“In the good old days, the norm was that women and politics were never discussed in the forces. However, these subjects were gradually “inching” their way into the discourse and this should be avoided,” the army chief said.New Delhi: Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat on Wednesday said that the “norm in the good old days” was to never discuss women, politics in the forces and that it should be avoided.

“The military should be somehow kept out of politics. Of late, we have been seeing that politicisation of the military has been taking place. I think we operate in a very secular environment. We have a very vibrant democracy where the military should stay far away from the polity,” he said.Rawat was speaking at an event organised by the United Service Institution.

In the “good old days”, the norm was that women and politics were never discussed in the forces, he said. However, these subjects were gradually “inching” their way into the discourse and this should be avoided, the army chief added.

“Whenever (any) issue (of) linking any military establishment or military personnel where political entity comes in then… that is best avoided,” he said.

The army chief declined to elaborate on the statement.

The defence forces, he asserted, do best when they don’t meddle in the political affairs of the nation.

Responding to criticism over the Army being asked to build foot overbridges following the stampede at Mumbai’s Elphinstone railway station in October, Rawat said there is a charter of aid to civilians under which the armed forces help out in times of crises like floods and earthquakes.

Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba, who is also chairman of the powerful chiefs of staff committee (CoSC), has taken up the issue of capping educational assistance with the defence ministry, he said.

There has been some resentment in the three services of the armed forces over the defence ministry’s decision to cap the educational assistance it gives to children of martyrs or those disabled in action at Rs 10,000 per month.

Rawat added that there was a “misunderstanding” on the issue and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had assured that addressing the problem was a priority, Rawat added.

The Army chief also noted that there was radicalisation among the youth by terror outfits and the issue was being addressed.

Col Manveer Bains

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 16

Col Manvir Bains, accused of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, has been denied bail, yet again. Initially booked for murder of Sector 37 resident Parveen Yadav after an incident of road rage, the chargesheet filed in the court did not include the charge of murder.Having been denied bail by the court once before, the Colonel filed a fresh bail plea after the filing of the chargesheet. It said Yadav was already suffering from a serious heart ailment and as proven in the medical report, he died of natural causes. However, the judgment says a precious life has been lost and mere filing of challan of a lesser offence is no ground for bail.Without commenting on the merits of the case, the bail plea was dismissed considering the seriousness of the offence. While dismissing the first bail application of Colonel Bains, the court had said he “knew the consequences of his actions”. The prosecution had stated that Colonel Bains had held Yadav’s neck, slapped and punched him after which he collapsed on the spot.The 48-year-old Mohali resident was arrested on September 2 and booked for murder after Yadav’s family alleged that he had been “beaten to death”. According to the police, the Colonel thrashed Yadav in an incident of road rage on the road separating Sector 34 and 35.

SUNIL Jakhar has notched up an impressive victory margin in the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha byelection. It was, in many ways, an inconsequential election; the outcome does not make any substantial difference to the Lok Sabha numbers. In any case, the ruling parties tend to prevail in byelections and the Congress has registered an absolute victory. Still, a Congress defeat would have rendered the Amarinder Singh government deeply wounded; the Congress, it appears, has not yet run afoul of the voter; on the other hand, Punjab remains curiously indifferent to Narendra Modi’s charm and charisma.Ever since 2014, a negative vote has been a recurring theme, contributing to a despondency among the voters over political choices. All major contestants in Gurdaspur had an opportunity to redeem themselves; all of them gave it a miss. The Congressmen, instead of pushing the “delivering CM” image of Capt Amarinder Singh that they have been trying to build, were content with sticking the sleaze charge on the rivals. The SAD, instead of demonstrating some humility in the wake of the Assembly drubbing, fielded the same old discredited and arrogant campaigners, who this time did not have the advantage of the “official machinery”. The BJP, in a constituency with a significant Hindu presence, could not prove it had anything other than Vinod Khanna’s star power for nearly the past two decades. The limits of its self-styled Chankayas and their political wizardry have been made evident.The Gurdaspur contest is not without certain lessons. The Congress high command needs to sit up to the sharp divisions within the party, which required a leader from the other end of the state to come in and contest. AAP may try and register its presence the next time. The Akalis, of course, need to send some of their star leaders to the cleaners, and wake up to a new level of voter awareness, especially in the time of social media. But the most important and urgent lesson is for the BJP. It was its doings at the Centre — demonetisation and GST — that have actually handed the victory to Sunil Jakhar on a platter.

