Monthly Archives: August 2018

US Secretary of Defence James Mattis pays homage at the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate in New Delhi on Tuesday. PTI

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 26

A month after the US unveiled its new Afghanistan policy and sought to rope in India for a wider role, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today categorically refused to deploy Indian troops in the war-ravaged country.“There shall not be boots from India on the ground (in Afghanistan),” said Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while addressing a joint press interaction with US Secretary of Defence James Mattis here. Sitharaman was responding to a question whether the US was seeking more contribution from India (in Afghanistan).(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)“Boots on the ground” is a military euphemism for putting troops to battleground. India has a 14 lakh-strong Army with experience in mountain warfare. The Indian line of not sending troops to Afghanistan has been consistent since 2001, when the US announced its war on terror post the 9/11 attacks.Sitharaman elaborated on how India had built dams, hospitals, schools, roads and the Parliament building in the war-torn country. “India’s contribution shall continue,” she asserted.Mattis and his delegation is the first Cabinet-level visit from the US to India since Donald Trump took over as President in January.Trump, speaking at a military event on August 21, had announced a new Afghanistan policy asking New Delhi “to help more with Afghanistan, especially in the area of economic assistance and development”.From India’s perspective, it is already part of the Russia-led six-nation group on consultations on reconciliation with the Taliban. At the military level, New Delhi has trained more than 4,000 Afghan army officers and provided them with helicopters and small arms.On Pakistan, Mattis buttressed India’s stance, saying there can be no tolerance of terror safe havens. As global leaders, India and the US have resolved to work together to eradicate this scourge, he said, without naming Pakistan.Calling terrorism a common problem affecting both nations, Mattis, a retired General, said: “Our countries recognise the threat that global terrorism poses to people throughout the world.” A statement later stressed the need for the two nations to come together to combat the scourge of terrorism.Earlier, without naming any country, both sides spoke about the freedom of navigation and resolution of disputes within the “rules-based global order”. This was in reference to the hydrocarbon-rich South China Sea and the ongoing dispute with China.On whether India raised the issue of continued US aid to Pakistan, Sitharaman said she had taken up the matter with her counterpart. “The same forces that find havens in Pakistan hit at New York and Mumbai. My request is that Secretary Mattis will be able to speak out when he visits Pakistan.”Secretary Mattis later called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and briefed him on the progress in advancing the bilateral agenda and implementing the decisions taken during Modi-Trump meeting in Washington this June. 

NEW DELHI: The row over categorising Army Services Corps (ASC) officers as ‘non-operational’ when it comes to promotion continues to simmer despite three rounds of litigation in the Supreme Court as an ASC major has moved a fresh petition seeking cancellation of his posting with counter-insurgency unit Rashtriya Rifles (RR).

After the SC last year upheld the Ajay Vikram Singh Committee (AVSC) classification for promotion of officers in combat and services corps and settled the dispute by asking the authorities to release additional colonel posts for promotion of services corps officers, these officers demanded proportional increase in posts above the rank of colonel for promotion purposes.

With the SC refusing to entertain a review petition, over 100 officers of lieutenant colonel and major ranks of ASC recently moved a petition seeking parity in promotion with combat officers. They said they too got posted in operational areas and had given extreme sacrifices at par with combat officers. However, the SC’s reluctance to entertain the petition forced them to withdraw it.

On Monday, Major Amod Kumar from ASC, posted with 44 RR, Shopian, moved the SC challenging his posting and rejection of his representation to Army authorities against the ‘operational’ area posting of a ‘non-operational’ category officer.”Having reiterated the position in the Supreme Court during previous hearings that services officers are not posted in operational areas, surprisingly, the Army authorities have rejected the representation stating that the vacancies in which the petitioners were being posted were to be staffed by services officers only,” Major Kumar’s petition said.”The AVSC recommended command-exit policy provided for a command tenure of 2.5 years for infantry and artillery officers, three years for armoured officers, four years for engineers, signals and air defence officers and five years for services officers. This categorisation of tenure had a direct effect on the promotional avenues available to officers of various corps creating discrimination and batch disparity,” the petition added.Major Kumar said with the SC accepting the classification of ‘operational’ and ‘non-operational’ officers, the matter had reached finality and it was not open to Army authorities to post a ‘non-operational’ category officer in an ‘operational’ combat unit, he said.

