Srinagar, June 11

The Army is zeroing in on young stone-throwers in Kashmir — not to lock them up but to take them around India and give wings to their dreams.A group of 20 boys from restive south Kashmir will be taken on an educational tour to showcase India and its development, a senior Army officer said.The idea struck Major General BS Raju, General Officer Commanding of the Victor Force, the Army’s anti-insurgency grid responsible for much of south Kashmir, when he interacted with young boys caught throwing stones at security forces during counter-insurgency operations.“One can easily make out that they indulge in stone-throwing because that is what they have seen while growing up. They are prisoners of the images that they see around them since their birth,” Major General Raju said, adding quite a few did not even know why they were throwing stones.“It was surprising to find that many of them threw stones just out fun,” he said.The Army officer, who is a father of a son and a daughter, decided to go by the rule book of a parent and started interacting with the stone-throwers informally — to discover that they, too, had dreams.Recalling the late President APJ Abdul Kalam’s quote — “Dream, dream, dream! Conduct these dreams into thought, and then transform them into action” — the seniormost officer of the Army for south Kashmir soon started counselling the young students on careers.“When one talks to them, one finds they too have dreams and, because of unforeseen circumstances, these dreams have no wings. My only attempt is to give wings to their dreams and that is why I thought 20 such children be taken around India under the Army’s Sadhbhavna scheme,” he said.The Army, with the help of the local police, has been identifying the youth who will be taken to Delhi, where they will meet people in the government, to Mumbai, the financial capital of the country, Jaipur and other places of historical importance.“Kalam seemed to be a much-respected figure with these children and I narrated his statement about India’s diversity to them. It was heartening to find these boys listening with rapt attention and raising some valid questions,” he said.The attempt, he said, was to shape their lives. “If we can contribute the bare minimum, it will definitely be an achievement,” he said.The Army believes the children, after returning from their multi-city tour, will narrate their experiences to other young Kashmiris, encouraging them to join the next group.“For that they don’t have to pick up stones,” the officer quipped. “All they need to do is approach their own Army men and the needful will be done.” — PTI

A total of 59 Army personnel have been killed in counter-terror operations in the state since 2016. Tribune file photo

Jammu, June 8

Thirty-eight armed militants have been killed as the Army foiled a total of 22 infiltration bids along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir this year.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

According to the Army, infiltration attempts have been foiled at Gurez, Machhil, Naugam and Uri sectors in the last 48 hours, in which seven armed intruders have been eliminated.

“In the current year, 22 infiltration attempts have been foiled and 34 armed intruders eliminated on the LoC,” a senior Army officer said today.

“The relentless operations by the security forces have defeated the desperate attempts by Pakistan and its agents to spread terror in Jammu and Kashmir during the holy month of Ramzan,” he said.

As compared to this, 28 infiltration attempts took place in 2015 and 88 such attempts in 2016.

Minister of State for Defence, Subhash Bhamre had said in the Parliament that 116 cross-border infiltration attempts were made in the Valley in 2015 and 2016, including 88 last year.

A total of 59 Army personnel have been killed in counter-terror operations in the state since 2016.  — PTI

100-yr-old birth records in Cant still attract British

Over 100-year-old birth and death records of British officers and their families are still lying with Cantonment Board Hospital in Jalandhar. Tribune Photos

