From taking part in the 1971 war with Pakistan, counter-insurgency operations in the North-east and spearheading the counter-attack during the Kargil war, this formation of the Indian Army has been ‘forever in operations’.
Four of its commanders have gone on to become army chiefs. This is the story of 8 Mountain Division, which was raised in 1963 in Nagaland, primarily to deal with the insurgency there and, subsequently, in Manipur.
As the problem manifested itself in J&K, the force was relocated to the Valley in 1990. Nine years later, its role changed during the Kargil intrusion and it successfully led the counter-attack.
This episode of ‘Simply Nitin’ comes to you from the headquarters of the 8 Mountain Division in Khumbathang, Ladakh. And StratNews Global Editor-in-Chief Nitin A. Gokhale shares interesting details about the formation, now helmed by a man more three decades after his father commanded it.
Nitin A. Gokhale is a media entrepreneur, one of South Asia's leading strategic affairs analyst and author of over a dozen books so far on military history, insurgencies and wars.
Starting his career in journalism in 1983, he has since led teams of journalists across media platforms.
A specialist in conflict coverage, Gokhale has covered the insurgencies in India’s North-East, the 1999 Kargil conflict and Sri Lanka’s Eelam War IV between 2006-2009.
Gokhale now travels across the globe to speak at seminars and conferences, and lecture at India’s premier defence colleges. He has founded three niche portals, Bharatshakti.in, stratnewsglobal.com and Interstellar.news.
