Sanjha Morcha

Positives & negatives, let’s all make it work

he Group of Ministers, post Kargil review, had elaborated four roles for CDS. All these have been incorporated in the charter, along with op control of tri-service entities like space and cyber. These would give the Chief of Defence Staff a modicum of control over the three services

Positives & negatives, let’s all make it work

Air Vice Marshal
Manmohan Bahadur (retd)

The word CDS — Chief of Defence Staff — raises passions of varied kind in any discussion, but now that the government has announced the appointment, the right thing would be to move ahead and make it work. Even though the terms and conditions, responsibilities and span of control of the CDS have been promulgated, they appear to be just the outline, with the fleshing out yet to be done.

The Group of Ministers, post the Kargil review, had elaborated four roles for the CDS. First, that he should be the principal military adviser to the Raksha Mantri. Second, to exercise administrative control over strategic forces; third, enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the planning and budgeting process through intra and inter-service prioritisation of acquisitions and lastly, ensure required jointness amongst the three services. A point to remember is that no operational control of the war fighters was envisaged for the CDS, with that mantle staying with the service chiefs. All these have been incorporated in the charter of the CDS, along with op control of tri-service entities like space and cyber that were not at the forefront when the Kargil review was done. These are all for the good and would give the CDS a modicum of control over the three services. There are, however, three issues that need looking into.

First, as expected, the CDS would be a four-star officer; what is a good surprise is that a new Department of Military Affairs (DMA) has been created. The CDS would offer military advice to the Raksha Mantri but would have no direct access to the Prime Minister unlike in the US, where Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff is the principal military adviser to the President, the Secretary of Defense and their National Security Council. This is an issue that needs looking into since matters military are in a league of their own in the governance of a country and the PM, after all, is the executive head of the nation.

Second, while transferring to the CDS various entities like the three services, Territorial Army, etc, which presently are with the Defence Secretary in the Department of Defence (DoD) vide the Transaction of Business Rules, the Coast Guard has been left out. Considering that coastal security is a vital task, the Coast Guard too should have been placed under the CDS to ensure seamless security of our long coastline and huge EEZ.

Third, the task of ‘procurement exclusive to defence services’ has been transferred to the CDS, but without capital acquisitions. This undercuts one of the most important charge of the CDS — equipping the three services in a timely manner to meet envisaged challenges.

So, as things stand, the CDS can only do inter se acquisition prioritisation “…based on the anticipated budget”. This leads to two inferences. The positive one is that it would give the CDS indirect control on how the three services would shape up to meet the anticipated challenges. The negative aspect is that the financial purse strings would remain with the Defence Secretary, who would control the acquisitions by virtue of the fact that he would still be the chief accountant of the MoD and that the DG Acquisitions would continue to be ‘under his command’. In a doctrinal sense, the absence of ‘ownership’ of the acquisition process would continue to plague the system and, just as at present, no one entity would be accountable for the capability-building process; this is a fatal kink. Just to give one example, can blame be pinned on anyone of why the IAF lost the Beyond Visual Range edge in air-to-air combat, seen on February 27 over Naushera this year — a fact spoken about by no less than the then Air Chief in the Military LitFest at Chandigarh recently?

If total ‘ownership’ of building capability (prioritisation and budget utilisation) devolves on the CDS, then he automatically comes firmly into the driver’s seat in the following manner. First, planning how the services, together, are going to address various contingencies and conflicts that may arise in future; so, the major sticking point, that of each service fighting its own war, is taken care of. Second, once jointly thought-through plans are drawn up, the capabilities, and hence the acquisitions required by each service get prioritised (under tutelage of the CDS) to execute the envisaged war tasks. Third, since service chiefs would still be the executors of the war plans, the core competencies of each service would be utilised optimally, with the CDS having a bird’s eye view enabling him to make the required changes in a joint manner; prioritisation and budgetary expenditure, thus, would fall in place. Sadly, as pointed out earlier, the two have been split, leaving no one entity having ‘ownership’ of the process.

Can all this be achieved without an overhaul of the higher defence organisation, which includes the Department of Defence, which is under the Defence Secretary? While the DMA under the CDS would have military and civilian personnel, there is no word in the notification on the inclusion of military specialists in the DoD; this goes against the basic grain of integration as the Defence Secretary would still have vital roles to perform in keeping the services fighting-fit. This would be possible only if the DoD has its own civilian cadre of defence specialists; this requirement of permanence to build specialisation applies equally to civilians who come into the DMA.

