We should follow the teachings of

Today, just by worshipping and bowing our heads before Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, we think that we are following teaching and preaching of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. We should remember & never forgot that it was the “Dasmesh Pita” Guru Gobind Singh Ji who always fought against the injustice and become the possibly one & only ‘Sarbansdani’in the world, who sacrificed four sons, father & mother, even himself, while fighting for the noble cause of justice and religion. It is a quite surprising fact that nowadays most of the politicians, religious leaders and religious business houses have forgotten the principals of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. And their aim is only to satisfy their false ego by achieving unlimited targets of money, which comes all the way from means of corruption, bribes and embezzlement in election as well as religious funds. And they further use this money to increase corruption for increasing their political as well as religious influence and status. The present SGPC President, Avtar Singh Makkar is also such a leader who is using the ‘Guru Ki Golak’ in righteous way and spending ‘Guru’s Maya’ on betterment of humanity, medical services, education, “Amrit Sanchar” and “Dharam Parchar” as well. And despite of religious & political interventions, his sincere efforts are still continue. I have personally interviewed various Jathedars and SGPC Officials and even SGPC President on this issue, and moreover, during my 48 years of journalism career I have observed that if politicians are sincere in serving humanity and they have non-controversial thinking, no one can even think about embezzlement and corruption. I want to ask all the political & religious leaders, police & government officials journalists & Professoionals, that how many of them really fellow the principles of ‘Sarbansdani’ Guru Gobind Singh Ji and how many of them can sacrifice their sons and families for the sake of justice and curb the evils from the society? May be no one will reply! All are running for money lust, glamour, fashion and ego. It seems there is no end. I pray to Dashmesh Pita to teach such a lesson to greedy & selfish enemies of Sikh Panth & humanity, in the way. He taught lesson to the tyrannical moghuls and pathans.

New Delhi, January 10

Former Union Minister Manish Tewari’s confirmation of a media report of a ‘non-notified’ movement of a unit of the army towards the national capital in 2012 has sparked off a row, with both Minister of State For External Affairs VK Singh and Tewari’s own party — the Congress — dismissing the claims.Singh, general of the Indian Army at the time of the supposed incident, called Tewari, ‘jobless’.“Manish Tewari ji has nothing to do these days. There is this book of mine, ask him to read it and everything will be clear to him,” he said.Singh was referring to his autobiographical book ‘Courage and Conviction’ in which he has crticised the Indian government on several issues, including corruption and the role of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in Operation Bluestar.This comes a day after Tewari said the story was ‘unfortunate but true’.”At that time, I used to serve in the Standing Committee of Defence. And it’s unfortunate, but the story was true. The story was correct. I am not getting into an argument. All I am saying is that to the best of my knowledge that story was correct,” said Tewari during a book launch function here.A media report entitled ‘”The January night Raisina Hill was spooked: Two key Army units moved towards Delhi without notifying Govt’ in a leading Indian daily on April 4, 2012, claimed on the night of January 16, 2012 — the day General VK Singh approached the Supreme Court over his date of birth issue — central intelligence agencies reported an unexpected (and non-notified) movement by a key military unit from the mechanised infantry based in Hisar (Haryana) as a part of the 33rd Armoured Division (part of 1 Corps, a strike formation based in Mathura and commanded by Lt Gen AK Singh) in the direction of the capital, 150 km away.The daily claimed the report was a meticulous reconstruction and a very sober interpretation of the movement of two key Army units towards New Delhi on the night of January 16–17.VK Singh called the report “absolutely stupid”.The BJP also questioned the timing of the “admission”.“Manish Tewari’s comments raise the question about the timing of the statement. His comments become a suspect. I would only ask why was he quiet when his government had denied that there was anything like this happening when they were in power,” BJP leader Siddharthnath Singh said.Tewari hit back at VK Singh and told him to read his book first.“Why is Right H”onble MP from Ghaziabad getting so antsy of course I would love to read his book provided he promises to read mine — in offing,” Tewari said in a tweet.UPA government was at the Centre at the time of the supposed incident. We deny report: CongressTewari’s own party, the Congress, denied the claims.  “We on behalf of Congress very clearly and categorically want to deny this report,” party spokesperson P C Chacko said.Another party spokesperson, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, said there is no truth in the report. “I am again clarifying there is absolutely no truth in it (claims about troop movement in 2012), he said.”My colleague was neither a member of the Cabinet Committee on Security, nor any relevant decision making body,” Singhvi said, adding some troop movements are necessary, inbuilt and inevitable part of the defence mechanism.”It was inappropriate, unnecessary and completely wrong to suggest that there was any truth in those allegations when made,” he said.

