Lieutenant General Satish Dua (retd) is the former chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC). A highly decorated officer over a career spanning four decades, Lt. Gen Dua is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy.

He was commissioned into the 8 Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry (Siachen), a regiment renowned for its operational excellence. He was the Corps Commander of Srinagar-based Chinar Corps during a crucial period of counter-insurgency operations. It was under his command that surgical strikes to avenge the Uri attack were carried out.

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In an interview with Parwinder Sandhu of The Statesman, Lt Gen talks about the surgical strike, changes in Kashmir post the abrogation of Article 370 and the recent comments made by Pakistan Army chief on Kashmir.

Q. Your association with Kashmir spans over 40 years. From seeing the birth of militancy in the Valley in the nineties to the response of the army, especially the formation of Ikhwan. You have written about that response through the story of a terrorist-turned-soldier, Lance Naik Nazir Ahmad Wani? Why is his story so inspirational?

A: It is a story of Kashmiri patriotism. Wani was from Kulgam. The stories that normally come out of Kashmir are those of terrorism and violence. But in my regiment, the Jammu and Kashmir light infantry, we have many soldiers from the Kashmir Valley with half of them being Muslims. These sons of the soil face a lot of challenges in their village and community as some of them are hated for serving in the army. So, Wani’s story is that of a terrorist who started his life on the wrong path but after surrendering he formed part of a force called Ikhwan. Ikhwan was a controllable group formed by our country which helped the army and Assam rifles, over nine years from 1993 to 2003. The Ikhwan worked well with the army, Rashtriya Rifles and the local police. They were successful in bringing many terrorists to book to the extent that it really helped in conducting the 1996 assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. However, it was an experiment and had to be closed down because of certain issues. We launched another bolder experiment wherein we made an army battalion out of the surrendered terrorists. That battalion is from my regiment. And this is the story that I wanted to write.

Q. While you were the Corps Commander of 15 Corps, India carried out a surgical strike to avenge the deaths of soldiers in the Uri attack? How did the operation unfold?

A: I took over as the Corps Commander on 18 September 2016 and I sadly lost 18 soldiers on my watch. It is something that weighs down very heavily on a commander’s mind. So that day after I learnt about the attack on the base, which was very close to the Line of Control (LoC), I went there with a chopper to take stock of the situation. The fires were raging and we coordinated the operations over there. The army chief arrived at the spot. After some time, we got news that the then defence minister Manohar Parrikar was arriving there. My first reaction was an outburst as to why today? I did not want more VIPs on my hands as many operational issues were going on. But I was told that the minister had already taken off.

Q. What do you remember of that interim period between the attack and the surgical strike?

A: Upon reaching Srinagar, Parrikar wanted to visit Uri, but we advised against it as the operations were still going on. We took him to the headquarters located at Badami Bagh cantonment. After I finished briefing, the defence minister asked what our response should be? I told him that we always are defensive when they (Pakistan) send terrorists to kill our citizens and soldiers. They sometimes mutilate our bodies and go back. We do not have terrorists to send across. So let us do something very different this time. Let us go on the offensive. We will have to cross the LoC and hit the terrorist locations, terrorist camps, training camps, and we will get back. We should take ownership of the action too. I thought the defence minister would go back to Delhi and speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But he (Parrikar) gave the permission then and there, after thinking for some time and asking a few other questions. To his credit, the defence minister just said one word after that ‘barobar’. So the decision was taken by Manohar Parikhar. This was something that has never been done before. It has drawn new red lines.

Q: What went through your mind during that period between the attack and the surgical strike. Would you share some of them with us?

A: I will not be able to share most of the stories for the reason that they are confidential. I can only talk about our attitudes and state of mind. Everyone was very focused because we were given the go ahead, and we realized that the onerous responsibility rested on our shoulders. We have been given permission to do something to join the very small select number of countries that follow this policy of hot pursuit and go inside another territory and strike. And we must not let them down. Whenever I would find a little time, I would be praying for no casualties on our side. In the army, we say that we fight to the last man, last round. But when we fight terrorists, we do not want to lose our soldiers because these terrorists are not worth it. I do not want to lose any of my soldiers for killing terrorists. A terrorist has a shelf life.

Q: Pakistan Army Chief Asif Munir recently called Kashmir the jugular vein of Islamabad. What is your take on that?

A: Kashmir is the glue that binds Pakistan. Pakistan is really mired in problems economically, diplomatically, and politically. They resort to India bashing to divert the minds of the public. School children are always taught the slogan “Kashmir Banega Pakistan”. As to the fact of calling it a jugular vein, I think that is so absurd. How can somebody else’s territory be your jugular vein? That is absurd. The interview was to the Pakistani diaspora. What more would you expect a Pakistani army chief to say? He’s addressing his domestic audience. He only has to tow these lines. General Asif Munir does not really have the kind of depth and stature to really talk differently.

Q: Have you visited Kashmir post the abrogation of Article 370? How has it changed?

A: I have been to Kashmir four or five times after my retirement. I have gone to the interiors of Kulgam, Anantnag, Awantipora, South Kashmir, the hotbeds, without any protection parties. The last visit was exactly two years ago, and I have seen the difference after Article 370 was diluted. There is a sea change. The development has come about with three-tier Panchayat raj being in place along with many development projects being undertaken. The markets are open and one can see the tricolor at Lal Chowk. There is no unpredictability. The number of tourists has increased manifold. The youth can enjoy uninterrupted studies as the Hurriyat does not issue any bandh calendar. There is no stone pelting on the street. No violence spilling on the streets. The youth are enjoying seeing multiplex movies as earlier there were no cinema halls. The youth are seeing things that they only watched on the Internet. They are experiencing it themselves. Certainly, there are pockets of alienation, but it has been only five years. It will take a couple of generations for that attitudinal shift to come. Q: How do you see our defence forces evolving over the next few decades? A: For the last few years, we have been on a threshold of modernization. We are now looking at the new frontiers of cyber space, emerging technologies, drones, artificial intelligence, and robotics. These are the things of the future. For the long run, several schemes have been launched. Atamirbhar Bharat in defence, the entry of the public sector in the defense sector has been liberalized and incentivized using the academia, to collaborate with the Research and Development aspects. We have started making tanks and guns also. Shipbuilding has also started. Make in India is happening in a big way.