本帖最后由 玉出昆冈 于 2011-2-15 17:36 编辑
【译文-中文】印度军队:久经考验
【原文-印度】Indian Army: Standing the test of times
【原文地址】:http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-indian-army-standing-the-test-of-times/20110114.htm
【发布日期】:2011-01-14
【翻译截止日期】:2011-01-19 22:03:59
【翻译评论数/总评论】:20 / 45
【翻译作者】:farinon
【联名作者】:康康Tainy
译文导读:在印度,军人和军队受人尊敬,并有着崇高的地位。2011年1月15日,印度迎来了第62个建军节。一位印度作者撰写此文来赞颂印度军队。下面就让我们一起欣赏此文。
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预告:印度最近的宗教活动中发生了严重的踩踏事件,宗教在印度人的生活中的地位可见一斑,印度人民对此作何感想,敬请关注明日专题。
Nitin Gokhale 原文作者:Nitin Gokhale Nitin Gokhale pays tribute to one of the finest armies of the world ahead of the 62nd Army Day on January 15, 2011
(原作者语)在2011年1月15日的第62个建军日到来之际,本人将此文献给作为世界最精良部队之一的印度军队。
Flashback, 1998
回忆,1998Assam's Nalbari district, like the rest of the state, was under waist-deep water. The raging rivers rushing down from the mountains of Bhutan had engulfed lower Assam in a devastating wave of floods. People were hanging onto the rooftops and sitting on trees. In many places, it was impossible to see land. 与该邦的其他地区一样,阿萨姆邦(印度东北部的一邦)的Nalbari区浸没在起腰深的水中。湍急的河水从不丹(印度东北一国家)的山上咆哮而下,吞没了阿萨姆邦的低洼地区。人们纷纷爬上了屋顶和树枝。在许多地方,几乎已看不见陆地的影踪。 After two days of struggle with nature's fury, the state administration was forced to call in the army for rescue and relief. 与大自然的愤怒抗争了两天未果后,邦政府被迫向军方求助。 Engaging the nation without hesitation 担负起国家的重任 Within hours, the local army units, otherwise engaged in a counter-insurgency role under Operation Rhino, had fanned out to the interiors with their boats and medical teams; Indian Air Force and Army helicopters were pressed into service to drop food and rescue people stuck in hopeless positions. 几小时内,驻扎在当地的军队出动,除了执行维护秩序的任务,还与医疗队乘船进入灾区展开救援任务。印度空军和直升机部队被投入使用,空头食物,并救救助困群众。 Over the next fortnight, the army along with the state administration, had not only saved many lives but had ensured that small diseases did not turn into an epidemic. 在接下来的两周,军队和邦政府不仅拯救了许多人的性命,还防止了流行病的蔓延。 Even for someone like me who had seen this happen with unfailing regularity year after year in Assam, the job done by the soldiers and officers that monsoon season seemed like a Herculean task by any standards. 即使对于那些像我一样,已经看惯了同样有序划一的救援工作在阿萨姆邦不断重演的人,我们的军队在那个雨季的表现依旧令人赞叹。 And remember, the army was -- as it still is -- primarily engaged in a CI(counter-insurgency) role in Assam; the people were by and large wary of the troops, if not downright hostile; the insurgents were still strong in pockets like the hardcore support areas of Nalbari and Tamulpur. 不要忘记,军队在之前(现在依然)在阿萨姆邦执行维持秩序的任务;人们对军队保持着警惕;在诸如Nalbari和Tamulpur等核心支援区,骚乱依然频频发生。 And yet, the army went in without hesitation, undertook flood relief and quickly readjusted itself. This is not an isolated incident. 然而,军队义无反顾的进入灾区,抗洪救灾并快速进行自身的调整。 The army is India's Brahmaastra 军队就是印度的*Brahmaastra* 译者注:wiki上查的,Brahmaastra是古梵文资料记载的一种由梵天创造的威力巨大的武器(大概类似与导弹一类的东西….)
