Siachen Glacier : The Highest battleground on Earth

[Kunal Biswas]

Siachen for free from India.

Siachen is Indian, the so call POK is also Indian even whole Pakistan is..

Its our nature by which we allow others to live, And its our nature to take punishment..

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Siachen for free from India.

Siachen is Indian, the so call POK is also Indian even whole Pakistan is..

Its our nature by which we allow others to live, And its our nature to take punishment..

 

[SADAKHUSH]

Siachen is Indian, the so call POK is also Indian even whole Pakistan is..

Its our nature by which we allow others to live, And its our nature to take punishment..

The days of taking punishment will have to come to end and time for punishing idiots has to start soon. Let us start at home front than the terrorist trainers.

 

[Ganesh2691]

846 Indian soldiers have died in Siachen since 1984

For the first time ever, the government has announced the number of Indian soldiers who have laid down their lives in the Siachen sector, ever since the Indian Army made its first headlong rush to secure that strategic area in the summer of 1984.

Defence Minister A K Antony, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, on Monday stated, "A total of 846 armed forces personnel have made supreme sacrifices on the Siachen glaciers since 1984."

This includes deaths due to the extreme climate and terrain conditions, which causes more casualties in that sector than battle. Hypoxia, high altitude pulmonary edema (or "altitude sickness" in mountaineering lexicon), avalanches and crevasses have taken a heavy toll on Indian lives. Early in this high-altitude war, New Delhi decided not to differentiate between those who died in combat and those who were swept to their deaths in an avalanche.
"(Environment-related) death during the course of duty on Siachen glaciers is treated as a 'battle casualty' and enhanced compensation is paid to the next of the kin," Antony told the Lok Sabha on Monday.

"Operation Meghdoot", the military nickname for operations in Siachen, began on April 13, 1984, when the Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters airlifted a platoon of hardy hillmen from the Kumaon Regiment onto the Saltoro Ridge, which overlooks the Siachen Glacier from the west. Building up quickly, more Indian troops moved onto the three main passes on the Saltoro Ridge — Bilafond La; Sia La; and Gyong La.

According to Lt Gen (Retd) V R Raghavan, a respected authority on Siachen, the Pakistan Army had planned a similar operation to occupy the Saltoro Ridge that summer. But they arrived on the Saltoro a month after the Indians, only to find most of the key heights on the ridge already occupied.

For years, Pakistan has mounted bloody, but eventually fruitless, attacks to get atop the Saltoro Ridge. But the Indian army still controls all of Siachen, its tributary glaciers, and all the key passes and heights of the Saltoro Ridge. Shut out even from a view of the Siachen Glacier, Pakistani troops suffer a severe tactical disadvantage all along the 109-kilometre-long Actual Ground Position Line, as the frontline in that sector is called.

"Forced to fight uphill, Pakistan is believed to have suffered the lion's share of battle casualties on the Saltoro. Indian troops, who hold higher positions with more difficult access, were estimated to have initially suffered more environment-related deaths, before better equipment, procedures and training brought casualties down to a trickle since the mid-1990s. On April 7 this year, an avalanche that slammed into Pakistani headquarters at Gyari swept away more than 130 soldiers. The next day, Pakistan's President Zardari asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to cooperate in demilitarising Siachen.

New Delhi, however, is sticking to its demand for authentication of ground positions on the Saltoro Ridge before any demilitarisation could be continued. The Indian Army says without authentication on signed map sheets, its hard-won high ground on the Saltoro Ridge could be occupied by Pakistan with impunity. As a result, the 13th round of Siachen talks between the two countries' defence secretaries was adjourned without any headway towards settling the Siachen dispute. No dates have yet been fixed for the next round of discussions.

http://www.business-standard.com/in...diers-have-died-in-siachen-since-1984/484677/

 

[LETHALFORCE]

Indian Army vows to hold Siachen positions

Indian Army vows to hold Siachen positions : North, News - India Today

Amidst Pakistan pushing for the demilitarisation of Siachen, Indian Army Chief General Bikram Singh said that India had "lost lot of lives" and "shed a lot of blood" to command the icy heights and favoured holding on to the 70-km-long glacier in northern Jammu and Kashmir.

