Dehradun, January 27
A two-week yoga training course was organised for Army personnel, under the aegis of Patanjali Yogpeeth, Haridwar, from January 10 to 26. As many as 250 personnel of Western Command attended the yoga camp.Specialists from Patanjali Yogpeeth, under the guidance of yoga guru Swami Ramdev, gave a comprehensive knowledge of yoga and meditation to the jawans during the training.—TNS
Our Correspondent,Sopore, January 23
In a major blow to the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, the police today claimed to have busted a network of the group’s operators in militancy infested Sopore with the arrest of five militants. They were reportedly planning to carry out strikes in the run-up to Republic Day.The police said the operation, which lasted many days, led to the arrest of 32-year-old Ishfaq Ahmad Sofi, alias Umar, of Sopore and four active associates. The police said the militants were desperately preparing to revive the outfit by planning to target security forces ahead of Republic Day celebrations.One Chinese pistol, a magazine, two Chinese hand grenades and other ammunition were recovered from the possession of the captured militants.“It is a major blow to the terrorist outfit that was desperately trying to strike ahead of Republic Day. The group was planning to carry out attacks on security forces in and around Sopore and Baramulla, particularly along the national highway,” said Gareeb Das, Deputy Inspector General of Police, north Kashmir.“The captured militants are involved in lobbing grenades in downtown Srinagar and other violence-related activities in the Valley,” he said.“An advance party of the police and Army’s 52 Rashtriya Rifles initially chased and captured Umar from Model Town in Sopore and Aijaz Ahmad Gojri, alias Chhota Kalimullah, of the old town area in Baramulla from an orchard in the Sangrama area of Sopore on Friday,” he added.Das said the group had plans to carry out IED blasts and set fire in the busy markets of Baramulla and Sopore to show the presence of the outfit.Hours later, the sustained interrogation of the two militants led to the arrest three others — Danish Gaffar Gojri, alias Kalimullah, from Drangbal in Baramulla, Javid Ahmad Dar from Khanpora in Baramulla and Mohammad Sameer Kandoo, alias Sameer Baba, from Soura in Srinagar, said the police.Danish and Javid joined the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen in September last year after they were ‘motivated’ by Umar. The police said Umar was handled by Sajad Shaheen, alias Sajad Afghani, from Pakistan. The police said Umar was given the task of ‘motivating’ youths to join the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen in the Valley.Ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit to the Kashmir valley on November 5 last year, Umar and Kandoo hurled a grenade towards the CRPF camp near Khayam Chowk in Srinagar, resulting in injuries to 13 CRPF personnel.The duo hurled grenades at CRPF bunkers at Safa-Kadal, Naid-Kadal and Bilal Colony and the police station at Khanyar in Srinagar,” said the police.
NEW DELHI — Indian Army dogs, who have saved the lives of numerous soldiers in counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations, will march down the Rajpath for Republic Day Parade on January 26 after a gap of 26 years.
The Army, which has about 1,200 Labradors and German Shepherds, have selected 36 canines to march down the Rajpath with their handlers.
Mansi, a four-year-old Labrador, and her Kashmiri master Bashir Ahmed War from the Territorial Army (TA) had made the country proud when they made the supreme sacrifice while gallantly fighting a group of heavily-armed infiltrators in the high altitude area along the Line of Control (LoC) in Tangdhar sector in August last year.
A war dog training school was raised on March 1, 1960 at Meerut. Basic and advance training to dogs and their trainers on specialised jobs like explosive detection, mine detection, tracking, guarding and assaulting is imparted at the Remount and Veterinary Corps (RVC) Centre and College.
The Army dogs and their trainers of this Corps have won one Shourya Chakra, six Sena Medals, 142 COAS Commendation Cards, six VCOAS Commendation Cards and 448 GOC-in-C Commendation Cards.
The motto of the Corps is ‘Pashu Seva Asmakam Dharm’.
The Army had come under severe criticism from the common people and dog lovers across the world after it was revealed in an RTI reply last year that dogs, horses and mules are put to sleep after their retirement.
Following a PIL, the government had in September informed the Delhi High Court that it would come out with a policy on the issue within six months.
