Ranjit Thakur
Jammu, February 23
In a bid to keep the local youth engaged, the Army is building a playground in the shelling affected village of J&K’s Mendhar tehsil in Poonch district.
The Army is working in coordination with residents of Basuni village, located along the LoC in Mendhar tehsil. The village has a population of around 2,000, but didn’t have even a single playground for the local youth.
The locals have hailed the noble gesture of the Army as this will not only keep the youth physically fit, but will also keep them away from the menace of drugs, other crimes and anti-social activities.
“Continuous shelling from the Pakistan side has kept our children away from sports and it has drastically affected their mental and physical health. We always wanted to have a playground in our village and this dream came true when the Army agreed to construct it in the village,” Mohammad Rahoof, a local, said.
“The Army is not only protecting our borders and us from shelling, but also providing every help in any case of emergency. The Army has always extended a helping hand for the poor border residents,” Mumtaz Ahmad, a villager, said.
Meanwhile, an Army official said, “The main objective of constructing a playground is to keep the youth engaged in constructive and productive purposes. More and more sports events for the youth will be organised to make them physically and mentally fit to meet any future challenges besides staying away from anti-social activities.”
The Tribune Interview Lt-Gen KJS Dhillon
Arun Joshi
Lt-Gen KJS Dhillon, Corps Commander of 15 Corps, whose tenure in Kashmir was marked by many events, some of them unprecedented in nature with new and tough challenges, said he was an extremely satisfied commander as he leaves the Valley for his next assignment.
In an e-mail interview with The Tribune, Lt-Gen Dhillon reflected on the challenges thrown up by attacks like Pulwama and the situation that had to be handled after the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5 last year. Excerpts from the interview
What have been the challenges for the Army after the revocation of Article 370?
The Indian Army, in conjunction with other security forces, has a two-fold mandate. One is on the Line of Control (LoC) and the other is counter-infiltration operations against the terrorists which are being supported by the Pakistan army and pushed through the LoC. In the hinterland, the Indian Army is working in synchronisation with other security forces for counter-terrorist operations wherein most of the terrorist leadership of various “tanzeems” (organisations) has been neutralised in the past year. There is a sense of security and peace prevailing in the Valley, which is visible in business, tourism, BDC elections, recent board examinations and the day-to-day routine life of a normal Kashmiri. The morale of the forces, including the administrative and logistic support, has been of very high standard and we continue to maintain it.
at is the ‘Whole of Nation’ approach to maintain peace in Kashmir?
After August 5 last year, the strategy to maintain peace and calm in the Valley was based on well-synergised, coordinated and integrated actions involving all stakeholders, including security forces, JKPF, CAPFs and, most importantly, the civil administration. In addition, other societal stakeholders like opinion-makers, elders of society, mediapersons and professionals from government organisations were also consulted regularly to arrive at the most suitable and appropriate methodology to deal with the situation and ground-level feedback.
In a nutshell, I can say, it was a “Whole of nation” approach. I am very satisfied with the way calm and peace have prevailed in the Valley. In spite of best efforts of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, minimal loss of civilian life and security forces has been the hallmark of efforts of all stakeholders for the maintenance of peace in Kashmir. There are no restrictions whatsoever other than mobile Internet beyond 2G and some apps. Markets are open, business is booming, tourists are arriving and winter sports are being organised on a grand scale.
What has been the Army’s responsibility to strengthen relations with people after the revocation of Article 370?
In addition to our conventional role and mandated job, we have a responsibility towards the “awam” (public) of Kashmir whom we treat as our “humsaya’. Various initiatives of the Army to support aspirations and daily needs, especially of women and youth, are being pursued in a very organised and proactive manner. There are at least 28 Army Goodwill Schools (AGSs), 10,000 students, and not a single student has become terrorist, with 100 per cent result in most of the AGS exams. Our initiative of “Operation MAA”, an appeal to mothers of local boys who have gone astray, has been highly successful in generating a positive atmosphere for the “return” of local youths who have joined terrorist organisations. We have been successful in the “return” of more than 50 such boys.
