Monthly Archives: August 2018

A senior woman army official has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the Indian Army, accusing it of harassing her by temporarily posting her to a place around 1600 km away from her home despite her concerns of having a young child and the place being devoid of childcare facilities.

Lieutenant Colonel Annu Dogra (39), who is serving as an officer in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) department of the Indian Army in Jodhpur, registered her plea recently.

On 16 November, 2018, the DyJAG HQ Southern Commander, Brigadier Sandeep Kumar ordered Lt. Col. Dogra to move from Jodhpur to Kamptee, in Nagpur district for the Court Marshal duty on November 19, three days after Dogra received the order. It was only Dogra’s request that the time period was increased to 10 days, knowing that she would have to move along with her two years and five months old child.

Dogra’s husband, also an army officer in the rank of deputy JAG in Jodhpur, had to take leaves from his duty to support her and to babysit the child while she performed her professional duties. In her plea, which she filed through her counsel Aishwarya Bhati, Dogra wrote, her duties as a judge advocate takes up at least six hours until adjournment, then she has to get the typing done and frame the questions which take up another four to five hours after which she has to tend to her child.

He further notes that every time the court martial proceedings happens, she will have to move and this denies her the fundamental rights of “tending to her child by being sent to different locations from Jodhpur, which do not even provide the basic facility of crèche”.

The recent travels that Dogra has had to carry on in the case have led her to neglect her child because of the absence of family and community-based childcare arrangements at the current place of duty in Nagpur, she added.

ALSO READ: Misogyny Keeping Women Away From Combat Roles In Indian Army

Dogra refers to the National Policy for Children issued by the ministry of women and child development in 2013 and said in the petition that the Indian Army’s decision to move her with a child to a location that doesn’t have proper childcare facilities are in violation to the policy.

“The policy advocates to provide and promote crèche and day care facilities for children of working mothers, mothers belonging to poor families, ailing mothers and single parents. It also promotes appropriate baby feeding facilities in public places and at workplaces for working mother in public, private and unorganized sector,” the petition said.

Dogra’s contention is that she is not shirking her duties but is only asking for the rights of her child, who should not suffer just because her mother is in the Armed Forces

According to Dogra, the policy should be implemented throughout the country. Her contention is that she is not shirking her duties but is only asking for the rights of her child, who should not suffer just because her mother is in the Armed Forces.

Talking about Dogra’s plight, her counsel Bhati told SheThePeople.TV, “The manner in which she has been dealt with in terms of preponing the dates and not leaving any way out for her to travel to the place of court martial is inhuman. This is not war time where we can disregard all these things, here is an officer who has followed her duties and has an impeccable service record for last 15 years. But the point is that she is a mother of a very young child who is wholly dependent on her.”

“And it is not her inconvenience that counts but the child’s, who has been admitted to the hospital in Udaipur after they tried to travel by road because the flights very expensive.”

After Dogra filed the petition, she was asked to move again at 11.30 in the night on her own with her child to Kamptee for which she had to wait till 4.20 am at Jodhpur Railway Station.

“Being a mother is not a weakness for women, and children are the future of the country. We need to look at the provisions that developed countries have for working mothers who have young children. Those benefits help women take care for their children better. It is wrong to say that women are seeking relaxation or excuses from doing their duty but it is for the future generation who need better care,” Bhati said.

“We did not have crèches in Supreme Court till five years back. Earlier, people thought that it was not needed but what was happening was that young women lawyers were leaving their children behind to come to work. And with crèches at workplace, you are only empowering the mother to perform better. This is a basic necessity that the government itself recognizes in its policies, so they have to now provide it in its various segments to induct more women there.”

While the army inducts women in the forces, the policies and the rules remain highly masculine and fail to see working women’s duties with compassion. There needs to be better facilities and infrastructure in the army for it to become an enabling working space for both men and women.

Lt-Gen RS Sujlana

Kamarupa, the land of the cupid, Ahom of the medieval period and Assam of today, is known for its tantric religion and occultism, the famous Kamakhaya Temple, and carries a rightful tag of being a land of magic, charms, mystic, beauty and, of course, the famed tea estates.

