Monthly Archives: August 2018

New Delhi, October 14

India’s nuclear-powered submarine INS Arihant on Friday carried out a successful launch of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) in the Bay of Bengal with a “very high accuracy”, the Defence Ministry said.

It said all operational and technological parameters of the weapon system have been validated, seen as a major milestone to further boost India’s strategic strike capabilities.

“INS Arihant carried out a successful launch of a Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) on October 14. The missile was tested to a predetermined range and impacted the target area in the Bay of Bengal with very high accuracy,” the ministry said in a statement.

It said “all operational and technological parameters of the weapon system have been validated”

India’s nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) programme is a closely guarded project. INS Arihant was the first boat under the SSBN project that was reportedly followed by another boat, INS Arighat.

In a statement, the defence ministry said the SSBN programme is a key element of India’s nuclear deterrence capability.

It said a “robust, survivable and assured retaliatory” capability is in sync with the country’s policy to have ‘credible minimum deterrence’ that underpins its ‘no first use’ commitment

“The successful user training launch of the SLBM by INS Arihant is significant to prove crew competency and validate the SSBN programme, a key element of India’s nuclear deterrence capability,” the defence ministry said.

“A robust, survivable and assured retaliatory capability is in keeping with India’s policy to have ‘credible minimum deterrence’ that underpins its ‘no first use’ commitment,” it said.

India has been a leading voice in pitching for universal nuclear disarmament aimed at complete elimination of atomic weapons.

Karachi: The equations of America and Pakistan are changing day by day. The Joe Biden government of America shocked India on the first F-16 deal and Kashmir issue and now two ships of the US Coast Guard (Coast Guard) reached Pakistan. Two Coast Guard ships were in Karachi from October 6 to 9. The arrival of these ships in Karachi is enough to show how strong the ties with Pakistan are. By issuing a statement from the Central Command of the US Navy, information has been given about the arrival of these ships to Pakistan. This ship arrived recently at a time when the Chief of the Pakistan Army, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, had returned from his American tour.
It has been told by the Central Command that Coast Guard ships USCGC Charles Moulthorpe and USCGC Emin Tunnel had gone to Karachi. Both these ships are part of the 5th Fleet of the Coast Guard. The Navy has said that these ships were sent to Karachi to take stock of coastal stability and security in the Middle East.
The US Navy’s Fifth Fleet is vital to America’s presence in the Middle East. Apart from the Arabian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, the Red Sea and a part of the Indian Ocean come in the Middle East. This area is spread over 2.5 million square miles and this part is commanded by the Fifth Fleet. The region comprises 21 countries and has three important waterways, including the Suez Canal, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb in Yemen.
US Navy Happy
The US Navy said in its statement, “We are delighted to visit Pakistan as our relationships continue to grow in this dynamic region.” According to Captain Eric Helgen of the US Coast Guard, who is responsible for patrolling forces in Southwest Asia, this recent visit shows how close the relationship between the Pakistan Navy and the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet is. If they believe, this relationship will get stronger in the coming days. Members of the US Coast Guard also met representatives of the Pakistan Navy in Karachi. Issues related to coastal security were also discussed between the two for a long time.
India’s Opposition
In the last few days, there have been many such things between Pakistan and America which are enough to show that the White House is ready to help Pakistan’s economy. Despite India, the Shahbaz Sharif government of Pakistan is getting support from America. Recently, US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome used the term Azad Jammu and Kashmir for Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. On 7 October, there was also a protest against Blome’s visit to PoK from the Indian side.
Before this incident, in September, a package of $ 450 million was announced by the US to Pakistan for the F-16. According to the Biden administration, this package is very important for counter-terrorism operations. This American argument was opposed by India. Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said that no one knows who America is fooling by this logic.

