KEEPING ALIVE THE LEGACY OF 1171 KILLED IN
ACTION IN OPERATION ‘PAWAN’
“In today’s highly
factitious domestic polity of democratic countries, geopolitical stance of a
country is no longer a matter of purely national interests, but is quite often
modulated to suit perceived domestic political payoffs.” - Col RS Sidhu
Backdrop
The
Emerald Isle, a group of IPKF veterans, is performing yeomen service to keep
alive the legacy of Operation ‘Pawan’, which the Government would rather
forget. Faced with continued Government apathy to publicly commemorate the
supreme sacrifices of the 1171 Indian soldiers Killed In Action (KIA) during
Operation ‘Pawan’, the IPKF veterans have reached out directly to the fellow
citizens.
Operation ‘Pawan’ is an important interlude in the
geopolitical framework which beckons India in the coming decades. Yet it has
been swept under the carpet, thereby, precluding study of its acts of omission
and commission to derive learnings for the future. More than three decades have
passed since the termination of Operation ‘Pawan,’ but its impact on
contemporary events continues to hold relevance even today.
Some of the finer aspects of this complex military
operation are highlighted below.
Politico-Military Mission
The
IPKF was not deployed on a straightforward military mission/operation. It was
deployed consequent to invitation from the Government of Sri Lanka for
guaranteeing the adherence to the India Sri Lanka Agreement (ISLA) of 29th
of July 1987 by the warring parties, namely, the Sri Lanka security forces and
the Tamil militants.
The
ISLA consisted of political and military clauses which were to be accomplished
by not only Sri Lanka and Tamil militant groups, but also by India. It required
the IPKF military leadership to display political acumen to understand and
interpret the clauses, military acumen to accomplish the duties and
responsibilities, and diplomatic acumen to navigate the shoals of conflicting
interests of the warring parties.
To
emphasise the politico-military intricacies involved it may be interesting to
note that the LTTE, the dominant Tamil militant organisation, against whom the
IPKF was conducting military operations, at a point of time, was simultaneously
being provided weapons not only by Sri Lanka but also by the Indian
intelligence agency R&AW. Apparently, the Indian
state was engaged in a policy of running with the hare and hunting with the
hounds, with the R&AW and IPKF being employed for the two differing
roles!!!
The inherent politico-military pitfalls in the region are best exemplified
by the changing national attitudes to the IPKF. Sri Lanka, a vociferous
opponent of the IPKF, has erected a War Memorial prominently laid out in their
capital city of Colombo, to honour the IPKF. High Indian dignitaries visiting
Colombo, including the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister, the military
Chiefs, have paid public homage at this war memorial.
But the Indian establishment, in its domestic arena, is shy to publicly
commemorate the supreme sacrifice by the IPKF personnel.
Government Policy Dithering
The
ISLA was signed on 29th of July 1987 and the induction of IPKF commenced on
30th of July 1987. You have to put 2+2 together to understand that it was
simply not feasible for any military to launch an overseas military operation
within this timeline. The force earmarked for conventional offensive operations
was launched on a peacekeeping assignment, without any further thought, revised
plans, briefing et al.
The formations and units tasked for
conventional offensive in Sri Lanka were from the Indian formations oriented
for offensive operations. They were assigned peacekeeping role with zero
warning. Even subsequent undertaking of counter insurgency operations against
the LTTE was not their assigned role nor were they trained for it. Probably,
the inevitable high casualties were acceptable to the decision makers?!!!
The
troops were psychologically primed to look at Sri Lanka Tamils as friends
needing to be saved from the ruthless Sri Lanka security forces. The Indian
jawan does not possess a mercenary outlook where you overnight switch the
friend and foe. It just doesn’t work that way as it muddies the moral high
ground so essential to fight in a foreign land, when own home, family and way
of life is not under threat.
For
the Army hierarchy down to the field formation, it was a first time exposure to
a politico- military mission and most were found out of their depth in the
initial phase. But the damage had been done by the time on the job learning was
over. 1171 precious lives lost and 3500 maimed for life in this learning
process. What a price to be paid!!!
Lt Gen AS Kalkat,
appointed GOC IPKF after
October 1987, overall did make his presence felt as a politico-military
strategist. It goes to his credit that the IPKF flawlessly executed its most
complicated mission, the deinduction from Sri Lanka.
The deinduction of IPKF from Sri Lanka was a political decision pursuant to
diverging interests of the governments of India and Sri Lanka. Militarily
speaking, it was the most vulnerable time for the IPKF.
The probability of Sri Lanka security forces turning hostile towards IPKF
at an opportune moment could not be negated. The LTTE, opposed as it was to the
IPKF presence in the Northeast province, was being surreptitiously armed by the
Sri Lanka government.
As the deinduction progressed, the IPKF in Sri Lanka would become
numerically inferior to the antagonist forces arraigned against it. One has to
just look at the disastrous withdrawals by the armed forces of the US from
Vietnam, and the successive ruinous pullouts by USSR and US from Afghanistan,
to comprehend the pitfalls that can arise in this most vulnerable time for any
military force.
It goes to the credit of the IPKF military hierarchy that the force
maintained its poise and balance till the end to ensure an incident free and
successful culmination of this protracted military operation, despite the
presence of strong hostile forces.
