The INS Kalvari submarine. AFP

Cmdre Mukund Kunte (retd)

THE second INS Kalvari, a made-in-India diesel-electric submarine, was commissioned on December 14 in Mumbai’s Mazagon Dock by the Prime Minister with an invigorating speech, which is his style. For conventional submarines, the name of the game is “Sea Denial”, their primary role being interdiction of the enemy’s trade and energy routes, blocking its ports and attacking land targets with missiles. A few weeks ago, another entrant into the Navy was the stealth frigate INS Kiltan (the second) commissioned by the intrepid Defence Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman. It was a pleasure to see her perform in military style, standing strong and erect while climbing the steps to proceed on board. Incidentally, the first Kiltan commissioned in Vladivostok in 1969 was, like the first Kalvari, wholly built by the Soviets. And look at the change — the process of training, building and fitting out has become indigenous, which has been our quest to achieve a higher degree of self-reliance. It exemplifies our shift from a “buyer’s Navy to a builder’s Navy”.  It was in 1966 after she was elected Prime Minister that Indira Gandhi gave nod to the acquisition of four, followed by another four, submarines from the USSR, making it possible for us to decisively win the 1971 war. The decision to take a nuclear-powered submarine on loan in the 1980s was made to gain experience in nuclear propulsion at sea – but there was a spinoff, viz handling of a small reactor would give us an insight into operating such reactors for generating power for civilian use.As for a “Builder’s” Navy, Mrs Gandhi had inaugurated the submarine construction programme on May 6, 1984, also in the Mazagaon Docks. The PM garlanded and broke a coconut following this Sanskrit invocation by Mrs Suhasini Mulgaonker :“Shri Rashtren vruta jale vinihita 

rashtrasya rakshanvita

Deshapritikruta prashastrajanita

tantradnyata nirmita

Satputrairghatita varimjjanrata nauka adhombhasrutaah

Jeeyat bharatata sada prakatita

nausainya sampat bhruta.

(This project of submarine construction is of great honour to our country’s skill and excellence in technology and science. Long live our Navy and its able men).We observed Vijay Diwas on December 16 to mark the surrender of 93,000 Pakistani troops. In 1971, we had come into our own because our intrepid PM did not hesitate to approve Admiral Nanda’s innovative plan (it, in fact, surprised even the Russians) to carry out a missile attack on Karachi. In fact, that operation was by led by INS Kiltan and resulted in damaging/sinking of the destroyer Khaiber, mine-sweeper Muhafiz and MV Venus Challenger, which was carrying war material.The ‘Make in India’ slogan has now been fully honoured. It is unfortunate that an irresponsible ‘opposition’ continued to object to both HDW submarines and Bofors (shoot & scoot) guns. The latter went on to save our honour in the war in 1999 and, as for the submarines, we would have been in the export market today.

Air Commodore DV Khat pays tributes to the Param Vir Chakra winner, Flying Officer Nirmaljit Singh Sekhon, on his martyrdom day at his memorial in the Mini-secretariat complex on Thursday. Tribune photo: Himanshu mahajan

Kin pay tributes to Param Vir Chakra Flying Officer Nirmaljit Singh Sekhon on his martyrdom day at his memorial inside the Mini-Secretariat in Ludhiana on Thursday. Tribune photos: Himanshu Mahajan

Kin pay tributes to Param Vir Chakra Flying Officer Nirmaljit Singh Sekhon on his martyrdom day at his memorial inside the Mini-Secretariat in Ludhiana on Thursday. Tribune photos: Himanshu Mahajan

Ludhiana: Tributes were paid to Param Vir Chakra Flying Officer Nirmaljit Singh Sekhon on his martyrdom day at his memorial situated inside the Mini-Secretariat here on Thursday. The district administration organised a memorial meet in the memory of the brave Air Force officer. Deputy Commissioner Pradeep Agrawal, Air Commodore DV Khat, former Indian Air Force jawans paid tributes to the martyr. The DC said: “The officer laid down his life for the nation. We pay heartfelt tributes to the martyr. His bravery will be remembered throughout the life.”He was a pilot of a Gnat detachment based in Srinagar for the air defence of the Valley against Pakistani air attacks. On December 14, 1971, Srinagar airfield was attacked by Sabre aircraft. Flying Officer Sekhon was on duty. Nearly six enemy aircraft were overhead and they started bombing the airfield. In spite of the danger of attempting to take off during the attack, Sekhon took off and immediately engaged a pair of attacking Sabres. In the fight that ensued, he secured hits on one aircraft and set another on fire. —TNS

REMEMBERING VALOUR AND SACRIFICE

British High Commissioner Dominic Asquith interacts with a UK soldier during the joint exercise in Mahajan Field Range. Tribune Photo

