In what is being seen as a faux pas, Army chief Bipin Rawat revealed details of a 2015 blitzkrieg by the Indian Army in Myanmar, The Hindu reported. This comes at an inopportune moment as India is trying to strengthen its ties with Myanmar.
The home and external affair ministries’ chagrin is evident in the remarks made by an unidentified senior official in the security establishment to The Hindu:
The Army chief should have been mindful of the realities in Myanmar and our efforts there. Such detailed discussions on the operations wouldn’t help the situation at all.
The ministries are yet to officially comment on the matter.
Speaking at a book launch in Pune on Friday, 1 December, General Rawat confirmed that the Indian Army had carried out a blitzkrieg on the lairs of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-K) militants. The Army chief emphasised upon the fact that despite the many hurdles in their way, the Special Force commandos managed to inflict “heavy losses” on the rebel camps in Myanmar.
At the time of the 10 June 2015 military operation by the Indian Army in Myanmar, General Rawat was commanding the Dimapur-based 3 Corps. The blitzkrieg was in retaliation to an attack in Manipur, which had killed 18 soldiers of the 6 Dogra battalion by rebel forces from Myanmar.
Prior to General Rawat’s revelation on 1 December, little was known about the June 2015 military operation. In the past, General Bipin Rawat is known to have made similar gaffes. Here are a couple of ‘memorable’ gaffes by the Army chief:
General Rawat’s ‘Salami-Slicing’ Comment on China
Only a week after India and China ended their two-and-a-half month long conflict in Doklam, Rawat said that the country should be prepared for a ‘two-front war’ against China, which drew the ire of Chinese officials.
As far as northern adversary is concerned, the flexing of muscles has started. The salami slicing, taking over territory in a very gradual manner, testing our limits of threshold is something we have to be wary about and remain prepared for situations emerging which could gradually emerge into conflict.
In military parlance, ‘salami slicing’ denotes the divide and conquer process of threats and alliances used to overcome opposition.
Rawat’s Take on Stone-Pelting in Kashmir
In June 2017, Rawat had made what was viewed as an insensitive remark on stone-pelting in the conflict-ridden Kashmir Valley:
I wish these people, instead of throwing stones at us, were firing weapons at us, then I would have been happy. Then I could do what I (want to do).
Among other critics, CPI (Marxist) leader Prakash Karat, had censured the Army chief’s remarks on the unrest in Kashmir.
(With inputs from The Hindu, ANI, NDTV)
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