Military training academies are the edifice of national integration. Petty loyalties of regionalism, caste or religion are subordinated to the brotherhood of arms. Lt Ummer Fayaz too upheld the integrity of the nation over the diktat of terrorists

SALUTE TO A BRAVEHEART: The grieving family & relatives of Lt Ummer Fayaz Parray, who was murdered by militants while he was on leave. PTI

ON May 9, the joyous mood of  wedding celebrations in the township of Batapura, Shopian suddenly turned gloomy, the terrorists struck. Their target Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz Parray was quickly bundled away; the next morning his bullet-ridden body was found. His only fault was that as an Indian Army officer he had decided to uphold the integrity of his country, contrary to the dictates of the terrorists. Earlier, families of police and Army personnel have been threatened and warning to either quit or get eliminated. Despite the danger, Ummer showed his strength of character and belief that he was on the right lines by going home on leave. At the Indian Military Academy (IMA), he was highly motivated and a fitness freak. A one-liner on him by his course mates speaks volumes, he “could debate anyone on any topic!” Like every other young officer, he was ready to prove his worth, earn his spurs as a leader of fighting men, rise to higher ranks and what’s more, to ensure a better tomorrow for his parents and two sisters. But as he lay wrapped in the Tricolour, his dreams were snuffed out with him, leaving behind a shattered family. His cold-blooded murder soon after the dastardly beheading of a JCO of the Army and a NCO of the CRPF shows the barbarism of the terrorists — brutality, cowardly conduct and total disrespect for human values and rights. Their aim is clear, to terrorise the local population and show their helplessness. No terrorist organisation is likely to claim Ummer’s killing, false propaganda will surface but silence is likely to rule. The local population, however, must see through the terrorists’ game plan and rise to the occasion, instead of getting cowed down. Realisation must also dawn to perceive their future in the nefarious designs of the terrorists. Reaction to this heinous act has surprisingly been subdued. A few politicians did make a mandatory condemnation, but missing were the rhetoric-loaded human rights activists, the separatist leaders and civil society at large. Evidently, they do not see any wrong in the killing of an unarmed soldier at home feasting with his family? Sadly, his remembrance will be restricted to his family and his brother in arms.Ummer’s name will be engraved at the War Memorial at the IMA and the Hut of Remembrance at the NDA, he will rest for ever in the Valhalla of the Brave. However, his murder must not go in vain, it may just turn out to be a defining moment.Terrorist violence will continue but their abhorrent acts will only strengthen the resolve of the Army and its leaders to crush the scourge of terrorism and its adherents. Yes, sacrifices will have to be made, but then the future officers on passing out from the IMA swear by the Code of a Warrior. The punch line reads, “I am a Warrior, fighting is my dharma,” and they abide by the spirit of the Academy song, which says, “Diwarein ham banenge Ma, talwarein ham banenge Ma, chhu le tujhko hai kis mein dam, Bharat Ma teri kasam, tere rakshak rahenge hum!”The reputation of IMA as a world-class military institute has been built by its alumni over decades. It is a matter of pride that since 1955, over 1,200 cadets from 32 friendly countries have been trained here fostering better relations with a host of countries. The training is dynamic, a confluence of tradition and technology in the field of warfare, to produce knowledge warriors. They are nurtured with attributes of outward and inner self, with compassion for the men and chivalrous traits to lead their men and order a resilient command of,”Follow me!”Training covers a vast canvass but an interesting part is the development of military bearing and appearance by drill ustaads, our very worthy JCOs and NCOs. A different world awaits the new entrants to the IMA and for many it is a cultural shock. To start with, he is “privileged” to a new style of haircut, some refuse to recognise themselves, but given a few days and they realise that this was the easiest part of the training. Many have never seen dawn but here even before the cockerel calls, it is time to jump out of bed, rush through the morning ablutions and be on parade all spruced up and well before time. Here is where he encounters the inimitable drill instructors, who are unique and a class apart. To a greenhorn cadet, drill instructors are egoistic, who constantly preach the gospel of sincerity towards duty, honour and service to the country — their only qualities being an unnatural gloss on boots, immaculate dress, flawless creases, a chest with shining medals, ramrod straight and a voice which puts thunder to shame. But the drill instructors have their way, standards set are achieved and there is no wavering. Finally, when a cadet crosses the Rubicon of Antim Pag to the strains of the heart-touching Auld Lang Syne, he is a smart, upright and confident commissioned officer, chiselled by his ustaad who takes tremendous pride in being the first to salute the young officer. Here begins the very special Officer- Man bond. Some drill instructors are legends indeed. It’s nearing five decades, but the memory of Subedar Major Kanshi Ram remains etched in mind, his penchant to speak in English had loads of humour but our smile had to be invisible as he boomed, “Who the he, understanding the tree!”This brings me to the War Memorial, the sanctum santorum, where every cadet takes an oath to tread the path set by his predecessors, today stands proof of the tremendous sacrifices made; 845 names of brave hearts are engraved on its sacred façade, 846 and 847 are being engraved, Ummer will be at 847. Traditionally, every six months in June and December a day prior to the “Passing out Parade” a very moving and solemn remembrance service is held at the Memorial. Invited to the Academy are very special and honoured guests, the next-of-kin of the martyrs during the past five months; as paeans are read and wreaths laid, the Passing Out Course stand on vigil to honour their fallen brethren, the respect and care does provide some solace and strength to their departed comrades’ family but wet eyes and emotions are in plenty.Military training academies are also the edifice of national integration. Here petty loyalties of regionalism, caste or religion are subordinated to the brotherhood of Arms, it is indeed the Mahayana of nation building! The transformation in a short time is  amazing. Cadets join as Bongs, Biharis, Jatu, Punji, Sardar, Tambi, Tante, Yado —but soon all this disappears into the realm of light banter and only Indians pass out. Camaraderie and friendships formed here are life-long, reminiscences and discussions on Army life are omnipresent, only the battleground of company-operating bases or COB has metamorphosed to charcha over beer! A few lines from a tribute to Ummer by an Army veteran, “Teri shahadat banegi aatank ki dushman; maut ka safeer ‘Raji’chhipta rahega (Merchants of death will be scared and in hiding); Zinda hai Ummer Fauji tun, zinda hi rahega!”The writer is a former Commandant of the IMA, Dehradun, & former Chairman, Punjab Public Service Commission.

