A senior woman army official has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the Indian Army, accusing it of harassing her by temporarily posting her to a place around 1600 km away from her home despite her concerns of having a young child and the place being devoid of childcare facilities.

Lieutenant Colonel Annu Dogra (39), who is serving as an officer in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) department of the Indian Army in Jodhpur, registered her plea recently.

On 16 November, 2018, the DyJAG HQ Southern Commander, Brigadier Sandeep Kumar ordered Lt. Col. Dogra to move from Jodhpur to Kamptee, in Nagpur district for the Court Marshal duty on November 19, three days after Dogra received the order. It was only Dogra’s request that the time period was increased to 10 days, knowing that she would have to move along with her two years and five months old child.

Dogra’s husband, also an army officer in the rank of deputy JAG in Jodhpur, had to take leaves from his duty to support her and to babysit the child while she performed her professional duties. In her plea, which she filed through her counsel Aishwarya Bhati, Dogra wrote, her duties as a judge advocate takes up at least six hours until adjournment, then she has to get the typing done and frame the questions which take up another four to five hours after which she has to tend to her child.

He further notes that every time the court martial proceedings happens, she will have to move and this denies her the fundamental rights of “tending to her child by being sent to different locations from Jodhpur, which do not even provide the basic facility of crèche”.

The recent travels that Dogra has had to carry on in the case have led her to neglect her child because of the absence of family and community-based childcare arrangements at the current place of duty in Nagpur, she added.

ALSO READ: Misogyny Keeping Women Away From Combat Roles In Indian Army

Dogra refers to the National Policy for Children issued by the ministry of women and child development in 2013 and said in the petition that the Indian Army’s decision to move her with a child to a location that doesn’t have proper childcare facilities are in violation to the policy.

“The policy advocates to provide and promote crèche and day care facilities for children of working mothers, mothers belonging to poor families, ailing mothers and single parents. It also promotes appropriate baby feeding facilities in public places and at workplaces for working mother in public, private and unorganized sector,” the petition said.

Dogra’s contention is that she is not shirking her duties but is only asking for the rights of her child, who should not suffer just because her mother is in the Armed Forces

According to Dogra, the policy should be implemented throughout the country. Her contention is that she is not shirking her duties but is only asking for the rights of her child, who should not suffer just because her mother is in the Armed Forces.

Talking about Dogra’s plight, her counsel Bhati told SheThePeople.TV, “The manner in which she has been dealt with in terms of preponing the dates and not leaving any way out for her to travel to the place of court martial is inhuman. This is not war time where we can disregard all these things, here is an officer who has followed her duties and has an impeccable service record for last 15 years. But the point is that she is a mother of a very young child who is wholly dependent on her.”

“And it is not her inconvenience that counts but the child’s, who has been admitted to the hospital in Udaipur after they tried to travel by road because the flights very expensive.”

After Dogra filed the petition, she was asked to move again at 11.30 in the night on her own with her child to Kamptee for which she had to wait till 4.20 am at Jodhpur Railway Station.

“Being a mother is not a weakness for women, and children are the future of the country. We need to look at the provisions that developed countries have for working mothers who have young children. Those benefits help women take care for their children better. It is wrong to say that women are seeking relaxation or excuses from doing their duty but it is for the future generation who need better care,” Bhati said.

“We did not have crèches in Supreme Court till five years back. Earlier, people thought that it was not needed but what was happening was that young women lawyers were leaving their children behind to come to work. And with crèches at workplace, you are only empowering the mother to perform better. This is a basic necessity that the government itself recognizes in its policies, so they have to now provide it in its various segments to induct more women there.”

While the army inducts women in the forces, the policies and the rules remain highly masculine and fail to see working women’s duties with compassion. There needs to be better facilities and infrastructure in the army for it to become an enabling working space for both men and women.

Lt-Gen RS Sujlana

Kamarupa, the land of the cupid, Ahom of the medieval period and Assam of today, is known for its tantric religion and occultism, the famous Kamakhaya Temple, and carries a rightful tag of being a land of magic, charms, mystic, beauty and, of course, the famed tea estates.

Posted there to command a brigade, I enjoyed every bit of what Assam offered, including being witness to a mystic trickery. It was an encounter with a snake charmer, which had its share of drama, some reality, But, in the end, it turned out to be what we Indians love to do, topi pehnana (take someone for a ride)!

One morning, my staff officer, walked up and told me that an individual had come claiming magical powers to attract and catch snakes, besides having a cure for varied ailments, if nothing else, we could use his services to get rid of some slithering creatures, which were in plenty, around us .

