Monthly Archives: August 2018

NEW DELHI: On his last day in office, Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General DS Hooda said he didn’t see an easy solution to end the Kashmir conflict, calling it a “long war” that would require a “long-term approach”.

His comments are significant as government sources predict that the conflict with home-grown militants will end soon.

A day after seven soldiers were killed in the Nagrota strike, Hooda said the situation along the LoC was not cooling down anytime soon. He warned against calling “the first shot fired against a garrison” a security lapse, saying 100% success each time in preventing attacks reflected “little understanding of the battle the army is fighting”.

“I wish we could have prevented the Nagrota strike but some setbacks have to be accepted…and we learn our lessons. We have to move on, rather than let one incident set the discourse for overall national security,” he said.

Sixty soldiers have died in J&K this year. Hooda said the army was ruthless about finding ways to minimise casualties. “We understand this more than anyone else because our lives depend on it.” On the alleged lapses that may have led to the attack, he said, “Two officers deliberately put themselves in the line of fire to rescue women and children. Let us respect that rather than sitting in peaceful areas and mouthing criticism.” He added that alleging lapses before carrying out a detailed analysis “dilutes what soldiers are doing on the ground”.

Hooda said the army moved swiftly to kill the militants who attacked the Nagrota base or else it could have been worse than the Uri attack in which 19 soldiers were killed. He rubbished reports about actionable intelligence being available on the Nagrota attack. “We launch hundreds of operations in J&K daily on the basis of intelligence inputs. In this case, we had no specific inputs.”

He said there was an urgent need to tap smart technologies for perimeter protection of military bases to complement human effort.