The major added, “Services officers are routinely deployed in operational areas despite Army authorities holding them to be ‘non-operational’. A large number of services officers have been martyred while serving in operational areas. Considering the policy of Army authorities regarding services officers, the petitioner cannot be compelled to serve in an operational area and to do so is in violation of his fundamental right and principles of natural justice.”

A delegation of the British Army being welcomed at an event to commemorate the Battle of Saragarhi in Ludhiana on Monday. September 12 is a state holiday on account of the occasion. Photo: Ashwani Dhiman

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 11

The Punjab Government’s declaration of holiday on Tuesday to commemorate the famed Battle of Saragarhi — on which Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has recently penned a book — is an addition to the 137 days off that were already scheduled for government employees this year. That includes weekends and the 33 official holidays.Any days closed on account of law and order situations or elections in the state would be over and above the now-138. This means Punjab offices remain closed for around 40 per cent of the days. The obvious question to ask, therefore, is do we really need to declare holidays to commemorate special days?A woman clerk’s response in the Civil Secretariat was on expected lines: “What’s the harm? We work overtime on several days, even on weekends, but don’t get paid extra for that. It has become a fad to term government employees lethargic.” She did not want to be identified.A male colleague joined in to say government work was not affected by such holidays, “We have to work extra a day before or after a holiday.”Nazar Singh Manshahia, a former government employee and now an AAP MLA, disagreed, “It disrupts the working of the system and affects the economy too. We have to find better ways to commemorate special days and events. Instead of declaring a holiday to mark the Battle of Saragarhi, the government should have organised programmes to discuss the significance of the day. Not even 10 employees would be visiting any memorial or function on the day. This is no tribute.”He even suggested that in case a holiday is declared for such days, or due to any law and order problem, as happened recently on account of the dera tension, then subsequent weekends should be declared working days to make up for the loss.Prof Pramod Kumar, Director, Institute of Development and Communication, whose suggestions on governance reforms were implemented earlier by the SAD-BJP government, said Punjab needed to take a leaf from the Uttar Pradesh Government, which in April this year stopped the practice of declaring holidays on birth and death anniversaries or any special days.Manisha Beri, director of a travel company in Chandigarh, said: “Days off must be affecting productivity, but for a business like ours, holidays come as a boon, especially if these come close to weekends.”Parambans Singh Romana, a spokesperson of the Youth Akali Dal, said it was good that Saragarhi Day was being commemorated.

Donald Trump. Reuters file

Washington, September 7

The Trump administration has told US Congress that defence cooperation with India would be an important pillar in the bilateral relationship as it needs the country to be a net security provider in the Indo-Pacific region.The Trump regime has informed the Congress that it “strongly supports” transfers of F-18 and F-16 fighter proposals put forth by Boeing and Lockheed Martin, respectively.These proposals have the potential to take Indo-US defence ties to the next level, it said.“The reason why defence cooperation with India is so vital to US interests is because we need India to be a net security provider in the Indo-Pacific, a region that serves as the fulcrum of global trade and commerce, with nearly half of the world’s 90,000 commercial vessels–many sailing under the US flag, and two-thirds of traded oil travelling through the region,” Alice Wells, acting assistant secretary of state for the South and Central Asian Affairs told a Congressional Subcommittee in a written submission.Wells is scheduled to testify before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific on ‘Maintaining US Influence in South Asia: The FY 2018 Budget’ on Thursday.She said in her submission that the Indo-Asia Pacific region is also home to nearly half of the planet’s population and some of the fastest growing economies on earth.“Working with like-minded partners, India has the strategic and economic potential to uphold the international order that has served so much of humanity over the past seven decades. The investments we make in our security partnership now will pay dividends for decades to come,” she said.As fellow democracies, countering terrorism is the critical priority for both India and the United States, she asserted.“India is situated in a dangerous neighbourhood, where terrorist attacks have killed both Indians and Americans alike. Joint training and capacity building are essential to expanding our CT cooperation,” she said, citing the State Department Anti-Terrorism Assistance (ATA) program in which more than 1,100 Indian security personnel have received training from the US since 2009.Wells said India is among America’s most important strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific region.“In the words of President Trump, the relationship between India and the United States has never been stronger, has never been better,” she said in the testimony.“The President’s first meeting with Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi in June set a positive tone and ambitious agenda for strengthening bilateral ties, particularly in the areas of defence, energy and trade,” she added.Talking about the trade between the US and India in her written submission, Wells said the economic relationship had largely been on a positive trajectory and America needed to do more to balance the trade deficit between the two countries, which totalled nearly USD 30 billion last year.

