Siachen Theatre

MA Shaikh, you are a very talented and original writer.

Siachen is the highest war ever fought by human beings. Pakistanis and Indians have been fighting there for so long, that they are now recognized as the international authorities on high-altitude warfare.

This is also the most useless war ever fought in the history of mankind. There is nothing there. Pakistan has actually repeatedly offered India a bilateral withdrawl from Siachen. India almost accepted it during the Rajiv Gandhi days, but has been refusing it since then. India`s motivation is that such an expensive war is a bigger burden on the Pakistani economy than the Indian economy, even though, due to a steeper slope on the Indian side, it costs India more to deploy its soldiers on the glacier. I think the last thing India and Pakistan need is a war of attrition over their meagre economic resources. Yet this is India`s basic policy for encouraging the current stalemate situation.

Interestingly, the Indian strategist who architected Siachen, General Chibber, now retired, regularly tours Pakistan as a peace evangalist.

I have friends and relatives and colleagues who have fought on Siachen. Friends of friends have had their leg(s) chopped off, and have even died there. What a waste. I think it is about time India accepted a bilateral withdrawl, and gave up its policy of bleeding the Pakistani economy dry thorugh useless stalemates. It hasn`t worked.

Unfortunately, unlike Kargil, the Siachen war nevers receives any publicity in the Indian media. Probably because India is the aggressor in Siachen, while Pakistan was the aggressor in Kargil (which was actually an extension of the Siachen war). Due to this, Indians don`t know what is going on in this God forsaken place for 18 years - a place which even animals don`t bother visiting.

I doubt there is a single Indian who can correctly explain the whys and whats of Indias actions in Siachen. Yet so many continue supporting them. I am hoping to see some introspection and criticism from Indians (other than Arundhati Roy) on their successive govts.` policies in Siachen. But perhaps that is hoping for too much. After all, India is never wrong, when it comes to conflicts with Pakistan.

Blaming British colonialists after 50 years of independence is just a cop out. We are both stupid enough entirely on our own.

I don`t know what on frozen earth we are fighting for in Siachen. If anybody knows the ``strategic value`` of Siachen, please enlighten the rest of us.

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I started out laughing and loved this piece!, but in the end, I simply liked it. Simple piece, very simple. Two bald men and a comb... lol... is Kashmir really so much closer to Heaven?

At least from Pakistan, the brain drain has stopped eventually. I think, in near future, the brainier people will get us siachin and kashmir , eventually.

On a separate note, I did not understand a word that you have written. I guess some brainless drain has also happened in past. That is gonna stop also.