Though a final policy is yet to be adopted, the Army has stopped further killing of ageing animals, except for those suffering incurable, terminal diseases and injuries.
The development came at a time when many countries, including the US and France, have special rehabilitation schemes for military dogs. The gallantry medal was awarded to a police dog killed after the Paris attacks last year.
The Indian Army dogs are trained in sniffing bombs, hunting down enemies, locating secret places and fetching evidence. The Army generally uses Labradors, German Shepherds and Belgian Shepherds, depending on the altitude and weather, besides the nature of assignment which may include routine patrol to explosives detection.
Pak nuclear warheads aim to deter India: Report
On Sunday night, a group of war veterans and widows assembled outside Arun Jaitley’s Krishna Menon Marg residence. It was 8 degrees and a dense fog was settling in, but a big fire and pent up anger from a 217-day-long protest kept them protest going.
After much push and shove, the government notified One Rank One Pension on 5 November 2015. But a section of protesters have continued their fight against the government’s very definition of One Rank One Pension.
That’s how the protesters ridicule the government’s decision to review, equalise and refix pensions every five years. Veterans want this process to be done every two years, if not one. But the government continues to stick to its guns, citing administrative hassles.
As for settling the backlog, the government notification states that new pensions will be fixed on the basis of the pension of the veterans who retired in the calendar year 2013. The protesters want dues to be paid on the basis of the financial year 2014.
The government has proposed to calculate the pension by calculating the average of the highest and the lowest pension paid in one particular rank. Those above the average will continue to be protected, but this, according to the protesting veterans, undermines the very definition of ‘One Rank One Pension’. They want the highest scale of pension (as of 2013) to be the base for calculating pensions.
The government has retained the authority to appoint a one-man Judicial Committee that will look into any differences of opinion. The protesting veterans want a five-member committee, with at least three representatives from its side
Speaking to The Quint, Major General Satbir Singh, who’s among those leading the protest, said that veterans were forced to march from Jantar Mantar to Krishna Menon Marg when Finance Minister Arun Jaitley failed to honour his commitment to respond to their memorandum within a week.
We are not a labour union. We are soldiers and we mean business. We won’t budge on these four points.
Major General Satbir Singh, Advisor, Indian Ex-servicemen Movement
A midnight meeting with the Minister of State, Finance Jayant Sinha calmed some frayed nerves on Monday (18 January 2016) morning, and the protesting veterans have gone back to Jantar Mantar for the 218th day of their protest for an ‘asli’ or ‘undiluted’ OROP.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mathura rally was deeply disappointing for ex-servicemen. It was widely speculated that he would announce the implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP) to mark his government’s one year in office.
Here’s a simple explanation for why we must do right by our soldiers and implement One Rank One Pension.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mathura rally was deeply disappointing for ex-servicemen. It was widely speculated that he would announce the implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP) to mark his government’s one year in office.
Here’s a simple explanation for why we must do right by our soldiers and implement One Rank One Pension.
Sensing the growing disenchantment, the Prime Minister on Sunday reaffirmed his commitment to implementing what was originally an election promise.
But Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar spelt out the fine print. He refused to set a timeframe for sanctioning the policy which will initially cost the exchequer Rs 7,500-10,000 crore. He did, however, say that the promises made by the BJP during the campaign for the 2014 general election were for five years, not one year and that “OROP is a part of our promise, but, sacrifices cannot be measured in terms of rupees”.
Everybody is once again talking about One Rank One Pension after two war veterans — Wing Commander Suresh Damodar Karnik and Wing Commader KV Bopardikar — boycotted a gallantry award function that was to be attended by Parrikar. The boycott was in protest against the inordinate delay in bringing justice to those Armymen who retired before 1996.
Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi has been critical of the Modi government’s delay in sanctioning the money required for implementing One Rank One Pension. UPA’s Defence Minister AK Antony meanwhile locked horns with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today amidst reports that the OROP file was being shunted between his and Parrikar’s office.
But the fact is that UPA failed to implement OROP despite a Supreme Court directive six years ago. The NDA is under the same judicial axe and has even been threatened with contempt proceedings if it fails to implement the long standing demand.
Ex-servicemen are growing impatient with Modi and rightly so. They have planned a “Maha-Rally” on June 14.