Inducting military expertise

The critical importance of specialisation in a technical service is amply visible in the Indian Railways where the Railway Board does not have a single bureaucrat and is staffed only with experts; ISRO and DRDO are also configured in a similar manner, as is the MEA (where there are only IFS officers). As author Anit Mukerjee, while discussing civil-military relations in his recent book The Absent Dialogue, puts it, “Appointment to a post does not make for instant expertise!” He adds that in the MoD, “there is Defence Wisdom Deficit”, alluding to the fact that an IAS officer from any other ministry, be it agriculture or power, road transport or social welfare, arrives one fine day and starts taking decisions on matters military. This does not happen in mature democracies; the civil servants in the UK MoD are permanently in the ministry while the US has a specialised Defence Acquisition Corps in which are posted personnel trained by their Defence Acquisition University. So, inducting military expertise is an imperative in the DoD if the combination of the two principal advisers, civilian and military, is to deliver the expected results. Their major task would be to ensure that the aspect of ‘capability’ that the services want, and ‘processes’ that the MoD insists on (rightly), are seamlessly dovetailed for timely execution of plans.

Capability building requires money, a lot of it. So, it is good that that the CDS would be a member of policy-making bodies like the Defence Planning Committee and the Executive Council of the Nuclear Command Authority. Hopefully, the capability accretion requirements of the services would get their due importance in terms of financial allocations in the tussles within the government in the guns versus butter debate.

The government has taken the first important step of going ahead and announcing the setting up of the CDS. It is imperative that all involved — civilians, uniformed personnel and politicians — avoid turf wars and keep an open mind, as many changes/additions would be required to fine-tune the implementation of the concept. All must put their shoulders to the wheel to make it succeed for the nation’s good.

 The writer is Additional Director General, Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi; views are personal


How CDS can integrate the services

Army, IAF, Navy are set for a more streamlined system of reporting and decision-making with approval of the post of Chief of Defence Staff. The CDS has got a 3-year timeline to bring about ‘jointness’ in operation, logistics, training. Since salaries and pensions can’t be cut, another key task is optimal utilisation of budget and infrastructure

How CDS can integrate the services

Ajay Banerjee in New Delhi

For years, the Indian armed forces have been conducting ‘joint exercises’, but all the while the three services — Army, Air Force and the Navy — never got ‘integrated’ to have commonality of logistics, operations, maintenance, transport, training, support services or even communication networks.

Over the past few decades, the Army, IAF and Navy have grown as three separate verticals with sparse ‘horizontal links’. With no commonality, each service had its own wings doing the same things separately on communication, maintenance, logistics, operations, support services, etc, ‘wasting’ crores of rupees annually in manpower and literal triplication of effort. This is unlike the way other modern-day armed forces have evolved in the past five decades or so.

Newly minted contours for the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), announced by the Narendra Modi government, set a timeline on sorting out some vital issues that are ‘holding back’ integration and jointness of forces.

The directive is ‘transformational’ in nature that looks to alter structures not in tune with modern times where technology is playing a bigger role. The forces now need to live up to the political will and ‘integrate’ with each other.

Modern-day forces like the US or China have integrated theatre or joint commands. It ensures that all resources of the air, land and naval forces are placed under the command of a single person assigned to a geographical area demarcated on military and strategic needs.

China has a total of five commands, while India, despite having lesser number of force and lesser territory, has 19 collectively across the three services.

The time-bound three years

This is actually the nuts and bolts of the order. The CDS has been given a three-year timeline to bring about jointness in operations, logistics, transport, training, support services, communications, repairs and maintenance.

The government is clear, it wants the CDS to facilitate “restructuring of military commands for optimal utilisation of resources by bringing about jointness in operations, including through establishment of joint/theatre commands”.

Vice Admiral Sekhar Sinha (retd), a former Chief of the Navy’s Western Command, brings out a suggestion: “Right now one doable change is to have cross-appointment of Brigadier and Major General-level officials in the three services. Post them across services in operational divisions.” Tweak the policy to make a ‘Joint Service Operational appointment’ mandatory. CDS is the first step, theatre commands are a distance away, he adds.

Old system cannot continue

One of the key roles of the CDS, as per the order, is “promoting jointness in procurement, training and staffing for the services through joint planning and integration of their requirements”.

Lt Gen KJ Singh (retd), a former Western Army commander, says the appointment of CDS is a welcome step but has a caveat. “Military runs on command, the CDS would have no operational command over the forces.”

He suggests: “Let us have a pilot project to have one joint command in the eastern front. We have had an example of the joint command at Andaman and Nicobar Islands. After the CDS, let’s have one more, learn from lessons, and iron out the issues.”

