The Centre on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that a special selection board had been convened from January 9 to consider 246 women officers for promotion.
Senior advocate R Balasubramanian, appearing for the Centre, informed a Bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud that the special selection board-III would consider the issue of promotion of these officers.
“We are seized of the matter. They are saying special selection board will be over by January 23,” the Bench noted and posted the matter for further hearing on January 30. The Bench asked the Centre and the Army to file an updated report on the results of the special selection board before the next hearing on the petition by 34 women Army officers who alleged that junior male officers were being considered over them for promotions to perform “combat and commanding roles”.
The Supreme Court had on December 9 asked the Army to put its “house in order”, saying it had not been “fair” to women officers who were forced to wage a legal battle for promotions even after being granted permanent commission on the directions of the top court in 2020.
Earlier, the Bench had asked Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain and R Balasubramanian, representing the Centre and the Army, as to why they didn’t consider these women officers for promotion in October.
Govt told to file report by Jan 30
In their plea, women Army officers alleged junior male officers considered for promotions
Earlier on December 9, the SC asked the Army to put its ‘house in order’
Govt says special board convened to consider 246 women officers for promotion
SC tells Centre, Army to file updated report on results before next hearing on Jan 30
China’s PLA blames Indian soldiers for clash, claims its patrol blocked
Hours after the Chinese Foreign Ministry played down the incursion, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) called on India to “strictly control and manage its frontline troops and together with China maintain peace along the border areas”.
PLA’s western theatre command spokesman Sr Colonel Long Shaohua, in a statement, claimed the clash took place when its troops on regular patrol on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) were blocked by Indian soldiers.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin had earlier in the day said the situation along the border with India was “generally stable” but declined to provide details of the clash.
Anew study has concluded that Pakistan is the country most influenced by China. The China Index — a cross-regional project of DoubleThink Lab, a Taiwan-based research organisation — ranks 82 countries as per varying degrees of dependence on Beijing. Pakistan is followed by Cambodia (second) and Singapore (third), while Central Asian nations Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan also figure in the top 10. The index focuses on nine domains to assess China’s sway around the world — academia, domestic politics, economy, foreign policy, military cooperation, law enforcement, media, society and technology.
Cash-strapped Pakistan’s heavy reliance on China for financial support is no secret. According to an IMF report, about 30 per cent of Pakistan’s foreign debt is owed to China. Chinese fiscal assistance is higher than both Pakistan’s IMF debt and the amount given by the World Bank or the Asian Development Bank. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, touted as ‘a framework of regional connectivity’, has witnessed infrastructure projects worth billions of dollars being funded and built by Chinese companies over the past decade. China has been ‘rewarding’ its close ally by repeatedly blocking India-US proposals at the United Nations to proscribe Pakistan-based terrorists.
There’s a lesson here for the US, which is recalibrating its defence and military ties with Pakistan. Calling Pakistan an important counter-terrorism partner, the US had approved a $450-million F-16 fighter jet fleet sustainment programme in September, four years after the then President Trump had suspended about $2 billion in security aid to Islamabad for not taking adequate action against terror groups. Washington is fooling no one by claiming that the F-16 package is not expected to ‘alter the region’s basic military balance’. Instead, the US is playing into China’s hands by bolstering Pakistan’s military prowess vis-à-vis that of India. Beijing wants to keep New Delhi occupied on the western border so that it can have its way along the LAC. America is well advised to avoid expending money, effort and resources on Pakistan, which continues to be held in a vice-like grip by China. India’s objections to its Pak overtures should make the US see reason.
Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar will be visiting Sri Lanka for four days starting tomorrow. The Admiral has been invited as a chief guest and reviewing officer for the Commissioning Parade at the Naval and Maritime Academy (NMA), Trincomalee, on December 15.
The Admiral would interact with senior political and defence leadership of Sri Lanka. He would also visit other defence establishments of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and review progress of various bilateral defence cooperation. The Indian Navy regularly interacts with the Sri Lankan Navy through the medium of annual staff talks and pursues several operational engagements at regular frequency.