A villager shows the damage due to shelling at Jhangar. Tribune Photo: Inderjeet Singh

Amir Karim Tantray

Tribune News Service

Jhangar (LoC), May 14Damaged roofs, shattered windows and locked houses present a grim picture of heavy Pakistani shelling all along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Nowshera sector. The 85 mm and 120 mm mortars claimed two lives and injured three others in the area.People have been forced to leave their houses unattended and head towards migrant camps at safer places due to which villages all along the LoC look deserted.Jhangar is the last village of the Nowshera sector beyond which lies the LoC and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) from where shells were fired by the Pakistan army all day long yesterday. On Sunday, even those villagers, who had stayed back, were leaving along with their cattle to safer places.“Our family members left the village yesterday as it was not safe anymore to stay here. I stayed back to keep a take care of the cattle. Today, I am also leaving along with the cattle to a safer place,” said Jagdish Kumar, a resident Jhangar village.It was outside his cattle shed that Tufail Hussain and his granddaughter Asiya Banoo had died when a shell fell in the area.Describing the incident, Jagdish said, “Tufail, his wife Zaitoon Begum and granddaughter Asiya were inside when a shell hit their house. After the blast, they immediately came out and ran towards our house. Once they reached near the cow shed, another mortar shell hit a tree nearby, splinters of which hit them. Tufail and Asiya died on the spot whereas Zaitoon was critically injured.”Since then there is extreme fear in the area and no one wants to stay back fearing more shelling.A few people spent the night in the village after sending their elders and children to the migrant camps at Nowshera but they were not able to sleep due to the fear of shelling.Tears rolled down the cheeks of 65-year-old Sheila Devi of Jhangar village at the migrant camp in Government Boys Higher Secondary School, Nowshera, when her two sons reached there safely today from the village.Sheila said she was concerned about her sons as they didn’t accompany her to the camp yesterday and stayed back in the danger zone. “It was not good on their part to send us to a safer place and stay back in the village. I was very concerned about them,” she said.Talking about the situation, Sheila’s 35-year-old son Ramesh Chander said, “We have never seen such heavy shelling in our village. Previously, one or two shells used to land near the village but this time dozens of shells hit the houses and bylanes in the village. Earlier, many villagers used to migrate as a precautionary measure but a few persons used to stay back. However, this time the entire village has migrated.”In the migrant camp, more than 700 people have been adjusted even as ministers, legislators, officers and political workers made a beeline to meet them.