Our Correspondent

Abohar, December 14

The “Exercise Ajeya Warriror-2017’’, the third in the series of joint exercises of the Indian and British armies culminated on Thursday at the Mahajan Field Firing Ranges near the Sriganganagar-Bikaner highway. The fortnight-long exercise had commenced on December 1.The closing ceremony was attended by observers and senior military dignitaries from both the armies. Sir Dominic Asquith KCMG, British High Commissioner in India and Major General Robert Harry Talbot Rice from the United Kingdom and Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh, General Officer Commanding, STRIKE 1, and Major General Rupinder Singh, General Officer Commanding, Cockerel Division, from the Indian Army were present on the occasion.Set in the backdrop of growing terrorist activities worldwide, the first and second editions of the exercise were conducted at Belgaum (India) and Westdown camp, Salisbury Plains Training Area, UK, in 2013 and 2015, respectively. Representatives of both the armies conveyed immense satisfaction over the learning content of the exercise and were hopeful of more such exchanges in the future.

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 8

The Kashmir valley was saved in 1947 due to military action stemming from a strong advice given by a Subedar of the 1st Sikh battalion of the Indian Army to his officer.On realising that it was impossible to defend just the Srinagar airfield from the Pakistan army-backed armed raiders, the Subedar suggested to his boss Lt Col Dewan Ranjit Rai: “Sahib let’s go find the enemy rather than wait for them to arrive.”Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, a noted historian, narrated this anecdote at a session on the first Indo-Pak war (1947-48) on the opening day of the Military Literature Festival here this morning.Col Rai heeded the advice and moved his troops towards Baramulla, some 34 miles north-west of Srinagar. That, Capt Amarinder said, changed the course of the fight. In all, 462 marauders were killed. In the meantime, the troops of the 1st Patiala moved up to Zoji La and held onto the pass for the six months, stopping the ingress of the raiders from the eastern flank. The two — 1st Sikh and 1st Patiala (now rechristened 15 Punjab) — secured a total of 27 gallantry awards among themselves, including 1 PVC, the highest war-time gallantry award.Capt Amarinder said on October 25, when VP Menon, the then secretary of states, led a delegation to Srinagar, “there was panic”.Dr Harish Khare, Editor-in-Chief of The Tribune Group of Newspapers, said: “Who did what to whom remains a matter of subjective interpretation even after 70 years. We have an Indian version, a Pakistan version and rather mischievous British version.”“Many questions remain unanswered. What was the role of British leadership? Could things be different had an Indian General been given command of the Army (a British was the commander then). Could there have been a better timing for accepting a ceasefire? Many of the present narratives flow from the mistakes we made, not made, or presumed to be made,” said Dr Khare.Lt Gen AK Mukherjee (retd) narrated how a company of 13 Field Regiment wore the uniform of 1st Sikh and when artillery guns arrived they reverted to being gunners (their original role). They fought a very decisive battle to save Uri.Brig IS Gakhal (retd), who is from the Sikh Regiment, narrated interesting anecdotes on role of the 1st Sikh. Brig MS Gill (retd) listed the surprise caused by tanks at Zoji La that led to the advance towards Drass and Kargil. Maj Gen Shivdev Singh (retd) suggested that the battles of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh could not be seen in isolation when studying the war.

Commandant of the IMA Lt Gen SK Jha awarding a Gentleman Cadet at the Accoutrement Ceremony. Tribune photo

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, December 3

The much awaited Accoutrement Ceremony (after the allotment of Arms and Services) for autumn term 2017 for the 141 Regular Course, 124 Technical Graduate Course and 25A University Entry Scheme took place at the Vikram Batra Mess in the Indian Military Academy today. The ceremony is held after the allotment of the arms and services two weeks ago. The ceremony was presided over by the Commandant Indian Military Academy Lt Gen SK Jha and the senior veterans of each Arm and Service. Various trophies and medals awarded during the ceremony to the Gentlemen Cadets standing first or second in the Order of Merit, on being commissioned into the respective Arms and Services included – Madras Regiment Medal to Chandrakant Acharya, for being first in infantry and the 3 Gorkha Rifles Medal to Amarpreet Singh Dhatt for standing second in infantry. Mechanised Infantry Medal and Trophy was bagged by Rishabh Kumar. Army Ordinance Corps Medal was awarded to Inderjit Singh. Regiment of Artillery Medal and Trophy was awarded to Hemant Poonia, who stood first in artillery. The ceremony signifies a momentous occasion in the lives of the Gentlemen Cadets wherein they are welcomed into the folds of their respective regiments and services. It marks the beginning of an association of a lifetime.

