Monthly Archives: August 2018

Tribune News Service

Vijay Mohan

Chandigarh, July 16

About 35 years after he was released from the Army, a short service commission officer has been granted disability pension after the Armed Forces Tribunal reaffirmed that medical disorders incurred while serving in peace stations are attributable to military service.

The officer, of the rank of Captain, was commissioned in August 1982 and was released in low medical category for labile hypertension in April 1988 after completion of his term of engagement.

Before his release, despite being in low medical category, his release medical board was not conducted to assess the extent of disability. The authorities concerned kept communicating with each other for the conduct of the board, which was finally conducted only on the directions of the Tribunal.

The board assessed his disability at 20 percent for life, but held it as neither attributable to nor aggravated to military service on grounds that the disease was contacted when the officer was posted at a peace station. Two appeals filed against the denial of disability benefits were also rejected.

The Tribunal’s Chandigarh Bench comprising Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary and Lt Gen Ranbir Singh observed that the disability of hypertension is clearly listed in the entitlement rules as one which is affected by stress and strain of military service.

The bench said that the medical board has failed to record cogent and plausible reasons for holding that the disease was not connected with military service and the only explanation offered that the disability was incurred in a peace area was “absurd and cryptic”, against rules and judicial interpretation and hence not legally sustainable.

Referring to an earlier judgement of the Supreme Court, the Bench said that such disabilities are not incurred upon in a fortnight but diagnosed after the individual has rendered military service for year together.

“Above all, in Army service a soldier is under stress and strain due to a variety of reasons like climate, geographic and being away from the family and hence the origin of disability in peace area or hard area is not of much consequence,” the Bench observed.

Quashing the orders rejecting his disability pension, the Bench ruled that he is entitled to the benefits for life and directed the Ministry of Defence to calculate and release the same with effect from the date of his release.

Tribune News Service

Shimla/Dharamsala, July 16

The IMD has issued a ‘moderate to high risk’ alert of flashfloods in five Himachal districts — Chamba, Kangra, Sirmaur, Shimla and Kullu — till July 17. It also issued an orange alert for rain in four states, including Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

In another development, the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) today released water from the Pong Dam into the Beas.

The water level in the dam reservoir stood at 1,369.15 feet due to the increased inflow of over 1 lakh cusecs for the past one week. On July 16 last year, the water level in the Pong reservoir was 1,313.39 feet. The decision to release water has been taken as more rain is expected in the coming days. Kangra DC Nipun Jindal has issued an advisory to the people living along the Beas banks not to venture into the riverbed as the BBMB authorities were releasing water from the dam. — & Agencies

Only three countries, the United States, China and Russia, have managed to land on the lunar surface so far
Scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation have performed the first orbit raising manoeuvre of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft on Saturday, the space agency said.
The health of the spacecraft was “normal”, ISRO said in a social media post.
Chandrayaan-3 is now in an orbit, which when closest to Earth is at 173 km and farthest from Earth is at 41,762 km, the space agency said.
“Chandrayaan-3 Mission update: The spacecraft’s health is normal. The first orbit raising manoeuvre (Earthbound firing-1) was successfully performed at ISTRAC/ISRO, Bangalore. Spacecraft is now in 41762kms x 173kms orbit,” ISRO said.
ISRO on July 14 successfully launched the third edition of its Moon exploration programme from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, aimed at making a soft landing on the unexplored south pole of the Moon that would make India achieve a rare feat.

IMRH expected to replace Russian Mi-17s
Buried under the optics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emanuel Macron’s bilateral meeting in Paris was a crucial technology related to an engine to be fitted in the new 13-tonne helicopter that India is designing and plans to produce.
Buried under the optics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emanuel Macron’s bilateral meeting in Paris was a crucial technology related to an engine to be fitted in the new 13-tonne helicopter that India is designing and plans to produce.
Called the ‘Indian Multi-Role Helicopter’ (IMRH), it is expected to replace the Russian Mi-17 helicopters in the Indian Air Force fleet. Its naval variant, ‘Deck-Based Multi-Role Helicopter’ (DBMRH), has been planned too and is being designed simultaneously.
Public sector giant Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and French engine maker Safran had earlier announced a tie-up to produce the engine for the helicopter. A statement after the PM Modi-Macron meeting, put out by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said, “A shareholders’ agreement between HAL and Safran has concluded for engine development.” HAL will participate in the design, development and production of the core engine components.
The IMRH is expected to be launched in 2027, said sources. In February, PM Modi had inaugurated a new HAL factory spread across 615 acres and equipped with the infrastructure to produce the IMRH.
At the ground level within HAL, the preliminary design review has been carried out. HAL is looking at a new business model to see if a public-private partnership can be worked out and is not averse to Indian or foreign companies joining hands.
Safran already has a joint venture with HAL to manufacture engines for the advanced light helicopter (ALH), weighing 5.5 tonnes. Some 284 of these twin-engine helicopters are flying. This is the only helicopter to be designed and manufactured in India while the rest are of the US, Russian, French and the United Kingdom origin.
The MEA statement had a vital development for the ALH engine. “A contract (has) concluded between Safran and HAL for the transfer of technology of forging and castings for Shakti Engine (used in the ALH),” it said. With this, said sources, HAL would gain in technology to produce engines.

India is planning to purchase 26 Rafale Marine aircraft, the naval variant of the 36 Rafales that are in service with the Air Force
On July 13, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi was enroute to Paris, a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), held under the chairmanship of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, accorded initial approval for two key defence deals with France: the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for the procurement of 26 Rafale Marine aircraft, the naval variant of the 36 Rafales in service with the Indian Air Force, and an AoN for procurement of three more Scorpene-class diesel-electric submarines, six of which have already been procured by the Navy.
This announcement brought to an end the contest between Dassault Aviation’s Rafale-M and Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet as they raced to demonstrate compatibility of their jets to operate from the flight decks of the Indian aircraft carriers, featuring a ski-jump. Both the Rafale-M and F/A-18 had demonstrated their compatibility by operating from the Navy’s Shore-Based Test Facility in Goa and Navy officials had noted that Rafale-M fit the requirements better in terms of integrating with the existing carriers as well as commonality with the IAF Rafales.
The contest began in 2017, when the Navy had floated a Request For Information (RFI) to procure 57 twin-engine carrier fighters. A lot has changed since then as the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), buoyed by the maturity of the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft program and the successful trials of the LCA’s naval variant on carrier INS Vikramaditya, offered to develop an indigenous Twin-Engine Deck-Based Fighter (TEDBF) to operate from Indian carriers. The number was subsequently downsized to 26, as an interim solution, till the under-development TEDBF is ready for induction. Navy Chief Admiral R. Hari Kumar had said in the past that they might get the TEDBF by 2034 or so.
The AoN approved by the DAC is for 22 single-seater Rafale-Ms and four twin-seater Rafale trainers (which are not carrier-compatible), officials said. “The price and other terms of purchase will be negotiated with the French Government after taking into account all relevant aspects, including comparative procurement price of similar aircraft by other countries,” the Defence Ministry said. “Further, integration of Indian-designed equipment and establishment of [a] Maintenance, Repair & Operations (MRO) Hub for various systems will be incorporated into the contract documents after due negotiations.”
Russian Jets
India had contracted 45 MIG-29Ks from Russia which are based in Goa. They operate off the Russian-origin carrier INS Vikramaditya and also from the indigenous carrier INS Vikrant, which was commissioned last September. However, the MIG-29Ks had a mixed history in service with low availability rates. A few were lost in crashes over the years and they are expected to start phasing out from around mid-2030s.
Interestingly, the joint statement issued post the bilateral talks between Mr. Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron made no mention of the Rafale-M. A press release issued by the French side on the deliverables from the visit, said: “Continuation of the cooperation on fighter jets and submarines, following the timely delivery of the 36 Rafale jets for the Indian Air Force and the success of the P75 programme (six Scorpene submarines).”
With the Rafale-M, India would eventually operate 62 Rafales. Given the considerable number and the time, money and operational requirements to procure a new aircraft and produce it in enough numbers at a quick pace to arrest the depleting fighter strength of the IAF, procuring more Rafales for the IAF makes logical and operational sense in the backdrop of the delayed tender for 114 Muti-Role fighters. For the Navy, which is looking for jets at the earliest, it is not just about how soon the procurement process is completed but also how soon can France deliver the jets, given its order book that they currently have.

