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| The Siachen Glaciers |
The war of Siachen has been the Indian army’s longest running military operation since independence, code-named Operation Meghdoot. Its objective is to prevent Pakistani intrusions into the Siachen Glacier, and to establish India’s right over the area ceded by Pakistan to China. The war has lasted for eight long years, and none of the sides has yielded. The Siachen Glaciers have an extreme cold and forbidding terrain. Since April 13, 1984, when Siachen became an active war zone, both countries have spent over Rs 15,000 crore here and both sides have lost over 2000 soldiers. The Indian rate is a staggering 63 per cent –of every two men sent up, one will be dead. Temperature in these glaciers can drop to forty degrees below the freezing point, when any exposed flesh will freeze within minutes. In such an extreme environment, normal livelihood is impossible because almost everything is solid; metal and the human skin become so chilled that when a jawan tries to load his gun, the bullet sticks to his bare hands.
At Base Camp, the Siachen Battle School is responsible for training the men to survive the extremes of conditions on the glacier. The training culminates in a survival test. Sections of 10 men are asked to stay on the glacier for the night. If they survive, they pass. Almost all the food on glacier comes in tins, which taste all the same. In clear weather, the men are overworked, first repairing the damage cause by the last storm, then carting the supplies to the forward posts. Thousands of veterans have already sacrificed their lives for a war over a frozen, waste land.
The government of both sides should take initiatives to discover a new way of settling the matter. I am touched by the plight of the jawans. I hope this war of agony and violence comes to an end very soon. I would like to make an appeal to readers to share their thoughts.. Fundaytimez pays tribute to all the martyrs who have sacrificed their lives, fighting for their motherland.
