Monthly Archives: August 2018

The prayer books have been printed in three languages in durable and waterproof material to withstand the rigours of military life, says a BBC report

London, November 10

Daily Sikh prayer books, called the Nitnem Gutka, have been issued to Sikh military personnel in the UK for the first time in 100 years, a media report said on Thursday.

Also Read

• UK army delegation visits Golden Temple
• Sikhs part & parcel of British defence forces: UK Major General

The prayer books have been printed in three languages in durable and waterproof material to withstand the rigours of military life, said the BBC report.

While the British Army Gutka has a camouflage cover, the Royal Navy and RAF Gutka have a navy blue one.

Major Daljinder Singh Virdee, who is in the British Army and has spent two years campaigning for the return of the books, said on Wednesday: “The Army has been providing Christian religious texts for many years and I saw the opportunity there to open the door for the Sikh faith to provide Sikh texts.”

The Nitnem Gutkas were printed in Wiltshire and placed on a throne in a purpose-built vehicle for Sikh scriptures.

They were transported to the library of the Central Gurdwara in London, where they were officially issued to military personnel on October 28, the BBC reported.

Also the chairperson of the UK Defence Sikh Network, Major Singh Virdee, who uses his Nitnem Gutka three times a day, said: “For Sikhs our scriptures are not just words, they are the living embodiment of our guru. We draw moral strength and physical strength from reading the scriptures every day, it gives us discipline and it grows us spiritually,” he said.

Nitnem Gutkas were first issued to military personnel more than a century ago, along with other articles of the Sikh faith, but have never been issued again since.

There is an original military-issued Nitnem Gutka in the National Army Museum’s archives in London. IANS

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 9

It was a trip down the memory lane for aircrew that had flown the AN-12 aircraft, once the workhorse of the IAF’s transport fleet, as they got together for a reunion here today.

A large number of pilots, navigators, flight engineers and technical officers attended the event along with their spouses. Among them were several veterans of the 1971 Indo-Pak war as well as widows of officers.

Among the senior-most officers present were Air Marshal AK Goel and Air Vice Marshal HP Singh. Besides other places in India, a few officers now settled overseas especially reached here for the reunion.

Procured from Russia in 1961, the Antonov AN-12 was a four-engine turbo-prop that had maintained the vital air bridge to Ladakh for over three decades, besides performing other transport and communication duties.

AN-12s were used to rush reinforcements to Ladakh during the 1962 Sino-Indian conflict. They took part in the famous para-drop at Tangail during the 1971 war and were also used as bombers. AN-12s also undertook sorties during the Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka and the Operation Cactus in the Maldives in the late 1980s.

The aircraft served with No 25 Squadron, earlier based at Chandigarh, and No 44 Squadron, now based in the city, both of which were raised on AN-12s. These were formally retired in June 1993, with the last sortie from Chandigarh to Air Force Museum at Palam in New Delhi being flown by Wg Cdr Satish Bhatia (retd).

Gifts ‘Gutka of Nitnem’ and Sikh literature published by DSN

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 9

A delegation of British army officers today paid obeisance at the Golden Temple.

Also Read

• Sikh prayer books issued to UK military personnel after 100 years
• Sikhs part & parcel of British defence forces: UK Major General

Major Daljinder Singh Virdee, a British army officer associated with the Defence Sikh Network (DSN), UK, presented “Gutka of Nitnem” (daily Sikh prayers) prepared by the DSN and literature published regarding Sikh identity and turban in the British army to SGPC chief Harjinder Singh Dhami.

The British army delegation has come to Amritsar to participate in the event being organised in memory of the martyrs of the Battle of Saragarhi.

Dhami said “Nitnem Gutka Sahib” was a part of the uniform of amritdhari Sikhs working in the British army.

“Gurbani scriptures were given to Sikh soldiers by the British army even during the World War and the DSN was making efforts along similar lines,” he said.

The DSN had also worked to publish literature on Sikh identity and turban, besides making a major contribution to determining the different colours of turban for the three branches of the British army.

Washington, November 9

America’s top general estimated on Wednesday that Russia’s military had suffered more than 1,00,000 soldiers killed and wounded in Ukraine, and added Kyiv’s armed forces “probably” suffered a similar level of casualties in the war.

“You’re looking at well over 1,00,000 Russian soldiers killed and wounded. Same thing probably on the Ukrainian side. A lot of human suffering,” Army General Mark Milley told the Economic Club of New York.

He added 40,000 Ukrainian civilians were also probably killed in the conflict since Russia’s invasion began in February.

Our Correspondent

Tarn Taran, November 9

5 bike-borne miscreants intercepted him near Chambal village

An Army man was robbed by five armed miscreants near Chambal village on Monday evening. The victim, Daljit Singh, a resident of Jatta village said after withdrawing Rs 10,000 from an ATM near Naushehra Pannuan village, he was heading towards his village on his motorbike bearing registration No. PB-46 Z-1226.

When he reached near Chambal village five motorcycle-bound miscreants intercepted him and while pointing a gun at him demanded all the valuables he was carrying.

The robbers threatened to kill him if he did not oblige. The victim said he handed over his wallet to the robbers that included Rs 10,000, smart military card, Aadhaar card and driving license. The robbers also took his motorbike and cell phone at the time of fleeing.

