The long-running conflict along the Line of Control (LoC) took a dangerous turn in September, with a series of ceasefire violations by the Pakistani army ratcheting up hostilities with India.
Frontier Diaries
The long-running conflict along the Line of Control (LoC) took a dangerous turn in September, with a series of ceasefire violations by the Pakistani army ratcheting up hostilities with India.
The November 2003 ceasefire lay in tatters, as the neighbouring army upped the ante by using heavy weaponry against civilians and bombarding Indian Army posts along a 130-km disputed stretch running through the Rajouri and Poonch sectors. India responded with an aggressive counterpunch as well, freezing the Pakistani army in its tracks -- at least for the time being. A rare meeting of Indian and Pakistan generals, heading the crucial military operations directorates, is on the cards to reduce LoC tensions.
Amid simmering tensions in danger of boiling over, HT traveled down to the trouble spots along the LoC, spent time with soldiers in bunkers exposed to enemy fire and interacted with commanders on the ground to document the border conflict.
The soldiers are poised to retaliate with lethal force if the Pakistani army tries to cross the red line. The dreams and aspirations of ordinary humans, however, remain insulated from the harsh realities of a conflict that has cast a long shadow on the India-Pakistan relationship.
A panaromic view of the LED lit LoC fence at night. (Gurinder Osan/HT)
Stalked by nightmares, students of this LoC school chase dreams
In a high school nestled in a breathtaking sweep of lush hills near the troubled India-Pakistan border, children tremble and run for cover whenever they hear an explosion.
To them, it doesn’t matter that the deafening roar is from an unexploded Pakistani mortar round detonated by a crack team of Indian combat engineers in the distant Balakot landscape.
Most of the students enrolled in the school come from villages sandwiched between the Line of Control (LoC) and the Army fence behind it, a dangerous strip over which rockets and bombs fly when the two armies trade fire. (Gurinder Osan/HT Photo)
Shaken by ceasefire violations, they fear a fresh wave of mortar and rocket attacks from across the border could see them locked up and isolated in their own school. It had happened on August 15 when they were celebrating the Independence Day, before the area came under an intense attack that killed six civilians in a neighbouring village.
“It was a scary day. Those memories are still fresh in our minds. It can happen again,” says Rabia Koser, a 17-year-old girl at the Army-run Pinewood School, Hamirpur, who wants to become a doctor . She was the Class 10 topper with a score of 76%.
“I hope to study in a university some day and get a job in a big town.”
Most of the students enrolled in the school come from villages sandwiched between the Line of Control (LoC) and the Army fence behind it, a dangerous strip over which rockets and bombs fly when the two armies trade fire.
“There are 456 students here and almost three-fourths of them come from across the fence. The ceasefire violations are a nightmare for them,” says Captain Aravind R, 26, an army doctor from Kerala who doubles up as the school principal when he is not writing prescriptions for soldiers.
As conflict looms and border villages remain gripped by uncertainty peculiar to the LoC, the students are driven by a passion to carve out a new future for themselves. “I hope to study in a university some day and get a job in a big town,” says Mohammad Ghayas, 16, writing an exam in the open ground below along with scores of other students.
Students of the army-run Pinewood School in Hamirpur area of Bhimber Gali write an exam in open ground, with hills in PoK in the backdrop. (Gurinder Osan/HT Photo)
Caught in the crossfire of a highly unpredictable border conflict, there are 14 villages ahead of the fence in Bhimber Gali area. “We never target their civilians, but the Pakistanis follow no rules. And we punish them for that,” says Brigadier HS Sahi, commander, 120 infantry brigade, located at Bhimber Gali.
Nasser Ahmed Khan, one of the 21 teachers here, graduated from the same school in 2005. “As the army improves the facilities here, I am sure these students have a bright future,” he adds.
Army brings in artillery for LoC fight, ready to ‘shock’ Pakistan
A scrawl by a young army officer on the remnant of a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) fired by Pakistani soldiers on an Indian position captures the mood along the Line of Control (LoC).
