KULDEEP NAYAR ,V K SINGH,THE INDIAN ARMY, PAKISTAN AND OTHER SHORT STORIES

KULDEEP NAYAR , V K SINGH , THE INDIAN ARMY , PAKISTAN  AND  OTHER SHORT STORIES

(D S SARAO)

First read: http://www.kashmirtimes.com/newsdet.aspx?q=23357  

Abdul Qayoom Wani · Buraidah, Al Qasim, Saudi Arabia

'' Mr. kuldip why all these things are happening in kashmir only, you are proud of your indian army i have no objection, why all these so called people heart winning dramas your brave army is performing. You will say now kashmir is a border state hence all these corrupt practices then why not these dramas in Rajasthan, Punjab, H.P. The only answer for this is kashmiris are never with you whether you agree or disagree.Please come to senses and reallize the truth the sooner the better. This is the the reallity do not beat about the bush ''

   

In response to  Mr Kuldeep Nayar:

Dear Mr Kuldeep Nayar,

  1       Greetings. At the onset I shall  take some time on the comment made by Mr Qayoom Wani on your article before I take on the rather specious piece authored by you, ''Aberrations in the Army''--Mr Wani has neither conveyed any sense nor has he made any point.It is also evident that Mr Wani has no concept of what a Nation State really is and how one is formed!!! Very conveniently he is forgetting about the divide existing in half the world today. Sectarian violence persists from Pakistan to Yemen and is a major element of friction throughout the Middle East. These tensions between communities have intensified because of  the recent power struggles, the Iraq War ,the Syrian civil war, unrest in, Egypt,Lebanon,Xinjian,Chechenya,Afghanistan and the spillover of this religion based strife to dozens of African , Asian and even European nations. Do we agree Mr Wani , that each of these countries having such diverse populations, aspirations and ethnicities should breakup with independence given to each of these factions!!!! Lets take Saudi Arabia (where Mr Wani is staying) first.   

2       2       Saudi Arabia , a Country where the concept of origin ( asl ) is strong among Saudi Arabians. People in Hijaz area are recognized as descendants of Muhammad and are known as Ashraf . 0thers throughout the kingdom assert  descent from ancestors of ancient Arab tribes. Still others stress Arabian origins but without tribal connections. Saudi Arabia  also faces simmering internal divisions that could surface very soon. It could very well break into the five original regions that preceded the modern State. Does that mean that the existing Nation State of Saudi Arabia should break up and all ethnicities, religious ,geographical and tribal  factions be allowed to make their own little Nations???                                                 

3  Now lets take Pakistan for the benefit of Mr Wani. Because Karachi's largest community are Mohajirs who  make up almost half of the population as opposed to Punjabis and Pathans(who make up slightly more than a quarter of the population), should Pakistan grant total independence to Karachi, a city plagued by violence , bomb blasts and assassinations , to end  this blood shed and strife between Mohajirs on one side and Punjabi's/Pathans on the other??? What about the demand for a separate Saraiki province and  the Pakistan Muslim League’s (Quaid)  demand for Hazara province ??? Mr Wani do you think all these provinces want to stay as a part of Pakistan??

4     A word about the Balochistan Republican Army, Baloch Liberation Front, Balochistan Liberation United Front, Baloch Defaee Tanzeem and Lashkar-e-Balochistan that  are operating in Balochistan. Should Balochistan become independent????Then there is FATA--about five thousands Pakistani soldiers and officers have been killed in the ongoing military operations in various parts of the North West of Pakistan.Mr Wani, would you like to say something?We have not discussed Hazara and Sindhudesh as yet , and both these provinces also dream of independence.What about the non Kashmiri population of Leh/Ladakh and Jammu?

