Dr. Renu
“Start with what is right, rather than what is acceptable”. Franz Kafka
Lt. Gen. Sanjiv Chachra, GOC Northern Command (Udhampur) is a commander in true tradition of great soldiers of India. Such outstanding defenders of country’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty hardly need any introduction. He is a leader with incredible capacity of meeting any challenge.
General Chachra took over the command of the Northern Army at a critical juncture. Shortly before that, terrorists had launched a brutal attack in the outskirts of Srinagar killing eight and injuring nineteen unarmed soldiers returning from leave. The horrific memory of ghastly mutilation of our soldiers was still fresh with us.
The veteran General made a cool assessment of the situation. Taking cue from his professional experience in counter terrorist operations, he came to the conclusion that a healthy working relationship between the masses of people, civil administration and the Army was of primary importance for effectively combating terrorism. It was also necessary to ensure that the adversary did not draw mileage from some populist expressions of outsiders on sensitive matters
Hindsight tells us that the times were not very promising for General Chachra to reach the people and the civil administration. Malicious elements with vested interests had tried to create a wedge between the Army and the civil administration; aspersions were cast on army’s intentions, and environment was vitiated by floating falsehood and charade. An impression was created that Army and civilian administration in J&K were not in consonance over many vial issues
It was in this uneasy background that the intrepid Commander conceptualised and initiated the strategy of outreaching the people of the State with the purpose of re-establishing the much needed Army-civil administration synergy with renewed vigour and pragmatism. He emphasized the important point that Armed Forces were partners in the development process of the country and state. They had to walk the talk.
A Civil-Military Liaison Conference (CMLC) was organised after a gap of four years, which helped in amicably resolving some long-outstanding irritants. This cleared the way for closer integration and collaboration between the two sides in conducting counter-terrorism operations in the State.
As a measure of building bridges of confidence, Gen. Chachra directed that as far as possible Army’s requirements for supply of food items like fresh vegetables, fruits, meat, poultry and milk products as well as construction material and contractual requirement for infrastructure should be sourced from within the State to boost the economy of the state and open venues of employment.
An irritant that had bedevilled relations between the two was the impression of the civil authorities that the Army had illegally occupied some tracts of land over the years. The General addressed this irritant by ordering comprehensive audit of Army’s requirement of land in the entire State against actual land holdings. Instructions were issued that only prioritized lands are retained while the remaining could be returned to the owners.
Appropriate mix of human resource and technology was put together on the Line of Control (LOC) to effectively prevent infiltration. This enhanced the ability of detecting, intercepting and eliminating infiltrating terrorists. Top terrorist leaders had to be eliminated either on the LOC itself or in the hinterland. This depleted their cadre strength. The strategy proved effective in putting the terrorists in disarray and they are brought under tremendous pressure. Ceasefire violations from the other side of the LoC were given calibrated but appropriate response. We firmly retained moral ascendancy over the adversary.
In his efforts to further strengthen the bond of friendship and to reach the cherished slogan of Awam aur Jawan – Amn hai muqam, and “Imdad”, the major step taken was of providing humanitarian assistance to the people in remote mountainous regions where they live in harshest climatic and topographical conditions and somewhat in a state of deprivation.
Gen. Chachra directed commanders at all levels to ensure that troops maintained highest standards of professionalism by showing fullest restraint in face of grave challenges and immensely difficult situations, and conducted people friendly operations with zero collateral damage and inconvenience to the local population.
A strong votary of zero tolerance towards human rights violations, the General went to the length of instructing his subordinates to let a terrorists slip away if he does so from the cordon and not get overworked by a situation like that because the Army had the mechanism to pick him up once again through intelligence input. Very few Commanders anywhere in the world can muster such a high level of self confidence mixed with great sense of humanism. Undoubtedly, no better proof of Army’s resolve to protect and uphold human rights and dignity of civilians can be recalled when it is charged with conducting counter-insurgency operations. It speaks eloquently for the General’s genuine concern for the ordinary people or awwam. The gap between the awaam and the jawan has been bridged, and there is a marked improvement in the situation as it exists today.
Revaluating the course of events, we find that General Chachra has been vindicated. With singular sagacity and courage he handled delicate situation characterized as “Perceptional differences” without losing the objective of maintaining peace and tranquillity on the LAC. It is the art of a military commander not to allow a tenuous situation get out of control.
The strategy has yielded dividends. Infiltration has been significantly reduced while terrorist organizations are in disarray. Many top terrorist leaders have been eliminated and their cadres have depleted considerably in action against their infiltration bids. Those who somehow managed to sneak in are hunted in the hinterland. Ceasefire violations are at an all time low owing to our appropriate and calibrated response.
A soldier’s General, he is someone who knows the way, shows the way and most importantly goes the way. As he bows out from the scene, he will always be remembered for someone who strived to do WHAT WAS RIGHT.
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