Monthly Archives: August 2018

Vibha Sharma

Chandigarh, August 26

On March 23, 2021, the Suez Canal remained blocked for six days due to the Ever Given—a container ship that had run aground in the canal. By March 28, around 370 ships had queued up, stranding around $9.6 billion world trade in the canal.

By the time the Suez reopened, around 200 in the Red Sea, some 200 in the Mediterranean Sea and approximately 50 in the Bitter Lakes, were said to be caught up in the “traffic jam”, according to reports.

The Suez Canal is one of the world’s most important trading routes, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia.

While the traffic jam in the Suez was caused by a ship, the one currently on near the Panama Canal is due to climate change. 

The effect of climate change and global warming is no longer a thing of the future, real-time impacts of climate change have already started affecting world economy and trade, say observers.

Panama Canal Authority imposes transit restrictions

Due to low water levels in the lock system, the Panama Canal Authority, the agency of the government of Panama responsible for the operation and management of the Panama Canal, has imposed transit restrictions in the key route connecting the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean, dividing the North and South America.

Ships waiting for their turn have again raised questions whether it was the time for an alternative route to the Panama Canal which plays a key role in maritime transport. 

Due to water-level issues, the canal operations are expected to remain restricted for up to a year, according to reports.

The waiting time to enter is up to 11 days on an average from the earlier three to five days.

According to the official website, “the prolonged dry season is a natural phenomenon that affects many regions, including the Panama Canal.  While we can’t control nature, we can adapt our operations to ensure a competitive flow of vessels”.

“To provide perspective, as of today, we have around 120 vessels waiting for transit. 

“For this month, the average waiting time for unbooked transits is between 9 and 11 days.

“The backlog currently sits at about 115 vessels,” as per the website.

The restrictions are expected to cause a drop of $200 million drop earnings in 2024 compared to this year, some independent reports state.

The key maritime route

The canal authorities which first announced restrictions for this year later extended it to “at least 10 additional months”. According to ground reports, ships loaded with consumer goods, oil/ gas, grain and other items are waiting for their turn at the canal through which an estimated $270bn worth of cargo passes each year.

Apparently, some ships have also decided to take detours to avoid the delays, decisions that are expected to push up freight costs and affect consumer prices. 

Owners have been advised to make reservations to avoid delays.

Experts say the event is “unprecedented and a cause for concern”. It is perhaps time to consider another way to get from the Pacific to the Atlantic in mind of climate change, they add.

Reducing time for ships to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, avoiding a lengthy route around the southernmost tip of South America, the Panama Canal is called one of the “largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken”.

Panama Canal, the ‘engineering marvel’

Canal operations depend upon lakes where the levels are said to be “close to the minimum” due to rain deficit.

The complicated canal lock system lifts ships up to artificial freshwater lakes and then lowers them at the other end.

Transporting ships through the system of locks consumes vast amounts of fresh water. A ship requires around 200 million liters of freshwater to move it through the locks. The water is provided by two artificial lakes which supply the canal and also provide drinking water. The lakes are the main source of drinking water for the Panama city.   

Panama Canal facing drought

Panama is facing a drought which has been made worse by the El Nino phenomenon. 

Many maritime experts say the drought in the middle of Panama’s wet season is “unusual”.

The US also had the choice to build a canal across Nicaragua but Panama was selected since the route was shorter, and for other geographical reasons. However, the climate crisis has rekindled thoughts of an alternate route to save time and billions of dollars.

Experts say the “unprecedented dry season” in the region led to a significant decline in water levels in the canal, which needs fresh water for operations. 

Since much of the freshwater gets drained in the sea, the authorities are now using methods to store and reuse some of it. There are also plans of diverting water from other rivers and constructing additional reservoirs, according to reports.

The Major General-level talks (initially described as confidence building) apparently aim for a conducive atmosphere when Modi comes face to face with Xi at Johannesburg for the BRICS summit August 22-24.

The 19th round of Corps Commander-level India-China talks in eastern Ladakh on August 14, 2023 lasted 10 hours. An Indian government press release on the joint statement highlighted the following: positive, constructive and in-depth discussion to resolve remaining issues; discussions in an open, forward-looking manner, in line with guidance of the leadership; agreement to resolve remaining issues expeditiously, maintaining the momentum of dialogue and negotiations through military and diplomatic channels; and agreement to maintain peace and tranquility in border areas in the interim.

Much is being made of the fact that not all previous rounds of talks ended with a joint statement, although China’s state media is silent on any joint statement. But this statement offers little other than similar diplomatic lingo used in previous joint statements. The important issue is the Chinese side neither agreed to disengage further, nor agreed to Indian patrolling in no-patrol zones (buffer zones), leaving aside demobilization. The media even triumphed about this meeting lasting only 10 hours compared to 15-16 hours in previous cases!

The above talks were followed by Major General-level talks on August 18 at two locations in eastern Ladakh. There is no news about the outcome yet but the media has quoted unnamed defence sources saying that: the discussion is about resolving legacy issues; resumption of patrolling in  Depsang plains; PLA presence at ‘Y Junction’ (19 km inside Indian territory in Depsang); and in case of any headway, another round of Corps Commander-level talks would follow to finalize the outcomes.

Through spin doctoring, Indian diplomats have avoided admitting how PLA shifted the Line of Actual Control (LAC) westwards through the invasion of eastern Ladakh in 2020. The above media admission for the first time of PLA presence at the ‘Y Junction’ was known since 2020. Yet, the Indian defence minister kept harping “not even an inch of territory has been lost”. But this minister would be at a loss to explain if this indeed is the case, what are these 19 rounds of talks about?

Spin doctoring and ground reality

The fact is that Indian troops can no longer access 26 of their 65 Patrolling Points (PPs) between Karakoram (KK) Pass and Chumar in eastern Ladakh. Ironically, these PPs were established well short of the LAC in eastern Ladakh from the very beginning, perhaps for fear of annoying Beijing. But this is not all. All buffer zones, including in locations like the north bank of Pangong Tso, Galwan and Hot Springs, are inside Indian territory. Yet, the Indian media keeps repeating that Depsang and Demchok are the only two outstanding “friction points” (euphemism for intrusions) in Ladakh.

When the last few Corps Commander-level meetings lasting from 10 to 16 hours have achieved precious little, China giving any concessions now is unlikely, especially when it calls all the shots. Mention of “legacy issues” by the media appears another attempt at spin doctoring with reference to Depsang and Demchok although China has successfully shifted the LAC even west of its 1959 claim line, which was not acceptable to India in the first place.

We may keep referring to the buffer zones also as “no patrol zones” in joint statements released by the Indian side, but China has never said so. That is why China demanded a 15-20 km buffer zone in Depsang in recent times. There is little chance of any compromise by China but spin doctoring from our side will continue in all probability.

Brazen Chinese moves

When Xi Jinping came to visit in September 2014, India went gung-ho with Tibetan protests concurrent to Modi-Xi discussions in New Delhi. But a distinct change was visible after the Modi-Xi tête-à-tête during a follow-up visit by Modi to China. China is presently profiting more through India-China bilateral trade than it was before invading eastern Ladakh in 2020.   

The Chinese foreign ministry said on July 24, 2023, that Xi and Modi reached an important consensus on stabilizing China-India relations in Bali last year. Is this about India accepting the status quo or China’s ruse before more offensive action? Xi appears unaffected by Western shenanigans to checkmate China, not even boasting of limited nuclear wars with Russia and China. Brazen Chinese war games are continuing in proximity to Taiwan as the PLA prepares for more conflict with China.  

The Major General-level talks (initially described as confidence building) apparently aim for a conducive atmosphere when Modi comes face to face with Xi at Johannesburg for the BRICS Summit August 22-24. But without a meeting of the two leaders on the sidelines of the summit – of which there is no indication presently – any progress towards normalization of relations will remain a chimera.    

Read more at: https://www.southasiamonitor.org/spotlight/can-modi-xi-meeting-johannesburg-break-border-stalemate

comments

For China it is ‘heads I win, tails you lose.’ China has managed to reinforce in Indian minds that, Tibet and Aksai Chin not possible to discuss; also, hard negotiations on patrolling is the most they will tolerate and whenever it suits, Arunachal Pradesh will again be claimed. The Indian mind has been so conditioned over the years.

Lt Gen TS Shergill

Muted anxiety has been triggered that the fauj will be plagued by the erosion of professional competence at the altar of political expediency.

C Uday Bhaskar

Director, Society for Policy Studies

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day speech was akin to blowing the bugle for the 2024 General Election. The presumptuous certitude exuded by Modi about the outcome at the hustings was reflected in his assertion that that he would be back next year as the PM to present India’s report card. “Next time, on August 15, at this very Red Fort, I will speak of the achievements of our country, the potential and resolve of our people and their success and self-confidence,” he said in the speech.