New Delhi: Ex-servicemen seeking changes in the government’s One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme on Sunday staged a protest outside the official residence of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the national capital, alleging that he failed to respond to concerns raised by them during an earlier meeting.
This is the second time in two weeks the veterans have staged demonstrations outside the minister’s official residence.
“We had staged protest outside the Minister’s residence on January 3. At that time, he had assured us he will speak to Defence Minister (Manohar Parrikar) over our demands.
“He had said he would get back to us within a week. But it’s two weeks now that he has not responded. What kind of Finance Minister he is if he can not keep his word?” said Group Captain (retired) VK Gandhi.
Gandhi, general secretary of Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement, said the veterans will continue with their protest until Jaitley or Parrikar holds parleys with them.
“Either of the Ministers will have to come and speak to us. We will not move an inch from here until then. If they don’t want to give us actual OROP, they should clarify so to us. Why lie?” he said, reiterating that the government notification has “flaws” and was “unacceptable”.
Around 200 ex-servicemen including Major General Satbir Singh, who has been spearheading the protest, have been demonstrating outside Jaitley’s residence, Gandhi added.
Noted scientist and honorary professor at ISRO Bengaluru Sivathanu Pillai on Saturday called ‘BrahMos’- the Indo-Russian supersonic cruise missile, a “brahmastra for Indian Armed forces” and “a war winner” on Saturday. Known as the ‘Father of BrahMos’, Pillai was speaking at the 12th convocation of the Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology (DAIICT) at Gandhinagar that saw 379 students, including 8 Ph. D scholars receive their degrees at the convocation ceremony.
On being quizzed on the need for more missiles like ‘BrahMos’ in light of India-Pakistan’s current political situation, Pillai said, “Today if you look at BrahMos, it is the only supersonic cruise missile operational in the whole world. No other country has ventured to have supersonic system in the armed forces. We have ‘BrahMos’ operational in the navy in the naval fleet, we have the army on the land force and very soon it will be with the airforce. So when we have the tri-service operation of the Brahmos, it is going to be a war winner. As you have seen in the Gulf War, the major victory of the Gulf War was the deployment of Tomahawk missiles by the Allied forces to destroy the enemy’s assets first so that way we have got a very good weapon available to give victory to India.”
Calling India self-sufficient in space technology, the noted scientist averred that going by the demand from the world over, the next move for India should be to market its space technology. “So we are going for more number of launches in a year using the PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) and the trend is to go for “smaller satellites”. The navigation and the remote sensing satellites are becoming very small and they want to have interconnectivity and more revisit time. Whereas the communication satellites are going bigger and bigger, so to suit the trend the space research program will adapt itself so that we will be able to serve the nation and also we get sizable market from the world,” he added.
Speaking to students, Pillai spoke about the need for a rehaul in India’s education system and creation of innovation in ICT education and start-ups and knowledge system powerhouse to unleash India’s knowledge potential.
He said, “Startup and entrepreneurship has become a very important components of the education. I have seen in the IITs and institutions like the IICT the major component of the education is turning towards how we can mould the youngsters to entrepreneurs. That’s a big turning point in our education system which is going to make things different…In India if you see…unlike American and other countries where research has been given more important component of education, in India that has not picked up well. But our country needs that change, research should become more present-age of the education system than the teaching part.”
– See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/brahmos-is-a-brahmastra-for-indian-armed-forces-says-noted-scientist/#sthash.XXEb26HG.dpuf
Kabul, January 13
At least six policemen were killed on Wednesday in a terror attack apparently targeted at the Pakistani consulate in Jalalabad city in Afghanistan, media reports said.Afghan security forces battled gunmen barricaded in a house near the consulate, which the attackers had apparently tried to enter, a Pakistani news report said.Xinhua news agency reported earlier that a blast took place near the Pakistani consulate, located in an area, which is also home to the Indian and Iranian consulates as well as a private school.”The bomb attack targeted a police vehicle near the Pakistani consulate,” a security source told Xinhua.But a report in Dawn online newspaper said the fighting erupted near the Pakistani consulate after a suicide bomber blew himself up, killing as many as six people.It quoted a security source as telling Afghanistan’s Tolo News that the suicide bomber, who pretended to be a visa seeker, detonated himself after being prevented from entering the consulate.”Officials said three attackers are inside the consulate and a gun battle between security forces and attackers is ongoing.” The blast comes 10 days after a terror attack near the Indian consulate in Afghanistan’s Mazar-i-Sharif city.
