In units of the Indian armed forces, alcohol is not permitted to young recruits until a minimum number of years for service
Photo for representation.
Vijay Mohan Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 26
A study by military medical specialists has found that the ‘age at first drink’ (AFD) in the Indian armed forces is markedly delayed as compared with that among the general population.
This implies that those in uniform tend to begin to consume alcohol at a higher age than their civilian contemporaries.
Terming it to be a novel finding, the specialists also held that contrary to earlier studies, there was no correlation between AFD and the severity of alcohol dependence at detection in the Indian armed forces.
The study was undertaken by three psychiatrists at a large tertiary care multi-specialist hospital over a period of 24 months and has been published in the latest issue of the Medical Journal Armed Forces India.
Alcohol dependence syndrome is a public health problem worldwide and AFD is among the factors that impacts its occurrence. AFD, according to the study, has been linked to early onset and increased severity of alcohol dependence.
Pointing out that alcohol dependence among military personnel differs significantly from the general population, the authors state that checks and balances exist in the Indian military similar to that prevalent in other armies across the world.
In units of the Indian armed forces, alcohol is not permitted to young recruits until a minimum number of years for service, thus providing for a minimum age for purchase of alcohol.
In addition, there are several other checks in the unit such as officers and junior leaders sensitizing the “at risk” individuals about the consequences of risky drinking, peer intervention and an effective monitoring and reporting system that provides for an early detection of alcohol related problems
The study has highlighted the effectiveness of such measures among the Indian armed forces personnel which is reflected in lower severity of alcohol dependence and could possibly be due to late onset of drinking or early detection of alcohol related problems.
India-Pakistan Brigadiers meet as peace holds along LoC, terror camps remain a concern
New Delhi: Amid a fragile peace at the Line of Control continuing, Brigade-level commanders from India and Pakistan met Friday to discuss implementation mechanisms in accordance with the ceasefire understanding reached a month ago.
The Brigade Commander Level Flag Meeting was held between Indian and Pakistan Army at Poonch Rawalkot Crossing Point earlier in the day.https://ef8512271f29acb9633a48cfd89ec871.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html
In an official statement, the Army said that this was to “discuss implementation mechanisms as per the understanding”.
The meeting comes a day after Army chief General M.M. Naravane welcomed the guns falling silent at the LoC but flagged the continued presence of terror infrastructure, including terrorist launchpads on the Pakistani side.
He asserted that it cannot be business as usual unless the neighbouring country stops supporting terrorism.https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.447.1_en.html#goog_24347383
Army sources said that the meeting between the Brigadiers was to resolve issues at local level, which basically pertained to civilians living close to the LoC.
The sources backed Gen. Naravane’s statement on terror infrastructure being present on the Pakistani side of the LoC but underlined that no infiltration attempt has been made in the last one month.
Giving details of the terror infrastructure across the LoC, sources in the defence and security establishment told ThePrint that there are a total of 27 launchpads for terrorists.
Besides this, there are at least 17 terror training camps that continue to operate in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
On the terror infrastructure on the Pakistani side, Gen. Narvane had said India has intelligence inputs about them.
“The terror infrastructure and launchpads remain in place. We have detailed intelligence of each of those camps, locations and likely strength of terrorists awaiting and who have undergone training and are present there, perhaps waiting for an opportunity to cross over,” he said.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday addressed the voters of Assam virtually urging them to vote for the Congress in the elections starting tomorrow and pledging not to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act if elected to power.
The former PM, who represented Assam in the Rajya Sabha for 28 years from 1991 to 2019, said the Congress would in fact work to repeal CAA.
“If elected to power, the Congress will not implement the Citizenship Amendment Act. It will also do its utmost to repeal this Act,” Singh said in a video recorded message released by the Congress on the eve of phase one elections in Assam tomorrow.
He said the party had published a people’s manifesto to implement promises that are practical.
“Five lakh unemployed youth will be provided jobs in the the public sector. Twenty five lakh unemployed youth will be provided jobs in the private sector. The daily wage of tea plantation workers will be increased to Rs 365. These workers will also receive other social security benefits. Every household will receive up to 200 units of free electricity, the former PM said seeking votes for the party.
