SRINAGAR: Mohammad Amin Galwan, grandson of Ghulam Rasool Galwan — the Ladakhi explorer on whose name the Galwan Valley lying along the LAC has been named — asserted that the Galwan Valley was, is and will remain part of India. If diplomacy fails to resolve the ongoing standoff, the government should not shy away from going to war to wrest control of the Galwan Valley and other Indian territories currently under control of China, he said.
Mohd Amin, a retired government employee, told said the Galwan Valley is strategically very important for India and under no circumstances should the Army should allow its control to be with the PLA troops. “Even after the 1962 war, Galwan Valley remained with India,” he said. The Valley was named after Ghulam Rasool Galwan by the British in 1893-94 after he found path to the area and helped rescue a group of British explorers who were caught in a dead-end on a mountain during their expedition through the treacherous Himalayas.
Mohd Amin said all sections of society in Ladakh, including Muslims, Buddhists and other communities, stand solidly behind the Indian troops and are ready to help them in case of military confrontation. He, however, cautioned that if the government allows China to take even a few inches of the Galwan Valley, then tomorrow the Chinese troops may enter Leh. “Under no circumstances should we cede control of Galwan Valley or any part of Pangong Lake to China. If that happens, India will always be facing a bigger threat,” he said. Mohd Amin said India should give diplomacy a chance to restore control over Galwan Valley as war would lead to large scale devastation on both sides. “But in case diplomacy fails, India should not show any weakness and should not shy away from going to war.”