It was a terrorist invasion
of India: Operation Bluestar commander
By Shudip Talukdar
New
Delhi, Dec 5 (IANS) Lt. Gen. K.S. Brar, who led the traumatic
military action against terrorists holed up in the Golden
Temple in 1984, has dubbed the horrific massacre in Mumbai
and other serial bombings across the country as a "terrorist
invasion of India".
"What
we have seen in Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and elsewhere can
be best described as a terrorist invasion of India by well
trained, highly motivated fidayeen and jehadis," the
now retired Gen Brar told IANS from Mumbai.
He
regretted that though there was ample evidence pointing to
the direct or indirect involvement of Pakistan, India has
failed to demonstrate the strength to take suitable retaliatory
actions or even prevent them.
Gen
Brar attributed this to the lack of political will and the
government's reluctance to deal with the grave situation on
a war footing as well as to genuinely address the concerns
of the common man "who is always at the mercy of ruthless
killers".
"I
am appalled by how it was possible for terrorists to walk
into the heart of Mumbai through the coastal route and wander
off to their designated targets without detection," he
said.
Brar
led the Indian Army's storming of the Golden Temple in Amritsar
in June 1984 that led to the killing of fiery preacher Jarnail
Singh Bhindranwale among scores of Sikh rebels who had taken
sanctuary inside the shrine and had converted it into a militant
outpost.
"The
media should also realise that even the NSG (National Security
Guard) personnel who exterminated the terrorists were members
of the army's Special Action Group in the NSG, the country's
prime counter-terrorist unit."
He
pointed out how NSG commandos were rushed into combat without
providing them with reasonable "real time" intelligence
inputs and they were unaware of the exact locations of the
terrorists.
"Besides,
they did not receive proper briefings from the commanders
of the forces engaged in the firefight. There was no unified
command from whom they could receive instructions," he
said.
"Neither
was there specified coordination among the police, paramilitary,
army, marine commandos and NSG personnel. This is only possible
under a unified command; nor were there any formalised communications
among them.
"They
were apparently communicating with others on cell phones,
which is unthinkable in a battlefield scenario."
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