The probability of this exigency is very high, though this message could have been conveyed in a modest manner, but that is not the Modi model when it comes to electioneering. Specific to national security, PM Modi said: “India has gained a new strategic strength in recent years and today our borders are more secure than ever.”

Ironically, this claim to India’s new-found ‘strategic strength’ came against the backdrop of the 19th round of India-China Corps Commander-level talks, where there was no sign of any breakthrough or even limited progress in the tense military stand-off along the disputed Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. The ground reality is that after the Galwan clash (June 2020), India has forfeited patrolling rights in an area of almost 900 sq km and Delhi is seeking a return to the status quo, which Beijing has refused to accept and restore.

It is being speculated that when PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet at the BRICS summit in South Africa (August 22-24), there could be a political nudge to arrive at a modus vivendi to a complex territorial dispute that has been festering since October 1962. If this does happen, the prospects of a successful G20 summit in India in September are bright, and a satisfactory resolution of the dispute would burnish the Modi report card apropos of national security in a distinctive manner.

However, the signals from China remain opaque and India will have to live with the latest formulation in the joint statement, which noted that in the absence of any breakthrough, the two sides ‘agreed to maintain peace and tranquillity on the ground in the border areas’.

The inference that follows is that if India is to remain credibly resolute in its stand on the contested territorial impasse, the index of its ‘strategic strength’ would have to be of effective quality and quantity. A brief review of this domain under Modi 2.0 would suggest that there are complex national security challenges ahead that will merit objective scrutiny by the government of the day in a non-partisan manner.

On the external front, the old chestnuts remain on the radar — the revisionist agendas adopted by China and Pakistan. Apropos of internal security, the recent violence that racked Manipur and parts of Haryana are illustrative of the challenges. Left-wing extremism that has in the past challenged the efficacy of the state is currently dormant, but it remains a cause for concern that can flare up in an unanticipated manner.

The material state of the armed forces and their individual inventory status were deemed to be inadequate by the BC Khanduri committee in 2018, but the requisite funding support has been less than adequate to redress this gap. This is one tangible strand of India’s strategic strength.

The more critical but intangible elements of India’s strategic strength are the professionalism of the fauj (military), the steadfast apolitical orientation of this institution, and the military’s abiding commitment to the country and the national flag. From the first war to defend Kashmir in October 1947 to Kargil of 1999 and in a wide spectrum of internal security duties, the Indian armed forces have never wavered, despite a range of constraints.

However, this core strategic strength has been diluted under Modi 2.0 as the ‘spine’ of the institution has been tampered with. While the creation of the post of CDS (Chief of Defence Staff) in January 2020 was welcomed and it must be acknowledged as a major political decision, subsequent developments have apparently disturbed the institutional integrity of the military and the equipoise of the civil-military relations.

After the tragic death of Gen Bipin Rawat in December 2021, the Modi government kept the office vacant for many months and finally appointed the second CDS only in September 2022. But in a very radical departure from the norm, a retired three-star General was handpicked and appointed the CDS with a four-star rank.

Whatever may have been the compulsions for such a decision, this has resulted in introducing a political dimension in the steep pyramidical ‘rat race’ that characterises promotions in the military. Muted anxiety has been triggered that the fauj will soon be plagued by the erosion of professional competence at the altar of political expediency. Were this to happen, its much-valued ‘strategic strength’ would be frayed.

In the run-up to the October 1962 debacle, then PM Jawaharlal Nehru allowed his domestic political compulsions to trump abiding national security considerations and the country paid the price. As PM Modi prepares for a possible third tenure, paying heed to the rhythms of history may be a desirable detour before the election momentum relegates matters of strategic and security import to the back-burner. 

President Droupadi Murmu was chief guest

Tribune News Service

New Del

hi, August 21

The Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA) organised the second season of ‘Asmita – Inspiring Stories by Army Wives’ here on Monday. It was a day-long event and President Droupadi Murmu was the chief guest.

Dr Sudesh Dhankar, wife of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar and Meenakshi Lekhi, Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture were the guests of honour. Archana Pande, AWWA president, told the audience that ‘Asmita’ is a platform provided to Army wives and achievers, who have shattered glass ceilings to narrate their accounts and inspire others like them.

