'Intelligence system must be urgently revamped’: Veterans seek answers on Chinese incursions, call for action

Over 140 military veterans have written a letter to the president and the prime minister asking for clarity about the political and intelligence failures that led to the Chinese incursion in Ladakh, and culminated in the killing of 20 Indian soldiers in the Galwan Valley.

“The incident at Galwan could only have happened because of failure at one or more levels in the political, civil and military establishments, especially in continuous intelligence acquisition and dissemination,” states the letter, which is also marked to the defence minister, the chief of the defence staff, and the three service chiefs. “While we accept that failures can happen in any system, in the current instance either our intelligence system was found wanting, or the intelligence which it obtained did not reach the field units in time. We therefore urge that our nation’s intelligence system be urgently revamped.”

The veterans have also asked for a fact-finding body to look into the “intrusions, incursions and encroachments by China” in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh.

“We also strongly urge that the un-redacted Henderson Brooks-Bhagat Report concerning the 1962 war against China be released into the public domain, so that the military-bureaucratic-political system and the public can learn from the mistakes of the past,” the letter adds. “There can be no sensible reason for this Report remaining secret even after 57 years.”

Here’s the letter in full: