Buzz By The Bay: Lt General Shailesh Tinaikar On Wars, Peacekeeping And Challenges Faced By Modern Militaries

In this powerful episode of Buzz by the Bay, Anushka Jagtiani is joined by Lieutenant General Shailesh Tinaikar, an Indian Army veteran whose remarkable career has taken him from the battlefields of Jaffna, Kashmir and Kargil to serving as a UN Force Commander in South Sudan.

A Special Forces veteran, Lt General Tinaikar shares first-hand insights into Operation Pawan, counter-terrorism operations in Kashmir, the Kargil conflict and UN peacekeeping.

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Excerpts from the interview:

You spent over 38 years in the Indian Armed Forces. What do you find most challenging? Is it defending borders at home? Is it counter-terrorism, counter-insurgency operations or peacekeeping missions in foreign lands?

It is firstly, defending borders at home and counterinsurgency missions. Multinational missions have their own challenges. In the sense that now you are under observation, not just of your citizens, but of the entire world community, and they judge you by entirely different standards.

You were force commander for the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan between 2019 - 2022. What is the principal role in a peacekeeping mission?

In a peacekeeping mission, the kind of work that you do is partly military, but principally diplomatic. You should be able to do your mission with the use of least amount of force when you are out in a multinational mission.

South Sudan gained independence in 2011. They had signed a peace agreement, which was supported by the international community. And the United Nations force of 17,000 was deployed in that area to see that the peace agreement gets implemented. And secondly, that civilians are protected and humanitarian aid reaches the people most in need.

Do you think humanitarian aid reaches the people most in need?

Yes, it does. We do create a secure environment to see that humanitarian movements take place. They can travel. They depend on us only as a last resort, but they do not want to see themselves as a part of any force. They would like to keep a safe distance from any force, because that's the nature of the work of humanitarians.

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Looking at the ongoing conflicts that we're seeing globally, the humanitarian crisis and near genocidal situation in places like Gaza. Do you think the UN is losing its relevance?

I think it is losing relevance. Presently, it is not representing the world as we see it. It is reflecting the power structure as it existed in 1945. It is not able to intervene and stop conflicts. Take the case of Gaza, for instance. You have women and children who are being killed every day. So we will naturally ask the question. It is the largest world body that we have; why hasn’t it intervened successfully? And if it is not able to intervene successfully, what is it there for exactly?

Should the UN even exist?

You cannot do away with the UN. The UN needs reform. UN needs to be there. As it does provide a lot of support, and a considerable amount of UN humanitarian assistance even today is being arranged. Yes, it is not able to stop a conflict. But as one of the Secretary-General's remarked, “it is not a place that takes you to heaven, but it saves you from hell.

Rewinding a bit to the start of your career. You decided to join the Indian Armed Forces in 1983 against the wishes of your family. Is that so? Was your father a very senior IAS officer?

Yes, because there is nobody from my family in the army. It was just a calling. I did not know anything about the army or the military, so I took a chance. A leap of faith. Nobody amongst my close friends joined the army. I gave an exam. I got selected, and then people said, you are not going to be staying there for too long; the military is not for you. But then I continued and I made up my mind to join the Special Forces, against the wishes of my parents. It is a very tough selection process, but I got selected within the Special Forces and I had a wonderful career.

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You were part of Operation Vijay in Kargil, Operation Pawan in Srilanka, Operation Rakshak in J and K, Operation Rhino in Assam, and stationed along the eastern front of the LAC with China. You must have witnessed so much tragedy?

I’ve seen comrades dying and getting injured. Young people who get paralysed. A 23-year-old who can't move and can't talk properly. He needs support throughout his life. I have seen young widows. 21-year-olds who were not allowed to remarry. And I wonder, God, why? Why did this thing ever happen? That is the time when it hits you, and you ask, is it worth it?

So is it worth it? Why do you do it then?

You do it out of a calling. And you will always have people joining the military. And the military just needs appreciation.

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Coming to Operation Rakshak, you were a part of it as a major. What is the most challenging part of counter terrorism operations? Is it intelligence gathering?

Our job was to collect intelligence through our own sources and to target terrorists. So in the process, what the Indian Army did was to spread itself out within the valley and in the hills around to secure the population and secure the area. The main challenge was how to distinguish and eliminate a terrorist who is living within a civilian population. Because the civilian population is neutral.

They don't want to be seen to be on the side of the forces. Because if they are seen to be on the side of the forces, then they will be targeted by the terrorist. So then how do you identify and kill a terrorist in this environment? And how do you do it with minimum harm to life or property? That is the biggest challenge.

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