What has been the impact of Internet shutdowns on anti-militancy operations?
Counter-terrorist operations are based on inputs from various intelligence sources, including human intelligence, with technical intelligence being only one of them. Hence, the blocking of the Internet and mobile services temporarily did not have any major impact on counter-terrorist operations.
What have been the challenges after the Pulwama attack?
We are trained for facing challenging situations and we take considered and most appropriate decisions to deal with any emerging situation. The perpetrators of the Pulwama attack were brought to justice within 100 hours by the efforts of all security forces, intelligence agencies and civil administration in a very integrated manner. Terrorist threats are being neutralised almost daily, in one way or the other. All agencies dealing with counter-terrorist operations continue to be on work 24 x 7 to ensure peace in the Kashmir Valley.
What is AFSPA shield?
The AFSPA is an act of Parliament and we (Army) in India, being a mature democracy, are governed by the legislations passed by Parliament.
Your comments on stone-throwing incidents and challenges of upcoming summer in Kashmir.
Pakistan-sponsored proxies who are instigating and indulging in stone throwing have failed in their attempts and these incidents have come down to negligible in recent months. The recruitment of local youths in terrorist groups has also reduced by more than 45 per cent from 2018 to 2019. Besides the “Whole of nation” approach, we have plans (for 2020 summer season in Kashmir) in place to thwart any attempts by Pakistan to disrupt the prevailing peace and cause damage to life and property of Kashmiris. All stakeholders are very much part of the plan.
Have you been a satisfied commander?
As a professional, all my assignments through my career, spanning approximately 37 years, have had their fair share of adventure, challenge and, most importantly, professional satisfaction at the end of each tenure, having accomplished the job assigned to me in a most professional and ethical manner in keeping with the traditions and ethos of the great Indian Army. A major hallmark of my tenure as the Corps Commander, 15 Corps, was the tremendous synergy achieved amongst various security forces, intelligence agencies and civil administration, with the singular aim of maintenance of peace in the Kashmir Valley. We have been able to touch the lives of the common Kashmiris, particularly those who ‘returned’ from the clutches of terrorism back to their families, due to the efforts of all stakeholders, especially under “Operation MAA”. I am an extremely satisfied commander.
Our Correspondent
Rajouri, February 23
The Army will hold a recruitment rally at its Advance Landing Ground in Rajouri from April 20 to 29. The recruitment is being held for the candidates from all 10 districts of the Jammu province.
As per details, the candidates from Poonch, Rajouri, Kathua, Samba, Jammu, Udhampur, Ramban, Reasi, Doda and Kishtwar districts can apply.
The recruitment will be held for soldier general duty (all arms), soldier technical, nursing assistant for the Army Medical Corps and for veterinary.
The age limit for the soldier general duty should be between seventeen and a half and 21 years, while for technical, the age limit is 23 years. The height and weight for the eligible candidate for all categories should be 163 cm and 48 kg, respectively.
The education qualification for the soldier general duty should be Class X pass with 45 per cent marks in aggregate and 33 per cent in each subject
For the technical category, the education qualification should be 10+2/intermediate pass in physics, chemistry, mathematics and English with 50 per cent in aggregate and 40 per cent in each subject. For the nursing assistant/veterinary, the education qualification should be 10+2/intermediate with physics, chemistry, English with biology or botany and zoology.
For the candidates, online registration is mandatory. They can register themselves from February 22 to April 6. The eligible candidates will get the admit cards through registered email and have to reach the venue on the given date and time.
Arun Joshi
Jammu, February 23
Lt Gen KJS Dhillon, Corps Commander of 15 Corps, who led the troops in Kashmir in 2019 when the Pulwama terror attack took place and Article 370 was given a constitutional farewell, declared on Sunday: “Peace has been achieved in the Valley owing to efforts of all agencies working for a common goal.”
In an e-mail interview with The Tribune, he said utmost “synergy” between the forces and other agencies had brought about peace in the Valley with militancy now gasping and stone-throwing fallen to level zero, almost.
Enumerating the parameters of peace, he mentioned opened markets, arrival of tourists, high percentage of students appearing in exams and more than 95 per cent polling in Block Development Council elections.
