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Proxy War' Remark: Indian army chief faces criticism
Pallab Bhattacharya
Indian analysts, newspapers and several opposition parties have slammed army chief General Bipin Rawat's controversial remark that “a planned influx” of people from Bangladesh into Assam as part of “a proxy war” by Pakistan with Chinese support has led to the growth of a Muslim party in that state.
Srinath Raghavan, a senior fellow at New Delhi-based think-tank Centre for Policy Research, said “each of his assertions is open to question.”
He pointed out that though the migration of people from eastern part of Bengal had been on since the 19th century, “to suggest that we are witnessing a 'planned immigration' overseen by Pakistan and China appears to be an absurd overstatement”.
“Such observations could lead to avoidable diplomatic friction with China as well as Bangladesh,” Raghavan said.
He termed “equally surprising” General Rawat's statement that All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) headed by Badruddin Ajmal was growing in Assam faster than the BJP. And the claim that Pakistan wants this area to be taken over by Muslim immigrants “is a serious one for the army chief to voice”.
“The suggestion that a regional political party is the direct beneficiary of the 'planned immigration' by Pakistan is a significant observation -- especially in the context of the National Register of Citizens and incendiary claims that Assam is fast turning into a Muslim-majority state,” Raghavan said, adding “surely, the army chief was not unaware of the political context.”
The army chief “should be mindful of the domestic and international audiences that will interpret his statements and of the need to avoid venturing into the terrain of domestic and foreign policy,” he mentioned.
Security analyst Manoj Joshi, a distinguished fellow of New Delhi-based think-tank Observer Research Foundation, said General Rawat's comments were “over-the-top”.
“Rawat had no business to make a public assessment of the politics of Assam. Just why a party grows faster than another is dependent on a variety of factors, not in the least the possibility that it is gaining at the expense of another party in the region.
“The rise and fall of political parties have more to do with election dynamics than any insidious migration,” he added.
“The army chief or anyone else has zero proof that Pakistan and China were master-minding the alleged influx… the entire Bangladesh border is fenced and patrolled, and if he has questions on its porosity, he would do well to take it up officially with the Border Security Force and the Ministry of Home Affairs,” he said.
http://www.thedailystar.net/backpage/proxy-war-remark-indian-army-chief-faces-criticism-1539235
Pallab Bhattacharya
Indian analysts, newspapers and several opposition parties have slammed army chief General Bipin Rawat's controversial remark that “a planned influx” of people from Bangladesh into Assam as part of “a proxy war” by Pakistan with Chinese support has led to the growth of a Muslim party in that state.
Srinath Raghavan, a senior fellow at New Delhi-based think-tank Centre for Policy Research, said “each of his assertions is open to question.”
He pointed out that though the migration of people from eastern part of Bengal had been on since the 19th century, “to suggest that we are witnessing a 'planned immigration' overseen by Pakistan and China appears to be an absurd overstatement”.
“Such observations could lead to avoidable diplomatic friction with China as well as Bangladesh,” Raghavan said.
He termed “equally surprising” General Rawat's statement that All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) headed by Badruddin Ajmal was growing in Assam faster than the BJP. And the claim that Pakistan wants this area to be taken over by Muslim immigrants “is a serious one for the army chief to voice”.
“The suggestion that a regional political party is the direct beneficiary of the 'planned immigration' by Pakistan is a significant observation -- especially in the context of the National Register of Citizens and incendiary claims that Assam is fast turning into a Muslim-majority state,” Raghavan said, adding “surely, the army chief was not unaware of the political context.”
The army chief “should be mindful of the domestic and international audiences that will interpret his statements and of the need to avoid venturing into the terrain of domestic and foreign policy,” he mentioned.
Security analyst Manoj Joshi, a distinguished fellow of New Delhi-based think-tank Observer Research Foundation, said General Rawat's comments were “over-the-top”.
“Rawat had no business to make a public assessment of the politics of Assam. Just why a party grows faster than another is dependent on a variety of factors, not in the least the possibility that it is gaining at the expense of another party in the region.
“The rise and fall of political parties have more to do with election dynamics than any insidious migration,” he added.
“The army chief or anyone else has zero proof that Pakistan and China were master-minding the alleged influx… the entire Bangladesh border is fenced and patrolled, and if he has questions on its porosity, he would do well to take it up officially with the Border Security Force and the Ministry of Home Affairs,” he said.
http://www.thedailystar.net/backpage/proxy-war-remark-indian-army-chief-faces-criticism-1539235