5      Lets not beat around the bush, Mr Wani , lets talk facts.

 حتي كساني كه با انتحار مي‌‏آيند و مي‌‏زنند عده‌‏اي را مي‌‏كشند، آن هم به عنوان عمليات انتحاري، اينها در قعر جهنم هستند------

(-----Even those who kill people with suicide bombing, these shall meet the flames of hell  )

  6   Now over to you Mr Nayar.I am not here to defend the war of words between an immature and wavering Government and an equally headstrong and obstinate ex Chief of its Army.  I will like to take you on three main points made by you pertaining to the Armed Forces. Firstly, do realise that policing the Country is a secondary and totally avoidable function of the Army. And I will be blunt here ,

the Army is taught to use maximum force when faced by a threat and an Indian Army Soldier is taught right from basic training to :

 ' aim to kill-ek goli ek dushman '.

Then he is taught un-armed combat and bayonet fighting to slash,jab,stab and kill anyone firing at him or  his fellow soldiers. So do not equate using a soldier for internal security duties, riot control,counter-insurgency etc with police and other para military forces. A soldier does require complete protection of the AFSPA , and if the situation as appreciated by netas ( who wrecked the democratic process in the first place) , has become normal , then  withdraw the Army.This tampering of the basic rule of law and time tested provisions by myopic and ignorant leaders who pass  amendments , bills and ordinances to legalise criminality will only cause more grief and result in employing  the Indian Army every so often to govern the Nation in the name of aid to civil authority.So let the AFSPA stay in its present form--atleast it will caution the Government from whistling for the Army every time they mishandle the electorate.

7  And I fail to see the reason for your implied dis-approval of retired Army personnel,  specially Generals, joining politics. I don’t think it is any one's business, same as no one can question the others patriotism because he or she did not join the Army or chose to join the Railways or became a journalist. And who lays down this so called ' decent interval ' mentioned by you?? In that case let us make the man a Governor for some time so that he learns gubernatorial nuances before jumping into politics. You are right, Eisenhower and Macarthur finished the war and then joined politics .

8    Yes , VK Singh retired and then joined politics and there was no war on. So do you grudge that? . You have forgotten Lieutenant (Junior Grade ) John Kennedy here . 15 American Presidents served with Army/Army Reserve , followed by 9 who served State Militias , 6 in the Navy/Naval Reserve  and 2 with the Continental Army . And the President of the U S of A is also the Supreme Commander.We too have something like that , with powers vested in our President and the Raksha Mantri whose knowledge of military matters------ forget it ,we will not discuss it further.   Why, Sir , do you single out service people for a ban of 10 years before they can join politics-why not IAS,IPS or any government functionary for that matter ? And would you rather have only Scientists,Bureaucrats,Godmen and Politicians as Governors?

9  Conversely , should not you as a well known and well meaning journalist find out how many of our politicians have any military service and how many of our MPs/ MLAs have siblings who have joined the Forces???After all , the netas want to serve the Nation don't they??

                   I never thought that Mr Nayar you could be so naive!! You actually give credence to the garbage about  that hush hush intelligence unit and its task of toppling a state government and snooping on the conversations of the PM,CM ,RM  et all . Are you really believing the hysterical outbursts of Farooq Abdullah and his son that the erstwhile Chief and the Army were planning a 'SASISH' of sorts!?From where do the funds for Army run medical camps  for the civilian population come from?Who funds the building of bridges in remote areas for the civilian population?Who makes and funds playgrounds in isolated villages and hamlets??Who pays for the J&K youth taken on 'All India Tours' as part of the Sadhbhavna initiative??It is the Army which is funding all this or if you want , you may say that the Army is indirectly funding the State or the Government or its Ministers!!! 

Remember every Nation gets the Army it deserves. It is unworthy to complain about honoring all of those individuals who served and continue to serve daily, as a part of the ongoing team that continues to protect our way of life.

NOTE: This article is no defence  of Gen VK Singh or for of any wrong doing or misdemeanor attributed to any serving or retired Military Officer.  It is just to bring out the injustice in having two sets of rules, one for the Mantri ‘s and one for the Common Man.It is also to bring out that the Media and Journalists , need not be always unbiased and objective , as we are prone to believe