Click to play videoSiachen Glacier: Siachen no longer hurts. That's the message from the Indian Army, which has now ensured that none of its troops perishes on the treacherous battlefield.
For the first time since it paratrooped to the Sia La heights in 1984 to pre-empt a Pakistani march into Siachen, the Army finally seems to have the measure of the Glacier.
"There has been no death in the last one year," Dr Latika, a doctor at the High-Altitude Medical Research Centre, said. The ceasefire since 2003 has helped arrive at zero fatality.
It was not Pakistani firing but the Glacier itself, which was the biggest killer of Indian Army men on the world's highest battlefield.
Of the 720 deaths suffered by the Indian Army so far, 60 per cent perished due to the frigid elements at heights up to 22,000 feet. The Army confers on Siachen the respect it would give to a worthy enemy by calling it 'General Glacier'.
Although survival continues to be a challenge, some astute medical management has enabled the Army to defy 'General Glacier'.
The provision of mobile hyperbaric chambers at all posts, which enable sick soldiers to be subjected to a sea-level atmospheric pressure and quick evacuation, is the key to survival.
"Once an Armyman has developed hi-altitude pulmonary edema, if inclement weather conditions do not permit immediate evacuation, he can survive in this bag (mobile hyperbaric chambers). It is a life-saving thing," Dr Latika explains.
So, as India and Pakistan consider de-militarisation, the Army is conveying to New Delhi that it is under no mortal pressure to withdraw. The Army's ruggedness has kept India's options open on Siachen. And the Army's case for staying put is now backed up by a feat in casualty management.
There was an impression that prolonged deployment on this frozen frontier is hurting the Army. But by achieving a near-zero casualty rate, the Army has demonstrated that it can dig in for as long as it takes.
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