The Rafale tender stole the political thunder in the Comptroller and Auditor General of India’s (CAG) assessment of 11 capital acquisitions by the Indian Air Force over a time period that spanned both the UPA and Modi governments. Considering that previous CAG reports on coal and 2G had irrevocably damaged the credibility of the UPA government, the Modi government can consider itself fortunate to have escaped unscathed because of the inventiveness of the auditors. The CAG used a never-used formula (called alignment pricing) to declare the Modi tender cheaper than the UPA era’s now-cancelled 126 aircraft bid. An audit basically evaluates four criteria in a defence platform: quality, cost-effectiveness, delivery and objectivity. The CAG report gives conditional thumbs up on only two: cost-effectiveness and the delivery schedule. Even these are up for debate.

But the benchmark of objectivity, which includes intangibles such as transparency, fair play and integrity, stands in a grey zone. For instance, the comparison of UPA and NDA-era prices on the basis of a French index is debatable when payments are made in dollars. A dissent note alleging parallel negotiations (dismissed by then Defence Minister Parrikar as an overreaction) went unchallenged, while there was just a mild rap for not signing an integrity pact and succumbing to French refusal on opening an Escrow account. The Modi government was also easily let off the hook for failing to respond to a 20 per cent price cut by a Rafale competitor. Who knows whether Rafale would have still played tough if it had not been the single vendor.

Rafale was one of the 11 purchases studied by CAG and the common tale that emerges is of overambitious services whose requirements are frequently changed, leading to several vendors dropping out; the contract negotiations committee that rarely establishes the benchmark price, which, in turn, makes it difficult to establish the reasonability of the price. Complex and multi-level approval processes further add to the delays. Overall, the existing capital acquisition system is unlikely to effectively support the IAF in its war preparedness and modernisation.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh and J&K DGP Dilbag Singh carry the coffin of a slain CRPF jawan during a wreath-laying ceremony in Budgam on Friday. Twitter/PTI

Srinagar, February 15

Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday helped carry the coffin of a slain CRPF jawan after he laid a wreath on the mortal remains of the troops, who were killed in a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

Shortly after arriving from Delhi, the Home Minister attended a solemn function here where the remains of 40 CRPF personnel were kept in coffins, draped with Tricolour.

Singh helped carry the coffin of a slain CRPF jawan before it was flown out of Jammu and Kashmir in a special aircraft, an official present at the function said.

The Home Minister, Governor Satya Pal Malik, Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, CRPF Director-General R R Bhatnagar, Jammu and Kashmir DGP Dilbagh Singh besides others attended the wreath-laying ceremony.

“The nation will not forget the supreme sacrifice of our brave CRPF jawans. I have paid my last respects to the martyrs of Pulwama. The sacrifice will not go in vain,” Singh said.

The dignitaries stood in silence till the coffins were loaded in a truck which went to the Srinagar airport, the official said.

Forty CRPF personnel were killed and five injured on Thursday in one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir when a Jaish-e-Mohammad suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100 kg of explosives into their bus in Pulwama district.

The bus was part of a convoy of 78 vehicles CRPF travelling from Jammu to Srinagar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said those responsible for the attack will pay “a very heavy price” and security forces will be given a free hand to deal with terrorists.

In a hard-hitting speech, Modi said the “blood of the people is boiling” and forces behind the act of terrorism will be definitely be punished. PTI

]867]6=78

A senior officer says on condition of anonymity that these clauses have not been there in any Inter-Governmental Agreements in last three decades.

Tribune News Service

Jammu, January 30

Army Public School (APS), Ratnuchak, on Wednesday celebrated its annual day with enthusiasm on the school premises. Officers of Military Station, Ratnuchak, and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.

The function commenced with the lighting of the lamp followed by hoisting of the national flag. The annual report of the school was presented by Principal Sonal Sharma.

Colourful cultural items were presented by students to mark the occasion. The meritorious students of Classes X and XII were awarded commendation certificates.

Vice-Admiral Ajit Kumar P., a missiles specialist, took over as the new Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command (WNC) of the Indian Navy, here on Thursday, an official said.

He succeeded Vice-Admiral Girish Luthra who attained superannuation after an illustrious career spanning nearly four decades with the Indian Navy.

At an impressive ceremonial parade held at the Naval Air Station Shikra, the outgoing and incoming WNC chiefs were accorded a guard of honour before the formal handing over, and later Vice-Admiral Luthra was “pulled out” in true naval traditions.

An alumnus of the Sainik School, Kazhakootam in Kerala, and National Defence Academy, Pune in Maharashtra, Vice-Admiral Ajit Kumar was commissioned in the Indian Navy on July 1, 1981.

A missiles and gunnery specialist, he has served onboard frontline warships of both the Indian Navy and abroad.

He has a rare distinction of commanding six warships—the guided missile corvette INS Kulism, guided missile frigate INS Talwar, guided missile destroyers INS Mumbai and INS Mysore, besides including two foreign fighter vessels.

Ajit Kumar has also completed a Naval Higher Command Course and is an alumnus of the prestigiouis Naval War College, Newport, US.