The Indian Army decided to procure electric vehicles (EV) for select units and formations in sync with the government’s overall policy of reducing the carbon emissions, officials said on Wednesday. As per the plan, around 25 per cent light vehicles, 38 per cent buses and 48 per cent motorcycles in select units will be replaced with EVs in a time-bound manner.
Various factors unique to the Indian Army’s employability, remote locations of employment and operational commitments were considered before finalising the roadmap for induction of EVs, the officials said.
“The Indian Army has put into plan a roadmap to induct EVs wherever possible, considering the operational commitments which will significantly reduce carbon emissions dependency on fossil fuels,” said an official.
“Various factors unique to the Indian Army’s employability, remote locations of employment and operational commitments were considered to arrive at a definite time-bound roadmap for the project,” he added.
In order to support a viable EV ecosystem in the Army units, necessary support infrastructure, including charging points for EVs, will be put in place.
“These EV charging stations will have at least one fast charger and two to three slow chargers. Electric circuit cables, transformers with adequate load bearing capability based on anticipated number of EVs per station will be put into place,” the official said.
The Army is also planning setting up of solar panel-driven charging stations, which are also planned in a phased manner.
“The Army is also procuring EVs through the capital route. As per plans, the existing shortage of buses will be fulfilled by procuring electric buses for select peace establishments for initial exploitation,” said the official.
An initial tender for procurement of 60 buses along with 24 fast chargers will soon be floated, he said.
“Considering the pace of greener initiatives being adopted by the government, efforts to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels, it is necessary to adapt to the changing environment,” said another official.
In April, the Indian Army had organised a demonstration of available EVs to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh where EV manufacturers such as Tata Motors, Perfect Metal Industries (PMI) and Revolt Motors showcased their EVs and briefed about the enhancement in technology.

JAMMU, OCTOBER 12 The skies over Udhampur roared on Wednesday as fighter jets and combat helicopters of the IAF cap[1]tivated the audience with their maneuvers during an air show to mark the diamond jubilee celebra[1]tions at the headquarters of Air Officer Command[1]ing (AOC) Jammu, Kash[1]mir and Ladakh.As part of the event, a fly-past began with skydiving by a team of Akashganga from AN32 followed by air maneuvers and different formations by Jaguar, MIG29, Su-30 and Rafale aircraft, officials said. Combat helicopters like Apache, Mi-17 Slithering and Chinook also exhib[1]ited adrenaline-pumping maneuvers in the first-of[1]its-kind air show at the Ud[1]hampur Air Force Station. Air Officer Commanding[1]in-Chief, Western Air Com[1]mand, Air Marshal Sreeku[1]mar Prabhakaran lauded the role of headquarters AOC Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh for dominating the Himalayas over the past 60 years.General Officer Com[1]manding-in-Chief, northern command, Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Air Officer Com[1]manding Jammu, Kash[1]mir and Ladakh Air Vice Marshal Praveen Keshav Vohra and other senior IAF, military and civil dignitaries also attended the show. “As part of the diamond jubilee celebrations of headquarters AOC Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, the motive is dominating Hima[1]layas and that is what they have been doing for the last 60 years. AOC J&K was es[1]tablished back in 1962 and they moved here to Udham[1]pur in 1964,” Prabhakaran said.He said the headquar[1]ters AOC has worked as a link between the IAF’s Del[1]hi-based western command and the northern command of the Army. “And thanks to the head[1]quarters AOC, the northern command of the army and western command based in Delhi, we work very closely and it is this headquarters which has helped in coordi[1]nating all activities between the Army and Air Force,” the IAF western command[1]er said.He said they have also been actively involved in all the air maintenance. “We execute, especially in the northern sector that is J&K sector, Siachen Glacier. In the winter months when the roads are blocked, our brave soldiers up at the front depend on the air main[1]tenance,” he said.Prabha[1]karan said the headquar[1]ters AOC has build good liaison with the Army and the soldiers on the frontline are looked after well and all their needs, whether related to rations or ammunition, especially during the winter months are fulfilled. “And not just coordina[1]tion with the Army, head[1]quarters AOC also main[1]tains very close liaison with our civilian counterparts, whether it is the earthquake which happened in J&K earlier, floods in Srinagar and the issue which we recently had at Amarnath cave.“In all these activities, thanks to the close liaison and coordination between civil authorities and IAF through headquarters AOC, we have been able to save many lives and we are happy that during times of peace, IAF has come for the benefit of fellow country[1]men,” he said.

Photo for representation. File photo

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 10

The UT Administration will allot civil and electrical works to be carried out for the Indian Air Force (IAF) Heritage Centre at Government Press Building in Sector 18 this week.