Air Vice Marshal, SJ Nanodkar (retd) says “theatre commands appear inevitable but with the present force structure, it is an overkill”. In his opinion, a re-alignment of the boundaries of commands of all the three services is needed to bring about geographical convergence. “A theatre command would need huge restructuring in the services and support organisations,” he points out.

Onus is on CDS now

At present, the services are literally weighed down by bulging ‘establishment’ costs — a euphemism for salaries and pensions. The salaries and pensions of the three services and the civilians work out to be Rs 2,31,700 crore for the fiscal ending March 31, 2020 and now form 53.7 per cent of the Rs 4,31,011-crore budget. In other words, salaries and pensions take up much more share than the Rs 1,08,248 crore allocated this fiscal for new equipment and running expenses.

Salaries and pensions cannot be reduced, but optimal utilisation of budget and infrastructure is the target. The government has tasked the CDS with ensuring “optimal utilisation of infrastructure and rationalise it through jointness among the services”.

The CDS has been tasked to evaluate out-of-area plans, enhancing use of indigenous equipment and prioritising the weapons and equipment procurement of each service as per the available budget.

This would mean the budget will be told to the forces and the CDS, a military man, will assign funds, said a senior functionary, adding that the era of blaming all ills on the ‘babus’ or the politician are over.

Though the CDS would have no operational control over the services, the newly-created tri-services divisions on cyber and space will be under the CDS, who will be part of the Defence Acquisition Council and Defence Planning Committee.

Cutting the flab

During the late 1990s, the then Army Chief Gen VP Malik decided to suppress 50,000 manpower (mostly from non-field force) over a period of three years, provided the money saved would be given to the Army for capital purchases.

PM Narendra Modi in 2015 stressed how “modernisation and expansion of forces at the same time is a difficult goal”.

Then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar set up a committee headed by Lt Gen DB Shekatkar (retd), which suggested 99 points for structural changes in the Army — cutting down flab and reducing revenue expenditure. The Ministry of Defence in 2017 accepted 65.

The armed forces have absorbed a fair amount of technological developments to rightsize the forces. For now, the path is clear, new equipment does not mean a corresponding rise in personnel strength.


Revisiting the idea of chief of defence staff

  • Kargil review panel spoke about the need to have a CDS
  • Matters meandered along as services got bogged down in turf wars as the 13-lakh strong Army looked the dominant force to the other two, which are each less than 1.5 lakh in numbers
  • PM Modi, in 2015, said: “Major powers are reducing forces, relying more on technology, we are seeking to expand the size. Modernisation and expansion of forces at the same time is an unnecessary goal”
  • Defence Minister Parrikar set up Lt Gen Shekatkar panel. It listed 99 points for structural changes in Army — cutting flab and reducing revenue (maintenance) expenditure
  • It suggested how to enhance combat potential of forces, re-balance expenses. It listed steps to trim, redeploy, integrate manpower
  • Expenses ‘could be cut by Rs 25,000 cr over 5 yrs’. MoD in 2017 accepted 65 of 99 suggestions

Agreed upon by mod

  • Cutting expenses, as suggested by the panel and agreed upon by the Ministry of Defence, included the reorganisation of signals, engineering corps and ordnance
  • Monitoring companies, including merger of engineering units and signals units
  • Army postal establishments in peace stations were shut down
  • All 39 military farms were also shut down

Big-ticket buys out of the ambit

The Department of Military Affairs (DMA), which will be headed by the Chief of Defence Staff, will do procurement exclusive to the services. However, capital acquisitions, or big-ticket equipment and weapons procured from foreign and Indian sources, would not be under its domain.

All big ticket acquisitions will continue to be under the Department of Defence, headed by the Defence Minister. The Defence Secretary, an IAS officer, is the administrative head. This way, the government has kept the price negotiation process done for such weapon deals under the civil bureaucracy and not with the DMA, headed by the CDS, a uniformed military man.

The Director General Acquisition would function under the Department of Defence, not the DMA. The DG is the key person to coordinate with foreign and Indian entities. Also, there is no change to Government of India Rules of Business Allocation 1961, which vested the authority for Defence of India with the Defence Secretary.

— Ajay Banerjee


Chief of Defence Staff can serve up to maximum age of 65 years, govt amends rules

Chief of Defence Staff can serve up to maximum age of 65 years, govt amends rules

New Delhi, December 29

The Defence Ministry has amended rules to allow the Chief of Defence Staff to serve up to a maximum age limit of 65 years.

The changes have been made in the services rules of the Army, Navy and the Indian Air Force for extension of retirement age of the Chief of Defence Staff to a maximum of 65 years if a service chief is appointed to the post.

However, the tenure of the CDS is yet to be announced.