Rachna Khaira
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, June 5
A visit to the office of the birth and death records here may not appeal interesting to many, but the office of the Jalandhar cantonment hospital is nothing less than an amusement for some.
A few months ago, a 90-year-old retired British army officer landed in the Jalandhar Cantonment Board (JCB) office and sought some records of the pre–independence era. Elaborating, he said he had served here as a young British officer in 1945 and wanted to collect the death certificate of his father who had died during his tenure here. The JCB office immediately took out the old records and handed him over the death certificate of his father.
Though the office could not ask for his details and take his photograph, they still remember the satisfaction on his face upon seeing the changed look of the Jalandhar cantonment after so many years.
This is not the first time that someone from the erstwhile British army landed in the JCB office. Many a time, descendents of British officers who served here came to this place to get their birth certificates.
According to an employee of the department, though the office has birth and death records since 1890, sometimes they face difficulty in providing such certificates to the families as a majority of these are in Urdu.
“While the records after 1950 are mostly written in English, the ones before this time were written in Urdu which we could not understand. We have now requested to get these translated so as to avoid any difficulty in future,” said an employee. Also, he said that the digitisation of the historic records had begun and soon these could be retrieved from the Internet as well.
On The Tribune team’s visit to the office, birth and death records as old as 100 years ago were found intact in the office. Surprisingly, a majority of the records were found to be those of Britishers, as if no need was felt during that time to keep records of Indian families as well. As far as the records of the British families were concerned, the name of the parents was written, but in the column of the child’s name it was written “not yet baptised”!
More surprisingly, at some places the birth and death records were found completely blank. When asked, officials were told that due to the commencement of World War 1 and II, the records might not have been maintained during that time.
Sources said while the General Hospital had been recommended to the Archaelogical Survey of India (ASI) to be declared a historical monument, the JCB should also make efforts to preserve the historic records that might contain birth and death details of some historic personalities who played a major role in the pre-Independence era of the country.

iStock

THAT the dismal performance of students in the latest 10th and 12th Class examinations has prompted a rethink on the way education is imparted in Punjab government schools is itself an encouraging sign. There will be opposition from overzealous education-through-mother-tongue champions but the Amarinder Singh government should stay the course. English is being offered as an option along with Punjabi and it is not being imposed. More and more parents want their children to gain proficiency in English. To cater to their demand, English-medium schools have mushroomed across Punjab, many of doubtful quality, resulting unfortunately in a simultaneous decline of government schools. There are valid arguments in favour of imparting primary education in the child’s mother-tongue. The issue here is of securing the child’s future and parents’ concern is justifiable. Gujaratis who stuck to the mother-tongue concept have been bypassed by the IT revolution. Punjabi cannot be kept alive by being thrust on reluctant children. Threats to Punjabi are exaggerated, if not invented. Education in English medium is denied to children from modest backgrounds and they are the ones who need English the most to overcome the challenge of poverty. The education gap has led to an aggravated social, economic and urban-rural divide. Children from well-off families get quality education, mostly in English-medium urban schools affiliated to the CBSE or the ICSE. Their rural counterparts languish in substandard government schools.  It all boils down to two points — the freedom to choose the medium of instruction and the gross neglect of government educational institutions. Government indifference has wrought havoc on education. The taxpayer’s money has been diverted to fund freebies for votes. The lost glory of government schools cannot be restored without increased budgetary allocations, filling all vacant posts, hiring staff on merit, providing basic infrastructure and ensuring close monitoring at every level. The foundation for rebuilding a new Punjab can be laid only by taking care of schools and hospitals. Those who have the responsibility to govern will need to understand and demonstrate a long-term vision and commitment. A good beginning has been made, for now.

A leading Chinese daily has cautioned India that it is being used by the United States as a tool to counterbalance China.

“Washington’s pursuit of closer ties with New Delhi is mainly driven by its strategic need to utilize India as a tool to counterbalance China,” said Global Times in an editorial.

“How many practical interests can India gain from it? During Barack Obama’s tenure, in order to woo India, he promised to support India’s bid for a UN Security Council seat, but did not put it to any practical action. Will Trump take substantial steps to facilitate India’s UNSC bid? It’s hard to tell. Will Trump put more pressure on Pakistan for its alleged support of terrorist groups? The answer is very likely to be negative,” it further asked.

The Chinese daily also mocked Indians for feeling proud on the fact that it is being used by the US.

“Being a “key piece in the jigsaw for the US” is nothing to be proud of. Instead, it is more likely a trap that deserves India’s vigilance,” it cautioned.
The editorial was published yesterday just before Modi-Trump meet. Also, the editorial came amid border tension.

As reported yesterday, along the Sikkim border, some Indian and Chinese soldiers had a face to face, a video of which has been all over the news since yesterday and has generated heated media debates in both the countries. Officially though both countries blaming each other’s forces of violating the Line of Actual Control that acts as the default border between the two countries. The two countries fought a war back in 1962.

