The great joke that is Indian media – Part IV (re. Siachen)
…or History made simple, courtesy IBN.
IBN this morning has a breathtaking exclusive: “The untold story of accession of Kashmir“
All in 193 words (or a 2-minute video for those how prefer pictures to words).
A subject around which four wars have been fought, tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed, several hundreds of thousands been displaced, has been condensed in less than 200 words by the great editors and journalists at IBN.
Bravo!
But then IBN specialises in making complicated things simple. See for example, its recent programme on whether it was worth “holding on” to Siachen!
For those of you who really want to know more about the history of Kashmir and its background read this excellent factual background to the Kashmir Issue and “India – Pakistan: Lessons from the ruins” Part 1 and Part 2.
Related posts: The great joke that is Indian media series: read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 here.
P.S. Please consider this post as a repository for all articles and links related to demilitarisation of Siachen. Thanks
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The above is an unverified map of Siachen which shows where India would have to withdraw to if Siachen is demilitarized (courtesy @JehangirPocha, Editor, News-X).
http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/2007/1-3/media/ht_2007-01-01_religion-media.shtml
I have kept this video here. It is worth watching. It is long but at the end of it felt lucky to watch it. It talks about how media plays role in defaming religion mainly Hinduism.
Related to Siachen and whether it is “worth holding on to”. From The Siachen Story: Himalayan Blunder by India’s Government by PRAKASH CHAND KATOCH, Oct 13, ’12:
..India is committing a historical strategic blunder by quietly agreeing to Pakistan’s demand for withdrawing from Saltoro Ridge in Siachen glacier. The Indian public and parliament have been kept in the dark. A backroom deal has been concluded through questionable intermediaries with close ties to Pakistan.
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The decision to de-militarize or rather withdraw from Siachen has been taken arbitrarily at the highest political level disregarding strong objections by successive army chiefs including the current chief, Gen Bikram Singh. He has even made a statement to the media opposing demilitarization of the glacier.
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The agreement states that re-occupation cannot be done speedily. This is absurd as it negates India’s ability to use helicopters for lightning occupation. This gives Pakistan a huge advantage because the western flanks and glacial valleys of the Saltoro ridge are controlled by Pakistan. They do not have snow during summer and can be reached under cover of darkness and of bad weather on foot. The provision for technical surveillance is a red herring because of the tough terrain and extreme weather. It is important to remember that because of these conditions even the US with all its technical resources was surprised by India’s nuclear tests of 1998.
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The Indian Army’s concerns have clearly been ignored. The strategic importance of the Saltoro Ridge, especially in relation to Gilgit-Baltistan, Northern Areas, Shaksgam and Wakhan Corridor has been systematically obfuscated by a government that retains far too much of power over electronic and print media. The government has carried out a massive public relations exercise using gullible television channels to transmit the message that Siachen has no strategic significance. …
The Line of Control between India and Pakistan was originally drawn on a 1:250,000 map with a thick sketch pen without military advice. This has left an ambiguity as to the location of any given point on this line to the tune of about a hundred meters. Furthermore, the line does not follow ridgelines creating a source of constant and persisting hostility and acrimony. The same thick pen may be used once again in Siachen to devastating effect. A withdrawal from Siachen would facilitate further Pakistani incursions into Kashmir and put Ladadh, the Buddhist part of the state, under threat.
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Since 1984, Pakistan has been trying to control Siachen. Pakistan invaded India in 1999 to control Kargil and cut off Siachen. Pakistan is attempting to eradicate its strategic disadvantage through both military and non military measures. People in Shia dominated Baltistan, the place close to Siachen Glacier, are being forcibly converted to Sunni Islam. The Pakistani state often sponsors Shia massacres. The idea is to create a strong base for Pakistani troops to advance from when they make their next move.
