouts has soldiers belonging to three states - Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and J&K have a long tradition of soldiering. Himachal Pradesh is a hilly and mountainous region in the Western Himalayas.
The ‘Brigade of Gorkhas’ has six regimental groups all tallying to forty battalions, most of whose soldiers are from Nepal. Gorkhas are also known for their traditional side arm, ‘khukri’, a deadly inward curved machete. Late Field Marshal’s quote about them was “…anyone who says he is not afraid is either a Gorkha or a liar”
The Assam Regiment is a unique mix of classic Hindu Vaishnav Assamese and Meiteis and various tribes of Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh. Their side arm is the 'dah', a straight machete wider at the forward end.
India’s political leadership, whose apathy and ignorance was exposed by the Chinese Aggression in 1962, finally reacted by sanctioning the raising of China-specific forces and a self-loading rifle for the Army. Special Frontier Force was raised for secretive special operations comprising Tibetan refugees who fled Chinese occupation of Tibet, Tibetan exiles and ethnic Tibetans recruited from border areas. Indo-Tibetan Border Police was raised for guarding the border from Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Diphu La in Arunachal Pradesh covering the Western, Middle and Eastern stretches of the 3488 km Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China, manning Border Outposts on altitudes ranging from 9000 to 18500 feet.
As late as in 2008, the government decided to wake up again, rub its eyes and scratch its head about China’s modernization of armed forces, nuclear weapons enhancement and extensive India-specific strategic infrastructural development across the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh, which it lays claim on. And that is not all. Timed with it are forays into the till 2008 untouched Western sector of the LAC-Ladakh- with joint Sino-Pak army exercises.
At long last, a ‘fast track’ process got initiated mainly in the North East bordering China. Two more mountain divisions and Arunachal Scouts battalions have been raised. Air Vice Marshal (retd) Sanjib Bordoloi, an experienced fighter pilot who hails from Assam said “It is just as well that assets of Indian Air Force in the North East have been substantially enhanced with two squadrons of Sukhoi-30 fighter aircraft, additional airfields and landing grounds as well as maybe a unit of C-17 strategic airlift transporters. Mega projects in the Lohit Valley will also make a great difference.” Large scale infrastructural development of roads, bridges, tunnels etc has been undertaken by the Border Roads Organisation, well-known for its world class construction in very difficult terrain.
While Indian Army’s infantry regiments composed of mountain communities have been elaborated upon, what needs to be known is that the entire army-all arms and services- do their time in all kinds of terrain obtaining on India’s vast borders. From Gujarat in the West to Manipur in the far East, India’s borders with Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh, there is every conceivable kind if terrain - desert, riverine plains, high altitude snow-clad and heavily forested mountains, tropical forests, rocky outcrop hills etc.
The High Altitude Warfare School, Indian Army's nodal instructional facility for specialised training and dissemination of approved doctrines in high altitude, mountain and snow warfare, it conducts Mountain Warfare and Winter Warfare courses at two different locations in J&K.
The Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School at Vairengte, Mizoram, in the North East, is considered one of the world's leading anti-terrorist training institutions. It became a sought-after destination for US Army following 9/11.
To cater the Army’s considerably increased counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism commitments, smaller versions of the these two mentioned institutions got established as Corps Battle Schools for all corps located in India’s Northern and Western and Eastern theatres.
Maj Gen (retd) Dhruv Katoch, a veteran of counter-terrorism operations, at the Centre for Land Warfare Studies, explains: “Every unit which is inducted into high altitude and low-intensity war/terrorism affected areas, does a few weeks pre-induction orientation training at one of these schools, irrespective that it may have served in the same sector a couple or more years ago. Another very important aspect of induction into high altitude areas is acclimatization, which is done at the stages of 9000, 12000 and 16000 feet.”
Mountaineering and adventure sports which are vigorously pursued also contribute to proficiency in mountain warfare. Following Indian Army’s recent first successful Ski Expedition to Antarctica, a team was flagged off to scale Mount Manaslu (8163m) the eighth highest peak of the world, in Nepal by May 2011. After climbing scores of peaks in the vast Himalayas, out of nine of the ‘eight thousander’ peaks in the world including Mount Everest, Mount Manaslu, with a very high degree of difficulty, will be Indian Army’s 8th.
Troops at high altitude suffer from lack of appetite owing to not sufficient oxygen and lowered sensory perception. They also complain of indigestion on consuming foods with higher fat content and prefer fresh fruits and vegetables. Dehydrated foods are also preferred by them as they are lighter in weight and have a longer shelf life. Taking all these aspects into consideration, Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL) of Defence Research and Development Establishment (whose officials requested anonymity) has come up with retort processed meals ready to eat ration (MRE). Precooked, dehydrated composite pack rations, emergency survival rations, all packed in flexible polymeric film and their laminates besides fresh fruits and vegetables for soldiers at high altitudes. In ready to eat foods, the flaking process reduces the case hardening and improves sensory characteristics. Freeze thaw dehydration technology involves soaking, pressure cooking, cold conditioning, drying under controlled conditions, Reconstitution time. by putting in hot water 5-10 minutes. They are superior to conventionally dried counterparts in colour, flavour, texture and taste. All the products have undergone large scale user trials by army units based at high altitude. They are highly acceptable and stable for more than a year under ambient conditions. There are technologies and products available for helping the soldiers to accommodate and consume during operations in treacherous terrain and cold whether. They are retort processed, shelf stable, ready-to-eat foods in laminates of aluminium with polymeric films. This food can be consumed as such or after warming the pouch in boiling water. With this intention we have developed a number of traditional Indian foods in such retort pouches. Finger Millet (Eleusine Coracana) is rich in calcium, iron, dietary and functional fibre. DFRL has adopted various technologies for the development of calcium rich, fibre rich foods. Ragi based nutritional products are in ready to eat, ready to reconstitute or ready to cook form The best advantage of some ragi based products is their ability to reconstitute using cold water, a boon for soldiers at high altitudes. Some of these speciality foods approved by troops during field trials conducted at high altitude are sweetened millet mix and millet cookies.
While technological progress has brought about deadlier weapons, warmer clothes, new foods, better communication etc, for decades the Indian soldier achieved some awesome aims on the most frugal of bill of fares.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
STOCK UPDATE |
|
|
 |
| BSE
Sensex |
 |
| NSE
Nifty |
|
|
| |
CRICKET UPDATE |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
