Monthly Archives: August 2018

Samaan Lateef

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, October 4

The authorities in Jammu and Kashmir are facing an uphill task of setting up administration for the proposed Union Territory of Ladakh.

To put an effective chain of administration in place, the government is facing a shortage of officials of the rank of Special Secretaries to head departments in Kashmir. Even Ladakh does not have enough number of native lower-rung officials and employees to run the administration.

In the first phase, the government will shift officers and employees of Ladakh presently working in J&K state.

“To fill the shortfall, the government will be deputing officers from Jammu and Kashmir to the Union Territory of Ladakh for a two-year term on a rotation basis until a proper administration is set up there. It obviously is a difficult process,” a senior officer told The Tribune.

However, sources said most of the officers of Ladakh, who have settled in Jammu or Kashmir, are unwilling to go back to their native place.

“Ladakh was always a punishment posting for the employees of J&K. Who would like to work in that cold desert for the entire year?” asked an officer of Leh presently posted at the Civil Secretariat in Srinagar.

“The government has put an end to the state’s diverse administrative culture, which was a confluence of Ladakhi Buddhists, Muslim Kashmiris and Dogra Jammuites. After the displacement of Kashmiri Pandits, the Valley had already lost its diversity. Now this comes as a death blow to it,” he said.

The BJP-led NDA government scrapped the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the state into two union territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh on August 5.

Prior to that Governor Satya Pal Malik-led State Administrative Council (SAC) in July had approved the creation of 495 posts of various categories for fully operationalising Ladakh.

The 495 new posts created include posts of 12 Directors, four Chief Engineers, four Joint Directors, Chief Conservator of Forests, Regional Wildlife Warden and other senior positions.

Over 470 more posts at different levels and belonging to a variety of departments were created to support the directorates and chief engineer offices that would be established in Ladakh.

The government on August 20 constituted a six-member committee headed by Principal Secretary, Home, Shalin Kabra to suggest measures to be taken for providing staff to the proposed UT of Ladakh and any other issue related to the staff of the proposed UT of Jammu and Kashmir.

Every department in the existing set up of J&K would submit personal and service details of their employees to the General Administration Department, official sources said.

The data would be presented before the Kabra-led committee to take a final call on the distribution of employees.

“In the next few weeks, we will prepare a complete list of employees to be shifted to Ladakh,” said an officer.

However, a woman officer from the region said she would resign if she would be sent on deputation to Ladakh.

Cold feet for cold desert posting

• Sources said most of the officers of Ladakh, who have settled in Jammu or Kashmir, are unwilling to go back to their native place.
• “Ladakh was always a punishment posting for the employees of J&K. Who would like to work in that cold desert for the entire year?” asked an officer of Leh presently posted at the Civil Secretariat in Srinagar.

Jammu, October 4

Army and police personnel launched a joint search operation in border areas of Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district and recovered 17 hand grenades on Friday, a senior police officer said.

A search operation was launched on specific information in Kharagali area of Loran border belt and a hideout was busted, he said.

Seventeen hand grenades were recovered, he said, adding that it appeared they were three to four months old. PTI

INvoking national security in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack, the BJP had stolen a march on the Opposition in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, with PM Narendra Modi claiming soon after the Balakot airstrike that the nation was ‘in safe hands’. The ruling party is now again swearing by national security to justify the urgency of preparing the National Register of Citizens (NRC). In principle, the exercise makes sense as every resident Indian should be accounted for, irrespective of caste, creed or ethnicity. However, the whole process is being given a communal colour, leading to panic and possible strife. Home Minister Amit Shah said in Kolkata on Tuesday that the Centre would not force Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Buddhist refugees to leave India, promising them that the NRC would be implemented after the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. It was certainly not unintentional that a prominent minority community was conspicuously left out in his speech. Firebrand politician Asaduddin Owaisi duly pounced upon this omission, telling Shah to read the Constitution that prohibited the grant of citizenship on the basis of religion.

Shah’s statement came a week after BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya boasted that ‘each and every Hindu refugee’ would get Indian citizenship. He did not even bother to name any other community. For the record, of the 19 lakh people left out of the NRC in Assam, more than half are Hindus. In West Bengal, the Mamata Banerjee government claims that at least 17 people have committed suicide or succumbed to stress so far, fearing loss of citizenship. In BJP-ruled UP, the police have already set the ball rolling to identify Bangladeshis and other foreigners so that they can be deported.

The Centre needs to ensure that only infiltrators or intruders are weeded out, not the refugees who have fled persecution in neighbouring countries. Pursuing a divisive agenda is fraught with danger as it would further alienate the minorities and worsen the trust deficit. ‘Sabka saath, sabka vikas’ will become a meaningless slogan if hapless residents are subjected to a witch-hunt.

Our Correspondent

Jammu, September 30

To review operational preparedness, Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command, visited forward areas of eastern Ladakh on Monday.

Earlier this month the Army carried out a rare integrated military exercise combining its various wings in eastern Ladakh bordering China. Lt Gen Ranbir Singh was accompanied by Lt Gen YK Joshi, General Officer Commanding, Fire and Fury Corps.

Lt Gen Ranbir Singh interacted with troops deployed at forward posts and complimented them on their state of readiness. He appreciated the tenacity and high standards of professionalism displayed by all ranks in extreme terrain conditions. He exhorted them to remain vigilant, uphold the high traditions and standards of professionalism of the Army.

Chandigarh, October 29

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has dedicated a room in his new house to the valour of the 2nd Battalion of the Sikh Regiment (2 Sikh), in which he had served in his earlier days.

A government spokesperson released details and photos of the room terming it a museum for 2 Sikh with whom Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has an indestructible bond, that has survived three generations of his family of soldiers.

The portraits, painted by a local artist Kuldeep, capture the toils and turbulence through which those men survived to etch their name in military history. The entire room is filled with chronicles of the regiment’s history.

The spokesperson said the room literally came alive to the 2 Sikhs motto of `Nischey Kar Apni Jeet Karon’ when the Chief Minister hosted officers from his erstwhile regiment, along with their spouses, over dinner on Monday. “I love spending time with men from my regiment… and being with them in this room full of history and memories was special,” he said, clearly happy to be with the men. Among those who joined the special occasion were Col KS Chib, CO, 2 Sikhs; Col Sukhinder Singh; Lt Gen AK Sharma; and Lt Gen RS Sujlana.

New Delhi, October 25

Army is working to empower its infantry forces and one of the world’s best rifles, manufactured by US firearm major Sig Sauer, will be made available to them by the end of this year, Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat said on Friday.

In his closing remarks at the Field Marshal KM Cariappa memorial lecture here, he said a manufacturing unit for AK-203 rifles, an India-Russia joint venture, will start production and first set of rifles are expected to be available by the end of this year.

“To ensure there is no slippage in production, for the first time, the ordnance factory in Amethi is being headed by a serving Major General of the Army, who will be its CEO. We are confident the first set of rifles coming in dismantled state and assembled here will be available by the end of the year,” Gen Rawat said. “And, let me assure you, the best rifle available in the world, Sig Sauer from the US will be made available to the infantry by the end of this year,” he said. — PTI