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http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/comment/pak-generals-have-their-way/170378.html
Pak generals have their way
India will have to keep up its guard
AMIDST the obfuscation on the government’s decision to revive the dialogue process with Pakistan, one conclusion stands out: The generals in Rawalpindi have prevailed. They had insisted that the National Security Advisers of India and Pakistan would not meet to discuss only terrorism. In doing so, the Pakistani generals had challenged the decision taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif at their meeting in Ufa, Russia, in July this year, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation conference.
It was also becomingly increasingly clear since about a year that Pakistan desired that the full bilateral dialogue be resumed. That position was being conveyed both publicly and privately, especially in the Track II circuit. The generals were supportive of this move because it would diffuse the terrorism issue within the full process. It would also help in toning down international concerns about Pakistan’s dangerous approaches in its neighbourhood.
Mr Modi had rightly rejected the Pakistani generals’ demand in August. In December, he gave in by allowing the NSAs, accompanied by the two Foreign Secretaries, to meet in Bangkok to discuss a host of subjects, including Jammu and Kashmir and terrorism. This was a double concession, on substance as well as venue; the latter because the meeting was to take place in Delhi. Was this a wise move?
Some argue that the essence of diplomacy lies in showing flexibility at the right time. There is merit in this argument, but only as a general proposition. The weight of experience of dealing with Pakistan shows that the generals always construe flexibility as weakness and not as maturity. Besides, the lesson they derive is that those who are flexible can be pushed to make ever more concessions. There is little doubt that they will interpret Mr Modi’s concession as a signal that he too can be pushed.
It is being put out that the Bangkok meeting enabled External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to visit Islamabad to take part in the Heart of Asia conference on Afghanistan. This too is not accurate, for she could have made the visit in any case. During the visit, she could have met Pakistan’s leaders on the sidelines to discuss the Afghan situation and also make it clear that India looked forward to the NSAs meeting on the basis of the Ufa decision. That would have been diplomatically entirely tenable. Now this is only an academic question, but it may well come back to haunt Mr Modi if the calculations which have made him take such a risky course prove incorrect.
There is no doubt that Sushma Swaraj did well to ensure that the India-Pakistan joint statement issued on the conclusion of her visit to Islamabad gave prominence to India’s terrorism concerns. Pakistan agreed that the NSAs will continue to discuss all issues related to terrorism. It also mentioned the assurance of the Pakistani side to “expedite the early conclusion of the Mumbai trial”. Interestingly, both sides also “resolved to cooperate” to eliminate terrorism.
Over the past few days, government sources are asserting to the media that all this will put Pakistan to the test. Only the naive will believe that the Pakistani establishment will take such tests seriously. They have never done so in the past. In 2004, Musharraf committed not to allow the territories in Pakistan’s control to be used to launch terrorist attacks on India. In 2008, the Mumbai attack occurred.
One senior source is reported to have revealed that Nawaz Sharif told Modi the generals were serious to go after the terrorist groups, including the Lashkar-e-Taiba. Decisive action against the LeT would require a fundamental transformation of the security doctrine Pakistan has followed since it fomented insurgency in Punjab. Pakistan may well calibrate the use of terror and even dismantle a portion of the infrastructure that sustains it, but it will not abandon it.
India-Pakistan engagement will have a new name — Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue. However, all the issues that were contained in the Composite Dialogue which was finalised in 1998 are still there. The modalities and the schedule are to be looked afresh by the Foreign Secretaries. One obvious change would flow from the decision empowering the NSAs to handle the terrorism issue. Earlier, the Home Secretaries of the two countries did so.
Will Pakistan want that the Jammu and Kashmir issue be given the same profile that terrorism will inevitably have as the NSAs will now discuss it? The question is significant for it had taken a year and a half to work out the modalities of the Composite Dialogue because Pakistan wanted the Kashmir question to be profiled. That demand was successfully resisted. Indian diplomats will now have to be careful to prevent any new attempt.
The Siachen issue has also been included for discussions. There is a consensus among Indian security thinkers that Indian forces should not withdraw from the Saltoro ridge. The increasing Chinese presence in the northern areas will harm India’s security interests. The Army has also resisted any thinking to withdraw, for if the Pakistanis break commitments and occupy those heights, nothing short of an all-out war will dislodge them. It would have been appropriate to drop the issue altogether though Pakistan would
have resisted the move. It gives high priority to the forces withdrawing from the heights.
Some clarifications would be needed on the government’s August and December positions. Also, if the Pakistanis have given an indication that they will stop meeting the Hurriyat before and after official dialogues in India? Mr Modi’s decision on the issue was correct and should not be diluted. Finally, what will be the government’s policy if another terrorist attack takes place from Pakistani soil? The same tired approach of breaking off dialogue or a more robust response?
Mr Modi has now invested in peace and cooperation with Pakistan and also visiting Pakistan for the Saarc summit in 2016. He will, as is his wont, wish to make that visit lead to transforming relations. The generals will see this as an opportunity to exploit, and India will have to keep up its guard.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/uttarakhand/lalit-first-cadet-from-garhwal-to-win-sword-of-honour/170435.html
Lalit first cadet from Garhwal _to win Sword of Honour
Jotirmay Thapliyal
Tribune News Service
Dehradun, December 13
Lieut Lalit Thapliyal, who was awarded the coveted Sword of Honour at the passing-out parade of the Indian Military Academy yesterday, was in all probability the first cadet from the Garhwal region to get this highest honour in the 83-year-old glorious history of the academy.
Lalit, who belongs to Adali village, near Kotdwar in Pauri Garhwal district, is a Rimocollion. He had won the overall silver medal in the National Defence Academy (NDA) before joining to the IMA for further training. While boys from the Garhwal region had been coming to the IMA in increasing numbers in the recent times and a few of them had even won gold and silver medals, the coveted Sword of Honour had eluded them. Akshat Joshi from Kumaon was awarded the Sword of Honour in 2013.
The Sword of Honour is presented to a cadet who excels in the passing-out course. The best cadet gets this prestigious honour. Lalit has been a keen sportsman, which can be gauged from the fact that shortly after passing out of the IMA, he left to play hockey for an Army team and would return to Dehradun by December end. An avid sportsman, Lalit also loves to play squash and has been part of the IMA squash team.
A proud father, DN Thapliyal, is vice principal at Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC), Dehradun, and has completed 28 years of service. “It is a proud moment not only for me but also for the entire Uttarakhand that a local boy has bagged the coveted Sword of Honour,” Thapliyal said while speaking with The Tribune. Asked whether his son was the first Garhwali to win the Sword of Honour, Thapliyal said he had enquired about it and in all probability he indeed was the first.
Thapliyal’s daughter Swarnima is a Captain in the Indian Army. Capt Swarnima’s husband Gaurav, who hails from Himachal Pradesh, had bagged the Sword of Honour in 2010.
He said it was a matter of honour for him that his children had kept up the glorious tradition of Garhwalis by joining the Army. He admitted that institutions such as the RIMC and also Sainik School play an important role in grooming and encouraging school students to make a career in the Army.
Lalit studied at Silver Oak School, Garhi Cantt, before joining the RIMC in class VII. His mother Yashoda, a teacher by profession, gives the credit to his son for successfully completing training.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-indian-army-has-34-lakh-followers-on-facebook-2154713
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