The talk given by General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) on 21 Feb 2018, at a seminar on the subject, “North East Region of India – Bridging Gaps and Securing Borders” has caused a lot of political angst amongst the opposition parties, especially the AIUDF, AIMIM, CPI, INC, etc. The seminar was organised by the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies and the Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence in New Delhi. This talk was thus given to a professional body that deals with national security issues. Professional bodies understand the nature of infiltration and the porous borders in the NE region. In professional bodies talks need to be free, frank, and with no holds barred, especially when it affects national security directly. The COAS was thus well within his right to speak his mind, and substantiate the same with examples. A reading of the statements attributed to the COAS would be in order to understand that it has nothing to do with the army overstepping its charter as per the Constitution.
He said, “Migration from Bangladesh is happening because of two reasons. One is lebensraum, you know they are running out of space. Large part of their areas get flooded under water during monsoons. So they have very constricted areas to stay in, so people will continue coming into our place, into our areas. And the other issue is a planned immigration that is taking place because of our western neighbour, they will always try and ensure that this area is taken over through playing the proxy dimension of warfare. You don’t have to confront a stronger nation through conventional operations, so you play a proxy game. I think this proxy game is being very well played by our Western neighbour, supported also by our northern neighbour, so to that extent to keep this area disturbed, we will continue to see this kind of migration happening.”
“I don’t think you can change the population dynamics of the area. If it was five districts to eight to nine, that inversion has taken place, whichever be the government…there is a party called AIUDF [All India United Democratic Front]. If you look at, they have grown in a faster time frame than the BJP grew over the years. When we talk of Jan Sangh, with two members of parliament and where they have reached, the AIUDF is moving at a faster pace in the state of Assam. Finally, what will be the state of Assam, we have to take a call.”
He said, “Migration from Bangladesh is happening because of two reasons. One is lebensraum, you know they are running out of space. Large part of their areas get flooded under water during monsoons. So they have very constricted areas to stay in, so people will continue coming into our place, into our areas. And the other issue is a planned immigration that is taking place because of our western neighbour, they will always try and ensure that this area is taken over through playing the proxy dimension of warfare. You don’t have to confront a stronger nation through conventional operations, so you play a proxy game. I think this proxy game is being very well played by our Western neighbour, supported also by our northern neighbour, so to that extent to keep this area disturbed, we will continue to see this kind of migration happening.”
“I don’t think you can change the population dynamics of the area. If it was five districts to eight to nine, that inversion has taken place, whichever be the government…there is a party called AIUDF [All India United Democratic Front]. If you look at, they have grown in a faster time frame than the BJP grew over the years. When we talk of Jan Sangh, with two members of parliament and where they have reached, the AIUDF is moving at a faster pace in the state of Assam. Finally, what will be the state of Assam, we have to take a call.”
“I think we have to understand, we got to appreciate to live with all the people we live in the region, irrespective of their caste, creed, religion or sex. I think if we understand that, we can live together happily but the best part is to amalgamate the kind of people that are living there, than identifying the people trying to create trouble for us.”
“We will have more trouble in segregating people, identifying people. Yes, some people have to be identified who are creating trouble for us, who are illegal immigrants. But as was brought out, the Muslim population actually started coming into Assam from 1218 to 1226, which was the first time that the Muslims actually entered Assam. We have to understand that they are not late arrivers, they are the early arrivers, came concurrently with the Ahoms. Both these people have claim to the state of Assam and, therefore, to the North-East region.”
There is absolutely nothing political or religious in what the General has said, any thing for which our opposition political parties can go about holding the Army, the COAS, or the nation to ransom. The Defence Minister has rightly refused to comment or 'react' on the subject, as there is nothing in the talk, and that too a talk that has been delivered to a professional audience, that is seen as out of place.
Our opposition parties have slowly but surely been bringing down the credibility of our institutions, with an aim to score political brownie points. It seems that no institution established in our country is safe from this political mud slinging, be it the Election Commission, the CBI, police, judiciary, CAG, etc. They are now attempting to do the same to the only sacrosanct institution of our country - the armed forces; our last resource for war, as also for internal security, and as aid to civil authorities when our politicians, bureaucrats, police, and civilian apparatus fail to do what they are supposed to do.
Leave the armed forces alone, please.
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