Chandigarh, January 11

The Punjab and Haryana High Court today put Punjab and other respondents on notice on a petition filed in public interest by an advocate against the government’s move to provide Rs 50 lakh, instead of 10 acres of cultivable land, to widows, parents and children of soldiers martyred in 1962,1965, and 1971 wars.In his petition, advocate Harbinder Singh Baidwan challenged the state government notification dated October 19, 2016. Baidwan said the government had notified the Punjab Package Deal Properties Rules, 1976, for the allotment of 10 acres of cultivable land to the kin.Baidwan said this was a cruel joke with the families of the martyrs.The Bench of Justice SS Saron and Justice Darshan Singh fixed March 9 as the next date of hearing. — TNS

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Jan 17 – FAUJI INDIA magazine PDF

Says fully conscious of responsibility, no change in vision and thrust areas

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat after guard of honour at South Block in New Delhi on Sunday. PTI

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 1

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, who has planned and executed two cross-border surgical strikes, today sent out a strong message, saying India wanted peace and tranquility at its borders, but would not hesitate from using its power in any form.General Rawat was addressing the media after inspecting his first ceremonial guard of honour at the South Block in New Delhi. He had taken over as the Chief on Saturday.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)He said: “We want peace and tranquility at our borders but the target for peace does not mean we are weak. If need be, we will not hesitate to use force.”General Rawat is former Army Vice Chief. He closely monitored the cross-Line of Control (LoC) surgical strikes on September 29 to target militants’ launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). In June 2015, General Rawat was heading the Dimapur (Nagaland) headquartered 3 Crops, when the Army destroyed militant camps of the NSCN (k) in Myanmar.India shares 3,323 km border with Pakistan, including a 749 km Line of Control (LoC). The Armies on either side are eyeball to eyeball. Indian Army lost 63 soldiers in Jammu & Kashmir in 2016. There have been 225 violations of ceasefire by Pakistan across the LoC.On the priorities, he said: “There will be no change in the vision and thrust areas of Army. It has been arrived at after due deliberations.”Earlier in the day, General Rawat said: “I am aware of the roles and tasks assigned to the Army. This will include maintaining security at the borders.”On two of his seniors — Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi and Lt Gen PM Hariz — being superseded, General Rawat said: “It’s the decision of the government. I respect the superseded officers. I hope we continue to work shoulder to shoulder in future to strengthen the unity and strength of the Army.”General Rawat also sent across a message to all ranks of the Army saying every soldier of the Army counts. “Everyone counts and is equal in my eyes,” he said in a possible effort to put a lid on the social media comments talking about promotion of Infantry officers over those from the armoured corps or the Artillery.

 

Commissioned in June 1963 into the 2 Sikh, the Punjab Congress chief underwent the battalion’s baptism by serving as an ordinary soldier

Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh was no chocolate soldier. I first learnt of his military career from my father’s batman, Shinghara Singh, in 1972. Shinghara was part of Amarinder’s platoon, accompanying him on long-range patrols, while serving in the inhospitable terrain along the Himachal-Tibet border after the 1962 war.

Earlier, Amarinder had undergone a gruelling course at the National Defence Academy (NDA). His instructor, General KMKS Baraich, noticed him travelling by bus along his fellow cadets rather than using the American car placed at his disposal. Commissioned in June 1963 into the 2 Sikh, he underwent battalion’s baptism by serving as an ordinary soldier. Along other subalterns, he removed his pips and lived with jawans in bunkers eating in the company langar. From being an assistant machine gunner, machine gunner, section second-in-command to section commander, he proved his worth to command a platoon and enter the officers’ mess.

In November 1964, he was selected by General Harbaksh to be his aidede-camp in Western Command. Contrary to general perception, ADC’s job is to relieve a commander of all administrative tedium. He coordinates his commander’s mobile tactical headquarters, keeping him in communication with his troops and the HQ. By mid-1965, he had left the army to look after his family’s affairs in the absence of his father who had become India’s ambassador to Italy. After the balloon went up in Kashmir later that year, Amarinder sought to accompany his battalion into battle. General Harbaksh told me that he wanted him attached with himself, arguing that he will learn more. This experience stood the young Amarinder in good stead, making him blossom out in later life as a military historian.