From Tangdhar to Machhilipattnam and from Bhuj to Tawang, the army has come to the aid of the people across India during times of crisis. 从Tangdhar到Machhilipattnam从Bhuj到Tawang(英文都是地名),我们的军队每每在紧要关头拯救人民于危难中。 Hundreds of such stories abound in the Indian Army's journey in both war and peace since independence. 自独立以来,印度军队有无数这样的事迹流传,无论是在和平年代,还是战争期间。 From disaster relief in floods, tsunami, and earthquakes to rescuing infant Prince from a deep tube well and from quelling rioters in communal strife to being the last resort in internal counter-insurgency operations, the Indian Army is omnipresent. 从在各种灾难中大显身手,到救助*“王子”小朋友*脱离井道,从镇压社会主义冲突的暴乱,到维持国内的秩序与稳定,我们的军队无处不在。 译者注:2006年7月,印度有一名名叫“prince(王子)”的小男孩失足掉入一口18米深的井内,后被军队救出。营救行动在当时被许多印度电视台直播,受到很多印度人关注和关心。相关信息的链接在此http://www.zaobao.com/special/newspapers/2006/07/bbc060724.html
It is, what I call, India's Brahmaastra (an ultimate weapon). 我们的军队就是印度的Brahmaastra(最终兵器)(详情前面的注释中已经提到了) The versatility, adaptability, selfless attitude and resourcefulness of the Indian Army has allowed it to be what it is today: Nation Builders. 多变、灵活、无私、足智,这些优点让印度军队成为了今天国家的建设者。 And viewed in the context of India's immediate and extended neighbourhood, the Indian Army's stellar role stands out in stark contrast to its counterparts in other countries. 与邻国的军队相比,我们的军队显然更加出色。 Remember, Indian and Pakistani Armies originated from the same source, the British Army and yet, six decades since they parted ways, there couldn't be a bigger dissimilarity in the way the two have evolved. 记住,印度和巴基斯坦军队本是同根同源。它们都起于英国军队,却于60年前分道扬镳,向截然不同的方向发展。 As they say, India has an army while the Pakistani Army has a nation! 就如同人们常说的,*印度军队被国家拥有,巴基斯坦军队将国家掌控!* 译者注:巴基斯坦军队一直被认为是将这个庞大的多民族、核武装的穆斯林国家结合在一起的粘合剂,巴基斯坦这个国家也实际由军队领导,原文作者大概是在讽刺这一点。
Army has scrupulously remained apolitical 与政治划清界限 Despite India's increasing dependence on the army to pull its chestnuts out of fire time and again, the army has scrupulously remained apolitical. 虽然印度屡屡依靠军队在危急关头解围,但军队却小心翼翼的与政治保持距离 The contribution of the army in nurturing and strengthening democracy -- with all its faults -- can never be underestimated. 虽然也有缺点,但我们的军队在促进民主方面所做出的贡献不可小觑 It has put down fissiparous and secessionist forces within India with great cost to itself over these 60 years. It has protected India from within and without. 在过去的60年里,它以自身为代价,平定几股印度的分裂势力。于内于外,它都在守护着我们的国家。 The army also has a unique distinction of helping create a nation (Bangladesh) in the neighbourhood and then quietly walking away to let the people take charge.
Service before Self: That's why the Indian Army is so distinct 国家为重:印度军队因此与众不同 By contrast, the Pakistan Army has never really allowed democracy to flourish in its country. Instead, it has created a military-industrial complex that has spread its tentacles in every aspect of governance. 与之相反,巴基斯坦军队从不允许民主在国内出现,它建立了军工联合企业,并将它的触手伸向管理的每一个角落 Even today, the Pakistan Army does not let go of any opportunity to undercut democracy; it nurtures and treats jihadi elements as its strategic asset against India and the United States. 即使在今天,巴基斯坦军队不放过任何打压民主的机会;它扶持*杰哈德*势力,并以此为对抗印度和美国的手段。 译者注:杰哈德,英文Jihad,巴勒斯坦伊斯兰圣战组织的简称 Even in other smaller nations around India -- Nepal, Myanmar and Bangladesh, for instance -- the armed forces have had to intervene and run the affairs of those countries at some point. 甚至在印度周边的其它小国,如尼泊尔、缅甸和孟加拉共和国,其武装力量都会不时介入国家的事务中。 So who or what makes the Indian Army so distinct? 那么,是谁或是什么让印度军队与众不同? Simply put its leaders and its men and their ethos of "Service before self." 当然是它的领导者、组成者、以及他们“国家为重”的理念。 From the early days of Independence, Indian military leaders -- stalwarts like KM Cariappa, Rajendra Singhji, KS Thimayya and later Sam Manekshaw -- led the forces from the front and provided a strong moral centre that has remained more or less intact, some very regrettable instances of moral and monetary corruption notwithstanding. 从最初争取独立的年代开始,印度军队的领袖,KM Cariappa, Rajendra Singhji, KS Thimayya and later Sam Manekshaw(皆为人名)等人领导着队伍,并为之树立了坚实的道义准则。虽然曾一度堕落或受到金钱的腐蚀,它依然健在并延续下来。 For every crisis that the country has faced, military and non-military, the Indian Army has risen splendidly to the occasion. 每每国难当头,不论与军事有无关联,印度军队都会挺身而出。
