NEW DELHI: Amid continuing tensions along the 3,488 km long Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, the Indian Army is planning to further increase the strength of its personnel having Mandarin skills. Till 2012, the Army was running only one Mandarin course.
After the Chinese intrusion in the Demchok region of Ladakh, the courses were increased to two. The Galwan clashes in 2020 led to a doubling in Mandarin courses to four. The course count is now expected to go up further. “The planned enhancement is to improve the Army’s overall understanding of Chinese soldiers,” said sources.
These courses are being run at the Army’s Pachmarhi-based Army Education Corps (AEC) Training College and Centre. The intake for each course is 8-10 officers and 30 Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) and other ranks (ORs) who get their Master of Arts (MA) degree after they complete it.
That apart, the institute conducts six-month courses only for the JCOs and ORs. In addition, two-month refresher courses are run for all personnel who have had training in the Chinese language.
Besides, a select number of officers and other personnel also train at the School for Foreign Languages in New Delhi.
Also, the Army’s Northern, Central and Eastern Commands Commands that defend the LAC, run two language courses of six-month duration each year. Each batch has 50-60 JCOs and ORs. In April, the Army’s Tezpur 4 Corps headquarters signed a MoU with Tezpur University for a 16-week Mandarin course. Further, capsules of 1-3 months are run for the formations, including the Brigades, Divisions and the Corps deployed along the Northern border to familiarise them with basic Mandarin terms and vocabulary.