Angrez Kaur (R) with her grandchildren in Faridkot. Tribune photo

Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, October 13

Over the past four decades, every time an Indian prisoner was released by Pakistan, Angrez Kaur looked forward to a reunion with her husband Surjit Singh, a BSF jawan who was reportedly captured by the Pakistan army during the 1971 war. However, her hopes were dashed every time.Now, the never-say-die Angrej Kaur (67) is optimistic again after the Punjab and Haryana High Court yesterday issued a notice to the Centre on her plea seeking his release.Having run from pillar to post in the past over 20 years, she had filed a writ petition in the High Court.After Surjit went missing, she repeatedly went to the Indo-Pak border at Hussainwala and Attari to meet Pakistan Rangers and request them to help trace her husband. But she got this reply: “There is no prisoner named Surjit Singh in Pakistan’s jails.”“In July 1972, Surjit was listed as killed by the BSF authorities. A death certificate was issued, but I refused to believe that he was no longer alive,” said Angrez Kaur.“Seven years ago, my son met former Pakistan Federal Minister for Human Rights Ansar Burney in New Delhi and appealed to him to track down Surjit,” she added.

A soldier walks into the very jaws of death when needed. But, clearing garbage hits the sense of dignity that is bestowed upon him by his profession.

A sanitation drive in progress after the Amarnath yatra in Baltal. File photo

Lt-Gen Harwant Singh (Retd)

THE recent order by the PMO delivered through the Defence Ministry to the Army to remove garbage etc left by climbers on Mount Everest and pilgrims going to various shrines in the upper reaches of the Himalayas, has caused much dismay and disquiet both amongst the veterans and the serving men. 

Troops always pitch in

1 The Indian Army has always responded with alacrity to any call from the civil administration for help during floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters.2 Similar has been the response when called upon to restore order: when matters get out of hand of the police and other central police organisations. In remote areas, many a time the army has come to the help of the local population even when there has been no such request from the civil administration. The well-being of the people of the country has always been foremost with the Indian army. 3 Soldiering is a profession apart. When called upon, soldiers walk into the very jaws of death without a demur. It is so because of self-respect and pride in the profession of arms, regimental spirit and, above all, love for the country and its people. In all this, lingers a sense of dignity embedded in the profession. Lankan army said no to cleaningIn no democracy of the world has there been a case where soldiers have been asked to undertake the cleaning of garbage generated by the public.  The Sri Lankan army refused to carry out such a task. Soldiers keep cantonments, military stations and their posts neat and clean and these stand out as example of orderliness and cleanliness in the midst of abundant filth seen in the surrounding towns etc.  The new breed of soldiers is different from those of yore. Most of them have no family tradition of soldiering and are there merely for the sake of employment. Therefore, there have been cases in the recent past where soldiers deployed as ‘sahayaks’ (orderlies to officers) have termed tasks such as washing their officer’s car or picking up his child from school or buying vegetables from the market for his officer, as menial. Such complaints made the Army Chief contemplate employing civilians in place of ‘sahayaks.’

‘Lawful command’ issue

Assume that a group of soldiers is ordered to clean up garbage and muck at a particular place, be it Badrinath or Base Camp of Mount Everest and the troops simply do not react to this order. Such a situation arose when Central India Horse (CIH) was ordered to mount the train for eventual move to North Africa, during World War I and one squadron (Sikh Squadron) did not do so, even when the order was repeated. Then as per the military law, it was a mutiny. Court martials followed, with half a dozen awarded the death sentence and some varying terms of imprisonment. The case of the failure to react to order to clear garbage will be no different. Except at such a court martial, the issue of ‘lawful command’, which is the principle content of an order in the military, will surface. Defence will contend whether such an order is a lawful command. How such a situation will impact discipline in the military as a whole is not difficult to visualise. It would be unwise to continuously push the military against the wall. It maintains its own areas in a spick and span state one need leave it at that. 