During a review meeting held today under the chairmanship of UT Adviser Dharam Pal regarding the setting up of the centre, officials of the Engineering Department said the tender for the civil and electrical works to be done at the site was opened on October 7 and work would be allotted this week.

The Adviser directed the officials to work in close coordination and get the works completed without delay so that the centre could be inaugurated at the earliest.

Vinod P Kavle, Secretary Culture, outlined the duties and responsibilities of IAF and administration in setting up the centre, which is a joint initiative.

The meeting was attended by officers of the IAF and UT Administration.

Ajay Banerjee

New Delhi, October 11

Ajay Banerjee

New Delhi, October 11

The Cold War (1945-1991) had just ended. India, was looking for a fighter jet to add muscle to the Indian Air Force flee

Russian President Boris Yeltsin, in 1994, offered the Sukhoi-30 that was test flown in 1989 and first produced only in 1996 after India agreed to buy it. The Government led by PV Narasimha Rao (PM June 1991–May 1996) agreed to some very unusual terms.

The General Election had been announced, the model code of conduct was enforced, when Rao decided in early part of 1996.

Rao, also held the portfolio of Defence Minister, and okayed for paying a $ 350 million advance to the Russian manufacturers, Sukhoi Aviation Corporation, all without signing a contract or the IAF pilots getting to test fly the plane

The advance was at the request of Boris Yeltsin as Russia was facing an economic crisis. Former IAS officer and Private Secretary to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Shakti Sinha recounts the issue of the advance in his book “Vajpayee — The Years That Changed India”.

“The advance for the military aircraft had initially seemed like a scam. But Vajpayee wanted to know more and it transpired that the advance was needed to keep the manufacturing unit ( in Russia) afloat”.

Rao and the Congress was voted out of power in 1996. Vajpayee was sworn in Prime Minister, his government lasted just 13 days – May 16- June 1, 1996 and had no time to take a call on the Sukhoi deal.

HD Deva Gowda followed Vajpayee as Prime Minister and Mulayam Singh Yadav took over as Defence Minister on June 1, 1996, was in the saddle till March 19, 1998.

Mulayam Singh, put aside his years of anti-congress and anti-BJP stance, and took upon himself to not let it turn it into another Bofors-like controversy.

Mulayam built a consensus, he arranged a briefing for senior opposition leaders including Vajpayee and BJP member Jaswant Singh (a former Army officer and later Defence Minister). The circumstances of the contract and needs of the IAF were explained. Russia was then the sole major supplier of weapons, any step to stop the Sukhoi -deal would have been disastrous

On November 30 1996 – some eight-ten months after Rao okayed the advance to Russia – the Ministry of Defence inked a deal with the Russians for ‘development and production’ of eight Sukhoi-30Ks and 32 Sukhoi-30MKIs for the Indian Air Force.

Weeks after that Mulayam Singh informed the Parliament about the successful Sukhoi deal, Opposition benches complimented him.

By July 1997, all eight Su-30Ks were delivered at the IAF base at Lohegaon, Pune. Three years later the contract was signed to licence produce the Sukhoi-30 MKI in India. India has some 265 of the jets in service. The latest upgrade to the jet includes the ability to fire a 500 kms range BrahMos Missile.

Photo for representation only.

The naval headquarters order Board of Inquiry

PTI

New Delhi, October 12

A MiG-29K fighter jet of the Indian Navy crashed off the Goa coast on Wednesday morning after developing a technical malfunction.

The pilot ejected safely, the Navy said.

The naval headquarters ordered a Board of Inquiry (BoI) into the incident.

“An MiG-29K, on a routine sortie over Goa coast, developed a technical malfunction while returning to the base. The pilot ejected safely and has been recovered in a swift search and rescue operation,” the Navy said in a brief statement.

“The pilot is reported to be in stable condition. The BoI has been ordered to investigate the cause of the incident,” it said.

The MiG-29K is an all-weather carrier-based multirole fighter aircraft developed by Russian aerospace company Mikoyan.

