14 - Why does India not acknowledge its debt to the martyrs of Op Pawan – Srilanka

Almost an insult to those who risked their lives on orders of proper authority

Last month, July, was a month of commemoration of a military victory of India - Op Vijay, the war in Kargil. The nation rejoiced with celebrations held in several cities, as they should be. Around 550 All Ranks laid down their lives for  their nation. The war happened in 1999.

Kargil Vijay Diwas is a significant occasion dedicated to honouring and commemorating the extraordinary bravery and valour of the Indian armed forces. This year, the Indian Army has planned a two-day celebration at the memorial on July 25 and 26.

Throughout the country, numerous events are meticulously organised to pay heartfelt tribute to the soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice in safeguarding the nation. Countless ceremonies, parades, and gatherings were held nationwide. These celebrations were adorned with cultural performances, parades, and soul-stirring renditions by Army bands,

All this was as should be. A nation that doesn’t honor its braves can never be a great power.

The month of July of another year, 1987, also has national and military significance. On 29 July 1987. the then Indian PM Rajiv Gandhi signed the Indian Sri Lanka Peace Accord, and ordered Indian troops to protect Indian interests in Sri Lanka. This was the start of Op Pawan.

While Op Vijay (Kargil) lasted for 3 months, Op Pawan lasted three years. In the former, around 527 soldiers gallantly laid down their lives for India and 1363 were wounded. In the latter, the respective figures are around 1670 and 3000. As evident. all figures of Sri Lanka are many times that of Kargil. But, just one Param Vir Chakra for the battles of Sri Lanka, against an enemy known to be the wiliest, suicide-committed, fighting in own territory with full support of the population?

While you got countless opportunities to celeberate the Vijay Diwas (Kargil), did you also got to waive a flag or lay a wreath for those who died for you and me in a foreign land, on order of their PM? It is unlikely, because India does not celebrate or commemorate the battles of Op Pawan.

Unlike the nation, the veterans were not prepared to forget their comrades. They sought official permission to do so at the National War Memorial. When the approvals came in 2021, they came with a set of insulting riders – silent ceremony, no attendance by a serving officer in uniform, and wreath to be laid only by the senior most officer present. This year, on 29 July 2023, a silent ceremony was held at the National War Memorial, the third in a row. This time a small gathering of veterans and families honoured the martyrs. No serving officer, no minister or other elected representative of India, for whom the 1200 died, attended.

Magnanimously, this time the authorities allowed four wreaths, instead of just one earlier, to be laid. The first was laid by Maj Gen Bhalla, then GOC, 54 Inf Div. The second by the only serving officer present, Capt Raai from 16 Sikh. The third by Col Rakesh Sidhu, 15 Mech Inf, on behalf of the veterans who organised the ceremony. The final wreath was laid by the wife of gallantry award winner late L/Nk Rajbir Singh, 5 Rajput Regt

As if it was something to be ashamed of,, to be acknowledged due to sustained pressure by veterans, but only so grudgingly. This rankles with those who know the details. It is particularly painful when you have lived some years with those who died there.

I fondly remember the young officer of 5 Raj Rif with whom I played many an interesting game of squash in Kanpur club. He died in Sri Lanka, blown to pieces. Another colleague, Major Anil Kaul, 65 Armoured Regiment, lost an arm and an eye. 30 soldiers of 13 Sikh Li, laid down their lives in less than an hour at Jaffna University, discharging their duty to comply with orders to capture of kill the LTTE Chief, V Prabhakaran. My brother, then Major, Manoj Asthana, Artillery AOP, provided unlimited helicopter support to infantry– machine gun fire, reconnaissance for commanders, and casualty evacuation in the jungles of Vavunia. His co-pilot, Harry Kaura, took a bullet on his face, in another mission flown by then Major Daman Sehgal.  

Did these people land up in SriLanka on their own, on some rogue mission?

Most armies follow the soldierly code of not leaving their comrades behind, whether living or dead. However, many who died for Indian interests in Sri Lanka were never brought back. Even their remains have not brought back till today. Late Major Michael Lewis of 12 Jat lies in an unmarked grave in Sri Lanka. There are more unmarked graves in Palay and Vavuniya. There is no dedicated memorial for the IPKF brave hearts in India. Strangely it is the Sri Lankans who set up a dedicated memorial to the IPKF in 2008 – the IPKF Memorial in Colombo and the 10 Para memorial in Palaly. This is unbelievable since taking the bodies back to India was so simple. So many aircrafts came back to India empty, every day, after unloading their loads.

 Victory has many fathers but defeat has none. But was Op Pawan a defeat or a failure? Even if India is so inclined, why must it insult the martyrdom of the soldiers it sent to war on a legitimate mission. This was not a Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise in movie Mission Impossible) ‘This is your mission, should you choose to accept it’ type of volunteer service. Had they refused, they were liable for all consequences of disobedience of order.

Why then?

Once again. A nation that doesn’t honor its braves can never be a great power.

The sacrifices made by the IPKF soldiers seem to have gone waste for another reason, i.e., Indian army learnt no lessons from the Sri Lanka conflict and repeated them again 10 years later in Kargil.

The biggest problem with Indian army is the inability of its generals to get a realistic assessment of the situation. In Sri Lanka, the Atmy Chief is said to have boasted that the LTTE would be subdued in 3 days, It took 19 years more after IPKF left. LTTE admitted defeat only in 2009, after Sri Lankan army broke its back.

In Kargil too, the assessment of the intruders was so poor that the Chief, who was in Poland that that time, was advised to not come back as the ‘Indian Army would gobble up the opposition in a few days.’ The Corps commander, ordered 1/11 GR to attack with ‘ whatever men they could muster, even if without supporting weapons, because the opposition was a few militants,’ It was a well dug company of Pak regulars. Finally, a courageous CO, Lt Col Amul Asthana, and Brigade Commander, Brig Devinder Singh, decided to not attack, since the higher HQ was clearly wrong.

Another problem of Indian army is inadequate training and equipment of infantry units. This showed up clearly in Sri Lanka, but nothing was done in 10 years, so Kargil too saw it. Sri Lanka showed that our units had useless communication sets, had no maps of the area and were not trained to fight in the terrain where employed. In Kargil too, 1/11 GR operations show how fire of Indian artillery was ineffective on Pak bunkers as there were no maps and artillery OP officers were not proficient in correcting fire on steep slopes. A JCO of 1/11 GR made a hand-drawn sketch to direct artillery fire.

What a shame.

Why only till Kargil, Indian army has not learnt these few lessons even now - in 2023. That makes the loss of lives in Sri Lanka even more unfortunate. Our heavy casualty rate and poor success rate against terrorists in J&K is a direct result of poor equipment in infantry units.

But above all - the treatment given to the martyrs of Sri Lanka by Indian government and even its army (they ought to have fought with the government on this, shouldn’t they?), is very disheartening.