Are India's Borders Under Renewed Threat?

A week with so much happening is unusual. Not for a long time have we seen multiple events playing out as threats on India’s northern and western borders

- LT Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)

LAST week the Indian public was jolted by a cascading set of events in some of India’s border regions. These are related to the borders in J&K, Ladakh, Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh. A week with so much happening is unusual. Not for a long time have we seen multiple events playing out as threats on India’s northern and western borders.

The 13th Corps Commander level talks at Ladakh’s Moldo-Chushul between senior military commanders of the Indian Army and the PLA ended in an unexpected impasse. The 10th round on February 20 this year had achieved a landmark decision: both armies were to disengage in the Pangong Tso area, which included the Fingers complex and the Kailash Range heights; implementation too was completed in 72 hours. It was expected that this positive development would subsequently extend to other sub sectors where Indian patrolling up to the established patrolling points (PPs) was being denied. The 11th and the 12th round of talks may not have achieved anything as substantial but held out much promise after the Gogra area was successfully addressed for mutual disengagement after the 12th round on July 20. The result of the 13th round has indeed been disappointing. The negative sentiment arises from the fact that this has happened in the wake of other events that cannot be ignored.