All the gains of the past 10 years have been frittered away by successive governments

Afew days before Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter with security forces I travelled through the interior villages of South Kashmir, the epicentre of new militancy in the state to try and understand the changing nature of violence. Why were educated and increasingly radicalised young men, some of who were school toppers, picking up the gun? Why were their families, many of whom were government employees, willing to see them die rather than turn them in?

WASEEM ANDRABI/HT PHOTOIt is not the job of the Army to control restive and violent crowds; especially not when they have another front open at the Line of Control

An effective counter-insurgency grid had brought down the number of Pakistantrained infiltrating and operational militants from across the Line of Control to below 200. So why was there a sudden resurgence in local militancy? The brave and beleaguered Jammu and Kashmir police force had been trying to draw New Delhi’s attention to the warning signs for a while. In 2015 its internal survey warned that for the first time in ten years local militants had outnumbered foreign terrorists making up 62% of the total. The overall numbers were not very high but the pattern itself was alarming and needed emergency intervention. As the report warned “The new trend reveals that terrorist cadres have influenced the impressionable youth, a significant number have gone missing in recent past.” Because it involved local communities the challenges this threw up were much more insidious than battling hundreds of Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists. Already, the nature of street protests was changing, with women fronting them and sometimes even over-running security posts and snatching away weapons. But denialism is the disease that has plagued the Kashmir crisis more than any other; every opportunity to make things better has been a lost one. And these cautionary tales were either ignored or underestimated.

Today, as thousands of security personnel lead one of the largest search and cordon operations in Shopian, the valley’s Apple belt, they are seeking “area domination” to hunt down local militants with house to house investigations. While restoring the writ of the state is critical, operationally this is a throwback to the nineties, a disturbing turning back of the clock and more proof that all the all the incremental advantages of the past ten years have been frittered away by successive central governments.

Yet, it has never been so difficult to have an honest conversation about Jammu & Kashmir. Every stakeholder, on all sides of the trenches, wants to co-opt you; the real absence of ‘azaadi’ is reflected in this blinkered vision that prevents people from seeing things as they are. The high-pitched calls for ‘nationalism’ from prime-time studio warriors (most of whom have spent little or no time in Kashmir) have ironically reduced the very soldiers they claim to protect to cannon fodder. For instance, it’s not the job of India’s Army to control restive and violent crowds of protesters; especially not when they have another front open at the Line of Control where Pakistan’s army has escalated conflict with the beheading of two soldiers. In the past, Army commanders I know have firmly declined to be pitted against the locals. Why should failed politics take shelter behind the uniform? Why should soldiers or policemen carry the cross for the lack of political imagination? Why should Governors’ Rule not be imposed in a state where law and order has collapsed? And when will we admit that things have never been as grim, intractable and difficult to unknot in the Kashmir valley as they are today?

How, for instance, do we understand, why 20-year-old Ishaq Parray whose academic excellence earned him the name of Newton (after Isaac Newton) aspired to be a doctor, but died a militant. At his modest village home his family showed me his book shelf still stacked with tomes on chemistry & physics and his A-grade report cards. His sister is married to a police officer; his elder brother is unemployed with a M.A degree. But Newton’s father told me militancy had little to do with jobs and opportunities. “Newton was brilliant; he could have got any degree, any job he wanted.” Other parents sent their sons away from Kashmir thinking distance would be a curative- like Abdul Rashid Bhat, the father of Burhan Wani’s successor, Zakir Bhat. Abdul Rashid, a government civil engineer sent Zakir to an engineering college in Chandigarh. He too excelled at studies and his father proudly showed me certificates of national carom championships Zakir had won. None of this stopped Zakir from picking up the gun.

