'Indian Army officers always lead their men into battle or combat. Pakistani officers are seldom seen at the front.'
Brigadier B M Cariappa has fought the Pakistan army man to man.
A two time recipient of gallantry medals, he received the Vir Chakra for the Kargil War and the Sena Medal for operation on the Siachen Glacier.
An officer from Indian Army's elite Parachute Regiment, he recently retired after an outstanding military career.
As a captain, he led several operations in the Kargil War in the Batalik sector and etched his name in military history for exceptional bravery.
He was wounded in action twice. Splinters from a grenade explosion during the Kargil War are still lodged inside his head.
The Special Forces officer has served two tenures in counter terrorist operations along the Line of Control and conducted operations against insurgents in the North East.
He commanded a parachute battalion, served with the UN Peacekeeping Force in Africa and was force commander of the elite Black Cat Commandos.
In the second part of his interview with Rediff's Archana Masih, Brigadier Cariappa discusses the action on the LoC and what sets the Indian soldier apart.
As a soldier who has fought the Pakistan army in the Kargil War, what is your impression of the Pakistani soldier and the Pakistani army?
There is one major difference between the Indian Army and Pakistan army. Officers of the Indian Army always lead their men into battle or combat.
Pakistani officers are seldom seen at the front. Their soldiers are just like our soldiers, but what I experienced during the Kargil War was that their officers have become laat sahabs.
There are so many other dynamics at play within the Pakistan army like the Punjabis look down on the rest. During the Kargil War, we had caught a prisoner of war from the Baltistan area. Both his legs had bullet wounds.
He insisted on staying and working here and did not want to be sent back. He said the Indian Army is reham dil [compassionate].
Another incident from Kargil that reveals the ethos of the Indian Army is that once when we were heavily embroiled in a fire fight during the capture of Area Conical at a height of 5,400 metres, there was an enemy position firing RPGs at our location.
To silence the enemy fire, I picked up a rocket launcher and came out in the open to fire two rounds in the direction of the enemy.
Just then one of my soldiers Lance Naik Namdeo Pawar grabbed me by the collar and pulled me inside his sangar [stone wall].
I asked him, what are you doing? He replied, as our commander you are our leader and our strength in battle comes from you. Please don't risk your life.
This demonstrates the concern and loyalty of our men. The troops will do this only if they believe in you.
Our strength is the men that we command.
You have fought Pakistani soldiers man to man in close combat in the Batalik area. Are they well trained, professional, fighters?
You have to give the devil his due. They are professional as far as the soldiers are concerned. They will stand and fight, but will not fight to the last man and to the last round.
My experience from Kargil is that the moment they find the situation getting a little shaky, they will not hold on.
It also depends on the situation, like the second operation that I went for in the Kargil War.
The Pakistanis were being beaten back from Batalik where I was fighting and also from Mashkoh, Kaksar, Drass and other places.
At that point of time the Pakistan army was not even acknowledging the dead as their own soldiers which would have been very demoralising for their troops.
For nearly two weeks Pakistan has violated the ceasefire on the Line of Control. What does violation of ceasefire actually mean? How many rounds of firing does it take to be considered a violation?
Even if a single round is fired across the Line of Control by Pakistan or India, it is a violation of the ceasefire.
The violation in the present context would mean constant and aggressive firing on the LoC. The firing must be coming from artillery guns, small arms like assault rifles, mortars, rocket launchers, or rocket propelled grenades.
The enemy knows our locations, just as we know theirs, but it is difficult to target tactically located positions using artillery fire in the mountains.
There is mayhem out there when all guns rain fire on one single target or position.
There are splinters flying all over the place and people have to take cover.
You have served on the LoC, what is the area really like? How does one define Line of Control?
There is no physical line on the ground.
The LoC is defined by important landmarks on the ground. It is an imaginary line running from one peak to another, going along a ridge line or along a river or a nala and so on.
The terrain is very difficult. It is mountainous, undulating and thickly vegetated.
There is a fence which has been constructed in most places, but this fencing is not on the ceasefire line. In some places, it is way inside our territory and at some locations, it is close to the LoC.
Defences are built on tactically important features. The bunkers are prepared to give tactical advantage to dominate the enemy.
The gaps between two own positions are dominated by patrols by our men and by various sensors, landmines and other devices.
That is how you dominate a particular area and keep an eye on the gaps.
Of course, the landmines are kept away from the regular routes. Sometimes landmines shift because of heavy rain, landslides or snow and result in injury to soldiers.
What happens on the border during a heightened alert and escalatory situation?
We have always been well deployed on the LoC to take on the enemy, both offensively and defensively.
There are adequate troops in reserve in every formation to cater for any contingencies.
Officers and soldiers plan for every situation through war games during peace time. That is how soldiers prepare for war.
In a heightened situation, forces are moved to respective locations according to the laid down plans from where they carry out offensive or defensive ops based on the situation.
War is basically about tactics and strategy, and it been so right from the time of the Mahabharata.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
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