NEW DELHI, Aug 20: Former Army officers have criticised remarks made by a tourist in a viral video from Minamarg in Ladakh, stressing that soldiers deployed in sensitive border areas should not be unfairly blamed or disrespected.
The video, which has circulated widely on social media, purportedly shows a woman confronting security personnel after being stopped at a barricade in Minamarg. In the video, she questions the restrictions on tourists and says, “We are Gen Z, we’ll not tolerate this nonsense.”
Former Army Chief and Mizoram Governor General VK Singh (Retd) strongly objected to the remarks, highlighting the sacrifices and vigilance of soldiers deployed to protect the country.
“India’s armed forces stand between our nation and those who seek to harm it. The Minamarg incident is a stark reminder of the courage, sacrifice and vigilance of our soldiers,” Singh said in a post on X.
He added that criticism should be based on facts rather than emotion or sweeping allegations, saying that unfairly blaming or disrespecting soldiers was wrong.
Former Chinar Corps Commander Lieutenant General KJS Dhillon (Retd) also reacted to the video and defended the personnel deployed in the area.
In a post on X, Dhillon said soldiers serve and guard the region round the clock, often at the cost of their lives, allowing civilians to visit such areas.
He also urged the tourist to be respectful and law-abiding, adding that the language used by an individual reflects their upbringing and education.
Another former Chinar Corps Commander, Lieutenant General Satish Dua (Retd), said the remarks about Army salaries being paid from taxpayers’ money amounted to a degradation of the sacrifices made by soldiers.
“Army salaries are paid from our taxes,” the woman is heard saying in the video.
Dua pointed out that Army personnel also pay taxes and stressed that Ladakh’s location as a border region comes with important security sensitivities.
The controversy also drew a response from Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who criticised what he described as the increasingly threatening use of the term “Gen Z” in response to perceived affronts.
“This ‘we are Gen Z’ has become the new ‘jaantay nahin ho mera baap kaun hai’,” Abdullah said in a social media post.
He said invoking generational identity as a threat whenever someone feels slighted could undermine the positive goodwill associated with Gen Z.
Minamarg is located along the Srinagar-Leh highway near Zoji La in the Kargil region of Ladakh. The area has security checkpoints, while the Zoji La stretch is known for narrow roads, rockfalls, landslides and sudden weather changes. Traffic in the region is at times regulated through controlled movement windows depending on road and weather conditions.