Personally, wary of soothsayers, fortune-tellers, magicians and their ilk, I asked the officer to check out on this person’s credentials as we should not land up in trouble with the wildlife authorities over permitting unauthorised snake catching. This, he told me, had been checked, the individual had an official certificate permitting him to catch snakes. He also had photographic evidence of snakes caught from various government and military establishments and certificates appreciating his expertise and reliability. Lo and behold, he could even swallow a live snake!

Unbelievable! But there in front of me were revolting photographs of snakes of various sizes hanging out of his open mouth. No harm in seeing what he can do I thought, so we trooped to see him perform. Out came a bag, he picked out hands full of powder and throwing it around chanting strange sounding shalokas. He soon went into a hedge and came out with two snakes. Intrigued, but not convinced, I asked him to capture a pair of cobras living in the nearby pond and left. 

Next day, I queried about the cobras but was told that having caught some snakes and distributed curative charms, he left to attend to an urgent call and would be back soon. However, days past by and there was no sign of the mystery guy!

One evening in a party, I again queried about the snake charmer. I observed some mischievous smiles and knew something was amiss. On further probing the facts rolled out. This so-called snake charmer turned out to be a fraud. Snake catching was soon forgotten, he used his charm to convince many of his capability to cure ailments and then, having made a kill selling curative pseudo precious stones, he left with a neat sum and a promise to return.

One of the women joined in to relate what transpired with her husband, who was looking for the panacea for a recurring backache. The charmer sold her husband a costly stone, asked him to get two dozen bananas for a puja. In the final act, he asked him to bend forward holding the bananas and then came the surprise, a flying kick on his backside, and by the way, she added, ‘the backache persists!’ A loud round of laughter followed, but then I asked what about all those photographs with snakes hanging out of his mouth? ‘Photoshop, Sir, photoshop!’ Guess the charmer was much ahead of times. He had mastered this art to gain an aura over his audience. The only saving grace was that my apprehension and disbelief in such matters stood me good.

Army Supply Corps officer was posthumously awarded Shaurya Chakra for exploits in Kupwara

Col Dilbag Dabas (retd)

Satish Dahiya did not belong to a military family but always yearned to be a part of one. So, he resolved to start the glorious tradition in his village Banihari in Mahendragarh district of Haryana by becoming a torchbearer, and was commissioned into the Army Service Corps on December12, 2009.

Right from the time militancy engulfed the otherwise peaceful state of Jammu and Kashmir in the early Nineties, Kupwara, being a border district in Kashmir valley, had been the worst affected. And it is strongly believed that due to the false notion of being alienated by the state, the Kashmiri youth, to some extent, have covertly been assisting the militants exported by Pakistan. Every Rashtriya Rifles battalion has an Army Service Corps (ASC) officer posted on its war establishment who not only looks after the supply and logistics of the battalion, but also forms part of the fighting element of the battalion. Major Satish Dahiya, an ASC officer, was one such braveheart who, before laying down his life, exhibited the stuff he was made of. For his unmatched gallantry and supreme sacrifice fighting the militants, Major Satish Dahiya was posthumously awarded the Shaurya Chakra.

Sujata Dahiya, wife of Major Satish Dahiya, recalls that whenever she told Satish to take care while fighting the militants, his only reply in down-to-earth Haryanavi used to be “Nicky, tu nau haath ki sod (quilt) main so. Mere naam ki goli ib tanhi na bani sa.” Sadly, one goli existed in the armour of a militant which took its toll when the time came.

Mrs Dahiya, for the past almost two years, has not told her four-year-old daughter Priyasha that her father is no more. When asked as to how long will she hide the fact from her daughter, the Veer Nari responds without hesitation, “Sir, to date I don Satish’s combat fatigues which I have preserved as a treasure. I am preparing hard to fill the void created due to martyrdom of my husband. And I know Satish, watching from up there, would be the happiest soul when he sees that the combat fatigues he left behind are not just hanging on the wall.”

