Asks constitutional authorities to hoist it on buildings, cars; terms change of Sadr-i-Riyasat with Governor an ‘error’
Ishfaq Tantry,Tribune News Service,Srinagar, December 27
In a judgment being interpreted as a “re-assertion of Jammu and Kashmir’s lost autonomy”, the High Court has asked all the constitutional authorities to hoist the state flag on their vehicles and buildings as mandated under Section 44 of the J&K Constitution. Reiterating the special status enjoyed by J&K under Article 370, the High Court ruled on Saturday that it was an “informed decision” of the J&K Constituent Assembly “not to recommend modification or change in the Article”, and to “allow it to remain” in the same form even after the J&K Constitution came into force on January 26, 1957.The High Court also questioned the Sixth Amendment — also called The Constitution of Jammu & Kashmir (Sixth Amendment) Act 1965 — which replaced Sadr-i- Riyasat with the Governor, by observing that the “elective status of Head of the State was an important attribute of the constitutional autonomy enjoyed by the state”, and a part of the “basic framework” of the state Constitution.The High Court suggested that the J&K Assembly should consider the matter “to uphold the Constitution and rectify an error”. The Sixth Amendment replaced Sadr-i-Riyasat with the Governor, to be appointed by the President and is head of the state. The judgment was delivered by Justice Hasnain Massodi on a petition filed in 2013 by Abdul Qayoom Khan, who served as a Forest Conservator in the J&K government.The petitioner had later on also challenged the PDP-BJP government’s decision to withdraw a controversial circular on March 13 this year related to hoisting of the state flag alongside the Tricolour.Under fire from the political parties, especially the BJP, which has been calling for one flag across the country, the Mufti Mohd Sayeed government had withdrawn the controversial circular, saying it was not approved by a “competent authority”.Experts said the observations made by the High Court with regard to the Sixth Amendment and Sadr-i- Riyasat are “not binding” on government, but it is “duty-bound” to implement the directions with regard to the hoisting of state flag if not appealed against before a larger Bench. Senior High Court lawyer Zaffar Shah termed the judgment “a re-assertion and re-confirmation” of the autonomy of J&K. The government, he said, was duty-bound to implement the March 12 circular which asked for respect to the state flag. Advocate General Jahangir Iqbal said any decision on an appeal could be taken only after receiving the ruling’s copy.
RINAGAR: Fifty years after the Sadr-e- Riyasat – president and the erstwhile head of the state of Jammu and Kashmir – was replaced by a Centre-appointed governor, its high court on Saturday dubbed the move as unconstitutional. However, the court asked the state legislature to decide on the matter.
The court, while delivering a judgment on a petition over hoisting the state flag at offices of constitutional authority, termed the amendment passed by the assembly in 1965 as being against the “basic structure of the constitution”. “The elective status of head of the state (Sadr-e-Riyasat) was an important attribute of constitutional autonomy enjoyed by the state, a part of the ‘basic framework’ of the state constitution and – therefore – not within the amending power of the state legislature,” a bench of Justice Hasnain Massodi said.
Till 1965, Jammu and Kashmir used to have a Sadr-e-Riyasat as the head of the state – with the power of appointing him vested in the assembly – and a prime minister. Karan Singh, son Hari Singh, the last maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, was the first – and the last – Sadr- eRiyasat of J&K between 1952 and 1965. However, in April 1965, the state assembly under PM GM Sadiq brought in the Sixth Amendment Act – changing the nomenclatures of Sadr-e-Riyasat and prime minister to governor and chief minister, respectively.
As the year approaches the end, on December 26 every year, the global world Sikh community commemorate the martyrdom of three of their most loved figures of the Guru household. On this darkest of days, their youngest hero and bravest comrade of Sikhism, Sahibzada Fateh Singh (1699-1705) who was the youngest of Guru Gobind Singh’s four sons, Sahibzada Zorawar Singh (1696-1705), his elder brother and Mata Gujar Kaur ji, his grandmother sacrificed their lives for their faith and the right to remain Sikhs.
Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib which is situated 5 km north of Sirhind marks the sad site of the execution of the two younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh at the behest of Wazir Khan of Kunjpura, the faujdar of Sirhind. The three shrines exist within this Gurdwara complex to mark the exact spot where these tragic events were witnessed in 1705.