The Sarhali police have registered a case under Section 379-B of the IPC. ASI Jaspreet Singh, in charge, police post Naushehra Pannuan, said the accused had not been identified so far.

Our Correspondent

J

jammu, November 9

A soldier died due to accidental fire from his service weapon in Poonch on Wednesday, an Army official said.

It is not known as to how the rifle went off and killed the 27-year-old. The incident occurred in Mankote. The matter is being investigated.

27-yr-old was active for one year; had quit service due to drug addiction

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 9

The police have nabbed a former Army man for burglary. The suspect has been involved in incidents of theft across the tricity for the past one year, say police.

The suspect has been identified as 27-year-old Harvinder Singh, alias Karan, alias Fouji, a resident of Phase VII, Mohali.

Complainant Sudha, a resident of Sector 51, had claimed they had gone to their hometown in Punjab on October 25. Upon return on October 29, they found their house ransacked. Jewellery worth several lakhs along with Rs 95,000 in cash were found stolen. The police were informed about the incident and a case was registered at the Sector 49 police station. During investigation, the suspect was arrested.

The police said during interrogation the suspect revealed he had been committing thefts across the tricity since 2021.

Three scooters, a motorcycle, an LCD television, two cameras, nine LPG cylinders and 92 coins of different countries, stolen from different places, were recovered from him.

Inspector Jai Parkash Singh, SHO, Sector 49 police station, said the accused had joined the Army in 2015 and was posted in Jammu Kashmir. “He left the job due to drug addiction and later started driving a cab. To get his daily fix, the suspect took to crime,” the SHO added.

The suspect was produced in a local court, which remanded him in police custody.

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 9

Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel undergoing the commando course carried out helicopter induction operations at the Basic Training Centre in Bhanu near Chandigarh today.

As many as 118 commandoes, including 18 women, were trained in slithering, which is a means of descending from hovering helicopters with the help of ropes. This technique is used for rapid induction of troops in difficult terrain. An Mi-17 belonging to the Border Security Force was used for the purpose.

The trainees belonged to the 98th Commando Course and 4th Commando Course (women). On the completion of training, they will be posted to Indian missions abroad, anti-terrorist and anti-naxal operations or VVIP security duties.

Tribune Web Desk

Chandigarh, November 9

Hymn singer (Ragi) Bhai Manpreet Singh Kanpuri on Wednesday opposed presence of former Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath at Guru Nanak Jayanti event in Indore. Manpreet lashed out at the organisers from stage over honoring Kamal Nath and vowed that he will never come to Indore again. The singer insinuated towards Kamal Nath’s alleged role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi.

“This won’t have taken place had your conscience been alive,” Manpreet said in Punjabi, in a video from the November 8 event at MB Khalsa College, minutes after Kamal Nath had left.

The video of Manpreet chiding organisers has been shared on Twitter by Jagdip Singh Kahlon, who is General Secretary of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee. He has also extended his support to Ragi Manpreet Singh over latter’s stand against Gurdwara management.

“I support Bhai Manpreet Singh Kanpuri Ji in his stand against Gurdwara Management, Indore which honoured #Kamalnath, a congress leader alleged for his role in #1984SikhGenocide,” Kahlon wrote in his tweet.

Our Correspondent

Ferozpur, November 9

Three back-to-back drone incursions from Pakistan were reported last night between 9.50 pm and 11.23 pm in an area close to the Jagdish border outpost (BOP) along the India-Pakistan border.

Every time the drone was spotted coming towards the Indian territory, BSF troops opened fire and also used illuminating bombs to bring it down. Finally, the last drone, which entered the Indian space around 11.23 pm, was brought down.

BSF personnel, along with Punjab Police teams and other sister agencies, launched a massive search operation during which they seized a a drone from Jalalwala village in Mamdot block.

The area near the Jagdish BOP has seen several drone incursions in the past 10 days. A large quantitiy of ammunition, including three AK assault rifles with six magazines, three mini AK 47 rifles with five magazines, three pistols (Beretta) with six empty magazines, along with 200 live rounds, was seized from this area a few days ago.

Last night, BSF troops deployed at the Jagdish BOP near Gandhu Kilcha village heard the humming sound of a drone around 9.50 pm coming from the Pakistan side in alignment of the border pillar No. 193/8 in this sector.

As per the standard operating procedure, the BSF personnel fired several rounds and used illuminating bombs to bring down the drone.

Later, around 10.10 pm, the drone returned from the Indian side to the Pakistan side when the BSF personnel again fired at it.

As per reports, another sortie was reported at 10.42 pm by the BSF troops, who again opened fire. The BSF personnel fired 22 rounds and launched six illuminating bombs towards the drone, which had come in the same alignment again.

Subsequently, at 10.55 pm, the drone returned to Pakistan. Ironically, the BSF troops observed a third sortie at 11.23 pm in the Indian territory. This time, the BSF personnel again fired 57 rounds and three illuminating bombs and were successful in bringing down the drone.

During a search operation carried out by the BSF troops and Punjab Police personnel, a hexacoptor was recovered near Jalalwala village along the border. Besides the drone, a 150-foot-long rope was also found attached with a pully of the flying machine.