Amarinder has all qualities desirable in a commander – clarity, strategic vision, decisiveness, clear thinking, concern for subordinates, humility and flexibility. One saw evidence of his determination to protect interests of Punjab in the night vigil he undertook in the winter of 1986 on the periphery of Kandu Khera in Muktsar.

SUBEDAR MAJOR SANGWAN

Ilam Singh Sangwan from Meerut is Subedar Major of the Western Command Hospital, Chandimandir. A nursing technician with a three-year diploma, he provides logistic support for inpatients’ treatment. Also, he controls the enlisted nursing staff. And like subedar majors, he acts as the commandant’s eyes and ears. Sangwan had served with the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force on the Golan Heights while attached with the Poona Horse.

Sangwan made good use of the Army’s excellent in-house higher education system to turn his sons into professionals. Aditya did his MBBS from the Army College of Medical Sciences, Delhi Cantonment, and works with Ivy Hospital, Panchkula. Abhishek, a computer engineer from the Army Institute of Technology, Pune, works with MavenHive Technologies, Bengaluru. The Chief of Army Staff awarded Subedar Major Sangwan his commendation card this year as did the Eastern Army Commander in 2007. It’s men like him who keep the wheels of busy military hospitals moving.

A NASTY GUST BLEW MY COVER. I WAS CAUGHT PANTS DOWN. HAVALDAR NATHU WITH A BEEDI BETWEEN HIS LIPS HAD A STRICKEN LOOK. THE JAWANS STOOD LIKE ZOMBIES IN ‘SAVDHAAN’

I wistfully recall my early years in the Indian Army. Life was tough but wholesome.

Since the past four years, the armed forces have been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Sparring generals, the age rigmarole, murky defence deals and more. The one rank one pension (OROP) disquiet was beginning to settle when the 7th central pay commission raised hackles again and then, the unseemly controversy regarding the selection of the army chief. There was a time when the army did its job quietly, and then retreated into its cocoon, the cantonments where it trained and honed its skills unobtrusively for the next kill. No political capital surgically milked the outcome of such operations.

Some years ago, a routine training move by a parachute and a mechanised infantry battalion had the then beleaguered government seeing ghosts where none existed. As if this was not comic enough, an artillery regiment in Nyoma, Ladakh, also ran amok. Reason: A woman bathing in a tent got exposed. I’m certain by accident not design. Such accidents have occurred earlier also, but we dismissed these as minor hazards of military service.

In 1979, I was posted to a unit in Nagrota, which was in tents. Tucked in one corner was the Officers Mess, I was billeted in a tent. An attached smaller tent served as a toilet. The place was given to stormy weather. Often nights were spent retrieving tents and equipment blown away by the wind. By daybreak it was business as usual.

The soldier’s routine from reveille to retreat was tough. It’s during small interludes that one takes life easy. After early lunch, army units are broken up into small groups. Each group is allotted a task for general maintenance of the unit. These tasks are often repetitive and sometimes allotted to keep the jawans busy and out of mischief. One such group under the command of a havaldar used to be sent to the Officers Mess. Its task was to repair the fencing, prune the hedges, and shear the grass.

Officers broke off for lunch around 2pm. After a quick bite I would head towards my tent. The havaldar in charge on seeing me would adopt a suitably industrious demeanor. He would bark ‘savdhaan (attention)’ to the group flailing scythes to cut non-existent grass. I would mutter ‘at ease’ and disappear inside the tent. The jawans outside thought this was Lt Sahib’s siesta time. The only instructions I ever heard the diligent havaldar whisper to the men under his command was ‘talk softly, if sahib hears us we will have it’. Inside the tent I would tiptoe to the toilet and squat on the pot from where I could hear their hushed banter. The earthy humour regaled me. Often officers were the butt of their jokes, but with no malice or disrespect.