Posted there to command a brigade, I enjoyed every bit of what Assam offered, including being witness to a mystic trickery. It was an encounter with a snake charmer, which had its share of drama, some reality, But, in the end, it turned out to be what we Indians love to do, topi pehnana (take someone for a ride)!

One morning, my staff officer, walked up and told me that an individual had come claiming magical powers to attract and catch snakes, besides having a cure for varied ailments, if nothing else, we could use his services to get rid of some slithering creatures, which were in plenty, around us .

Personally, wary of soothsayers, fortune-tellers, magicians and their ilk, I asked the officer to check out on this person’s credentials as we should not land up in trouble with the wildlife authorities over permitting unauthorised snake catching. This, he told me, had been checked, the individual had an official certificate permitting him to catch snakes. He also had photographic evidence of snakes caught from various government and military establishments and certificates appreciating his expertise and reliability. Lo and behold, he could even swallow a live snake!

Unbelievable! But there in front of me were revolting photographs of snakes of various sizes hanging out of his open mouth. No harm in seeing what he can do I thought, so we trooped to see him perform. Out came a bag, he picked out hands full of powder and throwing it around chanting strange sounding shalokas. He soon went into a hedge and came out with two snakes. Intrigued, but not convinced, I asked him to capture a pair of cobras living in the nearby pond and left. 

Next day, I queried about the cobras but was told that having caught some snakes and distributed curative charms, he left to attend to an urgent call and would be back soon. However, days past by and there was no sign of the mystery guy!

One evening in a party, I again queried about the snake charmer. I observed some mischievous smiles and knew something was amiss. On further probing the facts rolled out. This so-called snake charmer turned out to be a fraud. Snake catching was soon forgotten, he used his charm to convince many of his capability to cure ailments and then, having made a kill selling curative pseudo precious stones, he left with a neat sum and a promise to return.

One of the women joined in to relate what transpired with her husband, who was looking for the panacea for a recurring backache. The charmer sold her husband a costly stone, asked him to get two dozen bananas for a puja. In the final act, he asked him to bend forward holding the bananas and then came the surprise, a flying kick on his backside, and by the way, she added, ‘the backache persists!’ A loud round of laughter followed, but then I asked what about all those photographs with snakes hanging out of his mouth? ‘Photoshop, Sir, photoshop!’ Guess the charmer was much ahead of times. He had mastered this art to gain an aura over his audience. The only saving grace was that my apprehension and disbelief in such matters stood me good.

Army Supply Corps officer was posthumously awarded Shaurya Chakra for exploits in Kupwara

Col Dilbag Dabas (retd)

Satish Dahiya did not belong to a military family but always yearned to be a part of one. So, he resolved to start the glorious tradition in his village Banihari in Mahendragarh district of Haryana by becoming a torchbearer, and was commissioned into the Army Service Corps on December12, 2009.

Right from the time militancy engulfed the otherwise peaceful state of Jammu and Kashmir in the early Nineties, Kupwara, being a border district in Kashmir valley, had been the worst affected. And it is strongly believed that due to the false notion of being alienated by the state, the Kashmiri youth, to some extent, have covertly been assisting the militants exported by Pakistan. Every Rashtriya Rifles battalion has an Army Service Corps (ASC) officer posted on its war establishment who not only looks after the supply and logistics of the battalion, but also forms part of the fighting element of the battalion. Major Satish Dahiya, an ASC officer, was one such braveheart who, before laying down his life, exhibited the stuff he was made of. For his unmatched gallantry and supreme sacrifice fighting the militants, Major Satish Dahiya was posthumously awarded the Shaurya Chakra.

Sujata Dahiya, wife of Major Satish Dahiya, recalls that whenever she told Satish to take care while fighting the militants, his only reply in down-to-earth Haryanavi used to be “Nicky, tu nau haath ki sod (quilt) main so. Mere naam ki goli ib tanhi na bani sa.” Sadly, one goli existed in the armour of a militant which took its toll when the time came.

Mrs Dahiya, for the past almost two years, has not told her four-year-old daughter Priyasha that her father is no more. When asked as to how long will she hide the fact from her daughter, the Veer Nari responds without hesitation, “Sir, to date I don Satish’s combat fatigues which I have preserved as a treasure. I am preparing hard to fill the void created due to martyrdom of my husband. And I know Satish, watching from up there, would be the happiest soul when he sees that the combat fatigues he left behind are not just hanging on the wall.”

