Screams at Death Time

Strange things happen in combat.

Many years ago, an ambush was laid across a dry mountain stream and there was confirmed intel that a group of 6 heavily armed militants were to cross into India through the Bhimber Galli area. These same militants, the Intel report stated were trying to cross over for the last month from different points but were being thwarted. One confirmed attempt was three weeks ago at the KG area, when the Pakistani Army pounded the Indian defences from about 1500hrs till 2100Hrs- but a freak chance pick up by the NVD monitor ensured that the 'crossing party' were denied their entry into India. The report also said they would make their second attempt at BG, where they had tried to cross just ten days earlier. Maybe the Pakistanis were playing smart, and not using their ammunition to alert the Indians this time- well time would tell.
At about 0200Hrs, a lone militant was noticed by the scout, coming walking as opposed to the 6 we were expecting.... in about 15 mins of pin drop silence the man walked through the ambush continuing east bound in the general directions of the safer plains of the Poonch River.
Our stopper, the guy who closes the ambush, in an eager show- of glee and bravery, pounced on him and after him followed about 5 others of the ambush party. The militant, taken by surprise and weighed down by his rations, ammunition, AK, and his rug for protection from the cold- was easily over powered. A sound thrashing- to put it mildly- followed and a badly beaten and bruised militant, Ahmed, was taken into custody. As per the unwritten protocol, a signal was sent to the Bn HQ- that a militant was captured in a fire fight and he was grievously injured in the exchange of fire. he is extremely aggressive and with great difficulty we have managed to restrain him. Due to bleeding, it seems unlikely that he will survive the long walk back to the Unit Lines.
With the Unit duly informed, and his clothes stripped off- he was literally frog marched to the Unit.
Five days of sustained interrogation later, it was ascertained that this was the group that was trying to cross over about ten days earlier, when their attempt was thwarted by the Unit along the LoC, but at the loss of a Unit JCO. Once that news got out, the men of the Unit was very very angry and the air was thick with revenge and lynching seemed to be the flavour of the day. The troops were getting more and more agitated as time was going by and the risk that someone being on Guard Duty  would shoot him was high. was decided to do away with him- and a young Captain was tasked to just take him away to the river and finish it off. 'Good riddance to bad rubbish' as I would remember his CO saying.

As the Captain and members of his Ghatak Platoon followed him, Ahmed realized that they were going to kill him as the soldiers started to squabble and argue about who would shoot him.
Strangely, the Units junior most officer, a young Lt, fresh out of IMA, an AEC Officer on deputation to the Sikh Unit- voiced his quiet opinion. 'Sir, after 4 months I will return to my Arm, I will never get this chance to kill a militant, Sir, please let me shoot him'
By the time the 6 men reached the stream, just 2km behind their Unit lines, they ordered a wailing and crying Ahmed to march into the water- knowing his end was high- he begged for mercy and swore on the Quran, wailing and crying hysterically, that he would never ever do this again. Immune to such stories, the Captain raised his AK- but was beaten to the draw by the young Lt, who said, in a high pitched shout- the shout sounded frantic and in a pitch more desperate than the pleadings of the soon to die, Ahmed- 'Sir please, Sirrrrrr' and managed to get his AK up and going- the first burst into the upper torso- two rounds to the upper torso- one to the nipple, one just under the clavicle, with one to the right cheekbone, while the other 25 rounds went, as wayward as the screams from the Lt's mouth.
The Captain cursed- and then calmly told the Lt 'You fucker, now go in the water and undo his wrists and ankles before blood coagulates there.'

Such is death.

_____________________________________________________________________________

IF you liked this - read another one here-
http://therealslimkd.blogspot.in/2014/12/75-minutes-of-journey.html

Tales from 2008- No First Use

The background to the article was the insane and incomprehensible statement that the Indian Government has made about 'not being the first to use the nukes.'

This absolutely myopic view that only a puny Pakistan can be our enemy is so pathetic.

I wrote a fictional episode of something that could cause a conflagration with China, the intent being to write some fiction and question the very basis of the above statement the Govt of India has made.

Read on.

Not For Use

Over the past year, Pakistan stole the public march over India in declaring their Nuclear Forces Command and Control System. With Indias’ stated ‘No First Use’ policy, what is going to happen? What command and strategy would you require if your intent is to retaliate? All you need is ten ready nuclear devices and the means to deliver them. If One falls then Ten go. Why the need for such elaborate ‘Strategic Forces Command’?

The establishment of the SFC, has brought out a slew of Indian Arms or Defence experts coming into the open stating that our ‘No First Use’ policy was flawed. Sadly, these people were not taken into confidence before the stratagems of the SFC were established and published for all sundry to read. However, there is truth in their argument, and that our ‘Use’ policy is in a manner, dictated by the enemy.

India, The State of the Nation, circa 2005

India’s new Prime Minister has taken charge after the November 2004 elections. He rides a wave of majority that granted by the electorate on his simple tough language and a no-nonsense approach. The promise of action and low-tolerance appealed to the common man and got SK Bhatnagar elected with a better than 50% margin.

Relative peace exists with the Pakistanis. The disgruntled acceptance of the stalemate over J&K, and their ever-dwindling economy keeps India playing the game, as it hurts them ten times more than it hurts us. In the North East, unsettled ULFA demands, the Kamtipura Movement and other Maoist groups out of Nepal keep formenting trouble in the North-East.

Together, the Pakistanis and the Chinese keep the Indian Army occupied in CI Ops and Indian Army’s Senior Command keeps worrying about the ever-decreasing effort toward war training.

Threat to war is low. Only one Indian Officer in the entire Armed Forces, worries and wonders ‘How many Indians would have to die so as to enable him to defend his nation.’ Lt. Gen. VDS Oberai PVSM, General Officer Commanding, Strategic Forces Command.

As well outlined by Chengappa in his book (Weapons of Peace, Author: Raj Chengappa, Pub. Harper-Collins, 2000) the usage of the atomic devices was completely covered by the scientific establishment. The machinery to fabricate and assemble the weapons, the safeguards, and the testing of the safety mechanisms were all overseen by them. Even the trials using Mirage 2000s was done under their auspicies.

