Big Guns Blazing

The Army has rolled out the artillery to counter misadventures from across the border. The top brass believes Pakistan will not win an escalation race

- Pradip R. Sagar

The Indian Army—the world’s second-largest land force—has shifted from defense to offense on the border with Pakistan. The change was in response to a surge in ceasefire violations by the Pakistan army along the 550km-Line of Control (LoC). These violations were a cover for infiltration attempts, says the Indian Army. Intelligence inputs suggest that Pakistan is supporting cross-border infiltration to keep the Kashmir pot boiling, especially after the abrogation of Article 370.

The Army top brass says that India will not hesitate to escalate, and believes that the Pakistan army will not win the escalation race. Therefore, the artillery, including the Bofors howitzers, which were silent for more than 16 years after the 2003 India-Pakistan ceasefire agreement, is back in action. This year, the Army has used its artillery around 450 times against Pakistan. After August 5, when J&K’s special status was revoked, the Army has resorted to caliber escalation at least 172 times (57 in August, 61 in September and 54 in October). Most recently, on October 20, the Army used the 155mm-Bofors howitzers in Tangdhar and Kieran sectors to bomb terror launch pads across the LoC.