Battle account of bravery in War Diary of 30 RR reads…

“On February 14, 2017, Major Satish Dahiya of 30 Rashtriya Rifles was in charge of Cordon and Search Operation in Hajan village in Kupwara district. The village is located close to Hafruda and Rajbar forest, where the terrorists usually hide before proceeding to Baramulla or Sopore in North Kashmir. At about 5.30 pm, while he was placing the cordon at the identified site, the terrorists opened indiscriminate firing from close range. Major Dahiya and his party retaliated with accurate fire in which three terrorists were killed and the remaining fled downhill towards a nullah. Major Dahiya, unmindful of his personal safety, chased the fleeing militants and killed one more but he too was injured in his right thigh. Oblivious of his injury, he kept chasing the fleeing militants and killed one more but this time he was hit in the abdomen by a militant’s fire from close range and fell unconscious. The remaining militants, by then, had escaped in the thick jungle. Immediately, Major Dahiya, in an unconscious state, was put in an ambulance for evacuation to the battalion headquarters at village Langait where a helicopter awaited to evacuate the officer to Base Hospital, Srinagar. When the ambulance was a few kilometres short of the helipad, a mob gheraoed it and started pelting stones and did not let it move forward for almost half an hour till an armoured ambulance reach the site and dispersed the mob. Major Dahiya, though unconscious, was breathing when the ambulance reached the helipad but the officer breathed his last while being put in the helicopter.

Our Correspondent

Abohar, December 24

An Army jawan was killed and eight persons were injured in road accidents as dense fog engulfed Abohar and neighbouring Sriganganagar region on Monday.

Driver Rattan Singh (45) of Rajputana Rifles was killed as a Rajasthan Roadways bus hit Army Gypsy at 8.30 am near Rojari village while overtaking a truck that was parked on the roadside.

Major Rohit and Sepoy Jitender Singh, who sustained injuries, were shifted to the military hospital at Suratgarh. The police impounded the bus and the Army vehicle. A case has been registered against the bus driver. Deceased Rattan Singh belonged to Dhani Kotputali village.

In another mishap, Nand Lal and Sher Singh of Indira Nagari in Abohar and Manga Singh of Muktsar were hurt as two trucks collided head-on due to fog near Gidderanwali village on the Abohar-Sriganganagar stretch of the highway. The doctors at the Civil Hospital here referred Sher Singh to Faridkot.

Later, Ajit Singh of Tarmala sustained injuries as a car collided with a truck at the same place due to fog as the trucks involved in the previous mishap were not removed.

Pawan Kumar and Aladdin of Hisar were hurt as a pickup van collided with an SUV that carried the name plate of a government official based at Chhattisgarh in Rajasthan.

Meanwhile, power supply to some segments in Sriganganagar district was disrupted for a few hours as 220-kV power grid sub-stations in Padampur and the industrial focal point at Sriganganagar developed snag due to fog, officials said. The supply was suspended at 4 am and could be restored by 11 am. The Peelibanga segment in Hanumangarh was also affected due to the same reason. Officials said the fault was detected at 9 am and remedial measures were immediately initiated.

Can’t lose sight of caution when it comes to Pakistan and its army

Capt Amarinder Singh
Chief Minister, Punjab

IT is strange that two weeks after the ceremony of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor at Dera Baba Nanak, it dawns on five-time Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to insinuate that I am attempting to sabotage its opening. Had he read reports of my speech that day, or my letter to the Pakistan Foreign Minister, declining his PM’s invitation to their ceremony on November 28, it would have been crystal clear to him why I did so.

At Dera Baba Nanak on November 26, I made it clear that it was part of every Sikh’s ardas each morning that we should be united with our gurdwaras which remained in Pakistan after 1947. I welcomed this initiative between the governments of India and Pakistan, and said Punjab would do everything to hasten its construction. We have since set up Dera Baba Nanak Development Authority and will start acquiring land once the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways gives us its requirement.

To Mr Badal goes the credit for the 35,000 deaths in Punjab during the 80s-90s, and the destruction of our economy. Using gurdwaras for his politics, demolishing every vestige of constitutional propriety, creating massive unemployment, and putting himself before Punjab and our people has been his sole contribution — history is witness to it. 

For me, to be CM at a time that this corridor has come about, to open access to pilgrims from India to visit one of our holiest shrines, is a singular honour. My grandfather Maharaja Bhupindra Singh rebuilt Kartarpur Sahib from 1920 to 1929, after floods in the Ravi destroyed it. My father Maharaja Yadvindra Singh, in 1932, did sewa at Punja Sahib. In 2004, the then CM of Pakistan Punjab, Parvez Elahi, and I laid the foundation stone for a road linking Nankana Sahib to Wagah, for easy access to pilgrims from India.

However, I cannot forget that it is my duty as head of Punjab Government to secure my State against any agency or individuals who attempt, yet again, to create disturbed conditions. Punjab has been through terrible times from the 70s through the 90s. It was our security forces and the people who finally ensured an end to the prevailing madness. Having lived through that period, I was determined that I would never allow such a situation to again engulf my State. I therefore decided not to visit Pakistan, regardless of my personal loss in not visiting Kartarpur Sahib, till that country stopped its nefarious activity in my State and country.