One would safely presume that these scientists are in charge of the weapons and only the Armed Forces to stop or abet them. The poor politicians showed their courage in hostilities to cross International Borders or even the fluctuating Line of Control. There would be every reason to believe that we could strangely have a credible response from a team of men who could be beyond the normal lines of communication during war. This simple fact would allow them that one day to think over a response and deliver it, rather than buckling to some external pressure.

0840Hrs, GMT, Friday 04March 2005, BMEWS Centre, Thule AB, Greenland

The BMEWS ‘MIDAS Early Bird’ in Low-Earth orbit over the Indian Ocean picked up a flare and sent the coordinates 26⁰38'N 93⁰44'E, to the nearest switching station of the US BMEWS 21st Space Wing (SW) at Thule AB, Greenland. The Routers processed the coordinates and flashed a 'Possible Missile Launch' Numaligarh, Eastern India, to the office of the 11 Space Warning Squadron (SWS), Schriever AFB, Colorado under the 21st Space Wing at Peterson AFB, Colorado, and an alert to the NORAD Centre, Cheyenne Mountain.

In the following 35 seconds, a pop-up window on the Console of the Duty Officer, 11 SWS showed cause for alarm. The window read:

‘Missile Launch Warning from close proximity to Indian 555 Missile Group, Dimapur-Tezpur Valley Assam, Eastern India. Armament: Agni-III, Capability: 50kt Atomic Device delivery range 1000 Miles. Action: Alert CENTCOM, Tampa, Florida, and Flash ‘Possible Ballistic Missile Launch Warning: Launch Area: Eastern India, Target: Unknown’ to CENTCOM Detachment, Doha.’

Major James Eggers, muttered to himself, ‘Who is India nuking now?’ in surprise.

1410Hrs, IST, Numaligarh Oil Refinery, Assam, Friday 04 March 2005

A massive detonation had just rocked the oil refinery in Numaligarh, Assam. Storage Tank 17A blew up, containing about 980KL aviation fuel.

Alarm sensors pointed out to the tank that was being drained for inspection and maintenance. That was to be the main problem. Any fuller it would have crossed the detonation limit of 15% and probably a deflagration would have ensued.

The blast overpressure wave that emanated buckled in the shining circular walls containing fuel from surrounding tanks. Mr. Prasun Sen Sharma, the GM of the plant shook his head in amazement as the flash of the fireball crossed his room and had just about enough time to look outside his ‘grand view window’ overlooking almost the entire refinery before the shockwave shattered his window.

‘Hell!’ The only thought that crossed his mind before his body was lifted and flung across the room.

Decapitation of the fire fighting systems and sympathetic detonations would soon raze the dead Mr. Sharmas’ refinery to smouldering debris.

Little was he to know, that this hell would pale in front of what the world would witness before the fortnight was out.

1423Hrs, Indian National Defence Authority Situation Room

Alarm bells rang in the NDASR, somewhere in the foothills of the Himalyas near the Jim Corbett Tiger Sanctuary. Brigadier Ashok Verma, SM, UYSM, was on duty that fateful hour, when the first news of the blast came through.

The dual-role, recently re-named ‘Kalpana,’ military-weather satellite signaled the same IR warning to Vermas’ Monitoring rooms. Fearing the worst, he sent a ‘Eyes Only’ signal to the Office of the Eastern Army Commander (EAC), Lt Gen AK Kulkarni, PVSM, about a possible catastrophic event, and asked him make preparations to get to his to get to his Command Center, while the situation was being evaluated.

News channels covering the blast at 1545Hrs reported spreading of fires and a possible destruction of the entire refinery. Verma watching the situation unfold from the TVs and his hotline called the NDA Crisis Team who in turn alerted the Defence Chiefs, the CCS, the Secretary of MoH, and the Secretary of the MEA.

While the RAW and the Intelligence Bureau Directors were alerted, almost immediately the entire security structure got off its inertia and some concrete report of the blast being sanctioned by the ULFA was received. Even before the NDA and CCS meeting was scheduled, the Army Chief ordered his Staff Officers to issue a general alert to the Eastern Command, and placed the Siliguri-based XXVII Corps on a ‘Formal Alert’

Col. N Ramakishnan, CO 7/13GR, ’The Primes,’ the batallion with the duty of the Div Alert Bn was on the phone with his Brigade Commander, 31(I) Infantry Brigade, and GOC, 195 Mountain Div under the XXVII Corps, and ordered his troops ‘Mobilisation’ status.

No First Use, that itself is the primary flaw in the system we have cared to show the world. Maybe it is just a reflection of the government not being able to get enough guidance or be able to bring itself to think of a nuclear assault on a neighbour.

The stated decision to use the nuclear weaponry ‘Second’ is so Pakistan-centric, that it has clearly ignored a possibility of use on China. Have the mandarins of the Defence Ministry and the Ministry of External Affairs negated China forever from our nations Defence equations?

1635Hrs, Same Day

Local Assam Police, and IB reports of movements of suspected ULFA militants had started from western Bhutan, mainly from the scenic valley in which surrounded the town of Paro. The route being taken was westward toward the China border. Physical terrain and current deployment status meant that there was precious little to do before they reached the Chinese border. The IAF was alerted and MiGs from the Tezpur AFB were readied to attack the feeling columns of militants. Additional airforce at Kalaikunda (KKD), Dimapur, Siliguri, amongst other bases, were alerted. IMTRAT Commander, Thimpu, was asked to place his troops on an awareness level, and HQ 31(I) Infantry Brigade, outside of Gangtok, was placed on full alert.

Dusk, 1735Hrs, Same Day

The lead MiG 21 from 212 Squadron ‘The Proud Claws,’ Tezpur, struck a convoy 13 Km short of the Chinese border, due North west of Paro. BDA estimated about ten trucks damaged, just as darkness enveloped eastern India.

How can one presume this while making statements about the use of one of our ‘arms.’ If there is any hostility with the Chinese, then the Chinese stand to do all the damage they want to, given our inaccessible border region in the NE. The ill-developed border road setup, and the lack of infrastructure, leaves one staring at another land-grab in the face.