Isolated in his own party, Tewari said: “Whatever I said yesterday, I have nothing more to add or subtract.” — Agencies

Charsadda (Pakistan), Jan 20

At least 20 people, mostly students, were massacred today by Kalashnikov-wielding Taliban suicide attackers who stormed a prestigious university here in restive northwestern Pakistan and opened fire, in a grim reminder of the 2014 Peshawar army school attack.The gunmen entered the Bacha Khan University named after iconic leader Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan alias Bacha Khan in Charsadda, some 50 km southwest of Peshawar in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, and opened fire on students and teachers in classrooms and hostels, police said.Earlier, reports said that 21 people and four terrorists were killed but later army spokesman Lt Gen Asim Bajwa held a press conference and stated that 20 people —18 students, a professor and a staffer — and four terrorists had been killed in the attack. The militants used the cover of thick, wintry fog to scale the walls of the university before entering buildings.Blasts and heavy gunfire were heard from inside the campus where a poetic symposium was in progress to mark the death anniversary of Bacha Khan who died on January 20, 1988. There were about 3,000 students and 600 guests on the campus when the attack took place, Vice-Chancellor of the university Dr Fazal Rahim said.Umar Mansoor, Peshawar school attack mastermind and a commander of the Hakimullah Mehsud faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistani (TTP), claimed responsibility for today’s assault. He called local media from a mobile number in Afghanistan to claim that they have carried out the attack. A spokesman for the militant group said it was revenge for those killed by security forces since Peshawar school attack. The attacks would continue, he warned. But the spokesman for another Taliban faction, Mohammad Khurasani, condemned the attack and said they were not involved in it.The Inter-Services Public Relations chief said the four terrorists were using two mobile phones on which phone calls were received from different locations including Afghanistan.Federal Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid visited the university and told the media that the operation launched by security forces to clear the campus has been completed. He said the attack was in response to military operation in the province, “which had broken the backbone of militants”.The victims were shot in the head or chest. Images from inside the university showed a pool of blood on the floor of a dormitory and charred corpses of two alleged militants lying on a staircase.PM Nawaz Sharif, who is in Zurich to attend the World Economic Forum, condemned the attack. — Agencies‘Attackers were like us’The attackers were like us — they were very young. They carried AK-47 guns. They wore jackets like the forces do… We were in the hostel sleeping as we don’t have classes… After everything was over, the Army men knocked on our room and told us we were safe — A university studentStrongly condemn the terror attack at Bacha Khan University in Pakistan. Condolences to families of the deceased. Prayers with the injured — PM Narendra Modi on twitterWe are determined in our commitment to wipe out the menace of terrorism from our homeland. The countless sacrifices made by our countrymen will not go in vain — Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan PM

Terrorists kill 21 in Peshawar university

New Delhi, January 17

Ex-servicemen seeking changes in Government’s One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme today staged a protest outside Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s residence and vowed to continue it there, alleging that he failed to respond to concerns raised by them during an earlier meeting.This is the second time in two weeks that the veterans have staged demonstrations outside the minister’s official residence.Shifting the venue of the protest from the Jantar Mantar, the veterans said, “since no response has come from the government side therefore the ‘sainiks’ have decided to continue the agitation in front of FM’s residence and rough out in the chilly nights of January on the road.”We will continue to stage our agitation at the present site instead of Jantar Mantar till our demands are met.” They said that it is very sad to note that neither any member of the present government nor any officials have tried to break the impasse when the ‘sainiks’ are willing to walk a mile to defuse the situation.”It will be ensured while carrying on the agitation here that no one is inconvenienced. However, we wish the government also realises that the ‘sainiks’ have been inconvenienced for more than the last seven months with no faults of theirs and their patience is running out. The government will be responsible for any negative fall out,” they said in a statement.Group Captain (retd) VK Gandhi said, “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. What kind of Finance Minister he is if he cannot keep his word?”.Gandhi, general secretary of Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement, said the veterans will continue with their protest until Jaitley or Parrikar holds parleys with them.—PTI

Ex-servicemen protest outside Jaitley’s house; vow to continue

Ex-servicemen seeking changes in Government’s One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme today staged a protest outside Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s residence and vowed to continue it there, alleging that he failed to respond to concerns raised by them during an earlier meeting.