Battle account of bravery in War Diary of 30 RR reads…

“On February 14, 2017, Major Satish Dahiya of 30 Rashtriya Rifles was in charge of Cordon and Search Operation in Hajan village in Kupwara district. The village is located close to Hafruda and Rajbar forest, where the terrorists usually hide before proceeding to Baramulla or Sopore in North Kashmir. At about 5.30 pm, while he was placing the cordon at the identified site, the terrorists opened indiscriminate firing from close range. Major Dahiya and his party retaliated with accurate fire in which three terrorists were killed and the remaining fled downhill towards a nullah. Major Dahiya, unmindful of his personal safety, chased the fleeing militants and killed one more but he too was injured in his right thigh. Oblivious of his injury, he kept chasing the fleeing militants and killed one more but this time he was hit in the abdomen by a militant’s fire from close range and fell unconscious. The remaining militants, by then, had escaped in the thick jungle. Immediately, Major Dahiya, in an unconscious state, was put in an ambulance for evacuation to the battalion headquarters at village Langait where a helicopter awaited to evacuate the officer to Base Hospital, Srinagar. When the ambulance was a few kilometres short of the helipad, a mob gheraoed it and started pelting stones and did not let it move forward for almost half an hour till an armoured ambulance reach the site and dispersed the mob. Major Dahiya, though unconscious, was breathing when the ambulance reached the helipad but the officer breathed his last while being put in the helicopter.

Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa was instrumental in keeping the Indian Army away from politics and attempted to forge an all-inclusive army.

New Delhi: Popular discourse on Field Marshal Kodandera Madappa Cariappa is often limited to placing him as the first ‘Indian’ commander-in-chief of the Indian Army who took over from Roy Butcher on 15 January, 1949, and the second person to have been conferred the rank of Field Marshal in 1986 after former Army chief Sam Manekshaw.

There are, however, countless other factors that make him a towering figure in the history of Indian military, all of which is still relevant and important on his 120th birth anniversary, which falls today, 28 January.

Field Marshal Cariappa was not only instrumental in drawing a strong dividing line between the Indian Army and politics but he also helped shape the Army into a highly professional force in its formative stage.

He attempted to do away with caste, creed and other barriers in the Indian Army by raising the Brigade of The Guards — a mechanised infantry regiment of the Indian Army — in 1949. Recruitment to it was open to all regions, castes, creeds and all sections of society.

Military historian and national security analyst Mandeep Singh Bajwa says that such was his stature, that Field Marshal Cariappa interacted directly with then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, not allowing anyone in the bureaucracy or others in the corridors of power to take liberties with him.

“But the crucial fact is that he kept the Indian Army away from any kind of political influence, in contrast to the political nature of the Pakistani Army,” Bajwa told ThePrint. “When Ayub Khan was appointed the commander in chief of the Pakistan Army in 1951, the Pakistan Army clearly had a role in shaping the foreign and domestic policies of the state.”

The military coup that followed in 1958 only testified to the political nature of the Pakistan Army.

“He wanted the Indian Army to be an apolitical entity and that’s the reason he decided against inducting former INA personnel into the Army as they had become political soldiers,” Bajwa adds.

A distinguished career and a run-in with a junior

Field Marshal Cariappa had a distinguished career as the Army chief but before that he led Indian forces on the Western Front during the India-Pakistan War of 1947.

He was instrumental in recapturing Zojila, Drass and Kargil and created a linkup with Leh before the then Indian government decided to abide by an UN-brokered ceasefire on 1 January, 1949.

An illustrative anecdote about his character relates to the 1965 Indo-Pak war. Field Marshal Ayub Khan had served under Cariappa in the British Indian Army. In 1965, Cariappa’s son, Flt. Lt. K.C. “Nanda” Cariappa, was taken prisoner of war by Pakistan after his aircraft was shot down. Khan had offered to release him, but Cariappa made it clear to Khan that his son was not to be given any special treatment.

Bajwa says that the interest of the nation was always first with Cariappa. “He accepted pay and ration cuts for the forces because he felt that it would help the cause of nation building,” he says.