Any number of presumptions are available to us. Suppose the simplest of border skirmishes escalates or that an incident beyond current threat perception occurs, and there is a war. So, if we stand to loose Ladakh and/or Arunachal, or a decimation of the Corps that sits in the West Bengal/Assam nook, then we will not use the weapon as the Pakistanis would if the North-South corridors along the Indus were threatened?

Dusk to Dawn, 04-05 Saturday, March 2005

Chaos reigned over the refinery, and aerial assessment with the help of Jaguar and MiG 25 recce flights showed extensive fires all over the refinery complex and to the money counters, it already meant a loss of over Rs. 5000 Crores, in infrastructure and revenue, not to mention the importing of oil products to cover the shortage.

The Crisis Team of the NDA and CCS met around 0115Hrs. The PM’s influence on the gathering was that there was to be a reaction for sure. With precious little to go on, the PM asked the IAF Chief, Air Chief Marshal ABV Palkhivala to continue on the available information about the fleeing militants, and the strike by the MiG 21 the earlier evening. He left it to the Armed Forces Chiefs to give him the plan just before the full NDA and CCS meet later that day.

It was decided that Palkhivala was to task the Squadrons at KKD to be ready for action at first light.

The Prime Minister’s Office convened the meeting of the NDA and the CCS at just a little past 0400Hrs, so that they would have some face saving to do when the nation would awake to reports of the carnage in Assam. They were informed about the knowledge of the fleeing militants and their crossing over into the Chinese territory from Bhutan. Reports from Tibetan informers indicated a larger horde of militants having passed Yadong, about to cross over the Sikkim border, probably enroute to safer havens in Nepal.

The quantum of movement indicated a ever large conspiracy and a very well thought of plan, that the movement was to safeguard the higher echelons of the terrorists while the lower rungs took the brunt of the combing Ops that the Indian forces would predictably carry out in the following weeks.

On being given to realise the possible escape of the leaders of the groups, all that the PM said was “Stupid people.”

Sunrise, 0510Hrs, 05 March 2005

A Single MiG 25R took off from KKD, with its twin afterburning Tumansky R-15s, no weapons payload, save the seven cameras with their film cassettes onboard. Wing Commander Srivastava leveled of at over 82,000 ft. At that altitude, escorts wouldn’t have been able to keep up, nor stay with him for the duration of his flight. His flight path took him over Paro and leveled off about where the IB between Bhutan and China stood. Chinese AD radars picked him up while he was still climbing, but did nothing, as they knew that they didn’t have anything with which they could even think of harming him in that time frame.

His cameras piercing the early morning mists, captured over 175 Sq.Km at the enhanced zoom and focus with a click. His return leg turned him back to KKD over the Primes running around their hurried defences. At that height, they didn’t even know if he was there.

Photo Recce Assessment Teams took just under 26 minutes to pinpoint the militants’ tents, and haphazard arrangements about 3Km into Chinese territory to stay clear of the Chinese Army Camp about 15Km further, at Pagri. They had just past the shiny tin-roof of the PLA Border Guards post, bang on the border.

Smoke wisps and a charred border outpost a few hundred yards east of the Chinese post was all that remained of the 3^rd Platoon, Bravo Company, 28 Raj Rif.

Results were being flashed to the NDA while the same were being dialed into the Briefing Room of the MiG 27s of 352Wing at KKD.

0630Hrs, Sikkim-China Border

As luck would have it the ‘Primes’ were in the area from where any possible crossing could take place between Yadong and Sikkim into Nepal.

The ‘Primes’ having moved through the evening and night, were on station at the border and were spreading out across the only passable route into Sikkim. They flashed a ‘K minus 1’ to HQ 195 Mtn Div just as the MiG flew over them at over Mach3.

0650Hrs, KKD Airforce Station

The lead aircraft, a MiG 27ML, with Squadron Leader SP ‘Spidey’ Bharadwaj, was already rolling off its blocks while the MiG 29S pilots in escort rolled out of their hangars. Everyone was sweating in their flight suits, the cool morning air nor the pressurised cockpits made any difference. Flight suits were damp with perspiration, heartbeats were doing the aerobic routine and the bitter taste of acid reflux due to fear-anxiety complex, flooded the mouths of the 6 ‘27 and 4 ’29 pilots.

Haven’t you made a public statement about your nuclear weapons use? Would that be a nice time to retract the policy and retrain the SFC for a first-use scenario? And then begin a brain-storming over what Chinese target would get them to stop? And the whole thought process of how to carry out the whole exchange and second-strike capability.

For a leadership without a backbone, the NFU is the safest way out. With Pakistan, we will use second because we don’t know when to use it first. With China, if we use one, (to paraphrase our Defence Minister, “there will be no India left.”)

0655Hrs, New Delhi

The India Minister for External Affairs, KN Sharma, was on the phone with his Chinese counterpart, explaining the militant attack on the refinery and the escaping militants hiding on Chinese soil.

Explaining his urgency and desperation in the matter, the Minister explained that he had a situation and there had to be some results to show to the Indian population.

The Chinese Minister was asking for proof that the militants in Chinese territory were the ones that perpetrated the attack on the Refinery. Knowing fully well, that they couldn’t have been the same people, simply because of the distance, Sharma replied, “No, Sir they are not, but they all belong to the same team, and I need some cooperation, at this hour.”

“I will get back to you within the hour,” was the reply before the phone went dead.

‘Romeo Team’ cleared the airbase perimeter even before the conversation ended.

0700Hrs, New Delhi

Air Chief Marshal ABV Palkhivala waited with bated breath, his pilots were going to be in action over enemy territory for the first time, literally for the first time since, he as a Wing Commander with 7 Squadron, had flown his Mirage 2000 over Male as escort for the Il 76s in the ‘80’s.

Brig. Verma informed Palkhivala “Flight Control/ ATC, KKD via the NDASR.” The speakers crackled to life with the voice of the FC/ATC, KKD relaying flight details. The august gathering in New Delhi sat back, stunned, before the shock and fear set in and wondered if their debate for over three and a half hours had any meaning.

“Yeh kya majaak hai?” someone muttered.

“Chup kar.” The PMs voice rasped.

Silence was worse than blood, sweat, or tears, thought Palkhivala as he and Oberoi crossed eyes for a fleeting second. They knew each other long enough from their NCC days at FergussonCollege, to understand what had just transpired.