Regarding the almost 30-year-old Armed Forces Special Powers Act that gives immunity to soldiers in counter-terrorism operations, Gen Dhillon offered a middle of the line response. “AFSPA is an act of Parliament and we in India, being a mature democracy, are governed by legislations passed by Parliament,” he said.
Chandigarh, February 23
Granting financial relief to pensioners holding the rank of Honorary Naib Subedar in the Army, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has issued orders granting parity to pre-2006 and post-2006 retirees with effect from January 1, 2006, thereby finally implementing a decision passed by the Chandigarh Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal in November 2017.
AFT Bench comprising Justice MS Chauhan and Lt Gen Sanjiv Chachra had directed the Central Government to re-fix their pension in line with earlier decisions of the tribunal as upheld by the High Court and the Supreme Court.
While implementing recommendations of 6th Pay Commission, the MoD, in 2009, issued directions to notionally grant pension of the rank of Naib Subedar to Havildars promoted as Honorary Naib Subedars. However, on the insistence of the defence accounts department, the benefit was extended only to post-2006 retirees. That resulted in an anomaly wherein pre-2006 Honorary Naib Subedars continued to be paid the pension based on the scale of Havildar. The cut-off date was struck down by the tribunal and the judgment was upheld by the Supreme Court. The Karnataka High Court had also passed similar orders.
In 2010 and 2013, when military pensions were enhanced, the ministry again refused to grant enhancement to pre-2006 Honorary Naib Subedars. Quashing the discrimination, the tribunal ordered the enhancement of pension of pre-2006 retired Honorary Naib Subedars also. — TNS
Sandeep Dikshit
Tribune News Service
Ahmedabad, February 24
A visibly overwhelmed US President Donald Trump on Monday said “from this day on India will hold a very special place in our hearts” as he faced a wildly cheering, packed-to-the-rafters crowd of over one lakh at the “Namaste Trump” rally at the Motera cricket stadium here while millions watched the proceedings live on TV.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi whose address preceded Trump’s speech, also said the visit will start a new chapter in India-US ties that will usher shared prosperity to both nations.
“With this visit, India-US relations are no longer just another partnership. It is a far greater closer relationship,” he declared.
Trump delivered his customary platitudes, terming the pageantry as a “stunning display” of Indian culture and appreciating the “spectacular welcome” to a “magnificent country” whose hospitality his family will “remember forever”.
Turning to PM Modi, Trump borrowed from daughter Ivanka’s speech during her Hyderabad visit two years back, to recall how he started as a “chai wallah’’ to evolve into a tough negotiator for his country’s interests as prime minister.
But Trump also underlined what makes India standout among a group of large and powerful nations. “Here is all the difference between a nation that coerces and intimidates its people and one that rises by letting its people free to chase their dreams that is India,” he said in comments that went unappreciated as compared to his account about the defeat of the ISIS or the resolve to defeat Islamic radicalism.
Before coming to the business end of his trip — more defence deals and a mega trade deal — Trump reiterated this point further down his speech delivered under a late winter sun that had become uncomfortable.
“India’s rise as a prosperous and independent nation is an example to every nation in the world and one of the most outstanding achievements of our century. It’s all the more inspiring because you’ve done it as a democratic country, a peaceful country.”
While both the leaders spoke on diversity and the roadshow from Ahmedabad airport to Motera Stadium was meant to showcase the different colours of India, it was Trump alone who twice mentioned the Muslims along with other communities who have lent vibrancy to Indian culture.
It was Trump again who mentioned Delhi’s Jama Masjid along with Golden Temple as some of the symbols of India’s multiplicity of cultures.
Trump also touched on the other landmarks during his visit — the stadium named after Sardar Patel, the Gandhi ashram in Sabarmati and his next stopover at the Taj Mahal while Modi touched on the Sardar Patel statue and spoke generally of India’s medley of cultures.
Trump moved on to the real purpose of the visit – making India the premier defence partner and inking a mega trade deal—while expressing satisfaction that India has placed defence orders worth over $ 3 billion on US arms manufacturers.
