|
|
|
|
|
| HOME | NEWS | DEAR REDIFF | |||
|
COLUMNISTS
|
|
|
'I would rather want our soldiers alive than Kashmir'
E-mail from readers the world over
Date:
Sun, 06 Jun 1999 01:22:37 -0500 Lt Col (retd) Panickar's strength of character in the face of supreme personal tragedy is admirable, and reflects the finest traditions of the Indian military. Sacrificing one's life for the defence of one's nation under external aggression represents the highest level of honour. The nation is indeed indebted to Captain Vikram and other brave soldiers who sacrificed their lives in this needless unprovoked aggression committed by Pakistan. The government of India should hold the government of Pakistan accountable for the lives of each and every one of these brave men, in the upcoming talks. Srinivas Peeta USA
Date:
Sun, 6 Jun 1999 16:04:46 +0530 I was very touched after reading such a nice report. My salutations and deep condolence goes to the parents. I really respect what Vikram has done for the country. The whole country is really proud of him. It is very easy to talk about the war and the issue of Kargil. But it is very hard to explain to the members of the family who have lost their sons or husbands in the war. Ajay Iyer
Date:
Wed, 02 Jun 1999 09:19:55 -0400 The suggestion that the current US statements signal the possibility of better Indo-US ties is silly and reflects a deep-seated frustrated desire amongst many Indian commentators. To my mind the main reason for the reported US reaction is simple: it does want to contradict it own actions and statements regarding militancy and terrorism made in several cases, such as in the context of Afghanistan and Sudan. I think better Indo-US ties are only possible if,
1. India becomes a better economic prospect and offers opportunities for
US firms
Date:
Wed, 02 Jun 1999 11:51:44 -0700 This is an extremely good article explaining why we are only getting limited success with the air and ground campaign. But this should not absolve us from the fact that we have been extremely callous with regards to national security and we are considering our fighters as people who have nothing else to do but sacrifice themselves for the country. When these people (called politicians) sitting in AC rooms give statements like "safe passage" without knowing its repercussions, people do feel demoralised. At least if the politicians can't do any good for the country they should keep quiet during delicate moments. Srikant Noorani
Date:
Wed, 2 Jun 1999 14:56:33 -0400 Dilip seems to be missing the point. War is indeed bad because our most valiant and patriotic men are lost. But by simply trying to criticise the BJP government, he has missed the point completely. We defend our borders and ourselves because more men like these are not lost. The death of our brave soldiers is shocking and we should strengthen our intelligence or whatever. But the manner in which he was shot (which is in cold blood) is much more shocking and is unacceptable. Without the Srinagar-Leh highway, our Indian army would be in a precarious situation. Pakistan would dictate terms and we would possibly lose more men then. Why does Dilip gloss over all this? Dilip, I feel that you are prejudiced against the BJP government. You may have your reasons for being so but in the time of war like this, if you feel that there is anything better the government can do now, say so. Or like our politicians, you criticise blindly, without offering solutions? Swami
Date:
Thu, 03 Jun 1999 11:05:07 +0530 In the northern part where the army always had most of the action, we still hear statements that our troops who are not trained for high altitudes are getting acclimatised. This shows short sightedness of our planning and training department. Reading these statements of senior army personnel, I feel depressed. Why do we boast of being a superpower? We are not prepared for anything for the next ten years expect for going to the polls every year. Why do we have to risk the lives of our soldiers?
Date:
Thu, 03 Jun 1999 11:33:13 +0530 The US has since long made a tactical mistake by providing Pakistan and other Islamic militants with arms and ammunition. It is ironic that in India the populace has nothing against the US. We even love many things American. However, US political preferences are unpopular with the masses. On the other hand there is a widespread feeling that Russia has always stood by India in difficult times. The Pakis hate Americans. But the American government loves the Pakis. The Pakistan government knows that the US needs it. So, like a spoilt child, they try and get the maximum out of the relationship. The US does not want to displease the Pakis, as is evident from the fact that, though the US knows Pak's involvement in terrorism it has done nothing about it, save for a few utterances. Also, one gets the feeling that though the US is a strong advocate of non-proliferation, it all along knew Islamabad's aspirations to become a nuclear state and by inaction, abetted it. The presence of Stinger missiles is proof of the failure of US policies. It is time Pentagon did a rethinking of its perceptions in the region, if it is really interested in the region that is.