Concluding, the Chinese daily had a veiled threat for India as well. “New Delhi should avoid being roped into a geopolitical trap. Despite its anxieties over China’s rise, maintaining a stable relationship with China is of more importance to its security and development,” it said.

Ageing ex-servicemen, war widows and the families of patriotic set of Indians sitting at Jantar Mantar— fighting for their izzat— is a sad reflection on the nation as a whole.

Faujis’ morale at stake: Ex-servicemen protest against the anomalies in the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. On June 15 this year, the ex-servicemen completed two years of protest against denial of OROP. — PTI

AFTER the coronation of the Magadh Samrat, Kautilya, also known as Chanakya, gave his king this blunt warning: “The day the soldier has to demand his dues will be a sad day for Magadh for then, on that day, you will have lost all moral sanction to be king!”It is regrettable that defence-related matters in our country have always been a low priority, with the military being kept out of the security loop. The consequences of this foolish policy are evident for all to see. The case of One Rank One Pension (OROP) too has proved no different. The all-powerful IAS lobby continues to have the last laugh and is hell bent on denying OROP to the faujis. If the BJP government loftily claims that OROP has been granted, then why are faujjis still protesting?  The OROP as approved by two Parliaments reads: “Uniform pension will be given to the defence personnel retiring with the same rank and same years of service irrespective of the date of retirement. Any future enhancement or change in the rates of pension to be automatically passed on to the past retirees”. Which means to do away with any gap between the past, present and the future defence pensioners. In the notification dated November 7, 2015, the government has equalised the pension of the past defence pensioners by giving them a one-time raise and has maliciously termed it as OROP. The notification also states that in future the pension will be re -fixed after every five years. The all-powerful bureaucracy arbitrarily altered the approved definition of OROP, thereby literally killing it’s soul.  Re-fixing the pension of the past retirees after every five years makes it One Rank Five Pensions and is a mockery of past Parliamentary assurances. The envisaged concept of parity has been thrown out of the window. Ex-servicemen throughout the country are outraged at this blatant sellout by the government. The relay hunger strike by the retired faujis is still on. June 15, 2017 was the day of collective shame for the country and the countrymen for, on that day, the veterans of the Indian Army, mostly in their twilight years, completed two years of their non-stop peaceful protest sitting on the footpath near Jantar Mantar asking for the promised OROP. On that day, these veterans, unfortunately considered a spent force by almost all Indians, weathered the vagaries of all seasons of the year twice over. The morale factor: These days the situation in the Kashmir Valley is tense as never before and the jawan guarding the LoC under utmost constraints is also under immense pressure but is still prepared to even sacrifice his life to defend the motherland. Though he is routinely assured by the government that, even after his retirement his dignity and honour will be respected, but the assurances do not seem to convince him when he sees his father or uncle or even grandfather sitting on the footpath near Jantar Mantar like beggars asking for the promised OROP. This state of affairs is bound to adversely affect his morale. It is mainly the wards of the former jawans and present-day kisans who constitute bulk of our Army. Surely, not a single politician or a bureaucrat or any other elite has his ward in defence forces. Today many children of OROP protestors are still staring down the “enemy” in the most inhospitable environs under bone-chilling state of danger, with their backs to the country. They are perhaps wondering as to why OROP recommended by two Parliaments and promised by the Pradhan Sevak himself, is not being granted in it’s accepted form. Ageing ex-servicemen, war widows and the families of this immensely patriotic set of Indians sitting at Jantar Mantar fighting for their izzat is indeed a sad reflection of the nation as a whole. Financial Aspect: As per the estimates of the Ministry of Defence, the implementation of OROP for military retirees will entail an additional expenditure of Rs 8,293 crore annually. Financially, the country is on the upswing, yearly GDP is on the rise, and the economy growing is at almost seven per cent, yet the government cannot afford to allocate Rs 8,300 odd crore annually for the defence pensioners. Will this additional allocation shatter the country’s economy? The Modi government needs to resolve the issue the soonest, but without any bureaucratic involvement, for the good of the nation. Don’t let it become a crises point. If a pragmatic survey is carried out, it will be seen that the bureaucracy has consistently failed the nation — it is the defence forces that have risen to the occasion and retrieved the situation each and every time. Garnering of political mileage from surgical strike like operations must stop. The jawan-friendly BJP finds it more profitable winning elections in the name of jawans. Shouldn’t it win their hearts as well?

