An officer of the Indian Army, who was posted in Jammu and Kashmir, has disappeared while on a train journey.
Captain Shikhar Deep, 25, was traveling from Bihar to Delhi on February 6-7. A cousin who went to receive him at the Delhi station on Sunday found the young officer’s luggage, phone and wallet, which is, according to his father, missing Rs. 20,000 in cash.
Captain Deep’s family lives in Kathihar in Bihar. His father Colonel Lieutenant Anant Kumar is posted in Ranchi where his battalion – 623 EME – is now stationed.
According to the police, Captain Deep’s luggage was found in the coach he was travelling in, but the officer was nowhere to be found and his mobile was also switched off. He had last spoken to his family on the morning of February 6.
The ticket examiner and the man who provided bed-sheet in the coach, said he was last seen at Kanpur during the journey.
The army suspects that the Captain must have fallen prey to groups who travel on trains and drug and rob people. The army has asked the media to help in the search for the officer. The description sent by the army is “Height 5’6″, wearing black/brown blazer, off-white T-Shirt, blue jeans, green jungle shoes.”
Major General Amil Kumar Shori is the Chief Postmaster General of Himachal Pradesh and enjoys a status equivalent to the Additional Secretary to the Government of India (See photo). His office is responsible for governing nine postal divisions, one railway mail service division, one postal stores department and the office of Director of postal accounts. The postal circle of the state was carved out of the erstwhile north-west circle in December 1986 and proudly claims to have the highest post office in the world at Hikkim (14,567 feet) under Rampur Bushahr postal division.I met General Shori for the first time on the university campus where both had gone to deliver lectures on gender sensitivity. His deliberations were engaging. Later, I came to know that he had a flair for writing too and had authored a couple of books. ‘Seven Shades of Rama’ gives expected shining hue to the character of Rama as son, brother, husband, warrior, king, Rishi and Maryada Purushottam (See photo).The base of what Shori had written in the book is the Cantos taken from different chapters of the Ramayana and portraying Rama as we all know him. The new dimension to the character given in the novel ‘Asura – Tale of the Vanquished’ by Anand Neelkantan that I had recently finished, continued reverberating in my mind while reading the book.Earlier, Acharya Chatursen Shastri had written a novel ‘Vayam Rakshamah’ depicting the establishment of Raksh Sanskriti in the South, i.e. a culture that provides security to the people and that is why Ravana is Rakshas – the saviour, a king given to good governance. General Shori dedicates the book to “Rohit Suri whose untimely demise left an unfilled void in our family”. It is upsetting and pained me.Another book that Shori has penned is ‘Indian Rajarshi and Greek Philosopher King – Principles of Good Governance’. It is from this one that I have dug out the tenets of good governance as these existed during the times of the Mahabharata. Bhishma, when he was steadily dying on the bed of arrows – sharshaiyya – sermonises Yudhisthir about the governance as is narrated in Shanti / Anushasan Parva of the great epic.He says that vigilance is the main attribute of governance. An ignorant king living in the dark blackens the art of governance. What happened in Pathankot recently? The second tenet is self-discipline. Bhishma gives 36 components of it and expected the king to have self-control over him. Before Seneca could utter “Auditur et altera pars” or the other side shall be heard as well, Bhishma had already lectured Yudhisthir on impartiality as tenet of governance. Trust is the next attribute and Shori writes, “It is the duty of the king to make sure that there are no signs of any distrust among the people and officials.”The Mahabharata is also concerned about public wealth and has added taxation as part of governance. It says that taxation should be handled as bumblebee does a flower, extracts its sweetness but does not damage it. Fear is the next tenet and Bhishma has its two concepts. When Arjuna said without the fear of the law and the rules, the social edifice would crash, Bhishma agreed to it and added that the king should also be afraid of the hands of the law which could hook him, similarly an Adharmi (unrighteous) should have this fear but a Dharmatma should always enjoy the freedom from fear.The Mahabharata also emphasised on proper balancing of kshma (reconciliation) and bala (force). Bhishma says in Shanti Parv that a king should be like an autumn sun which is neither very hot nor too cold, i.e. he should neither be too harsh nor extremely gentle. Those desirous to know where in the Mahabharata these shlokas appear, they may go in for the book. I would call it as short and sweet compilation.—The writer is a retired bureaucrat
Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, February 28
The Punjab Government’s C-Pyte will be providing training regarding physical training and written examination for recruitment in the army at ITI, Gill Road, Ludhiana, from March 1-April 30, 2016.Camp Commandant said the trials for training would be held on February 29. During training, applicants would be provided free boarding, ration and training.Interested applicants need to bring a character certificate from village sarpanch, no claim and unmarried certificate, residents proof from tehsildar and rural area certificate.They also need to bring 25 passport sized copies of their photographs, their age should be between 17-1/2 and 21 years, minimum height 170 cm, chest 77 cm, should have at least 45 per cent marks in Class X or have passed Class XII with arts discipline, all certificates should be in English language.He said applicants who have tattoos would not be eligible.