Baba Fateh Singh with his elder brother, set a precedence in Sikh history (and perhaps also in world history) by becoming the youngest known martyrs to sacrifice their lives for their principles and the right to practice their religion and their faith without coercion or the threat of terror. Even at such a tender age of 6 years, Baba Fateh Singh showed courage, determination and free-will not to be intimidated by the cruel, barbaric and unjust authorities of the time. He showed composure, fearlessness and the renowned trait of unparalleled heroism becoming of the Sikh leadership and was prepared to sacrifice his life but not his faith.
The mind boggles to understand how children of such young age had the guts, courage, bravery and focus to refuse the promise of many lavish gifts and a future of cosy comforts of royalty that were being offered by the Mughals if they abandoned their faith against the other stark option of a brutal, painful and tragic death entombed within a wall of bricks and mortar. The world salutes the supreme sacrifice of these kids of steel who never once – even of a moment considered the easy option and always remained focused on their mission to uphold the principles of God’s kingdom and allowed their bodies to be tortured and violated and endured the intense pain of a slow, pain-ridden and certain death.
On the one hand the world witnessed, the supreme sacrifice of the youngest members of the Guru household for the highest ideals of humanity and on the other hand you have the lowly, cruel, cold-blooded and barbaric acts of the mighty, heartless and immoral rulers of a huge nation. May the world reflect on this grim and gutless episode in the history of humanity and learn from it the values of life and the way to uphold these values and the dangers posed by an uncontrolled and immoral mind.
On 26 December 1705, Baba Fateh Singh ji was cruelly and mercilessly martyred at Sirhind along with his elder brother, Zorawar Singh. He is probably the youngest recorded martyr in history who knowingly and consciously laid down his life at the very tender age of 6 years. Sahibzada Fateh Singh and his older brother, Sahibzada Zorawar Singh are among the most hallowed martyrs in Sikhism.
As soon as the two Sahibzadas attained martyrdom, Mata Gujri ji, who was sitting in meditation in the tower, breathed her last. The messenger who came with the news of the martyrdom of the Sahibzade found that Mata-Ji had already attained salvation. There was great commotion in the town of Sirhind. Everyone was furious at the atrocious crime. They were unanimous in their view that this heinous act would herald the doomsday of the Mughal Empire. They admired the courage and steadfastness of the brave sons of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji and remarked, “What determination at such a young age! They did not budge an inch from their position in spite of several allurements by the Nawab and Qazi.”
The same evening Dewan Todar Mal, a jeweller reached Nawab Wazir Khan’s court for permission to cremate the dead bodies of the two Sahibzadas and Mata Gurji. So as to highlight the extreme cruelty of the administration, the Nawab agreed on condition that the dewan paid for the required piece of land by spreading as many Gold coins as would cover the entire spot. The dewan accepted the terms and brought bagfuls of gold coins to satisfy the condition set by the Mughal administration. He marked the site and spread coins on entire piece of land he selected for cremation. The two martyred young sons of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji were cremated with full honours along with their grand mother.
There is no parallel to the martyrdom of such young boys in the annals of human history. Sahibzada Fateh Singh was less than six years old (born 1699) and Sahibzada Zorawar Singh was just over eight (born in 1696). They laid down their lives in December 1705. At such a tender age, they were bricked alive but did not bow before the tyranny and cruelty of the Mughal government. Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji was at the time in the forests of Machhiwara when the news of the martyrdom of his younger sons reached him. On hearing this he pulled out a plant with the tip of his arrow and prophesized that this tragedy will herald the uprooting of Mughal Empire in India. And to the Emperor he wrote in the Zafarnama: “…Even though my four sons were killed, I remain like a coiled snake. What bravery is it to quench a few sparks of life?….. When God is a friend, what can an enemy do, even though he multiplies hundred times? If an enemy practices enmity and hatred a thousand times, he cannot, as long as God is a friend, injure even a hair on one’s head.”
Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji addressed his followers and reassured them thus: “Although, four of my sons have joined Waheguru, many thousands of my sons are still alive”, meaning that the Guru accepted all Sikhs as his sons and daughters. A wave of anguish gripped the country as the news of the martyrdom of the Sahibzadas spread. After some time the recluse Banda Bairagi came under the influence of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, and was made a Khalsa as was Banda Singh Bahadar. He undertook the task of dealing with these cruel oppressors and shook the very heart of the Mughal empire. The town of Sirhind was reduced to utter ruins as a consequence of the cruel, uncaring and heartless treatment of the Sahibzade.
The renowned Hindi poet, Maithli Saran Gupta in his well known book Bharat Bharati said: “Whatever their present position, the future of the community whose sons can thus lay down their lives for their faith, is bound to be glorious.”
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Colombo, December 20
Sri Lanka’s military is set to be modernised with assistance from militarily advanced nations such as India, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said today.Wickremesinghe was addressing a military passing out parade in the central town of Diyathalawa.“In Asia only the armies of India and Japan are older than our Army,” Wickremesinghe said. “It is important to maintain defence ties with militarily advanced nations such as the US and Britain. India, China and Pakistan are also important,” he said. He said the Sri Lankan Army needs to be educated on future warfare to become a modernised army by 2025.“The army fought a war for over 30 years and they deserve all the credit,” Wickremesinghe said, adding that politicians must not try to build their images through military victories, a reference to former president Mahinda Rajapaksa. — PTI
The 16-year-old girl, who was arrested by the Anti-Terror Squad before she could join the Islamic State in Syria, has revealed that the terror group is planning to launch a massive assault on the Indian sub-continent by 2020.
During her interrogation, the girl claimed that IS is planning to expand its area of control beyond Syria and Iraq and preparing grounds to target India by 2020. According to reports, the girl claimed that 8 to 10 men were in touch with her within India to carry out IS’s nefarious plans. The girl also said she was in touch with nearly 200 men from countries like Srilanka, Singapore, Canada, Kenya and Europe, who have shown interest in joining IS ranks.
The girl was arrested from Pune as she was planning to leave the country to join the Islamic State.
The arrest came after the ATS began tracking the conversation exchanged between the teen and her sources from other countries. According to the ATS, the teen developed her interest for the terror group four months back on the internet. Gradually, she came in contact with a person from Sri Lanka and several others from other countries on Facebook, Twitter, Telegram and through emails.
Through constant messages, the IS finally managed to convince the girl to join the terror organization in Syria next year. The group also reportedly promised to provide her with medical education.
A man named Sirajuddin, who remained in contact with the teen, has been arrested from Jaipur. Officials say that Sirajuddin was an IS recruiter and an Indian Oil Corporation staffer, who would coax youngsters on social media to join the terror group.
Police officials claim that there was a steady change in the teen’s lifestyle in the past few months. The girl slowly switched from wearing jeans to burqa and a hijab. The girl belonged to good family and had done her schooling from a convent school.
Our Correspondent,Abohar, December 17
A befitting tribute was paid to the martyrs of the 1971 Indo-Pak war at a function organised today by the All-India Ex-Servicemen Seva Parishad and Sanskar Bharti at Ramlila Ground in Sriganganagar, 40 km from here.Chief guest Colonel Anshuman Tripathi, Commanding officer, 21 Rajput Regiment, led all ranks in laying wreaths at the Amar Jawan Jyoti.Others who laid wreaths were Sukhwant Dhillon and Manjit Chimni, former commandants, Border Security Force, Subedar GS Dhaliwal, president, Ex-Servicemen Welfare Council, Tarsem Gupta, president, Beopar Mandal. Col Tripathi exhorted the youths to join the NCC and the Army. Megh Raj Jindal, trust chairperson Bimla Jindal, and legislator Kamini Jindal felicitated 33 Vir Naris.