The Prime Minister spoke, weighing each word carefully.

“When is that damn fire going to get put out?”

“Kulkarni, Where is 555? Ensure their safety.”

“How many troops died in the militant crossing? Their deaths will be avenged first. Destroy them.”

Not expecting an answer to the first two and referring to the surprise attack on the rear of the HQ Bravo Company, 28 Raj Rif by the fleeing militants, the PM stood by the orders given to the Air Chief, and waited to hear of the attack before getting ready to speak to the Chinese Premier.

“Call the Resort and wake up the President, Please.”

Order or request ?… the PM’s Private Secretary wondered as he just nodded at the Signals Officer, a full Colonel, manning the Secure Government Hotline to connect to the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

For those who to study nuclear exchange scenarios, you are facing a situation that could snowball into one.

In all probability, give the current thought process and mindset, the SFC will have all the force it can ever deploy, with a lop-sided command structure to enforce a missing strategy.

Our nation has been versatile in facing adversaries, every time after our adversaries have turned hostile, and the common man should literally gun for a change in this mentality.

0727Hrs, Bhutan-China Border

Spidey and his flight flew about 100 ft over the burning remains of the Raj Rif camp, much to the surprise of the troops who were engaged in Medevac Ops there. The roar of the ten aircraft, flying nape of the earth to avoid early detection from enemy AD radar, was almost like a soothing balm to the wounds of the soldiers and a helping hand heaven-ward to the dead.

The militants were hit with a complete surprise, and having no AD weapons to fight back, could do little other than run a few steps before being blown to bits. Men, women, their ammunition, belongings, and vehicles were destroyed by the two waves of ‘27s. Having expended their deadly cargo of bombs, they turned around to get a few pictures for the BDA gang on Base. Sqn Ldr ‘Dicky’ Dixit of the escorting ‘29s, and his flight immediately flew near vertical and stationed themselves at 31,000ft. to cover the retreating bombers.

Col Sethi, CO 28 Raj Rif, saw the smoke and the high flying MiGs and thanked God for someone who had the courage to fight back from the offices higher than his.

0758Hrs, 256 Signal Company, HQ XXVII Corps, Siliguri

“You stabbed us, you promised us the Indians wouldn’t attack us on your soil, all our women are dead, because of you.

The Communists in Nepal will protect us far better than you or your masters in Beijing ever could.

Hopefully you shall not let my men crossing past Yadong suffer the same fate. Protect them till they pass…”

The OIC, Major K Sawant, of 256 Signal Company, Signals Detachment, HQ XXVII Corps, stared at his AlcatelKQ-R32AB scanner, and blandly instructed his junior to make copies for encryption.

He picked up the phone to call the Col. Singhal, Staff Officer, Operations, XXVII Corps.

The Crisis had just begun.

We are not a progressing nation just to be able to be large enough to absorb an attack on our seat of government, or that continuing infiltration and terrorism be handled in the manner it is being done today, because we are not paying a heavy price mentally, physically or economically.

*****
From the author:

There was a small point of conflict between the appraisers of this writeup that the layouts of refinery storage tank farms would not permit such a starting scenario. However, please understand that there is the principle of FAE’s taken into account here.

Storage tanks at refineries are sometimes over 40-50Lakh litres in capacity. The key here is that it was written that the tank was between the 6-15% capacity, resulting in a ‘detonation’ versus the ‘deflagration’ that would happen if a fuller tank was ‘hit.’

A detonation of this magnitude, would cause a supersonic overpressure wave that could carry far enough to encompass the area of the refinery, at worst and at best the surrounding storage tanks. The debris of the metal of the tank walls would carry further than the overpressure wave at the least.

This is the theory on which the attack on the refinery is based. You wouldn’t presume that we would put the actual figures in public, would you?

The effect and the following damage appreciation is correct, and this is not an attack on either full, half-full or empty fuel tanks in some other nation. This is a calculated attack.

And we think that those who concentrated on the nitty-gritty of the attack forgot that if China attacked, would we risk losing the north east or would we use the nukes?

Intelligence is everyones’ birthright.

**************

Why there wouldnt have been a war during Op Parakram

Why there would have been no war

India, Jan 2003

Indian media has been presenting articles and feature presentations on the possible hostilities and the manner in which they could/would have been presented.

Firstly, it is amazing to see the Army’s position laid bare like this, post-facto the deployment. The articles are right in their presumption/fact, that we were closer to war than we had ever been on the past three decades. However, one would beg to present another point of view. 2002 was going to see a war that never was.

For a person interested in our military posturing, you have to look back into our past, not too distant at that.

Kargil, Jammu and Kashmir, Northern India, 1999

Kargil, when our borders had been encroached upon and international opinion was either on our side or silent, but definitely not on their side, our politicians showed their real mettle. Large-scale deployments and an all out war scenario existed on the frontline, albeit over just 170-200Km long Dras-Batalik sectors.

You would be surprised to see how many times the Goverment, in press and private, insisted that the LoC not be crossed, not be infringed upon, that everyone from soldiers to pilots participating in that offensive had to put their own lives and machinery in danger to attack from what was often not the best angle for approach or attack. The enemy’s use of reverse slopes to direct fire, and the therefore the difficulty for our artillery or airforce eliminate the nuisance caused. Manpower was lost due to this fact, and that is a fact. A few lives, maybe even ten or just a hundred would have been saved had we been allowed to cut across, and seal their entry and exit routes, and scale up their relatively undefended maintenance routes.

Given our mobilisation there, and the speed at that it was effected, the chances of the Pakistani Army opposing us in strength was bleak. De-inducted troops from Siachen Glacier, movement of troops from counter-insurgency operations, additional Units from nearby Corps came around almost within weeks to the area of conflict.

The Pakistani Army did deploy its forces to a higher level. There was movement of Brigade HQs and the Mountain Div HQ up one level. Portions of 19 Inf Div (Pakistan), and the forward movement of an Infantry Brigade in the region was noticed. The Skardu AF Base was activated with the deployment of F-16s and a Wing from Chaklala, and movement of Crotale SAM regiments was seen in the Chaklala/ Skardu area.

