[embee]

INDIAN ARMY Myanmar Covert Operation: The Inside Story of the Surgical Strike

A PROUD MOMENT FOR ALL INDIANS!!!













Para Commandos of the Indian Army carried out surgical operations deep inside Myanmar early Tuesday and killed several militants in two camps of northeastern rebel groups in a covert operation which declared India's new-found readiness to pre-empt terror threats undeterred by borders.

Assisted by Mi-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force, the Indian Army's para commandos struck two camps of militants and "inflicted significant casualties." The two camps are estimated to have had a total of about 150 militants and both were liquidated. Casualties have been pegged at at least 50, but could be much higher, even as much as 100 or more, said sources. Some militants may have escaped, but most were killed, they said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the go ahead to the Indian Army for a "hot pursuit" of militants into Myanmar and in a major operation, two militant camps were completely annihilated, Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said.

The operation, the sources said, began in the dark at 3 am on Tuesday and was declared over officially only in the afternoon, after mopping up. Minutes before ops began, India's military sent a communique to the Myanmar Army.


Read further at:-
http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/myanm...-lateststories

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/i.../47609757.cms?

http://www.scoopwhoop.com/news/india...ar-insurgents/

http://indianexpress.com/article/ind...-the-past-too/

http://www.indiatimes.com/news/india...ar-233470.html

[girimajiananth]

High time we answered these terrorists. Bravo Indian Army ! We are really proud of this moment. This shows that we can do much more than just stop playing cricket with them. The army has struck terrorists hard and hit them where it hurts the most.

[wanderernomad]

Retribution is our right that should be exercised. The heli pictures are not from the present Op though. The commando units were aided by both regular troops and the AR constituents. Kudos to the Government for not shying away from taking the battle to their gates.

Mods: Please change the title as the Guys in green did not go under cover, it was an all out overt assault.

[Lalvaz]

While I strongly admire the Indian Army and its soldiers, I'm just wondering if this is just an act of bravado? The reason is that the government there is very supportive of India and there have been previous joint operations to weed out insurgents on their side of the border. Those ops have been hugely successful in the past.

So why launch an operation on foreign soil without involving that friendly government in advance???

These operations are basically infringing the sovereignty of their country. How would we react if China launched a similar operation on our soil?

Imo, this is an act for public consumption rather than a well thought out military operation.

[phamilyman]

I am absolutely HORRIFIED at the near live telecast of details from this operation.

There is NO better way to get the Pakistani army on red alert and boost their budgets and undermine the civilian government trying to build bridges to India. This will strengthen the hands of the fundamentalists/India bashers and distract attention away from Pakistan's main issues. You cannot have a secure India if Pakistan becomes a complete basketcase (its well on its way).

Further, I truly believe in Ars Est Celare Artem, i.e the art lies in concealing the art. Some of the media reports are written so badly would actually make the Myanmar government look like fools, and turn their public opinion against us.

Are we a bunch of insecure teenagers who need to gloat about our latest acquisition on social media or is India a nation that is focused on its ends - stamping out terrorism?

There is NOTHING to be gained from publicizing and discussing such things. To reiterate - I support such operations but I don't support the ensuing media tamasha.

Jai hind!

[abhii176]

Very proud moment for the country, kudos to the Para Commandos for performing a surgical strike like this. I believe it is India's interest to continue striking at such terrorist heartlands and instill fear in these terrorists.
The training of the Commando wings of the Indian Armed Forces (MARCOS being the best example) is of the highest standard and given the opportunities (like the one above), they are more than capable of performing such counter-terror operations.

[embee]

Originally Posted by wanderernomad

Retribution is our right that should be exercised. The heli pictures are not from the present Op though. The commando units were aided by both regular troops and the AR constituents. Kudos to the Government for not shying away from taking the battle to their gates.

Mods: Please change the title as the Guys in green did not go under cover, it was an all out overt assault.

Hi wanderernomad,

Thanks for your comment on this topic.

The pictures were sourced from various news websites like TOI, Indian Express, NDTV etc.. Pictures have been uploaded just to give a highlight to the army operation and visuals always makes the article appealing.

[rookieraj]

Originally Posted by Lalvaz

While I strongly admire the Indian Army and its soldiers, I'm just wondering if this is just an act of bravado? The reason is that the government there is very supportive of India and there have been previous joint operations to weed out insurgents on their side of the border. Those ops have been hugely successful in the past.

So why launch an operation on foreign soil without involving that friendly government in advance???

These operations are basically infringing the sovereignty of their country. How would we react if China launched a similar operation on our soil?

