Will inaugurate revamped War Memorial of Rezang La battle
Lt Gen Sengupta to be new Leh Army Comdr
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Nov 11: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will review preparedness of the troops and situation prevailing along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh during his visit to the Union Territory on November 18 while Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta, presently posted in the Army Headquarters, is set to take over as new General Officer Commanding (GOC) of Leh-based 14 Corps, also known as Fire and Fury Corps.
Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat will accompany the Defence Minister.
Officials told the Excelsior that Rajnath Singh will visit Ladakh on November 18 and will interact with top Army Commanders to review the situation prevailing along LAC in Eastern Ladakh where India is involved in bitter standoff with China for past more than one and a half year now.
“The Army Commanders will brief the Defence Minister on prevailing situation and steps being taken by the troops for operational preparedness especially during harsh winter which has already set-in,” the officials said.
Rajnath will inaugurate revamped War Memorial to honour 114 Indian soldiers who attained martyrdom in 1962 battle of Rezang La. The War Memorial will also commemorate 20 Indian soldiers who were martyred last year in Galwan Valley in the Eastern Ladakh in clash with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China. At least 30 PLA jawans were reported to have been killed in the same clash.
The Rezang La War Memorial has been renovated on the 59th anniversary of the battle of Rezang La in which troops of 13 Kumaon led by Major Shaitan Singh defeated many waves of the Chinese army during the 1962 war.
The anniversary of the famous legendary battle is celebrated on November 18.
“The Rezang La War Memorial in Eastern Ladakh sector was a small one and it has now been expanded. It will now be much bigger than before and would be out on the tourist map of the Ladakh Union Territory,” the officials said.
Now the common public including the tourists would be allowed to go to the memorial and border areas which would further popularise the legendary battle.
The move to inaugurate the revamped war memorial in Rezang La is seen as India’s show of strength in the area which is very close to the Chinese territory and is visible from the other side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
In June this year, Rajnath had undertaken three-day visit to Ladakh to assess operational preparedness of the troops.
Though de-escalation has taken place in some conflict areas, Sino-Indian troops remained engaged in eyeball to eyeball position in many other areas in Eastern Ladakh. Many rounds of talks have been held between military Commanders of India and China, but standoff persists in some areas on de-escalation.
Only yesterday, Rajnath Singh while addressing the conference of Indian Air Force (IAF) Commanders had lauded the Armed Forces for their readiness to respond to any kind of situation at a short notice.
Meanwhile, Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta is tipped to take over as new Army Commander of Leh-based 14 Corps, which is also called Fire and Fury Corps by the end of this month replacing Lt Gen PGK Menon who would be completing his tenure of more than a year at the prestigious Corps.
Lt Gen PGK Menon represented India in the talks with China to resolve the ongoing standoff in Eastern Ladakh on multiple occasions.
“Lt Gen Sengupta is going to take over as the next Commander of the Fire and Fury Corps and would be heading the talks from the Indian side with the Chinese whenever they take place,” the officials said.
Lt Gen Sengupta is presently posted in the Army Headquarters. He is from the Punjab Regiment and has also commanded a counter-terrorist force in the Kashmir valley before coming to Army headquarters.
Due to the sensitive nature of the Leh Corps which is looking after both the China and Pakistan borders, the new Corps Commander would get around 15 days with his predecessor to understand each and every facet of the area and issues related to it.
The Ladakh sector includes both the Kargil sector and the Eastern Ladakh sector where enemies have shown aggression in the last two decades.
The Corps is also in charge of the Siachen area which has been the world’s highest and coldest battlefield for more than three decades now.
India and China have been in a military standoff position for almost one and half years now post Chinese aggression in the Eastern Ladakh sector in the April-May timeframe last year.
China has deployed more than 60,000 troops opposite Indian areas and is building infrastructure at a rapid pace. India had also made similar deployments and have engaged heavy weaponry to counter the aggression by them.
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