Do we see light on the horizon? I think not. If the Pakistan government and its army want better relations with India, why not start by stopping cross-border fire, killing or wounding Indian soldiers every day? Why not rein in the ISI, which continues to weaponise and train terror outfits in Kashmir? Why attempt to start terror activities again in Punjab? Referendum 2020 is ISI’s new game. The frontman is a decrepit US-based lawyer called Pannu, who professes a peaceful referendum for Khalistan, which finds contradiction in a recently neutralised terror module’s confession to owing allegiance to this organisation.

The question arises: why did Pakistan army agree to the corridor now, after rejecting consistent attempts made over the years? For any student of ISI functioning, the reason is obvious: create a universal euphoria among the Sikh community and gain as much sympathy by any disgruntled youth or citizen, and thus widen its terror base with the objective of gaining support for the referendum.

Do not for once believe that the Pakistan army has any love lost for India. The army calls the shots in all spheres of government. Behind the figurehead civilian rule is the gun, and the gun today in Pakistan has a warped strategy. Its army today is engaged, in the north and west, in a war with the tribals, in what used to be the NWFP; in the south the Balochis keep it engaged; in the northeast it is Kashmir; and to the east it wishes to engage Punjab. Arrogance in the extreme — a four-front war!

In Pakistan, the army is the largest corporate body built from the post-war reconstruction fund, running virtually everything. The corps commanders, PSOs and the COAS, who call the shots, are more interested in furthering their monetary interests as retirement approaches. The COAS gets a million dollars as bonus on retirement, apart from land and housing on his way up the ladder. And all this while the core of the country is on the verge of collapse.

In our Punjab, each village is linked by a hard-top road, is electrified and has drinking water. Each village is connected by buses, and now each village is being provided piped gas, and CNG stations for gas-operated vehicles. Pakistan has none of the above. Karachi has become a slum, gas pipes were recently removed as gas could not be provided, and Lahore is close behind. The country be damned, the generals must survive, therefore divert public opinion away from these miseries. What better way than to rope in Punjab as well!

General Bajwa should understand that the Punjab he sees in India today is not the Punjab of the 70s. The Pannus of the so-called pacifist movement, or ‘Happy PhD’ advisers to terror outfits are of no consequence. Do not underestimate the Punjab of today. When trouble started in 1978, our police force was a fledgling one with a strength of 20,000, employed mostly in routine policing duties. Today, we have a 81,000-strong, highly professional and motivated force, prepared for any eventuality. In addition, we are backed by our paramilitary and defence services.

My suggestion to you, General, is that you should consider a hand in friendship, which would pay greater dividends, rather than continue with the current belligerence your ISI is executing. We have, since my government took charge in 2017, neutralised 20 ISI modules, arrested 95 operatives and seized caches of arms and explosives.

SFJ’S ISI LINK EXPOSED, SAYS AMARINDER

“If Pakistan Prime Minister is truly in favour of opening the doors for long-lasting peace with India through this corridor he should not only unequivocally condemn the SFJ statement but should also ensure that their soil is not used by the anti-India outfit to further its campaign,” he said.

Punjab is today much better equipped than it was in the 1980s and 1990s when Pak-backed terrorism had swept the state, the chief minister said.

Jalandhar, December 8

The 2016 surgical strikes were a successful tactical operation which conveyed a clear message to Pakistan to stop any misadventure along the LoC, Army’s Northern Command Chief Lt Gen Ranbir Singh told mediapersons here on the sidelines of his visit to Kapurthala Sainik School, his alma mater, on Saturday.

His comments came a day after Lt Gen DS Hooda (retd), who was associated with the operation, said it was natural to have initial euphoria over the success, but the constant hype around the surgical strikes was unwarranted.

Lt Gen Ranbir Singh said all actions by the Army along the LoC were carried out in an extremely professional manner to meet the national aspirations and achieve military objectives.

However, he said, “As far as politicisation of the surgical strikes is concerned, I would not like to comment. That is in political domain.”

On whether the country could carry out surgical strikes again to counter the spate of recent infiltrations, he said there were many other options to check infiltration of terrorists. Surgical strike was only one of the options.

On possible attempts to revive militancy in Punjab, Lt Gen Singh said Pakistan was trying to extend the “arc of terrorism” beyond Kashmir and the Army was taking measures to arrest the spread. — TNS

The controversy over the Narendra Modi government’s decision to purchase 36 Rafale fighter jet aircraft from the French company Dassault Aviation has been dominating India’s political discourse for the last several months.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the main Opposition party Congress are at loggerheads over the deal. According to the Congress, the government has violated procedure and bought aircraft at a price which is three times higher than what the Manmohan Singh government had negotiated.