Army Aviation Corps has authorised 12 Brigadiers but only one Major General and one Lieutenant General

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 12

In a judgement that has implications for appointments to the top posts in the army’s ‘minor corps’, the Armed Forces Tribunal on Wednesday directed the Ministry of Defence to consider a retired Brigadier for promotion to the rank of Major General in the Army Aviation Corps.

The Tribunal’s bench comprising Justice Rajendra Menon and Lt Gen PM Hariz directed the ministry and the army to consider the officer, Brig Sudhir Nagpal for promotion within two months and grant him all consequential benefits including pay and allowances for the period he was kept out of the service.

According to the petition filed by the officer, he had been due for consideration for promotion to the rank of Major General in October 2021 against an existing vacancy at this rank in the Army Aviation Corps, but the same was denied to him on the pretext that said vacancy had already been filled up by a junior batch officer belonging to the General Cadre.

The officer, of the 1987 batch, retired in February 2022 in the rank of Brigadier even as his petition was pending before the Tribunal, which in its interim order had ruled that his retirement would be provisional and subject to final orders passed by it.

After his retirement the ministry released an additional vacancy of Major General to the Aviation Corps but the petitioner was still not considered, instead another junior batch officer was considered, for promotion against said vacancy.

 “A list of arms and services which were scheduled to be considered for promotion by No.1 Selection Board was published in July 2021, but Army Aviation Corps was not included in the list. No reasons were mentioned for excluding this corps in the letter despite the fact that a vacancy for Major General already existed in the corps since June 21, 2022,” Col Indra Sen Singh (retd), counsel for the petitioner said.

The petition mentions that the officer was “informally” informed that Aviation Corps was not considered because another officer of the 1989 batch, had already been considered by the board in May 2020 and promoted in February 2021 against the said vacancy of Major General, that had actually accrued in June 2021.

“It is baffling that if a vacancy in Aviation Corps was indeed going to be available in February 2021 then why was the petitioner, who was already holding the rank of substantive Brigadier and fully eligible, not considered for promotion to Major General in May 2020,” Col Sen averred.

Army Aviation Corps has authorised 12 Brigadiers but only one Major General and one Lieutenant General. Being a minor corps, where the overall strength of officers and men is very less as compared to other arms, it works on a functional requirement where the vacancies are released as per the actual requirement whenever a post falls vacant.

The petitioner also contended that as per policy, general cadre officers are debarred from tenanting corps specific appointments of their parent arm or service, while appointments of Major General in a corps specific stream are tenable only by officers of that specific arm or service.

My father was 19 in 1947 and was witness to the carnage in his village near Lahore. My grandfather, who was a popular patwari, and several relatives died. The terrifying scenes stay with my father

Photo for representational purpose only. – File photo

Brig Manjit Singh (Retd)

MY grandfather, Dargah Singh, was a patwari in Lahore district before Partition. The family stayed in Sadpar, a Labana village located along the Ravi, 8 km from Lahore. Most of the Labanas used to serve in the army or government departments. My father, Maj Jagat Singh, did his BA from SD College, Lahore, and completed his final year after Partition from SD College, Ambala Cantt. He used to go on foot from Sadpar to Lahore everyday crossing Jhugian Khasrian village, made famous by Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh, whose father, Kishan Singh Sandhu, had shifted here from Lyallpur in 1916. Bhagat Singh was admitted in fifth class at DAV High School, Lahore.

Sadpar was located east of the Ravi. The Labanas were mostly traders and were financially well-off. In 1947, Muslim groups coming from the Lahore side were attacking Sikh and Hindu villages. Anticipating an attack, my grandfather organised a few boats and urged the villagers to cross over to Dhamke, a Labana village located west of the Ravi. As sufficient boats were not available, he stayed back to organise the evacuation. He held a firm view, being a popular patwari, that no one will harm him. When 60-70 per cent of the people had crossed over, including my father, a Mohajir group attacked Sadpur and killed all those present. Among the dead were my grandfather, my father’s Nanaji (Hav Bhag Singh) and a few other relatives. Some of them jumped into the river. About 30 people were burnt alive while hiding in a room near the boat point.

Unaware of the tragedy, on my father’s request, a British army officer along with a few soldiers took him to the village for evacuating my grandfather and other villagers. He cried once he reached and saw the carnage. The bodies were either burnt or dismembered. It was a terrible experience.