Clearly delineating the American expectation from India, he said as both sides continue to build defence cooperation, US looked forward to selling some of the best military equipment the world has ever made.
“Missiles, rockets or ships, we make the best. I believe US should be India’s premier defence partner. That’s how it is working out. That’s why I have come to India to expand the partnership.”
Next on the Indian order book are advanced air defence systems and armed and unarmed aerial vehicles.
The other prime factor for his 8,000 mile roundtrip was to sell more American goods to the largest middle class in the world.
“We will be making the biggest-ever trade deal… a fantastic deal that is good and great for our countries except that he’s [Modi] is a very tough negotiator.’’
The biggest cheer went up when Trump touched on Pakistan and terrorism. Declaring that the US and India are on the same page in fighting terrorism and its ideology, Trump assured that his government was working with Pakistan to crackdown on terror organisations and militants operating from the Pakistan border.
PM Modi then delivered another address, translating some of what Trump had said and also giving an overview of India’s progress before drums began rolling.
But unlike at ‘Howdy Modi’ rally in Houston, the crowd at ‘Namaste Trump’ had been told to turn up six hours before the stadium event began and seemed divided on staying on.
Karan Thapar
A lot has been written about the Supreme Court (SC)’s recent ruling on women in the Indian Army, but I wonder how many people have a clear idea of the full picture? The assumption that, hereafter, the Army will treat women officers as the equal of men is only partially correct. In critical areas it is, in fact, wrong. When you grasp this, you’ll understand the reservations which the SC dismissed, but many serving and retired officers stand by.
First, a few critical facts. Women officers comprise less than 4% of the Army officer corps. In the Navy, it is nearly 7%; in the Air Force, it has crossed 13%. So the Army is the laggard. This needed rectification.
Now women can serve in all 10 non-combat units. Since 1992, the eight support and services arms as well as the Army Education Corps and the Judge Advocate General’s Branch have been opened up to women at different times. But they can only serve on short service commissions. That gives them a 10-year tenure, extendable to 14. It also means they retire before reaching command position levels i.e. the rank of a colonel or above, and they do not get pensions.
This is what the SC has rectified. In all the 10 non-combat units, women officers will now get permanent commissions. Those presently on short service commissions will also get the same right. Second, women officers will no longer be restricted to staff appointments. Hereafter, they are eligible to compete, at par with male officers, for command appointments. It, therefore, follows they are eligible for further promotion to higher ranks. This is undoubtedly the most significant aspect of the SC’s judgment.
However, this doesn’t mean you’ll see a surge in women brigadiers, major generals and lieutenant generals. The Army has a sharply narrowing pyramid structure and just as an increasingly diminishing proportion of men rise upwards so, too, will be the case with women. Nonetheless, a ceiling has been broken and the sound of shattering glass is discernible.
That said and done, the Army’s combat units remain closed to women. These are the infantry, mechanised infantry, armoured corps and artillery. This means women will not be direct participants in war. The SC did not consider this because it wasn’t part of the appeals before it. Yet this is where the reservations of serving and retired Army officers carry a fair measure of validity.
It’s not just that our jawans come from conservative rural backgrounds where acceptance of women as superiors or commanders is absent, if not resisted; you also have to bear in mind the actual conditions which jawans and officers experience during war. For instance, they sleep under tanks and armoured cars or huddle together in trenches. Their objections can be questioned on moral grounds but you can’t overrule them in a way that risks efficacy in battle, particularly when India faces threats on two borders. This is why the Army wants to make haste slowly.
With time this will change. Women serve as fighter pilots in the Air Force and perform combat roles on naval ships. It’s just that in the Army combat includes the possibility of hand-to-hand fighting.
Finally, two things we mustn’t forget. Women are not about to become jawans. The SC ruling concerns officers not other ranks. The second point has been overlooked by many commentators. If women are to rise to command positions, they must have the same rigorous training as men. So if male officers have to pass through the National Defence Academy and graduate from the Indian Military Academy that, presumably, must be the norm for women too. Just as gender and physiology were wrongly used to exclude they cannot now be disregarded either. As the SC said: “Soldiers must have the physical capability to do one’s role.”
