Monthly Archives: August 2018

Aman Sood
Tribune News Service
Patiala, January 6

Youth in several villages are connecting through social media and phone calls, while some are convening meetings. The purpose is to ensure that youth in large numbers reach the Delhi borders before the Republic Day, when farmer unions plan to hold a tractor rally in the National Capital.

Last week, farm unions had announced that thousands of protesting farmers would enter Delhi on January 26 and carry out a tractor parade if the three controversial laws were not repealed.

Unions, youth, farmers, labourers, arhtiyas and landlords are mobilising support for making the January 26 rally a success.

Congress leader Mansimrat Singh Riar said, “We are reaching out to everyone. We stand in solidarity with our elderly people, who have been sitting on fast in Delhi.”

He dismissed the BJP’s claims of the agitation being politically motivated. “First and foremost, I belong to the farming community. Politics takes a backseat when it comes to farmers’ struggle. This protest is of every farmer, who has been toiling hard in fields,” said Riar, who has spent a few days at the Delhi border.

For Ludhiana’s Baddowal resident Tarandeep Singh Grewal, the agitation has given him an opportunity to keep the youth of his area involved. He was doing his bit by keeping them informed about the ground reality of the protest at the Delhi borders.

“I, along with some other villagers, have been meeting youngsters and farmers who own tractors. We plan to reach the Delhi borders two days before the proposed tractor rally. However, I do hope that the matter is resolved soon and our brothers and sisters protesting in this biting cold return home. In case we need to go, we are ready. The tractor rally will be historic and apolitical,” he said.

Not only Punjab residents, but farmers and labourers, who live near the Patiala-Samana border in Haryana, are also supporting the agitation.

New Delhi, January 5

The “unilateral and provocative” actions by the Chinese military to change the status quo by force in more than one area on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) were responded to in a “firm” and “non-escalatory way”, the Defence Ministry has said in an annual report.

The report said Indian troops were well entrenched to counter any “misadventure” by Chinese forces and that the Indian Army was prepared for any eventuality, adding talks were also progressing to resolve the issue in an amicable manner.

Referring to the Galwan Valley clashes on June 15, last year that marked one of the most serious military conflicts between the two sides in decades, the Defence Ministry said the Chinese side also suffered “significant casualties”.

Twenty Indian soldiers were killed in the clashes.

“Unilateral and provocative actions by the Chinese to change the status quo by force, in more than one area on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), were responded to in a firm and non-escalatory way, ensuring the sanctity of our claims in Eastern Ladakh,” it said.

“Indian Army has maintained all protocols and agreements between the two countries while the PLA escalated the situation by utilisation of unorthodox weapons and amassing a large number of troops,” it added.

India and China are locked in an eight-month-long bitter border standoff in eastern Ladakh that has significantly strained their ties.

Both sides held a series of diplomatic and military talks to resolve the row.  However, no breakthrough has been achieved to end the standoff.

The Defence Ministry said the Indian Army, with assistance from IAF, mobilised troops, including accretionary forces in a very short duration…heavy equipment like guns, tanks as also ammunition, rations and clothing.

On the June 15 incident, the report said, “In a major skirmish in Galwan, 20 brave Indian soldiers lost their lives while preventing PLA troops from ingressing into our territory. The Chinese also suffered significant casualties.”

It said on August 28 and 29, Indian troops in a precautionary deployment, pre-empted Chinese “expansionist designs” and occupied heights along the southern bank of Pangong Tso.

The report said Indian troops, braving inclement weather, continued to be deployed on these heights.

“Advance Winter Stocking (AWS) and winter preparations for the enhanced strength have been completed and troops are well entrenched to counter any misadventure by Chinese forces. While the Indian Army is prepared for any eventuality, talks are also progressing to resolve the issue in an amicable manner,” it said.

The report said the Indian Army has resolutely countered adversaries on the Line of Control (LC) and the LAC. The force carried out relentless counter-insurgency and counter-terror operations.

“There has been no let-up in operational readiness along the LC, LAC, hinterland and the security of military establishments. Indian Army has not just ensured force preservation but has also ensured that operational readiness remains unaffected in order to safeguard the borders of the nation,” the report said.

It said a ‘whole of government’ approach was adopted against the “terror ecosystem” and that the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir had seen progressive improvement due to consistent efforts by the security forces.

“On one hand, high level of alertness by troops along the Line of Control (LC) blunted Pakistan’s endeavours to infiltrate terrorists into the Valley, at the same time, high tempo of kinetic operations in the hinterland ensured denial of operational space to terrorist organisations,” it said.

The report said ceasefire violations committed by Pakistan Army were given a befitting reply by Indian troops causing significant casualties to the military of the neighbouring nation.

“Counter infiltration grid was strengthened resulting in neutralisation of a number of terrorists along the LoC. A number of attempts to smuggle arms, ammunition and contraband were also foiled along the LoC,” it said.

The report said well synergised, intelligence-based operations had resulted in significant successes against terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir.

“Residual terrorist strength in the Valley now is below 200 and local recruitment is decreasing giving a serious blow to the nefarious designs of Pakistan to ‘indigenise’ the movement and fuel unrest in the Valley,” it said.