One fateful afternoon, a nasty gust blew my cover. I was caught pants down. Havaldar Nathu with a beedi between his lips had a stricken look. The jawans stood like zombies in ‘savdhaan’. I look back in amusement and thank my stars that it was a different age. Today’s evolved jawan, besides a soldier’s paraphernalia, also carries a telltale smart phone. No prizes for guessing that it is one clip that would certainly have gone viral.

STRAIGHT TALK Gen Bipin Rawat says India will play along if Pak chooses peace

NEW DELHI: India would carry out more precision strikes on militant bases across the Line of Control if Islamabad rejected New Delhi’s peace overtures, army chief General Bipin Rawat said on Friday.

Speaking to reporters in Delhi, Rawat said India had made an offer of “peace and tranquility” to Pakistan but if Islamabad did not reciprocate, “this method of execution of operations will continue”.

“As far as surgical strikes are concerned, the aim was to ensure peace and tranquility. We are trying to ensure there is no requirement to conduct such strikes. If you (Pakistan) accept peace, we will go along,” Rawat said at a customary press conference ahead of Army Day on January 15.

Rawat stressed as far as the Pakistani response was concerned, India would have to adopt a “wait and watch” policy.

“We have told the adversary to accept peace and in case that offer is not reciprocated, then this method of execution of operations (surgical strikes) shall continue,” he said.

The army’s special forces conducted “surgical strikes” against militant pads in Pakistanoccupied Kashmir across the Line of Control last September, the first direct military response to the Uri attack that left 19 soldiers dead that month.

The strikes saw bilateral relations nosedive and resumption in border hostilities with daily firings and casualties on both sides

Pakistan denied the “surgical strikes” as India moved to isolate Islamabad diplomatically.

Rawat said the credit for the strikes, authorised by the government, should go only to people who executed the operations. The strikes had triggered a domestic political clamour with opposition parties alleging the BJP was trying to gain electoral mileage out of the army operation.A day after taking over as chief on December 31, he had said the army’s role was to ensure peace along the borders but it would not hesitate to use force if needed.

Promises `10,000-cr annual bonanza for voters, but probity in govt; no VIP culture, CM to be brought under lokpal ambit

The Congress believes it lost the 2012 Punjab elections to the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal’s populism. So this time round, the party manifesto for the February 4 elections promises the moon to voters, leaving no “section” untouched from cows to chowkidars (watchmen).

AJAY AGGARWAL/HT PHOTOFormer PM Manmohan Singh (R) and Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh release the party manifesto for Punjab assembly polls, in New Delhi on Monday.

The manifesto was released on Monday by former prime minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi along with state party chief Captain Amarinder Singh and simultaneously in Chandigarh by manifesto committee convener Manpreet Badal, who said the bonanza will cost the state exchequer `10,000 crore annually.

While the Congress gave fiscal prudence the go-by, it promised probity in the government. The party said it would loosen its purse strings for the needy but check government expenses.

There will be a two-year ban on foreign trips of MLAs and bureaucrats, 90% cut in the number of securitymen guarding VIPs, no red beacon on government vehicles except emergency services and no helicopter rides for the chief minister except during emergency situations. It announced a ban on dinners and banquets at state expense.

The manifesto also promises to bring the chief minister under the ambit of the lokpal. The fight against corruption would include vetting of all government contracts/tenders above `50 crore by an ethics committee.

It said the party will end the “politician-police nexus promoted by the system of halqa in-charges of SAD” and set up fast-track courts for drug cases and confiscation of property of drug dealers.

The 120-page document with pictures of Manmohan, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Amarinder and the Congress symbol ‘hand’, has left no section untouched. Cows may not be voters but they can make a vote bank. The Congress manifesto tries to steal the BJP’s thunder and vote bank by promising to open one ‘gaushala (cow shelter)’ in every block and provide help in running them to NGOs at the rate of `30 per cow, per day. For chowkidars, it has declared an increase in remuneration to `2,000 a month.

