Ashish Ranjan
The Army released photographs of its soldiers playing cricket in the Galwan Valley region of eastern Ladakh on Friday to demonstrate ‘high morale’ along the border, a day after external affairs minister S Jaishankar referred to bilateral relations as “abnormal” during discussions with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang on the sidelines of the G20 summit.
“The photographs were taken at a distance from the buffer zone established around Patrolling Point-14 (PP-14). Essentially, they portray the high morale of our troops stationed in extreme high-altitude regions with sub-zero temperatures along the actual control line “official statement
The photos, which were tweeted by the Leh-based 14 Corps, depict soldiers from the ‘Patiala’ Brigade of the 3 Infantry ‘Trishul’ Division playing cricket in a hostile environment where people frequently suffer from severe oxygen deprivation.
The release of the photographs also precedes the upcoming 18th round of corps commander-level talks between the two armies, which will commence shortly after the 17th round on December 20 ended without a breakthrough.
#Patiala Brigade #Trishul Division organised a cricket competition in extreme high altitude area in Sub zero temperatures with full enthusiasm and zeal. We make the Impossible Possible@adgpi @NorthernComd_IA pic.twitter.com/0RWPPxGaJq
— @firefurycorps_IA (@firefurycorps) March 3, 2023
China has thus far categorically rejected military withdrawals from the strategically important Depsang Plains and Demchok in eastern Ladakh, while increasing pressure along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. For the third consecutive harsh winter, both parties continue to forward deploy over 50,000 troops each.
On June 15, 2020, twenty Indian soldiers led by Colonel B Santosh Babu and equipped with nail-studded rods and other sharp weapons perished at PP-14 in Galwan Valley while fighting numerically superior Chinese troops armed with nail-studded rods and other sharp weapons. China has not disclosed the precise number of its casualties; however, it subsequently acknowledged losing a battalion commanding officer and three to four others.
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To counter Chinese propaganda, the Army released photographs of Indian personnel armed with the most recent SiG Sauer rifles flying the Tricolor at Galwan in January of last year.
