LEH: The courage, bravery and sacrifice of the Army personnel killed in the Galwan Valley clashes will continue to inspire coming generations, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday as he led the country in paying homage to them on the third anniversary of the conflict.
Tributes poured in from tens of lakhs of citizens of the country cutting across the lines of political affiliation, religion and region, even as the top military officers deployed along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh held a meeting that discussed the means to further strengthen the preparedness of the Army in the region.
The clashes in June 2020 was the most serious military conflict between India and China in decades.
“Today, we pay homage to those brave soldiers who made supreme sacrifice while protecting our nation in Galwan valley. Their courage, bravery and sacrifice will continue to inspire coming generations,” the defence minister tweeted.
The eastern Ladakh border standoff escalated significantly following the clashes on June 15, 2020, in which 20 Indian Army personnel laid down their lives.
In February 2021, China officially acknowledged that five Chinese military officers and soldiers were killed in the clashes though it is widely believed that the death toll on the Chinese side was much higher.
The Indian and Chinese militaries are engaged in talks to reduce tensions along the frontier as the two sides are still locked in a standoff in a few friction points though they managed to disengage from some others.
Sending a strong message to China, the top brass of Indian Army’s Northern Command congregated in Leh on Thursday, in a strong display of its steadfast in its resolve on the LAC situation.
“On the third anniversary of the Galwan clashes, the top brass of Army’s Northern Command including Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GoC-in-C) of the Northern Command, 14 Corps Commander Lt Gen Rashim Bali and One Strike Corps Commander Lt Gen Sanjay Mitra along with the officers of other formations deployed there held a comprehensive meeting today,” army sources said.
The meeting discussed the preparedness of the force in the sector bordering China, they added.
“This meeting was held to send a message to our soldiers that they are supported by the leadership as well as to send a message to the adversary on the other side of the Line of Actual Control that India’s pursuit for ‘peace must not be seen as its weakness’,” they said.
Later in the day, Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi also flagged off a Trekking Expedition being undertaken by troops of Fire and Fury Corps in Leh to honour the indomitable spirit of Kargil heroes.
The expedition from Phyang to Hunder Dok will mark the beginning of celebrations of ‘Rajat Jayanti’ of Kargil War, an Army official said.
The Northern Army Command is in charge of the Ladakh sector and has been provided with a new formation in the form of the One Strike Corps headquartered in Mathura which has its elements spread across the Northern parts of the country.
Following the escalation in tension in the eastern Ladakh standoff, the Army has taken a series of measures to boost its operational capabilities in the eastern sector that include procurement of all terrain vehicles, precision guided ammunition, high-tech surveillance equipment, radars and weapons.
The militaries of the two countries have held 18 rounds of high-level talks so far with an objective of taking forward the disengagement process in the remaining friction points and restoring peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
The 18th round of high-level military talks between the two sides were held on April 23 during which they agreed to stay in close touch and work out a mutually acceptable solution to the remaining issues in eastern Ladakh at the earliest.
The two sides completed disengagement in several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks.
India has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas. On June 8, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that any expectation of normalisation of India’s ties with China when the border situation in eastern Ladakh is not normal is unfounded.
“The fact is the relationship is impacted. And the relationship will continue to be impacted. If there is any expectation that somehow we will normalise (ties) while the border situation is not normal, that’s not a well-founded expectation,” he said.
The eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake area.