Illustration by Sandeep Joshi

On Thursday (December 29) newspapers reported that India’s leading industrialist Ratan Tata had travelled to Nagpur to call on the RSS boss, Mohan Bhagwat. It was described as “a courtesy call — a charming euphemism.” The Tata visit should normally be seen as a piece of routine power networking but it does come across as a rather incongruous affair in the context of the post-demonetisation narrative that is being dished out for public consumption.   “Even if it falters at a few steps, it is clear that this move (demonetisation) has shaken the ruling classes and their cohorts to the core,” asserts Organiser, the RSS mouthpiece. The ruling classes? On the run?  This is one of the many formulations being manufactured by the befuddled cheer-leaders, trying to make some sense of why the country and its economy and its people have been subjected to this demonetisation exercise.The phantom of an all-pervasive, all-potent elite has been in the works for some time. Since May 2014 some very, very determined saffronites have been suggesting that the Modi sarkar is being challenged, confronted and obstructed because it is out to demolish the power and status of “the Lutyens’ Zone.” A marked deterioration in manners and style and a roughness of speech was celebrated as a well-deserved snub to the entrenched  Lutyens’ Zone elites. The other day a leading conspiracy-monger suggested that some bureaucrats were still “one hundred percent loyal to the Lutyens’ Zone” who were working overtime to ensure the failure of the half-baked demonetisation business. An invisible “enemy” is sought to be conjured up, who can be paraded before the masses as the obstacle to national glory and prosperity. For some time now, Pakistan has been the designated “enemy.” Then, there is the “terrorist” who continues to cross the line even after being smacked with a “surgical strike.” The other day, for example, the Prime Minister declared that terrorism, drug mafia and underworld stood decimated “in a trice.”  Still, new enemies are needed to be conquered.When it is suggested that the “ruling classes” are on the run, we are invited to believe that those who are in charge of the government and its vast coercive powers are merely hapless apparatchiks, while the real, effective power resides somewhere else. This is nothing but a post-truth feint. There is no one to oppose those who occupy — after an electoral mandate to govern — the authority sites of the Indian State.For the vast masses the politician in power constitutes “the ruling class.” It is this politician in power who can — and, does — cause enormous unhappiness to those who cross his line; the local SP and the Collector are at his beck and call. A little further up the ladder, the ruling politician grafts for himself a badge of “security.” At the national level he/she has an “NSG” cover — a Mohan Bhagwat here and an Amit Shah there or a Baba Ramdev in-between.  And, then, we have the super exclusive club of those under SPG protection.But the saffrontines’ quarrel is not with these “under protection” elites. The saffron brigade has been chafing at the enduring influence and status the so-called Nehruvian elites enjoyed all these years in matters of policy and ideas. In the Modi political rhetoric during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the “dynasty” was portrayed as the root cause of all the deficiencies that had bedevilled Mother India. The Indian voter bought the argument. The “dynasty” was ingloriously dislodged; the dynasty’s provincial satraps were also unceremoniously sent packing, one by one. But we are now being invited to believe that despite being unseated, the Gandhis continue to exercise malevolent power over “the establishment”. The Gandhis and the Congress party are confined to exercise the democratic role that the Constitution guarantees the Opposition — the very same role that the BJP performed for ten years of UPA rule. A democratic Opposition cannot be wished away.So, who are the “ruling classes” and the “Lutyens Zone” operatives who are playing obstacle to the Prime Minister? A Marxist analyst would be itching to jump in and draw attention to Corporate India as the core of the “ruling classes”. But that, again, is not all that helpful. It is indeed Corporate India that had lined itself so eagerly behind Project Modi, beginning from the days of “Vibrant Gujarat” melas to the call on the RSS bosses. Some of these corporate leaders were conspicuously invited to the swearing-in ceremony on May 26, 2014. During these last twenty months Corporate India had been there for the Prime Minister whenever he needed them. The corporate honchos have repeatedly shouted salutations since November 8, 2016. The relationship between Corporate India and the ruling clique was never so cosy, so snugly, and so warm, as at the close of the year.If the “corporates” are so pleased at this “notebandi”, then which other sections of the “ruling classes” are running scared and thwarting the revolution? The bureaucrats? The IAS, IFS, IPS fraternity can hardly be suspected of any spine, leave alone gumption to oppose the government of the day. If anything, the serving — as well as the retired — babus are falling over one another, if not conspiring, to land up with this or that assignment. Admittedly, not all may be willing to humiliate themselves before the new political bosses, but that does not make them conspirators. The bureaucracy, at best, makes a professional careerist group, not a “ruling class”, determined to prevent or usher in a revolution.Who others can possibly be the members of the “mysterious” ruling classes who are supposed to be on the run after demonetisation? Could the infamous “Lutyens’ Zone” be harbouring enemies among, say, the members of the India International Centre, the India Habitat Centre, the Golf Club and the Gymkhana?  Somehow it is difficult to see these sites of (still) gentle conversations and scrumptious cakes as dens of conspirators against the Modi revolution.Still, the demagogue’s problem remains: who then is the enemy to be burned at the stake for the masses’ entertainment and distraction?  For now, we have to do with a Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary being raided or a Delhi banker being put to jail; the inspector raj, with its capacious capacity to find “incriminatory documents” is back with a vengeance. A Mayawati may or may not feel intimidated; the rivals in UP may or may not find themselves more inconvenienced than the BJP and its allies. Surely so comprehensively disrupting an exercise as the demonetisation could not have been undertaken with such narrow, shallow political calculations. The designated rulers will need to keep devising categories of winners and losers, loyalists and conspirators, friends and foes.

Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command arrives for a three-day visit to review the operational preparedness and the security situation in Gangtok, on 2 November 2015. IANS

There is evidence to indicate that the move to supersede Lt General Praveen Bakshi, the senior most Army commander who was seen as the natural contender for the post of Army Chief after the retirement of General Dalbir Singh Suhag, started some months ago, with negative stories about the officer being planted through anonymous letters. Four anonymous letters were floated with vague allegations against Bakshi by “men in shadows”, who succeeded in getting a probe ordered into the charges. Nothing emerged from the investigation. But the fact that an investigation was ordered, was used against him for sidelining Lt Gen Bakshi. Eventually, Lt Gen Bipin Rawat was made the Indian Army Chief.

ven Kautilya, the acknowledged master who laid down the guiding principles of statecraft during the era of Chandragupta Maurya, would have been befuddled with what has been happening since the days of the UPA to the Indian state and its relationship with its own armed forces today. The naming of Lt General Bipin Rawat as the next Chief of Army Staff defies convention. The decision, which meant superseding two serving Army Commanders, now is certain to change the very outlook of senior commanders in the armed forces in the future.