SUBSIDISED TAXIS, TRACTORS

After rolling out schemes to register youth for 50 lakh smart phones with one year free data and one job, per family, the manifesto promises to give 1 lakh taxis and commercial vehicles to youth every year at subsidised rates under the ‘Apni Gaadi, Apna Rozgar’ scheme. After registering farmers for debt waiver under ‘Karza-Khurki Khatam’ scheme, the party manifesto also offers them 25,000 tractors and other agricultural implements at subsidised rates. The state government will stand guarantee for the loans, which they will have to repay in 5 years.

The poll doles don’t end here. The party promises to bear expenses of 200 meritorious poor and Scheduled Caste students every year at universities abroad under a scheme named after late chief minister Partap Singh Kairon who, Manpreet said, had studied at Michigan university and was the architect of modern Punjab. For the “less meritorious” students from all sections, it has promised free textbooks.

Taking inspiration from late Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa’s ‘Amma’ canteens, the Congress promises a “decent meal” for Rs 5 in state canteens. From the Aam Aadmi Party, it has borrowed the idea of setting up mohalla clinics and from West Bengal, the “Community Medical Srevice” comprising trained health volunteers. To outwit neighbouring Haryana, it has announced a jump of Rs 2 crore in prize money for Olympic gold and silver medalists from the state.

QUOTA POLITICS

The manifesto promises 33% quota to women in government jobs and educational institutions and increase in quota for other backward classes (OBCs) from 12 to 15 percent in jobs and 5 to 10 percent in educational institutes. It has come up with another 3% reservation in government jobs and 5% in educational institutions for those living within 30 km of the international border.

For SCs, there are free homes or 5 marla plots, 30% quota in government residential and commercial plots and free education up to graduation, including free board and lodging in professional colleges. To woo industry, the party promises to freeze power tariffs at Rs 5 per unit for five years and a “no jail clause” under a new industrial policy. The document, which starts with the party’s vision for Punjab, also includes a 10-page chargesheet on the ruling SADBJP government titled, ‘Its a SAD Bad Show here’.

 

MANPREET RAINS SOPS,

CHANDIGARH: He parted ways with not just the government but also his party and family over sops, mainly free power to farmers. But as a Congressman, former finance minister Manpreet Badal, the chief minister’s estranged nephew, is raining freebies.

DALJEET KAUR SANDHU/HT

While releasing the Congress manifesto at Chandigarh here on Monday, Manpreet said it had a “strong imprint” of his People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) — which merged into the Congress last January — but it was a “new wine, in new bottle”.

The Congress had failed to promise sops in the 2012 polls as then union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee wanted the manifesto to be “workable”. But after the “vanilla” manifesto pitched on idealism, both Manpreet and the Congress have got a taste of realpolitik. They did not have to look far for inspiration. The party’s rival, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), had rained sops in the 2012 manifesto and romped home, even though most of what it promised remains unfulfilled. After two back-to-back poll drubbings, the Congress also needs to outwit the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), a formidable challenger, which is releasing a series of manifestos to woo all sections of voters.

No wonder, Manpreet justified the poll doles as the “need of the hour”. The manifesto begins by saying: “The Congress is committed to end despair and insecurity among people of Punjab and restore the state’s honour.” It is another matter that not very long ago as the state’s finance minister, Manpreet had invoked state’s honour to give up freebies so that the “state does not have to go with a begging bowl to the government at the Centre, seeking a bailout”.

The manifesto had few surprises. Party’s poll strategist Prashant Kishor was already putting the manifesto in action through the many campaigns that are creating a database of voters, such as Coffee with Captain, Halke Vich Captain, debt waiver, free smartphones and one job per family. The 11-member manifesto committee of the party led by former CM Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and Manpreet came up with few more promises by meeting various sections of voters for a wishlist.

