Monthly Archives: August 2018

It is said the more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war. This is a lesson India refuses to learn – sadly, most of the sweat is not out of any exertion, but frustration at the pace of modernisation and indigenisation of our armed forces. The world is moving towards third and fourth generation warfare.

Third generation warfare uses speed, stealth and surprise and involves cyber warfare, airpower and networked armed forces delivering precision strikes. Fourth generation warfare is aimed against violent non-state actors like the ISIS. Yet, here we are, still struggling, confusing military modernisation with a shopping list of weapons – which we are the world’s largest importers of – waiting patiently for the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to deliver the magic bullet.

India Today cover story, The Army is Broke, for May 14, 2018.

In China, meanwhile, President Xi Jinping has overseen dramatic changes in his country’s armed forces, and is turning it into the world’s fifth largest arms exporter. India, meanwhile, has failed to produce an effective rifle; locally made Arjun tanks cannot be used on the sensitive China or Pakistan borders because of performance issues; and after three decades spent developing our own light combat aircraft, India has now put out a tender for 110 warplanes.

The last time the Indian Army underwent any sort of transformation was after the 2001 Parliament attacks when India updated General Sundarji’s doctrine with the Cold Start strategy that would involve limited, rapid armoured thrusts, with infantry and air support, and allow offensive operations to begin within 48 hours after orders had been issued. Despite its grand public pronouncements on national security – the BJP’s 2014 manifesto promised to “modernise the armed forces, fast track defence purchases and carry out organisational reform” – the defence ministry wallows in its bureaucratic quagmire, with four defence ministers in as many years. Although India’s defence budget has been hiked by 7.8 per cent, it is just about 1.6 per cent of the projected GDP for 2018-19, the lowest such figure since the 1962 war with China. According to experts, it needs to be over 2.5 per cent to ensure the armed forces are capable of tackling the “collusive threat” from Pakistan and China.

During the Kargil war of 1999, then Army chief General VP Malik had said “we shall fight with whatever we have”. Almost 20 years later, the Army finds itself in almost the same situation with a budgetary squeeze and poor defence planning.

The government has neither drawn up a national security strategy nor appointed a chief of defence staff (CDS), a single-point military advisor to the government who can foster integration of the armed forces and also allocate budgetary resources among them. In the absence of a CDS or an integrated headquarters of the armed forces, each individual service prepares to fight wars on its own and makes separate competing claims for budgetary resources. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is an ossified structure inherited from the British. But while Britain has moved on by horizontally integrating its MoD and armed forces, India still struggles with a wasteful colonial system. Other major militaries too are reducing manpower and increasing the use of technology; only the Indian Army is adding men instead of equipment.

Executive editor Sandeep Unnithan, who wrote the cover story, has been covering the defence ministry for over a decade, which is roughly the time it takes the government to buy an item of military hardware. He says: “It usually takes a crisis for the government to wake up to the neglect of the military as it did after the 1962 war and the Kargil war.”

Ironically, there is a lot of talk of nationalism, but no serious effort to resolve the mess in the MoD. The Make in India campaign for defence, which held great promise, is a failure. DRDO and ordnance factories are a millstone around the necks of the defence establishment. We are the largest importers of defence equipment in spite of this large government-owned military-industrial complex. The procedures are so convoluted that decisions are not made or are delayed so that equipment is obsolete. The Modi government may have removed corruption in defence purchases, but the paralysis remains.

Our armed forces are a great institution with fine traditions. They need to be equipped for modern warfare with new and innovative thinking. Their courage can never be doubted; they need to be looked after.

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 24

For the first time since the Ramzan ceasefire was implemented, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat arrived in the strife-torn Valley to review the security situation.While the Army officers on ground briefed General Rawat about the security situation, especially in wake of the cessation of the anti-militancy operations, the Army Chief stressed the need to maintain “extra vigil to defeat the evil designs of hostile forces and assured his full support to further strengthen the security posture”.Srinagar-based defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia said the Chief of Army Staff reviewed the prevailing security situation in the hinterland.Accompanied by Chinar Corps Commander Lt Gen AK Bhatt, the Army Chief visited the formation headquarters and units where he was briefed by the commanders on ground regarding the operational preparedness.“The Army Chief was appreciative of the measures and the standard operating procedures instituted by the units and formations to meet the challenges posed by the inimical elements. Commending the performance of the troops in the recent successful operations, the Army Chief stressed the need to maintain extra vigil to defeat the evil designs of hostile forces and assured his full support to further strengthen the security posture,” the spokesman said.General Rawat also took stock of the security and administrative arrangements for the upcoming Amarnath yatra, which is scheduled to commence from June 28, and stressed on the need for close coordination with the civil administration to ensure a smooth and efficient conduct of the pilgrimage.While there have been some militant-initiated actions in Kashmir during the past eight days, the situation has been relatively calm, especially in south Kashmir which has been volatile since July 2016, after the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani .Since May 17, militants have initiated few actions across Kashmir, including an attack on Army patrol in north Kashmir’s Hajin area of Bandipore district. Four civilians, including two sisters, were injured allegedly in Army firing in volatile Shopian in south Kashmir on Monday evening during an iftaar party hosted by the Army.