From ancient times—going back to the Ramayana and the Mahabharata—the epics assert that “a king’s roots are his treasury and his army”. A careful examination of the Mahabharata in particular, when shorn of its myth and poetic fancy, allows us to glean the foundation on which later Indian military theory and practice evolved. In the beginning, the Army was one of the two prakritis (essential elements), but as time went on, more and more elements were added on and the Army sank lower and lower down in the order of importance.

Nevertheless, despite having senapranetras (later known as senapatis), kings retained their supremacy in matters of defence, being the final and ultimate authority when it came to taking decisions. In his superb book, A Military History of Ancient India, Major General G.S. Sandhu writes: “The king, and the other princes, received their early training in niti (politics) and dhanurveda (military science); they were imparted training in both the theoretical and practical aspects of warfare. They were also given intensive training until they gained proficiency in the use of weapons.”

Today, monarchies are long gone, and the people are governed by the state where power is centred in the hands of elected representatives. However, the fact of the matter is that with the reins of power in their hands, the elected head of a democratic government is in a way a modern-day monarch. The main difference from the days of yore, however, is that our decision making officialdom of today know little about armies and what makes soldiers tick, to say nothing of the use of weapons, their deployment, and their use. Since the early 1950s, ever since the political-bureaucratic began to exercise power in Independent India, most of them and those in their immediate vicinity have had little exposure to the armed forces.

The writing was on the wall for Lieutenant General Praveen Bakshi three to four months ago when an unseen “dirty tricks department” suddenly became hyperactive. Until then, Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi, the Eastern Army Commander, being the senior most among those who had the residual service to make the grade, was seen as the natural contender for the top job when the present COAS would hang up his boots. An Armoured Corps officer, Bakshi had an outstanding record of service, and among the rank and file, the reputation of being a no-nonsense dyed-in-the-wool soldier, who would, it was hoped, ensure self-respect in the armed forces.

Lt Gen Bipin Rawat & Lt Gen P.M. Hariz.

Four anonymous letters were floated with vague allegations against Bakshi. The “men in the shadows” succeeded in getting a probe ordered into the charges. Interestingly, through his four-year tenure first as Eastern Army Commander and then the COAS, the present incumbent, General Dalbir Singh Suhag had ensured that only his handpicked officers had replaced him as the Corps Commander in Dimapur, Nagaland. It may be remembered that General Suhag had been the 3 Corps Commander for some time and is conversant with that area and its special characteristics. It may also be recalled that it was during this period that he had a DV-ban slapped on him by General V.K. Singh in connection with the Jorhat raid that was reversed by his successor, General Bikram Singh, the moment he took over. Meanwhile, Bakshi’s squeaky-clean image could not be dented and the agencies apparently reported back saying they had nothing to build a case on.

To make matters tricky for the “shadow men”, the Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar, initially decided to stick to the existing norms of seniority and suggested Bakshi’s name to the Prime Minister’s Office. Suddenly, out of the blue, anonymous missives appeared, ghost written by the “men in shadows”. The government thereupon went in for a relook.

Coming to General Suhag, throughout his tenure as the Army Chief, he has surrounded himself with Gorkha Regimental officers. Various key appointments have been lying vacant for months altogether, as was the case with the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun. The outgoing Army Chief is very close to the National Security Adviser. In the aftermath of the Monand Chandel incidents in May and June 2016, where eight Assam Rifles men and then 22 men from the Dogra Regiment were killed, the NSA had himself supervised the nationally acclaimed retaliatory raid that the then DGMI said took place within Myanmar.

With some sections of the government reportedly keen on picking Lt Gen Bipin Rawat for the job, there was a meeting of common interest between them and the COAS, who too had a high opinion of Rawat, who had been one of his chosen few to command 3 Corps. However, to appoint Rawat, the Ministry of Defence had to go over the head of not just Praveen Bakshi, but also Lt Gen P.M. Hariz, who was the Southern Army Commander in Pune. This, it was then claimed, was done “in national interest”.

The writing was on the wall for Lieutenant General Praveen Bakshi three to four months ago when an unseen “dirty tricks department” suddenly became hyperactive. Until then, Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi, the Eastern Army Commander, being the senior most among those who had the residual service to make the grade, was seen as the natural contender for the top job.

