Arjun Sharma

Jammu, December 4

Aiming at tracing Pakistan-trained terrorists, if any, hiding in the forest areas of Rajouri and Poonch, security forces have started an intense combing operation in Rajouri and Poonch districts. Both the districts are located along the Line of Control (LoC) and infiltration in these areas takes place when the higher reaches of J&K are covered with snow. The search operation on Monday saw participation of the Army, the police and the CRPF in Thanamandi, Kalakote, Sunderbani among other areas in Rajouri and Mendhar in Poonch.

Army intelligence sources informed that the combing operation in the forest areas was started after reports of suspicious movement were received by the security forces. It is after the recent Kalakote encounter on November 22 in which five soldiers were killed that the search operations have become intensive. Two terrorists from Pakistan were also killed in the encounter.

DGP RR Swain had recently said that the local residents were a major source of intelligence inputs against terrorists infiltrating from Pakistan into Rajouri and Poonch districts. The DGP said people of the twin districts had been supporting and cooperating with the security forces against terrorism.

“The search operation in Rajouri and Poonch has been launched to see if there are terrorists hiding in the natural caves and deep forest areas of these districts. In most of the terror attacks in the districts, militants had taken refuge in the jungle areas. These terrorists had been specially trained in the jungle warfare by the Pakistan army and the ISI,” said an intelligence official.

Search operations were also carried out in villages in Mendhar which is infamous for infiltration attempts by terrorists. “The combing operation is a part of the larger operation against terrorists in which they will be eliminated from the region. The year has witnessed sacrifices by many soldiers and civilians in Rajouri and Poonch areas after which it has been decided to search the forests inch by inch and eliminate remaining terrorists,” said the Army intelligence official.

String of killings this year

The year has seen sacrifices by many soldiers and civilians in Rajouri and Poonch so the forests are being searched inch by inch to eliminate terrorists. — An intelligence official

Group of militants on their way to Myanmar ambushed by another group of insurgents dominant in the area, says district official

PTI

Imphal, December 4

At least 13 people, suspected to be the cadres of the outlawed PLA terror group, were killed after a gunfight in a remote border village of Manipur’s Tengnoupal district on Monday, officials said here.

As soon as the information was shared with police, teams were dispatched to Leithu village, 15 km from the Myanmar border, where they found bodies of at least 13 people, the officials said.

Quoting some witnesses, the officials said a gunfight had broken out on Monday noon after which the bodies had been found.

Initial reports suggest that these could be cadres of the Valley-based insurgent group People’s Liberation Army, whose ban under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act was extended recently.

However, the officials said no arms or ammunition was found near the bodies.

“A group of militants on their way to Myanmar were ambushed by another group of insurgents dominant in the area,” an official in the hill district said. The areas around the place where the incident occurred are dominated by tribal people.

They said probably a part of the group could have escaped to Myanmar where they got their arms training before being sent back to Manipur.

The area has remained peaceful and was not touched by the ethnic conflict that rocked Manipur state on May 4. More than 180 people have been killed in the unrest.

Tengnoupal district shares a porous border with Myanmar. The village has no proper road connection and is often used by insurgent groups to cross over to Myanmar.

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 3

The capture of Zoji La was the most crucial operation of the 1947-48 war and had the pass that lies on the Srinagar-Leh highway not been then captured by Indian forces, Kargil, Dras, Leh and Siachen would have been lost. Two previous attempts were unsuccessful and the pass was taken in the winters of 1948 with operations in adverse weather and trying conditions.

Stating this today at a session on ‘Opening the gateway to Ladakh — The victory at Zoji La in the autumn of 1948’ — at the Military Literature Festival, Lieutenant General NS Brar, former General Officer Commanding 10 Corps, highlighted the outstanding contribution of the IAF, which, at that time, had just one transport squadron with only three serviceable Dakotas in airlifting men and equipment to Kashmir.

He said the task of moving tanks from Jammu to Srinagar, the first time in the history that tanks were employed at that altitude, was a huge issue as the bridges enroute could not take their weight. The tanks were dismantled and then assembled again at the base of Zoji La, with the mule track leading to the pass being widened to accommodate these.

Historians and authors Col Ajay Singh and Sagat Shaunik gave out tactical details of the operations and focused on the officers and men whose leadership and performance in the battlefield was exemplary.

