Monthly Archives: August 2018

We veterans know that during OROP agitation at Jantar Mantar we wee demanding IZZAT also from the Govt. Capt Amrinder Singh , also visited JM Agitation being himself an ESM and registered important aspects of  ESM demands.

The  ESM of all states as a whole had always asked for Izzat from their governments and during the ESM agitation for `one rank one pension,’ Izzat was also a major issue. In demanding Izzat, ESM were often misled by asking for what they considered pecuniary privileges of reduced Vat in CSD canteens, toll free travel and such issues. These measures did not however give ESM Izzat in relation to village officials, bureaucracy or the police.

Deputy Commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma today felicitated 160 Guardians of Governance (GoGs) for performing their duty diligently during entire wheat procurement  operations in the grain markets and purchase centres of the district.In a simple but impressive function, the Deputy Commissioner handed over the certificates of appreciation to  the District head of GOGs Major General (Retd.) Balwinder Singh, GoG Tehsil heads including Colonel (Retd) Balbir Singh, Colonel (Retd) Bachan Singh, and others for their  contribution in ensuring smooth and hassle-free procurement operations in the grain markets and purchase centres of the district.In his address, the Deputy Commissioner lauded  the strenuous efforts made by the GOGs for ensuring the completion of procurement operations without any problem.He said that to ensure the obeying of the all medical  protocols including social distancing, mask-wearing by farmers and labourers, availability of water, soaps and others in grain markets was a herculean task but due to concerted  efforts of the GOGs, it was completed smoothly.Mr Sharma said the GOGs played a vital role in entire procurement operations.  He said that there was not a single case of COVID  reported from grain markets of the Jalandhar and GOGs had worked hard to complete the operations without any issue.The Deputy Commissioner expressed hope that the GOGs  would continue to help the administration in future also.On the occasion, ADC (G) Mr Jasbir Singh, Red Cross Society Secretary Mr Inderjeet Singh Minhas and others were  present

Lieutenant Colonel Amit Dagar, IMA’s spokesperson, said the decision was taken “to ensure the health safety of the GCs and the staff” of the academy, one of the premier training institutes of Indian Army officers.

Major Suman Gawani and Brazilian Naval Officer Commander Carla Monteiro de Castro Araujo will receive the award during an online ceremony presided over by United Nations Secretary-General Guterres.

United Nations: 

An Indian Army officer and woman peacekeeper, who has served with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), and a Brazilian woman commander have been selected for the prestigious United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award (2019), with UN Chief Antonio Guterres describing them as “powerful role models.”

Major Suman Gawani and Brazilian Naval Officer Commander Carla Monteiro de Castro Araujo will receive the award during an online ceremony presided over by United Nations Secretary-General Guterres on May 29, the International Day of UN Peacekeepers.

Military Observer Ms Gawani has recently completed an assignment in South Sudan apart from her stint with the UNMISS.

Araujo is working in the United Nations’ Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).

Guterres commended Ms Gawani and Ms Araujo. “These peacekeepers are powerful role models. Through their work, they have brought new perspectives and have helped build trust and confidence among the communities we serve,” he said.

“Through their commitment and innovative approaches, they embrace a standard of excellence that is an inspiration to all blue helmets everywhere. As we confront today’s challenges, their work has never been more important or relevant.”

This is the first time the UN Military Gender Advocate award has gone to an Indian peacekeeper. This is the second year in a row that a Brazilian peacekeeper has received this honour.

Created in 2016, the award recognises the dedication and effort of an individual military peacekeeper in promoting the principles of UN Security Resolution 1325 which is on women, peace and security in a peace operation as nominated by Heads and Force Commanders of peace operations.

For the first time, two peacekeepers will receive the award jointly.

Ms Gawani expressed her gratitude for her work being recognised. “Whatever our function, position or rank, it is our duty as peacekeepers to integrate an all-genders perspective into our daily work and own it in our interactions with colleagues as well as with communities,” she said in a statement issued here.

Ms Gawani joined the Indian Army in 2011 where she graduated from the Officers Training Academy, then joined the Army Signal Corps.

She holds Bachelor of Telecommunication Engineering and a Bachelor of Education degrees from Military College of Telecommunication, and the Government Post Graduate College in Dehradun respectively.

Since her deployment to the UNMISS in December 2018, Ms Gawani mentored over 230 UN Military Observers (UNMO) on conflict-related sexual violence and ensured the presence of women military observers in each of the mission’s team sites.

“By providing support, mentoring, guidance and leadership, she helped to create enabling environment for UN Peacekeepers,” the statement said, adding that Gawani also trained the South Sudanese government forces and helped them launch their action plan on conflict-related sexual violence.

The Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award is underpinned by the principles outlined in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and follow-up resolutions on women, peace and security.

The resolutions call on actors to mainstream a gender perspective in all aspects of peacekeeping and peacebuilding and to ensure women’s participation in peace and political processes.

They also call for the protection from and prevention of conflict-related sexual violence and for an expansion of the role and contribution of women in UN operations, including of uniformed women peacekeepers.

The statement said that about 6.4 per cent of the 85,000 uniformed peacekeepers serving currently in the UN missions are women.

The UN is working with member states to increase the number and percentage of women military, police and justice and corrections personnel.

It added that in this context promoting the participation of women, both in peacekeeping and within the societies in which we serve, is at the centre of the UN’s efforts.

The biannual event is attended by the top Army leadership to brainstorm on new security and administrative issues, and plan a roadmap.

New Delhi: The ongoing India-China stand-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the security situation in Kashmir and along the Line of Control (LoC) are likely to dominate the discussions at the Army Commanders’ Conference, which begins Wednesday.

There have been tensions at the LAC for the past few weeks between the Indian and Chinese military, especially in the Galwan valley, larger Hot Springs area and around Pangong Tso lake in eastern Ladakh, a part of which juts out like fingers.

On Tuesday, ThePrint reported that at least six rounds of talks were held at the local level (including the division level) in Ladakh to defuse the situation even as Chinese soldiers transgressed by about 3 km into Indian areas in at least four locations, with a troop build-up on the northern sector along the Chinese side of the LAC. This was apart from diplomatic and other efforts being undertaken to handle the issue.

According to sources in the Army, Kashmir is also likely to top the agenda during the meet given the slew of anti-terror operations security forces have undertaken in the Valley recently in the wake of attacks reportedly fuelled by new terrorist outfits. The summers also usually see an increase in infiltration bids at the LoC.

The three-day biannual event is attended by the top Army leadership to brainstorm on new security and administrative issues, and plan a roadmap.

This year’s meet, which was scheduled to be held in April, was postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak and subsequent lockdown. It is now being held in two phases, with the second phase scheduled to take place in June.

Also read: Kashmir, retirement age & artificial intelligence to be discussed at Army Commanders’ meet

Logistics and ammunition

A special focus area of the conference is likely to be logistical issues with an emphasis on ammunition management, sources said.

This could include discussions on reducing ammunition holdings and making the supply chain more efficient.

Other points, which are likely to be discussed, include integration of resources for ammunition, saving on storage space of ammunition, and the manpower required to guard ammunition depots.

In a recent interaction with a limited group of journalists, the Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat had said ammunition would be a priority when it comes to defence acquisitions across services in the wake of the Covid-19 budget cut.

He also said there had to be a push for indigenous manufacturing of ammunition given that it is largely import-dependent at the moment.

“If I start manufacturing ammunition in my own country, my stocking levels would come down. If we anticipate a tension, we can always tell the Indian manufacturers that you must have the capacity to surge. If there is a surge capacity with the industry, I can reduce my stocks,” he had said.

General Rawat had also said it is not a good idea to store large amounts of ammunition as they have a limited shelf life during which it has to be fired or destroyed.

He had said reducing storage will free up land and manpower, given that ammunition dumps use up vast swathes of land due to the mandatory safety distances and vacant spaces around it, and also because a lot of manpower has to be utilised for guarding them.

He had also said the manufacturing of ammunition should be divided between two or three companies so that even if a war lasts for 15 to 20 days, every day the Indian industry can supply one day’s ammunition, as against the risk of being denied stocks if one is dependent on imports.

Also read: Rs 30,000 pension soon for men who fought in 1965, 1971 wars but didn’t get absorbed in Army

Training of soldiers

The agenda for the conference is also likely to include various aspects of training of soldiers — an issue that emerged after the entire training schedule for the Army had to be reworked because of the Covid-19 outbreak.

The conference will likely include discussions on merging the Directorate General of Military Training (DGMT) into the Army Training Command (ARTRAC) in Shimla as both have similar functions. This is part of a greater restructuring plan of the Army headquarters.

ThePrint had earlier reported that the Indian military is actively deliberating on setting up a new joint training command to meet the training needs of all its three branches — the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.

While the defence ministry had approved three major reforms for the Army headquarters last August, the restructuring plan can’t be implemented unless the overall restructuring is approved in totality, Army sources had told ThePrint.

Streamlining of various other training-related issues and human resource aspects are also likely to be part of the discussions, Army sources said.