Beijing, May 20

China has begun large-scale mining operations on its side of the border with Arunachal Pradesh where a huge trove of gold, silver and other precious minerals valued at about $60 billion has been found, a media report said on Sunday.The mine project is being undertaken in Lhunze County under Chinese control adjacent to the Indian border, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet. Projecting the mining operations as part of China’s move to take over Arunachal Pradesh, the report said “people familiar with the project say the mines are part of an ambitious plan by Beijing to reclaim South Tibet”. “China’s moves to lay claim to the region’s natural resources while rapidly building up infrastructure could turn it into ‘another South China Sea’ they said,” it said.The Post report with inputs from local officials, Chinese geologists as well as strategic experts comes less than a month after the first ever informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping that was aimed at cooling tensions to avert incidents like the Doklam military standoff last year. The 73-day standoff marked a new low in bilateral ties.Lhunze was in the news last October, just about two months after Doklam, when Xi in a rare gesture replied to correspondence from a herding family in Lhunze County underscoring Beijing’s claim to the area.The family is based in Yumai, China’s smallest town in terms of population located close to Arunachal Pradesh. Xi thanked the father and his two daughters for their loyalty and contributions to China, and also urged the people of Lhunze to “set down roots” to develop the area for the national interest.The Post report said although mining has been going on in the world’s highest mountain range for thousands of years, the challenge of accessing the remote terrain and concerns about environmental damage had until now limited the extent of the activities. But the unprecedented heavy investment by the Chinese government to build roads and other infrastructure in the area has made travel easy.Most of the precious minerals which include rare earths used to make hi-tech products are hidden under Lhunze County, the report said. By the end of last year, the scale of mining in Lhunze had surpassed that of all other areas in Tibet, it said. — PTI‘Another South China Sea’

• The mine project is being undertaken in Lhunze County under Chinese control adjacent to the Indian border
• People familiar with the mining project say the mines are part of an ambitious plan by Beijing to reclaim South Tibet
• Most of the precious minerals which include rare earths used to make hi-tech products are hidden under Lhunze County

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 18

For the first time after the unilateral ceasefire was announced by the Centre, militants attacked an Army patrol in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district early Friday. However, no one was injured in the attack.
Militants fired upon a patrol party of 13 Rashtriya Rifles in the Bonikhan area of Hajin, 32 km from Srinagar around 1.40 am. “A brief exchange of fire took place between the two sides,” a source said, adding that none was injured during the gunfight.”
Soon after the exchange of fire, additional soldiers were rushed to the area. However, no further contact with militants was established.
The gunfight took place a day after a youth was tortured to death by militants in the area. The police blamed the Lashkar-e-Toiba for the abduction and killing of Hilal Ahmad Parray, whose tortured body was recovered from an orchard on Thursday morning in Hajin. Several killings have taken place in Hajin in the last few months.
The attack on an Army patrol took place two days after the Centre announced cessation of counter-militant operations across Kashmir during the holy month of Ramzan. The security forces, however, reserve the right to retaliate if attacked or if essential to protect the lives of innocent people.
Since the announcement of the ceasefire on Wednesday, militants have made their presence felt at least four places across Kashmir. On Thursday evening, militants looted three rifles from a guard post at a high security zone in Srinagar. The police have already sounded an alert following the rifle looting incident, which took place close to the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 330-MW Kishanganga hydroelectric project.
Hajin gunfight
Militants fired upon a patrol party of 13 Rashtriya Rifles in the Bonikhan area of Hajin, 32 km from Srinagar around 1.40 am on Friday.
A brief exchange of fire took place between the two sides. None was injured during the gunfight. Soon after the exchange of fire, additional soldiers were rushed to the area. However, no further contact with militants was established.

