The Hindu : Soldiers may breathe easy

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 26, 2003

National

National

Soldiers may breathe easy

By Sandeep Dikshit

NEW DELHI NOV. 25. For a layman, a ceasefire means the end of firing. But it is not that simple. To begin, the Army headquarters will have to send clear-cut orders to its formations along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and the Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL) in the Siachen sector.

Along most parts of the LoC, the troops of the two countries are in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontationist stance. A slight movement on either side attracts instant fire. "Now we will not fire if there is movement on the ridgeline opposite our positions. This will be the general rule. But that does not mean that any attempt to capture a post will go unchallenged," said a senior Army officer.

This is complicated reasoning to the soldier who mans the gun. Over decades of hostility, he has been trained to fire on noticing any movement on the other side. The ceasefire's implications will have to be painstakingly explained to the troops on the ground.

A feeling of relief will be palpable in the areas where Pakistani firing is particularly heavy. These include Poonch, Rajouri, Uri, Kupwara and Kargil along the LoC and the Siachen Glacier on the AGPL. Terrorists infiltrating Jammu and Kashmir favour many of these areas. Pakistani troops usually lob mortar and artillery shells to ensure that Indian soldiers remain in their bunkers while militants cross the border. Officers wonder whether this type of firing will stop completely.

The two armies have by now learnt to survive by moving food and ammunition to forward positions at night. Even simple tasks such as relocating an artillery gun or improving a bunker have to be done in total darkness when there is no moon or the cloud cover is heavy. "Life has always been difficult on the LoC. Cessation of fire will facilitate movement during the day by both sides. We will be able to transport food and ammunition in daytime as well as dig weapon pits. There will be no fear of attracting enemy fire," said another officer.

In Siachen, the weather is the bigger enemy. More people have died here due to the weather than by enemy fire. Here too, the transportation of food and ammunition is done at night since Pakistani guns are ready to pounce on any movement. The snow hardens at night and moving across a vast skating rink with no markers is a feat. A false step and the troops can disappear. Here too, the soldiers will breathe easy. For the first time since Indian troops were positioned on the glacier in the mid-1980s, supplies will be moved during the day.

But the soldiers will still be cautious and there will be redeployment of men and materials, at least in the short term. Officers had no clear answers about how the ceasefire would be monitored but they did not foresee any problems in its implementation since the orders had come from the highest levels and the two armies were "disciplined". "During `non-initiation of combat operations' between November 28, 2000, and May 21, 2001, there was no firing by both sides in my sector. I believe this was true for all other sectors," said a senior Army officer who was a commanding officer in one of the areas along the LoC susceptible to heavy Pakistani firing.

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