This season of ‘Asmita’ comprised talks by Jaya Prabha Mahto, science teacher from Jharkhand; Sanjhana Nayarr, author and social activist; Vandana Mahajan, cancer care and palliative care counsellor; Ambreen Zaidi, author and columnist; Captain Yashika H Tyagi (retd); Florence Hnamte; Sargam Shukla, national rowing medalist; Aashna Kushwaha, entrepreneur and content creator and Lieutenant Jyoti.

Arunima Sinha, a mountaineer and Ananda Shankar Jayant, a classical dancer, were guest speakers at the event.

2 Pak-based peddlers held with 30 kg of heroin

Anirudh Gupta

Ferozepur, August 21

As floodwater has submerged villages along the Sutlej in Ferozepur district, the cross-border smugglers are constantly trying to push huge quantity of contraband along with arms and ammunition inside the Indian territory.

In the past one month, the counter intelligence wing has seized over 132 kg of heroin in the Ferozepur sector. Lakhbir Singh, AIG, Counter Intelligence Wing, Ferozepur Range, said the cross-border smugglers had become active as the raging Sutlej submerged villages along the International Border.

The river enters Pakistan nine times and again flows into India, only to finally drain into the neighbouring country.

Sources said smugglers were usually expert divers who were using floods to their advantage.

With several border outposts of the BSF getting inundated at certain locations, the BSF has enhanced vigil and patrol the area on motorboats. Today, the 182 Battalion of the BSF and the CI apprehended two Pakistan-based smugglers and seized close to 30 kg narcotics during the wee hours in a joint operation near the border.

The AIG said the joint operation was conducted along the banks of the Sutlej near Gatti Matar village. “Around 2:45 am, our teams noticed some persons coming from Pakistan towards India. Sensing imminent threat, jawans fired at them. As a result, a person was hit on his hand,” said a BSF officer.

Subsequently, troops apprehended two Pakistani smugglers along with 26 packets containing 29.26 kg of heroin. The smugglers have been identified as Muhammad Ajmal Riyan of Kanganpur village and Sivna of Alipur village, both residents of Kasur, Pakistan.

After administering first aid, the injured smuggler was admitted to the Civil Hospital from where he was referred to Faridkot.

A case under Sections 21-C, 29 and 30 of the NDPS Act, besides Section 3, 34 and 20 of the Indian Passport Act has been registered in Fazilka.

PLAN B : MEDICAL INSURANCE – SSS (SAINIK SEVA SAMITI)*

*(Shared By Cdr Sudhir Dua, IN)*
*(Secretary SSS)*

*Plan B because we can use ECHS* which is our service entitlement but is subject to funds constrained by MoD. Service HQ tries their best to help ESM and Serving.
*But many times ECHS and MH cannot cater to our Needs.* *Then Medical Insurance can be the Saviour.*
ECHS rates are low only about the 30 to 40% of normal rate ,the payments are delayed by EcHS due to Poor funds disbursement by MOD, if their occupancy is high they refuse ECHS patients even in emergency and we are unable to act as we have not paid our bills. A Small Mediclaim Insurance helps meet emergencies as Hospitals generally don’t refuse Insurance Patients as they get timely Payments and almost 80 % of rack rates.
*Due our Service exigencies and Age or Sometimes lack of facilities in MH, it is advisable to have a Small Mediclaim Plan as Option B*

Parents, Parent- in- laws , Children and Grandchildren can also avail sss policy. Many Children have a Corporate plan but when they shift jobs they land up in shadow zones without V medical cover for themselves and family

Under present norms parents and dependents are subjected to financial restrictions. To get their support with present transparent direct tax systems is difficult through ECHS.

Today Medical costs can be high and youngsters take high value plans for 1 CR, But due to ECHS support we can just have a small Rs 5 to 10 lakhs Cover with no Age limit and all Pre existing diseases covered from Day One.

Icing on the cake is dedicated Helpdesk from TPA and Broker

Helpdesk at Sss helps for Membership only Paid Members can buy a Mediclaim plan or even opt for additional OPD plan
*For details take membership on www.ssamiti*
Org using join us and primary membership form.
Members can see all details on website seek help to answer all queries from sss help desk. After getting confident about sss and the plan, please log-in with your sss id pay for Membership on the website and also Optional OPD plan.