Deputy Commandant and Chief Instructor of the Indian Military Academy Maj Gen JS Nehra reviews the parade at the IMA on Tuesday. Tribune photo

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, December 5

Some days ahead of the passing out parade at the Indian Military Academy, the Deputy Commandant and Chief Instructor’s parade was conducted today at the historic Chetwode drill square, where 363 Indian and 78 foreign Gentlemen Cadets displayed enthusiasm, vigour and zeal in drill movements performed by them.Maj Gen JS Nehra, Deputy Commandant and Chief Instructor of the Indian Military Academy, reviewed the parade. He complimented the Gentlemen Cadets for good parade. He asserted that the efforts of the faculty and the hard work of the GCs were evident from the crisp and coordinated movements. He said he was hopeful that the standards would improve further  when the final passing out parade would take place on December 9 .He also complimented the Gentlemen Cadets for the hard work put in and for having finally reached the threshold to a world filled with challenges and responsibilities of protecting the boundries of the country . He said the GCs had been taught repeatedly to ‘lead by example’ and the soldiers who would be under their command should look up to them with pride.“The duty of the IMA to train the GCs ends hereinafter, after which they will step into their units and regiments, who will groom them further and make them responsible and competent leaders”, he said.The event was a success and was witnessed by a large number of schoolchildren, residents and Army personnel with their friends and families.

WORLD opinion and economic necessity do matter. And that is why the Modi government finds itself constrained to explore a rolling back of the ban on the sale of cattle for slaughter in animal markets. The notification was a natural progression of the Modi government’s strategy to use the cow as a tool for consolidating the Hindu vote bank. It appeared to look the other way when Hindutva vigilantes resorted to extortion and lynching; the state governments too failed to prosecute them; the lumpens demanded a comprehensive anti-cattle slaughter law. Largely from urban areas, these Hindutva cheerleaders were uninformed about the role of cattle slaughter (not cows alone) in our daily lives and its integrality of rural livelihoods.But it is unpardonable for the Modi government now to pretend to be surprised at the consequences. That is what policy making is all about. Didn’t it know the ban will hit more than the meat industry? Or that the cattle let loose were extracting environmental costs and destroying the livelihoods of Hindus, Jains and Muslims alike? The fact is only 30 per cent of the carcass is used for meat. The rest goes into the making of at least 50 items of daily use. As far as cows go, the Modi government needn’t have burnt the midnight oil to frame laws or its leaders to go around stumping for the cause and leave unbridgeable social tensions in their wake. All that the government had to do, if the cow cause was actually close to its heart, was to implement in spirit a Supreme Court order upholding anti-cow slaughter laws in about 20 states.However, utopian visions come crashing down in the actual world. And that is what happened with the ban. New Delhi’s obsession had begun to disrupt rural lives. Prices of many downstream products from shoes to buttons were bound to shoot up. A study showed it would cost over Rs 5,000 crore annually to feed all the bulls in Maharashtra alone. For outsiders, India began to look like Pakistan Lite without the bomb blasts. The political reward from the ban began diminishing when benchmarked against the costs of rural distress and foreign opprobrium. Irresponsible politics invariably produces bad politics.

Captain hosts NDA batchmates

CM Capt Amarinder Singh with his NDA peers during a reunion in Chandigarh on Sunday. Tribune photo

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 25

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh hosted his batchmates from the National Defence Academy (NDA) for a dinner on Sunday evening.An official press release said here today that 57 batchmates of the Khadakwasla-based academy shared six-decade-old memories and experiences of their days of training and service.Having grown up seeing the uniform and enamoured with arms since his childhood, the Chief Minister said joining the Army and serving the country was the only life he had dreamt of.His batchmates remembered Amarinder as a distinguished cadet, who captained the riding and polo team at NDA. The CM had served in the 2nd Battalion of the Sikh Regiment – a battalion in which his father and grandfather had served with distinction before him.On the occasion, the CM released a book “Tryst with Perfidy”, authored by Lt Gen Kamal Davar, former Chief of Defence Intelligence Agency.Those present on the occasion included retired officers Lt Gen GS Sihota, Lt Gen BM Kapur, Lt Gen Natarajan, Lt Gen Kamal Dawar, Maj Gen MS Parmar, Lt Gen Prakash Suri, Lt Gen Naryain Chatterjee and Maj Gen Gurjeet Singh Randhawa.

Capt Amarinder hosts NDA batchmates for reunion after 58 yrs

Rajouri, December 21

The Pakistan army today resorted to unprovoked mortar shelling and firing on Indian forward posts in the Nowshera subdivision in Rajouri district.Sources said the Pakistan army besides opening firing onIndian forward posts, also fired 5-10 mortar shells on Thursday evening that fell in uninhabited areas of Numb and Kharali in the Bhawani sector. There was no loss to life or property.The Indian Army retaliated effectively, said the sources.“Immediately after the information of ceasefire violation, chowkidars and lambardars concerned were contacted by the Bhawani police post in charge and an alert was sounded in the area. The firing and shelling stopped after about 30 minutes,” said Abdul Sattar, SDM, Nowshera.In case of any emergency, a contingency plan was ready to evacuate people to safer places, he said. — OC