Top Army brass have been stung by the decision of a group of officers to get a controversial Left-wing polemicist to speak at the prestigious National Defence College.

Sources said that the decision to get Siddharth Varadarajan, a US citizen and the vanguard of the Left-wing commentariat, one who has consistently been critical of India and thinks Pakistan is the wronged party, has not gone down well with the Army headquarters. Since his ouster from the Hindu newspaper a few years ago, Varadarajan has been running a news portal with the help of money he has collected from millionaires.After the Army used a human shield to protect the lives of innocent citizens during polling day in Srinagar, the portal had an article in which one Partha Chatterjee compared Army Chief General Bipin Rawat to butcher of Jallianwala Bagh and predicting a “General Dyer Moment” in Kashmir in the near future. On his own, Varadarajan has in recent writings equated Kulbhushan Jadhav whose case India fought at the International Court of Justice in The Hague with Farooq Ahmed Dar, the stone pelter whom the Army used as a human shield. “Deterring people from throwing stones at the security forces is a laudable objective but the officer concerned violated the law when he arbitrarily detained Dar and subjected him to this humiliating and degrading treatment,” he proclaimed

Varadarajan’s wife Nandini Sundar has been accused by Chhattisgarh police of being in league with the Left-wing terrorists who have massacred security personnel as well as civilians in the Naxal-infested areas. A recently surrendered Maoist has in fact confessed that he was the intermediary between the Maoist leaders and their sympathisers, one of whom was Sundar.

There is anger and revulsion at the decision to invite him to address the prestigious National Defence College in New Delhi on diplomacy and national Security. “This is inexplicable. We are open to criticism and believe that Army should be exposed to all shades of opinion. But to invite someone who has made it a business to demonise one of the most professional Army is to cross the line, it is nothing less than indulgence of subversion,” said a source in the Army.

Predictably, social media was on overdrive after Varadarajan tweeted that he was “looking forward to addressing Brigadier level officers from the three services at the NDC in Delhi on diplomacy and national security”.

“A lecture of diplomacy and natl security fm a Commie and husband of Naxal sympathiser,” said one tweet. “A Lecture by Hafiz Saeed on counter terrorism to ATS?”

More than 90 per cent of those who replied to his tweet were appalled at the invitation to Varadarajan who has earned a lot of new nicknames today, many that were unprintable. Among the more restrained ones were traitor, anti-Indian, scoundrel, Paki propagandist, terror sympathiser, jihadist and such like.

The illuminated Kargil War Memorial at Drass. Tribune Photo

Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 10

The Army is preparing to observe Vijay Divas. A series of ceremonies will be organised to honour the martyrs of war across the country.To mark the 18th anniversary of the victory, the main event will be held at Kargil War Memorial at Drass from July 24 to July 26.It will be attended by a large number of dignitaries of the Army and civil administration as well as gallantry award winners of the conflict and families of many martyrs.As a run up to the event, a large number of competitions and events have been planned for the local population of the area who supported the operation whole heartedly risking their lives. Polo matches, cricket, archery, tent-pegging competitions and cultural shows have been planned on July 21 and July 22. These events will culminate on July 23 with a “Military Tattoo” show and prize distribution.Giving details, the Defence PRO, Srinagar, said: “On July 24 and 25, the Army bands will present a display, followed by a solemn memorial service. On July 26, senior Army officers, martyrs’ families, war heroes, political representatives and the civil administration will participate in the commemorative wreath-laying ceremony at Kargil War Memorial located at the base of the Tololing feature.”

Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh was summoned over the alleged firing by Indian forces in Chirikot and Satwal sectors, the statement said. PTI file

Islamabad, July 8

Pakistan on Saturday summoned India’s deputy high commissioner in Islamabad over alleged firing along the Line of Control that killed two persons and injured three others.Earlier, Pakistan accused India of violating the ceasefire along the LoC in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in which two persons were killed and three others injured, Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson said in a statement.Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh was summoned over the alleged firing by Indian forces in Chirikot and Satwal sectors, the statement said.

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The firing allegedly resulted in killing two civilians, including a woman. Three other people were injured.The Foreign Office said that Director-General (South Asia & SAARC) Mohammad Faisal summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner and “condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces”.“The Director-General urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement, investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations, instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC,” the Foreign Office said.Meanwhile, army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said, “Pakistan Army troops responded effectively to Indian unprovoked firing.” PTI

The People’s Liberation Army today accused the Indian military of stopping the construction of a road in what it claims to be China’s “sovereign territory” in the Sikkim section of the India-China border and said the move has “seriously damaged” border peace and tranquillity.

In a statement, the Chinese defence ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang said recently China had begun the construction of a road in DongLang region, but was stopped by Indian troops crossing the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

“The China-India boundary in Sikkim has delineated by historical treaty. After the independence of India, the Indian government has repeatedly confirmed it in writing acknowledging that both sides have no objection to Sikkim border,” the statement said.

“For China to build the road was completely an act of sovereignty on its own territory and the Indian side has no right to interfere,” it said.

Earlier, the Chinese side briefed the Indian side on this issue, it added.

“In this context, the Indian troops unilaterally provoked trouble which was in violation of the relevant agreement between the two sides and the mutual consensus of between the leaders of the two countries,” it said.

“This seriously damaged peace and tranquillity in the border areas. China is committed to developing bilateral relations with India, but also firmly defend its legitimate rights and interests,” it said.

