Army Chief Bipin Rawat defends human shield incident, says 'troops need innovative ways to fight against dirty war in Kashmir'

The Indian Army is facing a "dirty war" in Jammu and Kashmir which has to be fought through "innovative" ways, Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat has said.

Pic courtesy: @adgpi

Delhi: Indian Army Chief Bipin Rawat on Sunday defended the human shield incident and said that the troops needed innovative ways to fight against the "dirty war" in Kashmir. 

"People are throwing stones at us, people are throwing petrol bombs at us. If my men ask me what do we do, should I say, just wait and die? I will come with a nice coffin with a national flag and I will send your bodies home with honour. Is it what I am supposed to tell them as chief? I have to maintain the morale of my troops who are operating there," he said. 

"This is a proxy war and proxy war is a dirty war. It is played in a dirty way. The rules of engagements are there when the adversary comes face-to-face and fights with you. It is a dirty war.... That is where innovation comes in. You fight a dirty war with innovations," the Army Chief further said.

The Army Chief added, "I would have been happy if the protesters were firing weapons at the Armed forces instead of throwing stones. Then I could do what I (want to do)."

Major Leetul Gogoi belonging to the 53 Rashtriya Rifles, who had tied a man to a jeep in Kashmir purportedly as a shield against stone pelters, has been honoured with the Army Chief's 'Commendation Card' for his 'sustained efforts' in counter- insurgency operations.

The Army Chief's 'Commendation Card' is considered a prestigious award and is given for distinguished services and devotion to duty.

General Rawat pointed out that the main objective of awarding him when a Court of Inquiry was finalising its probe into the incident, was to boost the morale of young officers of the force who are operating in a very difficult environment in the militancy- infested state.

He said armed forces have the right of self defence and Major Gogoi could have opted for firing at the crowd but he chose not to resort to it

The Army Chief maintained there was a ploy to break the trust between various security forces, and the Major could not have refused to provide security when polling agents had sought security assistance.

On the situation in J&K he said, in an interview to PTI, "Kashmir needs a composite solution, everybody will have to get involved."

 The Army Chief emphasised that just four districts of South Kashmir were disturbed and it was incorrect to say that entire Kashmir has gone out of control.

"It will have to be a composite solution. Everybody will have to get involved. Army's role is to ensure that violence does not take place and the common man who is not indulging in this (violence) is protected," he said, when asked about the solution to the Kashmir issue.

General Rawat, who had served in Jammu and Kashmir extensively, said if people in any country lose fear of the Army, then the country is doomed.

"Adversaries must be afraid of you and at the same time your people must be afraid of you. We are a friendly army, but when we are called to restore law and order, people have to be afraid of us," he said.

At the same time, he asserted that maximum restraint is being maintained while handling the situation in the Valley.

To a separate question, the Army Chief said he does not anticipate a "limited war" with Pakistan. 

A video, showing the man tied to the Army vehicle during polling in the Srinagar Lok Sabha by-election on April 9, had triggered a public outcry.

However, Major Gogoi had said later that his idea had saved lives of many people.

Recalling the circumstances in which he had ordered Farooq Ahmed Dar to be tied to the bonnet of the vehicle, Gogoi had said that about 1200 stone-pelters had surrounded a small group of security personnel at a polling booth in Utligam village of Budgam district on April 9 and if he had ordered firing, there could have been at least 12 casualties.

In the mob, the Major had said that he saw a man who appeared to be the "ring leader" as he was "instigating" the stone-pelters on the day of bypoll to Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency.

"...When we were unable to move out, I announced from my mega-mic to tie the captured man on the bonnet, after which the stone pelting stopped for sometime and we got time to come out and get into our vehicles. I did this (tie Farooq Dar on the bonnet of my jeep) to save more lives of the local people," Gogoi had maintained.

(With Agency inputs)