He has earlier served with the WNC in initial specialist and command appointments and as Chief Staff Officer (Operations), here.

Later, he was the Flag Officer Commanding of the Eastern Fleet, Commanding Officer of Gunnery and Missiles Training School, INS Dronacharya, Chief of Staff Southern Naval Command and Commandant of Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala, Kerala.

Immediately prior to his new appointment, Ajit Kumar was the Vice-Chief of Naval Staff, Naval Headquarters, New Delhi.

In recognition of his services to the country, he has been decorated with several honours including Vishist Seva Medal (2006), Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (2014) and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal this year (2019). IANS

Author Gita Mehta, who is also the sister of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.(Photo: Twitter/@kanak_news)

Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, January 26

The US-based author and sister of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Gita Mehta, on Saturday declined the Padma Shri citing the timing of the selection on the eve of 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Mehta, who was chosen for her work on the Indian history and culture, said she didn’t want any embarrassment to be caused to herself or the government.

“The timing may be misconstrued as it comes on the eve of 2019 Lok Sabha elections,” she said, expressing regret that she would have to decline the award.

Gita Mehta and her publisher husband Sonny Mehta have documented the Indian history and culture. Gita Mehta was awarded in the category of literature yesterday night.

The Padma awards this year come on the eve of Lok Sabha polls with the BJP all set to put up a strong fight in Odisha which is ruled by Gita Mehta’s brother Naveen Patnaik of the BJD.

The return of the Padma by Mehta caused a flutter on Twitter with people recollecting the 2015 award wapasi controversy, with many saying this time the award was returned by unexpected quarters.

Many Twitter visitors also questioned Mehta’s decision saying “Padma awards are an expression of the honour by the people of India, these awards are given to select few by the people of India and should not be seen as political.”

Jammu, January 10

The Pakistan army violated ceasefire for the third consecutive day on Thursday, shelling forward posts and civilian areas along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district inviting a strong retaliation from Indian forces, officials said.

The year 2018 witnessed the highest number of ceasefire violations–2,936–by Pakistan troops in the past 15 years along the Indo-Pak border.

“The Pakistani army resorted to firing and shelling on forward posts along the LoC in Poonch sector on Thursday morning,” officials said, adding there were no casualties or injuries on the Indian side.

Indian troops guarding the border retaliated strongly, he said.

On Wednesday as well, Pakistani troops had fired on and shelled the Kalal forward area in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district twice, they said.

The continuous shelling and firing on villages has set in a fear psychosis among the border dwellers.

With the latest incident, Pakistani troops resorted to firing and shelling along the LoC in Poonch for seven of first 10 days of the New Year.

The Pakistani army fired on forward posts along the LoC in Poonch district on Tuesday as well.

Despite repeated calls, made during Indo-Pak flag meetings, for restraint and adherence to the ceasefire understanding of 2003 for maintaining peace and tranquillity, the Indo-Pak border areas witnessed shelling and firing.

The chief of northern command, Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, had on Monday visited forward areas along the LoC and reviewed security situation in Jammu and Rajouri districts, officials said.

Accompanied by White Knight Corps commander Lt Gen Paramjit Singh, Lt Gen Ranbir Singh visited forward posts of Rajouri and Akhnoor sectors to review the operational preparedness and the prevailing security situation, they said. PTI

Pak targets Gulpur, locals run for safety

Our Correspondent
Rajouri, January 9

The Pakistan army again resorted to mortar shelling and firing in the Khari Karmara and Gulpur areas of Poonch district around 9 am on Wednesday.

Around 5 am on Tuesday, Pakistani troops had resorted to heavy unprovoked shelling and firing on India forward posts and forward areas in the Chakan da Bagh area.

“Pakistan initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation with small arms and also resorted to shelling with heavy-calibre weapons in the Gulpur sector. The firing was retaliated strongly and effectively,” said Lt Col Devender Anand, Defence PRO.

Sources said the shelling created panic among locals as mortar shells landed in fields in civilian areas of Khari Karmara in the Gulpur sector, forcing residents to run for shelter.

Around two or three mortar shells fell near the Sarla post manned by the Maratha Regiment. No loss to life or property was, however, reported from the area, the sources said.

The sources said Indian troops were retaliating effectively to Pakistani shelling and firing.

“The Maratha Regiment has blocked all infiltration routes, especially through the Rangar Nullah. Irked by the move, the Pakistan army for the last few days has been continuously targeting areas manned by the Maratha Regiment,” said the sources.

For the past many days, the Pakistan army has been targeting Indian forward posts in the Gulpur, Khari Karmara, Degwar and Chakan da Bagh areas of Poonch district.

In the US, several official and non-official agencies are involved in countering online radicalisation. We don’t seem to have paid focused attention to this issue. Our security agencies, Home Ministry, police forces and the National Security Council might assure us that they are taking steps, but there is no transparency regarding their specific contribution.