As much as this sounds, this much movement on that side indicated a possibility that India would escalate, and the Pakistani PM already on tenterhooks because of the Indian escalation, gave orders to move defensively, that not much territory be lost on the rebound. The movement gave the Indian Army no reason to worry, as we had moved over two divisions into the region, and the Pakistani reinforcements were not capable of mounting anything significant on our side of the LoC. Besides there was almost the entire IAF north of Gwalior on operational readiness to tackle the minor air support that Skardu could give their own troops.

Given that enemy return routes were not blocked in most of the places, it enabled the Pakistani intruders to retreat into the safe haven of 'across the LoC' when persistent Indian artillery and infantry assaults made their positions untenable.

Due to this absolutely stupid persistence, we lost a golden chance to get PoWs/ inflict severe casualties on the persons holding our posts.

The Operation was a success in the sense that our posts were recovered and the 'sanctity' of the LoC was restored. It should be taken with a pinch salt, that the border there is called the LoC because of the fact that there is no sanctity to it.

The roots of 'No War in 2002' lie in this above story.

A goverment that had no guts to even scratch the LoC, when we had every right to do so, when our land was taken by the enemy, where would they have the courage to avenge just a 'botched' attempt at blowing up the Parliament building. It is indeed ironical that the very seat of power that couldn’t be ruthless in defending its own territory bore the brunt of its own 'paranoid-defensive-strategy.'

India, December 2001 - Jan 2002

Either without taking the Army into confidence or by putting the mouth before the trigger, the statements and posturing politically led the Army to believe that it was finally headed to conflict.

The gung-ho political leadership, of which everyone thought he was a part of the war committee, goaded on the Army, and the word ‘Deployment’ probably meant more than anything else. Given their exuberance, that they did not want to appear ‘inactive, defensive or cowardly,’ everyone shouted about the ‘completion of deployment’ as if it were their new election motto.

Beyond a certain level of mobilisation, the army simply has too many eggs in one basket. A 100% recall itself means 30% more troops due to leave cancellation. Forward mobilisation of Units belonging to the Strike Corps, and the movement of sub-Corps formations from the East puts a lot of stress on Army Commanders and their immediate Corps Commanders.

The danger of a pre-emptive strike from Pakistan puts entire thought out strategies to risk, and failure of strategies at that level could not mean just court-martials but catastrophic failure of our nations much vaunted prowess and numerical superiority.

Desperate to accumulate brownie points with the masses of our nation, the entire leadership waited like expectant fathers to hear from the Army DGMO and COAS that the deployment is ‘Complete.’ Little knowing, or fully knowing, that reaching this defense condition meant certain manouvres to just ensure that formations would not get caught napping if Pakistan pre-empted us by even a single night in declaring hostilities.

Pakistan, Jan- June 2002

On the other side of the border, two Pakistani Infantry Divisions remained on the Pak Afghan border through out the escalation of the border situation on this side. Such foolishness cannot even be granted to ones own friends, leave alone your enemy. Parts of the Pakistani attack to come from their XI Corps weren’t just there. Presumably the Pakistanis had inside information that India would not attack.

This surety came from the United States, who desperately needed the Pak Border with Afghanistan be sealed till such time that their troops were in control of the ground situation. Given that the Pakistanis had no offensive in place to counter the Indian Strike Corps, meant that Indian Army objectives would be easier to get, making Pakistans posture almost hopelessly defensive. That is a posture they can least afford to have given that the end result could be three nations out of one.

To remind Indians of the Pakistani capability to adapt, the famous ‘Battle of Longewala,’ won as that may have been by the Indians, but a panicked Indian Army Command ordered a halt to the Strike Corps operating North of Longewala, when the result of that Strike Corps success would have been the formation of Sind and Punjab as countries. Pakistani success at Longewala would have had other repercussions, but that’s not what happened.

The only thing that ensured Pakistani safety, in this 2002, was the threat and knowledge of the use of nuclear weapons on advancing Indian troops, Corps HQs, or lastly civilian targets, between 9^th -11^th days of the conflict.

The movement of the Ambala-based II Corps, sparked off a chain reaction from the enemy ground surveillance and intelligence. Within what seems a matter or hours, the Pakistanis got the US on the run. At a local level, presumably, even the Pakistanis knew what the Corps Commander was upto as there was precious little he could do otherwise. However, they roped in the already hyper US into pulling out all stops and moving in the KH12 satellites into the region from their pressing Afghanistan duties, to get intel on the Indian movements.

The Pakistanis called the shots by reminding the US about their requirements on the Pak western front, and the nuclear scenario. The Americans in their true colours called everyone who mattered in the Indian leadership and warned, cajoled, threatened India into backing off.

New Delhi, June 2002

The reaction of the Indian government was almost ridiculous. The leadership acted as if the entire armed forces deployment was a NCC exercise, and denied any intent to open or start hostilities. When shown proof of the movement of the Units in II Corps, the reaction turned allergic to our own troops.

The II Corps Commander was shown the door for his actions, when he really had no alternative to what he was doing. He just protected his formation by moving Units around, not to let the Pakistanis know where his Divisions were going to cross. Given the frontage that the Strike Corps had, it couldn’t be more than a frontage of 40-60 Km and there could have been a devastating block by some quickly responsive Pakistani Brigade across the already heavily defended IB.

A government that is so removed from the repercussions of its actions, that its military was made to back down miserably under political pressure from the United States and its Afghanistan agenda has made the entire Indian Armed Forces look up and take notice. The issue within the Armed Forces was so strong that the COAS had to publicly state that the ‘morale of the Army is my problem.’ Isn’t it sad that the Chief had to make a statement like that to begin with? That too, to answer a question of the morale of an army whose readiness, courage, valour and dedication to duty, till yesterday was beyond question.

The Future

The empty space in the Pakistani Strike formations should have signaled something to the Army, who went blindfolded into thinking that their moment of glory had arrived. Adequate intelligence gathering, or dissemination of the same, was not done in the matter by either the Army’s Intelligence Corps or by the team that briefs the PM. It could be worse, if all this has knowingly transpired, and someone in the leadership stymied the repercussions of the non-movement of two enemy Infantry Divisions and its possible meanings.