Sources added that other aspects likely to be showcased at the event could include the Army’s efforts extended to aid civil authorities and HADR (humanitarian, assistance and disaster relief) operations undertaken from last year, such as those which came as a response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Army’s capability development initiatives such as procurements, infrastructure development and innovations in the field of operations, training and administration and military diplomacy efforts will also likely be showcased.

Also read: Swift & sustained retaliation — what Indian Army is discussing at commanders’ meet

From Chumar in 2014 to Doklam in 2017, Indian and Chinese troops have faced off numerous times over border disputes since Modi came to power.

However, this is hardly the first time India and China have faced off over their border dispute — there have been numerous stand-offs since 2014, when Narendra Modi led the NDA to power.

The number of Chinese transgressions across the disputed border has risen from 428 in 2015 to 663 in 2019, and a number of these transgressions eventually morphed into stand-offs between the two armies. The most prominent examples were near Chumar and Demchok in eastern Ladakh in 2014, at Burtse in northern Ladakh in 2015, and the 73-day stand-off at the Doklam plateau near the India-China-Bhutan tri-junction in 2017.

Smaller incidents of stare-downs between patrolling troops that morph into fist-fighting are rarely reported, but one in 2017 near Pangong Lake in Ladakh got a lot of media attention after a video showing the two sides hurling stones at each other went public. Another such incident took place on the banks of Pangong Lake in 2019.

All these stand-offs were eventually resolved by either diplomatic negotiations or through army delegation-level talks at the sites of dispute.

ThePrint looks at the three prominent military stand-offs between India and China during the Modi era, and how they were resolved.

Also read: India to seek ‘amicable solution’ with China amid military build-up on LAC

Chumar, 2014

A 16-day stand-off ensued between Indian and Chinese forces in eastern Ladakh near the village of Chumar, after Indian soldiers tried to block Chinese construction work into what India considers its territory. This stand-off began on 16 September, the eve of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first visit to India, about four months after Modi was elected PM.

The stand-off began after the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) tried to extend the road from Chepzi towards Chumar (which India considers to be its own territory), and the construction work was stopped by Indian soldiers. Meanwhile, in Demchok, which is located in the Chumar area, PLA troops had pushed civilians into Indian territory to prevent ongoing work on an irrigation canal.

Soon enough, 1,500 Indian soldiers stood face-to-face with 750 PLA troops.

Following intense diplomatic and military negotiations, the issue was resolved. Troops from both sides agreed to withdraw after a high-level flag meeting led by major-generals.

The stand-off was resolved after India and China managed to reach a quid pro quo. While the Chinese agreed to not pursue construction of the Chepzi-Chumar road, India agreed to demolish its observation hut at Tible in the same sector, and refrain from building bunkers there.

Also read: Stand-off with China in Ladakh is India’s worst border tension since Kargil in 1999

Burtse, 2015

While much smaller in scale compared to the 2014 Chumar incident, another stand-off took place between Indian and Chinese forces at Burtse in the Depsang plains in northern Ladakh in 2015.

This stand-off ensued after the Indo Tibetan Border Police demolished a temporary hut — allegedly meant for surveillance — built by the PLA in Burtse. This was followed by the PLA calling for force reinforcements in the region, and the Indian side responding with tit-for-tat additional deployments.

The stand-off was resolved within a week by local army delegations at the ground level itself, and did not require any intervention by the governments. Following this, the Indian and Chinese armies decided to conduct a 12-day joint military exercise in China as a major confidence-building measure.

Also read: India and China should lower their border tensions, talk more: Ex-envoy Bambawale

Doklam, 2017

The most prominent stand-off in recent years occurred in 2017 at Doklam, near the tri-junction point between India, China and Bhutan. The 73-day stand-off was the longest instance of the two militaries standing eyeball-to-eyeball in decades.

Doklam is spread over nearly 100 square kilometres, and comprises of a valley and a plateau. The area is surrounded by Bhutan’s Ha valley, Tibet’s (China) Chumbi valley, and the Indian state of Sikkim.

“The problem started in June when Chinese army engineers attempted to build a road through the Doklam plateau, claimed by both China and Bhutan. Following ‘coordination’ with Bhutanese authorities, Indian soldiers based just across the border intervened and literally stopped the Chinese crews in their tracks,” noted an article in War On The Rocks.

What followed was a 73-day stand-off, from 16 June to 28 August, and then weeks of intense diplomatic negotiations. While, initially, the Chinese foreign ministry demanded that India should unilaterally withdraw its troops, eventually both sides agreed and announced their withdrawal on 28 August, returning to their pre-16 June positions.

Analysts believe that China “blinked” as it agreed to stop its road construction in the region. But over the past couple of years, reports have suggested that China has been quietly building infrastructure and ramping up its military presence in the region, which has helped it gain an advantage in Doklam.

