It seems the Chinese government is not willing to acknowledge the sacrifice made by its soldiers as the government is pressurizing families of soldiers to not conduct burials and in-person funerals.
According to the United States intelligence assessment, the Chinese government has come in the way of burials of the dead bodies of soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the violent face-off with the Indian army in the Galwan valley of the eastern region of Ladakh. While India has acknowledged the sacrifice of the Indian soldiers who were martyred in the clash, the Chinese have not even acknowledged the casualties officially yet.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his monthly radio program of Mann ki Baat conveyed his condolences to the family of the army personnel who lost their lives in Galwan valley. He said that the sacrifice of these families is worth worshipping. On the other hand, the Chinese have not disclosed how many soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army have been killed in the incident.
No Burial Traditions
The Chinese families who have lost their loved ones in the clash are reportedly mistreated by the Chinese government. Even as they refused to disclose the casualties, now they have denied the burial of the soldiers. As per the United States intelligence, the communist government in China is not accepting that its soldiers have been killed in the showdown in order to cover-up the episode which is considered a blunder in Beijing. While American intelligence believes 35 soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army were killed in the face-off, Indian sources say 43 casualties on the Chinese side. Although the Chinese have so far said only a few officers have died.
The families of the deceased soldiers have been told by the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs to forgo the traditional burial ceremonies and cremation of soldier’s remains and the funeral should be conducted remotely and not in-person. A source speaking on the anonymity said,
“The reality is they don’t want to create martyr soldiers. So they have banned functions where friends and families can pay their respects for the PLA deceased.”
Source: The Times of India