A government that so quickly catapulted to the US pressure, in removing its Strike Force Commander, at a time when war was seemingly so evident, makes one wonder, if they ever had it in them to lead our country to war. And if they did, when and how they would turn tail during the conflict, faced with a certain nuclear war scenario.

All this smoke screen put out in the media towards ‘short term hostilities’ involving Special Forces here and there, makes one wonder if the leadership would already have thought of buckling under pressure by day 7/9 of war given that some US intelligence report would have conveniently come through showing the F-16s being readied somewhere in the Chagai Hills.

The intent of this article is to highlight a political leadership that does not know how to use its Armed Forces, as all they would have had to do was move some Brigades around the border to get the world attention, rather than dragging our soldiers from leaves and courses only to leave them spending months with their hearts pumping, only to go home.

Think into the future

A government that has backed down on being shown a few pictures of a movement that was essential to its very survival and success of those Units, cannot lead you to war.

And if your Parliament House was attacked and you don’t do anything, then I am sure that there cannot be a stronger reason to attack.

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Tales from 2007- Hot Pursuit

Hot Pursuit

It was just past 1600 hrs when the signal they had been waiting for came over the Kenwood KX900ER handset that lay on the makeshift coffee table. Men of the Alpha Company of 9 Special Forces smiled grimly amidst wondering where half of their new gadetry had come from. It had been almost 12 years that the foot soldier had waited for this signal to come from the higher ranks.

The Indian population at large always wondered why the Indian Army did not engage the terrorists in hot pursuit into their base camps across the Indian Border. The demands for chasing them into their own dens became strident with the current gung-ho mood after the Pokhran II blasts and the success of Operation Vijay in Kargil. Till 1999, the Indian Defence Ministry and the Office of the Army Chief had ignored the calls as those being from a civilian population, not one conversed with the finer aspects of such an Operation. Recently, the vociferous public demand finally baited the Chief of Army Staff to publicly state that such an Operation was not feasible.

The hundred odd men assembled under the command of Major Bakshi, SM. The weapons check counted a mix of the Heckler and Koch MP5, the AK47, fragmentation grenades, the odd Dragonov rifle with night scopes, solar activated light weight missiles, and between them they had about 400 RDX Five Star bars. The equipment they were staring at were hand held Direction Indicating GPS's, helmet mounted night scopes and light-weight bullet-proof jackets, finger printing touch pads and cameras that did not require a flash.. They started their long march down from their 9,000ft. lookout to the valley floor about 2,500ft. below. The Line of Control (as the International Border known in this sector) was just over 2 km away. And home was under 8 hours away. For most of them atleast. But for all of them, they wanted to see the camera take pictures of them inside Pakistan!

The Indian Army and Para Military forces in the areas north of Jammu are in excess of about 5,00,000 men. The burden is not only on the economy of the state but also on the man in the field. Armies are not to be kept up for Counter-Insurgency Operations (CI Ops) for years together. All this strain on the armed forces is bound to cause concern for the Senior staff and then everyone starts looking out for a solution, no matter how harsh that maybe. The scenario of hot pursuit is one that is frought with danger, not only physical to the individual but also to the stability of the nation. The average Indian, who is fed up of this militancy in J&K looks at giving Pakistan and the militants a good kick and sees this as the only option. In the aftermath of the increasing violence perpetrated by the foreign mercenaries, the Indian Government will have to answer to the civilians as to the action it and the Ministry of Defence is taking to curb this terrorism menace.

Operation Khanjar had actually begun over 48 hours ago when units of 6 Rashtriya Rifles (6RR) and 19 Bn. BSF had laid siege to a village where a group of about 15 hard core foreign mercenaries/militants responsible for the latest series of bomb blasts in Srinagar were holed up. RAW and its operatives had confirmed that this group to belonged to the Hizbul Mujahideen which was using the Base Camp that 9SF had targeted for over 4 months. It was to be a sweet wait.

Internationally, India has been a rising star, on the economic and diplomatic front. The recent visits by the US President and the Russian President Vladimir Putin to India, subsequently the visit by our PM to the US, and the expected visit by Madeline Albright, make India a very popular country overseas. Economically India is one of the largest consumer markets in the world. Industrial nations have a vested interest in seeing that India does not go the South East Asia way economically. Given the size and the make of our economy, there is really no way that India could go that way, save one way. War.

The CO of 6RR was asked to provide a means for escape to the militants and he took this with a pinch of salt. He thought what a waste of an operation. He assumed that this was probably another Government initiative of releasing militants thinking that they would support the Government against other militant groups. Reluctantly, he agreed. It was about 0300 Hrs, that the militants found the gap and broke out of the village and headed for the border about 30 km away. By 1730 Hrs that evening, the No. 2 Platoon of Alpha Company had crossed the border under cover of darkness two hours ahead of the retreating militants. The remaining men started up about an hour behind the militants. By 1930 Hrs the 'Khanjar' was underway. At a Forward Landing Strip about 35 km East of the border a group of pilots and gunners readied a flight of 4 Mi 25s. At the other end a flight of 4 Mi 8s were loaded with a Speciality Extraction Team from Delta Company, 51Bn NSG. All the men on that airfield were wishing that they could be the ones to go in first and hoping that they would not be required to go in second.

What has brought the United States into the Indian fold is the fact that we could be a boon to their Industry, but at the same time, we are the only possible answer to the Chinese domination of South Asia. Possibly two decades from now the only strong economies would be China and India. Industrially advanced nations are realising after the failed sanctions after Pokhran II, that barely over 10% of Indian economy is export oriented. It simply meant that if they ever tried to really squeeze India, the 90% internally churning economy would ride out anything that they threw at us and probably would make for a more belligerent India. Besides protecting or pampering India on a Pakistan /India conflict, the world at large realises that India sits on a healthy Forex Reserve. As of October 2000, Indian Forex Reserves are about $34 Billion (roughly translated to about Rs. 1,56,400 Crores). In comparison the Gulf War had cost roughly US$ 10 Billion. The Reserves are a bait to goverments with large construction companies, defence contractors, investment bankers and the like, and no sane economist would like for it to be blown up in a fifteen day frenzy where Dassault and IAI got all the money and none went to Bechtel or Halliburton.