Also read: Indian Army chief should know that no one feigns disability

The officer from Coorg

Cariappa was born in Coorg and was educated at the Central High School at Madikeri and the Presidency College in the then Madras state.

He began his Army career under the British and was among those in the first batch of King’s Commissioned Indian Officers at the Daly Cadet College in Indore.

His remarkable career had several firsts.

He was the first Indian officer to undergo the course at the Staff College, Quetta, in 1933. He also saw action in Iraq, Syria, Iran and Burma and became the first Indian officer to be given command of a unit in 1942.

In 1947, Cariappa became the first Indian to be selected to undergo a training course at Imperial Defence College, Camberley, UK.

He also oversaw the division of the British Indian Army between India and Pakistan during Partition.

He was chosen over General S.M. Shrinagesh and Lt General Nathu Singh Rathore to head the Indian Army.

After retirement, he served as the Indian high commissioner to Australia and New Zealand.

He died in Bengaluru in 1993 at the age of 94.

The current army chief General Bipin Rawat has said that Field Marshal Cariappa deserves the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award.

Union minister for defence Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday visited the forward areas in Dibang Valley district of Arunachal Pradesh along the India-China Border and inaugurated a strategically important bridge in Lower Dibang Valley. The minister was also briefed on the operational situation and defence preparedness of the armed forces.

Srinagar, January 18

Militants carried out two grenade attacks on security forces in Kashmir, including one in the Lal Chowk area of the city, on Friday but there were no reports of any casualty, police said.

The ultras lobbed a grenade at a CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) bunker at Ghanta Ghar (Clock Tower) in Lal Chowk this afternoon, a police official said.

The grenade exploded on the roadside, he said, adding that no one was hurt in the attack.

A private car parked on the roadside was partly damaged due to the explosion, the official said.

This is second attack on security forces in Srinagar in 24 hours.

Militants hurled a grenade on police personnel at Zero Bridge here on Thursday, resulting in injuries to three policemen.

In another incident, militants lobbed a grenade at security forces in Shopian district of south Kashmir, the police official said, adding that there was no injury to anyone and damage to properties due to the explosion.

The attacks come less than 10 days ahead of the Republic Day celebrations. PTI

4 Army base workshops will be corporatised on the ‘government owned contractor operated’ model by April

Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, January 12

The Army’s repair and maintenance echelon will see a major shake-up this year with some establishments being shut down and others being handed over to private contractors.

Four Army base workshops (ABWs) will be corporatised on the government owned contractor operated (GOCO) model by April, according to information placed in Parliament by the Ministry of Defence recently. These are the 506 ABW at Jabalpur, 508 ABW at Allahabad, 510 ABW at Meerut and 512 ABW at Kirkee.

The remaining four workshops that include 505 ABW at Delhi, 507 ABW at Kankinari, 509 ABW at Agra and 515 ABW at Bengaluru would follow suit by December.

First established during the Second World War, seven ABWs are responsible for repairs and overhaul of weapons, vehicles and equipment, while the eight (515 ABW) is engaged in the indigenisation of spares and manufacture of simulators.

Under provisions of GOCO, mooted in 2017, the infrastructure and facilities of ABWs will remain under the ownership of the government while the contractors will be responsible for the day-to-day operations, plant maintenance and meeting targets. This is part of the government’s plan to rationalise Army manpower and reduce the “tail” as recommended by the Lt Gen DB Shekatkar committee.

Handing over ABWs to private contractors will result in a large number of technical officers up to the rank of Brigadier as well as other ranks as being moved out. Consequently, the control of these establishments is expected to move from Army Headquarters to the Ministry of Defence.

In addition, two Army Advance Base Workshops at Udhampur near Jammu and Narangi near Guwahati are to be closed down by March this year. The same month will also see the Static Workshop at Delhi being disbanded, according to the Ministry’s statement. Further, 29 out of the 31 station workshops are to be “optimised” by restructuring their administrative set up and redeploying manpower.

The Modi government has allocated Rs 5,500 crore to build the Next Generation Hardened Aircraft Shelters (NGHAS) on India’s northern borders.

