All posts by webadmin

Governor NN Vohra being pinned a flag on Armed Forces Flag Day at Raj Bhawan in Jammu on Thursday. Tribune Photo

Tribune News Service

Jammu, December 7

Governor NN Vohra celebrated Armed Forces Flag Day at a function at Raj Bhawan here today.The Governor observed that Armed Forces Flag Day was an important occasion for remembering the valiant soldiers who had sacrificed their lives for protecting the territorial integrity of the nation.He lauded the crucial role of the Armed Forces, both during war and in peace, and observed that their sacrifices were founded in their bravery, devotion and dedication.Chief Secretary BB Vyas, Principal Secretary to the Governor Umang Narula, Principal Secretary, Home, RK Goyal, Director, Rajya Sainik Board, Brig Harcharan Singh (retd), Maj Gen Sunita Kapoor (retd), Col Rawel Singh (retd), Zila Sainik Welfare Officer, Honarary Captain Sansar Chand (Maha Vir Chakra) and Havildar Rashid Ahmad (retd) were present on the occasion.The Governor urged the ex-servicemen among his guests to promote the interests of society by offering their expertise and suggested to Maj Gen Sunita Kapoor, who retired as the Additional Director General, Military Nursing Services, to consider working for the improvement of health care of women and children in the rural areas of the state.The Governor also urged the decorated soldiers — Honorary Captian Sansar Chand and Havildar (retd) Rashid Ahmad to train youth, particularly girls, so that they can join the Armed Forces.The Governor advised Brig Harcharan Singh (retd) to vigorously campaign throughout the year in the government and private institutions and collect contributions for the Flag Day fund so that a large corpus could be generated for carrying out welfare activities for the ex-servicemen and their families.

Not much has been written about the plight and rights of soldiers maimed while answering the call of duty

Bhartesh Singh Thakur

History is written by the victors, they say. War history is no different. It is also about wars, victories, heroes and strategies. Sadly, hardly ever does it talk about those disabled for life in the battlefields. Countless among them continue to fight for decades for pensions and hikes before tribunals and courts in the country.Such is the state of affairs of human resource management in defence forces that irrational orders continue to be contested by the bureaucracy right till the Apex court if favourable orders don’t come from tribunals. The Right to Information Act has come to the aid of disabled soldiers fighting court cases. It enables them to be able to get some information from the otherwise opaque military administration. Earlier, the soldiers would not know why their pensions had been reduced.The lower rung officers in pension disbursal administration are more inclined to deny benefits and the top rung just follow those notings in toto. The result: cases being contested for years. There are cases where benefits have been denied even after the intervention of the Chief of Army Staff.It was in 2014 that Maj Navdeep Singh came out with Maimed by the System, an anthology of real-life accounts of military personnel, veterans and kin who fought and even successfully claimed their rights from courts, but after decades and some even posthumously.One of the prominent stories in the book is that of Capt Manjinder Singh Bhinder, who lost his life in the 1997 Uphaar Cinema tragedy, but not before saving 150 lives. His wife and four-year-old son, too, died in the fire. His parents were denied pension benefits on the ground of “death not attributable to military service”. A soldier is expected to respond to emergency situations even on leave, and he had died doing so. His parents had to approach Delhi High Court, which not only restored pension benefits, but also his honour.Another story is that of Gunner Bachan Singh from Ropar, whose pension was restored after battling for 59 years. While serving in Libya, he got injured after a shell fell on the vehicle he was travelling in. He lost function of his right hand. The British Crown retained him in service despite his disability, but India, after gaining independence, sent him back in November 1947. The military accounts branch discontinued his pension in 1949 on the ground that his disability was under 20 per cent,  while it actually was 30 per cent.In the mid-2000s, a letter on the case written to Lt Gen S Pattabhiraman, the then Army Commander, Western Command (he later rose to Vice-Chief of the Army Staff), elicited personal action by the General. Bachan Singh’s medical examination was conducted in 2005 and finally, in 2008, he got his pension back with arrears. He died the same year.Seventeen such stories have been narrated in the book. The corridors of courts are replete with such tales where soldiers have been ‘crippled’ by the military administration, but no one to tell them.In contrast, the West has produced many a literary work on the plight of their soldiers. John M Kinder’s Paying With Their Bodies is about an Iraq War veteran who lost his legs in a bomb attack. It questions a nation’s obligations to those who fight in its name. Audra Jennings’s Out of the Horrors of War: Disability Politics in World War II America shows how “disability is not merely  ‘another’ analytic category for historical analysis, but a crucial part of US political and policy history”. Sam Gaylord’s memoir, Then I Came Home, says the US government did not support its troops in the Vietnam War and has not paid heed to its combat veterans. 