Ginger up civil administration

There is a need to ginger up the civil administration, which has the necessary wherewithal to take on all such tasks entirely on its own, without calling in the military. Even in such and other tasks, the tendency to call the military at the drop of a hat shows the civil administration in poor light. If at present there are nearly 130 districts in the country where the government’s writ does not fully run, the element of poor civil administration is a substantial contributory factor.  Those who take it upon themselves to pass such uncalled for instructions to the military have little knowledge of soldiering. They are unaware of the fact of how pride in oneself, discipline and officer-man relationship leads them to attempt the impossible, as they did in Kargil. No one need push the military to a position where troops resent or disapprove of tasks being assigned to them. The Swachh Bharat movement is a people’s movement and those on pilgrimage should be motivated to clean up such places as part of their pilgrimage. Elsewhere, the district administration should actively involve itself and get people as a whole to participate in this movement.  Holding a broom as a photo-op is not enough. 

Commandant Lt Gen S K Jha lays a wreath at the IMA War Memorial in Dehradun on Wednesday. Tribune photo

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 4

The Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, celebrated its 85th Raising Day today.  Addressing the gathering, Lt Gen S K Jha, Commandant, IMA, conveyed his appreciation to the Academy’s fraternity for their dedication and contribution towards transforming it into a world class military institution.He reminded that the IMA had rendered outstanding service to the nation by nurturing thousands of well-trained officers.  Lt Gen Jha said the IMA had grown its training capacity from 40 Gentlemen Cadets to 1,800 Gentlemen Cadets ever since it was formed in 1932. Till date 59,932 Gentlemen Cadets have passed out from the portals of the Academy as officers, including Foreign Gentlemen Cadets from 30 friendly foreign countries.Earlier, he also laid a wreath at the war memorial in the Academy. 

An astounding video featuring continuity drill presented by the IMA. Set against the majestic backdrop of Chetwode and accompanied by the IMA brass band with some truly memorable martial music,  here is a spellbinding and spectacular performance by our cadets. Synchronisation, ingenuity, precision, physical fitness and creativity combine to make this an awesome example of the pursuit of excellence. This was an outstanding effort involving 64 cadets of the 140th Course in Dec 2016.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman after inaugurating the Pratham-Shyok bridge in Leh on Saturday.

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 30

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today inaugurated a strategically important bridge on a road to China border that will help the Army in better manoeuverability and communication in case of exigency.The minister, who concluded her two-day visit to the state today, also visited the world’s highest battlefield, Siachen base camp, and reviewed the security situation in the area.The Pratham-Shyok bridge on the Indo-China border in Leh will connect the region to Karakoram in north-eastern Ladakh thus providing vital connectivity on the axis of Road Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldie for military use. The Chinese army had carried out two major incursions in the area in 2013 and 2014 and the sector remains strategically important for the Army.An officer of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) said the construction of the bridge on the 255-km-long road was a part of a major road project, envisaging construction of seven major bridges on which the work was already in progress. The deadline for the completion of these bridges is 2020. These will give further boost to the Army in transporting heavy equipment to the Line of Actual Control.While addressing BRO officers and jawans, Sitharaman said the construction of bridges and roads at a high-altitude terrain was a miracle.“This state-of-the-art bridge will connect people of the region as well as increase travel and communication for strategic transport,” the minister said.Complimenting Army jawans, the Defence Minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the government were for fully supporting jawans who protect the nation in all circumstances.She met Army commanders, who extensively briefed her about the strategic locations and the continuous vigil by the soldiers to protect the nation.

