The Army, in a post on X on Friday, conveyed its deepest condolences over the demise of Naib Subedar Giriraj Prasad Yadav. It stated, “A Naib Subedar of the Indian Army has made the supreme sacrifice in the bona fide line of duty within the operational area of the Dibang Sector of Arunachal Pradesh. General Manoj Pande, #COAS, and All Ranks of #IndianArmy salute the supreme sacrifice of Naib Subedar Giriraj Prasad Yadav, who laid down his life in the line of duty in #Dibang Sector, and offer deepest condolences to the bereaved family.”
However, the precise cause of his death remains undisclosed. It's notable that when the Army attributes a sacrifice to the "bona fide line of duty" in a specific operational area like the Dibang Sector of Arunachal Pradesh, it typically implies enemy action. Otherwise, if it were an accident, the Army would have surely provided clarification. This lack of transparency not only fails to serve the nation but also risks demoralizing both the soldiers and their families by not adequately recognizing their sacrifices.
Naib Subedar Yadav's sacrifice is just one example among many instances where crucial information has been withheld. Earlier this year, during an award ceremony at the Western Command, known as the investiture ceremony, deeds between September 2021 and November 2022 were honored. These actions, following the Galwan incident, hint at border skirmishes, as evidenced by citations indicating attacks on Indian Army posts by the Chinese. However, such information was swiftly removed from social media platforms by Army authorities.
Despite China's public assertions regarding parts of Arunachal Pradesh and physical confrontations with Indian soldiers, detailed accounts have not been made public. While the bravery and steadfastness of Indian Army troops are commendable, it's imperative that such actions are communicated transparently to the nation.
Since the Galwan incident in 2020, numerous meetings between the two sides have occurred, yet the nature of these negotiations remains unclear, as to what are we negotiating, particularly when PM himself in an all-party meeting in 2020, said “no one had ever entered Indian territory and there was no one inside.” is surely not understood.
Statements from various government officials offer conflicting perspectives, while the Foreign Minister characterizes relations as abnormal, and the Chief of Army Staff describes the situation as stable but sensitive.
It has been reported that a research paper was tabled at the annual Director Generals of Police Conference organised by the Intelligence Bureau, by a police officer, which indicated that we may have lost access to 26 out of the 65 Patrolling Points on the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh. The paper obviously was not discussed at the conference, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah and the government made sure the paper was taken off the web site.
The overarching concern is straightforward: if the Govt is hiding information just to preserve its own MACHO image then my fear is that this will further embolden the enemy, because When the enemy knows that you are hiding information from your own people, He squeezes you further and all this shall back fire.
Transparency is not just a matter of accountability; it's essential for national security and stability because it prevents own people falling prey to enemy's psy ops (propaganda machine). However, the more one hides the more harm it causes to its own force.
Did Lal Bahadur Shastri hid information in 1965 when hundreds of Pakistani troops had infilterated into Indian territory. Did Nehru hid information when Chinese troops were ingressing into India's territory in 60s. Do we not know how brutally we punished Chinese in 1967 at Nathu La, Did Mrs Gandhi hid information.