Lt Gen DR Soni

Tribune News Service

Shimla, November 30

Lt Gen DR Soni today relinquished the charge of the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Army Training Command (ARTRAC).Lt Gen Soni will take over as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern Command tomorrow. He is known for his out-of-the-box thinking and has been a staunch proponent of transformation in the Army based on innovative approaches and exploitation of the latest technologies.During his stint here, he addressed a wide spectrum of core issues. He was instrumental in evolving fresh concepts and doctrines as per the changing strategic milieu. He energised the ARTRAC with the renewed focus on operational-oriented training, leadership skills, assimilation of modern technological tools and accentuated inculcation of “killer instinct” during training.Through his endeavour, he helped in transforming the training establishments across the country as centres of excellence.

The snow -clearing operation in full swing on the Manali-Rohtang-Keylong highway on Wednesday. Photo by writer

MC Thakur

Manali, November 22

A week after heavy snowfall blocked the Manali-Rohtang-Keylong highway, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) today cleared the stretch. Vehicles are expected to cross Rohtang on Thursday.According to an official of the BRO, snow has been cleared from both sides of the 13,050-ft Rohtang Pass, the gateway to Lahaul-Spiti.He said the surface was still slippery due to the presence of a thick layer of ice. Till the filing of this report, no vehicle had crossed the Rohtang Pass. A large number of people in Lahaul valley are eagerly waiting for the authorities to open the road.Koksar rescue post in-charge Pawan Kumar said although snow had been cleared, the road was still slippery.He said 46 persons, who were waiting for the road to open at Koksar, were being provided food and shelter.“We have been asked to send vehicles from Lahaul to Koksar first. Today, we checked the road condition and found a number of frozen stretches between Koksar and Rohtang,” he said.The BRO’s 38 Border Road Task Force commander Col Arvind Awasthi said the highway would not be opened to the general public, but in case of an emergency, vehicles would be allowed to pass.According to officials in Lahaul, first preference would be given to those who were stuck in the valley and only then vehicles from Manali would be allowed to come towards Rohtang.Many people who wanted to go to Lahaul from Manali had booked taxis to reach Lahaul via Kishtwar route which takes about two days.Meanwhile, the Manali administration is not letting tourists go beyond Kothi.A truck driver, Rajender Kumar, who resides in Mandi district, was coming from Leh towards Keylong when he was trapped in blizzards at Bharatpur on Thursday. He spent two nights in the truck and eventually decided to walk over thick snow towards Keylong.After walking for about 25 km, he reached Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment at Patseo where he was given shelter.A rescue team from Keylong went to Patseu today to bring Rajender to Keylong. He and other stranded persons are expected to cross Rohtang on Thursday.

Farooq Abdullah, the former chief minister of Jammu & Kashmir, likes to make provocative statements. Few take him seriously anymore. His latest remark, “Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) belongs to Pakistan”, can therefore be summarily dismissed – but only after setting the record straight.

Abdullah said India had “betrayed” the people of J&K by not granting the state autonomy and not implementing its promise of holding a plebiscite. (Note: Not a word meanwhile escaped from the loquacious Abdullah during his press interaction on the betrayal by successive J&K governments of 4,00,000 Pandits driven from their homes by Islamists and separatists towards whom the father-son party, the National Conference, leans.)

Abdullah senior, as usual, is muddle-headed over the “promise” of a plebiscite in J&K. Of course, a plebiscite was promised by Jawaharlal Nehru. And of course that promise was formalised in a United Nations resolution in August 1948 even as the India-Pakistan war over Jammu & Kashmir still raged.

Indian soldiers during the 1947–1948 war. Photo credit: Wikipedia

The resolution said: First, enforce a ceasefire. On December 31, 1948, a ceasefire was duly enforced. The resolution went on to say: Second, all Pakistani troops and other irregular Pakistani fighters must vacate the whole of Jammu & Kashmir.

Was that done? No. Sixty-nine years later, PoK remains under illegal occupation by Pakistan in defiance of the 1948 UN resolution.

The UN resolution said third and finally: Once all Pakistani troops and other Pakistani irregular tribal fighters vacate the whole of Jammu & Kashmir, a plebiscite in the state will be called. By not complying with the second condition of the UN resolution to vacate PoK, Pakistan forfeits the right to the third condition: ie, a plebiscite.

Farooq Abdullah knows this perfectly well. And yet every few months, in order to placate the National Conference’s communal vote bank, he raises the issue of autonomy, plebiscite and PoK.

He is best ignored but the issues he raises cannot be.

Abdullah’s comment contradicts India’s position on PoK articulated in an all-party resolution adopted by a Congress-led Parliament in 1994 that PoK is an integral part of India.

Abdullah’s scatter-brained remark, however, serves the useful purpose of shining a light on the first war between India and Pakistan in 1947-48 over Jammu & Kashmir spearheaded by Field Marshal KM Cariappa whose “singular distinction”, historian Ramachandra Guha recently wrote, “was that he was the first army chief. He was not necessarily the best, either in the field or as a tactician.”

Is Guha right?

Consider the facts.

Cariappa was the first Indian army chief, taking over in January 1949 from the last British chief of the Indian army, Lt. General Sir Roy Bucher.

