Royal Nepali Army betrayed by Nepali Political Crooks and India: India sold Guns and Ammunitions are technically faulty and very low quality. USA gave $millions dollars to India to gave Guns to RNA, and India brought new high tech GUNS from Israel. See News: http://www.gorkhapatra.org.np/pageloader.php?file=2005/08/15/topstories/main9 -------------------------------------------- The INSAS rifle controversy (news analysis): INSAS rifles (Photo source : army-technology.com) The INSAS (Indian Small Arms System) rifle controversy, which began with the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) saying were faulty, still continues. The Monday edition of state-owned daily Rising Nepal in a story titled INSAS rifles outdated, not designed for long fight said, ?A soldier is only as good as the weapon he carries.? Saying the Indian Embassy?s statement regarding the rifles is factually wrong, the report cites articles in various websites like The Times of India on August 12, 2001 and the defenceindia.com (carried by the The Asian Age on July 17, 2005) which state that the Indian army itself had problems with the rifle introduced in the Indian Army a decade back. The Kathmandu Post also carried a similar article on the problems of the rifle today citing indiadaily.com and rediff.com. Army spokesman Brigadier General Deepak Gurung on August 12 quoted surviving soldiers as saying that India-made INSAS rifles malfunctioned during the time of battle: ?The weapons malfunctioned and the soldiers had to wait for it to cool down. After continuous firing, the weapons' capacity deteriorates. Perhaps, they (the INSAS rifles) were not designed to function for longer hours," he added. (full story) The Indian Embassy was quick to respond and in a statement the next day said the INSAS rifles were being used, without any complaint, in the most extreme conditions of weather and combat in the insurgency affected regions of India and also in the conflict in Kargil and that the success in war does not only depend on the weapons used. (full story) Furthermore, Reuters news agency quoted an official of the Rifle Factory Icchapore as saying that the INSAS guns may have failed because of poor maintenance by the Nepali army. (full story) The Times of India in its Aug 12, 2001, report says the Indian army had complained that the country's indigenous ?state-of-the-art? 5.56mm rifle was not performing to the optimum level with major defects like cold arrest, breakage and cracking of components reported in active areas like Siachen glacier, Kargil heights and other high altitude areas. A report in defenceindia.com on July 17th said the Israeli Military Industry was involved in talks with India?s Ordnance Factory Board to transfer technology to locally manufacture Tavor 21s to meet additional projected requirements for an additional 10,000 assault rifles because the locally designed INSAS, that continues to face technical problems, is not suitable for the Special Forces, or the Para units. The RNA currently has 25,000 INSAS rifles, which are heavily subsidised by the Indian government. The latest controversy has erupted at a time when India, the biggest military supplier of the 85 thousand-strong RNA continues to suspend its ?lethal? military supplies to Nepal in the wake of February 1 royal takeover. With extensive coverage in the Nepali and Indian media along with international news agencies and with claims and counter-claims going on, it looks like the debate will continue for some time. Meanwhile, the Nepal government is yet to officially comment on the Indian Embassy?s statement while the Indian Army is to justify the efficacy of the rifles it supplied to the RNA that is battling against the Maoist insurgents for nearly four years. Analysts say that given the longstanding ties between the two militaries and their shared goal of crushing the Maoists, who have equally posed a security threat to India, these controversies need to be settled at the earliest and in a earnest manner. Report from Nepalnews.com, Divesh Rana ,Aug 15 05