Singh said under the promised Grahini Samman scheme the Congress will provide every housewife a monthly allowance of Rs 2,000 every month.
“Your future and the future of your children is in your hands. I urge you to vote for the Congress Party and the Maha Jot,” he urged calling Assam his “second home”.
Singh said he was deeply grateful for the trust and affections of the people of Assam and the friendship of late Hiteshwar Saikia and Tarun Gogoi.
“The people of Assam enabled me to serve the country as finance minister 45 years and as prime minister of India for 10 years. Today I am speaking as one of you. The time has come again to cast your ballot. You must vote wisely,” said the former PM noting that the people of Assam had endured suffering due to to prolonged periods of insurgency.
“Under the leadership of late Tarun Gogoi from 2001 to 2016 Assam made rapid progress on the path of development and peace but it is now facing very serious setback. The society is being divided on the basis of religion language and culture. The basic rights of the common man are being denied there is atmosphere of tension and off fear. Ill-conceived notebandi and badly implemented GST have weakened the economy,” said Singh attacking principal rivals and incumbents BJP in Assam.
He said people and women have lost their livelihoods.
“The youth are desperate for jobs. The rise in the prices of petrol coma diesel korma and cooking gas is making life difficult for the common man. The poor are becoming poor and COVID-19 is making matters words. You must vote for a government that upholds the constitution of India and the principles of democracy. You must vote for a government that will care for every citizen for every community. You must vote for a government that will ensure inclusive growth, a government that will put Assam once again on the path of peace and development,” urged Singh, a star campaigner for Congress who hasn’t been able to travel due to COVID restrictions.
He said the Assam Congress is committed to protect the unique language history and culture and ensure the well-being of all communities.
“We have brought out a people’s Manifesto with promises that are are practical. As a measure of our determination we have also announced five guarantees to the people,” said Singh.
India had pitched its case in a post-conflict Sri Lanka at the UN on two pillars — sovereignty of Sri Lanka and the rights of Tamils. This new strategic formulation for the first time equated the political aspirations of Tamils with recognising the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka drawn from the 1987 agreement which involved the sacrifice of 1,200 Indian soldiers who prevented the break-up of Lanka. That and assistance in defeating the LTTE, overriding Tamil politics, was the litmus test.
Bridge the hiatus: Sri Lanka has refused to budge on allowing international investigations into human rights abuses during the civil war. Reuters
Maj-Gen Ashok K Mehta (retd)
military commentator
Effusive with optimism over a crucial vote against Sri Lanka on accountability over alleged human rights violations during the war on Tuesday at the UNHRC, Geneva, Foreign Secretary Jayanath Colombage said: ‘India has assured Sri Lanka of support’. Earlier he noted: ‘India cannot abandon us, we are immediate family’. In the seven UN resolutions on Sri Lanka since 2009, India voted in favour of the resolution in 2009, 2010 and 2012, and against it in 2013, while abstaining in 2014 which was welcomed by Sri Lanka. In 2015, India endorsed the US-Sri Lanka co-sponsored UNHRC resolution 30/1 from which Colombo withdrew last year with the return of Rajapaksas. On Tuesday, India abstained even as an overwhelming majority voted against Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka has dragged its feet on reconciliation and accountability, vaulting from partial to full action to non-compliance. Equally, it has dithered on the implementation of the 13th Amendment, its position determined by the political clout of the government and India’s own political compulsions in Tamil Nadu. The West, led by the US and Europe, have imposed commercial and trade sanctions. While China and Russia have provided Colombo political cover, the West has been aggressively intrusive. India has acted in its national interest — either abstained from voting or supported resolution, and once voted against it.
A lot of water has flown down the Mahaweli river since. The Rajapaksa brothers are back with an unprecedented majority following the Easter Sunday bombing (2019), abolition of 19th Amendment and a likely new Constitution that could terminate the chequered 13th Amendment, putting paid to reconciliation with minority Tamils. Colombo is aware that provincial autonomy in the North within a united and indivisible Sri Lanka is a red line for New Delhi and tinkering with it is according to former President Maithripala Sirisena, ‘playing with fire’. China and Sinhala majoritarianism have emboldened the Rajapaksas to try and dare India.
Recent events — national anthem in Sinhala only, militarisation of the North, bulldozing the civilian war memorial at Jaffna University, pardon of Sergeant Sunil Ratnayake who killed eight Tamils, refusal to allow burial of Muslims till recently, cancellation of India-Japan joint venture for the Eastern Container Terminal in Colombo, offer of a solar project to China off Jaffna, plan to terminate the 35-year lease of Trincomalee Oil Tank Farms to India — are troubling. Still, the Rajapaksas have called India ‘the family’, the rest as ‘friends’ and elaborated its ‘India First’ foreign policy which was earlier reliance on New Delhi for security and Beijing for development.
It is against this background that India abstained from voting at Geneva. On March 14, President Rajapaksa had called Prime Minister Modi for India’s help to defeat the resolution with Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardene, speaking to his counterpart S Jaishankar earlier. But the most active solicitor of support was Colombage. On 13th Amendment, his views are in sync with the government, branding some Tamil leaders as leaning towards separatism. On January 15, senior Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R Sampanthan had said that Tamil parties had sought an international probe, including reference to the International Criminal Court, to investigate genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity
Last year, suddenly after five years, the Rajapaksas withdrew from UNHRC 30/1 under which it had agreed to time-bound investigation into the war crimes that took place during the war. The first draft (January 22) was damning and included ‘warnings of militarisation of new government (28 serving or retired or military or intelligence officials in key posts), reversal of important constitutional safeguards, political obstruction of accountability, exclusionary rhetoric and intimidation of civil society and use of anti-terrorism laws’. UNHRC’s Michelle Bachelet said the ‘present government was proactively obstructing investigations into past crimes to prevent accountability and that this has had a devastating effect on families seeking truth and justice’.
The second draft (February 19) called on Colombo to implement 30/1 from which it pulled out and two roll-on resolutions — 34/1 and 40/1. The present resolution goes back to an agreement at Kandy on May 26, 2009, between UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Mahinda Rajapaksa
The President appointed a Sri Lankan judge and a three-member presidential inquiry which produced a report called Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission of March 2012. While the government noted that human rights violations took place during the war, it declined to accept the report. In 2015, with a national government in place, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera accepted to host international judges in hybrid courts. But both President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickeremesinghe chickened out. Heads or tails, Sri Lanka refused to budge on allowing international investigations into alleged war crimes
The Truth, Justice and Reconciliation conundrum is essentially stuck around missing persons. These relate to the 13,784 people who had surrendered on May 19, 2009. Gotabaya had disclosed while he was campaigning for president, that they were subsequently rehabilitated, re-integrated and given employment. The 13,784 figure he used to reveal as Defence Secretary during the annual army seminars at Colombo after 2011 that I attended. But this figure is probably different from the number that actually surrendered. One month into office, President Rajapaksa told the UN Resident Coordinator in Colombo that ‘thousands who were reportedly missing were actually dead’. There are still hundreds of former LTTE cadres in jail without trial for more than 10 years.
India had pitched its case in a post-conflict Sri Lanka at the UN on two pillars — sovereignty of Sri Lanka and the rights of Tamils under 13A. This new strategic formulation for the first time equated the political aspirations of Tamils with recognising the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka drawn from the 1987 Indo-Lanka bilateral agreement which involved the sacrifice of 1,200 Indian soldiers who prevented the break-up of Sri Lanka. That above all and the active Indian assistance in defeating LTTE in 2009, overriding domestic Tamil politics, was the litmus test. Colombo and New Delhi must reconcile and realign on 13th Amendment without delay and move on.
Indo-Bangladesh bonds ‘in large measure’ due to Indira Gandhi’s role: Sonia’s message to Sheikh Hasina
Gandhi said 1971 was as much a transformative year for India as it was for Bangladesh
Congress president Sonia Gandhi. File photo
Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 26
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday sent a congratulatory video message to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina recalling the role late Indira Gandhi played in the liberation of Bangladesh and citing the challenges being faced by the two countries.
Gandhi said the special bond between the people of the two nations was largely due to the role Indira Gandhi played in 1971.
The Congress chief while noting the “economic, political and environmental challenges being faced by both the nations” added, “Most of all both Bangladesh and India which have been beacons for the celebrations of diversities are being called upon today to protect and strengthen their composite heritage and their glorious traditions of liberal pluralism.”
Gandhi’s message to Bangladesh
President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who had invited her to be part of the birth centenary celebrations of the father of the nation ‘Bangabandhu’ Sheikh Mujibur Rehman and of the golden jubilee of Bangladesh’s independence also noted how 50 years ago the courageous people of Bangladesh scripted a whole new destiny for themselves transforming both the history and the geography of the subcontinent.
“Over the past five decades, Bangladesh’s remarkable achievements in social development, community participation, economic growth and other areas have been very impressive and have received global recognition. We in India have always had a special relationship with the people of Bangladesh. This has been in very large measure because of the role Indira Gandhi played in the historic events of 1971 and the deep bonds of mutual respect, admiration and deep friendship that Banga Bandhu and she established,” said Sonia Gandhi who could not visit Bangladesh due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.
Gandhi said 1971 was as much a transformative year for India as it was for Bangladesh.
“It was a year that saw Indira Gandhi in all her magnificence as a political leader and statesman. Soon thereafter Sheikh Mujibur Rahman himself emerged on the world stage as the leader of his people,” Sonia recalled.
She said both India and Bangladesh face many challenges, economic, political and environmental, and mentioned how she personally “lived through the transformative hours, days, weeks and months of 1971 by Indira Gandhi’s side in her home along with late Rajiv Gandhi.”
“I am personally delighted to share the pride of Sheikh Hasina and millions of her countrymen and women,” said the Congress chief.
India must also recall the political and diplomatic successes of 1971 under Indira
Tough as nails: Indira Gandhi’s government achieved the integration of diverse elements to convert challenges into opportunities. File photo
Vivek Katju
Ex-secretary, Ministry of External Affairs
PM Modi will participate in the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh’s independence on March 26 in Dhaka as the guest of honour. This is only fitting because of the role played by India under the leadership of PM Indira Gandhi in assisting Bangladesh in its war of independence in 1971 to end West Pakistani colonialism. The focus in Dhaka will be on the courage and resilience of the Bangladeshi people who overcame the genocidal onslaught of the Pakistani army against its then co-nationals. It will also be on Sheikh Mujibur Rehman whose birth centenary Bangladesh is currently celebrating. He embodied the aspirations of the then East Pakistani people for equality within Pakistan, and as that prospect became remote, for throwing off the West Pakistani yoke.
Amidst all the celebrations, will Indira Gandhi’s leadership be recalled, and if so, to what extent and in what terms? Also, later in the year, as India marks the golden jubilee of its victory in the 1971 War, how will it honour the leader who led the country with skill and iron determination to victory against very great odds? Her later mistakes cannot take away her 1971 achievement.
Whenever people look back to the events of 1971, their attention is claimed by the success of the Indian Army or shifts to the controversies generated by the Simla Agreement of July 1972. Consequently, the political and diplomatic successes of 1971, which provided the foundation for military achievements, have fallen into the crevices of public memory. However, Indian diplomacy leading to the Simla Agreement and Indira Gandhi’s specific role in its conclusion is evaluated—and certainly criticism can be levelled on many aspects of the agreement and the assumptions that led to it— should be segregated from the political and diplomatic management of 1971.
But first, how should the events of 1971 be evaluated in strategic terms, both on account of their challenges and opportunities? After the trauma of the Partition with its attendant dislocation, the next strategic challenge the country faced was in 1965 when Pakistan sought to wrest J&K. Did the extended 1971 drama pose a greater threat to the nation’s interests as compared to the 1965 Pakistani aggression? Since 1971, has the country been confronted by an overall threat that can compare to that difficult year? Howsoever strategic experts view these different situations, there is little doubt that 1971 was a supremely difficult year which required flawless coordination of all aspects of national power. These included military and diplomatic and also political to ensure unity and social cohesion as the country navigated the enormous obstacles that came its way.
Indira Gandhi’s government achieved the integration of all these diverse elements to convert challenges into opportunities. Indian actions led to basic changes in the map of the Indian subcontinent. The independence of Bangladesh also eroded the view that religion by itself can be a lasting glue for nationalism, thereby destroying the two-nation theory.
The December 1970 Pakistani election shocked the Pakistan army and West Pakistan political elite because Sheikh Mujib’s party, the Awami League, secured 167 of the 169 seats of East Pakistan and had sufficient numbers to form the federal government. The army led by the then dictator and President Gen Yahya Khan and the West Pakistan political leaders were determined to prevent this from happening, for they feared that Mujib would end their domination by insisting on provincial autonomy and the end of exploitation of the country’s eastern wing. When negotiations failed, the army began an unrestrained massacre of the Bangladeshi people on the night of March 25, 1971. It especially targeted the Hindu population. Refugees started to pour into India, and by the time armed hostilities began in December, around one crore had come into India. It was an intolerable strain.
India had gone through political turmoil with a split in the Congress in 1969 and elections called by Indira Gandhi were held in March, which she swept. She was sworn in as PM for a fresh term, only around 10 days before the Pakistan army’s crackdown in Bangladesh. As the refugees began to cross over, people demanded military intervention to stop the slaughter. The military made it clear that it would take months to prepare and would prefer to wait till November, when the weather would permit quick and decisive action to liberate Bangladesh. Diplomatic work was also necessary to prepare the ground for the intervention, especially as it became clear that the US was against the break-up of Pakistan
India’s diplomatic efforts were directed at cultivating western liberal opinion, which, when facts were brought to its attention, was appalled at the Pakistani action. But western governments and Islamic countries remained unmoved, for they wanted the preservation of Pakistan’s territorial integrity. President Richard Nixon and his NSA, Henry Kissinger, remained hostile to India. China, too, made threatening noises. The top leaderships of both countries were personally grateful to Yahya Khan for his role in enabling their initial contacts in secrecy.
In this international situation, India took the precaution of securing Soviet support through a friendship treaty which implicitly ensured its support against aggression. Indira Gandhi did not let India’s commitment to non-alignment to inhibit the demands of realism. She also gave full support and shelter to Bangladeshi leaders who set up a government in exile, and also the Mukti Bahini that launched a resistance campaign.
Indira Gandhi’s speech in Parliament, announcing the surrender of Pakistani forces and declaring ‘Dhaka is the free capital of a free country’, is one of the shining moments of the Republic’s history, as is the iconic photograph of Pakistan General, AAK Niazi, signing the instrument of surrender.
The Alaska meeting ended without any joint statement or formal expression of willingness to work together, even in areas where both say their interests intersect, such as climate change and rolling back of nuclear programmes of North Korea and Iran. The meeting helped the two sides in gaining a sense of their differing perceptions and the future trajectory of their relationship.
Acrimonious: The growing differences in the mutual perceptions of the US and China are due to the belief in superiority of their political systems. PTI
Yogesh Gupta
Former Ambassador
At the Alaska meetings with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan from March 18-19, 2021, China’s Politburo member and top diplomat, Yang Jiechi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi had tough and contentious discussions on America’s growing criticism of China’s human rights record in Xinjiang, Tibet, suppression of democratic rights in Hong Kong, cyber attacks against the US and aggressive behaviour towards the allies and partners of the US.
Responding to Blinken’s two minutes of opening remarks with his 16 minutes of diatribe, Yang accused the US of condescension and hypocrisy. He said the US values did not represent the international public opinion and it was not qualified to give any lectures to China on these issues. China would not countenance any interference on its sovereignty issues, such as Hong Kong, Tibet, Xinjiang or Taiwan. Yang insisted that the US must give China equality of treatment.
Though the meeting helped the two sides in gaining a sense of their differing perceptions and the future trajectory of their relationship, it made clear that the differences and disagreements between them would be the new normal. Any hope of altering China’s behaviour, domestically or towards the US and its allies, would be a long process with little chance of success.
On the Chinese side, any expectation that the Biden administration would resume normal ties or remove tariffs on China’s exports, sanctions for denial of sensitive technologies, visa and other restrictions on the Communist party members, Chinese students, journalists and companies, was quickly dispelled.
The increasing acrimony between the US and China reflects the growing differences in their mutual perceptions due to the belief in the superiority of their political systems, increasing weight in the shifting balance of global power and domestic pressures.
President Biden believes that with the $1.9-trillion stimulus, the US economy is gathering strength and with the superiority of the US political system, its technological and military strength and growing support of its numerous allies and partners, the US would ultimately prevail in its competition over China. Given the growing anti-China sentiment in the US and strong pressure from the Republicans and many Democrats, the Biden administration can’t appear to be weak in its resolve. Biden said that he was proud of the stand taken by his Secretary of State.
China’s President Xi Jinping has played up on the superiority of the Chinese political system to deliver on controlling the pandemic and revival of its economy. He believes that the East is rising and the West is declining and that time is on China’s side. The more powerful that China becomes, the less unbridled the US would be.
Where do they go from here? Blinken said the US would consult with its allies and partners in the NATO, EU and Asia and factor in the Chinese perceptions in the US new strategy to win the long-term competition against her. On March 22, the US, EU, UK and Canada concurrently announced additional sanctions on a number of Chinese officials for human rights violations in Xinjiang. China responded by imposing its own sanctions on a range of European individuals and organisations, thus tail-spinning their relationship further and raising question marks over the approval of the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) by the European Parliament.
After Biden called Russian President Putin a “killer”, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov decided to visit China on March 22. The two countries accused the US of creating a Cold War-like alliance and hit out against the Western sanctions tied to human rights. They decided to deepen cooperation in economic, political and military fields to counter the US pressure. China is also consulting with other countries estranged with the US, such as Turkey and Iran, to form a group to show that it is not isolated.
Against these perceptions, the US-China rivalry is bound to gather fresh steam. Aware that China has deployed more military assets in the East China Sea than the US (China’s 1,250 fighter jets to America’s 250, six times more submarines and nine times as many warships than the US), the US is likely to station more military assets in the region to honour its security commitments to Japan, Taiwan and other countries. There will be more joint military drills in the East China Sea to deter Beijing’s aggressive posture.
The allies and partners of the US who want to maintain their security relationship with the US and economic linkages with Beijing would have the difficult task of constantly adjusting their ties to the evolving situation. Quad countries are already beefing up their military preparedness. The US has asked Japan to increase its military spending from the current 1 per cent of its GDP to about 2 per cent. The US has discussed various measures to augment India’s security during the recent visit of its Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Notwithstanding its public posture, the Chinese leadership, including Xi, is not happy at the outcome of the Alaska summit, as it has dampened the prospects of Xi’s early meeting with Biden, which Xi had arranged successfully with Biden’s predecessors Obama and Trump.
The deterioration of China’s relationship with the US will not go down well with senior Chinese leaders as the country celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party on July 1, 2021 and Xi seeks a third term in 2022. China is now adopting a low profile and has cancelled the military parade in the celebrations for the party’s 100th anniversary.
Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev are a source of inspiration for one generation after another. Bhagat Singh had said: ‘Individuals can be crushed, but not the ideas, which have a longer life than individuals.’ Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were crushed as individuals by the British rulers, but their ideas continue to spread fragrance.
BRAVE YOUNG MEN: The three comrades went to the gallows together on March 23, 1931. Tribune photo
Chaman Lal
90th death anniversary of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru & Sukhdev
BHAGAT Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev are regarded as supreme martyrs of the Indian freedom struggle. On the 90th anniversary of the trio’s martyrdom, Bhagat Singh continues to be in the spotlight, even as Rajguru and Sukhdev find less mention.