In a landmark decision, the Cabinet Committee on Security on Tuesday approved the creation of the CDS who will act as the principal military adviser to the defence minister on all matters relating to tri-services.

According to existing rules, the service chiefs can serve for a maximum period of three years or till attaining the age of 62, whichever is earlier.

The CDS will not be eligible to hold any government post after demitting office.

The CDS will not be allowed to take up any private employment without prior approval for a period of five years after demitting the office, officials said.

Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat is tipped to be India’s first CDS and the announcement is likely to be made by Tuesday.

A key mandate of the CDS will be to facilitate restructuring of military commands for optimal utilisation of resources by bringing about jointness in operations, including through establishment of joint/theatre commands.

Officials said bringing about jointness in operation, logistics, transport, training, support services, communications, repairs and maintenance of the three services within three years will be another major mandate of the CDS.

The tri-service agencies, organisations and commands relating to cyber and space will be under the command of the CDS and he will also function as the Military Adviser to the Nuclear Command Authority.

A pre-scheduled ceremony to hand over the baton of the Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee by outgoing Army Chief Gen Rawat to Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh was cancelled on Friday.

The ceremony to hand over the baton of chairman of COSC was scheduled as Gen Rawat is due for retirement from service on December 31.

The Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC) comprises chiefs of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force and the senior-most member is appointed its chairperson.

There was indication that the ceremony has been cancelled as the government is likely to appoint the CDS by Tuesday. The CDS will also act as the permanent chairman of the CoSC.

Gen. Rawat assumed charge as Chief of Army Staff on December 31, 2016. Before becoming Army Chief, he handled various operational responsibilities in many areas, including along the LoC with Pakistan, the LAC with China and in the Northeast. — PTI


Personal data of 45 lakh ex-servicemen goes missing; Delhi Police file FIR

Personal data of 45 lakh ex-servicemen goes missing; Delhi Police file FIR

New Delhi, December 29

The Delhi Police has filed an FIR against a private company, on a complaint by the Defence Ministry, for allegedly not returning a database containing personal information of 45 lakh ex-servicemen after it completed a contract for ECHS smart cards, officials said.

The case was unearthed in RTI applications and subsequent follow ups filed by activist Commodore Lokesh Batra (retd).

He was recently informed by a Defence Ministry official through an email—a copy of which is with PTI—that the Delhi Police registered the FIR on December 19 against a private vendor who allegedly did not handover the personal data of the 45 lakh ex-servicemen enrolled in the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS).

Batra had sent an RTI query seeking file notings about the issue.

The notings received in response to the RTI application show that “in the absence of any written confirmation in form of ‘Confidentiality Certificate’ from the firm, the security of the database of ECHS beneficiaries cannot be confirmed.”

The ministry has alleged that Score Information Technology (SITL) was given a five-year contract in 2010 for the development of smart cards for ECHS but after the expiry of contract in 2015, the company did not return the database, source code, keys and computer applications, the file notings show.

The ministry claimed that neither did the STIL return the personal database, nor did it confirm that they are not holding it and also alleged that the company has also not returned source codes and key, necessary to make changes in the database, it says.

The company, in response to a legal notice from the ministry, has strongly denied the allegations, saying the data has been returned, the notings show.

After accessing file notings and detailed communication exchanged at various levels on the issue, Batra, a navy veteran, asked the Defence Ministry to explain the action taken against the company.

“With reference to your email referred to above in the subject line, you are informed that FIR has been lodged against M/s Score Information Technologies Private Limited and its directors and employees by Central Organisation, ECHS on December 19, 2019 at Police Station, Sadar Bazar, Delhi Cantonment,” Under Secretary AK Karn in Department of Ex Servicemen Welfare told him.

The officials have noted in files that data which have been handed over to Central Organisation, ECHS, responsible for implementation of the scheme, vide the certificate dated November 5, 2015 comprises only front-end software and source code of MIS module. However, the source codes and keys required for making changes in the database have not been handed over to this office, it shows.

“…Regarding the confidentiality of the data the firm has committed to abide by the provisions of the agreement which does not mention about the confidentiality certificate, however, in the absence of any written confirmation in the form of ‘Confidentiality Certificate’ from the firm the security of the database of ECHS beneficiaries cannot be confirmed,” a Colonel ranked officer noted.

The company had said that the transactions on the smart cards only took place at respective parent polyclinic and accordingly, the said transactional database is available at respective polyclinic, the notings show.

All transactions from authentication, key loading, fingerprint acquisition, etc were done locally by central organisation, ECHS, it said.

“In the premises, the question of possession of above does not arise by our client. Further Database as generated upto June 30, 2015 was duly handed over in CD which was acknowledged by your client (Central Organisation, ECHS) on July 6, 2019,” the company said in response to the notice.

