While reading about the exploits of the Seal 6 teams I got goose bumps. What bravery, what confidence! I decided to explore exploits of Indian soldiers. Amazingly, every example I read had two things in common. It showed that our boys are every bit as capable as the best in the world. They may not be able to match up with the size of the US navy seals but more that make up for that in heart and bravado. The other thing, which was common, was the indecisiveness and cowardice of our leaders. Such is the story of our unfortunate nation. I will provide some examples of our soldiers’ exploits. Our history is replete with examples of bravery of individual soldiers. The Indian soldiers were sent to the front in summer clothes for a high altitude battle armed with outdated rifles. Indian lambs were cast to the Chinese hyenas.
As Gen Suman says: Despite numerous sagas of gallantry, the country suffered terrible embarrassment. India was on its knees. With national morale and pride in tatters, India was forced to appeal to all nations for military aid. Inept and incompetent leadership had forced a proud nation to find solace in Lata Mangeshkar’s ‘Ae Mere Watan Ke Logo’.
Battle of Longewala which has been described as the modern day Battle of Thermopyle is yet another example of poor preparation by the decision makers. An extremely audacious attack by the Pakistanis who rolled into India with what would have been an overwhelming force. They were right in their calculation that no one would expect them to attack the Ganganagar border. Now these Paki soldiers have been taught that one Pakistani soldier is equal to 5 Indian soldiers. The attacked us with 3000 thousand Paki soldiers and 22 armored regiment. As per Paki calculations India would need 15000 soldiers to defend. What they eventually found out was that the math they had been taught was wrong. These people were stopped in their tracks by an extremely brave group of 84 soldiers. When morning came, the Pakis were destroyed by the IAF. Between this and other incidences, we see that their blind hatred for India has made the Pakistanis into a glutton for punishment.
The 1972 war was won because Mrs. Gandhi was being advised by the Indian defense forces. She had the good sense to follow the advice. That we lost any advantage due to our win is another sign of our weak and indecisive leadership.
Kargil was yet another example of poor leadership and preparedness by our leadership which put our boys in the harm’s way. That they came out victors is a testament to their bravery and not to the leadership.
Some more research and a timely article tell us a tale of the Indian special forces. It seems that 24 years ago, two Indian naval officers were sent to the US to train with the SEALs. This is the same group which took out bin Laden. These two guys came back and trained more Indian soldiers and that led to the formation of the Indian Marine Special Forces. The exploits of these men is even more special that the Seal 6 team which took out bin Laden because these boys were not equipped with any stealth equipment. Armed with what we have and their guts, they carried out missions which would make any Indian burst at the seams with pride. Here is one of the examples:
In the next few years the IMSF would see action all over the Jaffna peninsula as the IPKF battled the LTTE in Sri Lanka. The first time the IMSF would see action would be a hazardous operation to blow up the Jaffna jetty. This was a crucial link to the LTTE’s suicide boats that was threatening the IPKF’s naval supply ships as well as the Sri Lankan navy. India’s naval operations decided to use the first batch of the IMSF to put together a team that would take out the jetty.
Naturally, the man they chose to lead the operation was Lt Arvind Singh. In the late hours of a summer night, Singh and his men slipped off an Indian naval ship and began to swim towards their objective a good 10-12 km away. Carrying their weapons and demolitions, the team slipped into the Jaffna harbour and laid their charges. As soon as the jetty blew up, the LTTE immediately detected the IMSF team and began to harass them with withering fire. Singh and his men returned the fire and began their long swim back to their ship. They returned without any casualties and, a year later, Singh would walk up the steps of Rashtrapati Bhawan to receive his Maha Vir Chakra.
If the story of the bravery of these guys is inspiring then the story behind the political management of the special forces is a reminder of the bankruptcy of our political leadership. In his article Saikat Dutta says the following: Since then, the Indian SF has been put through a series of blunders. At one point, while there was a severe lack of resources to modernise the SF, army headquarters began an ill-advised expansion. More battalions were converted into an SF role, but in reality they had no equipment, training and therefore, no special capabilities. Many within the SF community opposed this tooth and nail but failed to anticipate the political machinations of a vested few. In the end, the expansion took place and we continue to pay for this mammoth blunder even today.
Lately there has been a lot of tall talk by Indian politicians (even from the BJP leadership) about how we can carry out raids like Abottabad but we like to show restraint. The cruel joke hidden in that statement is not lost on anyone.
Not only have our leaders destroyed the capabilities of our special forces boys but they have also bungled up every attempt at setting up a central command for crisis management. A centralized crisis management set up may have taken care of the hijacked plane in Amritsar instead of letting it go to Kandahar. Whatever semblance of such a crisis management group we have has politicians and IAS babus who are more interested in protecting their turf and their own careers rather than the nation.
Who Dares Wins
SAIKAT DATTA
A team from 9 Para (SF) would cross the line of control to raid a major Pakistani artillery gun position in Mandhol. The team returned after destroying all the guns and with just two minor casualties. In the scorching deserts of Rajathsan, a young prince from Jaipur led a team of 10 Para (SF) to raid the Pakistani town of Chachro in Sind. Legend has it that when Bhawani Singh was returning with his raiders, the Indian BSF opened fire on them thinking they were Pakistanis! No one could believe that an Indian army team could slip across the international border, hit a major town and return back to base successfully.
