Exigencies on active borders have only increased in pandemic: Army chief

PUNE General MM Naravane, chief of the Indian Army said in Pune on Friday that the nation was passing through a challenging period

PUNE General MM Naravane, chief of the Indian Army said in Pune on Friday that the nation was passing through a challenging period. “Exigencies on our active and unsettled borders both on the West and the North have only increased in times of the pandemic. Indian Army has stood tall and strong in the phase of this pandemic. However, I have always maintained that wars are not between armies, but waged between nations and it requires a national effort. While hard power in our context will always be relevant, equally important is the leveraging of soft power,” he said.

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The army chief was speaking at the golden jubilee celebrations of TV wing of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune.

The army chief also said that war movies have always had an endearing impact on people of all ages, especially youth. “These films have immortalised our soldiers in the hearts of every Indian. We have grown up watching these films which have captured the valour and travails of the armed forces. These movies still serve to reinforce the spirit of the supreme sacrifice of soldiers in the nation’s conscience,” he said. Acknowledging the role of the entertainment industry, the army chief pointed out that he found the stereotyping of the Indian officers in films as both amusing and intriguing. He gave the example of a “khadus colonel”, with a shotgun in one hand and a glass of whisky in the other. “Creative licence is understood, but I believe that stereotyping of communities and characters best be avoided,” he said.

Travelling down the memory lane, General Naravane said that his visits to Pune are always nostalgic.

“My grandfather’s house was on Prabhat road and my maternal grandfather’s house was at Karve road. We used to go from one house to another on foot when we visited Pune the during summer holidays. Travelling on foot is one of the reasons that I was sent to the infantry. While I came visiting the grandparents, I used to go from outside to the FTII, but today I have come to the campus for the first time and feel proud to see the sprawling campus,” he said.

Also present on the occasion were noted filmmakers Sai Paranjpe and Jabbar Patel, along with the director Bhupendra Kainthola.