Ravi Krishnan Khajuria,Tribune News Service,Jammu, February 4
At the Siachen Glacier, the highest battlefield in the world, hostile weather, icy terrain, sub-zero temperature, low oxygen and high-altitude sickness form a lethal mix, taking a heavy toll on men in olive green than any conflict with India’s arch-rival — Pakistan.Pakistan has the same story of losing more men to the weather vagaries than skirmishes between the two countries.As per statistics, 869 soldiers have lost their lives since April 1984 when India initiated “Operation Meghdoot”, airdropping its men to pre-empt a move by Pakistan to occupy the strategic heights.With 10 more Army men falling to an avalanche, the death toll has now gone up to 879 since 1984.The Army and the Air Force have been running against time to trace and rescue survivors, if any, among the 10 soldiers who went missing after an avalanche wiped out an Army camp at a height of 19,600 feet on Wednesday morning.On Siachen’s significance to India and what makes it a dangerous place, Northern Command’s defence spokesperson Col SD Goswami said: “Siachen’s terrain, its strategic location and geographical importance have given it a paramount place in the annals of history. The soldiers deployed on the glacier endure the worst weather conditions throughout the year.“At times, the troops have to unavoidably take up defences in the areas around steep slopes and crevices, which might send tonnes of snow and rubble crumbling down without any warning and completely obliterate the camps, communication lines, bury personnel and everything else. In such unstable conditions on the glacier, the terrain, climate or altitude can take its toll on anything.”However, Colonel Goswami added that with rhythm in his steps, faith to serve the nation and prayers on his lips, a soldier goes on his way up to the glacier.An Army source said that since 1984, the Army had lost 869 of its men at the 76-km Siachen Glacier. A majority of them have died of hostile weather conditions such as avalanches, landslides and floods and in some cases due to the high-altitude sickness, he added.Indian and Pakistan have been pitted against each other at the Siachen since 1984.“Loss of appetite, frostbite and high-altitude pulmonary edema (watery fluid collecting in the cavities or tissues of the body) are some of the diseases to which our men are exposed. There were instances in the past when some of our men contracted Monge’s disease that causes loss of high-altitude tolerance after prolonged exposure, characterised by extreme polycythemia (abnormally increased concentration of haemoglobin in the blood), exaggerated hypoxaemia (abnormally low level of oxygen in the blood) and reduced mental and physical capacity, relieved by descent,” he said.A defence official said both India and Pakistan had lost more men to hostile weather than conflicts between the two sides on the glacial heights.“Since 2003, guns have been silent on the 110-km Actual Ground Position Line after India and Pakistan inked a ceasefire in November that year,” he added.However, a senior Army officer said the past conflicts with Pakistan and China, growing proximity between China and Pakistan via the Karakoram Pass and trust deficit with Pakistan, made strategic Siachen Glacier indispensable to India and it could not afford to withdraw its troopsOn an average, India spends Rs 5 crore a day for replenishing supplies to its men at the Siachen.India controls about two-thirds of the glacier, besides commanding two of the three passes while Pakistan occupies the Gyong La Pass, which overlooks the Shyok and the Nubra river valleys and India’s access to the glacier from Leh district in Ladakh.Indian soldiers currently hold the strategic Saltoro Ridge which overlooks Pakistani positions.At 5,472 meters above sea level, the Siachen Glacier is located in the Karakoram mountain range, which has some of the highest peaks in the world. The northern mountains of the glacier mark the watershed between Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Bereft of vegetation, the glacier is one of the world’s most inhospitable regions, where the temperature plunges to – 40°C.
Srinagar, February 25
General Officer Commanding, 15 Corps, Lt Gen Satish Dua on Thursday took over as the Colonel of Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry Regiment. He is the first General to hold both the vital appointments in the Valley concurrently. A defence spokesperson said Lieutenant General Dua took over in a simple, solemn ceremony held at the Regimental Centre in Rangreth, Srinagar. “Lt Gen Satish Dua took over as the 21st Colonel of the Regiment from Lt Gen Ravi Nair, Director General Recruiting, who is set to hang his uniform on February 29,” said the spokesperson said. — TNS