Ajay Banerjee,Tribune News Service,New Delhi, December 12
Today’s military-diplomatic moves between India and Japan fit into what, among strategic circles, is referred to as a “security diamond”—an alliance or a close-knit group comprising India, the US, Japan and Australia.Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in a joint statement today made it clear that Japan would be a permanent partner in the much-watched navy exercise named “Malabar” – the last one conducted in the Bay of Bengal in October included a “hunt for a submarine”.The joint statement said: “The two prime ministers welcomed Japan’s participation in the India-US Malabar exercises on a regular basis, as it would help create stronger capabilities to deal with maritime challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.” This is what India tried in 2007 and then backed off under pressure from China that had protested against such an India-US-Japan grouping and termed it “anti-China”.The “security diamond” got boost recently when India-Japan-Australia launched their trilateral dialogue in addition to the existing India-US-Japan dialogue. The moves fall in place with Prime Minister Abe’s advocated “security diamond” policy. In December 2012, Abe in an essay posted on the website of Project Syndicate, a Prague- and New York-based non-profit syndicate of newspapers from around the world saying, “I envisage a strategy whereby Australia, India, Japan and the US state of Hawaii form a diamond to safeguard the maritime commons stretching from the Indian Ocean region to the western Pacific.”
PRIME Minister Narendra Modi’s approach to relations with Pakistan has been one of trial and error — more error than trial, it would seem. After a spectacular start by inviting his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif to his swearing-in, it has been a downhill journey punctuated by the Ufa meeting on the sidelines of a conference which led to a stalemate.Mr Modi bears the primary responsibility because he called off the two countries’ August discourse at the last minute by imposing a new pre-condition. He has now learned the hard way that not talking to Pakistan is not a viable option and he had to row back by utilising the Paris climate change meeting to buttonhole Mr Sharif to revive talks.So now we are to have a “comprehensive” dialogue, instead of a “composite” one of the Congress variety. So far so good. What then does the future hold for the impending exercise, to be defined by the foreign secretaries? The fact that the two countries’ national advisers meeting was held in Bangkok away from media glare implies that Mr Modi has learned his first lesson in Indo-Pakistani diplomacy. It is that it is a long hard drill that yields results intermittently, one problem at a time, and is not susceptible to dramatic outcomes.Now that the Modi government has reinvented the wheel by promising to hold “comprehensive” talks on terror and Kashmir among other subjects, where will it lead us? The Bharatiya Janata Party has its own constituency fed on anti-Pakistan rhetoric to cope with. But beyond camouflaging the new line by clever word play, the new men and women in power will find that the problems are both endemic and overlaid with the bloody history of the subcontinent’s Partition. Neither India nor Pakistan (or now Bangladesh) can get away from the manner in which independence came to the two countries.It was no coincidence that the nearest the two countries came to an agreement was during the reign of Gen Pervez Musharraf in Pakistan by liberally using the official and deniable route of empowered emissaries to throw up ideas and digest them. The assumption was, and remains valid, that only in a secret environment can the two sides’ representatives throw up new ideas and digest them yielding innovative routes to an acceptable compromise.It needs hardly stressing that for Pakistan the Kashmir issue is central to the relationship. The essential compromise mooted was to have open borders between the two Kashmirs while leaving the border lines unchanged. But New Delhi must realise that Pakistanis have been fed a propaganda line since the Partition and the new Indian effort in indoctrination gathered speed after the coming to power of Mr Modi.For India, the Pakistani-inspired and directed massacre in Mumbai is an open sore which cannot be cured until Islamabad can bring the guilty to book. The Pakistani attempt to equate Mumbai with the killings of Pakistanis on the Samjhauta Express simply does not wash. Some reports on the talks Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj held in Pakistan suggest that her hosts are conscious of Indian feelings on this score.The logic of Indo-Pakistani relations is that it swings from the sentimentality of a dying out pre-Partition generation and the realpolitik of hard-headed men on both sides seeking to get the better of the other. Simply put, India for Pakistan is its enemy number one while most Indians see Pakistan as an adversary, although with the Bharatiya Janata Party now in power, the perception of Islamabad could harden.The problem cannot be resolved by the two countries’ peoples coming together and meeting more often. At the personal level, they are the best of friends when they meet. It is at