In December 2002, the government had sanctioned ECHS healthcare scheme to cater for medical care of all ex-servicemen (ESM) in receipt of pension, including disability and family pensioners and dependents.

An agreement was signed between the MD ECHS and M/s Score Information Technologies Limited (SITL) in  January 2004 to develop smart cards for an amount of Rs 89.99 per card, valid for a period of five years, which was later extended by one more year, Comptroller and Auditor General had noted in its 2015 report.

It said renewal of agreement, which was to be done at the same cost, was however carried out in 2010 at an enhanced cost of Rs 135 per card against the existing cost of Rs 89.99. —PTI


Delhi: Retired IAF officer, wife dead in Dwarka hit-and-run, one held

The couple were returning home from a function and were in a cab. They stopped the vehicle on the road outside the enclave and were crossing it when the car hit them,” said police.

A 69-year-old retired group captain of the Indian Air Force and his 47-year-old wife died after a Volkswagen Polo allegedly rammed into them late Wednesday night in Dwarka. The couple, identified as Amardeep Singh Gill and Rajani Gill, were returning home to Air Force and Naval Officers Enclave in Dwarka Sector 7 and were just across the road when the car, which was allegedly speeding, hit them a little before midnight.

Police said the driver of the red Polo, allegedly a 20-year-old BBA student, fled after hitting the couple. “Yatin, a resident of Vikaspuri, was arrested Thursday, and the car too has been recovered. He has been booked under IPC sections 279 (rash driving) and 304A (causing death by negligence) at the Dwarka South police station,” said DCP (Dwarka) Anto Alphonse.

A police officer said, “Amardeep was declared dead on arrival at the hospital while Rajani succumbed during treatment on Friday morning.”

Amardeep has two sons settled in Canada and they have been informed about the deaths.

“The couple were returning home from a function and were in a cab. They stopped the vehicle on the road outside the enclave and were crossing it when the car hit them,” said police.

It was a passerby’s presence of mind to note down the number of the red Polo that helped police identify the driver. A police officer said, “When the registration number was checked, it was traced to an address in Netaji Subhash Place. When the police reached there, they found out that the owner had moved to Pitampura. At the next location, they were told that the car had been sold to a broker in 2014.”

Police then tracked down the broker, who informed police that he had sold the car to another person in Vikaspuri. Police arrested Yatin at this address and recovered the car.

“During questioning, he told police that he was dropping off a friend to Dwarka Sector 4, and that there were three people in the car. As they were busy talking, Yatin allegedly didn’t notice the couple crossing the road and hit them. He then panicked and sped away,” said a police officer.


India’s biggest detention camp nears completion

Utpal Parashar

utpal.parashar@htlive.com

MATIA (ASSAM) : Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim in a speech on December 22 that no detention camps existed in India whipped up a bit of a political storm in New Delhi, triggering allegations and counter-allegations by the ruling dispensation and the opposition.

Oblivious to the political back and forth, workers are trying to finish the construction of India’s biggest detention centre in Assam. Spread over 25 bighas, the detention centre, being constructed at a cost of ~46 crores, is located at Matia in Goalpara, 129 km from Guwahati, and will be able to house 3,000 inmates.

“We were to finish construction this month, but due to suspension of work during monsoon, we got delayed. My concern is to get the raw materials on time to finish construction soon,” said Mukesh Basumatary, one of the senior workers at the site.

Modi’s statement at a Delhi rally came in the context of the debate currently underway over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which seeks to fast-track grant of Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis and Jains from the Muslim-majority countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Modi said “the Congress, its friends, and some urban Naxals are spreading rumours that all Muslims will be sent to detention centres”.

In Matia, Basumatary, who belongs to Assam’s Karbi Anglong district, and his team are erecting housing quarters at the detention centre, which will have 15 four-storey structures, each able to house 200 inmates.

Work on the detention centre started in December. Besides the housing quarters, the facility, which is surrounded by 20-22 feet high boundary walls, will contain a staff quarters, hospital, school, an office complex, kitchen and dining and community space.

In another part of the compound, Mohammed Rafiq and his team are busy giving finishing touches to a toilet complex. There are six toilet blocks, each has 15 toilets and an equal number of bathrooms.

To cater to the construction workers and the steady stream of visitors to the facility, a couple of makeshift tea shops have sprung up nearby. Local residents are hopeful that the facility will generate employment for them.

“Since the centre has been constructed close to our village, we expect that the fourth-grade jobs would go to our youth,” said Bipul Kalita, a local resident.