Tribune News Service,Amritsar January 11
Evincing keen interest in the upcoming ‘Punjab State War Heroes Memorial-cum-Museum’, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today asked the executive committee of the project to regularly hold its meeting in Amritsar to monitor its day-to-day progress.Presiding over the governing body meeting of the project here at the Bachat Bhawan this morning, the Chief Minister took stock of the ongoing work of the project at the India Gate, near the Chheharta bypass. He said there was no dearth of funds for the project that aimed at showcasing the fortitude, valour and supreme sacrifices of the armed forces in defending national borders.Badal also laid thrust on accurate presentation of facts pertaining to various battles/wars to be showcased in the under-construction galleries.He said services of renowned historians must be taken to assure that storyline to be exhibited in galleries was authentic and historically correct. He also suggested that separate committees of historians and experts should be constituted for under-construction galleries.Spread over seven acres, near India Gate, Attari Road, the memorial is coming up at a cost of Rs 86 crore. The memorial will have a 45-metre high stainless steel sword at the centre of it, representing strength and courage in people of Punjab while defending the nation in the hour of need. This iconic structure will stand atop a platform surrounded by a water body. Names of martyrs will also be inscribed on the memorial that will have a circular path around it. The memorial will be built at an elevation of 12 feet.Meanwhile, the governing council today took a slew of important decisions like setting up of a Punjab State War Heroes and Museum foundation to manage the affairs of the project in a far better manner. The council also approved the creation of a corpus fund of Rs 10 crore for making the project self- sufficient. The state government would provide financial assistance for creating this fund, which would help in generation of income to cover salaries of staff and routine expenditure of the project.The council also gave nod for appointing about 60 persons as staff, including 36 security persons to be hired from PESCO, for the project.It was decided that the work of maintaining the complete civil works, including the sword, must be outsourced to a single agency.Likewise, it was approved that the landscaping of the project would be outsourced to another agency. It was also decided that nine committees of historians and experts would be constituted for assuring correct presentation of history in the under-construction galleries.Chief Parliamentary Secretary Prof Virsa Singh Valtoha, Chief Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal, Adviser to the CM Major General BS Dhaliwal (retd), Special Principal Secretary to the CM KJS Cheema, GNDU Vice- Chancellor Dr AS Brar, Sainik Welfare Director Brig JS Arora, DC Ravi Bhagat, Commissioner of Police Jatinder Singh Aulakh, Chief Architect (Punjab) Swapna, Director (Cultural Affairs) NS Randhawa, Deputy Director (Sainik Welfare) Col GJS Gill, General Officer Commanding (15 Division) Major General S Thapa, Brig Pawan Pal Singh, project consultant Maj Gen Raj Mehta (retd), Lt Gen Kuldeep Singh (retd) and Lt Gen HRS Mann (retd) were among those others present in the meeting.
London, January 9
A British website set up to catalogue the last days of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose has released what it claims are eyewitness accounts of the day he was reportedly killed in a plane crash in Taiwan on August 18, 1945.
The latest set of documents quote several people who were reportedly involved in the matter related to the accident as well as two British intelligence reports that revisited the crash site to establish the facts.
The website also sheds light on what may have been the freedom fighter’s dying words, which reflected his devotion to the cause of India’s freedom.
“For 70 years, there have been doubts in certain circles whether such a tragedy at all took place. Four separate reports each corroborating the other constitute irresistible evidence to the contrary,” says a statement issued by www.bosefiles.info.
The documents say that early in the morning on August 18, 1945, a Japanese Air Force bomber took off from Tourane in Vietnam with Bose and 12 or 13 other passengers and crew. Also on board was Lt Gen Tsunamasa Shidei of the Japanese Army and the planned flight path was Heito-Taipei-Dairen-Tokyo.