PTI

New Delhi, July 15

General Manoj Pande, Army Chief, visited forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in J&K to review the operational preparedness, officials said on Saturday.

The Army also tweeted pictures from his visit and interaction with some of the troops deployed in the forward areas. “He was briefed by commanders on ground about the anti-infiltration grid. He also interacted with troops deployed in the forward areas and lauded them,” the Army tweeted.

Col HP Singh (Retd)

TAAR aaya hai’ (a telegram has been received) — these words of the postman would make a person’s heart skip a beat. Observing the expression on the receiver’s face, I, as a child, had developed a notion that telegrams were a harbinger of unpleasant news. Being the fastest means of communication for most people before phones came into existence, there was always a sense of urgency associated with the telegram. The good news could wait but not the bad one — hence the phobia.

Compared to other technological means of communication, the telegraph system has served mankind for the longest period. Starting in November 1850, when the first experimental telegraph line in India was started between Calcutta and Diamond Harbour, this ancestor of the telephone remained in service in the country for over 160 years.

‘Blessed with a son’, was the first telegram that my maternal grandfather sent to my father, who was deployed on the border with East Pakistan in anticipation of the 1971 war. It brought happiness during those times when the news from the front was usually terrifying and tragic.

While in a boarding school, I developed cellulitis on my toe after an injury. It was a good time to go on a medical leave, only if my parents could be informed before the wound healed on its own. ‘Take me home to avoid amputation’; reading this, my dad reached the school the very next day in a borrowed car. I got scolded, but I also got to stay at home for a week!

Telegrams were an expensive affair. Thus, brevity became the essence of telegraphic messages. ‘Interview cleared medicals awaited’ was the shortest message I could shoot home from Allahabad on being selected for the National Defence Academy. A grand reception by my extended family awaited me in Chandigarh after they got the news.

Then came telephones and the ageing telegrams started losing popularity. But they were still useful for soldiers posted at places out of telephonic reach. ‘Declared fit to explore the third dimension’ — my telegram to my commanding officer in Baramulla conveyed my elation at having passed the Pilot Aptitude Battery Test.

Then there was a lull for a decade and a half. Pagers and mobile phones made the telegraph service redundant. But it was still in vogue as an official government communication service. The last telegram of my life was perhaps the best I ever received. ‘The President is pleased to approve the award of the Vishisht Seva Medal to you (.) heartiest congratulation (.)’; I received it on Republic Day from the Defence Secretary.

On July 14, 2013, the telegraph service was officially terminated in India. It has been a decade since then, but the memories of the adrenaline rush caused by telegrams remain etched in my mind.

V Sudarshan

Journalist and Author

THE noise of the European Parliament coming down hard on India was louder than the guard of honour that greeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Orly, France. At the EU Parliament in Strasbourg, sandwiched between votes on political disqualifications in Venezuela and the crackdown on the freedom of expression in Kyrgyzstan, India arrived with the mess in Manipur, not with a bang but with a banging. Speaker after speaker wagged an accusatory finger at New Delhi for utter dereliction, talking as though New Delhi were Rwanda. Over 50,000 displaced and in 350-odd relief camps because of ethnic strife is a catastrophic figure, even for the Europeans. New Delhi is behaving as though through its lenses it is just another day in paradise, like Europe of yore.

