Damned For Doing His Duty

Having led many counter-terrorist operations and in addition, having the experience of dealing with Pakistan's proxy war, Gen Rawat’s plain-speaking was strategically important because the number of youth joining militancy has been going up. Over 100 youths joined the ranks of local-origin terrorists in 2016, bringing the total to an estimated 450. These anti-nationals helped 25 Pakistani terrorists escape and more worryingly forced two operations to be called off in 2016. But it is the sudden rise in the number of ambushes of Army convoys and an upsurge in number of casualties of the Army personnel in terrorist strikes that made Gen Rawat caution the stone-pelting youth and other protesters who block military operations

- Vijay Dutt

General Bipin Rawat, the Army Chief, responsible as Commander-in-Chief for the security and the welfare of his men, told his Commanders that it was ‘unacceptable to see a growing public interference in anti-militancy operations.’ He cautioned the stone-pelting locals in the Valley that if they disrupt military operations against intruding Pakistani militants or during flushing them out of the houses of their sympathisers, they will be treated as anti- nationals and dealt with accordingly--‘will go after them helter-skelter’.

Having led many counter-terrorist operations and in addition, having the experience of dealing with Pakistan's proxy war, Gen Rawat’s plain-speaking was strategically important because the number of youth joining militancy has been going up. Over 100 youths joined the ranks of local-origin terrorists in 2016, bringing the total to an estimated 450. These anti nationals helped 25 Pakistani terrorists escape and more worryingly forced two operations to be called off in 2016. But it is the sudden rise in the number of ambushes of Army convoys and an upsurge in number of casualties of the Army personnel in terrorist strikes that made Gen Rawat caution the stone-pelting youth and other protesters who block military operations.