The Scouts of the leading Platoon reached the crest that looked over the collection of Nissan Huts that made the base camp at 2130 Hrs. There were about 50 odd huts and a few fires were lit. On the previous recce patrols to scout the area, Lance Naik Satnam Singh and Lance Naik Mahadeo Pant had noticed that the militant base had never organised security, the fact that they were in the State of Pakistan probably made them lax. This time however there was a lookout as they were expecting the retreating militants, but at the same time, preparations were being made for wine and food to celebrate the explosions that rocked the Government buildings in Srinagar 72 hours ago. They led the platoon along the crest till they had reached approximately the opposite side of the camp. By the time they took up positions to cut off any assistance (which was unlikely) the militant group had already entered the Base. Suddenly firing broke out bringing on a wave of panic on the leading Platoon. The panic subsided when they realised that the militants were celebrating their return after a successful run into India.

As you read this article, you wonder what is being done to conclusively end this militancy problem. A certain amount of cynicism has crept into the populace that no one wants this problem solved. The constant trouble and increasing fears of terrorism are going to galvanise the common man into action. Indians are going to start demanding to put an end to this conflict one way or another. The voices are going to get stronger and the Government is going to be forced to act. The reasons for saving the Hot Pursuit option till later is because the Kashmir situation may just out of hand or the Pakistani Chief Executive may take the chance in solidifying his control by raising the Indian bogey to the sky. And the Indian government may not want war to be the only solution to show their resolve.

The attack began with the Dragonovs taking out the militant look out who was left out of the fun high on the crest. Singh, Pant and their men led by Lt. Rajiv Mathur, ran alongside the rear approach road tossing out the RDX Five Star bars with timers set between 1 hour to 4 hours. They were the first to enter the Nissan Huts and begin the systematic elimination of whoever they found inside. The soldiers with the AKs were instructed to fire first so that the sounds would not attract instant attention. The celebrations in the open area between the Nissan Huts continued and a fresh round of firing into the sky erupted. By this time the remaining men of Alpha Company entered the fray. The militants not used to being ambushed, some reacted bravely and died almost instantly. Some sought to reach the safety of the nearby jungles and rushed between the Huts. They were caught by the men using the MP-5s at almost kissing range. Others rushed into the huts for protection and their arms. The very fibreglass huts that protected them during winters proved their undoing. Fragmentation grenades thrown in killed everyone inside, and for those who didn't die the RDX Bars would finish them off 15 minutes later. Lt. Mathur was taking pictures with a low-light camera connected to a satellite link relay transmitting to a low-level orbit satellite. His team was fingerprinting every dead person that they came across, using touch sensitive pads with a 72 dpi resolution, far in excess of the 20 dpi instruments Mercedes Benz uses so proudly on its Driver Recognition Devices. The digitised prints were also being linked to the satellite relay. Lt. Mathur wondered where this equipment came from and wondered who this data was going to, and had to snap back to the job at hand. Major Bakshi's voice came over their micro-earpieces, time check 30 minutes to withdrawal. Return fire had claimed two lives on the Indian side and their bodies were being removed almost immediately. Firing ceased within 8 minutes of it starting. A head count found 33 militants dead. The photography and fingerprinting took another 15 minutes while the team mined the Base with the missiles and all but a few RDX Bars. The solar activated missiles were left on tree tops to surprise any rescue or salvage team that would make it there in the morning.

It does not seem feasible to stop the Kashmir problem by our wishful thinking. The support for the militants has been active from the very people in Pakistan who are now its rulers. The people of Pakistan have to pride themselves that they are probably the only Democracy in the Islamic world and that they can set an example to other Muslim nations. The sorry state of their economy has been brought about by their own negligence in punishing their thieving politicians and bureaucrats.

Exactly 45 minutes had passed before the last of the 9SF troops left the Base and headed over the crest. Major Bakshi and his team had deployed the solar powered missiles to go off at first light That would be unnecessary as there would not be anyone left except probably a rescue team and that too was unlikely for a day or more. A young Pakistani Captain to 4 Sind listened to the gunfire and was extremely irritated at the militants because the Indians would now fire at them for days making getting food and going to the makeshift toilets impossible. 'Damn militants, damn ISI,' the young Pakistani Captain thought. Then the silence. He was just happy to hear nothing. His inexperience in gunfire sounds and his general irritation with the militants aided the Indians the most. Just then his radio set came to life and it was his Forward Post telling him something, so he strained his ears to the earpiece. "Helicopter? What helicopter?" was all he said when the RDX Bars took off, almost a 100 of them taking all the Nissan Huts with them. Captain Afsar Khan thought of his father in Army HQ and wondered how he got posted here to begin with, before his mind could try and evaluate the small rising fireballs to his south. His vitriolic towards the militants began with double the vigour. The proud, the silent men of 9SF who wear the 'Balidan' badge, ran the 12 Km to the Indian border. They caught up with the earlier 2 Sections that deployed the missiles and were designated to carry the wounded and the dead, just about 1 Km before the border. The men handed over the wounded and dead to other men and the run for the border continued as if it were a sprint to the 400m finish line.

The seriousness of the fact that their country survives on economic dole from the World Bank and the IMF is probably well hidden from the population. Only when they take matters to the streets to demand to set their own democracy in order and to lead themselves out of this morass, can the troubles in Kashmir come to some sort of a peaceful closure. India's economic strength and its diversity have made it a very stable country for foreign investment and then other countries have a vested interest in keeping India a safe investment. Increasing economic power in the decades will by default make us the regional superpower. Neighbouring countries will try and drag us down and one of the means is terrorism and sponsoring militancy. Indian response to the situation in Kashmir has to be strong, non-ambiguous, and final. Diplomatic overtures extolling the willingness to take on Pakistan on an economic (their Forex Reserves are about US$1.5 Billion, approximately INR 6,900 Crores) and military front not fearing their Chinese supplied missiles and nuclear weapons. A show of force is required from the Indian side and it should be firm and the impact lasting.

Major Mathur SM, led his men across the border where the dead and wounded were evacuated into Mi-8 helicopters to the nearby Brigade HQ for medical treatment. The standby Mi-8s lifted off and slunk in Eastward, the Mi-25s didn't come back to the Theatre of Operations, but there was only cursing on board all 8 helicopters, they could almost taste it and then it was gone. "Bastards, 9SF."