Besides this all Members can get discounted Group Policies for their cars ,international travel and soon to start a comprehensive home care plan

*Cdr Sudhir Dua*
*Secretary Sss*

Note pls call Helpdesk for all queries
Pooja

Sss is a proven plan and operational since last 3 years Rs 5.8 CR premium already transfered to new india assurance .

*Sss caters as an excellent plan B*

India has objections over PLA blocking patrols

Tribune News Service

Ajay Banerjee

New Delhi, August 21

Military officers of India and China today met for the third time within four days to resolve the border standoff, especially at the sensitive Depsang plains.

Major General-level officials met at two locations —Chushul and Daulat Beg Oldie — in eastern Ladakh on Monday. This was the third meeting since Friday.

The push to resolve the deadlock also comes just ahead of the expected bilateral between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit from August 22 to 24 in South Africa.

Major General-level officers have been tasked with finding a workable solution that could be implemented along the undemarcated Line of Actual Control (LAC).

There are differences over the pulling back of troops from the Depsang plains and Charding Nullah near Demchok. The two sides have been locked in a standoff since April 2020. Talks have been deadlocked over the dispute over the 972-sqkm plateau Depsang. The two sides have issues over troop positions, especially at the “bottleneck” on the eastern edge of Depsang. India has been objecting to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) deliberately blocking Indian patrols on the patrolling route that goes east of the “bottleneck” in Depsang. Prior to April 2020, Indian patrols were using the patrolling route, but since then the PLA has been craftily using a clause in the 30-year-old border agreement to block Indian patrols.

As per the border agreement, patrolling parties of one country have to return on encountering the patrol party of the other country.

One of the options being discussed now is that Indian troops would coordinate with the Chinese when patrols go east of the “bottleneck”. This would mean the creation of a new buffer zone and not carrying out patrols independently.

The claims of both sides overlap, especially in the Depsang plains. Some of these locations hold strategic value as they overlook the Aksai Chin plateau which is under illegal control of China.

India has already suggested to China that a graded three-step process is needed to ease the standoff. The first is disengagement of troops within close proximity in grey zones along the LAC and getting back to positions as on April 2020.

The next two steps — de-escalation and de-induction — will entail pulling back troops and equipment to the pre-April 2020 levels. Till that is agreed upon and complied with, it cannot be assumed to be business as usual.

worth pondering over it:-

The military loss data of Russia and Ukraine disclosed by Mossad, Israel’s world-renowned intelligence agency:

Russian military losses: 23 aircraft, 56 helicopters, 200 drones, 889 tanks and armored vehicles, 427 artillery pieces, 12 air defense systems, 18,480 killed, 44,500 injured, and 323 captured. The number of soldiers involved in the war was 418,000.

Ukraine lost 302 aircraft, 212 helicopters, 2,750 drones, 6,320 tanks and armored vehicles, 7,360 cannons, 497 air defense systems, 157,000 killed, 234,000 injured, 17,230 prisoners, and 734,000 soldiers , is in the ninth domestic mobilization of 100,000 soldiers to fill the gap.

234 NATO officers, trainers, and agents died (US, UK)

2458 NATO soldiers died (Poland, Germany, Lithuania…)
A total of 5360 mercenaries died.

The war between Russia and Ukraine has made us to focus on international affairs more deeply. The victory or defeat of Russia will affect the international scenario and any predictions are all wild guesses.

But there are a few signs that have been exposed. In this war, United States stands defeated, the EU fooled, NATO stunned, Ukraine smashed, public officials silenced, and the third world awakened. It has made private property unholy, free speech, science and art have borders, cats and dogs have original sins, Switzerland is no longer neutral, and the hegemony of the US dollar is no longer stable. The Americans found that the third brother was disobedient. The Germans discovered that no matter how high the GDP is, it cannot keep them warm.

The Chinese discovered that no matter how loud the speech is, it is not as good as having a strong military. It is also known that in recent decades, some wealthy Chinese have deposited money in American banks, Swiss banks, and European Union banks. Now they are restless and regretful! This is like putting meat next to a wolf’s mouth, and sooner or later the wolf will gulp it!

I don’t know how this war will end, but the above facts are an education. This war will cause the brainwashing and rhetoric techniques that the West has painstakingly worked on for a hundred years, to collapse and destroyed. It is an awakening. If you have ammunition in your hands, you must have food too. The real economy plays a leading role. This war further shows that peace depends on a strong military force!