This is the second time in two weeks that the veterans have staged demonstrations outside the minister’s official residence.

Shifting the venue of the protest from the Jantar Mantar, the veterans said, “since no response has come from the government side therefore the ‘sainiks’ have decided to continue the agitation in front of FM’s residence and rough out in the chilly nights of January on the road.

“We will continue to stage our agitation at the present site instead of Jantar Mantar till our demands are met.”

They said that it is very sad to note that neither any member of the present government nor any officials have tried to break the impasse when the ‘sainiks’ are willing to walk a mile to defuse the situation.

“It will be ensured while carrying on the agitation here that no one is inconvenienced. However, we wish the government also realises that the ‘sainiks’ have been inconvenienced for more than the last seven months with no faults of theirs and their patience is running out. The government will be responsible for any negative fall out,” they said in a statement.

Group Captain (retd) VK Gandhi said, “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?”.

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.

OROP: veterans protest outside Jaitley’s residence

Ex-servicemen protesting over the issue of One Rank One pension (OROP) on Sunday stepped up their protest, moving from Jantar Mantar to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s residence whose Ministry, according to them, is responsible for the delay in OROP implementation.

A few hundred veterans staged protest outside Mr. Jaitley’s residence demanding a meeting with him. This is the second protest in a week and they announced that this time they are here to stay until the government talks to them.

“We met Mr. Jaitley on January 3 and he assured to talk to Mr. Parrikar within a week to address our concerns. On the 9th I wrote to him again and also spoke to his office after but there is no response,” Maj Gen Satbir Singh, chairman of Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement told The Hindu. The veterans have drawn up plans to escalate the protests and cautioned the government against forced eviction. “Now we will not move from here till Mr. Jaitley or Mr. Parrikar comes and talks to us,” Maj. Gen. Singh added.

Recently the government appointed a one man judicial commission headed by Justice L Narasimha Reddy, former Chief Justice of Patna High Court to look into the implementation. The committee is stipulated to submit its report in six months.

A year ago, no one could have predicted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would continue to put faith in dialogue with Pakistan despite the Pathankot provocation.  Till then, his Pakistan policy was floundering. Then the NSAs and the Foreign Secretaries met in Bangkok. The game changed, and Modi made his famous touchdown in Lahore. The dialogue in Bangkok must have produced a meeting of minds; despite Pathankot, the guns are silent on the line of control — a vast improvement over things a year ago.Pakistan too has acted differently. For once, its reflex action was not to deny the possible involvement of its citizens in the Pathankot attack. The immediate detention and questioning of Jaish-e-Mohammed leaders helped India concede “there has been considerable progress in investigations”. The two Foreign Secretaries remain in communication and the door remains open for a formal interaction in the near future. International pressure too must have played a role. The US and Russia will meet soon to discuss Syria, the Iran file is nearing closure and the quadrilateral meeting on Afghanistan will happen soon. It would not behove Modi and Nawaz to squabble and divert the attention of the big boys.Given the history of Indo-Pak ties, it does not pay to become overoptimistic. Modi can still lose face if Pakistan fails to “deliver” on Pathankot. And what if another such incident takes place? Any imponderable can upset the Modi-Nawaz understanding on persisting with talks. The answer will be to stay nimble and conduct vigorous back-channel talks, if such conversations are not already taking place. Modi has ample political capital to accomplish whatever he and his advisers have set out to achieve. With the Pak army chief almost on his side, Nawaz Sharif seems to be in a similar position. The two sides can achieve closure on some easily resolvable disputes. This will enlarge the pro-peace constituency and act as insurance against another attack or if Islamabad is unable to book the masterminds of the Pathankot attack.