Date:
Thu, 03 Jun 1999 16:51:19 +0530 It is really nice to know the actual scenario of our troops. The report gives a little hope and increases confidence of the people of India in the capabilities of our troops, unlike the rosy picture the government is giving. Keep up the good work Rediff. Rahul Mathur
Date:
Thu, 03 Jun 1999 08:39:32 -0400 When will India learn about marketing itself? It's high time they at least copy few things from this country rather than thinking about any new things. So far both the government and the media have failed miserably to do anything about this.
Date:
Thu, 3 Jun 1999 23:00:10 +0530 Chindu deserves accolades once again. Last time it was in the heart of the Naxal territory. Now it is Kargil. The boy does a stupendous job. He deserves an award of some kind! Keep it up!!
Date:
Fri, 04 Jun 1999 01:02:38 +0300 Our sympathies to the family and friends of the defence personnel killed in the helicopter during action. They died not in vain but to guard their country. Prem Kumar and family
Date:
Fri, 04 Jun 1999 15:28:45 +0800 This is a wonderful series on Kashmir, real good work. Could you please put links to some of the articles (available on Rediff and on the Internet) referenced/ mentioned here, specially mentioned in the last article of the series. Rediff has done a good job of bringing Arvind on the Net. Could this be extended further by locating/ nurturing talented (undiscovered) columnists. I am sure there must be many. Anurag
Date:
Fri, 4 Jun 1999 00:45:24 -0700 (PDT) I remember reading news reports some time back about how US bombed terrorist bases deep inside the Afghan/Pak border (geographically similar terrain as Kashmir) using Cruise missiles. The terrorist camps were detected through satellites and precision guided missiles were deployed to counter the guerillas. I wonder why India does not deploy such hi-tech warfare to flush out the infiltrators from Kashmir. Questions that quickly come to my mind are:
1. Do we have such advanced missiles at our disposal? Can someone with more knowledge of India's defence capabilities answer the above questions? Nag
Date:
Fri, 4 Jun 1999 09:33:53 -0700 (PDT) Very interesting article. Our soldiers who are laying down their lives are not given enough credit. They are just treated like numbers and not like humans. I am surprised to hear that our pathetic successive governments have declined to buy modern equipment to fight the tough Kashmir terrain. Most politicians know how to swallow crores of rupees after coming to power. To teach these politicians a lesson, our Army and Air Force should resign and ask the politicians to go and fight the intruders so that they will know what our army is going through with outdated equipment. If we want to defend Kashmir, we have to shell out huge bucks and get the most modern equipment for our army that is well suited to fight this kind of rough terrain. If we are not interested in spending, then forget Kashmir. I would rather want our soldiers alive than Kashmir if we cannot defend it because of lack of equipment. When our soldiers are ready to give their lives for the country, we should do everything possible to give them what they need to save their lives. I don't mind donating a thousand dollars for the army, but my worry is, by the time it reaches the army (through our politicians) it will be only ten dollars.