Police ‘reluctant’ to search dera

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Sirsa, August 31

The Haryana Police have no immediate plan to enter Dera Sacha Sauda in Sirsa to sanitise its premises even though searches are being carried out in Naam Charcha Ghar in many other towns across the state.It is being alleged that the state government is avoiding search of the dera till paramilitary forces and the military are deployed in the area, as recovery of any incriminating material or weapons will cause it much embarrassment. The government in a report submitted to the Punjab and Haryana High Court after the Rampal incident had given the dera the clean chit.“We will inform you if and when we have any plan to enter the dera,” Sirsa Deputy Commissioner Prabhjot Singh told The Tribune.However, police sources confirmed that there was no immediate plan to enter the dera as there were no such orders from the higher authorities. “The state government is deliberately avoiding entering Dera Sacha Sauda lest the Army and paramilitary forces get to know about its connivance with Ram Rahim Singh. The government had given the clean chit to the dera in a report submitted to the Punjab and Haryana High Court after the Rampal incident,” said Lekh Raj Dhot, a senior advocate from Sirsa.After the Rampal incident, the High Court had ordered a search of Dera Sacha Sauda to unearth illegal arms and ammunition and periodical monitoring of its activities in view of intelligence inputs that ex-servicemen were imparting weapon training to dera activists.“When Sirsa administration and police officers went to search the dera, they were made to leave their weapons and security guards outside. The dera men took the officials to the places of their choice and they were made to sign on the dotted line, as per the directions of the BJP government. Now, if the Army and paramilitary forces recover illegal weapons, it will be a major embarrassment for the government,” said Dhot.Meanwhile, the district authorities today relaxed the curfew in areas around dera buildings for three hours. However, residents alleged that the police harassed those who wanted to go towards the Arnianwali road.Meanwhile, the situation in Sirsa town remained peaceful throughout the day. Most of the schools and colleges, except those managed by the dera, were open though the attendance was very thin.

5 cops sacked for bid to ‘free’ dera chief

Key confidant in custody, four on run

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. File photo

Chandigarh August 31

The Manohar Lal Khattar government today dismissed five Haryana policemen in convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief’s security team for trying to “free” him after the special CBI court verdict on August 25, even as the incharge of dera mouthpiece “Sach Kahoon” Surender Dhiman Insan, facing sedition charges, gave himself up at a police station here. A local court remanded him in police custody for seven days.Of the five dismissed cops — Ajay, Ram Singh, Vijay Singh, Balwan Singh and Sub-Inspector Krishan Das — three were trained commandos. They, along with dera’s two private security guards Pritam Singh and Sukhbir, were initially booked under Section 307 (attempt to murder) and the Arms Act with sedition charges slapped later. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)In the ‘Z plus’ security team of the dera chief for several years, they had allegedly “slapped” an IG-rank official, scuffled with two more senior officers and blocked a police vehicle at the Panchkula Districts Courts Complex.Meanwhile, lookout notices have been issued against dera spokesperson Aditya Insan and three others, booked for “inciting violence”. An alert has been issued to ensure they did not flee the country. — TNS

Ex-servicemen are engulfed by a smouldering disconnect following the inept handling of the OROP issue by the government. In their sunset years, they are being made to feel as if they are a spent force.

Veteran servicemen at a protest seeking OROP in New Delhi. PTI

Col Dabby S De mello (Retd)In times of war and not before,
God and soldier we adore.
But in times of peace and all things righted,
God is forgotten and the soldier slighted.
—Rudyard KiplingManohar Parrikar apparently is an ardent fan of the legendry poet Rudyard Kipling. Within a month of his swearing in as Raksha Mantri, he has revealed to the country that the nation no more holds the defence services in high esteem. His reason: “These days, people don’t look up to the military in high esteem since there has been no war for so many years.”True, there has been no general war, but just count the horrendous losses suffered in the interim years, battling an insurgency and terrorism, largely the creation of the failed political ideologies, and at times open support to anti-nationals. Coming, therefore, from a Raksha Mantri whose mandate is to uphold the morale of the three services, this statement was most shocking. Parrikar is neither rustic nor illiterate. Nobody becomes an IITian with limited knowledge. All the more reason his disparaging remarks are repugnant. But by saying so, did he bare his party’s mindset towards the faujis or that of the collective conscience of the Indians  as a whole? The revelation, true or false, by  the Raksha Mantri, spoke volumes about the way Defence Services will be treated by the NDA (read BJP). The entire defence fraternity was shocked and felt angry.September 15, 2013, remains a sad day for the exservicemen (ESM) for, on that day, they got carried away by the rhetoric and honeyed words of Narendra Modi, the NDA’s prime-ministerial candidate, during the ESM rally at Rewari. Having seen their stock lowered by the earlier governments, they, rightly or wrongly, allowed themselves to be considered a vote bank by the BJP, a decision they now regret. In his election bhashan, Modi promised to honour the long-pending demand of One Rank One Pension (OROP) in its entirety and true essence, if NDA was voted to power. That it was voted to power with an unexpected majority was also due to the faujis voting en bloc for the BJP, a fact it  should remember. Faujis, for whom an oral commitment is sacrosanct, felt utterly cheated and decided to take an unprecedented step — peacefully protest throughout the country with Jantar Mantar as the pivot. To press home their rightful demands, the ESM, mostly in their twilight years, have been sitting on a relay hunger strike on a footpath near Jantar Mantar non-stop for more than two years. How disgracefully can the government and its leaders behave with the faujis is a new and bitter experience for a disciplined force. And they are angry. 