The good news is that even EU now stands ready to help build peace and trust in Manipur, if requested, of course. A tantalising possibility was held out to send a Special Envoy on Religious Freedoms as well. A new trade agreement with EU could now be conditional on ‘iron-clad guarantees’ on progress on human rights. They are even holding out the threat of banding India with other countries outside Europe that feel similarly. As the scope of the attack on India broadens, Pakistan and China are surely chortling with delight; their work lightened, and not so much by the EU Parliament either.

One way to look at it is that this is a failure, fair and square, of the Ministry of External Affairs from preventing the genie from getting out of the bottle. They could have done better. Their role in the matter will now come to privately parsing these developments into insignificance. It is time to get real, though. Manipur borders Myanmar, a near-Chinese vassal state; the oversight on inter-country movement in those parts is lax at best; people come and go as they please. Many North-East militants are thought to speak Mandarin or, more specifically, the Kunming dialect in their sleep. Why hand it over to the other side, beribboned and gift-wrapped? There could be worse things than a humanitarian intervention, although, thank goodness, we are far from that yet. Or should the blame lie with those who cynically lost the plot in Manipur, even though some wonder what the plot was in the first place? Imagine the damage-control going on behind the scenes. It is a full-time occupation. First the lecture by American Ambassador Eric Garcetti, then the arrival of Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights Uzra Zeya. And now this, the European Parliament’s sharp rap on the knuckles. It is a bit much to expect the world to close its eyes to what has been going on since at least May.

We got glimpses of the grim soap opera playing out in last week’s Supreme Court hearings; the reality surely could be far worse. More than two months after clashes first broke out, unidentified and unclaimed bodies lie rotting in Imphal’s many mortuaries. The court is being told that even to identify these bodies relatives would require armed escort, and safe passage to last rites. Not only is there an appalling absence of essential medicines in hospitals but also machines such as those for dialysis and CT scans, both in the plains and in the hill districts. With life out of gear, education processes such as examinations have gone belly-up. Schools and universities and such places are now overcrowded refugee camps. Students and the sundry government staff have fled. Baghdad must have seen better days during the peak of American bombing. This is not a bead count for relief camps, but there are more in other places run self-reliantly than you can count on a standard issue abacus. In Churachandpur alone, there are more than a hundred camps which are being run not by the government but by self-help groups. This is not the self-reliance Gandhi and Ambedkar envisaged for the India of 2023, at the time of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. Ask the Manipuris. Or their neighbours, the Indian ones. Imagine the shortage of drinking water, food, bedding, shelter and sanitation facilities.

There are no convincing answers to the Supreme Court’s questions on the thousands of looted rounds of ammunition and heavy-duty assault weaponry. In any other state, missing weapons call for a serious investigation and action against the guardians of the armouries and police stations. In Manipur, all we have seen so far are drop-boxes. It is a situation which would have given even Kafka nightmares. Most cellphone services remain down, as is the Internet. This is the old Kashmir playbook; the second edition is darker. On the ground, further alienation is definitely on the cards. Meanwhile, New Delhi is present only in empty poll sloganeering in faraway Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

It has been suggested to the Supreme Court that the inter-agency unified command set up under the chairmanship of security adviser Kuldiep Singh really functions under the leadership of Chief Minister N Biren Singh. Meanwhile, the rot is running deeper and wider.

What is the way forward? It looks as if New Delhi is operating under the cover of Article 355 — all the power with no accountability. It does even less to help bring Manipur under control. If this is the situation after the appointment of an inquiry commission and a peace committee under the chairmanship of the Governor, then it can be said that neither the current relief nor rehabilitation efforts allegedly underway are working with any degree of efficacy. That apples to the unhealthy political embrace of Biren Singh as well.

Rebuilding churches is a distant goal. Imposition of Article 356 and removal of Biren Singh have suggested themselves to be the extremely logical baby steps on Manipur’s road ahead. Ahead of the Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, neither of them, alas, is politically palatable. Manipur writhes helplessly on the altar of political expediency.