LTTE
was a ruthless organisation that indulged in coerced recruitment, reprisals
against recalcitrant families, used civilians as human shields, indulged in
fratricidal political killings of Tamils, and actively engaged in drugs and
arms trafficking from SE Asia to West Asia.
The LTTE were ultimately brought down in 2007 by their
own hubris. Unable to withstand the relentless onslaught from the IPKF, the
LTTE fell back to the deep Vanni jungles. They repeated this strategy when
facing the subsequent onslaught from a resurgent SLA.
But the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi by the LTTE
denied them the logistic base of Tamil Nadu, critical to face the SLA, who were
willing to observe and learn, and knew their opponents well. This incident, in one stroke, severed them from
their logistical support base in Tamil Nadu, as well as the international
support in Western countries orchestrated by the Sri Lanka Tamil diaspora.
The Sri Lanka security forces took a decade and a
half to reorganise and rearm before launching their military operation to the
finish against LTTE. The
Sri Lanka Army proved to be more than a match to the LTTE in ruthlessness. The
tried and tested human shield tactics by the LTTE could not succeed against an
equally ruthless adversary. The entire LTTE hierarchy
was annihilated in one stroke.
The LTTE had burnt all its bridges with India, so
this time there was no IPKF to pull their chestnuts from the fire. Rest is history.
Contemporary
Relevance
Nearly four decades have lapsed since the signing of the ISLA and the
consequent induction into Sri Lanka of the IPKF under ‘Operation Pawan’.
Several factors indicate that despite the time lapse, this strategic episode
continues to hold significant relevance to India’s security and
geopolitical aspirations in its near
abroad.
The first and most important aspect is that the ISLA, despite being put on
the backburner, is alive as neither of the two signatories have repudiated it.
The next most important aspect is the enormous resources employed by the
nation in this 32 months long venture and the tri-services institutional set up
of Headquarters IPKF which was raised to control this mammoth military
operation. This organisation in a true sense is the first tri-services
organisation in the operational field and is the rightful forerunner to the
future Theatre Commands now under consideration. This seamless deployment of
inter-service resources towards achieving a common national and military goal
in the operational field needs to be evaluated in depth.
The study of this strategic episode holds vital significance to derive
politico-military learnings to assist India’s decision makers in undertaking
policy decisions and their seamless execution to further national geopolitical
interests.
Key Success
Shorn of manipulated political and parochial viewpoints, this tri-service
operational venture was a big success. The IPKF succeeded in achieving the
politico-military objectives spelt out in the ISLA within a time span of under
18 months.
The Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka had been amalgamated into a
single constitutional administrative entity.
General elections to the unified Provincial Council had been successfully
held, and a duly elected civilian government sworn in as the Northeast
Provincial Council on 10th of December 1988.
Referendum was successfully held in the Eastern province of Sri Lanka,
wherein majority of the electorate voted for amalgamation with the Northern
Province.
LTTE, the dominant Tamil militant organisation opposing the ISLA, had been
marginalised.
Defunct civil infrastructure had been restored, and overall environment
conducive to recommencement of private enterprise had been established in
Northeast Sri Lanka.
The Aftermath
The LTTE, dominant Tamil militant organisation opposed to the ISLA and
fighting for an independent Tamil nation in Sri Lanka, has been annihilated by
the Sri Lanka Army.
The merger of the unified Northeast Province has been constitutionally
undone through judicial intervention by supreme Court of Sri Lanka.
The Tamil grievances continue to be unaddressed by the Government of Sri
Lanka.
Currently the People’s Republic of China holds a strong influence over the
Government of Sri Lanka. India seems to be devoid of any geopolitical options
to pursue its interest in its own backyard.
What is even more interesting is that Sri Lanka has erected a War Memorial,
prominently laid out in their capital city of Colombo, to honour the IPKF. A
commemoration service to honour the supreme sacrifices by the soldiers of IPKF
to uphold the unity and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka is held here on 26th
of January and 15th of August every year. High Indian dignitaries,
including the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister, the Indian military Service
Chiefs, visiting Colombo have paid public homage at this war memorial.
But in India, public commemoration of supreme sacrifice by IPKF personnel
is not held. The Government of India in 1987 was charged with engaging in
Operation ‘Pawan’ in pursuit of its political, rather than national, interests.
The wheel has turned full circle as the national interest of public
commemoration of the supreme sacrifices by its armed forces continues to be
held hostage to perceived parochial interests. Some things never change.
But the most interesting facet for the cognizant should be to recognise the
elephant hiding in the room. It is the ISLA that has not been repudiated by
either of the two signatories, lying dormant in a state of suspended animation,
waiting for a probable resurrection!
Veterans Keep the Flame Burning
“It is
difficult for the Government to whitewash and sanitise the sins of omission and
commission by its apex hierarchy in launch and conduct of Operation ‘Pawan’,
with the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) veterans still around and kicking!” – Col
RS Sidhu
1171 KIAs cannot be consigned to the dustbin of
history, unsung, and unseen. Another 3500 injured, with a very high percentage
of loss of limbs. The organisation may forget it's Dharm to honour its
own, but how can we who led them in battle!!!
As young officers it was our Karm to lead our men
in battle. As Veterans it's our Dharm to pay befitting homage to the selfless
supreme sacrifice made by our men.
First published in Financial Express online edition
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