According to state government officials who didn’t want to be quoted, construction of most of the housing quarters would be over by March; inmates of other detention centres in the state would be shifted here initially.

Plans are underway to construct 10 such detention centres in Assam, where an exercise to update the National Register of Citizens this year excluded over 1.9 million people — 6% of the state’s population.

The Other Centres

Besides the one under construction, Assam has six other detention centres (at Goalpara, Kokrajhar, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Tezpur and Silchar), set up inside district jails between 2009 and 2015 on the direction of the Gauhati high court to house those declared foreigners by the 100 foreigners tribunals (FTs) in the state—till they are deported or released.

“Detention centres were set up under order of the Gauhati HC. The Prime Minister is correct when he says that the central government hasn’t constructed any detention centre,” said senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma earlier this week.

Congress leader and former Assam CM Tarun Gogoi agrees that the detention centres inside jails were set up under HC orders during his tenure, but says Modi lied about construction of new detention centres.

“In 2018, Narendra Modi government at Centre sanctioned ~46 crore for constructing the largest detention centre at Matia in Goalpara district. Suddenly he says there is no detention centre,” said Gogoi on Friday.

As per government records, from 1985 (when the Assam Accord was signed) till October 2019, nearly 129,000 people have been declared foreigners by FTs. Around 73,000 of them have gone missing and have not been deported or kept in detention.

According to Assam government records, until November 2019, a total of 988 people were lodged in the six detention centres. While 957 of them were declared foreigners, 31 were children lodged along with their mothers. Since 2016 until October 2019, 28 detainees have died.

Inmates of these centres are those who were marked D-voters (doubtful voters without proof of citizenship) in electoral rolls and those suspected to be foreigners by the state police. These people have to approach FTs to prove citizenship, failing which they are sent to detention centres.

Though 1.9 million people didn’t find their names in the final NRC, they are not being kept in detention centres. They would have to approach FTs to prove citizenship, and might be kept in detention centres if they fail. Assam is setting up 200 more FTs, in addition to the existing 100.

“At present there are 366 inmates in Goalpara district jail. Of them 184 are those who have been declared foreigners by FTs and are lodged in a different section. Since a Supreme Court order allowed conditional bail to ‘declared foreigners’ who have been lodged for over three years, we released 56 detainees,” said AR Phukan, jail superintendent.

Life inside a detention centre

Life in a detention camp isn’t easy. Mohammad Sanaullah, a retired Army veteran who spent 11 days inside one earlier this year before getting bail, agrees.

Sanaullah, who had served the Indian Army for 30 years before retiring in 2017, was declared a non-citizen by an FT on May 23 and sent to the detention camp five days later. The 52-year-old was released after he was granted interim bail by the Gauhati HC.

“Nearly 40-45 people are crammed inside one room. We had to sleep on the floor, the food was inedible and the toilets were dirty. Mornings started with one roti and stale tea without milk or sugar, for lunch there used to be stale rice, watery dal and one subzi and a similar routine was followed for dinner,” he said.

“When family members come to visit, we had to talk to them from inside an iron grill while they stayed 5-6 feet away behind a fence. It was my fate that I had to spend time in detention despite being an Indian,” he said.

In January, the Union home ministry issued a manual for detention centres stating that living standards inside should be in consonance with “human dignity”. It stipulated that rooms should be airy, well-lit and hygienic and equipped with water, electricity and communication facilities.

It called for open spaces for detainees to move around, detention of family members in one facility, and special attention to the needs of women, nursing mothers and transgenders.

“We have tried to improve facilities in our detention centre. Two months ago all inmates were moved to a newly constructed building. The quality of food has improved and we haven’t witnessed hunger strikes in recent months. The SC order to give conditional bail to those who have spent three years has also given hope to those lodged,” said Goalpara district jail superintendent Phukan.

While life is tough for those lodged inside detention centres, their family members also have to go through difficult times. Kabita Kalita Mondal who travelled all the way from Guwahati to Goalpara on Friday along with her 10-year-old daughter to meet her husband Mrinal, who was lodged inside, says “We have no idea how my husband ended up here. My life has been shattered.”

Hailing from West Bengal, Mondal, was running a grocery shop in Guwahati when his name figured as a D-voter. Following a trial, he was declared a foreigner and sent to Goalpara detention centre in August this year.


Canada, Oz gurdwaras start free langar tiffin service for students

A sewadar distributing food packets to students at Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, Surrey, in Canada. HT PHOTO

Surjit Singh

surjit.singh@htlive.com

AMRITSAR : In a noble gesture, Sikh organisations and gurdwara managements in Canada and Australia have started free packed langar service for students from India.