“En RPG fired at BT. Why? Inki itni himmat!” it says, with En standing for the word ‘enemy’ and BT for a post called ‘Big Tree’.
Recent cross-border shelling has led India to pursue a more aggressive approach along the LoC, evident from the Army lifting a self-imposed restriction on bringing in artillery. Commanders on the ground have also been told to be on the lookout for rogue border action teams (BAT).
“I have asked battalion commanders to stay ready for BAT raids. It gives us the opportunity to kill them.”
Toughening its stance along the troubled border, the Army used 120mm mortars -- held by light artillery regiments -- for the first time in Poonch sector in early September after violations by the Pakistani army peaked in intensity and numbers. HT spotted an artillery battery equipped with these heavy mortars at a post called Forward Defended Locality 490, which was moved closer to the LoC on September 18 as hostilities grew.
“We fired 120mm mortars on two different occasions to good effect,” revealed Brigadier Navdeep Brar, commander of Poonch-based 93 infantry brigade. Battalion/ brigade commanders cannot order 120mm mortar fire and the go-ahead has to come from the Northern Army commander in Udhampur. Pakistan, however, uses the destructive weapon freely.
A view from the bunker of an Indian Army post on the LoC in Saujian sector near Poonch, India. (Gurinder Osan/HT)
Guns have been silent along the LoC since Indian and Pakistani commanders met at Chakan Da Bagh -- a border trading point on Poonch-Rawalakot road -- on September 21 to reduce rising hostilities that had left the ceasefire in tatters.
But there’s always a possibility of BAT raids. Terrorists suspected to be backed by Pakistani special forces form such teams, responsible for Indian soldier Hemraj’s gruesome beheading and the cold-blooded murder of five other soldiers in separate cross-border assaults two years ago.
“I have asked battalion commanders to stay ready for BAT raids. It gives us the opportunity to kill them,” said Lieutenant General RR Nimbhorkar, commander of the Nagrota-based 16 Corps.
No one knows when the guns start booming again. It can happen tonight, it may happen tomorrow.”
HT visited several forward posts and found the LoC to be tense, but quiet. It may appear to be a good starting point for the upcoming dialogue between the two director generals of military operations for which dates are being worked out. But just for how long the fragile will peace hold is a question commanders find difficult to answer.
“No one knows when the guns start booming again. It can happen tonight, it may happen tomorrow. But they will be in for a shock if they go back to their old ways,” said Brigadier HS Sahi, commander, I20 infantry brigade located at Bhimber Gali.
His men defend a 45-km meandering stretch of the LoC and also man positions along the fence behind it, the second tier of the Army’s counter-infiltration grid.
Yes, we can-ine: How strays are foiling infiltration bids along LoC
They are neither pedigreed dogs nor schooled in specialised tasks, but are finding themselves increasingly in demand along the troubled Line of Control where Indian soldiers have embraced the ubiquitous mutt.
They shaggy dogs may not be a patch on the well-trained army dogs used extensively in Jammu and Kashmir for sniffing out explosives, tracking and patrolling — and even bestowed with gallantry awards for their exploits — yet they have arrived.
Commanders at the LoC are being encouraged to ‘adopt’ strays at their posts as the canines have proved to be tremendously effective in providing early warning about the movement of Pakistani infiltrators, says Lieutenant General RR Nimbhorkar, commander of the Nagrota-based 16 corps. The unit is responsible for guarding a 224-km stretch of the LoC south of the Pir Panjal range.
“They are the best sensors and have helped foil infiltration bids,” he says. Forget the hierarchies in the canine kingdom, the presence of mutts at forward posts provides a break from monotony and dulls the effects of isolation on soldiers to a degree.