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 28

Officers of the Central armed police forces (CAPFs) will be held personally liable for fines imposed by courts if personnel are forced to seek legal recourse in service matters where the law has already been settled by way of earlier judgments.This follows directions of the Delhi High Court in the case of several personnel from different CAPFs seeking the benefits of Assured Career Progression (ACP) Scheme based upon an earlier judgment.Directing all formations to finalise legal notices claiming ACP within eight weeks from the date of receipt, a memorandum issued by the Directorate General Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Force cautions that failing this, the high court may impose heavy costs, for which the officials concerned will be held responsible.“It is deemed appropriate to direct that henceforth, if any of the forces receives a notice from the force personnel claiming benefits of the ACP scheme, if he is found eligible, necessary steps shall be taken by respondents to sanction the said benefits,” a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court ruled.“If no relief is granted to eligible force personnel and he is compelled to approach the court for relief, a serious view shall be taken in the matter and in that eventuality, the court will be inclined to impose heavy costs on the respondents,” the Bench added.The Court was informed that personnel from the ITBP, SSB, CRPF and the SSB had filed similar petitions seeking the same relief.“Every other day, we come across matters of similar nature that clearly demonstrates that only when a member of the force is compelled to file a petition for relief, do the respondents wake up to take action. It appears that none of the forces mentioned above have taken any initiative to grant relief to their personnel whose cases are covered by the decision in the case of Jaipal Singh (supra), followed by several other decisions on the same line,” the Bench had observed earlier.“Given the above persistent and unabated recalcitrance, we deem it appropriate to issue notices to show cause to the Director Generals of the CRPF, BSF, ITBP, SSF and the CISF calling upon them to file their respective affidavits explaining inter alia as to why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them for failing to act on their own by granting the benefits…” the Bench had said while asking them to details the steps taken by them from September 2013 onwards to extend the benefits to the personnel concerned.

Amit Khajuria

Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 21

Pakistan Rangers yet again resorted to unprovoked shelling in the Arnia sector, injuring seven persons, including a Special Police Officer (SPO), and triggering panic among villages along the International Border on Monday.The local administration began evacuating people from the border areas of Ranbir Singh Pura (RS Pura) and closed schools for two days within 5 km of the border.SPO Gulcharan Singh was injured when a mortar shell landed at a police station in Arnia. A seriously injured woman, Darshna Devi, was shifted to GMC, Jammu. The others, also from Arnia, were admitted to a local hospital.Pakistan Rangers, who had earlier halted firing after “pleading” with the Border Security Force for calm, resorted to unprovoked firing late on Sunday and resumed heavy shelling on Monday. A BSF spokesperson said the Rangers opened small-arms fire at the Narayanpur BOP in Ramgarh sector around 10.30 pm on Sunday for 30 minutes. The BSF retaliated with limited fire. Around 4 am, Rangers restarted small-arms fire in the Arnia sector and switched to heavy mortar shelling around 7 am. A heavy exchange of fire continued till 2 pm.Around 8.45 pm, Chamliyal BOP in the Ramgarh sector was also targeted. Amid shelling, residents started fleeing to safer places. The administration said shelter camps had been set up and vehicles pressed into service to evacuate villagers. As many as 112 schools have been closed for two days.8-month-old boy dies in firing from across LoCJammu: An eight-month-old boy was killed in Pakistani firing along the Line of Control (LoC) at Saili Palli village in the Akhnoor sector late on Sunday. Police said the family was sleeping in the house courtyard when a bullet hit the baby. TNS

Our Correspondent

Khanna, May 16

Guardians of Governance (GoG) are eyes and ears of the state government. They are keeping a regular tab on every scheme allotted to them.This was stated by senior adviser to the Punjab Chief Minister Lt-Gen TS Shergill (retd) while addressing the gathering in Kishangarh village, near Khanna, on Wednesday.“GoG submit accurate, unbiased and factual-free report pertaining to the government schemes,” said Shergill.“Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, himself regularly monitors these schemes so that report presented by the GoG is up to the mark, besides suitable and prompt action can be taken accordingly,” he added.“The Chief Minister has given a huge responsibility to ex-servicemen by initiating the GoG scheme,” he said.He clarified that any negative report sent by GoG was taken on priority basis and they did not interfere in the government’s functioning.“Those who perform excellently are praised,” he added.“At present, GOG are monitoring 18 schemes, which will be increased to 24 in the coming days,” he said.“GoG are ensuring effective implementation of the government schemes,” said Lt-Col Harbant Singh Kahlon (retired), the GoG district chief.Additional Deputy Commissioner, Dr Shena Aggarwal, Khanna SDM Sandeep Singh, SP (Headquarters) Balwinder Singh Bhikhi and others were also present on the occasion.