IS THIS OUR SCORCHED EARTH POLICY?
Sunday morning the center page story of a leading paper talked about what could be a modern version of the Scorched Earth policy of yore, when retreating forces would torch villages and fields to deny resources to conquering enemy forces. So often in our history and so dramatically by the Russians to foil Napoleon. Until sometime ago, the last villages on our borders were our Defense Forces’ eyes and ears that reported the first signs of intrusion. In the northern areas, having at least one family member in the Forces was a matter of family honor. Post retirement, ex servicemen, especially the lower ranks with inadequate pensions would settle in ancestral homes and till the soil for an additional living, keeping a wary eye all round their segment of Uttarakhand’s border with China, thanks to ingrained training. Now, while State data reveals 37 attempted intrusions between 2006 - 2011, in July 2017 alone, twice! How has this hap...