A dog with a sentry at a post near LoC in Poonch. (HT Photo)
“Every post has its own dogs. It’s quite fascinating to see how they accompany soldiers on patrols. At night, they keep the sentries alert,” says Major Pranav Awasthy, 36, the second-in-command of 15 Bihar. A pup born recently at one of the posts under him is called Phantom, named after a Saif Ali Khan film that glamourises covert strikes against Pakistani targets.
The mutts have their own challenges to deal with — leopards prowl the breathtaking landscape dotted with towering ridges, dense pine groves, lush valleys and maize fields. And the big cat savours dog meat. “The leopards have killed several dogs in our battalion area. They hunt with stealth,” says a soldier from 15 Mahar deployed in the Barasingha area.
“They recognise our scents and consider you to be intruders. That’s how they alert us.”
A brilliant innovation helped Indian soldiers neutralise the threat of Pakistani army dogs along the LoC some time ago. A senior officer reveals how leopard urine sourced from a zoo was sprinkled along vulnerable points to keep the canines from the other side at bay.
At a forward infantry mortar position after nightfall, a two-man HT team is greeted by a pack of sturdy mutts -- with dominant features of the Bakharwal breed -- growling and baring their teeth, signalling us to stay away.
A sentry plays with a dog at a post near LoC in Poonch sector. (HT Photo)
“They recognise our scents and consider you to be intruders. That’s how they alert us,” says a sentry, standing guard against the backdrop of the LoC fence illuminated by bright LED lights. The lights cast a glow that can be seen from the distant Krishna Ghati heights across Mendhar town, once a hotbed of terrorist activity.
The canines have come to be known as ‘langar dogs’ as they are fed by the army kitchen.
Along LoC, jawans squeeze in study time to become officers
In a bunker dug into the treacherous mountainside and fortified with iron, stone and sandbags along India’s troubled border with Pakistan, the latest issues of several general knowledge magazines are tucked under rifleman Anurag Thapa’s pillow.
Amid the frequent shelling across the border and the simmering threat of a full-blown war, the 24-year-old soldier is sneaking in study time for an exam to fulfill his dream of becoming an army officer and leading hundreds like him into battle.
Rifleman Anurag Thapa in his bunker near LoC. (Gurinder Osan / HT)
The Gorkha soldier returns every night from a punishing patrol along narrow jungle trails, keeping a cautious watch on a maze of routes Pakistani infiltrators could take to sneak into India across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.
He races to remove his combat helmet, un-slings his assault rifle and grabs a copy of the Competition Success Review. “Even if I can study only for five minutes, I will. My father was a havildar, I want to return to the LoC as an officer,” says Thapa, who is preparing for a personality and intelligence interview spread over five days to enter the Dehradun-based Army Cadet College (ACC).
Soldiers are groomed to become officers at the ACC for three years before they are packed off for a one-year course at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, which churns out freshly-minted lieutenants.
Thapa is not the only one. Riflemen Milan Gurung and Churamani Bhusal are also chasing the same dream as they battle combatants along an inflammable stretch guarded by one of the army’s largest brigades.
“Either we kill them or we destroy their bunkers when we hit back. We don’t waste ammunition.”
All three soldiers, part of the 5/4 Gorkha Rifles’ Alpha company, have cracked the written exam and are slogging away for the final Services Selection Board interview in November.
Becoming an officer will bring honour to his family and inspire other under-privileged kids in the tiny Nepal hamlet he grew up, 23-year-old Gurung says.
In the few hours they get off work, the exam hopefuls get together but watching TV is a rare luxury, allowed for only two hours daily in the bunker complex’s entertainment room.
Indian Army soldiers relax inside the ‘Ghatak Bunker’ at a forward post near the LoC in Poonch sector. (Gurinder Osan/ HT)
“If I am assigned duties around that time, I try to watch it the next day to stay updated,” says Gurung, who shares a tiny bunker with eight other soldiers.
Amid the haze of conflict, Bhusal looks forward to a game of chess to sharpen his mental faculties, crucial for him to crack the upcoming tough exam. Food also uplifts their mood and the prospect of chicken curry for dinner after a grueling day at work revs up the Gorkhas.