“Recent satellite images and intelligence reports show the Chinese have erected several permanent military posts, a few helipads and new trenches not very far from where the two armies faced off,” noted a 2018 report in The Hindu.

About 1,800 Chinese troops are stationed, even in deep winter, in the Doklam area, according to other reports.

Also read: In Ladakh, like in Doklam, China must learn to deal with the assertive Indian soldier on LAC

What is being seen is a reverse trend. India too has gone for military build-up, expansion of logistic capabilities and troop mobilisation, including artillery, close to the LAC. As the Army moved battle tanks to remote points and created a mountain strike corps, a Chinese response was expected.

P Stobdan

Former Ambassador

Following the Galwan stand-off, India is sending massive reinforcements to fortify eastern Ladakh at places like Demchok, Dongti, Chumar, Daulat Beg Oldi and Galwan Valley. Out of the 857 square kilometre long border in Ladakh, only 368 square kilometer is international border (IB) and the rest of the 489 square kilometre is the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The two traditionally disputed points included Trig Heights and Demchok. At eight points, the two sides have differing perceptions — Samar Lungpa, 176 sq km; Depsang Plains, 972 sq km; Hot Spring, 38 sq km; Changlung, 13 sq km; Kungkala-Phobrang, 5 sq km; Sarjap, 129 sq km; Spanguur, 24 sq km; and, Dhumtsele, 25 sq km.

China has raised additional points of dispute at Pangong Tso over an area of 83 square kilometre and at Chumur, where it claims 80 square kilometre .

Small incursions on an average of 250-300 times annually are common across the 3,488 km long de facto border, mostly in Ladakh, but it is rare for either country to set up camp so deep within the disputed territory. The Army’s spin has been that they are not intrusions, but transgressions that occur due to ‘differing interpretation of the border’. As Army chief General MM Naravane said, they are short duration standoffs that normally take place during the summer months when new units conduct familiarisation operation of winter-vacated posts, and are managed locally by a set mechanism.

India and China have several CBMs in place, including military hotlines to avoid face-offs along the LAC. The 2013 Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) was to serve as a template to boost military interface and resolve incidents locally. China wanted LAC tensions not to affect bilateral ties, India wanted more ‘predictability’ for the ties to grow.

Clearly, these de-escalatory measures seem not to be working. This author had doubted whether the BDCA was not yet another deception and tactic of denial that followed the Depsang incursion.

Of the nine, only Article VI — not to tail each others’ patrols — was relevant for tackling real-time incidents. Article II related to the movement of nomadic herders. But the pact hasn’t stopped new incidents as China continued consolidating its presence in the disputed areas.

But the BDCA didn’t cover the risk arising from infrastructure upgrade. This author foresaw the risk of BDCA’s failure due to India’s rather belated zest to boost border infrastructure to match China.

What is being seen is a reverse trend in the de-militarisation process post-Depsang episode. India too has gone for military build-up, expansion of logistic capabilities and troop mobilisation, including artillery units, close to the LAC. As the Army moved battle tanks to remote border points and created a mountain strike corps, an equivalent Chinese response was anticipated. The Indian Air Force too reactivated its old airfields and advanced landing grounds (ALGs), landing C-130J-30 Super Hercules aircraft.

In fact, a shift in India adopting a more ‘assertive posturing’ to ‘interdict’ Chinese troops came in 2014. This led to increased frequency of face-offs from once or twice a month to almost daily. Having been used to browbeat the Indian Army in the past, the PLA is perhaps surprised by India’s swift counter build-up and firmness at the commander’s flag meetings. The area from Demchok up to Kailash and Lipulekh (Nepal tri-junction) was snatched from Ladakh by the 5th Dalai Lama in the 1650s.

Since the 1990s, the PLA followed in the Dalai Lama’s footsteps and encroached on the 45-kilometre long Skakjung pastureland (Demchok-Kuyul) sector where the nomad Changpas took Rebos for winter grazing. The area sustained 80,000 sheep/goats and 4,000 yak/ponies besides over 75,000 quintals of dry forage tama worth Rs 10 crore every winter.

Until not so long ago, Ladakh’s border lay at Kegu Naro — a day-long march from Dumchele, where India had a forward post till 1962. In the absence of activities, the Chinese in the 1980s built roads, buildings and trading posts to supply goods to the Indian smugglers.

China claims some 150 square kilometre in Demchok. The PLA has built massive infrastructure on its side and moved armoured troops into Charding Nalla since 2009. The PLA follows the nomadic Rebo routes for patrolling in contrast to the Indian authorities restricting Rebo movements that led to massive shrinking of pastureland and border defence.