Loss is devastating for anyone. No one said it was easy, and I never thought it to be so. To survive is to tuck your grief within. This is not about me being a survivor, it is to all the military wives who brave struggles of their own through their lives. They live alone in separated family quarters while their husbands are away. They are the non-uniformed soldiers, always and everytime. I guess, being married to the man they love makes it all seem worth it
eetika Lidder with husband, Brig LS Lidder. One learns lessons which only grief can teach, she says, but true love always lends grace along with it.
Geetika Lidder
And he was gone… just like that. In a second, so many lives got so cruelly snuffed out in December last year. One couldn’t believe that we had lost someone so full of life — Toni (Brig LS Lidder). Toni had a persona which was larger than life. He was lovable all the way and loving in his own characteristic way. His voice boomed as much as his enthusiasm and he just walked in anywhere like a fresh breath of life and joy. He lifted the spirits of the place wherever he was and “being happy” was a choice he made for himself no matter what the circumstances were.
Toni was the perfect officer and gentleman. He autographed his work with self-propelled excellence. He endeared himself to everyone he came in contact with by the sheer goodness of heart, humility of attitude and kindness that reflected on his face.
Loss is very devastating for anyone, and a loss which is just not explainable and attributable to any medical condition or illness leaves a person who is the survivor numb with the shock and trauma of it all. ‘Survivor’ is an apt word, but it hit me like a slap on my face as I realised that I had lost him. That I will never see him again, never hold his hand in mine, that he will never hold me again. I had to survive not just his loss, but the loss of us. There was no us anymore. It was me, the survivor. So when we sign, very nonchalantly, for an FD on the dotted line which says “Either of survivor”, we never give it a thought of how this word takes its meaning when you are the survivor. When you are the one who has to carry on.
To survive is to tuck your grief within and understand that it is not just the person who’s gone. He took away the tomorrows, the plans, the security of having him around, the comfort of talking to him, the partnership of life. It was a long, lonely and dreary road ahead.
Toni, the man who made me what I am and who I am, would have flinched if I would have cut a sorry figure of the pitiable widow, the distraught wife, at any stage. It is the strength that he left me with which made it possible that within hours of realising that I was the survivor, I understood with a deep peace and calm acceptance that I will survive. Not just that, there also came a resolve and an understanding that I will survive in a way that makes him proud. I came to terms with the fact that I have to walk with my head held high, with pride at being a soldier’s wife, I have to give him a smiling send-off in lieu of the countless happy moments he gave us as a family. I have to carry on with acceptance, grace and gratitude that I am the chosen one who was his wife for so many years. I could dress smartly and walk with tearless eyes at the Palam airport as I received his body, because I knew it will hurt him to see me not living up to the Lidder legacy. It had to be about poise and grace, and the strength just came from him.
No one said it was easy, and I never thought it to be so. However, once your resolve is true and your positivity is within you, both Aashna and I realise that God helps you through this journey. I firmly believe that Toni left this world in a way that he left angels to look out for us and to hold us in our bad moments. We are extremely grateful to our friends and family who have held us through this year and surrounded us with tender, loving care.
For our daughter to come to terms with this has been so hard and harsh. Her friends have been her go-to and her father helps her from above to go through each day and trudge along like my little soldier, making my eyes glisten with pride each time I see her. We have trained our mind to think that we are not less, we are just different. This is our new normal and we live our lives in the best possible way, carrying only the good memories of our life with Toni, thanking him and blessing him all the way.
I have always been a working woman and Toni had always pushed me to be one and achieve more than I was ever ready to. Today, I look back and understand the signals from life. This was probably what has carried me through this year. My workplace, the people around me, the children I teach, the sensitivity and love that surround me. I still consider myself very fortunate that I have a new purpose in life. I have diverted all my energies towards my work and it makes my day challenging and joyful.
So this is not about me being a survivor, it is to all the military wives who brave struggles of their own through their lives. They live alone in separated family quarters while their husbands are away. They are the non-uniformed soldiers — always and everytime. They battle loneliness, sick children, ageing parents and in-laws, banking, seeing annual days alone, attending weddings alone, their jobs, and so much more. I guess, being married to the man they love makes it all seem worth it.
