Cavalier India Defence Training Academy

Indian soldiers and officers on the ground are the best judge of what action to take. They must not let the absence of an 'order' become a ground for ‘inaction’. Indian Army personnel keep vigilance at Bumla pass at the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh (Representational Image) | Photographer: Biju Boro via Getty Images | Bloomberg Following the clash with Chinese soldiers in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed, the Narendra Modi government has clarified that the troops were not unarmed. They were, in all likelihood, inhibited from using their weapons because the terms of engagement stipulated ‘no escalation’. Here’s the dictum Indian soldiers should follow if they find themselves in a situation like the one on 15 June: Don’t wait for orders, just assume them. When the lives of our brave-hearts are threatened, I see no reason why they should not defend themselves with their weapons. Strict adherence to the rules should be overridden by the init...