A major incident erupted in Demchok in 2014 simultaneously with the Chumur stand-off when the local authorities built a small irrigation canal at Nilung Nalla under the NREGA scheme. The PLA then mobilised Tibetan villagers from Tashigong to pitch Rebos at Charding-Ninglung Nallah (CNN) Track Junction to protest the Indian action.

Tibetan nomads pitched tents on Hemis Monastery’s land in 2018-19. Intentions seemed to be to capture Demchok to integrate with the Kailash-

Manasarovar complex. China’s assertion has grown after it built infrastructure in the Ngari area to develop Kailash-Manasarovar into a tourist complex.

In Chumur, China claims 80 square kilometer. A crisis at Tibli erupted in September 2014 — during Xi Jinping’s visit to India — when Chinese workers entered at 31-R point to build a road up to Tible inside the IB. China probably wants a straight border from PT-4925 to PT-5318 to bring the Tible Mane (stupa) area under its control. The Chinese wanted the Indian Army to remove a storage hut near the Zero Border. The stand-off was resolved after the tin structure of the 77 Brigade was removed. Remember, the PLA demanded removal of India’s fortified positions in Burtse (2013), Demchok and Chumur (2014) for its retreat. All this while, the Chinese were used to India’s lax attitude, but its stepped up construction activities is now perturbing them.

Despite topographical challenges, corruption and scams, the BRO has lately fast-tracked the 260 km long Shayok-DBO road construction that probably provoked the PLA intrusion in early May, triggering the current Galwan stand-off. Tension at LAC this time is unlikely to move like at Depsang in 2013, Chumar in 2014 and Doklam in 2017 that momentarily impacted the India-China ties.

The issue this time seemingly overrides the LAC dispute. A major shift has unfolded after abrogation of Article 370 and 35A when Beijing had an outburst over making Ladakh a Union Territory — a move China described as ‘unacceptable’ undermining its ‘sovereignty’ — even raising it at the UNSC. India termed Ladakh’s new status an ‘internal matter’ having ‘no implication’ for the LAC status, but China’s response was strategic. Ladakh has been upgraded to UT status, but a drift there is not desirable.

Meanwhile, India’s strategic intent has become firmer — to reclaim the entire PoK, including Gilgit-Baltistan, in accordance with the February 1994 resolution unanimously passed by Parliament.

The Survey of India’s new official map depicting Gilgit-Baltistan and Aksai China within the UT Ladakh boundary and the most recent subtle but significant move by the IMD to include areas in PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan in its daily weather forecasts, starting May 6, is a new development in the high Asian geopolitics.

The change came days after the Pakistan Supreme Court permitted the federal government to hold elections in Gilgit-Baltistan. New Delhi cautioned Pakistan against bringing material changes in the occupied areas of the Indian territory of J&K. Clearly, we are likely to enter a period of uncertainty — a shift that may have a lasting imprint on geopolitics.

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Majid Jahangir and Suhail A Shah
Tribune News Service
Srinagar/Anantnag, May 28

A ‘Pulwama-like attack’ was averted by the timely action of security forces on Wednesday night here in Pulwama district.

According to police sources, the incident took place between 8.45 pm and 9.15 pm at Ayangund village.

“A naka was set up by the joint forces. While vehicles were being checked, one of them jumped the barricade and tried to flee the spot,” a police source said.

He said the vehicle did not go far and was abandoned after around 200 metres.

“Security personnel who were chasing the car found it abandoned by the roadside. On further checking of the car, it was found to be laden with explosives,” sources said.

The explosives were disposed of on Thursday morning by a bomb disposal squad. The car (a Santro) had a fake number plate.

Sources told The Tribune that the case would be handed over to the National Investigation Agency.

Police are yet to issue an official statement.

As many as 40 CRPF men were killed on February 14 last year after a similar car bomb was used by militants in Lethpora area of the district. The attack is referred to as the Pulwama attack. The gruesome attack had brought India and Pakistan to the brink of a war.

Later, IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar said the militants driving the car jumped two nakas and abandoned it at Ayegund area of Rajpora.

“After preliminary investigation, it was found the vehicle was laden with at least 40 kg to 45 kg of explosive material. The vehicle went up 15 metres when the IED was defused,” Kumar said in a press conference in Srinagar.

“The militants were planning the suicide attack on Jang-e-Badr (May 11), but couldn’t do it due to the intensified operations against militants,” he said.

The IGP said a local militant, Adil, who works for Hizb and Jaish and two others, had planned to carry out an attack with the explosives- laden car.