“The manifesto is a result of labour of six months. We met every section of society, from traders to industry, women to youth. The youth want jobs and the industry wants lower power tariffs. The choice is between letting industry flee to other states or making it stay by offering incentives. In the long run, it will create more jobs and more taxes,” Manpreet told HT after the manifesto release.

The former FM has done his math to explain the annual outgo of ₹10,000 crore on the sops. “We will spend big on welfare schemes by reining in government expenditure and mafias that deprive the state of its revenue. One way would be to trim bureaucratic flab and political appointees.

There are 100 commissions, boards, improvement and other trusts in Punjab that are a drain on its resources. Each runs an annual bill of about ₹5 crore. There are also many unnecessary posts such as district transport officers (DTOs) and divisional commissioners. We can simply do away with them,” Manpreet said. Interestingly, Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh has promised to “reward” rebels vying for party tickets in the many boards and corporations.

The party believes it could unlock another few thousand crores by bringing the end to “mafia raj” of the present SADBJP government.

“The sand mafia collects goonda tax. The liquor mafia, cable mafia, land mafia and transport mafia have all robbed state government departments of their money to ensure the businesses of the ruling family flourished. We will end it all. And ₹3,000 crore a year revenue will come to the state once this is done,” Manpreet said.

The Congress has also factored in the goods and services tax (GST) to back its profligacy. “I believe Punjab will be a net gainer up to the tune of ₹5,000 crore annually under the GST regime. So we will ensure a welfare government by mopping up more revenue and reducing government expenditure,” he said. Denying that he had quit the SAD over free power, the former FM said, “The farmers are already in such a bad state. We cannot burden them with power bills.”

Congress releases manifesto, to revive city’s sports industry

The party has promised a skill development centre, a new focal point exclusively for sports industry, modernisation of equipments and a research base

JALANDHAR: In its much hyped manifesto that was simultaneously released by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi and by local PPCC wing in Jalandhar, the Congress has promised to revive the depleting sports industry of Jalandhar.

PARDEEP PANDIT/HTCongress leaders releasing the party manifesto at the Congress Bhawan in Jalandhar on Monday.

The manifesto was released in Jalandhar by Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) vice-president Amar Singh, district Congress president Rajinder Beri and PPCC spokesperson Dr Navjot Dahiya.

The party has included the demand to set-up a new focal point at Jalandhar exclusively for the goods of sports industry.

The party has also promised to set up a skill development centre where labours will be trained with the latest technique exclusively for the sports industry to overcome the problem of shortage of skilled labour.

The party has also promised to open a research and development centre exclusively for the sports industry.

Notably, the party has included all the issues raised in the demand charter submitted by the sports manufacturing leaders to Manpreet Badal led manifesto drafting committee.

The Congress has also set up a district level industrial grievances committees.

“These boards have become an eyewash to appease a few of SAD-BJP office bearers,” reads the manifesto.

A full page in the manifesto has been dedicated to cover the issues of sports goods industry.

Over the issues raised by the bat manufacturing units regarding the tough availability of Kashmir willow clefts in Jalandhar, the party has promised to take up the matter with the Jammu and Kashmir government.

“Not only this, our government will also take effective steps to modernize the manufacturing of sports items,” reads the manifesto.

As per the manifesto, “The policy will be formulated to replace the imported sports items by manufacturing these in Jalandhar .

SPORTS INDUSTRY WELCOMES THE MOVE

Ravinder Dhir, president of Jalandhar Sports Manufacturers Association, who had submitted the demand charter before the drafting committee of the manifesto, has welcomed the move .

“We are happy that demands of Jalandhar’s sports industry have been given a prominent space,” he said

“However, the Congress has to win our confidence in promising that they will deliver it in a time bound manner,” the president of Jalandhar Sports Manufacturers Association said.

“Mere inclusion of these issues wont help us. The Congress should discuss the issues with us and show us how these issues will be resolved in case Congress comes to power,” said another sports manufacturer Karan Sachdeva. “

Keeping in view the past records of the Congress governments, it’s tough to believe on these promises,” said the sports manufacturer.