The pass, which marks the end of the conifer-clad mountains of the Kashmir Valley, had been captured just a day before the ceasefire came into effect, enabling India to hold territory that otherwise would have fallen into Pakistani hands.

Taken over a day before ’48 war ceasefire

The pass had been captured just a day before the 1948 war ceasefire came into effect, enabling India to hold territory that otherwise would have fallen into Pakistani hands

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 2

Experts stressed the need to strengthen civil-military relations and greater integration of various instruments of the state to effectively deal with emerging security challenges, at the Military Literature Festival here today. The session was titled “Military, strategic and diplomatic lessons to be learnt by India from the conflict in Ukraine”.

“Today’s war is not just about the military, but involves many different organs of the government that have to be integrated for a common purpose. It is only the political leadership that can make it happen,” said Lt Gen Prakash Menon, former Commandant of the National Defence College.

He said Russian president Vladimir Putin seemed to have been misled by his military leaders into believing that the war would be a cakewalk for Russia. He said it was very important to have deep, continuous and institutionalised civil-military relations.

He said the military should be given clear training and operational objectives and in turn, it was the military’s responsibility to convey the correct risks and costs involved. The present lacuna in the Indian system, he said, was the lack of a national security strategy that shaped the military instrument.

Lt Gen Menon said India should try as much as possible not to use force to resolve disputes. He also stressed the importance of information warfare.

Brig Deepak Choube, a brigade commander posted in the western sector, said war was no longer limited to just one service or domain or the kinetic form of warfare. He said modern conflict called for a synergised and integrated approach by using all instruments of policy available to the country.

He said the multi-dimensional war which India may have to fight would be a complex web of all types of warfare involving not only the men in uniform but entire spectrum of population right down to the common man sitting at home.

Brig Choube said, “From the ongoing Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Hamas conflicts, it can be been seen that we need to be prepared for very long and protracted wars, which would be a drain of national resources.”

Maj Gen Harvijay Singh, author and commentator, said Russia should have learnt lessons from India’s highly successful Bangladesh liberation campaign of 1971, where the Indian Army bypassed enemy concentrations and aimed for reaching Dhaka.

He said the war in Ukraine exposed Russia’s lack of training and over-confidence. They badly miscalculated on the vital aspect of field communication by thinking that they could use the Ukrainian cellular network to meet their own requirements.

Tribune News Service

Ajay Banerjee

Chandigarh, December 3

Referring to the Ladakh military campaign of General Zorawar Singh in the 1830s and early 1840s, scholar Claude Arpi said, “Without General Zorawar, Ladakh would have been of China”. He was speaking at the second and concluding day of the seventh-edition of the military literature festival here today.

Arpi was part of a panel comprising prof Indu Banga and Dr Karamjit K Malhotra discussing: “Lahore Durbar and its gift of the North West Frontier, Kashmir, Baltistan and Ladakh to India”. The Lahore Durbar is the period of rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Arpi added that India in its negotiations with China should keep in mind the Treaty of Chushul, which defined a border between Ladakh and Tibet following the Dogra-Tibetan war in 1842.

“When India negotiates with China, it needs to remind the other side about the definition of the border which was defined by the Treaty of Chushul,” Arpi added.

Arpi said some historians suggest that Zorawar Singh wanted to capture Lhasa, however, things in western Tibet, which was captured by him, are different from the rest of Tibet.

Arpi said Mao Zedong captured Xinjiang within two months in 1949, this turned what was Eastern Turkestan under Soviet influence into Chinese occupied Xinjiang. He said, “I think Stalin (Joseph, the USSR leader) did not think through before allowing Mao the operation. Its capture has had its ramifications on Ladakh”.

Prof Banga said Ranjit Singh somehow does not have the pan-India appeal despite the fact that his policies were as accommodating as Akbar and Ashoka.

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 3

Governor Banwarilal Purohit today said all requirements of the armed forces are being met without any limitations and due attention is being given to research and development.

“There are no limitations and whatever is needed is being made available on their asking,” he said while addressing the closing ceremony of the Military Literature Festival here today.

“There has been a complete change in the policy and top priority is being given to the armed forces,” he said. “Not everyone may be aware of what is going on but a perusal of the procurement lists will reveal that the best equipment is being made available,” he added.

He said now the times have changed and technology has come to dominate warfare. He stressed on focusing on the latest research and technological developments.