Army's origins were far from flattering 我们的军队始于不凡 A Long, Eventful Journey 坎坷之路 The army has grown from a force of sepoys that served the East India Company in its early days to a thoroughly professional and apolitical force respected the world over. 在早期,我们的军队为东印度洋公司效力,至今,它已发展成受世界尊敬的规范化部队,并且与政治分清界限。 But the makeover has come with tremendous hard work, sweat, blood and sacrifice. The origins were far from flattering though. 然而这样的发展经历了艰难坎坷。 Nearly four centuries ago, the British East India Company after its arrival in India, used Indian sepoys like a private militia, deployed primarily to protect its establishments and personnel. 大约四个世纪前,英国的东印度洋公司来到印度,用印度兵组成它的私有武装力量,保护它的产业和员工。 Later, the forces were reconstituted as the Presidency Armies of Bombay, Madras and Calcutta. In 1748, they were amalgamated under Major Stringer Lawrence who became the commander-in-chief of all the company's forces in India. 随后,军队被重组为孟买、马德拉斯和加尔各答总统军队(网上搜不到正式译名,如有知道的童鞋请在评论中回复)。1748年,他们又被整合到公司的武装力量总司令Stringer Lawrence少校麾下。 That arrangement continued for over a century until 1857 when the sepoys became conscious for the first time that they belonged to one country. 这样持续了一个世纪,直到*1857年*,印度士兵们第一次意识到,他们属于同一个国家。 译者注:1857年5月10日,印度米鲁特的士兵举行起义,打死英国军官,烧毁殖民官府,在人民响应下,次日攻占德里,拉开了印度民族大起义的序幕。这是印度历史上第一次出现的由部分封建主和下层人民共同进行的争取印度独立的全国性武装起义。 Although the British succeeded in putting down the rebellion, they had to effect many fundamental changes in the structure of the force. 虽然英国人成功镇压了起义,他们必须对军队的结构做出大量调整。 As a first step, the army was brought under the British Crown. A Viceroy started administering India. British officers were given the Queen's Commission, and the Indians the Viceroy's Commission, later known as Junior 作为调整的第一步,军队受王室管辖。印度开始由总督管理。英国军官接受女王任命,印度人也受总督管辖,后来被称为的Junior(有下级的意思) British Indian Army stood out in the 2 World Wars 印度军队在2次世界大战中扬名立外 In the late 19th and early 20th century, the British Indian Army participated in various campaigns in Africa, the Middle East, Tibet and other parts of the world and distinguished itself through its fighting qualities. 19世纪末和10世纪初,英属印度军队参加了非洲、中东、西藏和世界上的其它战役,以其出色的作战表现闻名。 The early signs of these qualities were evident in the First World War. 我们可以通过第一次世界大战看到印度军队的作战素质。 According to official figures, 36,596 Indian soldiers died fighting in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, during the First World War. Over 70,000 were wounded. Indians won 16 Victoria Crosses and 90 Military Crosses. 根据官方数据,一战期间,总计36,596名印度军人在欧洲、北非和中东的战斗中牺牲。超过70,000人负伤。印度军人共获得16枚维多利亚女王十字勋章和90枚军人十字勋章。 After a stellar performance in World War I, it was inevitable that the demand to induct Indians as Commissioned Officers would begin to gain currency. 即一战的杰出表现后,不可避免的,印度军人开始争取军官的名额。 Several prominent Indian political leaders like Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, Madan Mohan Malaviya and Motilal Nehru pressured the British on this count. 几位杰出的印度政治领袖,如Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, Madan Mohan Malaviya 和 Motilal Nehru为此向英国方面施压。 Grudgingly, they agreed to Indianise selected units of the Indian Army and also induct Indians in the officer ranks. 虽然不情愿,英国方面最终同意将印度人组成的军队向印度过度,并准许印度军官上任。 First batch of Indian officers arrived in 1934 第一批印度军官在1934年上任 To start with 20 seats were reserved for Indians at the Military College in Sandhurst, Britain. Those who passed out(毕业) became King's Commissioned Indian Officers. 一开始,英国桑赫斯特军事学院有20个位置被预定给印度人。毕业的人会成为国王任命的印度军官。 Under pressure to Indianise the officer cadre, the British agreed to establish the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun in 1932. 在军官骨干印度化的压力下,英国方面于1932年同意在Dehradun(印度地名)建立印度军事学院。 