Army Chief Bipin Rawat defends 'human shield' incident, says can't ask jawans to 'wait and die' when locals take to stone pelting

Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat defended the 'human shield' incident that took place in Srinagar during the bypolls saying the Indian troops need innovative ways to fight the "dirty war" going on in the Kashmir Valley. He said he cannot ask his men to "just wait and die" if locals pelt them with stones.

"This is a proxy war and proxy war is a dirty war. It is played in a dirty way. The rules of engagements are there when the adversary comes face-to-face and fights with you. It is a dirty war.... That is where innovation comes in. You fight a dirty war with innovations," Rawat told PTI in an exclusive interview on Sunday.

Rawat said Major Leetul Gogoi was awarded a commendation medal with the objective of boosting the morale of the Indian Army's young officers who operate in a difficult environment in the strife-torn state of Jammu and Kashmir. Gogoi had last month tied a Kashmiri civilian to an army jeep as a 'human shield' to prevent local residents from hurling stones at the army convoy during the bypolls in Srinagar.

Rawat defended Major's decision saying he cannot ask his soldiers to "just wait and die" when local residents throw stones or hurl petrol bombs at jawans. 

"People are throwing stones at us, people are throwing petrol bombs at us. If my men ask me what do we do, should I say, 'just wait and die? I will come with a nice coffin with a national flag and I will send your bodies home with honour'. Is it what I am supposed to tell them as chief? I have to maintain the morale of my troops who are operating there," General Rawat said.

He said it would be easier for the army to deal with the protesters if they fired weapons instead of resorting to stone pelting.

"In fact, I wish these people, instead of throwing stones at us, were firing weapons at us. Then I would have been happy. Then I could do what I (want to do)," the army chief told PTI.

The video of the Kashmiri man Farooq Dar being used a human shield by the Indian Army went viral on social media last month triggering severe criticism from human rights activists, retired army generals and Kashmiri groups.