Sukhdev was born on May 15, 1907, as per family records and on February 18, 1907, as per his school certificate mentioned date, in Naughara family house in a now crowded area of Ludhiana, although the family was living in Lyallpur where Bhagat Singh’s family also lived. Since Sukhdev’s father died early, he was brought up by his uncle Achint Ram Thapar, a nationalist in his own right of Lyallpur. Two biographies of Sukhdev are authentic, written by his brothers Jaidev Thapar and Mathura Das Thapar. Jaidev’s work is not available, while Mathura Das’ Mere Bhai Sukhdev has got many reprints and continues to be in circulation.
Mathura Das Thapar’s biography of his brother is well documented and carries a few writings of Sukhdev as well. A copy of the proceedings of the Lahore conspiracy trial with Sukhdev’s notes on the sidelines is part of the National Archives of India, gifted by Sukhdev’s family. Sukhdev, along with Bejoy Kumar Sinha and Bhagwati Charan Vohra, was an ideological comrade of Bhagat Singh. Mathura Das Thapar, in his memoirs of Sukhdev, had mentioned the titles of books which both Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev had read and discussed for hours, sometimes the whole night.
In their political organisation— Hindustan Socialist Republican Association Army (HSRA), while Bhagat Singh was the coordinator for all states, Sukhdev was the convenor of Punjab state. Both Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev were college mates at National College, Lahore. Sukhdev’s name figures nowhere in the Saunders assassination case, known as the second Lahore conspiracy case, the first one being the Ghadar Party case in which Kartar Singh Sarabha and six others were executed.https://1b4e7be1fb991778568c5cc708ce593a.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html
Sukhdev, being trapped in the usual police lies-based investigation of always saying that the other accused have already told the whole story, had made a statement, but still was being careful by not mentioning the party shelters. He was neither part of the assassination, in which Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Jai Gopal had taken part and Chandrashekhar Azad had overseen the whole operation. Yet, he owned every part of the assassination plan and preferred to die with his comrades rather than save his own life. The farcical part of the trial and ‘colonial justice’ was the death sentence for Sukhdev, which could not have been given in any judicial system, as AG Noorani underlined in his classic book The Trial of Bhagat Singh.
There are two letters written by Bhagat Singh to Sukhdev. Both have been published, but Sukhdev’s letters to Bhagat Singh have not been found. Both letters deal with the philosophical themes of love and suicide. While Sukhdev’s ideas or perception of love was somewhat traditional and conservative, Bhagat Singh was more liberal and realist in his perception about love. He tells Sukhdev in his letter that love is a feeling which can give great strength to the revolutionaries, by giving an example of Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Mazzini: “In the context of discussing someone’s character, one thing that is worth thinking about is if love has ever proved to be helpful to any person. Let me answer this today — yes, it did — for Mazzini. You must surely have read that he was not able to endure the first unsuccessful rebellion, the grief of a heart-wrenching failure, and the memory of martyred comrades. He could have either gone mad or committed suicide, but with a letter from his beloved, he became not only as strong as the others, but stronger than everybody else” (Letter to Sukhdev, April 5, 1929).
Both friends had changed their opinion in jail. Sukhdev, who despised the idea of suicide outside, not tolerating the sufferings of jail, became a votary of suicide in prison, while Bhagat Singh outside jail was more sympathetic to a man who committed suicide due to sufferings in life. In a September 1930 letter, a few days before the death sentence to all three was announced, Bhagat Singh rebuked Sukhdev inside the jail itself on thinking about suicide: “Those of us who are certain to get the death sentence should wait patiently for the day when this sentence would be pronounced, after which they will be hanged. Even that death will be beautiful, but to commit suicide, to put an end to one’s life, to escape some suffering — that is cowardice. I wish to tell you that it is hardship that makes a person complete.”
Rajguru, born on August 24, 1908, at Khed village, now renamed as Rajguru Nagar near Pune, was a jolly fellow and wanted to be ahead of Bhagat Singh in everything. He was angry at not being sent to Central Assembly for throwing the bomb. He walked from his village to Benares where he got admission in a Sanskrit school and joined the HRA. Bhagat Singh was supposed to shoot Scott in front of SSP office in Lahore, while Jai Gopal was to give a signal of the SSP coming out of the office. While Jai Gopal gave the signal mistaking Saunders for Scott, who was the Deputy SP, Rajguru impulsively shot Saunders, while Bhagat Singh could recognise that it was not Scott, and shouted to Chandrashekhar Azad that the person was not Scott. But before he could even complete the sentence, Rajguru had shot Saunders, which compelled Bhagat Singh to shoot too. At the gallows also, it was Rajguru who first got the rope put around his neck to be hanged.
