, 20 tweets, 8 min read
My Authors
Read all threads
1
So the near demilitarization of #Siachen some time in the first decade of this millennium is back in news!
Let me do my own bit by laying here some facts about the world's highest and the most challenging battlefield.
Here goes ..
2
Firstly, the battlefield is NOT Siachen. It is the Saltoro Ridge further to the West of the glacier.
This is a fact which needs to be put on record once and for all.
3
That said, the genesis of the conflict in #Siachen is worth studying.
Nitin Gokhale's book on the same is a good read.
In short, the Shimla Accord delineated the LoC till Point NJ 9842 and, assuming areas further North to be too inhospitable, left the issue by saying that ..
4
.. the LoC would thereafter run 'northwards along the glaciers'.
Things stayed calm until the late 70s, when Pakistan started granting clearance to mountaineering / trekking expeditions in #Siachen on its own.
5
#Siachen
This was followed by 'Cartographic Aggression', wherein Pak maps suddenly started showing their territory ahead of NJ 9842 with a straight, north easterly line joining the point with the Karakoram Pass.
6
#Siachen
Then in the early 80s, own agencies informed the govt of the day that Pakis were busy shopping for high altitude gear, with an intention to occupy Saltoro Ridge and enforce their claim line.
7
#Siachen
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered the Indian Army to move in, and the army flew in a bunch of tough Kumaonis to occupy strategic heights / passes on the Saltoro Ridge.
The timing was perfect - it pre-empted the planned Paki operation by mere weeks!
8
#Siachen
Packies too moved in soon, to occupy some unheld areas on the Saltoro, and trying to evict the Indian army.
Bloody clashes followed before the positions of both sides stabilized.
9
#Siachen
The Indian army was in possession of almost all strategic and dominating heights on the Saltoro, less one sore spot - The Quaid Post - a post so important that the Pakis named it after their father of the nation, Jinnah.
10
#Siachen
And then they lost it to a diminutive Khalsa, Bana Singh, in 1987!
A certain Brigadier Pervez Musharraf of the SSG was tasked to retake it.
He threw in his best.
And he lost them all.
Bana Post continues to fly the Tricolour to this day!
11
#Siachen
Fast forward to previous decade.
Weather related casualties were, and continue to be at an all time low.
Most of the men out of the 800+ as is touted by the usual suspects, were lost in the first two decades or so, majorly due to enemy action as well as weather.
12
#Siachen
Of late, the Indian Army is comfortably dominating the battlefield.
Packies know that dislodging the Indians from this area is impossible.
Thus began a chant of 'global warming', 'pollution' etc, ironically from a country that gives a damn about its own forest cover!
13
The dream of the previous Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh to convert #Siachen into a 'Mountain of Peace' was replied to by the Army with a single statement - 'Let Pakistan authenticate its and our positions on a map jointly signed by both nations.'
14
#Siachen
This was a pre-requisite of the army which basically told its govt that once we withdraw, if the Packies come and sit on the Saltoro, then don't ask us to recapture it again, because we may be unable to do so.
15
#Siachen
They were right.
Kargil had happened less than a decade ago, this DESPITE the LoC mutually agreed to and AUTHENTICATED too in 1972!
Bottomline - You cannot trust Pakistan to stick to its word.
(Apparently, Shyam Saran's book brings in some more details).
16
#Siachen
But regardless of that, I still wonder why the eff has Pakistan steadfastly refused to exchange authenticated maps of their and our positions on Saltoro, if that is what they had indeed agreed to as is being hinted?
17
Is it because we don't know where they are placed?
Or is it because Pak Army has continuously lied to its own people that it is THEY who dominate Indians in the #Siachen battlefield?
Some points to ponder upon before the idiotic (IMO) calls for demilitarization, I'd say.
18
As I close this thread, I'll leave with just one question from me to the worthies about #Siachen.
Been almost three years since I asked this.
Would be glad if someone can answer me some day.
19/19
#Siachen
BOTTOMLINE: Let us not let the sacrifice of 100s of our best go waste because someone somewhere would rather trust Pakis on their word instead of their past deeds
Remember, Bana Post itself was captured after an op spread out over weeks & dozens of casualties.
JMTs
^^
Above thread in my blog
cestmoizblog.com/2017/09/11/sia…
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh.

Keep Current with Harpreet

Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!