Bipin Rawat-Gen Dyer row: Free speech license to insult the Army?

Army chief General Bipin Rawat has come under criticism from the CPI (M) and the TMC over his defence of Major Leetul Gogoi, who tied a Kashmiri civilian to a jeep.

Rawat defended the human shield tactic, saying the Army is fighting a dirty war in Kashmir and that calls for innovative measures.

The CPI (M) criticised Rawat for not keeping in with the high professional standards of the Indian Army and said he seemed to be reflected the government's view of suppressing protests with violence. The TMC too termed Rawat's justification of Gogoi 'uncalled for'.

Earlier, historian Partha Chatterjee compared Rawat to General Dyer, who was responsible for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, saying the Army chief's justification of the human shield incident was similar to Dyer's testimony in the aftermath of the massacre.