“Attempts to spread violence south of Pir Panjal Range have been comprehensively defeated by proactive operations. All possible steps are being taken to provide a secure environment to the Awaam (people) of Jammu and Kashmir,” it added.

It said a significant reduction in protests had been witnessed in Jammu and Kashmir, providing an opportunity to the people to lead a peaceful life.

“Attempts of inimical elements to mislead people by running disinformation campaigns were defeated by proactively monitoring the situation and engaging with the local population,” it said.

The report also mentioned the government’s efforts to modernise the defence forces as well as various aspects of the functioning of the Indian Air Force as well as the Indian Navy. PTI

Tribune News Service
Amritsar/Muktsar, January 6

A tractor march was organised by residents of the Vallah area in Amritsar to spread awareness about the farmers’ cause and their call for conducting a tractor rally in Delhi on January 26 against the farm laws.

On the other hand, supporting the farmers’ movement, Sikh outfit Dal Khalsa today declared that their activists would burn the copies of the controversial laws on Lohri and participate in the tractor parade in Delhi.

Prof Sardara Singh, who accompanied the tractor march, said the parade had been organised as a protest against the ill-conceived anti-farmer policies of the Centre. “It is a pity that crores of rupees have been siphoned off by the so-called bigwigs who took shelter on foreign soil with impunity whereas the farmer, who fills the food basket of the nation, has been fighting for his right to get MSP on his produce,” he said.

In Muktsar, a large number of farmers took out a tractor march. The march passed through various markets. Meanwhile, the commission agents welcomed the farmers in the grain market and promised full support. The farmers appealed to everyone to support them in their ongoing protest against the Centre over the contentious farm laws.

A similar march was carried out by the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Sidhupur) in the villages of Khuyiansarwer sub-tehsil in Abohar. Convener Gunwant Singh said the march was carried out to mobilise maximum number of farmers for participation in the protest, which was to be organised by farmers organisations’ joint front in Delhi on January 26. The tractor march started from Panjawa village and passed through Tootwala, Kallarkhera, Maujgarh, Gidderanwali, Dalmirkhera, Daulatpura, Khuyiansarwer, Telupura, Haripura and Diwankhera villages. Farmers greeted the participants and served fruits and snacks to them.

Abhijit Bhattacharyya

Commentator and Author

The Communist Party of China (CPC) is the State and vice versa. The political manifesto of the CPC — typed, distributed and discussed during annual, biennial or seasonal ‘People’s Congress’ (equivalent to Parliament) sessions — is the updated, upgraded and amended ‘State Constitution’. The all-in-one CPC denotes the absence of an opposition party, rival or competitor. The word ‘opposition’ is synonymous with ‘enemy of the CPC-state’.

Thus, the General Secretary of the CPC is automatically ex officio President of the ‘CPC-state’. One-and-the-same person, necessary and complementary to each other for complete, unitary command, control and communication — an over-centralised, dictatorial model. It includes the geographical territory of the nation-state China, known as the ‘Middle Kingdom’. Unpretentiously named the CPC, in reality, it is the ostentatious ‘Middle Kingdom’. Hence, the President heads the ‘Middle Kingdom’ as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the nation-state.

The deception is fundamental, the foundation of which was laid by the then CPC General Secretary Mao Zedong. The tradition goes on with a debilitating effect. The ‘party-state’ or the ‘state of the party’ of Han Communists under Mao (1893-1976) and now his copybook successor, Xi Jinping, goes on consolidating individual power, “absolute to the power of infinity”, over the institution; targeting neighbouring nations to make them surrender or make themselves courtier countries to present nazrana before the CPC. Especially if one is small, weak and fragile; because, by now, you know that the CPC (re)draws maps, distributes money or morsel, makes machine guns, and manages affairs on land, in air and on water.

As the CPC celebrates its centenary on July 1, 2021, expect the unexpected, unprecedented, unforeseen. Brace for an impending crisis on a date, time and place of the CPC’s choosing. Forewarned is forearmed. Take note of a few key dates: May 4, the anniversary of the Shanghai movement of 1919; March 31, the great escape of the Dalai Lama from the Communist-occupied Tibet to India in 1959; June 26, the start of the Korean war in 1950 to teach the Americans a lesson; June 15, the day Xi was born in 1953. Have you forgotten June 15, 2020, the day 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the Galwan clash?

October, too, is special for the CPC. The invasion of Tibet started in October 1950. Indian policemen were killed on Indian territory on October 21, 1959. The unprovoked invasion of India through Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh took place on October 20, 1962. The foundation day of the People’s Republic of China — October 1, 1949 — is always an important occasion to flex muscles. India, therefore, should be prepared for a moderate-to-severe turbulence, leading to loss of lives, prestige, land, and major economic and commercial shocks.