Today, as I stand at the threshold of this landmark, a year of being without Toni, one has learnt lessons which only grief can teach, but true love always lends grace along with it. I am still humbled by the fact that I led such a blessed life with the man I looked up to the most. I never ask my God the question “Why?” We need to bow in humble acceptance of His will and if someone told me this 26 years ago that this will happen and he will leave you at such a young age, I would have still gladly chosen to be his wife. So great are the memories of the life we made together. “Death is a heartache no one can heal. Love leaves a memory no one can steal.” I have memories to live on and cherish for a lifetime.https://3906dd5cf08a510063eac09c8d4a5599.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html
— The writer is the wife of Brig LS Lidder, who died in an air crash along with Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 others on December 8, 2021
Why are girl cadets at the NDA sporting boys’ crew cuts? Why don’t we simply accept that gender differences will remain despite haircuts? These mildly provocative yet valid questions asked by a military veteran on the conclusion of the ‘Ethos of Soldiering’ discussion needed answering. The venue was the 2022 Chandigarh Military Literature Festival and the moderator quizzically scanned the veteran and serving officer panellists. I volunteered.
I recalled an incident recently when I was invited as a guest speaker to my alma mater, the Officers’ Training Academy, Chennai. With time at hand, I walked along our 1968 Gentleman Cadet barracks, when I came across a cadet striding out of the barracks in shorts, with football boots slung across the shoulders, mouthing a crisp ‘Good morning, sir’. Startled, I realised it was a Lady Cadet (LC) with a crew cut. She was a football ‘blue’ let off the standard cadet training regimen to hone her skills for an oncoming tournament. She smiled, ‘That’s okay, sir. My haircut must’ve fooled you. We’re kept busy and have no time to manage hair-days, so we’ve boy-cuts!’
In seconds, I’d became buddies with the chatty LC; military ethos and its implicit underlying trust helping bridge the gender gap, besides compressing age while exchanging opinions about grainy yesterdays, challenging todays and hopeful tomorrows, till she peeled off for practice. Her energy symbolised the boundless spirit that uniformed youth across gender carry.
The veteran smiled with understanding, but the issue didn’t end there. A senior veteran remarked, as I sat down, ‘Ever wondered how Sikh soldiers manage? They have hair too and most of them keep it.’ Informally asked, this question deserved an answer too. Did that lie in religion, faith, belief, established military practice and soldiering ethos that evolved slowly? In service regulations governing soldierly propriety and practice? I wondered.
Recently, I visited the Ezhimala Naval Academy, Kannur, thanks to its Deputy Commandant — my ex-cadet at the NDA. A young Lady Officer pointed out a lone LC running stadium laps. ‘She’s reported early to meet physical standards or face relegation.’ I spoke to her when she was limbering down. ‘Practising thrice daily. I’ll pass, sir!’ she responded fiercely.
Socrates said: ‘Once made equal to man, woman becomes his superior’. The NDA welcomed the first Girls’ Batch in September 2022. I foresee a day when this batch will receive the same deep respect we accord to the first male batch of 1955. Cropped haircuts will be institutionalised as time-saving tools — focus shifting instead to women’s performance for Naam, Namak, Nishan.
India says era of classifying terrorists as ‘bad, ‘good’ on basis of political convenience must end immediately
The era of classifying terrorists as “bad” or “good” on the basis of “political convenience” must end immediately, a concept note circulated by India in the UN Security Council here has said, underlining that categorising terror acts by intent as religious or ideologically motivated will dilute the shared global commitment to fighting terrorism.
India, the current president of the 15-nation UN Security Council, will hold two signature events on reformed multilateralism and counter-terrorism to be chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on December 14 and 15.
India proposes to organise a briefing of the Security Council on December 15 on ‘Global counter-terrorism approach – principles and the way forward’ under the ‘Threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts’.
