Monthly Archives: August 2018

India on Monday summoned Pakistan’s Chargé d’affaires Syed Haider Shah “to lodge strong protest at the recent acts of vandalism and desecration of the holy Gurdwara Sri Janam Asthan at Nankana Sahib, Pakistan, and the targeted killing of a minority Sikh community member in Peshawar, Pakistan”.

The MEA said India shared with Shah “strong concerns raised by members of civil society, parliamentarians and others at the continued persecution of religious and ethnic minorities in Pakistan, including the recent despicable and heinous acts”.

The war of words between India and Pakistan over the treatment of minorities in the two countries continued on Monday, with India summoning a senior diplomat over the “targeted killing” of a member of the Sikh community and the attack on the Nankana Sahib Gurudwara and Pakistan issuing a statement that accused India of not protecting minorities from “saffron terror”.

India on Monday summoned Pakistan’s Chargé d’affaires Syed Haider Shah “to lodge strong protest at the recent acts of vandalism and desecration of the holy Gurdwara Sri Janam Asthan at Nankana Sahib, Pakistan, and the targeted killing of a minority Sikh community member in Peshawar, Pakistan”.

The MEA said India shared with Shah “strong concerns raised by members of civil society, parliamentarians and others at the continued persecution of religious and ethnic minorities in Pakistan, including the recent despicable and heinous acts”. It said Pakistan’s government was “called upon to ensure safety, security, and welfare of the members of the minority communities in Pakistan, including their places of worship, and take immediate measures to expeditiously bring the perpetrators of such despicable and heinous acts to justice”.

 The deceased has been identified as Ravinder Singh (pic), who is the brother of first Sikh news anchor in Pakistan, Harmeet Singh. (Source: ANI)

This is the third such statement issued by India within a week. Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Monday to reject the “Indian propaganda”. The statement said the “BJP government’s mischievous portrayal of isolated incidents in Peshawar and Nankana Sahib as alleged ‘persecution’ of minorities is part of its smear campaign” and that it is a “desperate attempt to divert attention from ongoing state terrorism” in Jammu and Kashmir and “systematic discrimination against minorities in India”.

It said it “completely rejects these fabrications, which will in no way shield the BJP government from opprobrium by the international community on “the adverse fallout of the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens”.

Tribune News Service

Jammu, January 5

To foster and reinforce brotherhood, harmony and national integration for strengthening the bond between the people of all communities, the Indian Army conducted a Kaumi Ekta Meet at Badhal village in Reasi district.

The aim was to understand the difficulties of local population and help them in finding reasonable solutions.

The participants of the meet included villagers from nearby villages, officials from the civil administration and the Army. During the meet, a detailed discussion on the subject theme was carried out and all prominent persons took active part in the event.

The gathering was convinced of the fact that the Army was working towards continuous development of the area and its people in all aspects, including infrastructure, social facilities, education, political freedom and religious harmony. As many as 24 locals from Badhal and adjoining areas attended the meet.

Village elders, sarpanch, panch and prominent locals thanked and expressed their profound gratitude towards the Army for organising the meet and taking this noble initiative for locals which will create a positive atmosphere between the Army and the locals.

Thane (Maharashtra), January 5

The charred body of a retired naval officer was found in his flat in Badlapur township of Thane district in the early hours of Sunday, the police said. The deceased was identified as Guddu Singh (50).

Singh, who lived in Delhi, had come to Badlapur with his wife three days ago to sell off his flat, said a police officer.

Around 1.30 am, neighbours noticed smoke coming out of the house and alerted the police. After breaking open the door, the police found Singh’s completely burnt body, said senior police inspector LM Sariputra of Badlapur police station. His wife was missing, he said.

The police have registered a case of accidental death and the body has been sent for autopsy, he said. — PTI

New Delhi, January 6

No state can lower traffic penalties below the level prescribed under the new Motor Vehicles Act, the central government said on Monday.

In an advisory to states, the road, transport and highways ministry said the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 is a parliamentary legislation and the state governments cannot pass any law or take executive action to lower penalty below the prescribed limit unless President’s assent has been obtained to related state law.

The transport ministry had sought legal advice on this from the law ministry after one of the states had notified amounts for compounding of certain offences lower to what has been prescribed in the new Act.

The new Act with stricter provisions has come into force in the country from September 1, 2019.

“Ministry of Law and Justice has tendered their advice after seeking opinion of Attorney General of India. The Attorney General has inter alia observed as under: “The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (as amended by Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019) is a Parliamentary legislation, the state governments cannot pass any law/take executive action to lower the penalty/fine below that prescribed under the statutory provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, unless the assent of the President is obtained to such state law,” the ministry said in an advisory to states.