Lest you forget, 2021 marks 50 years of the visit of the redoubtable Henry Kissinger, the emissary of US President Nixon, to China in 1971. It was a top-secret ‘Mission China’, undertaken to establish contact and cultivate Chairman Mao Zedong. The Nixon-Kissinger duo, on behalf of Wall Street corporations, had eyed the vast Chinese market of (the then) 900 million. The Chinese, too, were glued to the US dollar, technology, investment and finance. Planning long-term, to penetrate deep inside enemy camp. Hence, when the affluent Americans came calling to the third world economies, in Chinese eyes, however, it was obeisance to the Han court — the US kowtowing before the ‘sons of Heaven’ in the ‘forbidden city’ of the CPC.

Today, the same US which was perceived to have had accepted the Chinese as equals in 1971, by presenting its credentials through Kissinger, appears to be “troubling the Middle Kingdom of the Yellow River”. “Cajoling, compelling, blackmailing” to stop the rise of the CPC in the world arena. What better an opportunity to settle the scores than to celebrate the CPC’s centenary, and the golden jubilee of the US visit to the Chinese court? By catching the foe on the wrong foot as the rampaging Chinese virus cripples the US deep inside its own camp!

That’s understandable, as the planned show goes on. But no! Why this sudden tremor in Nepal? Why is Kathmandu, the ideological Communist brethren of the CPC, on the boil? What till yesterday was a matter of pride for the CPC in Kathmandu is in turmoil ahead of the CPC’s centenary.

Nepal is undoubtedly important to the CPC for several reasons. Its geography juts into the heartland provinces of India, thereby giving China an incredible geopolitical advantage through an ideological comrade in the Himalayas. Kathmandu is one of the top 2021 items on the CPC’s plate.

However, despite Nepal being on the powerful Chinese political radar, India continues to be the biggest worry for China, owing to the ethnic commonality and historical fraternity transcending barriers. Plus, the Indian states adjacent to the open border of the two neighbours are intertwined since time immemorial, with or without politics. Astounding civilisational commonality overshadows all godly or man-made faultlines.

So, as the influence of the CPC over the Nepalese counterpart faced serious domestic issues, the Chinese were compelled to mobilise their heavyweight Communist comrades to camp in Kathmandu to do every possible thing to hold sway, and keep India at bay. The CPC has long been hyperactive in South Asia. After the Pakistan-penetrating CPEC project, the Ladakh transgression and the Galwan clash, the Myanmar-Bangladesh investment in defence supplies and futile venture in Bhutan (till now), Nepal just cannot be allowed to go out of the CPC’s clutches — under no circumstances in the CPC’s centenary year.

The perceived ‘Hindu Nepal’, adjacent to the Indian heartland, cannot be allowed to go away or change its political colour. It’s because, except Nepal, the CPC has no ideological base or commonality in any of the states from Indonesia to Iraq. Hence, the CPC under Xi can never be seen to be accepting defeat, weakening or break-up of the Nepal Communist Party, cruising under the perceived guidance and control of Beijing.

Friends and foes, fasten your seat belts in the CPC’s centenary year. Severe turbulence lies ahead.

Tribune News Service
Patiala, January 6

Members of the Delhi-Katra Expressway Sangharsh Committee today said they would hold a protest march here against the acquisition of land for the project. During their first press conference at the Patiala media club in the city, they said they had decided that they would not give their lands for the project, as construction of the highway would be detrimental for farmers.

Sukhdev Singh Dhillon, state president of the committee, said the expressway would be constructed for transportation of industrialists’ goods from their godowns. “The government wants to acquire lands of farmers at low rates for the benefit of the industrialists without rehabilitating the farmers. Trees will be razed along with houses. We are not allowing private surveyors to come to our villages. We are willing to talk with the government only after the farmers’ protest in Delhi comes to an end.”

The farmers said they had met several ministers and MLAs in this regard. “We also met PWD Minister Vijay Inder Singla and expressed our concerns, but we have not received any response. Now, after a number of press conferences, we will soon decide the date of the protest march in Patiala. Further steps will be decided after talks with farmers’ unions protesting at the Delhi

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 3

The local unit of the Congress today staged protests in parts of the city. They beat “thalis” and clapped to protest the increasing prices of gas, petrol, diesel and charges of water and electricity.

According to the Congress, its leaders and workers in Mani Majra, Maloya, Mauli Jagran, Bapudham Colony, Ramdarbar, Maloya Rehabilitation Colony, Dadumajra, Sectors 34, 35, 25, 26, 29, 40, 49, 20, 19 and 27, Kishangarh and Behlana village came out on roads and raised slogans against the “faulty” policies of the BJP government. They said they were supported by the local people.

City Congress president Pardeep Chhabra said by increasing the prices of the basic commodities, the BJP had left no stone unturned to leave the pockets of common people completely empty. The BJP leaders made tall promises and now they are forced to take U-turn on all false promises made to people.

“It seems the Modi-led BJP government has taken it upon themselves to completely destroy the nation. The farmers, students, labour, youth and even employees are often seen protesting on roads for their rights, but the ‘chowkidar of Ambani and Adani’ is absolutely deaf to the voice of common people,” he alleged.

“The government is only working for the benefits of a few capitalist friends of the BJP and it can be seen in the way NPAs are increasing and huge loans of these industrialist friends of Modi are being waived,” he alleged.

Senior leaders, block presidents and other office-bearers of the Chandigarh Congress took part in the protest.