Delving into history, the Governor said the nation has a glorious military legacy and barring the 1962 Indo-China debacle, the country has achieved decisive victories in all wars since Independence.

Citing the example of Sub Joginder Singh, posthumously decorated with the Param Vir Chakra in the 1962 operations, he said Punjab is the land of the brave and there have been innumerable tales of gallantry and sacrifices in the history which need to be documented in literature.

Purohit said the history has also been witness to instances of treachery and the armed forces should safeguard themselves from such threats. If soldiers are fighting bravely, at the same time they should be alert about any acts of subversion from within.

He said that many people are not aware about the armed forces, their acts of gallantry, sacrifices made by them and the hardships experienced by them in the line of duty, and this should be detailed in literature along with their achievements.

Admiral R Hari Kumar highlighted the significant addition of more than 1,000 women Agniveers into the Indian Navy, signifying a notable step towards gender diversity and inclusivity within the naval forces
The Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral R Hari Kumar, on December 1, during his speech at a press conference ahead of Navy Day, said that more than 1,000 women Agniveers have been incorporated into the Indian Navy.
Admiral R Hari Kumar, while lauding the Agnipath scheme, said that the implementation of Agnipath has been a much-needed, transformational change.
“Our first batch of Agniveers graduated from the premier-winning establishment, INS Chilka, in March this year. And importantly, this batch of Agniveers includes 272 female Agniveer trainees as well,” said Admiral R Hari Kumar.
“And going further, the second batch of Agniveers had a total of 454 women and I want to say that with the third batch, which has just been inducted, we have now crossed over 1000 women affiliates in the navy,” he added.
Admiral R Hari Kumar asserted that these statistics stand as a testament to the Indan Navy’s philosophy of all roles and all ranks with regard to the deployment of women in the service, both for officers and for personnel below the rank of officer.
“We also appointed the first woman commanding officer of an Indian naval ship. It has been our effort to constantly challenge the status quo to ensure that the Navy remains on an aspirational and dynamic trajectory into the future,” said Admiral R Hari Kumar.
“Take a look at the year gone by, and you’d agree that 2023 has been a remarkable year for our nation. Leaving a mark across various sectors and spheres, be it the economic front, diplomacy, or sports arena,” said Admiral R Hari Kumar.
“Similarly, for the Navy too, the last year has been remarkable. And in this period, our ships, submarines and aircraft have sustained a high operation tempo, undertaking missions and tasks encompassing military, diplomatic and constabulary roles,” he added.
He further mentioned that Indian units are mission-deployed across the Indian Ocean region and beyond to protect and promote the national interest, so these extensive deployments, coupled with the equally large number of exercises at sea, have really helped the Indian Navy and as a result, the Indian Navy has remained a combat-ready, credible, cohesive, and future-proof force, enabled by what we call our ship’s first outlook, where every single action that we take is aimed to enable our women and men in the operational units to perform that duty very well.
Admiral R Hari Kumar further said, “Our ships have been persistently present across the Indo-Pacific region. Submarines have undertaken operational turnarounds at foreign ports in Oman, Australia, and Indonesia.”
“In the data-level operational readiness exercise in the months of January and February this year, more than 151 operational units took part in the exercise, which spanned an area of more than 21 million square nautical miles,” he added.
He also highlighted the twin carrier operations that involved both of the Indian Navy’s aircraft carriers, Vikrant and Vikramaditya.
The Chief of Naval Staff, during his speech, further said that among the Indian Navy’s number of operational achievements, nothing could be more reassuring than the maiden take-off of TEJAS-Navy and the MiG29K onboard Vikrant in February this year, reaffirming that the Indian Navy is on the right track in fostering ‘Atmanirbharta’ in the defence sector.
He further highlighted that the economic survey report for 2022-23 tabled in parliament on January 31 did, in fact, acknowledge the Navy’s role in providing substantial impetus to the Indian shipbuilding industry.
“So, as a subset of indigenisation, we have retained our focus on fostering R&D in each technology,” he said.
Admiral R Hari Kumar also mentioned that the second edition of the Swavlamban seminar was conducted this year.
He further said that last year, answers were sought for 25 challenges, while this year, more than 1000 responses were received.
“We declared about 118 winners under the disc 7 sprint and the sprint prime and concluded over a hundred technological development agreements between IDEX and industry,” Admiral R Hari Kumar said, adding that these include a number of global first-game changers and first multipliers.
The Chief of Naval Staff further said that in driving self-reliance and technology development, the Indian Navy is well established on a path of budget optimisation, with the capital budget crossing the Rs 50,000 core mark, a 26 per cent hike in the revenue budget.
“All this points to increasing trust in our efficient budget and utilising capacity to generate capability,” he said. He also announced that the Indian Navy will be conducting the forthcoming Navy Day on December 4 in Maharashtra.