Two years later, in 1934 the first batch of Indians was commissioned, among them was India's best known military figure -- Sam 'Bahadur" Manekshaw! 两年后,于1934年,第一批印度军官受命上任,在他们其中,就有印度最著名的军人---Sam 'Bahadur" Manekshaw! When the Second World War broke out in 1939, national leaders were not in favour of Indians participating, but the British went ahead. Army units were inducted in all theatres of war. 1939年,第二次世界大战爆发,虽然国家领袖不希望印度被卷入其中,但英国方面却一意孤行。印度军队再次走上战场。 According to globalsecurity.org, a leading web-based portal on military affairs and history, between 1939 and mid-1945, the British Indian Army expanded from about 175,000 to more than 2 million troops -- entirely through voluntary enlistment. 根据globalsecurity.org(一个关于二战期间军事和历史的网站),印度军队从最初的175,000人扩展到两百万人,而且全部是自愿应征入伍。 The code of secular ethos世俗精神的法典 More than 620,000 Indians served overseas during World War II (1939-1945). 二战期间,超过620,000印度人在海外服役。 Indians fought in North Africa and Italy. After Japanese forces defeated United Kingdom troops in Burma, the Indian Army had to defend its own country at the battles of Imphal and Kohima in 1944. 印度军人曾在北非和意大利作战。日本军队打败缅甸的英军后,印度军队又不得不在Imphal和Kohima(皆为地名)的战役中保卫自己的国家。 The Japanese besieged Kohima but never captured it. About 340,000 Indians served in the Allies' 14th army, which eventually drove the Japanese out of Burma. 日本人包围了Kohima,但却没能占领它。大约340,000印度士兵在盟军的第14军中服役,正是这支部队将日本人赶出了缅甸。 These campaigns also sowed the seeds of, what I call a 'distinguishing' army code of conduct: The code of secular ethos. 被我称为*世俗精神的法典*的种子,正是通过这些战斗被播撒出去。 译者注:网上没找到恰当的说法,翻译的很别扭,多多见谅 The ethos of true secularism under which soldiers from different castes, religions and regions, regard themselves as Indians first and Sikhs, Marathas, Jats, Dogras or whatever later, were entrenched in the Indian Army very early. 在真正的世俗的法典下,来自不同阶级、宗教和地区的士兵们会首先视自己为印度人,这一理念很早就已在印度军队中扎根。 It is not surprising therefore to see that since Independence, one institution that has remained absolutely free of communalism is the Indian Army. When caste and religious differences have beset the country's politics and society at large, the Indian army has stood firm against these divisive forces. 因此,自独立以来,我们毫不惊讶的看到,印度军队始终不受共产主义影响。当国家的社会和政治深受阶级制度和宗教分歧的困扰时,印度军队却能经受住冲击。 So when freedom came in 1947, India inherited an experienced army toughened in the crucible of WW-II. 所以,当1947年印度迎来自由时,它也同时继承了一支经受过二战考验的经验丰富的军队。 Army has always come out with flying colours 我们的军队所向披靡 That experience came in handy in the immediate aftermath of India's Independence. As the country underwent a painful and bloody partition, it fell upon the secular, compassionate and disciplined army to keep order in those months of communal madness that engulfed the Indian sub-continent in 1947-48. 这一点在印度独立不久后的风波中显而易见。1947-48年,共产主义的狂热蔓延至印度的几个月中,国家陷入痛苦血腥的分裂,这时它依靠军队维持着秩序和稳定。 And even as the communal conflagration kept the army fully occupied, Pakistan mounted a determined effort to wrest Kashmir from India's control. Those two years tested the army fully but it is to the credit of the army's leadership and men that they withstood that attack and saved Kashmir. 正当我们的军队忙于对抗共产主义的灾难时,巴基斯坦试图使克什米尔脱离印度掌控。那两年,我们的军队受到了严重考验,但难能可贵的是,我们的军队领袖和士兵最终经受住了攻击,并拯救了克什米尔。 Subsequently India has had to face four more external attacks and except the 1962 debacle, each time the army has come out with flying colours. 在随后的时间里,印度有面对了四场外来的侵犯,除去1962年的惨败,我们的军队每次都大获全胜。 It must be noted here that for the setback in the Sino-Indian border war of 1962 reasons for failure have to be sought elsewhere. 这里必须说明,我们军队在1962年中印边境冲突中的失败另有原因。 It is to the army's credit that it has carried out every task given to it assiduously, without even once complaining about inadequacies that abound. 我们的军队仍然值得肯定,因为它坚定的执行了每项任务,从未抱怨命令的不足和欠缺考虑。 