Bullet-Proof Vehicles: Crucial Defense for Soldiers in J&K

In the latest news on politics, the martyrdom of Indian soldiers once again in a terrorist ambush in Kathua, Jammu & Kashmir, has angered the nation and raised questions about the army leadership’s responsibility towards the safety of soldiers on the frontline. These youngsters sign a death warrant on their lives when they join the army, which means they have dedicated their lives to the country’s first line of defence. However, that does not mean their commanders can take the liberty to expose them to the same kind of danger that has resulted in the deaths of dozens of soldiers in the recent past.

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As per political samachar reports, the country’s defence manufacturing industry now produces a wide range of world class infantry movement vehicles that can withstand the kind of ordinance these terrorists had used.

The million-dollar question is, why are such vehicles not used by the army’s infantrymen for movement across high risk, remote and desolate jungle terrain close to the LOC?

Going by news today updates, these young infantrymen are not the ones who decide upon the type of vehicles to be allocated to the different units; such matters are decided at much higher levels.

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It is in nobody’s interest to point fingers and find scapegoats after the tragedy has taken place but why are basics of safety and precaution ignored during such high-risk movements?

Every time soldiers are sent in conventional military trucks with no protection against such ambush attacks, the lives of the soldiers are exposed to grave risks resulting in tragedies like this one.

Indian soldiers are among the very best in the world

The fighting abilities and professionalism of the Indian soldiers have very few parallels anywhere in the world and that makes them even more special and precious as per the latest news on politics.

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Yes, they are committed to putting their lives on the line to defend the country but this is not a one-way commitment. The military leadership ought to be as much committed to securing the lives of these wonderful youngsters as the latter are to the country’s first line of defence.

When our soldiers confront terrorists that operate with little to no ethical considerations about the rules of war, they begin with a disadvantage where the odds are stacked against them according to news today.

For the terrorists, the only operational objective is to hit and run. That is a relatively easy job in the forested mountainous terrain of J&K but for our soldiers the operational goals are just the opposite.

The Indian army digs in and holds ground for the nation

It is important for us civilians to understand the constraints under which the combat units of the Indian army operates in J&K where it has been given the responsibility of defending democracy and human rights.

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That is a very challenging objective for any army that has to sanitize the region of terrorists on the one hand and prevent the terrorists from targeting soft targets like pilgrims and other civilians on the other.

The Indian Army is obviously operating with limited resources in J&K as is evident from the way it is taking casualties due to non-use or unavailability of advanced infantry combat vehicles as per political samachar.

It does not matter which of these reasons caused the casualties that could have been avoided in the ambush at Kathua. What matters is that 5 young and precious lives have been lost.

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