Somewhere on the Eastern Frontier, Dec.16 (ANI): Tserteng Gompa located in Lumpo village at 10,000 feet above sea level very close to Sino-India border is more than 700-years-old.
The 15-feet tall statue of Lord Jowa, the other form of Lord Buddha, made up of brass with gold coat all over bore the brunt of the 1962 Chinese aggression.
The bullet shot by one of the People Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers hit the chin of the statue but could not pierce it, instead hit the rock wall. The action of the soldier was undoubtedly influenced by Mao Zedung's philosophy - Religion is poison -, but the solider fainted in the Gonpa premises while other soldiers fled away, according to Seyla Lobsang Dawa, son of renowned Dobley Rinpoche and an expert on local traditions and customs.
Built by Lama Sang Hridhar with the support of Lumpo villagers, the gonpa stands tall today as witness to the sea changes the area has undergone since then. But the 1962 conflict has embedded a deep wound in the hearts of all security personnel guarding the frontier.
Till 1992, Lumpo village was not connected by road, though Hut of Remembrance was built in 1989 in respect of the valiant heroes of 1962 war who had sacrificed their lives at Namkachu war while defending the nation.
Though Lumpo and the last border post at Hatung La is connected by road, but the road condition in comparison to the other side of the international border is pitiable.
The Thag La border post of the PLA boasts of massive infrastructures including wide black-topped road, multi-storied RCC buildings with provisions of modern amenities. On the Indian side, contrary to the claims of New Delhi mandarins including Defence Minister AK Antony the situation is much below the expectation even after the humiliating defeat of the Indian Army by the PLA in 1962.
The road is yet to be built to link Khinzemane, located along the LAC between India and China about 15 km from Zimithang, where His Holiness Dalai Lama was received in 1959. The last bridge has been planned and 11/2 km stretch formation cutting is being taken up by BRO's 117 RCC for linking the road to the last border post. The ranks of 4 Grenadiers who had sacrificed their lives while defending the above post are honoured at the war memorial at Surwa Samba, 6 km from China.
The road construction got expedited only after 2008, after the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who had announced a massive package for the under developed land-locked state at Itanagar on January 31, 2008.
After former deputy prime minister L K Advani's shocking disclosure at Itanagar in 2005 - "Delhi had decided not to develop Arunachal after the 1962 Chinese aggression, fearing it could benefit the neighbour. It was a historical blunder" -, Antony in his address during the Statehood Day celebration at Itanagar on February 20, 2012 had announced massive plan to build infrastructure and strengthen the security apparatus in Eastern frontier.
But the statement of Lok Sabha member Ninong Ering on the floor of the Lok Sabha on May 19 last that the 1962 situation still prevails along the Sino-India border is hundred percent correct as was witnessed by this editor during his recent visit to that area.
Villagers said that the road construction began with due sincerity only after 2008. But how many years it would take to strengthen the war withal to defend the country is a highly disturbing question that needs immediate answer.
Top ranking military brass have gone on record to say that the eastern frontier has undergone lot of changes since 1962 and the military was fully prepared to face any challenge from any quarter.
A former IAF chief is on record, as saying: "There is no escalation of threat from China. What I meant was that we knew very little about the air power of China. We don't want our Air Force to be threat centric. The IAF should be capability centric to deal in all spectrum of warfare and we have a long way to go".
Boosting the morale of the forces by putting up a brave front before the world is one aspect and the ground realities painting a dismal scenario is the truth which cannot be wished away.
Do the strategists have a magic wand to face any eventuality when the road up to the border (Balipara-Bhalukpong-Tawang) is not fair-weather because of high altitude Sela pass at 13,700 feet posing communication disruptions during winter and summer, no permanent structure worth the name exists for lack of policy to hand over land to the defence, no airport is built as yet in the area despite air-fed border posts (airports nearest to the Sino-India border are located at Tezpur, Dibrugarh and Guwahati), while the ministry of defence had taken over eight unused advanced landing grounds (ALGs) from the state government for renovation and expansion for use by the civilians and defence forces. Only Mechuka ALG has been made functional so far.
How many years India requires for strengthening the border security to prevent external aggression - any timeframe for those who matter to get up from their deep slumber?
Interestingly President Pranab Mukharjee, the Supreme Commander of Defence Forces, in his address as Union Finance Minister at Tawang during Buddha Mohatsava in 2007, had announced that there would be no dearth of fund for building infrastructures at par with the other side of the border.
Was the hike in defence allocation (Rs 1.93 trillion for 2012-13 up by more than 17% from last fiscal's Rs 1.64 trillion) a solution or a strong political will in the face of changing geo-political scenario in South East Asia?
History will never forgive for the suicidal move in October 1962 that had claimed the lives of four divisions of Indian Army at Hatung La for want of communication, winter clothes, food and ammunition at the height of 14,500 feet. The wound is still fresh in the minds of the forces deployed there and they observe lot of rituals to honour the martyrs and officers whose souls, they believe, are not liberated so far as bodies of most of them were not recovered and their last rites are yet to be conducted.
The Hatung La and Thag La passes are still standing tall while Nyamjang Chu and Namka Chu (rivers), which were witness to the gory conflict and the gallant acts of the Indian forces still flow as usual, whose green waters ask - Is India ready for trial of strength?
Attn: News Editors/News Desks: The views expressed in the above article are that of Mr. Pradeep Kumar, Editor-in-Chief of the Arunachal Front. (ANI)
|
|
Comments:
