New Delhi: Chief of Army Staff Gen M M Naravane held extensive talks with his South Korean counterpart Gen Nam Yeong Shin on ways to boost bilateral military ties, and visited several key installations, including the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), during his tour of the East Asian nation, officials said on Thursday.
The Chief of Army Staff also visited the headquarters of the South Korean Army at Gyeryong city where he was given a guard of honour, they said.
Admiral Karambir Singh, the Chief of the Naval Staff, during his visit to Indian Navy’s forward operating base at Okha, Gujarat, on New Year’s eve, on Thursday, December 31, 2020. PTI
New Delhi, December 31
Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh on Thursday took stock of Indian Navy’s operational preparedness in the Arabian Sea during a visit to a key naval installation in Gujarat, officials said.
Admiral Singh visited INS Dwarka which is a forward naval base at Okha in Gujarat.
The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) was briefed about key operational matters by senior officials on overall maritime operations and security aspects relevant to Gujarat, Daman and Diu (GD&D) naval areas.
He also took stock of coastal surveillance initiatives in the areas and interacted with personnel from the Okha naval station and other units, the Indian Navy said in a statement.
“Appreciating the quality work put in by the station, he encouraged the personnel to keep up the good work as INS Dwarka enters its Golden Jubilee year. The CNS also wished all personnel and families at GD&D area the very best for the New Year,” the Navy said. PTI
New Delhi: Days after the grave of 1947-48 War hero Brigadier Mohammad Usman was vandalised by unknown miscreants, the Army has finished restoration work.
While the Army is yet to give a formal confirmation, sources said the restoration work on the grave, which began yesterday, has been completed.
Brigadier Usman was the highest ranking officer to die in action during the first India-Pakistan war in 1947-48. On 26 December, his grave, located in south Delhi’s Batla House Qabristan near Jamia Millia Islamia, was found damaged.
The Army has now repaired the marble work around the grave and Brigadier Usman’s name, which was damaged, has also been written again. The grave was also decorated with flowers and a wreath was laid on it.
It is still not known when the act of vandalism took place and who was responsible for it.
Speaking to ThePrint, Professor Iqtidar Khan of the Department of Islamic Studies, who also oversees the maintenance of the graveyard, confirmed that some people from Brigadier Usman’s regiment came on 29 December to seek permission from the registrar to restore the grave.
He also said the university was not responsible for maintaining the graves but only the graveyard, which also contains the graves of many other prominent personalities including author Mujeeb Rizvi and Qurratulain Hyder.
Also read: It took Pakistan three defeats to understand the flaw in its war strategy against India
After the alleged vandalism was reported, the Army had written to Jamia Millia Islamia on 29 December seeking permission to carry out repairs on the grave.
“The university wanted a letter from the Army for the record and it has been sent. We will carry out the repairs,” a senior officer had told ThePrint.
Army sources had also said the matter, which is a “protocol and emotional issue” for the force, was being looked into at the highest level.
Brigadier Usman, who is remembered as ‘Naushera Ka Sher’, took over command of the 50 (Independent) Parachute Brigade at Naushera in December 1947, which halted the advance of Pakistani tribals in the area and recaptured it from Pakistan.
He died when an enemy army shell exploded near him in Naushera on 3 July 1948.
Also read: 49 years later, lessons that remain to be learnt from 1971 India-Pakistan War
Women farmers during their protest against the new farm laws, at Tikri border in New Delhi. — PTI
New Delhi, December 31
The lunch diplomacy of Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has played an instrumental role in shaping up a positive development following the sixth round of talks between the government and the representatives of farmers’ organisations.
Unlike the previous five meetings that ended on an inconclusive note, the sixth round of talks held here at Vigyan Bhawan on Wednesday saw the government and farmers coming on the same page on two key issues out of four.
The way the Wednesday meeting between the farmers and the government happened, the possibilities of solving the farmers’ movement have increased.
Farmer leaders are also hopeful that the way the government on Wednesday agreed to the demands like keeping farmers out of the purview of stubble burning and continuation of electricity subsidy, in the same way, the meeting on January 4 will also be positive.
The agenda for the January 4 meeting has been set.
This meeting is to be held on two issues like the three agricultural laws and the guarantee of MSP.
Also read: CM Pinarayi Vijayan moves resolution against central farm laws in Kerala Assembly
Several Delhi border points remain closed due to farmers’ protest
Undeterred by bitter cold, more farmers leave for Delhi
During the lunch break at Vigyan Bhawan on Wednesday at 2.30 pm, two hours after the sixth round meeting, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Union Minister of State Som Prakash reached out to the farm leaders when they were getting ready to eat the ‘langar’ meal.
Many BJP activists today quit the party to join Congress in a village near Abohar. Tribune Photo
Abohar, December 31
Led by former sarpanch Lal Chand, who had actively supported the BJP-SAD alliance in the 2017 Vidhan Sabha election, a group of BJP workers in Daulatpura village today announced to join the Congress.
Speaking on behalf of the group, Bhup Ram Godara said they had quit the BJP over the farm laws. “Some BJP activists requested us not to quit the party. But we said as the party had betrayed farmers, there was no point in staying with it,” said Jatinder Singh, a farmer.
Another farmer, Krishan Singh, said residents of the tail-end villages had been crying for canal renovation for many years, the demand was fulfilled by the Congress government. — OC
Sportspersons have been camping at Singhu in solidarity with farmers. Tribune Photo
Aparna Banerji
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, December 31
International kabaddi players, wrestlers, footballers and basketball players, some of whom returned from abroad, havebeen taking turns to serve the farmers from day one at the Singhu border.
An accommodation to house 1,500 people, a langar feeding people three times a day along with snacks all through the day include the facilities the state’s sportspersons have been offering.
From November 27 when the initial ‘jathas’ of farmers were just heading to Singhu, three sportspersons from Punjab were busy setting up langar and a place to stay for the congregation at the border. While Tony Sandhu, former footballer; Mangi Bagga, former Captain of Indian kabaddi team; and Manjinder Singh, international kabaddi player, were the first to set things up, a bustling stream of international and Indian sports luminaries from the US, UK, Seechewal, Ludhiana and Tarn Taran also lined up to offer sewa. They wash clothes and cook food for the ‘sangat’.
Sandeep Singh from Nangal Ambian, an international kabaddi player, returned from England to come to Singhu. Satnam Singh Bhamra, NBA player, postponed his trip to the US to serve the farmers. Other players who have offered sewa at the langar as well as laundry and accommodation include former Indian kabaddi team members Sukha Bhandal and Nanni Gopalpur, international kabaddi players Khushi Duggal, Manjot Machiwara, Sultan and Jagga Chitti, international wrestler Jassa Patti, Asian silver medallist Amandeep Hothi, Nek Mullapur, among others.
Earning respect among farmers, Tony was even a part of farmers’ deliberations at Singhu on the future course of the agitation. For the New Year, a langar and an evening of music from singer Jazzy B is what the players have in store.
Col (retd) Narendra Kumar
Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, December 31
Indian Army’s explorer and surveyor of the Siachen Glacier, Col Narendra “Bull” Kumar (retd), died following a brief illness in New Delhi on Thursday. He was 87 years of age and one of the most respected mountaineers, who was awarded the Kirti Chakra, the second highest peace time gallantry award.
It was in 1981 that Col Kumar surveyed each mountain pass atop the glacier and hoisted Indian flags. Three years after his report, the Indian Army captured the strategic icy frontier. It was he who, following a secret expedition, had made a report on strategic importance of Siachen which had prompted then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to okay operation Meghdoot on April 13, 1984. The glacier was captured as Indian troops raced to hold the ridgeline beating Pakistan Army to the top.
The 109-km actual ground position line (AGPL) that separates India and Pakistan on the glacier is the result of Col Kumar’s mountaineering expedition.
Born in Rawalpindi, now in Pakistan, Col Kumar was commissioned into the Kumoan regiment. The Army had named the launch base of the expedition as “Kumar base”, a rare honour for serving officer. The base is still called “Kumar”.
hoto for representation only.
Ravinder Saini
Tribune News Service
Rewari, December 31
A group of protesting farmers camping at the Delhi-Jaipur highway for the past 18 days today removed the two-layer barricading at Shahjahanpur (Rajasthan)-Khera (Rewari) border to move to the Capital. The police initially used tear gas shells to stop them but later allowed them to go.
Vendors from across country join stir
To express solidarity with the protesting farmers, vegetable and fruit vendors from across the country reached the Singhu dharna site on Thursday. Sheikh Salman of the National Hawker Federation said 600-700 vendors, including women, had come to the Singhu border.
Tension prevailed as the farmers were thereafter stopped by the Rewari police near Bhudla village, 12 km from the border. Hundreds of farmers however stayed back on the Rajasthan side of the Shahjahanpur-Rewari border. The police had to divert traffic on the highway to avoid a jam following the sudden movement of farmers. There were long queues of vehicles on the highway as well as alternative routes, causing inconvenience to the commuters.
Kerala resolution against farm laws
Expressing solidarity with the agitating farmers, the Kerala Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution demanding withdrawal of the contentious central laws. The lone BJP member, O Rajagopal, also backed the resolution, saying “it is the democratic spirit.”
“Around 2 pm, nearly 130 farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan in 20 tractor-trailers suddenly started removing boulders and barricades on the highway. The police lobbed teargas shells but the farmers did not stop and broke the barricades with their tractors,” Ashok Arya of the All India Kisan Sabha said.
Arya added that farmer leaders present at the Shahjahanpur-Rewari protest site had appealed to the group not to move ahead to the Capital without receiving directions from the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha. Rewari SP Abhishek Jorwal said the police would not allow the farmers to go ahead.