Anil Admal
Date:
Fri, 04 Jun 1999 13:24:23 -0400 Though I agree with what the Lt General said, I would like to question him on his own point. He mentioned "...We lost our men in Operation Blue Star. Successive governments apologised to the Sikhs for storming the Golden Temple, but did they apologise to a single soldier?" Yes, successive governments/politicians have apologised to the Sikhs, but who allowed the terrorists inside the Golden Temple? Is it the successive governments or the government which ordered Operation Blue Star? Today the Lt General has blamed the intelligence for its failure in the militants occupation of Kargil. If this is the case, then who is to be blamed for the occupation of the Golden Temple before Operation Blue Star? Who created Bhindranwale? And why did the army (retired or service men) support those politicians who allowed terrorists inside the Golden Temple? We have so many weapons and men to fight the foreign enemy. But how much power do we have to fight against corruption by our internal enemy? A few years ago, India ranked number one in corruption. At that time what did the Army do to save this country? Is corruption not a danger to our country? And can the corrupt, just because they have Indian status, be pardoned? What is the Bofors gun deal? Why didn't the Army come openly and tell everything about the corruption involved in that? General Sundarji spoke about the corruption in Bofors, but only after his retirement, why? Why didn't the Army not exhibit courage to tell the truth about Bofors? Courage should be about everything. When I was in the NCC (student wing of 1 Andhra Armed Forces), I have personally seen how are Army officers are. They gave us totally junk food after our training, that too inside the camp. The food was very little, we were not allowed to go out to purchase anything. They are just another government organisation. I personally feel that successive governments have done the right thing by apologising to the Sikhs. It was the Congress which had created Bhindranwale to counter the Akali Dal. We had no right to allow terrorists inside the Golden Temple or attack the temple for some political benefit. If the BJP can be blamed for attacking the Babri Masjid, then the Congress should be blamed for destroying the sanctity of the Golden Temple. The Army did absolutely nothing when Sikhs were burned to death in New Delhi after Indira Gandhi's assassination. It is the Sikhs who worked for India, who fought heavily during the Indo-Pak war, and finally it was the Sikhs who were killed and the Army did nothing to protect them in New Delhi.
Sripathi Yarasi, PhD
Date:
Fri, 4 Jun 1999 15:18:26 -0400 I am in complete agreement with the views expressed in this article. I just wish our politicians shared the set of thoughts also. Bharat
Date:
Fri, 4 Jun 1999 16:16:02 -0400 I know this is a waste of time expressing my anger through these messages, but if I at least help in creating one voice of support for our brave soldiers, then this is worth writing. The Kargil situation is the outcome of our selfish and inefficient political leaders ruling the country for the last 50 years. No wonder our defence minister talks about "safe passage" to the infiltrators. I am ashamed to be born after Independence to see such people ruling our motherland. My salute to our brave soldiers.
Vishnu Yachamaneni
Date:
Fri, 04 Jun 1999 21:36:22 -0400 The article on India losing the PR war is an excellent one. Media management and PR aren't exactly the strength areas of our government. I wish I could forward this article to the defence minister, defence secretary and chief of of Army Staff. Sanjay Dalwani
Date:
Thu, 27 May 1999 09:41:54 -0700 (PDT) There is a chemical called Sarin that will eliminate terrorists in minutes. The only reason that USA and other Western countries cry about it is that Sarin can be easily made by anyone while they command the market when it comes to conventional weapons. Use of Sarin and other chemicals help the world by removing terrorism but it eats into the market share of USA and Britain. Both chemicals and conventional weapons kill. Rooting for one form of killing over the other betrays a perverse mind. Killing is killing. Look at the hypocrisy. If a lethal injection is the most humane form of administering death and shooting is the most barbaric form, what makes it the exact opposite when it comes to war? It is a crying shame that successive Indian governments lacked the spine to question this perverse logic and meekly signed stupid treaties. Arvind
Date:
Wed, 02 Jun 1999 16:39:53 -0400 Dear Sai, Your words makes the difference "Before doing all that, however, it can make a beginning by muzzling its defence minister who seems intent on queering the pitch. Today he is promising the infiltrators safe passage, tomorrow he may agree to cede Kargil to Pakistan. Stop him before he does that. .." You may be right and I hope that you might have looked at the other side of diplomacy. This may be well connected to international diplomacy. I disagree that no diplomacy currently favours the situation. Well on the ground of military action yes! It was ridiculous to make such a statement but until this is over, the political back should be seen as a zero power. You must agree that the government has given a "go and do until you are satisfied" to the military which would be doubtful [IF]some other party were heading India. Why, because no one has the maturity, experience, support, except few who have been tested so far. I also point the remarkable achievement of our foreign policy especially Mr Singh, despite all pre negative expectation, the West has finally stayed on the line. It is worthless to mention the comment of the all time foreign expert Mr Natwar Singh. I am sure you are in touch with those comments. Rest of your comments are impressive Shashi
Date:
Sat, 05 Jun 1999 08:00:27 -0700 Our priority should be to capture either dead or alive the bodies of "freedom fighters" and regulars. Subsequent to this, according to the Geneva convention, their identification and post-mortem must be done by international observers to present the cogent proof to the so called "international community" the clear hand of Pakistan. Why are we missing this opportunity as the whole world needs a irrefutable proof so that we in the US won't read the standard disclaimer from the AP, Reuters, CNN and all these biased people that ..."India alleges Pakistan of armed support and terrorism but Pakistan denies these charges and says that they give only moral and diplomatic support"....It is a BIG LIE! We here sorely miss this strong proof from the Government of India so that these Western (people) nations who are pampering the Pakis would have their foot in their mouths.