Imo, this is an act for public consumption rather than a well thought out military operation.

The govt of Myanmar is ruthless and they are nobody's allies. China gives that country more than what India can give them. They are extreme nationalists and stood up to the might of the USA. Name one country that shifted its capital for fear of being invaded from the sea.

Myanmar has to tackle the 20 odd secessionist movements prevailing there. They do that by brokering ceasefires with most insurgent groups and sorting the others out one by one.

Informing Myanmar or launching a joint operation with them would have achieved absolutely nothing. Information would have reached the terrorists.

Originally Posted by phamilyman

I am absolutely HORRIFIED at the near live telecast of details from this operation.

There is NO better way to get the Pakistani army on red alert and boost their budgets and undermine the civilian government trying to build bridges to India. This will strengthen the hands of the fundamentalists/India bashers and distract attention away from Pakistan's main issues. You cannot have a secure India if Pakistan becomes a complete basketcase (its well on its way).

Further, I truly believe in Ars Est Celare Artem, i.e the art lies in concealing the art. Some of the media reports are written so badly would actually make the Myanmar government look like fools, and turn their public opinion against us.

Are we a bunch of insecure teenagers who need to gloat about our latest acquisition on social media or is India a nation that is focused on its ends - stamping out terrorism?

There is NOTHING to be gained from publicizing and discussing such things. To reiterate - I support such operations but I don't support the ensuing media tamasha.

Jai hind!

The adverse publicity created by the ambush of the Indian soldiers needed a counter-action, primarily to boost the morale of the Indian troops. The question of going public would have been thought of a hundred times before the release of the press statement.

Commando actions are publicised the world over be it the daring exploits of the Meghdoot Force in the 1965 Indo-Pak War or Operation Entebbe etc. The projection of one's capabilities is an important part of managing the perceptions of your adversaries.

As warfare gradually transforms to unconventional means, the real capabilities of waging war are well hidden from the public eye and are rarely acknowledged.

[wanderernomad]

Yes, the media Tamasha is in in fact very carefully orchestrated. Remember the adage, justice should not only be done but also seem to have been done. There have been joint ops before and shall continue in future as well. Naga extremists are as much a threat to that country as to ours. In fact these jungle terrains are not adequately controlled by either side so lets not be ultra moralists here and terrorism knows no sovereignty.
@embee. I understand mate and that comment was not aimed at the factual accuracies, but you know us bhpians, the moment we see any thing driveable we go crazy. That was to pre empt any discussions about the Dhruv or Akbar's performance parameters in the op. Lol.

[bhardwhu]

Originally Posted by Lalvaz

So why launch an operation on foreign soil without involving that friendly government in advance???

As an Indian army veteran, it gives me immense pride to see well executed military operation where the collateral damage is minimal/non-existent. To the point of whether Myanmar was informed or not, I would like to quote our ADGMO, per the attached news (seen the same statement in various other articles) that it was orchestrated keeping Myanmar informed and with my experience, likely to be a coordinated one.

The media tamasha is understood since it helps in TRP howsoever mindless that would be though. The NSG operation was televised live in Mumbai 26/11 and imagine the plight of our military strategy that it was all given on platter to the coordinators of that attack.
Media absolutely needs to be leashed and sensitized to our armed operations. But having said that, the same media has also helped our youth fill with pride about the army and that should be lauded.


http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-...1-1357203.aspx

regards

[Lalvaz]

Originally Posted by rookieraj

The govt of Myanmar is ruthless and they are nobody's allies. China gives that country more than what India can give them. They are extreme nationalists and stood up to the might of the USA. Name one country that shifted its capital for fear of being invaded from the sea.

Myanmar has to tackle the 20 odd secessionist movements prevailing there. They do that by brokering ceasefires with most insurgent groups and sorting the others out one by one.

Informing Myanmar or launching a joint operation with them would have achieved absolutely nothing. Information would have reached the terrorists.

I know its very easy to get carried over by misplaced patriotism, but conducting military operations in a foreign country without keeping their government in the loop is not patriotism. (if the media reports about the Burmese government being informed post operations is true)
Regarding your allegation that informing the Burmese government would have tipped off the insurgents, that's factually incorrect. The Burmese government has helped the Indian government in at least 3 publicly acknowledged cases of hugely successful counter terrorism operations.

