[H S Panag, a retired lieutenant-general of the Indian Army, in a June 18 column in The Print, wrote, “The military hierarchy itself failed in its professional responsibility to advise the government to use force as per professional norms. The blood of these soldiers is on the hands of the government and the military hierarchy.”]

 

 

 

[Finally, the Indian government admitted that its military committed a blunder in the Galwan clash, not by words but by its actions.

India awards medals for its military and paramilitary troops for their extraordinary courage to protect the borders on the occasion of Independence Day on August 15 every year. None of the 20 Indian soldiers killed in the Galwan clash were included in the gallantry decoration list. It seems the exclusion of their names from the list was a posthumous punishment.

It would seem natural that if 20 Indian soldiers died killing their Chinese enemies while defending the border, as claimed by the prime minister, and India feels proud of them, as the president describes, they would have been posthumously decorated with higher-order gallantry medals. Therefore, why that didn’t happen is a question that Indian citizens must ask their government.

The exclusion of these deceased soldiers’ names from the decoration list lends weight to the Chinese claim that Indian armed forces are not under the control of their military commanders and civilian leaders. The Chinese demand for an investigation therefore seems to be based on plausible grounds.]

 

[H S Panag, a retired lieutenant-general of the Indian Army, in a June 18 column in The Print, wrote, “The military hierarchy itself failed in its professional responsibility to advise the government to use force as per professional norms. The blood of these soldiers is on the hands of the government and the military hierarchy.”]

 

 

 

[Finally, the Indian government admitted that its military committed a blunder in the Galwan clash, not by words but by its actions.

India awards medals for its military and paramilitary troops for their extraordinary courage to protect the borders on the occasion of Independence Day on August 15 every year. None of the 20 Indian soldiers killed in the Galwan clash were included in the gallantry decoration list. It seems the exclusion of their names from the list was a posthumous punishment.

It would seem natural that if 20 Indian soldiers died killing their Chinese enemies while defending the border, as claimed by the prime minister, and India feels proud of them, as the president describes, they would have been posthumously decorated with higher-order gallantry medals. Therefore, why that didn’t happen is a question that Indian citizens must ask their government.

The exclusion of these deceased soldiers’ names from the decoration list lends weight to the Chinese claim that Indian armed forces are not under the control of their military commanders and civilian leaders. The Chinese demand for an investigation therefore seems to be based on plausible grounds.]