Laptops instead of stones, as the Prime Minister once proposed, won’t change much. The problem is elsewhere. And Kashmir is staring down an abyss.

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 5

In a move that could see more number of girls wearing the IAF wings on their dress, the Air Force has opened its doors to female NCC C-certificate holders for direct entry as commissioned officers in the flying branch. The benefit till now was available only to male cadets and female candidates, like non-NCC cadets, were required to appear for a competitive written examination.“The policy to allow direct entry to female cadets was cleared by the Air Headquarters recently and its implementation starts with the current induction cycle that is about to begin,” said Wg Cdr MR Pandeya, Commanding Officer of the Chandigarh NCC air squadron.To facilitate entry, an online registration system has been introduced that would commence from May 20 and remain open till June 15, Pandeya added. Male cadets would also be able to apply through this portal. The IAF’s direct entry scheme allows Air Wing C-certificate holders, who fulfil the stipulated age and education criteria, to bypass the written entrance examination and appear directly for assessment before the Services Selection Board (SSB).The IAF has, according to figures released in March 2017, 1,581 women officers in all branches out of which over a 100 are pilots. The IAF began inducting women as short service commissioned officers in 1993, including the flying branch where they were eligible to fly transport aircraft and helicopters.The policy was revised in 2016 to allow women in the fighter stream on an experimental basis. Three women were selected and are undergoing training as combat pilots, though no woman has since opted for the fighter stream. In 2010, permanent commission for women officers was also introduced in some branches.

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Basit was summoned by Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar to convey India’s ‘outrage’. File photo

Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 3

India today summoned Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit and conveyed its “outrage” at the “barbaric act” of mutilating the bodies of two Indian soldiers by the Pakistan army.India also conveyed to Basit that India had concrete evidence to prove Pakistan army’s role in the acts. The Pakistani envoy denied the charges but said he would convey the contents of the demarche to his government.Mincing no words, India said it considered the mutilation of its soldiers’ bodies “a strong act of provocation”. “We have proof it was carried out by the Pakistan army. We have demanded from Pakistan that whoever from their army was behind this incident be punished,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Gopal Baglay said.Baglay pointed to the fact that blood samples collected from the Indian soldiers and trail of blood on the Roza Nala proved that the killers had returned across the Line of Control (LoC). Sources confirmed that “body parts of the soldiers were taken to the other side” and the trail of blood was theirs.“It was significant that the attack was preceded by cover fire from Pakistani posts in Battal sector (in the vicinity of Battal village). Blood samples of the Indian soldiers and the trail of blood on Roza Nala clearly show that the killers returned across the Line of Control,” said a statement released by the MEA.Pakistan, meanwhile, has denied the charges that its army was involved in these attacks and has sought “actionable evidence” from India to back its claim.

Pak students sent back

New Delh: Fifty Pakistani students visiting India on the invitation of an NGO were sent back on Wednesday after the government advised the latter against hosting them. “An NGO had invited Pakistani school students here. They came to India on the day the barbaric and inhuman act of killing and mutilating our soldiers happened,” an official said. PTI

Deoria (UP), May 2

Shattered and traumatized with the news of her father’s horrific death at the hands of the Pakistani Army in Krishna Ghatti, Jammu and Kashmir, the daughter of Border Security Force (BSF) head constable Prem Sagar on Tuesday demanded “50 heads in return” for her father’s life.“His sacrifice should not be forgotten, we want 50 heads in return for his life,” said Saroj while consoling her mother, who was still coming to terms with her husband’s gruesome death.The relatives of the late solider also rebuked the Centre’s ‘lax attitude’ against Pakistan, and asserted that due to the government’s inaction, such brutalities were happening again.“The government is not acting properly on such issues. We should retaliate to this inhuman act of Pakistan; the Centre should not just sit idle and let Pakistan carry on its atrocities,” said the constable’s relative.“I am proud of my brother that he sacrificed his life for the nation, but is it heart-wrenching the way the body has been mutilated by the Pakistan military,” said his brother, Dayashanker. ANI