two other levels: the policy-making elites on either side and for Pakistanis the historical wrongs they believe were done to them, which they unsuccessfully sought to wrest through military force. This frustration has led to Pakistani efforts to keep Kashmir simmering through sending militants across the border and taking the guerrilla pinpricks across the country.In dealing with Pakistan, Mr Modi will have to reinvent himself up to a point for the simple reason that the relationship is overlaid with so much emotion and angst that even the simplest problem takes on unusual overtones. We must remember that for decades the Pakistani leaders have framed their polical and security policies with the single objective of checkmating India until settling on China as its main guardian angel.In India’s worldview, Pakistan represents one of its two often hostile neighbours. Nepal cannot be more than a passing problem, despite the prevailing sneezes, and after coming to power of the present dispensation in Bangladesh, it is a friendly neighbour.China represents a problem of another dimension since it is being accepted as a virtual superpower. A rapprochement with Beijing will take time because many factors, some extraneous to the two countries’ bilateral equation, are involved, including the state of the Sino-US relations.The imperatives of seeking friendship with Pakistan are obvious. We are in essence the same people and remain deeply connected with each other through geography and many other associations. A thaw in relations between the two countries can only benefit both sides, particularly at a time when terrorism is threatening the entire world, with Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in India a mere side show.It is just as well that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reversed course in picking up the threads again in connecting with Pakistan. Engagement between the two countries is proverbially hazardous and susceptible to rupture in the face of hostile winds that blow across the subcontinent fiercely.For Mr Modi there is the domestic problem of keeping his Sangh Parivar flock in line. He therefore must resist the temptation of overplaying his hand. Mr Sharif faces an even more difficult problem of subduing the hardliners fed on decades of India-hating jargon while keeping the army on his side. He seems to have struck the happy compromise of getting a retired general to act as his new national security adviser.
Tribune News Service
Dehradun, December 9
Maj Gen YS Mahiwal, Officiating Commandant, Indian Military Academy (IMA), gave away recognitions and awards to outstanding gentleman cadets at the award presentation ceremony of the 137th regular and120th technical graduate course, held at Khetrapal Auditorium here today.The gentleman cadets, during their training session at the IMA, are given exposure to multifarious activities, including weapon training, warfare tactics, drill and various other skills to make them battle ready and worthy of executing various responsibilities and tasks with utmost professionalism.Gentleman cadets are encouraged to achieve excellence at the individual level and contribute constructively to team effort to infuse a sense of comradeship amongst them. For the purpose, award of individual medals and the rolling trophy have been instituted at the IMA which marks the highest standard achieved at the individual andcompany levels.Eligible foreign gentleman cadets from friendly foreign countries, including Afghanistan, Maldives, Tajikistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal, who have successfully qualified military strategy and defence management examination were awarded diploma and certificate by Prof PK Garg, vice-chancellor of Uttarakhand Technical University. Major Gen YS Mahiwal, while congratulating the winners, expressed confidence in the leadership potential of the gentleman cadets to shoulder responsibility in the future.
Medals for individual excellence
1. Parachute Regiment medal for endurance and physical toughness — Ravi Somanagouda Mulimani
2. GR medal for standing first in mil studies — Anubhav Dalal
3. Sikh Regiment silver medal for best sportsman— Abhishek Kumar Singh
4. Dogra Regiment & Scout wing medal for best in obstacle competition— G Gandhi Raj
5. Maratha LI Medal for being best in PT— Ramazoni Mukhridin
6. Rajput Regiment silver medal for being best in academics— Shinjan Chakraborty
7. Sikh LI silver medal (General Bhagat Memorial Medal) for best cadet in turnout and drill—Ahuja Pratik Mahendra
8. Corps of Signals medal for standing first in science and warfare — Shinjan Chakra borty
9. Raj Rif medal for best cadet in tactical ability—Yogesh
10. Brigade of the Guards Medal for being best in service subjects —Vaibhav Mishra
11. Jat Regiment Silver Medal for best cadet in OQ — Ravi Somanagouda Mulimani
12. ASC Medal for best golfer—Hardeep Singh Bhela
13. 5 GR (FF) Medal for being best shot in LMG—Veer Singh Yadav
14. 8 GR Medal “Sam Manekshaw Medal” for best cadet in weapon training— Yogesh
15. Grenadiers trophy for best shot in INSAS Rif—Parmander Yadav
16. Motivation trophy for most motivated cadet—Hartej Singh Randhawa
17. Silver medal FGCF for standing the overall second in order of merit among foreign cadets —Anwesh Gurung.