*LONG BUT WORTH READING. FOR THOSE NOT HAVING TIME PLEASE GO TO CONCLUSION GIVEN AT THE END*

( *Shared By – Brig Dhananjay Vinayak Vidwans (Retd)*)

1. Very recently we were able to solve a case of migration to SPARSH of an EME officer who retired in 2003.
2. The officer received a SMS from his bank that *Rs xxxxx has been credited on xxJul 2023 by NEFTINWARD RBIXXXXX/PRINCIPAL CO* of Jul 2023.
3. The officer referred the SMS to me, it was evident that he had been migrated to SPARSH. I suggested that we wait for a fortnight for the userid and Pw. No userid and Pw were received in 15 days ( and would not have been received at all ( came to know later ) since the mobile number in use was not registered in ePPO / SPARSH database).
4. After waiting for 15 days and no userid and Pw, we set to take action for SPARSH registration.
5. The first task was to upload the Aadhar number of the officer as it was not available with SPARSH. We had to wait for a week for the Aadhar number to be approved by ORO(MP5) /RODRA.
6. After that the mobile number linked to Aadhar was required to be uploaded since it was not available with SPARSH ( Later on we came to know that an old number was present in the SPARSH database but was not in use by the officer and not linked to Aadhar). Since the old out of use mobile number was present in SPARSH we could not proceed with the Aadhar authentication and had to use the secret question option in which the bank account number, personal number, date of retirement and the Aadhar number were required to be input.
7. After approval of the mobile number we could then get the SPARSH PPO number and able to login with the forgot password option.
8. Subsequently the change of password and declaration were esigned.
9. After that the pension slip, PDV and Corr PPO were downloaded.
10. The whole process took 25 days in all.
11. The task of updating / correcting the information in the PDV is required to be undertaken on priority by the officer.

*CONCLUSION* –
*a. Officers should register and/or update RODRA data*.
*b. For those who have not been migrated should check their Bank Passbook for the description of pension paid entry for the following words NEFTINWARD RBIXXXXX/PRINCIPAL CO*

Brig Jagbir Singh Grewal (Retd)

THE immediate compulsion for the British to quit India arose with the erosion of loyalty to the Crown among the Indian armed forces’ personnel as a result of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s military activities. The Indian National Army (INA) was founded with the collaboration of Indian soldiers, prisoners of war, expatriates and Japanese allies in Southeast Asia; it also had a women’s regiment, the Jhansi Ki Rani Regiment, led by Lakshmi Sahgal.

Things came to a head when the British committed a grave error — they set about putting on public trial members of the top brass of the INA at the Red Fort in Delhi during 1945-46 on the charge of waging a war against the King-Emperor.

Col Prem Sahgal, Major Gen Shah Nawaz Khan and Col Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon had served as officers in the British Indian Army. They had been taken prisoners of war at Malaya, Singapore and Burma. Later, they joined the INA along with a large number of Indian Army troops and fought for the liberation of India. Their trial spread disenchantment against the British within the armed forces. The public, too, rose in unison.

On February 18, 1946, Indian sailors of the Royal Indian Navy (RIN) mutinied; the mutiny spread to over 70 ships. Bringing down the British flag on their ships, the mutineers hoisted flags of the Congress, the Muslim League and the Communist Party. Vociferously raising the demand for Independence, thousands of sailors went around Bombay holding portraits of Netaji. The mutineers were joined by the people of Bombay, who wholeheartedly extended support. Within 48 hours, the British had lost control over the navy, even as the mutineers rechristened RIN as the Indian National Navy.

It is estimated that around 220 people died in police firing and about 1,000 were injured during the unrest. The RIN mutiny was followed by a rebellion in the Royal Indian Air Force and in some Army units, mainly at Jabalpur.

The British painfully realised that a mortal blow had been inflicted on the Raj, and that they no longer controlled the Indian armed forces. They feared more such mass movements. The mutinies, coupled with the uproar in the Indian armed forces and the sacrifices of freedom fighters, convinced the British to expedite the process of quitting India. Clement Attlee, then British Prime Minister and the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955, was left with no option but to approve the decision to grant Independence to India.

As World War II ended, Britain had already exhausted Indian resources, finances and manpower for its war effort. Britain’s economy was left severely depleted. The state of affairs had a tremendous impact on British foreign policy, even as the tumultuous events of 1945-46 played a key role in hastening the colonial power’s exit from India.