Gen Singh also noted that Siachen glacier, the world's highest battlefield, is of "strategic importance" to India and that the Indian Army's position on withdrawal of troops from one of the most uninhabitable spots on earth remained unchanged.

"We have lost a lot of lives over there. We have shed a lot of blood in trying to get to that area and occupy our positions. These positions are of strategic importance to us," he told reporters during an interaction here on Wednesday.

"It has not changed at all," he said when asked about the Indian Army's position on Siachen and the demilitarisation proposed by Pakistan.

"It is very important...we must continue to hold that area and that's what we have maintained always," he asserted.

India and Pakistan are currently negotiating a settlement of their 18-year dispute over the Siachen glacier and one of the issues being discussed is demilitarisation.

It may be noted here that after recent soldier-officer stand-offs in two key units deployed in Jammu and Kashmir, Indian Army chief said the 1.13-million force has been asked to focus on "getting back to the basics".

Gen Singh said the endeavour now was to ensure the climate in the army units remained "conducive for growth and cohesion" of the personnel.

"It is nothing else but back to basics," he replied when asked about the troops clashing among themselves and the measures taken to prevent such occurrences. "As you know, we have had one or two incidents and these are aberrations...they were isolated incidents. Three incidents...one in 2010 and two in recent months," the General noted.

The recent violence involved 16th Cavalry regiment in the Samba sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Aug 8 when soldiers and officers clashed over the reported suicide of a soldier.

Earlier this year, soldiers and officers of the 226 Field regiment clashed during a field firing training at Nyoma in Ladakh, very close to the Line of Actual Control with China.

In 2010, the incident involved the 45 Cavalry regiment when they were deployed in Gurdaspur, Punjab.

The Army Chief admitted that shortage in the officers cadre -- about 10,100 vacancies at present -- was "one of the main reasons" for troubles.

Army units are functioning with half the officers' sanctioned strength. Most battalions have just about 10 officers, where the officers strength needed is over 20.

Regarding the two recent clashes, Gen Singh said the court of inquiry are to be concluded and once the findings are made available to him, necessary measures would be instituted.


Read more at: Indian Army vows to hold Siachen positions : North, News - India Today

 

[EzioAltaïr]

Re: Indian Army vows to hold Siachen positions

Indian Army vows to hold Siachen positions : North, News - India Today

Amidst Pakistan pushing for the demilitarisation of Siachen, Indian Army Chief General Bikram Singh said that India had "lost lot of lives" and "shed a lot of blood" to command the icy heights and favoured holding on to the 70-km-long glacier in northern Jammu and Kashmir.

Gen Singh also noted that Siachen glacier, the world's highest battlefield, is of "strategic importance" to India and that the Indian Army's position on withdrawal of troops from one of the most uninhabitable spots on earth remained unchanged.

"We have lost a lot of lives over there. We have shed a lot of blood in trying to get to that area and occupy our positions. These positions are of strategic importance to us," he told reporters during an interaction here on Wednesday.

"It has not changed at all," he said when asked about the Indian Army's position on Siachen and the demilitarisation proposed by Pakistan.

"It is very important...we must continue to hold that area and that's what we have maintained always," he asserted.

India and Pakistan are currently negotiating a settlement of their 18-year dispute over the Siachen glacier and one of the issues being discussed is demilitarisation.

It may be noted here that after recent soldier-officer stand-offs in two key units deployed in Jammu and Kashmir, Indian Army chief said the 1.13-million force has been asked to focus on "getting back to the basics".

Gen Singh said the endeavour now was to ensure the climate in the army units remained "conducive for growth and cohesion" of the personnel.