If India withdraws from Siachen, the new defense line will need additional troops. The new number will be many times the number of troops holding Siachen presently and the costs to the exchequer will increase exponentially. The joint agreement innocuously says in Annexure II, “small-scale intrusions are neither significant nor sustainableâ€. This is absurd. Small scale intrusions can easily take place undetected in areas devoid of snow during summer months. They can then be staging posts for infiltration. The Indian army lost the flower of its youth in 1999 when Pakistani troops intruded to take the heights in Kargil. With no defense line in Siachen, Ladakh will be open to infiltration. Irregulars and members of the Taliban will be able to cross into territory that belongs to India while Pakistan will deny culpability for ‘non-state-actors’. Gen Musharraf once declared that there would be many more Kargils in the future. Withdrawing from Siachen will make the general’s declaration a reality.
Excerpt from Demilitarizing Siachen: Trading Strategic Advantage for Brownie Points By Maj Gen S G Vombatkere, Date : 08 Nov , 2012:
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There is a lobby favouring demilitarization, especially of Siachen, and meetings to discuss it have been held by an India-Pakistan group, the so-called Track-II team, comprising retired military officers and retired diplomats of both countries. Siachen-experienced retired Indian army officers are strongly opposed to demilitarizing Siachen for strategic and tactical reasons. There are no two opinions within Pakistan on this issue, because Pakistan only gains politically, economically and militarily by demilitarizing Siachen.
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In a recent diplomatically-savvy initiative, Pakistan army chief General A.P.Kayani “advocated peaceful coexistence with India, adding that the civil and military leaderships of the two countries should discuss ways to resolve the issue†[of] “demilitarisation of the Siachen glacier†[Ref.1]. This initiative, triggered by the loss of 139 Pakistani soldiers killed in an avalanche at Gayari in April, is said to be driven by the need to cover up the long-standing lie sold to the Pakistani public that their soldiers were dying on Siachen facing Indian troops. The fact is that Gayari is in the Siachen region and not on Siachen itself, and there are no Pakistani troops on Siachen because Indian troops occupy Siachen and its commanding heights.
“Peaceful co-existence†is a strange phrase coming from a Pakistan army chief. Peaceful co-existence can very easily be achieved if the General would order his troops not to violate the ceasefire as is continually occurring,
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India has consistently maintained in international fora that Jammu & Kashmir, including Siachen, is a part of India. Hence Indian troops abandoning their posts on and around Siachen and vacating Indian territory to satisfy “peace†initiatives by Pakistan, amounts to India surrendering its sovereignty over Jammu & Kashmir, with repercussions on other parts of the LOC.
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It is a fair bet that most MPs do not know where Siachen is, or what are the national sovereignty and security implications of its demilitarization. Perhaps GoI considers that informing Parliament is concurrence to proceed with talks, even demilitarization.
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The mainstream print media has brought out articles that press for demilitarizing Siachen, some even arguing for it “nowâ€, notably by A.G.Noorani [Ref.7]. An immediate riposte to it was not published by any newspaper, but fortunately did get published in niche journals, including one the same day [Ref.8].
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There are rumors that the media is muffling any discussion on Siachen on the instructions of the government†[Ref.4].
One wonders why the Indian government would want the public to read about the “advantages†of demilitarizing Siachen, without allowing arguments that it may not be in the national interest.
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it is best to confine the discussion to examining the arguments concerning demilitarization of Siachen in terms of regional and global geopolitics, noting that India’s over-riding considerations regarding Siachen are military and not civilian.
According to media reports, Pakistan is negotiating or has already negotiated leasing the Gilgit-Baltistan region, which is part of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), to China for 50 years [Ref.9]. This includes the area Pakistani troops now occupy, facing Indian defensive positions on Siachen. If Indian troops pull out of Siachen, Pakistani or Chinese troops can easily defeat surveillance, as any soldier who has experienced Siachen will confirm, and infiltrate into tactically superior former Indian posts to gain strategic advantage.
Re-occupation of these posts by Indian forces will be almost impossible.
Chinese presence in Baltistan sets Siachen as a new frontier and possible flashpoint for hostilities between India and China. In the context of China having deployed missile units in Tibet within easy strike range of New Delhi. In this changed geopolitical situation, India pulling back from Siachen would be monumental strategic folly.
Placing some more links here for the record: Army watches as Siachen dialogue resumes and Why China and Pakistan want demilitarization of Siachen by Karan Kharb | Date:09 Dec , 2012