The advisory to the principal secretaries of states also mentioned the legal opinion that in case of the failure of states to implement the Act, reference may be made to Article 256 of the Constitution that authorises the Union of India to issue directions to a state as may be necessary for the purpose.

Article 256 provides that the executive power of every state shall be so exercised as to ensure compliance with the laws made by Parliament and any existing laws which apply in that state, and the executive power of the Union shall extend to the giving of such directions to a state as may appear to the Government of India to be necessary for that purpose.

The advisory also quoted Attorney General’s opinion that “the disobedience of these directions could well attract the provisions of Article 356 of the Constitution of India, and one could therefore proceed on the basis that the central law would implicitly be obeyed by the state governments”.

The ministry said the objective of the Act and enhancement of penalties for traffic violations was to ensure greater compliance and enhancing deterrence for violation of traffic rules which is intended to provide for better road safety resulting in reduction of accidents and fatalities on roads.

Earlier, the government had said that for certain offences Gujarat, Karnataka, Manipur and Uttarakhand had reduced the penalties.

Under the amended Act, violations such as drunken driving and dangerous driving attract fines of Rs 10,000 and/or imprisonment of six months to two years.

Penalty for driving without licence was increased to Rs 5,000 from Rs 500 earlier, while riding two-wheeler without helmets will not only attract fine of Rs 1,000 but could lead to suspension of licences for the next three months. — PTI

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When Major Manekshaw was wounded during World War II, his orderly insisted that the doctor attend to his officer, else he would shoot him. Thus, Sam Manekshaw survived to lead the Army to victory in 1971

Lt Gen Harwant Singh (Retd)

IN the military, a soldier is assigned to an officer to attend to his small personal requirements, such as prepare his dress, serve bed tea, keep his room in good order, etc. This sets the officer free to deal with more important issues demanding his attention, more so during operations.

A few years ago, someone thought that the term “orderly” was not in keeping with the democratic norms and decided to rename him as “Sahayak”, though his range of duties and commitments remains the same.

Over time, a strong relationship builds between the officer and his Sahayak. The latter would go to any extent to make his officer comfortable. Thus, an orderly of a Polish officer during World War II would bring hot meals from the enemy kitchen for his officer. He continued with this enterprise for quite some time till one day he was found out and taken prisoner.

When General Musservy came to India to attend the centenary celebrations of his regiment, so did his long-time Sahayak. The two went into a long hug with tears flowing down.

Sahayaks not only attend to the basic needs, but often proffer advice to the officer. While I was working as a staff officer, my Sahayak, finding that I was not regular with the morning physical training, would often lecture me on the need for an officer to remain fit. He continued lecturing me till the annual test of 5-mile run, where I beat him and others in the HQ squadron by a wide margin. After that he never brought up the subject.

During training camps, the officers are accommodated in tents of various sizes, depending on rank. Camp equipment is an essential requirement; such as camp cot, a hurricane lamp, an odd stool or table and in the bath tent, the necessary items like foot board, bucket, mug, stool and a commode, better known as “thunderbox”.

We were at one such camp when a young officer, straight from the academy, arrived late in the evening. He was assigned a tent and a Sahayak. On discovering that the officer had just his bedding and a small box with none of the camp essentials listed above, the Sahayak was in a quandary.

The young officer, after leaving his baggage with his Sahayak, went to the officer’s mess. After dinner, everyone moved to their tents and so did this officer. On opening the flap of his tent, he found that his bedding was neatly laid out on a camp cot, there was a hurricane lamp, stool, a hanger or two and the bathroom was fully equipped with a bucket full of water, “thunderbox”, etc. He felt happy at having come to a regiment where they took such good care of their officers!

He was immersed in these pleasant thoughts when someone shouted that his camp cot was missing and soon more protests were heard. A search commenced and one by one these items were taken away, with this officer helplessly watching. Soon, his bedding was on the grass and there was nothing else left with him.

The officer’s Sahayak remained in the shadow and when every item was taken away, he was overheard telling another Sahayak, “Main taan sub kuch ikattha kar ditta si, par saab kolon sambhaleya hi nahin gaya.” (I had collected everything, but the Sahib could not consolidate his hold on these!)

Finally, when Major Sam Manekshaw was wounded in Burma, during World War II, his orderly carried him to the Medical Aid Post where the doctor declared the patient beyond help and tried to move on to the next wounded soldier. At this, Sam’s orderly insisted that the doctor attend to his officer, else he would shoot him. Thus, Sam Manekshaw survived to lead the Indian Army to victory in 1971.