Various Laser based technologies developed by LASTEC (DRDO)
The Defence Research and Development Organisation is looking for industries to transfer its laser-induced sensing technology for detection of biological agents developed by its lab, the Laser Science and Technology Centre (LASTEC).
Pointing out that laser is a powerful technology for homeland security in defence as well environmental sciences and medical sciences, DRDO says that in the present scenario due to increased bio-terrorist activities, threat to military personnel and civilians appears in the form of biological, chemical warfare (BCW) agents and explosives.
“Minimising the impact of such threats requires early detection of the presence of these hazardous agents from a remote or standoff safe distance as well as point distance and early detection and warning systems are one of the most sought after gadgets for homeland security,” DRDO said.
Separately, it is also looking at interested industries for the manufacturing of its 40mm high explosive anti-personnel (HEAP) grenade for under barrel grenade launcher (UBGL).
“HEAP grenade is used with 40mm UBGL and multiple grenade launcher (MGL) in an anti-personnel role. The internally notched warhead and adequate high explosive content ensure anti-personnel lethality up to more than 5m distance from the point of explosion with adequate hit density,” DRDO said.

The North Jetty of the Southern Naval Command (SNC) will be rebuilt on a bigger scale by October 2024 to berth the augmented fleet of naval ships that operate from the Naval Base in Kochi, Vice Admiral M.A. Hampiholi, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern Naval Command, has said.
This is in keeping with the induction of next-generation offshore patrol vessels, shallow water craft, and other ships, and the impending replacement of the existing cadet training ships in two to three years. Altogether, the operational availability of 80% of the 17 big ships based in Kochi was made available, thanks to joint efforts by the Navy and civilian defence personnel, he told the media onboard INS Tir, a ship of the Navy’s First Training Squadron, on Saturday.
He added that the Navy was awaiting the Centre’s nod to place order for the third aircraft carrier (following the construction of indigenous aircraft carrier Vikrant at the Cochin Shipyard).
On concerns about the increasing presence of Chinese vessels in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), Vice Admiral Hampiholi said ships of extra-regional navies were being tracked with maritime domain awareness (MDA). On the fate of eight ex-Indian Navy personnel who were awarded death penalty by a Qatari court, he said efforts were on at the highest level to ensure their return to India.
He said women sailors recruited under the Agnipath scheme were deployed across 29 trades in the Navy. The Navy is planning circumnavigation of the globe with a solo-woman crew member.
Regarding suicides by naval personnel, including a recent instance of a woman Agniveer from Kerala taking her life, the Vice Admiral said armed forces were a microcosm of society. However, the divisional system in the Navy has been strengthened to lessen stress and to prevent such incidents, with around 15 personnel being placed under a supervisory officer. Regular counselling sessions too are done.
On coordination with fishers, including in intelligence gathering, the Vice Admiral said fishers were the eyes and ears of the Navy. “We have regular campaigns to sensitise them on their personal safety and other security issues. There is also a mechanism to report and forewarn of anything unusual,” he added.
He said the Navy had been cleaning the Venduruthy Channel once a month, although it was beyond the force’s core tasks. In addition, mangroves, tree saplings, and Miyawaki forests are being planted on the coast.
Rear Admiral Upal Kundu, officiating Chief of Staff of the Southern Naval Command, and Cdr. Atul Pillai, Defence PRO, Kerala, too were present.

Tribune News Service

Mohali, December 2

Governor, Punjab & Administrator Chandigarh, Banwari Lal Purohit, conferred degrees on 100 BA LLB and LLM students of Army Institute of Law (AIL), Mohali, during the ninth convocation held on Saturday.

The Governor applauded the students for the laurels they brought to the college and motivated them to act as a beacon of hope and provide justice to the under-privileged. Guests of Honour Lt Gen MK Katiyar, AVSM, GOC-in-C, Western Command & Patron-in-Chief, AIL and Prof (Dr) Arvind, V-C, Punjabi University, Patiala presented Awards of Excellence to students.