8th edition of Military History Seminar kicks off at Welham Boys’ School
By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 9 Oct: The Eighth Edition of the Military History Seminar began at Welham Boys’ School, here. today. The theme of this year’s two-day session of the seminar is ‘Kargil-25 Years’.
The Chief Guest at the inaugural session held this morning was former Naval Chief Admiral Arun Prakash (Retd). Addressing the gathering on this occasion, Prakash liberally praised the Welham Boys’ School management in general and Chairman of the School, Darshan Singh, in particular for his initiative to hold regular seminars on Military History at the school and thereby inculcating some knowledge about India’s military history among attendees. He also observed that, perhaps, Welham Boys School is the only the school to have regular seminars on the military history of India.
Reminding the audience that he has been on the board of the school in the past for some time and, therefore, he is happy to note that under the chairmanship of a visionary like Darshan Singh, Welham Boys has a great future ahead. He added that he has found Singh to be a distinct type of person who thinks differently.
Dwelling on the importance of the military history of the country, Prakash lamented the fact that the history of India, as it has been written, has ignored several major periods and achievements of the past. Reminding that India was once upon a time a great maritime power, he observed that few people are aware of this fact. He added that, historically, the fertile Indo-Gangetic plains of north India have been the magnet for incursions for centuries. There was an incessant succession of invaders, who came over the northwestern mountain passes, but many of these invaders stayed on and were absorbed into the resilient Indian culture and became Indians. He added that the DNA of many Indians has commonality with the DNA of Aryans, Huns, Greeks, Persian, Mangols and Arabs. Most Indians are blissfully ignorant about the fact that from about the third millennium BC, till the 13th century AD, India was a thriving maritime power. Dynasties like the Cholas and Sattavahanas sent out fleets that were instrumental in spreading India’s trade, culture, and religions by sea to Southeast Asia and further. It was the decline of India’s maritime power and tradition in the 13th century that coincided with the domination by foreigners for the next 600-700 years. However, India which was once a great maritime power till the 14th Century, lost its maritime superiority over time. Indian rulers lost their vision, remained divided. From the 15th century onwards, European merchants obtained commissions from their sovereigns and set out on ships to seek the fabled gold and spices of the Orient. The Portuguese, French, the British and the Dutch, all came by sea on the pretext of carrying out peaceful trade but had the intention to conquer and rule India and take away its rich wealth. He stressed that India was colonised due to its blindness to the importance of maritime power.
Prakash added that now India is again emerging as a major maritime power and expressed hope that India will continue to grow further as a big maritime power. Prakash also noted that he was very happy to be at the school and it was the first time that he has met the two living legends, Param Vir Chakra winners Honorary Captain Yogendra Singh Yadav and Subedar Major Sanjay Kumar, and Mahavir Chakra winner Col Sonam Wangchuk (Retd) and also happy to meet Vir Chakra winners. (Admiral Arun Prakash is also a Vir Chakra awardee) and share the stage with a Vir Chakra winner Lt Gen PC Bhardwaj, who is also Vice Chairman of the school.
Earlier, addressing the gathering, School Chairman Darshan Singh observed that it was perhaps for the first time that so many gallantry award winners were present together at one place. He called upon the students to interact freely with the veterans during the breaks and learn from them and be inspired. He described the students as also the future soldiers of the country irrespective of the field or profession they choose in future to serve the country. He also noted that students from 25 distinct schools are participating in the seminar.
Earlier, Principal Sangita Kain welcomed the dignitaries and the students from various schools and reminded that it has always been the endeavour of the school to involve the student community across the country in initiatives that go beyond the realm of conventional learning. She observed that the seminar on military history, which was the initiative of Chairman Darshan Singh and the Welham Boys, has grown tremendously in popularity over the last few years. It introduces them to critical thinking that will stand them in good stead in the future.
The first session was at the seminar was ‘Overview and Geography of Kargil War’. The panellists were Lt Gen Mohinder Puri (Retd) and Lt General Ravin Khosla (Retd), while Lt Gen Harinder Singh (Retd) moderated the session. The other sessions on the first day included a discussion on Restoring Sanctity of Line of Control with Lt Gen YK Joshi, Maj Gen Lakhwinder Singh, Brigadier Devinder Singh with Lt Gen Amar Aul as the moderator, and a session on importance of Air and Naval Operations with Lt Gen Mohinder Puri, Vice Admiral Satish Soni and Air Commodore Anil Kumar Sinha. News Channel NewsX is the media partner at the seminar, and it also participated in a session with the gallantry award winners.
