Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had in Tamil Nadu yesterday opined that India does not need the armed forces especially at the Indo-China border. Rahul Gandhi, for a reason best known to him, feels that the Indian Armed forces can be replaced by India’s farmers and labourers.
Addressing a rally at Erode, Tamil Nadu, Rahul Gandhi said: “You are using the Indian Army and Navy to protect India from China. If you use India’s farmers, labourers, and workers, you will not need the Army, Navy, and Airforce at the borders”.
Well, Rahul Gandhi’s ridiculous idea for obliterating the Indian Armed forces is probably inspired by his great grandfather, who, during his regime wanted to scrap the India Army.
According to the biography of Major General AA “Jick” Rudra of the Indian Army written by Major General DK “Monty” Palit, Jawaharlal Nehru, had batted for abolishing the Indian Army as he thought that the police are good enough to meet India’s security needs and it was futile to retain the Army.
‘Rubbish! Total rubbish!’ Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India shouted. ‘We don’t need a defense plan. Our policy is ahimsa (non-violence). We foresee no military threats. Scrap the army! The police are good enough to meet our security needs’, the book quoted the then PM of India as saying. According to Major General AA “Jick” Rudra’s biography, Nehru’s remark came when the Indian Armed Forces’ First Commander-in-Chief Gen Sir Robert Lockhart went to him in 1946, asking for a government directive on India’s defence policy.
The book read that Sir Robert Lockhart told Major General AA “Jick” Rudra that Nehru had refused to even look at the documents. The moment he took one look at my paper, he reportedly lost his cool and commented.
According to the book, Jick believed the Kashmir war saved the Indian Army.
Retired army officers slam Rahul Gandhi for his tweet on India-China border issue
It is pertinent to note here that many Army officers had earlier too reminded Rahul Gandhi of the historical blunders made by his great grandfather. The remarks had come in response to the senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “ill-conceived” and “ill-timed” statements and tweets questioning the handling of India-China border disputes by the armed forces and the Government of India.
During the India-China standoff in the Galwan valley last year, Rahul had taken off on the Modi government’s handling of the situation. It was then, that this retired Army veterans castigated him for the past blunders made by his great grandfather and asked: “Does Rahul Gandhi not know that Tibet was handed over to China on a platter by Mr Nehru and China constructed roads through Aksai Chin and later occupied it when Nehru was the prime minister.”
The veterans had praised the Modi government for being committed to developing the required infrastructure in border areas to enhance India’s combat effectiveness, which had not been done after the 1962 war, chiding the Congress senior member.