Prasad N Gadgil
Date:
Sat, 5 Jun 1999 23:16:40 +1000 Well said Wg Cdr Jaywant! Why India does not use its advanced satellite systems for military surveillance is beyond me. If America can locate and destroy Osama Bin Laden's camp thousands of miles from it's territory, why can't India keep tabs on its errant neighbour? Is someone in the hierarchy listening? Manmit Madan
Date:
Sat, 5 Jun 1999 11:41:37 -0500 Can't India use its IRS satellites to find out the positions of the intruders on the mountains? Also, can't we have used them earlier when the intruders where moving in? I am sure the satellites can double up as spy satellites and help us guard the LoC better, especially during winter. It would be nice if you guys can have a report on this subject.
Date:
Sat, 5 Jun 1999 13:49:38 EDT
I would like to commend you and your staff on a job generally well done. My
only objection, and that too a strong one, is how some of your journalists
try to create controversy with almost total disregard to the bigger issue
at hand. I would like to provide the following example as a point in case:
Former Air Chief, Marshal S K Kaul being interviewed by Mr Onkar Singh. I would not like to comment on George Fernandes. All I can say is that it is difficult to believe that the government of Pakistan and their much-talked-about intelligence agency the ISI had no role in sending the armed intruders into the Kargil sector. Do you think such a man should continue as defence minister of India?
I have no comments on this issue. I am a serviceman and not a politician. I
would like to stay away from this controversy. It's rather disheartening to see that most journalists are indulging in petty questioning and forgetting the larger framework, ie, the Kargil conflict and our arms forces on the frontier. It is a rather heavy responsibility to be a journalist in a democracy and they should not abuse their access to millions by trying to incite controversies, for I am sure that in this interview for example, if Air Chief Marshal S K Kaul had even given a slightly more provocative answer, Mr Onkar Singh would have rather gleefully run to the press and provided the article and the headline a whole new twist. Please refrain from "masala" journalism aka bad journalism, at least on this topic. Think of how stupid and vain it all sounds and its affect on the morale of the armed services. Sorabh
Date:
Sun, 6 Jun 1999 01:13:18 +0530 (IST) These are some of the links to Pakistani government sites and the contents can be taken as official policy statements. Look who is talking of peace or negotiation (unconditionally).
http://www.pak.gov.pk I think we should remember the history of Ghazni's attack on India. The Kashmir issue seems to be similar. It is time we got it solved. The Kashmir issue shows the way people from the time of Nehru mishandled the situation. It is still unforgivable on the part of our leaders to let Pakistan and China have some part of Kashmir.
Singaraju Gouri Sankar
Date:
Sat, 5 Jun 1999 19:57:40 -0700 President Clinton has written to the PMs of India and Pakistan to amicably resolve this Kargil crisis. I am quite surprised at this missive on his part because evidence of Pakistani involvement is incontrovertible. He would be better advised to write to Pakistan asking them to withdraw their troops from the LoC at Kargil which would result in an automatic ceasefire. I think a message should go out from our PM asking President Clinton to keep off what is essentially a bilateral issue. What would President Clinton do if anyone dares violate US territory?
S Shankar
|
||
|
HOME |
NEWS |
BUSINESS |
SPORTS |
MOVIES |
CHAT |
INFOTECH |
TRAVEL |
SINGLES BOOK SHOP | MUSIC SHOP | GIFT SHOP | HOTEL RESERVATIONS | WORLD CUP 99 EDUCATION | PERSONAL HOMEPAGES | FREE EMAIL | FEEDBACK |
||