Flights Of Fantasy
[ M Panging Pao ]
We all have heard of the Assam Regiment, Assam Rifles, Sikh Regiment, Kumaon Regiment, Gurkha Regiment, Naga Regiment etc. The Assam Regiment and Naga Regiment are the only Army units of Northeast India. The Assam Rifles is a paramilitary unit under home ministry. The Assam Regiment has about 25 battalions and the Naga Regiment has four battalions.
A few years back, the government raised Arunachal Scouts as an infantry formation based in Arunachal Pradesh, specialising in mountain warfare. Most soldiers of Arunachal Scouts are local and established with the purpose of defending the Indo-Tibet border in Arunachal. Presently, there are only two battalions of the Arunachal Scouts; the first raised in 2010 and second in 2013. Presently, then Arunachal Scouts are part of the Assam Regiment.
India and China have an acrimonious relationship over last 60 years. The major conflict was the India-China war of 1962 where Chinese forces entered almost 100 kms inside India along five axes. There have been regular clashes at Nathu La in 1967, Sumdorong Chu in 1987, Doklam confrontation in 2017, Chinese incursions in Asaphila, Tuting and Chaklagam areas of Arunachal in 2017-2018, and the recent India-China conflict at Pangong Tso Lake and Galwan Valley in Ladakh. Tense situation exists all along the India-China border.
Chinese still claim Arunachal as ‘Southern Tibet’ and issues stapled visas to Arunachali citizens. They object to visits by senior Indian officials, ministers to Arunachal and uses rivers originating in China to armtwist India. The McMahon Line demarcates the eastern border between India and China. About 890 kms in length, the McMahon Line followed the watershed principle and runs along the highest ridges of these eastern Himalayan ranges, running from east of Bhutan to the trijunction of India, China and Myanmar.
In case of any future conflict, the battleground would be the mountains, hills, valleys and jungles of Arunachal. Considering the mountainous terrain, dense jungles, deep gorges and ravines, it may be easily understood that persons living in these areas are better suited to fight the enemy. The locals are accustomed to the terrain and the weather and can easily live off the land. To fight and defeat the enemy in such terrain and weather, India needs to have a specialised Arunachal Regiment, composed of at least five to six battalions. Similarly, the mountain divisions of the Army should be composed mostly of soldiers hailing from mountainous regions. Enlisting of soldiers need not always base on pro rata basis based on population only; rather it should be based on strategic principles to suit military objectives.
Though modern weapons are required, wars and battles are won by well-trained and effective soldiers.Therefore it is high time that more battalions of Arunachal Scouts should be formed and the entire formation should be transformed and renamed as Arunachal Regiment. This small step may be one of the best ways to tackle the Chinese challenge. (The contributor is retired Group Captain, Indian Air Force)