ITBP names pups after flashpoints along LAC

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 4

Galwan, Saser, Rezang, Sasoma, Shyok….were among strategic places in eastern Ladakh that became virtual household names during the ongoing stand-off between Indian and Chinese forces along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

After having borne the brunt of Chinese assaults in these areas in the summer this year, the ITBP has decided to name 17 newborn pups of its K-9 set-up after these flashpoints as a gesture of remembrance.

“These names have been decided after threadbare deliberations to move away from anglicised western names and to name our K-9 assets on our own cultural and operational ethos,” a note circulated by the ITBP Directorate General to various formations states.

According to a senior officer, the ITBP is now the first Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) to junk anglicised western names for its canine warriors and go for indigenous names as a salute to all troops guarding India’s borders.

Ane-La, Chip-Chap, Rango, Yula, Mukhpri, Daulat, Charding, Srijap, Chung-Thung, Chang-Chenmo, Imis, Sultan-Chusku and Khardungi are other names approved for the pups. These are border posts and other locations in the vicinity of the LAC.

Three months ago, two ITBP bitches, Olga and Oleshya, had given birth to 17 pups at the National Centre for Training Dogs near Chandigarh that were sired by another ITBP dog, Gala. All three canines, of the Malinois breed, are veterans of counter-insurgency and anti-naxal operations.