It is understandable that Gen. Rawat feels a loyalty to his men, and a concern for the morale of his troops. But his defence of Maj. Gogoi achieves neither of those objectives. The General has suggested that the Major was right to violate one man’s human rights in order to get his soldiers out of a difficult situation. As a soldier’s soldier, Gen. Rawat knows that his men daily demonstrate that there are ways to tackle stone-pelters without violating human rights. It is one thing for hyper-nationalistic paper patriots to celebrate Maj. Gogoi with unthinking enthusiasm, but coming from the Army chief, this is a message with potentially dangerous consequences.

Source: Hindustan Times May 28, 2017 14:15 UTC