With such tales of bravery, the three martyrs are a source of inspiration for one generation after another. Bhagat Singh had said: “Individuals can be crushed, but not the ideas, which have a longer life than individuals.” Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were crushed as individuals by the British rulers, but their ideas continue to spread fragrance.
Amarinder sanctions Rs 1.25 cr for development of native villages of 5 Punjab soldiers killed in Galwan Valley clash
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday sanctioned Rs 25 lakh each for the development of native villages of five soldiers from the state killed during the Galwan Valley clash last year.
Reviewing the various welfare measures for ex-servicemen, he said it was a humble effort on the part of the state government to undertake the development of the villages of the soldiers killed in the Galwan Valley clash.
According to an official statement, Amarinder sanctioned Rs 25 lakh each for the development of Seel village in Patiala district from where Naib Subedar Mandeep Singh of 3 Medium Regiment belonged, Bhojraj village in Gurdaspur of Naib Subedar Satnam Singh of 3 Medium Regiment, Birewal Dogra in Mansa of Sepoy Gurtej Singh, a Vir Chakra awardee of 3 Punjab, Tolewal village in Sangrur of Sepoy Gurbrinder Singh of 3 Punjab, and Mardanheri village in Patiala of Lance Naik Saleem Khan of 58 Engineer Regiment.
Apart from the total Rs 1.25 crore sanctioned for the development of these five villages, the chief minister also approved Rs 18 crore for the Punjab State War Heroes Memorial and Museum at Amritsar, the statement said.
The Indian Army has built a memorial for its 20 personnel who were killed while valiantly fighting Chinese troops in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on June 15 last year.
In order to provide boarding and lodging facilities to ex-servicemen, war widows and their family members, Amarinder sanctioned Rs 4 crore for the construction of Sainik Rest Houses at Mansa and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar.
He also approved Rs 39.50 lakh for the construction of the Victory Tower and renovation of the War Memorial at Asafwala in Fazilka district.
This memorial was constructed to commemorate the gallantry deeds of the soldiers who laid down their lives during the 1971 Indo-Pak war in Fazilka sector. PTI
State Stalwarts
ALL HUMANS ARE ONE CREATED BY GOD
HINDUS,MUSLIMS,SIKHS.ISAI SAB HAI BHAI BHAI
CHIEF PATRON ALL INDIA SANJHA MORCHA
LT GEN JASBIR SINGH DHALIWAL, DOGRA
PATRON ALL INDIA SANJHA MORCHA
MAJOR GEN HARVIJAY SINGH, SENA MEDAL ,corps of signals
.
.
PRESIDENT DISTT LUDHIANA : ALL INDIA EXSERVICEMEN SANJHA MORCHA
BRIG SS GILL ARTY
PRESIDENT PANCHKULA HARYANA UNIT SANJHA MORCHA
BRIG DALJIT THUKRAL (Retd) BENGAL SAPPERS
PRESIDENT DISTT MOHALI :ALL INDIA SANJHA MORCHA
COL BALBIR SINGH , ARTY
SECY (HONY) NRI’s ESMs , ALL INDIA SANJHA MORCHA
SUB AVTAR SINGH
+1(647)501-8112
INDIAN DEFENCE FORCES
DEFENCE FORCES INTEGRATED LOGO
FORCES FLAGS
15 Th PRESIDENT OF INDIA SUPREME COMMANDER ARMED FORCES
Droupadi Murmu
DEFENCE MINISTER
Minister Rajnath Singh
CHIEF OF DEFENCE STAFF (2nd)
General Anil Chauhan PVSM UYSM AVSM SM VSM
INDIAN FORCES CHIEFS
CHIEF OF ARMY STAFF(29th)
General Upendra Dwivedi, PVSM, AVSM (30 Jun 2024 to Till Date)