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Naik Jadhav Sandip from Aurangabad

Jammu, June 22

Two Indian soldiers were killed by Pakistan’s Border Action Team (BAT) in Poonch sector this afternoon.An armed intruder was also killed, but his body, lying on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC), could not be retrieved owing to heavy shelling in the area.Army’s 16 Corps spokesperson said armed BAT intruders targeted an area domination patrol of the Indian Army around 2 pm today, but the bid was foiled.“Pakistan’s BAT personnel were around 600 metres inside Indian territory and 200 metres away from our post when the attack occurred,” the spokesperson said. As soon as the BAT action started, Pakistani posts opened heavy firing to assist the BAT team.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)The Army gunned down an intruder while another was injured. However, taking advantage of the cover fire by the Pakistan army, he managed to return to the Pakistan side. Incidentally, the BAT action came at a time when the BSF and Pakistani Rangers were celebrating Baba Chamliyal mela. — TNSJadhav seeks clemency from Pak army chiefNew Delhi: Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former Indian Navy officer on death row for alleged espionage and subversive activities in Pakistan, has filed a mercy petition to the Pakistan army chief amid the release of his “second confessional video”. If the mercy plea is rejected, Jadhav will be left with the option of appealing to the President. India said the “confessional” video was “an attempt to introduce prejudice” in the proceedings at the ICJ and expected Pakistan to abide by the Hague court order staying Jadhav’s execution. TNSVideo posted by Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, DG ISPR, on his Facebook page

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“Baba Ramdev di Asal Kahani Jatinder Pannu di Jubani”

Army canteens withdraw amla juice supplied by Ramdev’s Patanjali

The amla juice failed to clear a test carried out at West Bengal Public Health Laboratory, Kolkata.

The Canteen Stores Department (CSD), the retailing entity selling consumer goods to the armed forces, has suspended the sale of a batch of Patanjali Ayurveda’s amla juice after it “failed” to clear a laboratory test.

The Haridwar-based ayurveda firm, promoted by yoga guru Ramdev, however, blamed an Uttarakhand government department for the fiasco.

Defence ministry sources said a show cause notice has been served on the company after the juice “failed” the test carried out at West Bengal Public Health Laboratory in Kolkata.

The sources said that as per procedure, the CSD has immediately suspended the sale of the particular batch and sent a show cause notice to the company to examine the deviations and explain them.

They said “further action” will be taken on receipt of reply from the firm.

The CSD had sent samples of ‘Amla Juice’ having index no. 85417 and batch No. GH1502 to the laboratory in Kolkata, they said.

Patanjali in a statement said Uttarakhand’s Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) department had certified the Amla juice in 2009 – one of the top selling products.

It said the amla juice is an ayurvedic medicine and not a food product and it should be taken on advice of qualified practitioners.

“Amla juice is an Ayurvedic proprietary medicine and department should have conducted examination under prescribed (Ayurveda) category and not under food category” an official note of the company said, blaming the AYUSH department.

The state’s Bharatiya Janata Patrty government, which reportedly enjoys a cordial relation with the yoga guru, said if required it will conduct a thorough quality check of all Patanjali products.

AYUSH minister Harak Singh Rawat told HT it was wrong on the part of Patanjali to blame licensing authority for a negative lab report some other agency gave.

“I object raising questions on us. We are licensing authority. Patanjali should have taken care of the quality of the juice. Now, if required, we will conduct quality check (of Patanjali products)” Rawat said.

Established by Ramdev in 2006, with Ayurveda products, the company now has array of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) on its portfolio.

Of late many of its products have also been getting “adverse feedback” from consumers and retailers, prompting the company to form two internal committees earlier this year to address the problem.

The company also faced the ire of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for ‘misbranding.’

“Babaji’s (Ramdev) brand image is associated with the Patanjali products. There is no question of our products being inferior in quality,” SK Tijarawala, the spokesperson of the Patanjali, told the HT recently on quality concerns.

(With inputs from PTI)