In the immediate aftermath of the announcement, the government informally justified Lt General Rawat’s promotion on the grounds that as an infantry officer he had greater experience in handling counter insurgency scenarios. However, this failed to impress critics who pointed out that Bakshi had earlier commanded 9 Corps and served as Chief of Staff, Northern Command, apart from which he also handled Eastern Command, which was as deeply involved with CI Ops as Northern Command. The same could also be said for Lt Gen Hariz, who, like Bakshi, has had a blemish-less record of service and enjoys a first class reputation amongst his peers and his men. On social media and across forums, there was a divide as the Army split into two—those for and those against, mainly on grounds of their service arm.

According to the same ancient texts that hold forth on the role of senapatis and kings, the role of the soldier is clearly defined, stating “The gods send calamities unto those who forsake their comrades in battle and return home with unwounded limbs”. Led by an able administrator, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government needs to ensure that the “shadow men” are not allowed to prevail with their choices of who will eventually hold the reins of the Army. By manipulating the system for reasons best known to themselves, the “shadow men” may well have prevailed with their choice of who will eventually hold the reins of the Army, but they have also driven a wedge into a system where men at the very top may forsake their comrades in peacetime. For soldiers do not only fight with courage and valour for country and flag, they fight mainly for the man on their left and the man on their right and at the end of the day, they expect fair play from those at the top. It is imperative that the need of the hour is to dispel the influence of these “men in shadows” and their modus operandi of anonymous complaints, which should be treated with the contempt they deserve. It is now up to Prime Minister Modi, whose destiny it is to preside over the various prakritis that hold this country together to ensure that the Army is kept away from these underhand tactics and each soldier is given the respect and honour due to him or her.

Shiv Kunal Verma is the author of the books The Long Road to Siachen: The Question Why (Rupa & Co.) and 1962: The War That Wasn’t (Aleph). The latter, hailed by critics to be the most definitive account of the Sino-Indo conflict, examines in detail the role of the then Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, in tampering with the Army’s hierarchy, which directly led to the debacle against China.

Field Marshal SH F J Manekshaw selected his staff with great care and after having chosen them reposed his full trust in them and fully backed them up, says General Depinder Singh, who served as his military assistant (MA) throughout his tenure as Army Chief. Depinder Singh found Manekshaw easy to get along with, large-hearted and polite to his staff. Professionally, he delegated a lot of responsibility to them. Personally and socially, Sam Bahadur was the tops. Maintaining his subordinates’ prestige in front of their juniors was an essential part of his working style.

FILE, COURTESY WRITERManekshaw’s professional and personal rapport with the then PM Indira Gandhi was tremendous, and they had a successful partnership.

Manekshaw’s professional and personal rapport with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was tremendous; they had a successful partnership. His reputation and personality got obdurate bureaucrats to deliver on procurement. On visits to formations and units the Chief focused on welfare (accommodation, works and personnel matters) rather than stereotypical training. This was particularly so in first half of his term. The result was a hugely satisfied army backing him when the hard work of planning, training, preparing for the liberation of Bangladesh began in April 1971.

In his approach to work, Sam Manekshaw dealt directly with directors personally selected by him rather than with Principal Staff Officers (PSOs) thrown up by the system. He negotiated the ‘minefields of South Block’ with consummate ease born out of a mighty resolve, supreme selfconfidence and full preparedness. In the words of Depinder Singh, ‘Manekshaw operated like a surgeon with all the necessary instruments at his disposal.’ The military assistant learned all the vital lessons from his master, rising to become Southern Army Commander and overall commander of the IPKF before retiring in 1988. Bravo to Sam and men who fought under him to bring India its first strategic victory in a millennium.

ANOTHER SLI CHIEF IN THE OFFING?

Sometime during General Bikram Singh’s tenure (2012-2014) officers of the Sikh Light Infantry (SLI) were heard singing a ditty to the effect that ‘We had a Chief, we have a Chief, we will have a Chief!’

What they meant was that a regimental officer, General VP Malik, had been Army Chief during 1997-2000, the present Chief was also from the SLI and in the future Devraj Anbu (then a Brigadier and commandant of the SLI Regimental Centre) was likely to be appointed chief. Not another manifestation of the infamous line of succession but an astute analysis of the Army List (containing relative seniorities of all officers above the rank of Lieutenant Colonel with their birth dates). Around 2019, Brigadier Anbu would’ve been the senior-most general

INS BETWA

and therefore most likely to succeed General Dalbir Singh’s successor to become the twenty-seventh Chief. The Brigadier was likely to pick up the next three ranks given his service profile. On December 1, General Anbu came a step closer to realising his regiment’s dream when he took over Northern Command. Not bad going I’d say. General PS Bhagat, the father figure of the regiment who selected the best officers for the SLI and promoted the best training for them within their battalions would’ve been pleased. The Brahmaputra-class guided missile frigate which slipped off its blocks on December 5 while being undocked, a very tricky manoeuvre, will take at least two years to salvage and refurbish, according to authoritative naval sources.