The three-member Netaji Inquiry Committee, instituted by the government of India in 1956 and headed by Major General Shah Nawaz Khan of Bose’s Indian National Army (INA), was told that since “the weather was perfect and the engines (of the aircraft) worked smoothly” the pilot decided to overfly Heito and proceed straight to Taipei, arriving there late morning or early afternoon.
Major Taro Kono, a Japanese Air Staff Officer and one of the passengers, told the committee: “I noticed that the engine on the left side of the plane was not functioning properly. I, therefore, went inside the plane and after examining the engine inside, I found it to be working all right”. He added the accompanying engineer “also tested the engine and certified its air-worthiness”.
Captain Nakamura alias Yamamoto, the ground engineer in charge of maintenance at the airport, concurred with Major Kono “that the engine of the left side was defective”.
He said the pilot told him “it was a brand new engine”.
He went on to say: “After slowing down the engine, he (the pilot) adjusted it for about five minutes. The engine was tested twice by Major Takizawa (the pilot). After being adjusted, I satisfied myself that the condition of the engine was all right. Major Takizawa also agreed with me that there was nothing wrong with the engine.”
However, soon after the aircraft was airborne there was, according to Colonel Habib ur Rahman – Bose’s ADC and a co-passenger, a loud explosion.
He described it as “a noise like a cannon shot”.
Nakamura, who was watching from the ground, said: “Immediately on taking off, the plane tilted to its left side and I saw something fall down from the plane, which I later found was the propeller.”
He also maintained that the maximum height gained by the aircraft was 30–40 metres.
He estimated “the plane crashed about 100 metres beyond the concrete runway” and immediately caught fire in the front portion.
Colonel Rahman recounted: “Netaji turned towards me. I said ‘Aagey Say Nikaleay, Pichey Say Rasta Nahin Hai’. (Please get out through the front; there is no way in the rear.)”
“We could not get through the entrance door as it was all blocked and jammed by packages and other things. So Netaji got out through the fire; actually he rushed through the fire. I followed him through the same flames.
“The moment I got out, I saw him about 10 yards ahead of me, standing, looking in the opposite direction to mine towards the west. His clothes were on fire. I rushed and I experienced great difficulty in unfastening his bush-shirt belt. His trousers were not so much on fire and it was not necessary to take them off.”
Rahman was in woollen uniform, whereas Bose was in cotton khakis, which, it was assessed, caught fire more easily.
Rahman added: “I laid him down on the ground and noticed a very deep cut on his head, probably on the left side. His face had been scorched by heat and his hair had also caught fire and singed.
“Netaji enquired from me in Hindustani: Aap Ko Ziada To Nahin Lagi?” (Hope you have not been hurt badly). I replied, ‘I feel that I will be all right. About himself he said that he felt that he would not survive.’”
Bose added: “Jab Apney Mulk Wapis Jayen To Mulki Bhaiyon Ko Batana Ki Mein Akhri Dam Tak Mulk Ki Azadi Ke Liyay Larta Raha Hoon; Woh Jangi Azadi Ko Jari Rakhen. Hindustan Zaroor Azad Hoga, Oos Ko Koi Gulam Nahin Rakh Sakta. (When you go back to the country, tell the people that up to the last I have been fighting for the liberation of my country; they should continue to struggle, and I am sure India will be free before long. Nobody can keep India in bondage now.)”.
Lieutenent Col Shiro Nonogaki, who was on the flight, said: “When I first saw Netaji after the plane crash, he was standing somewhere near the left tip of the left wing of the plane. His clothes were on fire and his assistant (Col Rahman) was trying to take off his coat.”
There were variations in the details provided by Rahman, Nonogaki, Kono, Takahashi and Nakamura. They were giving evidence 11 years after the accident.
But in essence there was no disagreement between their testimonies on the fact of the crash and Bose suffering severe burns and injuries as a consequence, the website notes.
Netaji was rushed to the nearby Nanmon Military Hospital in a critical condition. In September 1945, British authorities in India sent intelligence teams comprising of Messrs Finney and Davies, HK Roy and KP De to Bangkok, Saigon and Taipei to enquire about the whereabouts of Bose and, if possible, to arrest him. Instead, they returned with the story of the crash. — PTI
