10/16/2018 Data Shows Modi's Policy of 'Ten Bullets for Every One' Has Increased BSF Casualties

Data Shows Modi's Policy of 'Ten Bullets for Every One'

Has Increased BSF Casualties
Despite tough talk of retaliation and even the 2016 surgical strikes, deaths of
BSF personnel have risen over four times in the last year.

Till September, 498 incidents of cross-border firing had been registered. Credit: Reuters

Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

SECURITY 04/OCT/2018

New Delhi: Right from the time of the January 2016

attack on the Pathankot Air Force Station, India has been
talking about retaliating against any incursion, shelling or
attack from Pakistan, but this posturing and tough-talking
– and even the surgical strikes – appear to have not made
much impact if data on firing from across the border or
casualties caused by them is any indication.
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10/16/2018 Data Shows Modi's Policy of 'Ten Bullets for Every One' Has Increased BSF Casualties

In fact, PTI reported on Wednesday that incidents of

unprovoked firing from the Pakistani side along the
international border in Jammu have increased four times
in comparison to 2017 and the 2018 figure is the highest
in five years.

Moreover, casualties suffered by the Border Security

Force (BSF) are also the highest with 12 personnel losing
their lives and 40 sustaining injuries.

The most recent of these killings was of head constable

Narender Singh, who was shot dead and whose throat
was slit.

His killing had evoked a strong response as his body was

found mutilated. The opposition parties had questioned
the Modi government about its intent in dealing with the
situation.

The Congress had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi

where his “56-inch chest” was and demanded that strong
action be taken against Pakistan.

Rajnath had indicated that India retaliated strongly

to recent killing of BSF man

A few days later, at a function in Muzaffarnagar, Union

home minister Rajnath Singh had indicated that India had
retaliated strongly.

“Hua hai, theek-thak hua hai. Vishwas rakhna, bohot

theek-thak hua hai do-teen din pehle. (Something has
happened, something substantial has happened. Believe
me, something very substantial has happened a couple of
days back),” he had said on September 29, without
spelling out how or where the security forces had
responded to the killing of the BSF personnel.

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10/16/2018 Data Shows Modi's Policy of 'Ten Bullets for Every One' Has Increased BSF Casualties

Also read: Politicising Surgical Strikes Erodes the

Army’s Potency and Deterrent Value

Singh had also noted that while he has told the BSF not
to fire first, they have also been told to not count the
number of bullets in retaliation if they are fired upon. “It
is time to give it back to them in the same coin, but not
by resorting to similar kind of barbarism. I think the
other side must feel the same pain,” he said.

Border Security Forces in Srinagar during a curfew. Credit: PTI

Earlier as well, in the aftermath of the January 2, 2016

attack on the Pathankot Air Force Station by suspected
Pakistani militants, Singh had spoken about how the
forces had given a “muh tod jawab” to the militants.

This was followed by the surgical strike later that

year about which Prime Minister Narendra Modi had
said, “Jab hamare bahadur jawano ne surgical strike
kiya seema paar hadkamp mach gaya, ab bhi unka
mamla thikane nahi laga hai (When our brave soldiers
carried out the surgical strike, it created a furore across
the border, but it has still not impacted their behaviour).”

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10/16/2018 Data Shows Modi's Policy of 'Ten Bullets for Every One' Has Increased BSF Casualties

He was right because as the Intelligence Bureau data of

the last five years show, the number of cross-border
firing incidents was much lower when Modi shared a
better rapport with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz
Sharif.

Recently, soldier-turn-politician and information and

broadcasting minister Rajyavardhan Rathore had also
statedon the second anniversary of the 2016 surgical
strike that it “manifested the face of new India as
the country is willing to cross all limits to protect itself”.

But figures show that 2018 has been the worst years in
terms of both the number of incidents as well as
casualties on a pro-rata monthly basis.

BSF casualties on the rise

Till September, 498 incidents of cross-border firing had

been registered. This was over four times more than the
111 cases reported in 2017, and significantly higher than
the 204 of 2016, 350 reported in 2015 and 127 in 2014.

The 12 deaths of BSF personnel and 40 injuries sustained

by them this year are also the highest in the recent past.
In 2017, two personnel were killed and seven injured; in
2016 three personnel were killed and 10 were injured; in
2015 one jawan was killed and five were injured; while
in 2014 two men were killed and 14 were injured in 2014
along the International Border which the BSF guards
independently as also along the Line of Control which it
secures with the Army.

Even ‘ten bullets for every bullet’ statement not

helping

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10/16/2018 Data Shows Modi's Policy of 'Ten Bullets for Every One' Has Increased BSF Casualties

In January, when a BSF jawan and two civilians were

killed in heavy mortar shelling from across the border,
Union minister of state for home Hansraj Ahir had said
Pakistan has a twisted mindset and declared that India
will respond with ten bullets for every bullet fired by the
neighbouring country.

Also watch: Surgical Strikes – Tactical Success,

Strategic Failure

The tough posturing by the leaders, however, has not had

the desired impact. The PTI report also noted how former
BSF Director General K.K. Sharma, who retired last
month, had told reporters during his last press conference
on September 28 that Pakistan had adopted a “more
aggressive stance” along the international border in
Jammu and Kashmir ever since Imran Khan took over as
the country’s prime minister.

Another officer had spoken about how due to “relations

between the two countries and their security forces”
being “strained for quite some time”, there was an
expectation that the “hostilities may rise and audacious
attacks” may be launched.

Clearly, all these claims, data and spoken words and the
reactions to them indicate that peaceful co-existence can
be better ensured through dialogue rather than mere
threats and bravado.

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