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“We are working closely with USTR and the Commerce Department to address the concerns of the US business community regarding India, including tariff and non-tariff barriers, subsidies, localisation policies, restrictions on investment, and intellectual property concerns that limit market access and impede US exporters and businesses from entering the Indian market,” Wells said.“Our bilateral trade has more than doubled in the last decade from USD 45 billion in 2006 to more than USD 114 billion in 2016. US exports to India support more than 260,000 American jobs across all 50 states,” she said.Last year alone, investment from Indian companies supported more than 52,000 jobs in the United States, she added.She said the Trump administration is committed to ensuring that the trade relationship with India is fair and reciprocal, and continued to press India to further open its markets and create a level-playing field for US companies.According to Wells, tremendous opportunities lay in India’s civil aviation market.In early January 2017, SpiceJet, a private Indian airline, announced an order of 155 new Boeing 737 MAX 8s, taking its tally for the aircraft model to 205 total planes.The final assembly of the MAX 737 takes place at the Boeing production facility in Renton, Washington.“…these transactions have an estimated value of USD 23 billion and according to Boeing, would create or sustain more than 130,000 jobs in the US,” she said.Another private Indian carrier, Jet Airways, ordered 75 737 MAX 8s in 2017, she added.“We also see significant opportunities in the energy sector. India is the third-largest energy consumer in the world after China and the United States, and its large and growing population ensures it will remain one of the largest energy consumers for decades,” she added.“India’s state gas utility, for example, signed a 20-year supply agreement with US-based LNG producer Cheniere Energy and has already taken delivery of multiple shipments of gas,” said the top American diplomat. PTI

Recent press reports inform us that a group of 100 serving officers of the ranks of Major and Lt Colonel of the Army Service Corps (ASC) have approached the Supreme Court for rectification of an act of discrimination.

They claim they are deployed on combatant tasks when the army needs them, but are denied benefits on promotion prospects which come with operational deployment, as their service is categorised as non combatant. While ignoring the legal jargon in the case, there is merit in their claim, as the army continues to follow outdated policies solely to protect a select lot. When considered for operational deployment or counter insurgency tasks, there is no such term as non combatant.

All who wear the uniform are combatants and function accordingly, irrespective of their arm or service. However, to differentiate when promotions and appointments are considered is gross injustice. For decades, the army has followed the policy of distinguishing between different arms and services, and has generally been biased towards the infantry. Officers belonging to the infantry and armoured corps are automatically considered for command of formations, while those from other arms including engineers, artillery, air defence and signals need to be selected based on their performance, despite being equally fit. Very few are approved.

Officers from services (ASC, Army Ordnance Corps (AOC) and Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (EME)) are not even entitled to be considered for such appointments, only because they belong to these units. The logic conveyed is that the fighting arms, implying the armoured and infantry are at the forefront of battle, hence only they are capable of commanding formations. This logic may not be valid any longer for a variety of reasons.

Firstly, all officers, irrespective of arm or service are trained in common institutions and establishments in operations of war, in addition to specialised courses of their specific arm or service. During this period, there is no bias towards arm or service. Secondly, all major courses which determine higher appointments including the Higher Command course, Higher Defence Management course and the National Defence Course are attended by the crème de la crème of the batch from all arms and services.

The training and exposure is common; therefore to subsequently differentiate between officers is incorrect. Thirdly, there are claims that officers from the services are not exposed to operations. This is incorrect. Officers from the services have also been at the forefront of operations in the last few decades. They presently undergo two years of infantry attachment soon after commission. They are the front runners in operations of Infantry battalions.

In fact, the services presently claim more Ashoka and Param Vir Chakra awardees amongst the officer category than do Infantry regiments. The nation has fought no war since Kargil. Even in Kargil, many young officers who fought, laid down their lives and were decorated for bravery were from the services, mainly the AOC and ASC. In the valley, services officers continue to operate and produce results as an integral part of Rashtriya Rifles and infantry battalions and have been decorated for their bravery and performance on numerous occasions.