Ahead of the meeting, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj, in a letter to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, asked that a concept note intended to guide the discussions on the topic be circulated as a document of the Security Council.
“The terrorist attacks in New York on September 11, 2001 were a turning point in the global approach to counter-terrorism. Since then, London, Mumbai, Paris, many parts of West Asia and Africa have also experienced terrorist attacks,” the concept note last week said.
It added that these attacks highlight that the threat of terrorism is grave and universal and that terrorism in one part of the world seriously impacts peace and security in other parts of the globe.
“The threat of terrorism is transnational. Terrorist actors and their supporters, facilitators and financiers collaborate while remaining in different jurisdictions to organise acts anywhere in the world. A transnational threat can be defeated only by the collective efforts of all States Members of the United Nations,” it said
Stressing that the menace of terrorism cannot be associated with any religion, nationality, civilisation or ethnic group, the note said that all acts of terrorism are criminal.
“Terrorism in all its forms and manifestations must be condemned. There cannot be an exception or justification for any act of terrorism, regardless of its motivation and wherever, whenever and by whosoever committed. The era of classifying terrorists as “bad”, “not so bad” or “good” on the basis of political convenience must end immediately.”
It said that existing and emerging threats call for a renewed collective approach to terrorism.
Pakistan ranks atop list of 82 nations most influenced by China: Report
A new study that measures Beijing’s expanding global sway has revealed that Pakistan is the country in the world which is most influenced by China, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
The China Index, a database relaunched on December 8 by DoubleThink Labs, a Taiwan-based research organisation has ranked Pakistan atop a list of 82 other nations around the world and said that its links and dependency on China with regard to foreign and domestic policy, technology, and the economy make it particularly susceptible to Chinese influence.
Following Pakistan, Cambodia and Singapore are listed at the second spot while Thailand at third position, as per the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) report. The Philippines is listed at the seventh spot while Malaysia lies in the 10th position. South Africa and Peru are tied at the fifth spot on the index.
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are at the eighth and ninth spots on the index. These two countries share a border with China’s Xinjiang Province and are the Central Asian countries most influenced by Beijing
Meanwhile, Germany is the highest-ranked European country at 19th spot while the United States leads North America in the 21st position, as per the news report. While compiling the China index, the research team focused on nine categories to monitor influence around the world, which includes higher education, domestic politics, economic ties, foreign policy, military cooperation, media, technology and cultural links.
Speaking to RFE/RL, Min Hsuan-Wu, the co-founder and CEO of Doublethink Labs, said that the database has been created to raise awareness about different aspects of China’s influence. Wu stressed that the system will help to have more understanding that challenges some assumptions about levers of Chinese influence, particularly around economics and trade.
“A major goal of [of this database] is to raise awareness around the world about the different aspects of Chinese influence and what that can actually look like,” RFE/RL quoted Min Hsuan-Wu as saying.
“We have taken a much broader and nuanced look at what influence can be, which can tell us more about what Beijing is actually doing and the different ways it can apply pressure,” Min Hsuan-Wu added.
Pakistan leading in the index is no surprise as the South Asian country is home to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a centrepiece of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative which involves funding of Chinese entities in developing infrastructure projects in the past 10 years.
Pakistan’s relations with China have increased in every sector, particularly in military ties, technology and foreign policy, according to RFE/RL report. Shahzeb Jillani, a veteran journalist who helped compile research on Pakistan used for the database, said that they can only hope that the index will encourage the people of Pakistan to debate regarding the pros and cons of the country’s ties with China.
While trade and investment were an early impetus, Chinese influence now plays an increasing role in foreign policy, local media, defence and security. In the index rankings, Kyrgyzstan ranks in the 10th place while Kazakhstan holds the 15th spot.
Meanwhile, Uzbekistan is listed at the 24th spot while Turkmenistan which sells a large portion of its natural gas to China is listed at the 45th position, as per the news report. Notably, the United Kingdom is in the 27th spot on the index and is ranked as the second-highest European country. This time, the database involved 82 nations, however, DoubleThink Labs plans to expand it in the future, particularly across Africa.