The plebiscite, the conversion of the LoC into the IB, the return of tourism, the apple trade, Kashmiri Brahmins to their havelis and peace to the Indo-Pak region on the whole, anything could happen. The dreams are there. Let peace happen.

0335 Hrs IST, The Crisis Room, Northern Command HQ, India. The American Military Attache opened the door and left with his communication equipment. The General Staff of the Northern Command had seen their men perform through the eyes of a KH-11 Spy Satellite.

0415 Hrs PST, The Residence of the Pakistani Chief Executive: The Staff Officer on duty was jarred by the strident ring of the phone. The General's ADC was told that the US President was online and would like to speak to the Chief Executive.

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We have changed names of individuals, Units and certain equipment that will be actually used in such a mission. ********************************************************

Tales from 2007- Let Kashmir Burn

Four years ago I wrote this, to keep some close friends amused. Its no long amusing that 4 years and nothing seems different.

Let Kashmir Burn

Apropos to our earlier articles trying to get people to become proactive over the Kashmir

issue, we now try and analyse the media portrayed picture of this 'despondancy' that we

are reeling under.

The media finally shows what the Government wants it to show. They have access to

Srinagar and other cities to film whatever and interview whoever they want. Beyond the

tar roads where the villages lie, where the militants lurk, there is only the army and the

paramilitary forces without as much as an agenda with them.

Certain villages are demarcated as 'Out of Bounds' for our own military. This is either

due to the connivance of our political alliances or due to the very fact that there is now a

tacit understanding between the military and the Afghanis on areas of truce. Strange as it

may sound such pockets of peace do exist, and no one complains.

There are problems for everyone, India, Pakistan and the powers within that will unearth

a proverbial 'can of worms' if the matter in J&K can be resolved, if all it can be. Pakistan

needs the J&K issue to keep its population engrossed in something other than the bad

state of affairs its economy and politics. The Pakistani Army is better at governing its

own country than managing affairs of defence and is back at its hobby of ruling the

country again. A return to democracy can be followed up only by a population that

decides to get out of the morass they are in right now, but they will realise that only if

they are given time to reflect away from India, so well portrayed as the aggressor there.

The Indian Government has to day a phenomenal number of troops there. The Army

strength is probably over five Corps strong. With the creation of the third Corps, there

are about 20+ Batallions of Rashtriya Rifles, and innumerable other Batallions drawn up

from the lower states under the guise of Internal Security.

For the past ten years, the Indian Army has learnt to function with about 2,50,000 plus

of its troops involved in Kashmir living in an almost war like scenario. If this problem

were to get over and Pakistan were to become a friendly nation, the Top Brass of

the nation would have a very real and present danger of keeping these many troops

pleasantly occupied. The Paramilitary forces number three times as much as the Army,

on conservative estimates, BSF, TA, CRPF, ITBP, CISF and innumerable other units

from other organizations are in excess of 7,50,000.

The property taken over from fleeing Brahmins, apple orchards, etc., wouldn't it be hell

if you had to sit down at the end of it all and have to return it to rightful owners? What

would you do with self-styled Commanders of factions of the J&K Liberation armies/

factions? Where would you find gainful employment for Kashmiri youth who have lived

off Indian Government dole money ever since they were born? Who would account for

all the subsidies that have lined private coffers from the thousands of crores that have

disappeared from the subsidies that J&K gets?

We could let the damn state starve for all the trouble the people there give us. Let

them buy rice that the rest of the nation does. Let them work for a living. Give them

employment building a canal connecting the Ganges to the Cauvery, or whatever,

let them earn a living instead of buying rice at Rs. 2 a Kg. and then feeding terrorists

at night, amongst other things. Albeit at gunpoint. A spineless population we do not

need. The rot of our system is evident in the psyche of the average Kashmiri. They

want freedom, or Pakistan, but they say that their Apples will be sold in the markets of

Bombay. They know the merchants of Lahore will plunder them in broad daylight, and

they will not be able to do a thing about it. The people want cake and to eat it too.

Given our strengths, don't you find it strange to see a problem continuing for over ten

years and only getting worse? The Punjab militancy needed a 'Super Cop' to end things

ruthlessly. There too there was backing from across the border. How did it end then?

Public support helped the Government use force and finish the matter. What is up in

Kashmir then? We have 25% of our army, and about three times as many paramilitary

forces there. We have the strength, but apparently someone has calculated that there is no

urgency in ending the problem anytime soon.

The 10,00,000 strong army has learnt to deal with approximately a 1,000 dead a year with

a blink. No one cares about the paramilitary forces. We are sure that the Forum-ites here

would be hard pressed to find accurate figures of paramilitary losses over the past ten

years. Why? No one in the powers-that-be really seem to care about ending the situation

in J&K. Monetarily, has there been a significant change in our defence budget due to

the insurgency? Nothing that the DM has complained about to date. Just the demands

for more money to upgrade weaponry when Pakistan is not even getting spares for the

weapons they have. The nation has learnt to deal with the situation and the press playing

the role of pacifier, has made sure that the population of India becomes immune to any

newer levels of atrocities committed there.

What to do with an Army that is occupied with sharpening its nails and nothing to kill,

someday that is going to get us. There are already incidents of Officers being shot dead

by their own troops, so much so that the Units are happy with field postings as holidays

are guaranteed there, as opposed to peace postings where the shortage of men takes up

more than half your annual leave. This is apparently OK with the planners of the Army.

So, we firstly do nothing long term about stating a solution to a problem. Deal with that

cancer like it was the flu. The we play around with the manpower and create problems

that will surface over the next decade, but the Generals of today would be retired by then

to write about how wrong things are and pass expert judgement during Kargil-like crises.

Money is not a problem, manpower is not either. What to do later is. So ladies and

gentlemen of the Forum, people who disagreed with our earlier article, will definitely

find that this line of reasoning to their liking. The few who understood have refrained

from comment, and the ones who commented on the 'ownership' of the Forex missed the

point. So maybe they agree here, that there is nothing we can do.

Let Kashmir burn.