New Delhi [India], June 8 : Indian Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba on Thursday expressed his disappointment for drawing similarities with Major Gogoi's 'human shield' incident in Kashmir with that of Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer actions at Jallianwala Bagh and termed it as a "sad comparison".
"I think it's a very sad comparison which is being made and not called for entirely," Admiral Lanba said.
Indian scholar Partha Chatterjee drew criticisms after he, in his article, wrote that Kashmir is witnessing its ' General Dyer' moment.
This article by Chatterjee came after Army chief General Bipin Rawat extended support to Major Gogoi over the human shield controversy in Kashmir.
"There are chilling similarities between the justifications advanced for the actions of the British Indian army in Punjab in 1919 and those being offered today in defence of the acts of the Indian army in Kashmir," Chatterjee wrote in his article.
Major Gogoi came to light after he tied a Kashmiri man to a jeep as human shield and was paraded through villages in Kashmir.
This incident was likened to General Dyer actions in Jallianwala bagh, where thousands of unarmed civilians were killed in 1919.
The Navy chief also promised full support to the family of former naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been awarded death sentence by a Pakistani military court for his alleged espionage activities in Balochistan.
"We will provide all support which is required to the family and him and the country is providing all it can to get his release," he said.
Talking about a seven-day maritime exercise held by India and Singapore in the South China Sea in May, Admiral Lanba said, "We have an annual exercise with Singapore.
It takes place once in our waters and once in the South China Sea and we are going to continue to follow this process." Talking about his upcoming visit to Israel next week, Admiral Lanba said he would be meeting with the chiefs of Israeli Navy, Army and the Air Force.
He is also likely to meet Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman. "We will exchange notes. We have an in-depth defence relationship with Israel. We jointly developed systems and fitted them onboard on our ship," the Admiral said. Admiral Lanba will visit Israel from June 11 to 15. The Navy chief's visit comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Israel in July, a first by an Indian Prime Minister.
Source: ANI