Army has stood the test of time 我们的军队久经考验 The Indian Army has thus stood the test of time and has consistently upheld and protected the nation's Constitution with unflinching loyalty, making a major contribution in nation building in the first six decades of India's existence as an Independent, sovereign nation. 所以,印度军队久经考验,以绝对的忠诚捍卫国家,并在印度独立以来的60年中为国家的建设做出贡献。 Civilian Control or Bureaucratic Command 为民还是为官? The army has also withstood systematic assault on its status from politicians and bureaucrats who are forever looking for ways to downgrade the military's status. 我们的军队还经受住了来自政客和官僚的攻击,这些人永远在找寻着拖军队落水的机会。 While the principle of civilian supremacy over the armed forces is well entrenched and understood in India, what is incomprehensible is the constant chipping away at the military's standing. 虽然人民高于军队的理念在印度得到广泛贯彻,但对军方的不断削弱还是令人费解。 The nation as a whole and indeed the people at large have the highest regard and affinity for the men in uniform for the yeoman service they render in every conceivable situation, but most mandarins in the Ministry of Defence and some of the politicians do not have the same opinion and are repeatedly trying to run down the military without realising the immense damage they cause to the only available bulwark we have against any attempt to Balkanise India. 由于军人们所做的贡献,这个国家以及大多人民都对身着军装的人有着发自内心的尊重和亲切,但国防部的官员和一些政客却不这么认为,他们随时准备拖垮军队,却意识不到这样做会毁掉我们抵御分裂印度的企图的唯一一层堡垒。 'Politicians found it convenient to keep Army out of policy-making bodies' “政客们发现让军队游离于决策层外便于行事” As former Chief of army Staff, General S Padmanabhan says in his book, A General Speaks: Even after Independence, India's political leaders found it convenient to keep the army, navy and the air force out of the 'policy' making bodies. The service HQs(总部、司令部) were left at the level that the British left them -- that of being 'attached offices,' of the Ministry of Defence. Even at the level of defence minister and service chiefs, exchanges on major matters of defence policy were few and far between 正如前参谋长S Padmanabhan将军在他的著作《一个将军演说》中所言:即使在独立后,印度的政治领袖仍发现让军队游离于决策层外便于行事。与英国领导下的情况一样,司令部仍旧作为一个国防部的附属部门存在。即便是在国防部长和后勤部长这一层,有关国防政策的重要事件上的交流依然很少。 Another former Army Chief, General Shankar Roy Choudhury has observed: "It is essential in the national interest that the armed forces are upgraded and updated on an ongoing basis, something which governments have been traditionally loath to acknowledge and undertake, the Indian government perhaps more so than others in this respect. 另一前陆军总长Shankar Roy Choudhury将军称:“让军队保持发展对一国利益而言十分重要,但这有通常是一国政府所不希望见到的,印度政府尤其如此。” "Historically, it is to the credit of the Indian Army that it has fulfilled its role as an organ of the state It has functioned effectively in every type of role, in spite of the general lack of a supportive government environment by way of adequate finances, resources, equipment, personnel policies, or higher political direction." “历史上,印度军队很好的履行了它作为国家机构的职能,并在其它方面扮演了重要角色,即使它在资金、资源、装备、人员政策或政治指示上都缺乏一个支持的政府环境。 Decision-makers must consciously back the army 决策者必须自觉支持我们的军队 A nation's military provides what is called a 'hard-edged' backup to its international standing. 一个国家的军队为它在国际上的地位提供有力的支持。 A strong military and especially a powerful, well-trained, fully-equipped army act as a deterrent against adversaries. 拥有强大的军队可以消除潜在的敌人。 It is therefore essential that the nation's decision-makers consciously back the army and provide it with the support that it needs to meet diverse challenges that exist and are likely to come up in the coming decade. 因此,决策者支持我们的军队并为它在今后几年面对的各种挑战提供帮助是至关重要的。 So far, the Indian Army has fulfilled its role in nation building admirably well. 迄今为止,印度军队完美的扮演了它在国家建设中的角色 All of us, ordinary citizens, politicians, bureaucrats, must continue to back the nation's strongest asset and further strengthen it, if we desire to see India as a global player in the decades to come. 如果我们希望看到印度在世界崛起,我们所有公民、政治家、官僚都必须继续支持和巩固我们的军队。
翻译出处:http://www.ptfcn.com/ptfcn/js/266/
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