New Delhi, February 22
Nationalism and the slogan of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ are being misused to construct a “militant and purely emotional” idea of India that excludes millions of residents and citizens, former prime minister Manmohan Singh said on Saturday, in an apparent attack on the BJP.
Addressing a gathering at the launch of a book on Jawaharlal Nehru’s works and speeches, Singh said if India is recognised in the comity of nations as a vibrant democracy and, if it is considered as one of the important world powers, it was the first prime minister, who should be recognised as its main architect.
Nehru had led this country in its volatile and formative days when it adopted a democratic way of life, accommodating divergent social and political views, Singh said.
India’s first prime minister, who was very proud of Indian heritage, assimilated it, and harmonised them into the needs of a new modern India, he said. “With an inimitable style, and a multi-linguist, Nehru laid the foundation of the universities, academies and cultural institutions of Modern India. But for Nehru’s leadership, independent India would not have become what it is today,” Singh said.
“But unfortunately, a section of people who either do not have the patience to read history or would like to be deliberately guided by their prejudices, try their best to picture Nehru in a false light. But I am sure, history has a capacity to reject fake and false insinuations and put everything in proper perspective,” he said.
The book ‘Who is Bharat Mata’ by Purushottam Agrawal and Radha Krishna, contains selections from Nehru’s classic books Autobiography, Glimpses of World History and the Discovery of India; his speeches, essays and letters from pre and post independence years; and some of his most revealing interviews. It was first brought out in English and now its Kannada translation has been released.
The book also comprises reminiscences and assessments of Nehru by some of his contemporaries such as Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad, Aruna Asaf Ali, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, among others.
“It is a book of particular relevance at a time when Nationalism and the slogan of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ are being misused to construct a militant and purely emotional idea of India that excludes millions of residents and citizens,” he said.
Singh also extensively quoted Nehru, saying he had asked, “Who is this Bharat Mata?, whose victory you wish?”
“The mountains and rivers, forests and fields are of course dear to everyone, but what counted ultimately is the people of India… spread out all over vast land,” Singh quoted Nehru as saying.
In the pages of this carefully complied anthology, Nehru emerges as a remarkable man of ideas and as a leader who, despite the compulsion’s of politics, remained a true democrat, the former prime minister said.
Nehru’s legacy continues to be of immense significance—“perhaps more today than at any other time in our history”, he said.
“The purpose of this book is to show to the entire world and more particularly to India, how Pandit Nehru and his idea of India, built on Gandhian principles, harmonising the past and the present free from communal discords, is the only way to promote the inevitable plurality of our country,” he said.
Nehru makes a very significant and time relevant remark on the dangers of leadership falling into a trap and getting removed far away from the common people whom they are supposed to serve, Singh said.
“Conceit, like fat on the human body, grows imperceptibly, layer upon layer and the person whom it affects is unconscious of the daily accretion. Fortunately, the hard knocks of a mad world tone it down or even squash it completely, and there has been no lack of these hard knocks for us in India.
“The school of life has been difficult one, and suffering is a hard task master,” he quoted Nehru as saying.
In an atmosphere, when emotions are deliberately provoked and the gullible are misled by false propaganda, misusing communication technology, this book makes a refreshing break through, Singh said. — PTI
23 years after it wowed the West, ‘the Patiala Necklace’ went missing, only to be rediscovered in bits and pieces
Francesca Cartier Brickell
In the summer of 1925, the head Cartier Paris salesman was summoned to the elegant Hotel Claridge on the Champs-Élysées by a very distinguished client. One of the richest men in the world, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala didn’t do things by halves. With five wives and a world-renowned appetite for every conceivable type of luxury, from Rolls-Royces to aircraft to diamonds, he personified Eastern splendour. When Jacques had visited him in India fourteen years earlier, the Maharaja had been more interested in selling gems than buying them, but now he had decided to update his heirlooms into a collection that would put his fellow Indian rulers in the shade.
