India's army chief designate, Lt. Gen.
J.J. Singh is a strong man referred to as "Tiger" but he has a humane face too, especially when it comes to Jammu and Kashmir.

At his first formal media interaction here Sunday, a day after the government named him the next Indian Army chief, Singh became emotional when narrating the tale of a young Kashmiri man caught by his brigade during anti-insurgency operations in the Kashmir Valley in 1991.

Singh, the first Sikh to be elevated as army chief, broke down in the middle of a press briefing at his official residence.

"As we were about to take this young boy away, his family came to me and admitted that he had gone across to Pakistan for training (in a terrorist camp). They pleaded that he was not involved in any terrorist activity yet and that he had been married only two days earlier," said Singh, who currently heads the army's Western Command.

Seeing the young man's wife and the plight of his family, Singh, then a brigadier, let him off on human grounds.

"The boy and one of his friends later helped us nab several terrorists," he said.

Singh said no matter how the western media might have painted the image of Indian Army in relation to human rights excesses in Kashmir, the humane face was there for all to see at the ground level.

He said his appointment as a brigade commander in Kashmir was the best assignment he had.

Singh was seriously injured when his convoy was ambushed in 1991 in the heart of Baramulla town in the Kashmir Valley.

"We retaliated but not by killing civilians who were moving at that place.
This brought us closer to the people."

Singh, who will take over as army chief Feb 1, rated the Indian Army as second to none in the world, terming it a professional, sound and winning force.

He said firepower had become more important than manpower in the military context of the 21st century. "However, that does not mean we go in for major manpower reduction.

"The American experience in Iraq has shown that in certain situations, manpower was required."

He said the Indian Army was modernising and its capability was increasing.

Referring to India-Pakistan relations, Singh welcomed the confidence building measures between both countries. "If Pakistan is sincere then it is okay. But if it does not keep its word on peace, we should keep our options open," he said.

The troop withdrawal from Kashmir would be reviewed according to the situation prevailing there before any future decision was taken, Singh said, noting that insurgents in Kashmir and elsewhere should be called terrorists and not militants, as their aim was to spread terror.

"Any youngster who takes to the gun should know that it is his death warrant as he would be killed some day," Singh said, advocating the rehabilitation of surrendered insurgents in the mainstream, including their recruitment in the army.

--Indo-Asian News Service