New Delhi: The air force has got a go-ahead to construct 108 modern shelters to house fighter aircraft in forward areas on India’s northern borders at a time when China has ramped up activity in the Tibet Autonomous Region, which overlooks Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Ladakh.

The Union Cabinet had recently allocated about Rs 5,500 crore for the project to build the Next Generation Hardened Aircraft Shelters (NGHAS), said three senior officials aware of the development who asked not to be named because they are not authorised to speak to the media.

In the past few months, there were reports of increased activity by the People’s Liberation Army (air force), which has carried out several exercises, including moving troops at a rapid rate in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has now spread its fighters in disparate bases in the eastern sector. “While the fighters can be scrambled as when required from different bases, it will be difficult for the enemy to target every base,” a senior IAF officer said, explaining the decision.

Majority of the hardened shelters will be designed to house the Russian made Su-30MKi jets – the mainstay of IAF’s fighters. In 2016, a parliamentary committee on defence pointed to the fact that IAF did not have protective shelters to keep the Su-30Mki. “Hardened shelters are not available for even the limited numbers of aircraft that is available with the Service,” the committee observed.

Also read: Despite Modi’s promise, one more year passes without IAF getting its fighter jets

Apart from the hardened shelters, IAF has also inducted new technology to repair damaged runways in a few hours.

“The combination of the hardened shelters and capability to repair damaged runways quickly gives us an operational edge,” said a senior defence ministry official.

NGHAS are specialised structures comprising layers of reinforced concrete, sand and steel. They can protect aircraft from direct hits by a 2,000-pound bomb.

IAF bases in the western sector have “blast pens” – tunnel-shaped concrete structures covered with a layer of earth and protective walls near their openings, which are supposed to protect aircraft from the effects of blasts in case of an attack.

“However, with the change in warfare technology the blastproof pens may not be enough to protect assets,” the officer quoted above said, explaining why IAF needs NGHAS.

To underline the importance of the hardened shelters, a second defence ministry official said IAF told the Union government that during the 1965 India-Pakistan war, nearly 60% of the air force’s loses were of fighters that were on the ground. After the 1965 war, India started building blast-proof pens. “The blastproof pens ensured that fighters on the ground were safe during the Bangladesh liberation war. No aircraft on the ground was lost during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation war,” he said, adding that IAF told the government that the need of the hour now was to upgrade to NGHAS.

Also read: Crucial role IAF played in early days of 1947-48 Pakistan war

President’s Bodyguard is the Indian Army’s oldest regiment, and invites members from only 3 castes — Jats, Rajputs & Jat Sikhs — to apply for recruitment.

New Delhi: The Indian Army is set to tell the Delhi High Court that the present recruitment policy for the President’s Bodyguard is legitimate after the court sought responses of the Centre and the Army chief on a petition alleging that candidates from only three castes were considered for recruitment to the prestigious regiment.

The petition was filed in November last year. The responses from the central government and the Army chief were sought during the latest hearing on 21 December, 2018.

The President’s Bodyguard is a cavalry regiment of the Indian Army that invites members from only three castes — Jats, Rajputs and Jat Sikhs — to apply for recruitment.

“The Army will establish that the present system of recruitment, based on historical legacies and constitutional propriety, is legitimate,” a top Army source told ThePrint.

He added that the policy has been examined by four committees since 1947 and everything was found in order.

Army sources also said that the Supreme Court has already dismissed a PIL (in January) on the same issue.

Recruitment into the PBG, as it is known today, is much coveted and in many cases, hereditary. However, like several instances in the past, the recruitment policy has been challenged again this year.

Also read: Indian Army chief should know that no one feigns disability

The case

The latest petition filed by Haryana resident Gaurav Yadav has sought that the recruitment of the President’s Bodyguard held on 4 September, 2017, be set aside as only the three castes were invited to apply.

The petitioner said he belonged to the Ahir/Yadav caste and fulfilled all the eligibility criteria of recruitment except his caste, and sought that he be recruited for the post.

A bench of Justices S. Muralidhar and Sanjeev Narula issued notices to the Ministry of Defence, Chief of the Army Staff, Commandant of the President’s Bodyguard and Director of Army Recruitment, seeking replies within four weeks.

The matter has been listed for hearing on 8 May, 2019.

