War Information: Time to Unveil the bitter Truth

An objective analysis of the conduct and results of the wars fought since independence has not been possible so far because no government mustered the courage to reveal the facts.

The study of many former army officers, bureaucrats and foreign experts has had serious limitations, with few exceptions.

Retired officers cannot violate privacy laws and foreigners may not have the necessary information. Many books were written to arrive at predetermined conclusions.

Myths, misconceptions and politically convenient ‘facts’ continued to be told as truth. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has now made a good start to throw off this veiled curtain.

The classified information will be made public after 25 years subject to certain conditions. It is expected that the formation and working of the proposed committee under the chairmanship of the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Defense will be in line with the goals of the declared policy.

Soon after its establishment, Pakistan attacked to annex Jammu and Kashmir. He got the opportunity to send first armed tribesmen and then a regular army because Maharaja Hari Singh was dreaming of an independent Kashmir state.

By the time the Indian Army landed at the Srinagar airport, Pakistan had already reached the Srinagar block, capturing about a third of the area.

The Indian army had just reached the end of Rawalpindi Road, driving away from the attackers, that it was ordered to stop. The publicized truth is that Prime Minister Nehru got the ceasefire under pressure from Governor-General Mountbatten.

The committee has to investigate the truth. Is it not the fact that the military force required for the capture of Muzaffarabad and the liberation of Skardu-Hunja by moving on the Rawalpindi route was not available at that time?

One thing is also that a permanent military campaign would not have been possible without public support and Sheikh Abdullah did not have influence in present-day Ghulam Kashmir (PoK).

The whole truth of 1962 is rarely revealed. The ridiculous truth is that even on obvious things, we are sitting in a horoscope. Highly controversial is the Henderson Brooks Report.

In 1962, Lieutenant General Henderson Brooks of the Indian Army was entrusted with the task of delving deeper into the causes of the defeat. In New Delhi, Neville Maxwell, a correspondent for the Times, London, wrote a comprehensive book (India’s China War) based on the Brooks report. Now nothing secret is left in it.

Former army officers like BM Kaul, JP Dalvi, NN Bhatia and DK Palit have written a lot on 1962 from their own point of view, but it is half-complete.

Apart from Nehru and Defense Minister Krishna Menon, no one else is held accountable?

What was Finance Minister Morarji Desai cooperating?

Who were the military officers who showed arrogance in the conduct of war?

The committee will have to consider publishing every document related to these incidents.

The wider public is still virtually uninformed since the 1965 war.

Who is to blame for not being vigilant after the Pakistani attack on Kutch?

Military officers, intelligence agencies or leaders? Had the Lahore Front not been opened, a part of Kashmir was bound to leave.

Why did the advancing Indian army not cross the Ichhogil canal and enter the city of Lahore?

What is the truth of the Tashkent Agreement?

Now there is neither the Soviet Union nor the leaders and officials of 1965.

So it can be easily told whether Soviet Prime Minister Kosygin had pressured Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri into the agreement in Moscow.

People have the right to know the complete truth of 1971 and there is no harm in revealing it. After the Pakistani attacks on several Indian airports on the night of December 3, 1971, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s blunt order was – Destroy the Pakistani war apparatus.

Why was the army stopped from advancing on the West Pakistan front after the weapons were laid down in Dhaka?

US National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger asked Chinese Prime Minister Chou En-Lai to intervene militarily against India.

Chow had also assured the Pakistani dictator Yahya Khan that “Keep holding the front for a day or two, the Chinese army is reaching?”

Why didn’t China intervene?

What was the reaction at the higher level to the advance of the US fleet towards the Bay of Bengal?

In India, whether the government is of any party or front, no responsible Prime Minister and Defense Minister will be able to go beyond a limit in declassification.

It is difficult to find a precise answer to the question of whether the expansionism driven by China’s dangerous national ambitions has damaged relations with India or was there something else?

The Nehru government had also accepted the elimination of the buffer. T

hen, was it because of Tibet that the conflict happened?

Why did Nehru change his decision once he refused political asylum to the Dalai Lama?

What is the truth of a CIA agent working as a radio operator in the Dalai Lama’s escape team from Lhasa to the Indian border?

Don’t expect the relevant files to come out of the double locker, as it threatens a major foreign policy reversal. But there must be light on the causes, conduct, politico-economic-socio-military weaknesses of wars.

From whom do we want to hide?

For example, before the attack in 1962, Mao knew more about the preparedness of the Indian Army and the fighting skills of commanders like BM Kaul than the Indian leaders.

Due to a lack of analysis of events and consequences, we remain in darkness. Accountability is also often not fixed. When fabricated myths become true, the possibility of learning from history is lost.

Wish the committee will be constituted soon and it will be able to work fearlessly and with complete impartiality.