I quote from an article in Indian Express: "Among the cross-border operations tacitly acknowledged by the government is “Operation All Clear” conducted inside Bhutan in December 2003 to eliminate North Eastern militant groups based in South Bhutan. About 30 militant camps —13 ULFA, 12 NDFB and 5 KLO — were the target of intelligence-based operations which included troops from 3 Corps. The then Army chief, General N C Vij, had announced that 650 militants had been “neutralised” — either killed or captured — during the operations. * In April-May 1995, following the signing of an MoU for “maintenance of peace and tranquility in border areas”, India and Myanmar (then Burma) conducted a joint military operation, “Operation Golden Bird”. The Indian Army’s 57 Mountain Division blocked a column of around 200 NSCN, ULFA and KLO militants moving through the Myanmar-Mizoram border towards Manipur, after it picked up a consignment of weapons on the Bangladesh coast near Cox’s Bazar."

Originally Posted by bhardwhu

As an Indian army veteran, it gives me immense pride to see well executed military operation where the collateral damage is minimal/non-existent. To the point of whether Myanmar was informed or not, I would like to quote our ADGMO, per the attached news (seen the same statement in various other articles) that it was orchestrated keeping Myanmar informed and with my experience, likely to be a coordinated one.

The media tamasha is understood since it helps in TRP howsoever mindless that would be though. The NSG operation was televised live in Mumbai 26/11 and imagine the plight of our military strategy that it was all given on platter to the coordinators of that attack.
Media absolutely needs to be leashed and sensitized to our armed operations. But having said that, the same media has also helped our youth fill with pride about the army and that should be lauded.


http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-...1-1357203.aspx

regards

Sir, I'm quite certain that the Burmese government was informed prior to the operation, in which case, it is fine, however the media reports clearly state that they were informed once the operation was close to being wrapped up. See link: http://www.indiatimes.com/news/india...ar-233470.html

These news articles are most probably false bravado to try and buttress the public faith in the government's will to take decisive action in cases of terrorism across borders, but as an ex defence officer, you will surely agree that much more needs to be done on the ground to actually secure our borders, especially in the North East.

NSCN(K) has a strength of approx. 1500 cadres, of which 1000 are in Burma, this operation killed between 20-50, as per the media reports. One really needs to know what measures are being taken to neutralize or reform the other 500 cadres residing in India as well as secure the borders from future infiltration attempts. That will be a real victory, not this stupid show of chest thumping.

[gsurya]

The media circus & over-the-top claims on an operation, by Indian Army against Indian militants on Indian soil remind me of the famous movie "Wag The Dog".

[bhardwhu]

Originally Posted by Lalvaz

NSCN(K) has a strength of approx. 1500 cadres, of which 1000 are in Burma, this operation killed between 20-50, as per the media reports. One really needs to know what measures are being taken to neutralize or reform the other 500 cadres residing in India as well as secure the borders from future infiltration attempts. That will be a real victory, not this stupid show of chest thumping.

ttp://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-indian-armys-operation-in-myanmar-233470.html[/url]

Having been part of operations in some sensitive sectors, I agree with your statement on bigger malaise. Army is only addressing symptoms and the deep rooted issues like economic and cultural alienation are bigger concerns and need to be addressed by political and administrative leadership. To quote a experience, my unit officer who hailed from one of the northeast states had no qualms in accepting that his real brother, who was not keeping any relations with him then, participates with ultras. The reasoning given to me was - there is no job and no sense of Indian state in remote regions and he became an easy prey. That may give some perspective.

Regards

[Lalvaz]

Originally Posted by bhardwhu

ttp://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-indian-armys-operation-in-myanmar-233470.html[/url]

Having been part of operations in some sensitive sectors, I agree with your statement on bigger malaise. Army is only addressing symptoms and the deep rooted issues like economic and cultural alienation are bigger concerns and need to be addressed by political and administrative leadership. To quote a experience, my unit officer who hailed from one of the northeast states had no qualms in accepting that his real brother, who was not keeping any relations with him then, participates with ultras. The reasoning given to me was - there is no job and no sense of Indian state in remote regions and he became an easy prey. That may give some perspective.

Regards

Totally agree with you, Sir. We might call them insurgents, many people call them freedom fighters. Its all about perspective. As you very rightly said, the Army is only addressing symptoms, our politicians really need to take the lead in resolving cultural and economic alienation in all these troubled areas. Punjab is a classic case where the Indian government made serious attempts to change those feelings of alienation amongst the people. That kind of governance is sorely required in J&K and the Northeast.

[maddy42]

Proud to see such action. I believe the news was revealed to warn the neighbors on the west.

I am sure the govt of Mynmar was informed of this. It would not have been done without this.

Bravado or whatever, we have had enough of statements after each attack. It was time to put actions in place of words. Army needs a citizens support. We should stand by them in these times.

And lastly the media is really terrible.

Maddy