Dirty war has to be fought with innovative ways : Gen Bipin Rawat

TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/ The Indian Army is facing a “dirty war” in Jammu and Kashmir which has to be fought through “innovative” ways, Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat has said, stoutly defending the use of a Kashmiri as a ‘human shield’ by a young officer.

In an interview, Rawat said the main objective of awarding Major Leetul Gogoi , when a Court of Inquiry was finalising its probe into the incident, was to boost the morale of young officers of the force who are operating in a very difficult environment in the militancy- infested state.

“This is a proxy war and proxy war is a dirty war. It is played in a dirty way. The rules of engagements are there when the adversary comes face-to-face and fights with you. It is a dirty war…. That is where innovation comes in. You fight a dirty war with innovations,” Rawat said.

The Army Chief’s Commendation medal to Gogoi , who had tied a man to an Army jeep and used him as a human shield from stone throwers last month was criticised by human rights activists, Kashmiri groups and by a few retired Army generals. A video of the incident had triggered a row with many condemning it.