Questions have been raised over why Hindustan Aeronautics Limited wasn’t given the offset contract for the Rafale jets. (Source: Twitter)

The Congress has also accused the Modi government of ‘gifting’ offsets to the tune of 3.9 billion euros to Reliance Defence — a company that has no experience of making jets or defence equipment and in the process inflicted massive losses on Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

On September 23, the Congress released a video featuring Dassault Aviation chairman Eric Trappier. The party claims the video was shot on March 25, 2015, just 17 days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the new Rafale deal.

The purported video shows Trappier talking about responsibility sharing on the Rafale contract in the presence of Air Force former chief Arup Raha and HAL chief KL Raju.

To explore this aspect and HAL’s role in the deal, India Today filed a series of Right to Information queries with the public sector undertaking (PSU).

The question India Today asked:

a) What kind of understanding HAL had with Dassault Aviation regarding Rafale fighter jets?

b) Did HAL chairman visit the Dassault facility in March 2015?

In response to the first question, HAL said, “HAL is not party to Rafale procurement”.

Dismissing the Congress’ charge, the PSU said, “The chairman of HAL did not visit the Dassault facility in March 2015.”

India Today further filed an RTI and asked about meetings between HAL officials and Dassault Aviation officials in the last five years. The details that the RTI query sought included dates, agenda and venue of each meeting. It also sought the names of representatives from HAL and Dassault who (if at all) attended these meetings.

The RTI response India Today received from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

The HAL reply read: “Marketing Dept HAL, Corporate office has coordinated 2 Nos of meetings between HAL officials and Dassault Officials during the last five years. (sic)”

“The meetings coordinated by Marketing Dept HAL, Corporate office were held on 22nd June 2014 and 27th July 2014. The meetings were led by Off. GM (MMRCA) and Offg. GM (Offsets) respectively from HAL side and by VP (Intl Coop) from Dassault Aviation side. (sic)”

Though HAL did not divulge the agenda and venue of these meetings, it said that meeting were held between the HAL and Dassault officials in 2014.

In response to the projects on which HAL and Dassault Aviation are working on and have worked on, the PSU’s response read: “Mirage upgrade and overhaul projects.”

In another RTI India Today asked, “How many projects is HAL working on in the field of manufacturing aircraft under licence”

The reply said: “HAL is currently manufacturing the following three aircrafts/helicopters under licence: Su-30, Dornier Do -228 & Chetak Helicopter. (sic)”

Kartarpur Sahib corridor, which will facilitate visa-free travel of Indian Sikh pilgrims to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, is expected to be completed in six months.

https://www.ndtv.com/video/news/news/yaar-dildaar-imran-khan-says-navjot-sidhu-at-kartarpur-event-500137

http://

As Guru Nanak’s teachings stand out for their relevance in the present times of divisive turmoil even 550 years after his birth, one’s head bows with humility to the Guru’s deep insight into the right way of living. And, astonishingly, the right path turns out to be quite simple. It is we who have made our lives complicated. With superstitions, rituals, idolatry, barriers of caste and creed, all dressed up with the cloak of religiosity to garner acceptance. In his endeavour to open the minds of fellow humans to the society’s blots and blemishes, the Guru freely dug into the preachings of his times — from those of the Hindus, the Muslims, babas, pirs, fakirs — to evolve his philosophy, that eventually became the Sikh way of life.

Also, equally astonishingly, it turns out that treading on that simple way of life is not quite so easy. One is easily led by ego, anger, lust, greed towards diversions, blind to the potholes that mark such digressions. After all, why is it so tough to consider all fellow beings as equal; that there is one nameless God, who constitutes the eternal truth and he resides in his creations? Why is truthfulness so hard to come by? Yet, that is the only way for a peaceful and fulfilling life. Be good, work hard, share fortunes. Vand khao, khand khao. Each one of us needs to learn and abide by this credo. The planet would then be a paradise.

It is in this context that the year-round global festivities around the 550th anniversary of Gurpurb assume importance. Whether it is the announcement of the Kartarpur corridor from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur to the International Border for further connection with Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur, Pakistan, or the development of Sultanpur Lodhi as a spiritual centre, the activities hold value only if they underscore the Guru’s message of overcoming divisiveness. He denounced the dogmas of the caste system, and taught that everyone is equal. Through the spiritual pursuits of love, equality, fraternity and virtue, one can be purged of falsehood.