The article can be read at:http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?271657
Taking on the Enemy at Longewala
In every conflict there comes a turning point. In the 1971 war against Pakistan, the Battle of Longewala in the western sector was one such point. Not only was the Pak attack dented, but it was also forced to withdraw when India launched its own offensive. Longewala was, thus, a decisive battle, says James Hattar
The article can be read at:http://www.tribuneindia.com/2000/20001216/windows/main2.htm
As Gen Suman says: Despite numerous sagas of gallantry, the country suffered terrible embarrassment. India was on its knees. With national morale and pride in tatters, India was forced to appeal to all nations for military aid. Inept and incompetent leadership had forced a proud nation to find solace in Lata Mangeshkar’s ‘Ae Mere Watan Ke Logo’.
Battle of Longewala which has been described as the modern day Battle of Thermopyle is yet another example of poor preparation by the decision makers. An extremely audacious attack by the Pakistanis who rolled into India with what would have been an overwhelming force. They were right in their calculation that no one would expect them to attack the Ganganagar border. Now these Paki soldiers have been taught that one Pakistani soldier is equal to 5 Indian soldiers. The attacked us with 3000 thousand Paki soldiers and 22 armored regiment. As per Paki calculations India would need 15000 soldiers to defend. What they eventually found out was that the math they had been taught was wrong. These people were stopped in their tracks by an extremely brave group of 84 soldiers. When morning came, the Pakis were destroyed by the IAF. Between this and other incidences, we see that their blind hatred for India has made the Pakistanis into a glutton for punishment.
The 1972 war was won because Mrs. Gandhi was being advised by the Indian defense forces. She had the good sense to follow the advice. That we lost any advantage due to our win is another sign of our weak and indecisive leadership.
Kargil was yet another example of poor leadership and preparedness by our leadership which put our boys in the harm’s way. That they came out victors is a testament to their bravery and not to the leadership.
Some more research and a timely article tell us a tale of the Indian special forces. It seems that 24 years ago, two Indian naval officers were sent to the US to train with the SEALs. This is the same group which took out bin Laden. These two guys came back and trained more Indian soldiers and that led to the formation of the Indian Marine Special Forces. The exploits of these men is even more special that the Seal 6 team which took out bin Laden because these boys were not equipped with any stealth equipment. Armed with what we have and their guts, they carried out missions which would make any Indian burst at the seams with pride. Here is one of the examples:
In the next few years the IMSF would see action all over the Jaffna peninsula as the IPKF battled the LTTE in Sri Lanka. The first time the IMSF would see action would be a hazardous operation to blow up the Jaffna jetty. This was a crucial link to the LTTE’s suicide boats that was threatening the IPKF’s naval supply ships as well as the Sri Lankan navy. India’s naval operations decided to use the first batch of the IMSF to put together a team that would take out the jetty.
Naturally, the man they chose to lead the operation was Lt Arvind Singh. In the late hours of a summer night, Singh and his men slipped off an Indian naval ship and began to swim towards their objective a good 10-12 km away. Carrying their weapons and demolitions, the team slipped into the Jaffna harbour and laid their charges. As soon as the jetty blew up, the LTTE immediately detected the IMSF team and began to harass them with withering fire. Singh and his men returned the fire and began their long swim back to their ship. They returned without any casualties and, a year later, Singh would walk up the steps of Rashtrapati Bhawan to receive his Maha Vir Chakra.
If the story of the bravery of these guys is inspiring then the story behind the political management of the special forces is a reminder of the bankruptcy of our political leadership. In his article Saikat Dutta says the following: Since then, the Indian SF has been put through a series of blunders. At one point, while there was a severe lack of resources to modernise the SF, army headquarters began an ill-advised expansion. More battalions were converted into an SF role, but in reality they had no equipment, training and therefore, no special capabilities. Many within the SF community opposed this tooth and nail but failed to anticipate the political machinations of a vested few. In the end, the expansion took place and we continue to pay for this mammoth blunder even today.
Lately there has been a lot of tall talk by Indian politicians (even from the BJP leadership) about how we can carry out raids like Abottabad but we like to show restraint. The cruel joke hidden in that statement is not lost on anyone.
Not only have our leaders destroyed the capabilities of our special forces boys but they have also bungled up every attempt at setting up a central command for crisis management. A centralized crisis management set up may have taken care of the hijacked plane in Amritsar instead of letting it go to Kandahar. Whatever semblance of such a crisis management group we have has politicians and IAS babus who are more interested in protecting their turf and their own careers rather than the nation.
Who Dares Wins
SAIKAT DATTA
A team from 9 Para (SF) would cross the line of control to raid a major Pakistani artillery gun position in Mandhol. The team returned after destroying all the guns and with just two minor casualties. In the scorching deserts of Rajathsan, a young prince from Jaipur led a team of 10 Para (SF) to raid the Pakistani town of Chachro in Sind. Legend has it that when Bhawani Singh was returning with his raiders, the Indian BSF opened fire on them thinking they were Pakistanis! No one could believe that an Indian army team could slip across the international border, hit a major town and return back to base successfully.
The article can be read at:http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?271657
Taking on the Enemy at Longewala
In every conflict there comes a turning point. In the 1971 war against Pakistan, the Battle of Longewala in the western sector was one such point. Not only was the Pak attack dented, but it was also forced to withdraw when India launched its own offensive. Longewala was, thus, a decisive battle, says James Hattar
The article can be read at:http://www.tribuneindia.com/2000/20001216/windows/main2.htm
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