What was Cariappa’s role in the long battle in 1947-48 to drive the invading Pakistani army and its tribal forces out of Poonch, Kargil and Uri?

In early-1948, as GOC-in-C of the Western Command, Lt General Cariappa led the force that recaptured Poonch, Kargil, Dras and other areas that the Pakistani army had overrun.

The Indians had been ill-prepared for the war over J&K that erupted weeks after the accession of the state to India. The Pakistani army, helped by irregular tribal fighters, made deep inroads into J&K. General Cariappa appointed Lt General KS Thimayya as GOC of the 19th Division as the war wore on.

By mid-1948, General Cariappa’s troops were pushing the Pakistani army back. The tide had turned decisively in India’s favour.

Politics now struck. Nehru was “persuaded” by the United States to halt the Indian army’s advance. Despite orders from New Delhi to scale back the Indian army’s thrust to drive the Pakistani army out of the whole of Jammu & Kashmir, General Cariappa defied the government and continued to push forward, securing Ladakh for India before operations ceased.

Following the UN mandated ceasefire on December 31, 1948, General Cariappa was appointed the first Indian to head the Indian Army. He took over as commander-in-chief of the army from Lt General Sir Roy Bucher on January 15, 1949. The day is celebrated as Army Day.

General Cariappa was conferred the rank of Field Marshal in 1986 by the Rajiv Gandhi government at the age of 87. The only other Indian army officer to be conferred the rank of Field Marshal (by, incidentally, the Indira Gandhi government) was Sam Manekshaw in 1973, when he was only 58.

As a young Major, Manekshaw like General Thimayya had served under General Cariappa in the 1947-48 India-Pakistan war. Manekshaw though never saw action on the J&K battlefront and was posted to MO Directorate. Manekshaw had, however, proved himself on the battlefield in Burma in 1942 during World War 2. He was lauded for bravery, but did not, unlike Cariappa, get to command a battalion.

Whether or not Field Marshal Cariappa deserves a posthumous Bharat Ratna, as army chief General Bipin Rawat has recommended, is not the key issue. The key question is the accuracy of Guha’s claim that Field Marshal Cariappa’s “singular distinction was that he was the first (Indian) army chief.”

Singular?

The evidence suggests Guha is wrong. There is a deep but unspoken anger among Left-leaning “intellectuals” (I use the word loosely) against General Bipin Rawat following the army chief’s commendation of Major Gogoi in the jeep incident amidst stone pelting in the Valley. Anything that General Rawat says will see bile from these sections of Indian society rise to the surface and curdle, trapped in its sourness.

Field Marshal Cariappa’s Bharat Ratna is a convenient distraction. The real target is General Bipin Rawat.

Army chief General Bipin Rawat. File photo

Varanasi, November 10

Chief of Army Staff Gen Bipin Rawat on Friday claimed that there is no shortage of arms in the Army.“The Army has no shortage of arms. We have to keep modernising weapons, arms as the technology is upgrading, and we are trying to bring in new and modernised ones in our Army,” General Rawat told the media after attending the bicentenary celebration of 9 Gorkha Rifles at 39 Gorkha Training Centre here.General Rawat also said that stone-pelting incidents in the Valley had decreased.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

“Stone-pelting incidents have come down to some extent. The Army, Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and Jammu and Kashmir Police are working together in the state. Solution to this can’t be achieved overnight. The government, intelligence agencies, state administration all are making efforts. Will be successful if things go in this direction, can say this with belief,” he said.Speaking on nomination of late Field Marshal KM Cariappa for Bharat Ratna, Gen Rawat said, “The final decision depends on the government, whatever is decided will be acceptable.”Earlier in the day, Gen Rawat visited the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi with his family and prayed for the safety of soldiers on borders. “Prayed for the safety and security of our jawans on borders,” he said.The Army chief was on a two-day visit to Varanasi, along with his family, to attend the bicentenary bicentenary celebration of 9 Gorkha Rifles. ANI

As security forces tightened the cordon, the hiding militants fired at them. Tribune file

Srinagar, November 7

Three militants of the Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) outfit were killed in an overnight gunfight with the security forces at Aglar village of Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district, police said.“One soldier of 44 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) was martyred and two soldiers and a civilian were injured during the operation,” police said, adding that the encounter had ended.“The slain militants included two Pakistani nationals and a local. The martyred soldier has been identified as Sham Sunder.” The injured are being treated in the hospital.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

“Three weapons–one AK, one M16 rifle and one pistol–besides ammunition were recovered from the encounter site,” said a police spokesman, adding that the identification of the bodies was being done.“It is the same group that was wanted for the attack on the police check-post in Rajpora.”A joint team of Army’s 44 RR, Special Operations Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) cordoned off the village after getting inputs about the presence of militants there.As security forces tightened the cordon, the hiding militants fired at them after which a gunfight started on Monday evening.  Showkat Ahmad, a civilian, was injured when protesters clashed with the security forces to disrupt the operation against the militants.Internet services have been suspended in Pulwama district to check the spread of rumours. IANS