Vappala Balachandran
Ex-Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat

BY unearthing ‘terror mastermind’ Mufti Suhail’s conspiracy, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has disproved Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s assertion, made on May 23, 2016, that there was “no threat to India from the Islamic State (IS) as people of the Muslim community are against the IS”. Rajnath Singh had repeated this argument on March 15, 2018, saying that the IS would have no impact on India. He should have known that the IS is not supported even in Sunni-majority Arab areas, not to speak of Muslims globally.

The Home Minister is not alone in going wrong on the shadowy terror group. Mathew Olsen, Director of the US National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC), had told the Brookings Institution on September 3, 2014, that he had “no credible information that the ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) is planning to attack the US”. A year later, ISIL (IS) organised one of the worst mass killings in the US at San Bernardino on December 2, 2015, through a Pakistani-origin couple.

Thus, even knowledgeable people go wrong in assessing the danger from the IS. Some say that the IS would not be able to march into India like the way it captured Syrian-Iraqi territories. Others think that it would stealthily infiltrate foreign cadres into target countries on the lines of al-Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba or Jaish-e-Mohammad.

The first scholar to describe how they operate was US journalist James Kitfield. When the IS had not even made its appearance, he wrote in the National Journal Weekly in September 2006: “Global insurgency reacts to Osama bin Laden’s radical ideology almost like distant and seemingly disconnected light particles respond in unison to an unseen wave”. This is also called ‘Do it yourself terrorism’.

No doubt the IS had raised a spectacular army and captured 60,400 sq km during 2014-17 with 31,000 foreign fighters from 81 countries. By January 2018, this area had shrunk to 6,500 sq km through allied bombing and online propaganda was reduced by over 60 per cent. Still they are able to sneak into the minds of their adherents remotely and make them zombies to obey commands. The UN Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee acknowledged this in November 2018. The IS’ covert propaganda is able to bypass the internet and shift to “anonymous sharing portals like Sendvid.com, Justpast.it, and Dump.to and maintain its networking structure in the face of coordinated disruption”. The UN report of December 31, 2018, estimated that 20,000 fighters might still be present in IS-controlled areas.

The IS also motivates its retuning cadres to unleash terrorism in countries of their origin. Algerian Islamists who had taken part in the Afghan Mujahideen wars (1980-89) had started it on their return to Algeria, killing thousands in the 10-year civil war from 1991. I had envisaged a scenario like this in India through my column, ‘When the Boys Come Home’, in a prominent weekly on September 21, 2014.

A tragic example of this type of terrorism happened in Surabaya (Indonesia). The families of Dita Oepriarto, Anton Febryanto and Tri Murtano, including their minor children, blew themselves up on May 13, 2018, when they attacked three Christian churches. Oepriarto, a childhood education programmer belonging to IS affiliate Jamaah Ansharud Daulah (JAD), had spent time in IS-controlled areas.

Other countries are spending thousands of man hours decoding how such remote propaganda affects the minds of people beyond national borders and how to counter them. The European Union has a staff of 550 in its Radicalisation Awareness Network on cross-border issues such as asylum, migration, border control and terrorism. The Organisation for Security & Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the world’s largest security-oriented inter-governmental organisation, has programmes to prevent online radicalisation, not all very successful. An article in New York Times in 2017 says that people tend to look up to online propaganda, being dissatisfied with the mainstream media.

In the US, several official and non-official agencies are involved in countering online radicalisation following the theme paper of December 2012 by Thomas Keen and Lee Hamilton, co-Chairs of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission. We do not seem to have paid focused attention to it. Our security agencies, Home Ministry, police forces and the National Security Council might assure us that they are taking necessary steps, but there is no transparency regarding their specific contribution. We have no tradition of academic institutions being involved in such serious studies, except by think tanks that might produce occasional papers.

One of the basic requirements to prevent radicalisation is to maintain an inclusive society where justice is assured to all sections irrespective of their religions or castes. The UN General Assembly’s ‘Four Pillars’ of ‘Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy’, adopted on September 8, 2006, and renewed every two years speak of “addressing conditions to the spread of terrorism”, including violation of human rights. Mufti Suhail had spoken about “the persecution of Muslims in India” as one of the reasons for his joining the IS network. We should introspect whether the ‘beef lynchings’ in some states on mere suspicion had created such ‘conditions’, especially when DNA tests by the National Research Centre on Meat had certified that only 7 per cent of the suspected samples were cow meat (between 2014 and 2017).

We should also introspect how far the NDA government’s misguided policy on Kashmir has contributed to this trend even after the May 24, 2018, recommendation by the National Security Strategies Conference to Rajnath Singh on holding talks with the Hurriyat and Pakistan to stop the slide. This introspection should include policy deviations such as considering ‘separatists’ as untouchables, policy excesses like treating stone throwers as terrorists and using pellet shots on demonstrators.

On December 29, 2018, masked youths entered the 14th-century Jama Masjid in Srinagar and hoisted Islamic State flags on the pulpit, akin to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s action of proclaiming the IS from the podium of the 12th-century grand mosque of al-Nouri in Mosul on July 4, 2014. It is hoped that the present J&K administration would fully support the Hurriyat-led joint resistance in countering this sacrilege.