Troops in J&K, Ladakh need to be battle-hardened: Northern Army Commander

The “eyeball to eyeball’ deployment, ranging from the plains of Jammu to the Siachen Glacier and further to Eastern Ladakh, and the dynamic internal security situation in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir make Northern Command the most unique theatre, he said, adding that ever since the raising, Northern Command has been ‘always in combat’.

Referring to India occupying strategic heights along the Line of Actual Control, he said the “valuable lessons of Op Snow Leopard have been fully assimilated and fused into our capacities with respect to swift mobilisation, appropriate force posturing and infrastructure development in synergy with the other two services, Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and civil administration”. However, there is still more that needs to be done considering the dynamics exhibited in terms of differing perceptions on the Line of Actual Control, he added.

“Thus, at all times we need to be geared up and battle hardened to counter the dynamic operational situations and challenges and come out as winners,” he said. “This needs adaptability of our troops to the ever-changing battlefield environment as well as adoption of innovative solutions to surprise the adversary, gain ascendancy over him and always be a step ahead in cognitive, virtual and physical space,” he added.

Pointing out that the theme of the symposium of ‘Self Reliance in Defence through Atmanirbharta’ and infusion of new technologies to meet operational challenges of Northern Command is quite apt and “conveys our pressing needs of the day”, he said.

The symposium is aimed at enabling greater engagements with the Indian private sector, defence public sector undertakings, R&D organisations and academia, who are potential partners in development, fabrications and induction of technologically advanced systems to meet the operational needs of Northern Command.

It will pave the way to identify suitable technologies and products for subsequent trials and inductions into Northern Command, as also facilitate interface with the field army to orient their products towards specific operational requirements, he said. It will also enable all ranks to enhance their technological knowledge and threshold for conduct of efficient and smooth operations, he added.

He pointed out that the primary objective of the symposium is to bridge the gap between user requirement of critical defence products/technologies and the capabilities of Indian OEMs/vendors to address the same through their products, leading to speedier procurement by Northern Command. At this stage, alternative solutions are also most welcome, he added.

“The solutions that we seek with respect to the border guarding and internal security challenges will lead to operational convergence of CAPFs such as BSF, CRPF, ITBP and state police, co-employed within the Northern Command,” said Gen Dwivedi.

“Additionally, many initiatives taken thus far, under the able tutelage of the lieutenant governors of both J&K and Ladakh, have been co-opted and integrated by us in our efforts to foster synergy,” he added.

The Indian Army is currently engaged with the civil administration in special projects like developing ‘model villages’ in Ladakh region, review of ‘Inner Line Permit’ and enabling adventure activities in the Himalayan ranges etc.