Forces now guarding national interest, not just borders: GOC

As India is poised to become a developed nation and ensure peace and well-being for its citizens as well as the globe at large, the role of the military has changed from ensuring the country’s territorial integrity to safeguarding national interest.

Stating this at the concluding session of the Military Literature Festival in Chandigarh on Sunday, the General Officer Commanding, 11 Corps, Lt Gen Ajay Chandpuria added that it is all too evident and the capabilities and capacities are working towards this.

He said, “Military-wise we are in a uni-polar world, economy-wise in a bi-polar world, but technology wise we are in a multi-polar world where even a single individual sitting in an obscure part of the world can have a profound influence on nation-states and international organisations.”

The Corps Commander also underscored the importance of Punjab as a border state and commended the unprecedented cooperation that the government and the people of the state rendered to the Armed Forces during Operation Sindoor 1.0.

He added that Operation Sindoor is not yet over and multi-faceted challenges remain of which Punjab, being a border state has to be conscious of with Pakistan and China not being too friendly neighbours.

If in future, developments like the ceasefire of May 10 do not hold, the next phase of operations would be of a higher level and land would remain the currency of victory, he said.

The operation, he added, exhibited the changing nature of war, moving from hand-to-hand fighting to kinetic and non-contact ways of warfare.

The ‘whole of society’ and ‘whole of nation’ was clearly visible during the run-up to the operation and beyond — from the youngest of children to the oldest of persons — where everyone is a warrior, he said. Everyone has a role to contribute towards the defence of the nation and no one does it better than people in Punjab, Lt Gen Ajay Chandpuria added.

Veterans of the 1965 India-Pakistan War and their next of kin were also honoured on the occasion.

The 60th anniversary of the war is being commemorated this year.