Why Siachen Matters To India

NEW DELHI: India isn’t averse to demilitarization of the Siachen Glacier, given that Pakistan accepts the Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL) that divides the positions of the two countries, says Indian army chief General MM Naravane. India was forced to take countermeasures on the world’s highest battlefield after Pakistan unilaterally tried to change the status quo in 1984. ‘Operation Meghdoot’, which led to the capture of the glacier is the Indian Army’s longest uninterrupted operation. In this episode of ‘The Gist’, one of the heroes of that operation, Lt Gen Sanjay Kulkarni (Retd), talks about the strategic significance of the glacier where nearly 800 Indian soldiers have died on the line of duty due to the difficult terrain and harsh weather. He is in conversation with StratNews Global Editor-in-Chief Nitin A. Gokhale.