Like our family, people from Lahore and various Labana villages which were located east of the Ravi were expecting merger with India, therefore they migrated at the last moment. On the personal intervention of my maternal grandfather, Capt Sher Singh, who served in the British army, the families of Sadpar were evacuated to Mian Mir Cantonment, Lahore, where the Punjab Regiment was made responsible for their welfare, security and migration to Amritsar.

It was a difficult task to shift the families as most of the convoys were being ambushed. A convoy of military vehicles was organised on the pretext of shifting Guru Granth Sahib from the unit gurdwara at Mian Mir to Amritsar.

On arrival at Amritsar, all families were shifted to Khalsa College for a few days, and later to Hide Market in small, dingy rooms smelling of rotting carcasses and animal bones.

My father was lucky as his brother-in-law, Dr Pritam Singh, was a professor in Glancy Medical College, Amritsar (renamed as Government Medical College). He hired a house. Most of the refugees later moved to Kurukshetra and Karnal camps by train

The Labanas from various villages of Gujarat district migrated to J&K. Some were later shifted by train to the Karnal and Ambala camps. Some settled down around Begowal as Sant Prem Singh, a highly respected religious leader of the Labanas, was allotted a house as well as land there. On his request, some of the Labanas who had settled in Ambala, Karnal and Kurukshetra shifted to Begowal and surrounding areas in Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur.

After reaching the refugee camp at Kurukshetra, my father did community service for three months to get a certificate which was mandatory for seeking admission in BA final. He took a loan of Rs 450 from the SD College management for the fee and books. He would work in the evening on a monthly salary to run his household as well as return the loan. My father was commissioned in the Army Education Corps in 1961 and retired as a Major. He visited Pakistan with jathas a number of times but never went back to his village. He had seen the holocaust at the age of 19. The horrid scenes stay with him. 

Tribune News Service

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, October 10

India expressed its deep concern at the escalation of the conflict as a furious Russia retaliated for the bombing of the Crimean bridge with a barrage of lethal strikes against at least 10 cities in every region of Ukraine on Monday amid reports that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office as well several power plants were also hit. At least eight people were reportedly killed in the capital Kyiv alone.

Russia basically targeted civilian areas and energy infrastructure as air raid sirens sounded in every region of Ukraine, except Crimea for four hours.

A day earlier, retaliation was almost certain after Putin called the attack on the Kerch Bridge a terrorist act by Ukrainian special services.

In response to media queries on the escalation of conflict, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “We reiterate that escalation of hostilities is in no one’s interest. We urge immediate cessation of hostilities and the urgent return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue. India stands ready to support all such efforts aimed at de-escalation.”

“India has consistently maintained since the beginning of the conflict that the global order is anchored in the principles of the UN Charter, international law and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states,” he added.

Putin said the Russian military launched precision weapons from the air, sea and ground to target key energy and military command facilities and warned that Moscow’s response will be “tough and proportionate to the level of threats” if Ukraine launched more such attacks.

Some strikes in downtown Kyiv in the morning hit the symbolic heart of the capital. For the next four hours, missiles rained down on a total of 10 cities, including Kharkiv, Lviv, Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi and Zhytomyr knocking out electricity and water supply in many of them. Three of the cruise missiles launched from Russian ships in the Black Sea crossed Moldova’s airspace.

The Ukrainian President in a video address said the targets were civilian areas and energy facilities in 10 cities. The General Staff of the Ukraine Armed Forces said 75 missiles were fired against Ukrainian targets, with 41 of them neutralised by air defences.

Zelenskyy said on his Telegram account that Russia is “trying to destroy us and wipe us off the face of the earth”.

The West will chalk out a response when the G-7 bloc meets via video conference on Tuesday which Zelenskyy will address.

Ukrainian Foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba broke off his Africa tour and headed back to Ukraine while all schools in Ukraine switched to online classes until the end of the week

Meanwhile, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he had ordered troops to deploy alongside Russian fighters near Ukraine due to a clear threat to Minsk from Kyiv and its backers in the West. “Strikes on the territory of Belarus are not just being discussed in Ukraine today, but are also being planned,” he said.