The service is underway at Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, Surrey, in Canada since October and students of all faiths are availing it. Special arrangements have been made to prepare food packets at the langar hall of the gurdwara so that students can carry them easily to their residence, school or place of work.

“Students, especially from Punjab, study overseas away from their families for bright future. They have to face a lot of hardships here. So, our committee has decided to help them, which is the mission of our faith,” said Hardeep Singh Nijjar, president of the managing committee of the gurdwara.

He said: “Most of these students don’t know how to make roti. Readymade dishes such as pizza or burger prove costly for them. Secondly, they are short of time to prepare meal for themselves since they have to cover long distances to attend classes and also go for work for earning money. Sometimes, many of them sleep without food. Keeping these problems in view, free tiffins are being provided to the needy students as per their requirement.”

“These students are our future and it is our duty to help them,” said gurdwara secretary Bhupinder Singh.

The langar hall is open round the clock and students come here to collect food packets even at night after they get free from work. “We distribute around 100 food packets to students on a given day. Not only Punjab, students from other states across India are availing this facility,” said Charanjit Singh Sujjon, caretaker of the gurdwara, who also serves food in the langar hall. “Ever since the gurdwara started this service, sangat has increased contribution for the langar,” he added. Other gurdwaras in Canada are also planning to start this service.

This idea of serving the international students has now been adopted by Sikh bodies in Australia too, where this service will be started at Gurdwara Dal Baba Bidhi Chand Jee Khalsa Shaoni, Plumpton, in Melbourne on Sunday to commemorate the martyrdom of Chaar Sahibzaade (four sons of Guru Gobind Singh) and Mata Gujri (mother of Guru Gobind Singh). A Sikh organisation, Sikh Volunteers, will also join the humanitarian cause on January 5, the birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh.

Gurdarshan Singh, a representative at Plumpton gurdwara, said: “Considering busy study and work schedule of international students, the service has been launched with the cooperation of sangat.”


Dept of military affairs to be a bigger game changer than CDS  

The country got an unusual Christmas gift this year. The Prime Minister had announced on Independence Day that India will soon have a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). On Christmas eve, the cabinet committee on security, the apex security body in our country, approved the role and the charter of the CDS. After the PM announced the decision to create the post of the CDS, many called it a game changer. However, the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) is set to be a bigger game changer than the CDS.

The PM had announced the CDS, against the widely-expected recommendations of a permanent chairman to the Chiefs of Staff Committee. In the recent announcement, the creation of the DMA has come as a big, and a welcome surprise. Both these steps strengthen the hands of this appointment and empower him to fulfil his mandate and charter in a meaningful manner. On the other hand, some things could be done differently, discussed, here, in the end.

The CDS will be a game changer. He will function at four different levels. He will create a better interface with the leadership and other elements of power; head the DMA; synergise and synchronise several aspects of the tri-services coordination as chairman, chiefs of staff committee, and lastly, as per the mandate, create more integration between armed forces as per given timelines, leading, eventually, up to Integrated Theatre Commands.

As the principal military adviser, he will provide single-point advice to the leadership on tri-services matters, be it in the National Security Council or the Nuclear Command Authority. This enables the leadership in taking informed decisions in security matters. He will also be able to contribute better in creating synergy with other elements of power under the ambit of the Defence Planning Committee.

DMA WILL CUT DOWN DELAYS

The three services, the Army, the Navy and the Air force have never been a part of the ministry of defence organisationally. They have been listed as attached offices of the ministry. India must be the only country where the armed forces are kept out of the apex structure. The DMA pulls them out of being attached offices in the defence ministry. This department, under the CDS will report directly to the defence minister, which will cut down delays and usher in the much-needed promptness in security affairs of the country. On the flip side, the services will now onwards be responsible for themselves. They will have no one else to blame, as indeed it should be. To fulfil its task, this department will be staffed by a mix of military and civilian officers.

His biggest, and arguably the trickiest, part (or level) will be to synergise the relevant aspects between the three services as chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee. This will involve taking uncomfortable decisions on contentious issues, especially in prioritising inter-services requirements for modernisation.

There is a requirement to obviate gaps and overlaps amongst the three services. As a developing country, India can ill-afford the duplication of facilities, as well as avoidable overlaps in equipping its forces. To this end, the CDS will exercise a capability over-watch over the services. The Long-Term Integrated Perspective Plan can be realistic now, as also incorporating inputs from other instruments of power viz. diplomacy, economy, power etc, through the aegis of Defence Planning Committee. A similar joint planning process has been included in his charter in doctrinal and training issues.

