“The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom”
Thus spake Sun Tzu more than 2500 years ago.
In a situation close to war, the weaker opponent has to work hundred times harder to ensure that the morale of his people stays strong. They know that the odds are against them, still they need to keep their armies united, their people motivated to face a stronger adversary. It can only happen by focusing on the stories of victory against all odds and hiding stories of defeats until the very last stand.
The biggest example in India is when we lost to the Chinese in 1962 Sino-Indian War.
Dus Dus ko ek ne maara, fir gir gaye praan gava ke (Each Indian killed ten Chinese before dying).
Major Dhan Singh Thapa was in command of a forward post in Ladakh. On 20 October it was attacked by the Chinese in overwhelming strength after being subjected to intensive artillery and mortar bombardment. Under his gallant command, the greatly outnumbered post repulsed the attack, inflicting heavy casualties on the aggressors. The enemy attacked again in greater numbers after heavy shelling by artillery and mortar fire. Under the leadership of Major Thapa, his men repulsed this attack also with heavy losses to the enemy. The Chinese attacked for the third time, now with tanks to support the infantry. The post had already suffered large numbers of casualties in the earlier two attacks. Though considerably reduced in number it held out to the last. When it was finally overrun by overwhelming numbers of the enemy, Major Thapa got out of his trench and killed several of the enemy in hand-to-hand fighting before he was finally overpowered by Chinese soldiers. Major Thapa’s cool courage, conspicuous fighting qualities and leadership were in the highest traditions of our Army.[2]
This doesn’t mean every Indian soldier in the army killed tens of Chinese soldiers, but look how it worked for building the moral of a defeated nation. 57 years later, we still remember this line and it gives us hope and strength.
Similarly, Pakistan teaches in its history books how they won the 1947,1965 wars while we are taught a different history.
We can afford to question our government since we know we can easily crush Pakistan if it comes to a conventional war, and if they launch Nuclear Bombs, we will bomb them out of existence. Or can we?
To do the above requires absolute iron political will. This is the new age of warfare, where social media can change public opinion overnight. Just two days back, my countrymen were screaming from the roof tops, #How’s the Jaish? Destroyed Sir!
And after one of our bravest pilots landed in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and was arrested, our public opinion shifted to #NoWAR #BringAbhinandanBack. This is a democracy, the government has to care about the public mood.
When in 1999 the relatives of the hostages of the IC 814 hijacked plane protested in Delhi, the Vajpayee government came under immense pressure to release the dreaded terrorists to save the innocent passengers lives. What is happening now, when we are so close to a state of war, Mamata Banerjee demands proof!
A former SC Judge is taunting the Prime Minister when such tense times are prevailing.
— Markandey Katju (@mkatju) February 26, 2019
Talking about Wing Commander Abhinandan. Son of an Air Vice Marshal followed his father’s footsteps and joined the IAF. As a military brat, I am in awe of my fellow military brat’s achievements as he brought down an F-16 Fighting Falcon while flying a vintage MIG 21 Bison. With immense calm and composure he politely but firmly refused to answer questions by the Pakistani Army fully knowing the legacy of Capt Saurabh Kalia.
Does India deserve such heroes, when so many of us doubt the capabilities of the 4th Largest Army in the world and demand proof?
The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.
The objective of the Armed Forces of the Republic of India is not glory in the eyes of doubting media and politicians but to safeguard our nation and attain the objectives to secure our national interests.
Their objective is not to show the public every single video feed and image, why not open a live feed in Netflix which you can subscribe to?
But the doubts still persist. Look at a classic case of social media warfare regarding the F-16 wreckage.
Round 1: IAF shows proof of AMRAAM which only F 16 uses.
Round 2: Pakistani media is trying to debunk IAF claims
Pakistani media is playing it saying the serial number of the contract was to supply the missiles to Taiwan. India has somehow stolen the missile from Taiwan and is showing it as F 16 proof. But Mamata Banerjee might agree.
Source: Defense.gov Contracts for Monday, February 13, 2006
Round 3: We expose the Pakistani medias lies.
Here, you can see evidence from the US Government archives that the serial number of the contract was sold to various countries, one of them being Jordan, from whom the PAF procured it.
Will the extremely professional and respected Indian Army and Indian Air Force get into this game of providing evidence, then Pakistan counters that evidence, then we provide some more evidence? and it goes on and on
Proof of Surgical Strikes 2016
Suppose the Indian Army provided the helmet mounted feed video to the Pakistanis, do you know what they would reply?
Pakistan’s response: This is doctored/fake footage
Then India provides the footage to a third country to independently verify that the footage is not tampered with.
Pakistan’s response: This was staged in India itself and the alleged terrorist camps are of poor Kashmiris who have been killed in the video proving our point that Indian Army subjugates Kashmiris.
See how this goes on and on and on.
How can IAF provide any picture regarding Balakot attack which will not be refuted by Pakistan as morphed/doctored?
On the other hand, Look at the Pakistanis unity, not a single villager said on record that the madrassa was destroyed, no one even doubts their government’s statements.
All swore that the bombs had missed and the journalists also toed the government’s official line except in extremely rare cases when the author is safe in the UK:
So a friend from the area has confirmed that madressa Taleem-ul-Quran (it’s board says run by Hazrat Maulana Masood Azhar) at Mansehra (Balakot) was hit, & there are ~10 ambulances around. But the area is now sealed. Local students told him, ziada nahi marai bachatt hogae.
— Syed (@gypsy_heart6) February 26, 2019
In conclusion:
To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting – Sun Tzu (Art of War).
Let us unite behind our Government and Armed Forces in these times and let it be a lesson to our adversaries that our unity cannot be questioned or challenged ever again
Jai Hind
