Yoga is the latest weapon in the arsenal of the Indian soldiers posted in the forbidding heights of Siachen Glacier—better known as the highest and coldest battleground in the world where guns have been silent since 2003.
It takes more than equipment to conquer those heights, on the other side of which is sitting the Pakistan Army. The life sciences laboratories of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) are using the ancient wisdom like yoga and contemporary innovation like growing strawberries and vegetables in the otherwise barren Ladakh region to make life better for soldiers in the glacier.
The DRDO’s Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS) lab has devised a yoga regime for the soldiers posted in the region.
At altitudes varying between 10,000-23,000 feet and temperature dipping to -65 degree Celsius, slight physical activity on the part of the soldiers leaves them gasping for breath; a little negligence can either cause sunburn or frostbite. Food goes stone cold as soon as it is taken off the burner, washing your face becomes a luxury and the drinking water smells of kerosene used to melt the snow. The three months on the glacier in a two-year tenure in the Siachen-Saltoro region could be a
real test of one’s physical and psychological mettle.
“At those heights, the physical capacity and the load carrying capacity of the soldiers decrease considerably due to lack of oxygen. Also the body is constantly losing heat to the environment. We have sought to minimise the affect of harsh climate through yoga,” DRDO’s Chief Controller of Research and Development Dr William Selvamurthy elaborates.
The soldiers need to perform certain form of exercise at those heights to accustom their heart and lungs to the low oxygen content in the atmosphere. According to the research conducted by DIPAS, the oxygen demands during yogic exercises are much less compared to other form of conventional physical exercises.
So far, 2,000 army personnel posted at the Ladakh-based 14 Corps have been trained in the yoga, they in turn would impart the knowledge to all soldiers going to the region.
Besides yoga, the DRDO’s plantation drive in the cold-desert of Ladakh has literally started bearing fruit. Due to the efforts of Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR), located in Leh and an obscure village of Partapur, the region—completely devoid of rainfall—now boasts of growing strawberries, pears, peaches and watermelons. Today the region produces 13 types of apple due to collaboration of scientists and local farmers.
“We have been working really hard to provide fresh food for the soldiers at Siachen. Now we have the capacity to supply 5,000 metric tonnes of vegetables to the army,” Selvamurthy says. DIHAR is celebrating its diamond jubilee this year.
The initiative is important for the Indian Army, as its soldiers voluntarily give up non-vegetarian food as they start their posting at various camps on Siachen Glacier. They go by the belief that meat and tobacco on the glacier would bring ill-fate for the unit and its members in Siachen, where more than enemy bullet the extreme weather can take you down. And the DIHAR scientists are rightly helping the local population in growing various plants, making use of economical methods for green-house and trench cultivation.
“DIHAR has made a hybrid cow and buffalo that is capable of giving 18 litres of milk per day,” said the distinguished scientist.
Selvamurthy sums it up: “We have been mandated to increase the lethality, survivability, efficiency and sustainability of our soldiers at that altitude. After all it is the man behind the machine that matters the most.”