The CDS will assume command of all tri-services organisations, to include the Andaman & Nicobar Command (ANC), the Strategic Forces Command, and the newly created cyber, space and special forces division/agency, besides the tri-services training establishments, not to mention the National Defence University, which is in the pipeline. While he will not have operations of land, sea or air under him, cyber and space will be his domain, as will be the ANC, and the specialised ones, like the Strategic Forces and the Special Forces.

HUGE RESOURCE OPTIMISATION

Interestingly, and significantly, he has been mandated to develop more jointness in operations, logistics, communications, support services, repair and maintenance, training and transport. This will result in huge resource optimisation, inter alia. This fourth level that he will have to work on will be futuristic. He has to create structures in given timelines to enhance jointness to a level that paves the way for the establishment of Theatre Commands, eventually.

What could have been done differently? While the creation of the DMA is a welcome step, it could have been based on HQ Integrated Defence Staff itself, which the CDS heads anyway. It is already staffed with officers from the ministry of external affairs (MEA), the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS). It could be strengthened with a few more administrative officers. Secondly, as a secretary-level officer, the VCDS perhaps could be better suited to head this department, leaving the CDS free for higher responsibili-ties, as he will have his hands really full.

However, this is the first cut. The structure and the roles will evolve over time, as will our mindsets. The more important thing is that a bold step has been taken, which will be a game changer in the security paradigm of our country, and this will enable our country take her rightful place as an emerging regional power. Carving a place for the new set-up and this new institution will not be easy. It hasn’t been a smooth ride in any country. The first CDS, and the few that follow, will have to lay a good foundation; he will need all the help from his colleagues, the three chiefs, encouragement in the defence ministry and support from the leadership.

Best wishes for the New Year to all, and a little extra to the first CDS.

satishdua@gmail.com

The author, a former commander of Srinagar-based 15 Corps and a counter-terrorism specialist, retired as chief of Integrated Defence Staff. Views expressed are personal.


CoSC baton transfer off at last minute Hints at appointment of Chief of Defence Staff anytime soon; Gen Rawat frontrunner for post

CoSC baton transfer off at last minute

New Delhi, December 27

In what hints that the new Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) will be appointed anytime soon, a pre-scheduled ceremony to appoint the chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC) has been postponed by the Ministry of Defence. The CoSC comprises chiefs of the Army, Navy and the Air Force and the senior-most among them is appointed its chairman.

It is headed by Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat currently and the next man to take over would have been Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh. The ceremony was slated today, but with an announcement on December 24 detailing the charter of the CDS, the appointment of the new CoSC would be redundant. The CDS would be permanent chairman of the CoSC.

The ceremony to hand over the baton of the CoSC chairman was cancelled at the last minute on Friday, sources said, adding it could take place on December 31.

There was an indication that the ceremony was cancelled as the government was likely to appoint the country’s first CDS, thus General Rawat handing over the charge would have been pointless.

General Rawat is the frontrunner for the post of CDS, who will act as the principal military adviser to the Defence Minister on matters relating to the three services. General Rawat took charge as CoSC chairman from then IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa on September 27. — TNS


Chidambaram slams Army Chief Bipin Rawat over citizenship remark

Chidambaram slams Army Chief Bipin Rawat over citizenship remark

Former Home Minister P Chidambaram speaks as CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat and Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi look on at a meeting against the Citizenship Amendment Act, in Chennai. PTI

Thiruvanathapuram, December 28

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday came down heavily on Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat, who had on Thursday criticised people leading violent protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act, asking him to “mind his business.”

The former Union Minister was speaking at the ‘Maha Rally” against the new Act, organised by Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) in front of the Raj Bhavan here.

He also alleged that the Army Chief and the Director-General of Police (DGP) of Uttar Pradesh had been asked to support the government and it was a “shame”.

“Now, the Army General is being asked to speak up. Is it the job of the Army General?” Chidambaram asked.

“The DGP… the Army General are being asked to support the government. It is a shame. Let me appeal to General Rawat… You head the Army and mind your business… what politicians will do, politicians will do.”

“It is not the business of the Army to tell politicians what we should do; just as it is not our business to tell you how to fight a war. You fight war according to your ideas and we will manage the politics of the country…,” he said.

Politicians would manage politics and the Army does not have the business to tell them what they should do, the Congress veteran added.

Criticising the anti-CAA protests, General Rawat had recently said the leadership was not about guiding masses, including students, to carry out arson and violence.

“Leaders are not those who lead people in inappropriate directions, as we are witnessing in a large number of university and college students, the way they are leading masses of crowds to carry out arson and violence in our cities and towns.

“This is not leadership,” the Army Chief had said at a health summit in New Delhi on Thursday. PTI