Knowing from experience that the Indian ruler didn’t like to be kept waiting, M. Muffat had made his way briskly from 13 Rue de la Paix toward Claridge. On arrival at the enormous royal suite, the salesman was shown through to the sitting room and asked to take a seat at a table by the window. As he waited for his esteemed client to appear, a large wooden box was carried over and placed in front of him. Several minutes later, the imposing thirty-four-year-old ruler entered the room and gave instructions for the box to be opened.
Muffat peered inside. It was filled with what seemed to be hundreds of crumpled pages of newspaper. As he glanced up, confused, the Maharaja urged him to look closer. Muffat carefully opened one of the sheets of paper, and a large Burmese ruby fell onto the table. As the ruler nodded his approval, Muffat kept going. The next paper enclosed a diamond as large as his thumbnail. And then another. And another. There were white diamonds, yellow diamonds, brown diamonds, diamonds with a greenish tint, others with a hint of pink. There were deep red rubies and vivid green emeralds. There were bracelets, earrings, and necklaces. Muffat, a connoisseur of gemstones who had worked at Cartier for more than twenty years, tried hard to hide his awe and assume a professional expression.
The Maharaja of Patiala told Muffat that he was looking for his gems to be reset in a more modern style. He wanted, he explained, to have jewels worthy of a king. Muffat nodded respectfully and took out his notebook and silver pen. “What are you doing?” the Maharaja asked. Muffat replied that he was simply writing down each piece of jewellery and every individual gemstone in the box so there would be a record of all the jewels that the ruler was depositing with Cartier. “I don’t need that!” the ruler responded quickly, never doubting for a second that Cartier was to be trusted. “Please just take them!”
It would take Cartier three years to turn the Maharaja’s gems into a collection of jewels that would go down in jewellery history. There would be head ornaments, anklets, armlets, and traditional Indian jewels from a hathpul (worn on the back of the hand, linking bracelet and finger rings) to a diamond, ruby, emerald, and sapphire nath (nose ring). More than two hundred pearls were drilled to make a single bracelet. But the piece de résistance was a necklace of such brilliance that it outshone everything else. Containing a staggering 2,930 diamonds and weighing over a thousand carats, it was mounted in platinum and enhanced by Burmese rubies. And at its center was the yellow 234.6-carat De Beers diamond, the size of a golf ball and the seventh-largest diamond in the world.
For all its splendour and importance, the Patiala commission didn’t actually end up being financially that attractive for Cartier, primarily because the Maharaja supplied most of his own gemstones. But it did do wonders for Cartier’s image in the West, where Indian rulers were the personification of untouchable magnificence. When Cartier displayed the Maharaja’s gems in an exhibition on 13 Rue de la Paix, visitors flocked from all over the world to see them. J.P. Morgan, The New York Times reported, “was heard to say he had never seen anything like it.” “We are transported into the world of the One Thousand and One Nights,” the French magazine L’Illustration exclaimed. “This is a dream world, the incarnation of a fugitive Oriental dream! … The beauty and significance of this collection surpass the imagination.” If there had been any doubt as to Cartier’s prominence in the jewellery world, this made it crystal clear. “In America, where we are fond of naming Kings, Cartier would be the King of Precious Stones. If it has not formally received the title, still it exercises its sovereignty. On two sides of the ocean, in the old continent as well as the new, Cartier is the uncontested master of gems.”
The Patiala necklace sparkled under the light of the Indian sun for two generations, a symbol of power, wealth, and exquisite European taste, but in 1948 it sparked controversy when it was reported missing from the Patiala royal treasury. Nothing was heard of it for a further thirty-four years, at which point the De Beers diamond mysteriously reappeared, without the necklace, at a 1982 Sotheby’s auction (valued at $3 million). Sixteen years after that, part of the necklace appeared in a small antiques shop in London. Obviously, the De Beers stone was missing, but so were all the other big diamonds. It was bought by Cartier, who replaced the missing stones with replicas. It is said that if the necklace were in its original form today, complete with all the diamonds, it would be worth at least $30 million.
— Excerpted with permission from the publisher