Surjit Kaur, mother of 1965 war martyr Gajjan Singh, died last week. Tribune photo

Amaninder Pal

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 12

Two months on, the government is yet to fulfil its promise of awarding compensation to widows and kin of martyrs of 1962, 1965 and 1971 wars.Kin of two martyrs of the 1965 Indo-Pak war have died in the past 15 days, awaiting the compensation. And for decades, 161 such families are running from pillar to post to avail their compensation.The state government announced Rs 50 lakh compensation to the family of each martyr on October 14, this year. The announcement came after war widows and family members of martyrs organised a 20-day sit-in in front of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s residence. They refused to call off the protest till the issuance of a notification on October 19. But despite the issuance of notification, families are awaiting compensation.“The government had promised to provide Rs 50 lakh as compensation in three instalments. We were told that the first instalment of Rs 20 lakh will be disbursed by November 1. But not even a single penny has been released by the government so far,” said Gursewak Singh of Duladi village of Patiala. Gursewak’s father Piara Singh died in the 1965 war.“Our queries revealed that the Directorate of Sainik Welfare has forwarded all cases to the Finance Department. Now, the department has to release the money,” he said.“Both my grandmother and mother Harbhajan Kaur have died waiting for compensation. My mother passed away in April this year. She always wished for a better life, but that was possible only if the government compensated us. But the wish remained unfulfilled,” said Harnek Singh, whose grandmother Surjit Kaur died last week.Surjit, mother of 1965 war martyr Gajjan Singh and a resident of Kandala village in Mohali district, had participated in the 20-day protest in front of the CM’s house. Kesar Singh, brother of 1965 war martyr Jarnail Singh, died on November 30.However, Satish Chandra, Secretary, Finance, said, “Since the government has decided to award compensation to such families, it will be released without any delay.”

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, December 11

A serving Army Major, posted at the Myanmar border in Manipur, is upset over the constant harassment of his old parents back home over a land dispute. He has sought Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh’s intervention in the matter. He sought security for his parents alleging that the police were not acting on his complaints.In a three-page letter to the Chief Minister, Major Besari Lal alleged that his old parents at Chamboh village in Hamirpur district were being harassed by private secretary of a Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) who even tried to kill them.“This has been going on for the past 10 years and all our efforts to seek protection from the police have proved futile as the latter seem under pressure. They are not looking into our complaints and the culprits are virtually torturing my parents,” he stated in his letter.“I am 3,000 km away from home. It is sad that the government can’t even provide security to my parents whose life has been made hell by the CPS’ private secretary. Is it not unfortunate that the government is not able to provide security to my father and mother living in Chamboh village,” he asked.He alleged that his parents were not allowed to move out and the brother of the private secretary even tried to kill them.Major Besari Lal questioned the Chief Minister is his decision to join the Army and to serve the country was wrong or he should quit the job to protect his parents as the government had failed to ensure their safety and security.“I am the only son of my parents and they are living with my younger sister who is physically challenged. My father is not able to cultivate his land which is adjacent to the land of the private secretary and his two brothers. They have dug up our land to make a road,” he said.

Lt Gen NPS Hira

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 6.

The Punjab Government has chosen Lt Gen NPS Hira as chairman of the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC). Tejinder Kaur Dhaliwal, chairman of the Punjab School Education Board, has been chosen as a member of the board.The duo have been chosen as members by a high-powered committee of the Punjab Government, headed by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.Lt Gen Hira was appointed Deputy Chief of Army Staff in March this year. He was earlier posted as Chief of Staff of Northern Command at Udhampur. He will take over the reins of the PPSC from Lt Gen (retd) TS Gill, who demitted office in September.Official sources say that though the names have been cleared, the final approval of the Governor has to be sought, before the notification regarding their appointment can be issued.