"It is nothing else but back to basics," he replied when asked about the troops clashing among themselves and the measures taken to prevent such occurrences. "As you know, we have had one or two incidents and these are aberrations...they were isolated incidents. Three incidents...one in 2010 and two in recent months," the General noted.

The recent violence involved 16th Cavalry regiment in the Samba sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Aug 8 when soldiers and officers clashed over the reported suicide of a soldier.

Earlier this year, soldiers and officers of the 226 Field regiment clashed during a field firing training at Nyoma in Ladakh, very close to the Line of Actual Control with China.

In 2010, the incident involved the 45 Cavalry regiment when they were deployed in Gurdaspur, Punjab.

The Army Chief admitted that shortage in the officers cadre -- about 10,100 vacancies at present -- was "one of the main reasons" for troubles.

Army units are functioning with half the officers' sanctioned strength. Most battalions have just about 10 officers, where the officers strength needed is over 20.

Regarding the two recent clashes, Gen Singh said the court of inquiry are to be concluded and once the findings are made available to him, necessary measures would be instituted.


Read more at: Indian Army vows to hold Siachen positions : North, News - India Today

Pakistan can rant all they want, we'll vacate Siachen when they vacate Ghulam Kashmir.

 

[LurkerBaba]

There is a concerted effort on the part of many interested parties to demilitarise the Siachen Glacier. However, the realities of the situation is not explained why Siachen Glacier is critical to India's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Must soldiers, who are also citizens of the country, die to uphold the abject stupidity of politicians who have no clue of warfare and sacrifice the soldier have done, they living in the cocoon of snug happiness with the ill gotten gains at the cost of the Nation?

Think that over before you sell the Nation!

Full article: Siachen Glacier is critical to India's sovereignty

 

[panduranghari]

Shocking. What is going on in India? Is there a fire sale on?

India's interest compromised in Siachen |

The Indian Government briefed the Lahore Track 2 team to keep in mind the Army's stand that further talks would only be taken up after positions of both sides were authenticated on ground. The Indian Army's concerns have clearly been ignored. The strategic importance of the Saltoro Ridge, especially in relation to Gilgit-Baltistan, Northern Areas, Shaksgam and Wakhan Corridor has been systematically obfuscated by a Government that retains far too much of power over electronic and print media. The Government has carried out a massive public relations exercise using gullible television channels to transmit the message that Siachen has no strategic significance. At one point, one so-called expert claimed that India holds the Karakoram Pass, which is a blatant lie. National dailies have refused to publish articles highlighting the enormous strategic disadvantage of withdrawing from Siachen. Similarly, this issue has not been debated on national television. There are rumours that the media is muffling any discussion on Siachen on the instructions of the Government.

The selection of Indian delegates who visited Lahore was incongruous. None of them had served in Siachen, not even the six army officers who were part of the delegation. The negotiating team did not bother to visit the conflict zone despite months of parleys with Pakistani officials at beautiful locations. Two former military officers in the delegation are infamous for their political connections. It is rumored that the Air Force four star officer is to be rewarded with an ambassadorship or governorship while the one star army officer is to be given another bag of carrots for towing the official line.

 

[parijataka]

Shocking. What is going on in India? Is there a fire sale on?

India's interest compromised in Siachen |

Jai ho descendants of Nehru and Congress party.

 

[mayfair]

Siachen Handout: Bartering India's Security?

by Kunal Verma

P.S. Article is copyrighted..

 

[mayfair]

Siachen Again!

