Thread by @ColSanjayPande

1/n My thread on #KashmirThroughMyEyes talks about how abrogation of Article 370 broke the back of #CounterInsurgencyIndustry in Kashmir. Everyone milked Kashmir. With one stroke the spine of this industry was broken. That was Kashmir. What was the bigger game?

2/n I now do a thread on #MilkingPakistanBogey on how Milking Pakistan was a full time job of politicians, military men, bureaucrats, middlemen and commission agents. It paid to keep Pakistan as Enemy No.1. How did a country with 1/20th of our GDP become a national passion?

3/n #MilkingPakistanBogey Galwan has broken spine of the Pakistan Bogey lot. Balakot- ‘Hamne ghus ke mara’ to going back to 1971 when breaking Pakistan into two was the biggest event exploited by IG. From Indira Gandhi to current PM, story was same. NOT ANY MORE.

4/n #MilkingPakistanBogey This is precisely what I write. As Dy Chief and when in chair did China ever come up? Counter Insurgency and Pakistan Bogey were exploited. Today it’s so easily ‘Pakistan is no longer military threat’. Dear Sir, IT NEVER WAS.
https://t.co/EH5xSzyTSP

5/n #MilkingPakistanBogey I really love my Indian Military experts. Many have ‘General’ preceding their names. Everyone after 1971 mastered the art of milking Pakistan for personal growth & putting Pakistan phobia in politicians.Result? We have an elephant of Army facing Pakistan

6/n #MilkingPakistanBogey Of 1971 was resounding victory where was the necessity to have three strike corps? The elephant became so big facing Pakistan that we ignored China. The elephant could not turn to face China. We need to convert this elephant into tiger. Who will do it?

7/n #MilkingPakistanBogey Pakistan bogey made careers. Kept focus away from China. Made the Government comfortable in false belief that we need to tackle only one enemy. Pakistan in turn did its bit. After 71 for a decade licked wounds, aided Punjab and then J&K. Our Military...

8/n #MilkingPakistanBogey ... Militart Leadership got so consumed that in the bargain it promoted snd encouraged a generation of officers that only knew how to rise up. Conventional War mindset was killed. Military thinkers dried up. Talent left Army or was stifled.

9/n #MilkingPakistanBogey A brief spark of hope was Gen Sundarji. Before the impact could be felt, IPLF adventure in Sri Lanka dented the pride of Army. So it was a decade plus after 71 war, Punjab, IPKF and Kashmir all in succession. Kashmir lasted 30 years till its spine ...

10/n #MilkingPakistanBogey .. was broken by Abrogation of Art 370. Do you see the distrust between Political and Military Leadership for 48 years? 1971 to 2019? Insurgency could have been tamed in yr 2000, 2010 but finally Govt decides in 2019. What was military’s contribution?

11/n #MilkingPakistanBogey It is beyond doubt that Congress at Centre and NC in Kashmir were hell bent to let status quo remain. My thread on #KashmirThroughMyEyes -
explains how the Counter Insurgency Industry worked. WORST WAS EVEN MILITARY FELL FOR IT.

12/n #MilkingPakistanBogey GALWAN has hit us like ton on bricks. WHY? Whose job was it to not let it happen? PM? No. It was Military. You can never ignore My thread on #KashmirThroughMyEyes -
twitter.com/colsanjaypande… since it has the core reason. Since 1990 to Gen Bipin Rawat..

13/n #MilkingPakistanBogey ... each COAS and each Army Commander, without exception, has to be held accountable for not advising political leadership on 1. How to end Insurgency in Kashmir 2. Re focus of national threat to redesign military to take on China. Both did not happen.

14/n #MilkingPakistanBogey It gets more complex. At lowest level, a unit, 30 years of insurgency has resulted in each Infantry Bn to have atleast 6-7 field tenures of which 4-5 would be in Kashmir and 2-3 opp China. Artillery would be 5-6 field of which Kashmir would be 2-3.

15/n #MilkingPakistanBogey Rashtriya Rifles has been permanently in Kashmir. 70 odd units. 100% commanded by infantry. 100% Infantry has been deeply marinated in Counter Insurgency. It’s intense and does not give time to even think outside unit Area of Responsibility.

16/n #MilkingPakistanBogey Where dies Armoured, Engineers go? Few see tenures as Majors in RR but most in staff. Complete focus of Northern Command is on CI since it’s a professional gold mine. This Command ALSO has China in half its area. It has other half in insurgency.

17/n #MilkingPakistanBogey So when I insist that it’s only Army Commanders and above that need to be held accountable, there is a professional and logical reason. TRADITIONALLY Corps Commanders of 15 Corps(Srinagar Corps) desire to become Army Commanders & Chief OR GOVERNOR J&K.

18/n #MilkingPakistanBogey With the two main Corps Commanders and huge number of Divisions and RR Forces ALL under these two corps, the Army Commander Northern Command becomes the strongest and most talked about. WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE LADAKH? A poor second. Nothing to mine.

19/n #MilkingPakistanBogey So Pakistan to Army Commander Northern Command is a hen that lays Gold Eggs. Now let us move West. Western Command has practically complete Punjab. International Boundary. Fencing. How does the Army Commander continue to be relevant? Pakistan attack!!!

20/n #MilkingPakistanBogey Same story with South Western Command. Same story with Southern Command. THREE MAJOR COMMANDS, each having a strike corps, air assets & strategic weapons. All surviving on a border with one country, 1/20th of our GDP, imploding country & a failed state.

21/n #MilkingPakistanBogey That leaves what? Central Command with no borders to guard. Army Training Command with no operational role. Just EASTERN COMMAND from Sikkim to Arunachal to Nagaland to Manipur to Mizoram to Tripura to Bangladesh. WHO IS LOOKING AFTER CHINA?

22/n #MilkingPakistanBogey DO YOU REALIZE THE MESS? Who is responsible? We broke Pakistan into two in 1971. Bangladesh became independent. So since 1972 we did not have any Army Commander and Chief advising Government to balance out responsibilities of land frontiers!!!!!

23/n #MilkingPakistanBogey So 48 years and no reallocation of lopsided responsibilities. Now we create another Command called South Western Command. Again for Pakistan. More opportunities for #MilkingPakistan but not one to streamline the military to align with threats!! CHINA??

24/n #MilkingPakistanBogey So we accept that the complete lot of military thinkers, strategists, writers, Army Commanders, Chiefs, Institutions and others in domain did not find China as threat. Except Gen Sundarji no one ever thought China was threat in FORTY EIGHT YEARS??

25/n This thread on #MilkingPakistanBogey on how Milking Pakistan was a full time job of politicians, military men, bureaucrats, middlemen and commission agents. It paid to keep Pakistan as Enemy No.1. How did a country with 1/20th of our GDP become a national passion?

26/n #MilkingPakistanBogey 1971 war victory euphoria made us forget the DRUBBING at tge gands of China 9 years earlier. This was the moment of truth for India. China / Enemy No.1. Pakistan Enemy No.2. India experienced in TWO FRONT WAR. So with no other threat the job of COAS....

27/n #MilkingPakistanBogey .... and Political Leadership was set. Reorganise Armed Forces to take on Enemy No1-CHINA, and now by default, configure Armed Forces to take on Pakistan. So 1. India vs China 2. India vs Pakistan 3. Worst case scenario - India vs China AND Pakistan.