В Мериуте прошел исторический форум «Военная история», посвященный урокам прошлого для будущего

Meerut: In a first for the city, Meerut hosted the ‘Military History Conclave 1.0’ on Thursday under the aegis of Headquarters Paschim UP Sub Area (HQ PUPSA), bringing together military veterans, historians, academicians, serving officers and students to examine India’s military past and its relevance to future warfare. Speakers included Dr Amit Pathak, Shiv Kunal Verma, Col Ajay K Raina, SM (retd), Dr Umrao Singh, Lt Gen AK Singh, PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM (retd) and prof Dheeraj Sharma, director, IIM Rohtak. History students from Chaudhary Charan Singh University and young officers also participated in the conclave, fostering interaction between the military, academia and the younger generation. Inaugurating the conclave, Maj Gen Sumit Rana, General Officer Commanding (GOC), PUPSA, said, “Wars do not occur in isolation; they are always influenced by political and geographical circumstances. However, military leadership must navigate these complexities, which is far more challenging than the role of corporate leadership. There are lives at stake and also the territories to defend. There are emerging technologies and evolving methods of warfare. It’s the experience and expertise of military leaders of the past, the present and their strategies that help to develop the future.” Sessions covered subjects ranging from the 1857 uprising, described by many as India’s first war of Independence, to military leadership, the economics of war, future land warfare and the changing character of conflict. Dr Pathak, author of ‘1857 - Living History’, spoke about the scale of the conflict within British India and how leaders such as Rao Tula Ram, the king of Rewari, had sought military support from the Russian Czar. “While much of the history surrounding the uprising was downplayed in our academic books, the villages where the battles were fought still retain those stories in their memories of their residents passed down through generations,” he said. Shiv Kunal Verma, military historian, filmmaker and author of ‘The Long Road to Siachen’, said, “During the 1857 uprising, we were suddenly fighting for a flag which was not a Union Jack; the uprising united Indians like never before. We should learn from our history.” Col (retd) Ajay K Raina, another military historian, spoke about the geographical complexities of the Kashmir region and the conflict with India’s neighbouring country. “We must get military history studied in detail in the colleges,” he said.