By Lt Gen Mukesh Sabharwal
Issue Vol 27.3 Jul-Sep 2012 | Date : 27 Oct , 2012

 

[mayfair]

Two nations & a glacier~I

Beyond Siachen's 'Strategic Ego'

By Abhijit Bhattacharyya

FIRST thing first; let us note the views on Siachen expressed by two retired soldiers-turned-scholars; a Major-General and a Lieutenant-General. (Who?? I believe one of them is Gurmeet Kanwal, but was he a Lt.Gen or a Maj.Gen?) The former finds Siachen to be a "buffer certainly, but strategically irrelevant". Accordingly, it has only "acquired a strategic ego" but "does not have any strategic significance". The retired soldier now feels that "the costs of holding glacial heights are huge"¦.Thousands of lives have been lost and roughly 30 Indian soldiers die every year due to harsh weather and killer terrain". Curiously enough, after stating that "thousands of lives have been lost", the former two-star general quotes Defence minister Antony's statement in Parliament in August 2012 to contradict himself "that 846 soldiers have died since 1984"! For the ex-soldier "the bottom line, however, is to bring troops down from Siachen. A compromise has to be hammered out as strategic sense dictates demilitarization".

The focus of the retired Lt-General who, by his own confession, "has been part of Track II dialogue with Pakistan" is "murky political atmospherics between the neighbours". Note the ex-soldier's unique attempt to equate his own country's enterprise (of which he has been an integral part for close to four decades) as "murky" thereby putting India at par with a Pakistan that has been hostile ever since 22 October 1947 (Kashmir invasion forgotten?). Perhaps the enthusiasm of the new-found status of a Track II diplomat compels the veteran general to seek a "resolution of the problem of Siachen" as he finds "exciting" a reported "peace overture by the Paki army chief Kayani".

Post-retirement, the general's attention appears to have diverted from India's security to economics as he feels that "for India the estimated annual financial burden of approximately Rs 1000 crore to maintain the desired force levels at Siachen is avoidable". He refers to it as the "Siachen dispute".

Understandably, both ex-servicemen are under a magnetic and mesmerizing effect of Aman ki asha (Hope for Peace) slogan of a group of people who have taken recourse to a "trust-development, trade, migration, visa, tourism, commerce and people-to-people contact" with a country which is being eschewed by the world for being the global factory of jihad, terrorism and fundamentalism.

One, however, is not surprised, being a follower of the forces of Indian history and the pathetic (should one say sympathetic!) record of the geographical politico-military history to guard and defend its western and north-western border from Alexander (327 B.C) to Kargil (1999 A.D) and beyond, an area where cross-border terrorists from Pakistan now have put Indian soldiers on tenterhooks.

In fact one is dismayed to find such an unusually high degree of pacifism and withdrawal in the post-retirement psyche of such senior and decorated soldiers of India. The retired officers need to be reminded that to suggest that Siachen is "strategically irrelevant" makes their views look "hollow and irrelevant" because after 35-38 years of practical wisdom on the hostile terrain their views matter for telling the truth and describing the reality with conviction. And not for parrotting the short-term political slogans at the behest of the country's non-security amateurs.

In contrast with the views of the retired generals, the present Army chief, General Bikram Singh, appears crisp, focussed and clear about Siachen's "strategic importance to India" as it is vital to hold on to current troop positions on the icy battlefield. General Singh is opposed to any troop withdrawal. "We must continue to hold" as Chinese soldiers continue to be "present in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir".

The question, therefore, stands "settled", albeit temporarily. It is temporary because the image of a pacific India's vacillation and appeasement politics (which is already well known) will in future cost New Delhi dear. Indeed, border security management has been a case of chronic failure for the Indian ruling class as it has traditionally been adept in dealing with the subject in a cavalier manner. They need to be reminded that security is not to be confused with, or confined to, the urban centres only.

The territory of India begins with the border and that cannot be left at the will and wishes of God Almighty alone. It hardly needs iteration that no nation in international relations (between sovereign states) can remain vacant or be left as "no-man's-land" on the basis of "goodwill, good neighbourliness" or for the sake of "peace of our times" etc. The present standoff between Beijing and Tokyo around the remote, sparsely populated and tiny islands in East Asia or the Argentina-UK war over the Falkland Islands in 1982, more than 6000 miles away from London, are only two examples. The advocates of the "Siachen-withdrawal" may argue on the basis of "high altitude casualty" and the resultant "cost-push factor". Such reasoning betrays a poor understanding of physical geography, geopolitics and the psyche of the hostile people operating around an eternally vulnerable and violent west and north-western frontier.