Arteev Sharma,Tribune News Service.Jammu, January 15

Cross-border terrorism continues to bleed Jammu and Kashmir as the state has witnessed on an average eight terror-related incidents in a day during the past 25 years.During this period of turmoil and bloodbath, as many as 18,881 civilians and security personnel have been killed in over 69,000 terrorism-related incidents across the state since 1990, while around 21,800 terrorists have been gunned down in encounters with security forces during the period.This information was provided by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in response to an RTI application here.“A total of 69,387 terrorism-related incidents have taken place in Jammu and Kashmir till December 13 last year since 1990. However, the number of terror incidents has shown a declining trend after 2002. The highest number of terrorism-related incidents was reported in 1995 when the state saw 5,938 such incidents followed by 5,829 terror incidents in 1994. Only 170 incidents, the lowest-ever in past 25 years, were witnessed in 2013,” the Union Home Ministry said.It said a total of 13,920 civilians have fallen to the bullets of terrorists from across the border since 1990. “In 1990, 461 civilians lost their lives, while the highest number of civilians (1,341) fell to the bullets of terrorists in 1996 followed by 1,031 civilians in 1995. The civilian causalities, too, have recorded a declining trend after 2003,” it said.After the eruption of insurgency in J&K, the Centre had to extend the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which gives sweeping powers to the armed forces to detain suspects and use force, as the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, 1990, in the Kashmir valley in 1990 and the Jammu region in 2001, to deal with the terror situation.“A total of 4,922 security personnel laid down their lives while fighting terrorists during the past 25 years. Security forces suffered the maximum collateral damage in 2001 when 536 of their personnel were killed followed by 453 in 2002,” the Union Home Ministry said, adding that the collateral damaged being suffered by forces was significantly brought down in 2012 when only 15 personnel lost their lives. However, as many as 39 security personnel were killed last year till December 13.The security forces eliminated 21,777 terrorists till December 13 last year since 1990 and the maximum number of terrorists (2,020) was gunned down in 2001 followed by 1,707 terrorists in 2002. Last year alone, 105 terrorists were gunned by security personnel in the state.

Heavy casualties

• 4,922 security personnel laid down their lives while fighting terrorists during the past 25 years.
• Security forces suffered the maximum collateral damage in 2001 when 536 of their personnel were killed followed by 453 in 2002
• The collateral damaged was brought down in 2012 when 15 personnel lost their lives.
• 39 security personnel were killed last year till December 13.
• 461 civilians lost their lives in 1990. 1,341 and 1,031 civilians fell to terrorists’ bullets in 1996 and 1995, respectively.

All-women patrols along Himalayan frontier on the cards

Vijay Mohan

Chandigarh, January 15

The Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) is beefing up its strength on the Himalayan frontier with China by adding eight new battalions. Four of these battalions will be deployed in the Ladakh Sector and the remaining four in Arunachal Pradesh.“We will be getting the additional battalions for Ladakh first and thereafter for the north-east,” ITBP Director-General Krishna Chaudhary said on the sideline of a passing out parade of women constables at the force’s Basic Training Center at Ramgarh near here today. “The overall plan is to raise 16 new battalions of which these eight are being raised in the near future,” he added.He said at present the distance between border outposts (BOPs) along the Himalayas ranged up to 25 km, which will be reduced with the induction of new battalions and facilitate more effective border management.The ITBP is also planning all-women patrols along the border with China. It has decided to post women personnel on BOPs on regular border guarding and combat duties. “Initially, women would form part of joint patrols with men and once they get the desired experience, all women teams would be constituted for both short range and long range patrols,” a top officer said. Many of the newly inducted constables have been posted to battalions deployed on the front.The ITBP is deployed at altitudes ranging up to 18,000 feet in remote snow bound areas with temperatures remain below zero. To provide better amenities for its troops, the force is experimenting with a new design for BOPs in Ladakh, which would be centrally heated and have solar power back up and other facilities required to alleviate the tough conditions. The design is being vetted by the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee.On the issue of transgressions across the Line of Actual Control, he reiterated that since the border is not demarcated, perceptions on both sides differ and patrolling is carried out accordingly and movements are monitored.