Army chief Bipin Rawat says troops need innovative ways to fight against ‘dirty war’ in Kashmir
The Indian Army is facing a “dirty war” in Jammu and Kashmir which has to be fought through “innovative” ways, army chief Gen Bipin Rawat has said, stoutly defending the use of a Kashmiri as a ‘human shield’ by a young officer.
In an exclusive interaction with PTI, Rawat said the main objective of awarding Major Leetul Gogoi, when a Court of Inquiry was finalising its probe into the incident, was to boost the morale of young officers of the force who are operating in a very difficult environment in the militancy- infested state.
“This is a proxy war and proxy war is a dirty war. It is played in a dirty way. The rules of engagements are there when the adversary comes face-to-face and fights with you. It is a dirty war…. That is where innovation comes in. You fight a dirty war with innovations,” Rawat said.
The Army Chief’s Commendation medal to Gogoi, who had tied a man to an army jeep and used him as a human shield from stone throwers last month was criticised by human rights activists, Kashmiri groups and by a few retired army generals. A video of the incident had triggered a row with many condemning it.
Gogoi was awarded for his sustained efforts in counter- insurgency operations.
Here's the video as well. A warning can be heard saying stone pelters will meet this fate. This requires an urgent inquiry & follow up NOW!! pic.twitter.com/qj1rnCVazn
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) April 14, 2017
General Rawat also backed the decision to award Major Gogoi and said it was his duty to lift the morale of the army personnel in Jammu and Kashmir. “As Army Chief my concern is morale of the Army. That is my job. I am far away from the battle field. I cannot influence the situation there. I can only tell the boys that I am with you. I always tell my people, things will go wrong, but if things have gone wrong and you did not have malafide intent, I am there,” he said.
Commenting on the prevailing situation in Kashmir, Rawat said, “It will have to be a composite solution. Everybody will have to get involved. Army’s role is to ensure that violence does not take place and the common man who is not indulging in this (violence) is protected,” he said, when asked about the solution to the Kashmir issue.