Positions held by the Pakistani army on the towering Kopra ridge in the Poonch sector overlook Thapa’s post, which is frequently bombarded by the enemy with mortar rounds and rockets.
Other army posts dotting the breathtaking landscape are just as vulnerable.
“Being under direct observation puts us at a disadvantage. But my boys are doing a splendid job holding ground right under the enemy’s nose,” says Colonel JV Singh, their 40-year-old commanding officer and a Shaurya Chakra awardee.
The Gorkhas know there’s no lowering their guard. “Either we kill them or we destroy their bunkers when we hit back. We don’t waste ammunition,” says Thapa.
No one knows when a lull in hostilities will give way to full-blown conflict. “We train hard to make the enemy cower in their bunkers. They fear the Gorkhas,” says the colonel.
Lieutenant General RR Nimbhorkar, who commands the Nagrota-based 16 Corps, says the Pakistanis enjoy a clear advantage in the Poonch sector, but India’s defences are extremely robust.
Army to deploy remote-controlled guns at LoC to take on infiltrators
Remote-controlled machine guns will make their debut at the Line of Control (LoC) by the year-end as the army prepares to tighten security measures to fend off infiltrators along vulnerable patches south of the Pir Panjal range that separates Jammu hills from the Kashmir valley.
The first prototype sub-machine guns operated by remote control are being tested in the Akhnoor sector and results show the deployment of these weapons will shield and assist soldiers as they go about their daily task of perimeter protection and intrusion detection, said Lieutenant General RR Nimbhorkar, commander of the Nagrota-based 16 Corps.
Remote-controlled machine guns will make their debut at the line of control (LoC) by the year-end as the army prepares to tighten security measures to fend off infiltrators along vulnerable patches. (Gurinder Osan/HT)
The locally-developed integrated contraption uses a mix of infrared sensors radiating a grid of beams to detect any movement up to a distance of 80 metres ahead of the border fence – the distance between the fence and the LoC can vary from 50 metres to over 2km depending on the terrain.
The sensors are linked to automatic guns mounted on rotors and mated to night-vision cameras providing live images to commanders manning workstations with mapping software in the bunkers.
A buzzer is sounded if the grid is broken, swivelling the weapon in the direction of the intrusion site. “If the target is visually identified as hostile, the observer simply presses a button to take it out,” said Brigadier PC Vyas who is implementing the remote-controlled weapons project.
“This in-house innovation will help troops keep infiltration to near-zero level.”
A modification alongside the weapon’s trigger actuates the firing sequence when the remote button is pressed. The guns can be raised, lowered and rotated in a 150-degree arc.
The scope of automation is being expanded. Nimbhorkar, whose forces guard a 224-km stretch of the disputed border in Jammu and Kashmir, told HT, “The tests on Sten sub-machine guns have met expectations. Now, trials will be conducted on light machine guns. We hope to deploy remote-controlled weapons in areas identified by us in two months.” Nimbhorkar said the weapons would be deployed to “secure dead ground” hidden from soldiers due to topographical factors and other areas that are “extremely difficult” to patrol. Such patches are exploited by infiltrators, backed by the Pakistani army, to sneak into the country and cross the Pir Panjal range to foment strife and tension in the Kashmir valley.
“This in-house innovation will help troops keep infiltration to near-zero level,” he said.
Across J-K, there were 70 infiltration bids last year during which 65 terrorists managed to sneak in while 136 were pushed back. In 2013, there were 91 bids by 280 terrorists and 97 were able to slip past the army’s three-tiered counter-infiltration grid.
In pictures: Life at the LoC
A glimpse into the lives of Indian Army soldiers, always on the watch, as they man the forward posts along the Rajouri and Poonch sectors of the LoC.
RAHUL SINGH
photography
GURINDER OSAN
GURINDER OSAN
design
SHEIKH SAALIQ
SHEIKH SAALIQ
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