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The Indian Army has made a major change in its Order of Battle (ORBAT) and a division will be formed to be permanently stationed in the eastern Ladakh region. This step has been taken in view of the deployment of a large number of troops on both sides of the Line of Actual Control (LAC). This new division will be in addition to the 3rd Division, which was till now handling the responsibility of LAC in the entire Ladakh region.
According to sources, this new division will be named “72 Division” and its formation is underway. Its headquarters is being prepared and one of its brigades has already been deployed in eastern Ladakh and has started working. A large part of this division is being trained in the western parts of the country, so that soldiers, equipment and organization can be prepared according to special tasks.
Formation of 72 Division
This 72 Division will be under the Leh-based “Fire and Fury” Corps. Earlier, the responsibility of protecting the 832 km long LAC of Ladakh was completely with the 3rd Division. Usually a brigade consists of 3,500 to 4,000 soldiers and is headed by a brigadier, while a division is headed by a major general.
Return of “Uniform Force”
At this time, the security of the area which is now being handed over to the 72 Division was being handled temporarily by the “Uniform Force”. It was deployed temporarily so that there is no lapse in security. Now, the “Uniform Force” will be sent back to the Reasi area of Jammu, where it was earlier performing its counter-terrorism operations (CICT) role.
Reorganization of the Indian Army and Security of LAC
The Indian Army has a total of 1.2 million (12 lakh) soldiers and is organized into 6 operational commands, which include 14 corps and 49 divisions.
In view of the activities of the Chinese army in Ladakh, India deployed 68,000 soldiers, 90 tanks, 330 infantry combat vehicles and other weapons on the front lines in 2020. The “Fire and Fury” Corps was established after the 1999 Kargil War. Till now it consisted of 3 divisions and 8 divisions, which handled the security of the eastern and western parts of Ladakh.
The area of Kargil comes in western Ladakh, which is under 8 Division and monitors the area with Pakistan along the Line of Control (LoC).
Apart from this, the security of Siachen Glacier, the world’s highest battlefield, also comes under this corps.
In 2021, the army was reorganized, in which it was decided to deploy the Mathura-based 1 (Strike) Corps in the security of the China border. Also, the process of creating a new corps is also going on to protect the LAC area of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
India-China dispute and dialogue process
The 832 km long LAC in eastern Ladakh is divided into 65 “patrolling points” (PPs), where soldiers patrol regularly, but after 2020 the situation on the LAC remains tense and talks are going on with China at many levels.
Three levels of dialogue process:
Corps commander level talks It involves senior army officers of both the countries and it is a strategic level talks.
Division commander level talks Earlier, division commanders were the highest level officers who were involved in resolving the ground situation.
Brigade and sector commander level talks Regular talks are held at this level, so that tensions can be reduced at the local level.
Disputed areas and new conflict points on LAC
India and China have different perceptions about the LAC, due to which a situation of conflict keeps arising. Since 2020, five new disputed areas have emerged: #Km 120 area in #Galwan Valley #PP15 and PP17A at Shoksha La #Rechin La and Rejang La north of #Pangong Lake
In addition, there were differences between India and China over the status of the LAC at some different locations even before 2020, including:
- Trig Heights
- Demchok
- Depsang Bulge
- Kongka La
- Spanggur Gap
- Mount Sajjum
- Sam Lungpa
- Eastern areas of Point 6556
- Crossing point of Charding Nullah
- Pangong Tso
- Dumchele
- Chumar
Tensions still persist in eastern Ladakh between the Indian and Chinese troops. India has set up the 72nd Division to strengthen its position, which will permanently handle the security of the region. Although talks are going on at the military level to resolve the disputes between the two countries, it is important to maintain vigilance at the ground level.