The psyche of an element of Indian dispensation should also be examined as it appears to play a vital role to re-shape Indian policy, unlike the days of the strategy-minded Indira Gandhi, arguably the main architect whose signal contribution in reshaping the contours of South Asia has not yet been fully understood, appreciated and appraised. In fact, one is alarmed over developments involving foreign affairs with little concern for India and Indians, entities on which rests the foundation, lives and livelihood of 1.2 billion people.

This brings us to the legal and constitutional obligations vis-a-vis the honest intent of India's leadership to bring about a so-called solution of the Siachen "problem" which has often been referred to as "occupied" by India. Let us, therefore, examine Siachen through the prism of the Constitution and Parliament. For the information of those wanting to "bring down troops from Siachen and compromise on the question of "demilitarization", Article 1(1) of the Constitution stipulates that "India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States" and Jammu & Kashmir (within the territory of which Siachen falls) is one of the 28 states which constitute the "membership of the Union & the Territory of India". Significantly, while defining the "name and territory of the Union", Article 1(3)(c) clearly stipulates that "the territory of India shall comprise", amongst other things, "such other territories as may be acquired". This means that the Constitution is transparent about "acquisition" of "foreign territories", should the situation so demand, thereby turning it into a "part of the territory of India" under Article 1(3)(c) and by law admitting into the Union under Article 2.

Since Jammu & Kashmir is a part of India, Siachen automatically becomes a part of the Union of India. Hence any reference to its being "occupied" by India would be void ab initio. One has a simple question to ask. What is the official, legal and diplomatic stand of the Government of India regarding the cartography, political and physical maps and atlases of the world? Does the Government of India recognize or allow import or print of any map or atlas from any quarters with a "cartographic aggression or error pertaining to Jammu & Kashmir"? Has it ever tolerated any depiction thereof as a "divided territory"? Do the Customs officials in charge of import of books (included in which were the iconic Encyclopedia Britannica) and maps through the various ports, airports and land stations allow, or have ever allowed and cleared, such distorted maps? Then why this sudden confusion and contradiction between theory (banning and seizing books/maps/atlas) and practice (proposed withdrawal of border guards from one's own official territory and professed public/national/international policy)? No doubt Siachen is a high-altitude post; but that is what the army of a nation is maintained and meant for; to guard, to maintain eternal vigilance. That is the "price of liberty", as succinctly expressed by the legendary Professor Harold Laski.
(To be concluded)

The writer is an alumnus of the National Defence College of India and a Member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, London

 

[jayadev]

Six Army soldiers killed in Siachen avalanche, one missing


Six Army soldiers killed in Siachen avalanche, one missing | NDTV.com

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Rest In Peace..

 

[wild goose]

May God Bless Those Brave Souls. RIP

 

[sasi]

Indian Army in Siachen | Mornie alantië, memento mori

 

[Kunal Biswas]

 

[Ankit Purohit]

We have the Toughest Men in the world

 

[Abhishek Singh Rana]

we should increase our drone tech so it can work on high altitudes so we can spend less manpower and money

 

[W.G.Ewald]

we should increase our drone tech so it can work on high altitudes so we can spend less manpower and money

A solar-electric HALE drone would be a possible solution.

The Zephyr family of solar-electric-powered unmanned air vehicles is being developed by QinetiQ in the UK with the UK Ministry of Defence, under a jointly funded programme. The Zephyr high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) autonomous unmanned system can provide high-quality surveillance data over large areas in real time. The system is capable of capturing and disseminating information, while operating at altitudes of more than 18km.

Zephyr Solar-Powered HALE UAV - Airforce Technology