History of President’s Bodyguard

The PBG is the oldest regiment of the Indian Army and completed 245 years of service this year, say official records.

It is the senior-most unit of the Army, whose distinction is in its position as ‘Right of the Line’ on all official and ceremonial occasions. The PBG, thus, takes precedence over all other regiments and corps.

The PBG was raised in 1773 at Benares (now Varanasi) by then Governor Warren Hastings, with a strength of 50 handpicked troopers. This nucleus of the Bodyguard was later augmented by another 50 horsemen, provided by Raja Cheyt Singh of Benares, thus bringing the overall strength of the regiment up to 100 horses and men by the end of that year, say records.

The establishment of the regiment varied through the years, being augmented in times of war and it attained its maximum strength of 1,929 all ranks, as per the Army List of 1845, just prior to the First Sikh War.

The PBG continued to be a select Cavalry Unit, primarily for the personal and battlefield security of the Governor and later Governor General, who often had to personally lead his forces into battle.

The Raising Charter clearly spelt out the role of the PBG, namely — “To act as Bodyguard to the Governor in peace and to accompany him as Commander-in-Chief in battle”.

This unique band of select troops, in over two centuries of service, has seen action in various roles — as mounted and dismounted cavalry; Artillery, with ‘Galloper Guns’ in the Egyptian Expedition of 1801-1802; Marines in 1809, protecting naval transports in the Bay of Bengal; and more recently as mechanised and airborne troops.

Also read: Indian Army must work on inducting women in combat roles or court may force its hand

Historical composition

Initially, recruitment was almost exclusively from among “Mussalmans” of the area of Eastern Uttar Pradesh. Towards the last decade of the 18th century, Brahmins from Bengal began to replace the earlier “Moghuls”, say records.

Later, during a review of the Madras Presidency parade, Marquess Wellesley (then the Earl of Mornington) was so impressed by the bearing, discipline and sword drill of the Madras Cavalry, that on return to Fort William, he ordered the troops of the Madras Cavalry to form the greater part of the corps.

Records do not show for how long recruitment to the Bodyguard from Madras continued. However, 70 years later, the composition of the corps had reverted to Brahmins, Rajputs and UP Mussalmans.

Recruitment from the Punjab commenced with Sikh troopers in 1883 and Punjabi Mussalmans in 1887, the latter eventually replacing the Brahmins and the Rajput elements. Thus, by 1947, the regiment comprised half Jat Sikh and half Punjabi Mussalman troopers.

With the birth of India and Pakistan as two sovereign independent states, the Muslim component of the Bodyguard was allotted to Pakistan and recruitment to the regiment in India was opened, in equal share, to Sikhs, Jats and Rajputs with officers and administrative staff from all over India, add records.

A yeoman service

Post-Independence, in keeping with its high traditions, the PBG, which many regard as a yeoman service, maintained law and order in the aftermath of Partition in and around the national capital.

In 1962, its armoured cars were deployed for the defence of Chushul at heights of over 10,000 feet.

The regiment saw action in 1965, when it participated in “Operation Ablaze” in the Western Theatre.

In 1988 and 1989, detachments of the regiment, served overseas with the Indian Peacekeeping Force in Sri Lanka. Troopers from the PBG have served with the Indian contingents forming part of the United Nations Forces in Somalia, Angola, Sierra Leone and Sudan. The regiment has also sent 20 detachments to the world’s highest battlefield, the Siachen Glacier.

President’s Bodyguard today

As of today, PBG is a small body of handpicked men, comprising four officers, 14 Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) and 161 troopers backed by administrative support personnel.

This establishment has not changed much since the 19th century. Its men are trained for operational duties, both, as tankmen and airborne troops in addition to their ceremonial role.

The physical standards for the PBG are very specific with six feet being the minimum height for a trooper. Men of the PBG are expert horsemen, adept at ceremonial punctilio, trained combat paratroopers, armoured vehicle crewmen and tradesmen. Honed in diverse combat skills, the PBG personnel have proven their worth in battle as well as in mounted tourneys and equestrian skills.

This report has been updated to correct the date of the latest hearing in the case, which was 21 December, 2018, not 26 December, 2018. The error is regretted.