Every officer in the present environment, irrespective of arm or service, undergoes a minimum of one tenure in the valley or the North-East battling militancy. In addition, when posted to any establishment or unit in insurgency-affected areas, which is almost as frequent as the infantry, they are irrespective of appointment given additional tasks, including road opening or patrolling. Thus, operational experience at the junior level is the same.

Claiming they lack similar experience at staff levels, again a reason for denying rightful appointments, is because of the army’s faulty policies which prevents their getting the desired exposure. This bias implies a reduction of vacancies in senior ranks which translates into making them lose out on promotional avenues. Such a narrowminded approach of the top army brass leads to capable officers losing out only because they were commissioned into a service. Simultaneously, this faulty policy has the army bypassing qualified and capable officers.

At the stage of commissioning, a cadet is asked to list the arm or service of his choice. The final allotment is made on vacancies and his seniority in the training institute. Many never get their desired choice. To deny an officer a rightful future solely because he was commissioned into a service is wrong. After all he wears the same uniform, is trained in the same institutes and fights alongside his colleagues from other arms when he is so tasked.

There has been no report of any service failing in its role in operations or counter insurgency. This narrow-minded outlook of the army, protecting a select few, while denying equal rights to others, has affected morale and cohesion between officers of different arms and services. Officers from the services have begun questioning army headquarters on their discrimination.

Earlier, over three hundred officers from the services had approached the courts to offset a skewed promotion policy put in place after the Kargil war, when the army decided to reduce the ages of command.

They finally won that battle in the Supreme Court and have now been compelled to take up another. The third largest army in the world and the most respected institution of the nation is being sued by its own for discrimination and favouritism.

The hierarchy is aware of its shortcomings, but is unwilling to change. It is too steeped in trying to protect a select few, while ignoring others, only because they are serving in arms and services, other than the infantry. It may again have to be the courts that compel the army to change and become just and fair to all those who wear the uniform and swear allegiance to the nation.

After all, they too have done their bit in protecting the nation. Army headquarters must revisit its skewed policies and amend its biases internally, before it is embarrassed by the courts and publicly questioned.

(The writer is a retired Major-General of the Indian Army.)

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman salutes the all-women crew of INSV Tarini that will attempt to circumnavigate globe, in Goa. PTI

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 10

Within three days of taking over as the Defence Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman got a hands-on feel of separate military operations at Barmer and Goa while she also flagged off an all-women circumnavigation sailing crew of the Navy.Sitharaman visited the IAF forward base at Uttarlai, Barmer, and interacted with fighter pilots and airmen at the base. She was briefed about the role of the base and nature of its air operations.It’s for the first time that any Defence Minister has visited Uttarlai after December 30, 2001, the Ministry of Defence said.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)Earlier in the day, Sitharaman interacted with naval fighter pilots at the shore-based test facility at Dabolim, Goa. In the afternoon, she flagged-off Indian Naval Sailing Vessel Tarini (INSV Tarini) with an all-women crew that will attempt to circumnavigate the globe.The crew is expected to return to Goa in April 2018, on completion of the voyage. The expedition will be covered in five legs, with stopovers at four ports — Fremantle (Australia), Lyttleton (New Zealand), Port Stanley (Falklands) and Cape Town (South Africa).Terming it a historic day, Sithraman said: “Globally, our women are going to stand out for something which most navies of the world would not have even thought of.” She appreciated the Indian Navy and the mentors for inspiring, motivating and training these women.INSV Tarini is being skippered by Lt Commander Vartika Joshi, and the crew comprises Lt Commanders Pratibha Jamwal, P Swathi, and Lieutenants S Vijaya Devi, B Aishwarya and Payal Gupta. The expedition is titled ‘Navika Sagar Parikrama’.

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 7A fire broke out at the Army’s ammunition depot in Bathinda district of Punjab early on Thursday.There was no report of any casualty in the incident.”Fire broke out at the Army’s ammunition depot here at 5.10 am. It was contained by 6.30 am,” Bathinda Deputy Commissioner Diprava Lakra said.”There is no loss of life in the incident,” he said.The assessment of the damage will be done by the Army, he said.Short circuit was stated to be the reason behind the fire, the DC said. —With PTI inputs