THE action of Major Gogoi, in tying an unarmed civilian on the bonnet of his jeep last month, aroused both admiration as well as scorn. Social media had a field day. The first to tweet was Omar Abdullah, who termed the action as shocking but his views no longer merit being taken seriously. The veterans were divided, with a majority applauding the officer's action.
The interest in the issue had barely begun to flag, when it hit the headlines again with the award of Commendation Card by the Army Chief to the officer. Both his action and the award merit discussion.
Military operations seldom follow a predictable path. This is even more true in the irregular scenario of counter-militancy operations. There are no chalkboard situations or template solutions. The proverbial fifty-third card invariably shows up. Tackling such situations demands out-of-the-box thinking and an innovative mind. Major Gogoi's action needs to be viewed in this light. Even with the sketchy information, one was convinced that Gogoi had displayed a remarkably quick-thinking mind. After he himself addressed the media on May 23, one also saw him as a mature commander possessing high equanimity in the face of adversity. As he explained, his small party was confronted with a nearly 1,200-strong mob armed with stones, blocking his route. He announced on the hailer that he had come to collect the polling party and requested for passage. Many in the mob would actually have taken this as a sign of weakness. The most obvious option for a conventional military mind would have been to use force to extricate his heavily outnumbered party. But that would have caused dozens of deaths among the civilians. His maturity did not allow him to do so. On the spur of the moment, he thought of using one of the stone-pelters as a deterrent. And that is how Ghulam Ishaq Dar got to travel on the bonnet of his vehicle. The mobsters were too stunned to act. Finding a window of opportunity, Gogoi managed a safe passage for his men. Thus using his wit instead of his weapons, Gogoi accomplished the rescue mission without letting even a drop of blood be shed.
How does one view the Major's action in doing what he did? Those seeped in Army's conventional ethos and culture decried it. But they miss the point. The prevailing scenario of irregular proxy warfare, calls for an innovative approach. A straitjacket approach, which may work in a conventional setting, has no place in fluid and unpredictable situations that our commanders are encountering almost daily. Given the Army's result-oriented culture and philosophy, where methodology plays a subordinate role, Gogoi comes out with a high score.
Critics who chide him with violation of human rights, are off-track. The most fundamental right of a human being is the right to life. And lives are what Gogoi saved through his unorthodox action. In the end, the result is what matters. Like the ditty goes, “I eat my peas with honey/ I have done it all my life. It may look funny/ but it keeps them on the knife”. Metaphorically, Gogoi kept the peas on the knife. He acted with honest intent. Flexibility should remain the cornerstone of Army's functioning.
Those who are looking for elegance and rule-book correctness of the means employed, need to remember the rules are framed for normal circumstances. Irregular situations demand bending of those rules. I will say: "Well done, Major Gogoi". I wish the Indian Army has more of his brand and ilk.
The award of a Commendation Card by the Army Chief to Major Gogoi raked up a lot of heat, including by a few politicians from the Valley. Some even went to the extent of calling the Army Chief's action as an insult to the Kashmiris. Strong words of condemnation were no doubt meant to please the ears of their constituents. One wonders how many of them spoke with conviction. It was even more disconcerting to see the leaders of some mainstream political parties, with high national visibility, speaking critically of the award. But that is India, where freedom of speech is stretched to extremes. It may be advisable to eschew populist comments on subjects where one has no expertise.
To every rational thinking Indian, the award is very well-deserved and timely. It serves a dual purpose. It sends out a clear signal to the Army rank and file to act boldly and that the hierarchy stands solidly behind them in their efforts towards normalising the situation. Even more importantly, it is a signal to the militants that the Army means business and it is high time they stopped taking law into their own hands.
The writer is a former Deputy Chief of Army Staff
No comments:
Post a Comment