“We hope that the Indian side will meet China halfway, and do not take any actions to complicate the boundary problem, and jointly maintain momentum of good development of bilateral relations”.

Tension mounted in a remote area of Sikkim after a scuffle broke out between personnel of the Indian Army and the PLA, leading to Chinese troops damaging bunkers on the Indian side of the border.

The incident happened in the first week of June near the Lalten post in the Doka La general area in Sikkim after a face-off between the two forces, which triggered tension along the Sino-Indian frontier, official sources in New Delhi said.

After the scuffle, the PLA entered Indian territory and damaged two make-shift bunkers of the Army, the sources said.

After the India-China war of 1962, the area has been under the Indian Army and the ITBP, which is the border guarding force and has a camp 15km from the international border.

This is apparently the reason why China stopped a batch of 47 Indian pilgrims from crossing through Nathu La border in Sikkim into Tibet to visit Kailash and Manasarovar.

Earlier, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told the media here that the Foreign Ministries of both the countries were in touch over the entry of 47 Indian pilgrims blocked by China from entering Tibet at the Nathu La border in Sikkim.

“According to my information, the two governments are in touch over this issue,” Geng told reporters, declining to elaborate whether it was due to any weather-related issues like landslides and rains.

He said the issue was being discussed by the two foreign ministries. China last week refused entry to 47 Indian pilgrims who were scheduled to travel to Kailash Mansarovar through the Nathu La pass in Sikkim.

The pilgrims were scheduled to cross over to the Chinese side on June 19 but had failed to do so due to inclement weather. They waited at the base camp and tried to cross again on June 23 but were denied permission by the Chinese officials.

This is the second route agreed by the two counties for the Kailash yatra. Till 2015 the Yatra was being organised by External Affairs Ministry since 1981 only through Lipu Pass in the Himalayas connecting the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand in India with the old trading town of Taklakot in Tibet.

The Nathulla route enabled pilgrims to travel 1500 km long route from Nathu La to Kailash by buses.

Simran Sodhi Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 23 India’s hope of getting through to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) this year virtually came to an end today with China reiterating its opposition to India’s bid. This comes in the backdrop of the ongoing NSG plenary session in the Swiss capital Bern that concludes today. India had kept its outreach to the NSG members in the run up to the Bern session low key, keeping in view the negative backlash it endured last year after the Seoul fiasco. Sources said the government pushed forward India’s case with various NSG members, but in a quieter way. The problem, however, seems to be that with China not budging from its position, and the NSG working on the basis of a consensus, India’s chances have hardly moved forward. Smaller countries like Turkey and New Zealand also continue to hold on to their reservations about India’s entry into the group. “As for non-NPT countries being admitted to the group, I can tell you there is no change to China’s position,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said today. “I want to point out that the NSG has clear rules on expansion and the Seoul plenary made clear mandates on how to deal with this issue. With these rules and mandates, we need to act as they dictate.” “As for the criteria regarding admitting new members,” Geng added, “as far as I know this plenary meeting in Switzerland will follow the mandate of the Seoul plenary and uphold the principle of decision upon consensus, and continue to discuss various dimensions like technology, law, legal and political aspects of non-NPT countries admission to the group”. China has further complicated the situation by holding talks in Islamabad on Pakistan’s entry into the NSG. Pakistan also followed India’s example and has been pushing for a berth, citing the fact that if India, a non-signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) can be considered, then why not other non-NPT states. India has been arguing that its case needs to be de-hyphenated from Pakistan’s, but China seems to have other thoughts.

Kulbhushan Jadhav. AFP file

Islamabad, June 22

Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court, has filed a mercy petition to Pakistan Army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, the Army said here on Thursday.The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), in a statement, claimed that in his plea, Jadhav has “admitted his involvement in espionage, terrorist and subversive activities” in Pakistan and “expressed remorse” at the resultant loss of lives and extensive damage to property.”Seeking forgiveness for his actions he has requested the Chief of Army Staff to spare his life on compassionate grounds,” the ISPR said.The statement said that Jadhav, a retired Indian Navy officer, had earlier appealed to the Military Appellate Court which was rejected.Under the law he is eligible to appeal for clemency to the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and if rejected, subsequently to the Pakistan President.The military also released a “second confessional video”, in which purportedly Jadhav can be seen “accepting his acts of terrorism and espionage”.Video posted by Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, DG ISPR, on his Facebook pageThe Army said it released the video “so that the world should know what India has done and continues to do against Pakistan.”India moved the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against the death penalty handed down to Jadhav on May 8.In a hearing of the case on May 18, a 10-member bench of the ICJ restrained Pakistan from executing Jadhav.Pakistan claims its security forces arrested Jadhav from its restive Balochistan province on March 3 last year after he reportedly entered from Iran. However, India maintains that he was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Indian Navy. — PTI

President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said that in the rapidly changing environment, the nation’s faith in the armed forces has remained intact. “In the rapidly changing environment, one factor which has not changed is the faith reposed in the armed forces by the entire nation,” Mukherjee said while addressing the convocation ceremony of the College of Military Engineering (CME) here. In all, seventy one M.Tech and B.Tech students passed out from the premier technical and tactical training institution of the Indian Army, established in 1943.Mukherjee said that the Indian Army engineers had traditionally left their mark on prestigious national projects, “be it oil pipeline at Siachen, prestigious naval bases and airfields in the North East or roads cutting through the Himalayan ranges”. “I am sure that each and every one of you will follow the footsteps of your illustrious predecessors and shall live up to the high standards expected of you,” he said.