ESM’s Tiananmen moment

Early morning of August 14, 2015, was the ESM’s Tiananmen moment, when the might of the state pitted itself against peaceful demonstrators; young policemen were allowed to manhandle grey-haired retired soldiers (many of them war-decorated ones) and widows engaged in a peaceful and permitted protest near Jantar Mantar. No one from the government apologised for this shameful behaviour. The faujis have not forgotten that day, and are angry.To break the protest movement, the government even attempted to create an officer-jawan divide by maliciously goading another set of retired jawans to set up an alternate OROP stage a few feet away from the main protest tent at Jantar Mantar. From there, the misguided jawans denounced their officers by reading out the script handed out to them; what sort of government is this that uses such lowdown methods against its own veterans? Fortunately, this misguided lot soon realised its folly and joined the main protest, but the collateral damage it did to the strong officer-man bond which sustains our military, is frightening; a damage which can seriously impair the fighting abilities of our defence forces. The entire fauji fraternity took no time to fathom the design of the establishment and is angry.  Finding far too many anomalies, some very serious, in the notification issued on OROP, the ESM rejected it outright and conveyed it in no uncertain terms to the government. To address the anomalies, the government on December 14, 2015 constituted a one-man judicial committee comprising a retired chief justice and asked for his recommendations within six months, a job which could be done within a month. After five months, the government maliciously extended its term by six months, apparently to tire out the protesting ESM.  The honourable judge finally submitted his report on October 26, 2016, but more than nine months later, the report has not been made public. Maybe the judge was convinced about the genuineness of OROP demands and has recommended in favour of the ESM. If that be so, implementation of his   recommendations can be a win-win situation for the government as well as for ESM. But the govt hasn’t budged from its hardened stand and as a result, the faujis are angry.

Babus vs faujis

The establishment continues to pit the bureaucracy against the defence services, resulting in systematic degradation of the services. An  undesirable and unhealthy civil-military equation exists today.  The faujis are not oblivious to the step-brotherly treatment meted out to them vis-a-vis the bureaucrats and are very angry.Due to the inept handling of the OROP issue, and indifferent attitude of the establishment on many other matters, including the warrant of precedence, a smouldering disconnect has engulfed these men who once were sentinels of our borders during their prime years, but are now considered a dispensable and a spent force. Their collective protest has been on for 27 months, but none from the establishment has bothered to discuss a way out with them. The faujis have started feeling that they are being treated unfairly and are angry. By now, the Pradhan Sevak knows too well that the one-time raise given to the military pensioners is not the OROP approved by the two parliamentary committees; yet he mocks the ESM by repeatedly misinforming the countrymen from just about any platform, “Hamari govt ne fauji bhaiyon ko ek rank-ek pension de di hai!” What an emotional assault on the naïve veterans! No fauji, whether in or out of uniform, remains emotionally unmolested by the government’s highhandedness and indifference, and is angry.There are more counts on which the faujis are angry, the manifestations of which have not gone unnoticed by the BJP thinktank. Their appeasement has commenced and is gathering momentum to bring them back, yet again in good humour. But there is a saying that you cannot fool everyone all the time. The vote bank it created in 2013, and successfully milked in 2014, can’t be left unamused. 2019 is not far and 4.91 crore voters make a formidable electorate. All media is put in high gear to woo the ESM by cosmetic gestures. Courtesy the BJP, faujis are no more apolitical or gullible as in 2014. They know their vote will make a difference, like it did in 2014. The faujis are angry and not without reason. Let us not forget that this patriotic lot of Indians also includes the soldiers in uniform guarding the borders in most adverse conditions. Populist measures of the state to keep their morale to the optimum will never be enough. The cumulative anger of these forgotten soldiers needs to be addressed the soonest in national interest. In military parlance, it is the captain of the ship that must bear responsibility for the errors of his command, no matter who lower in the chain, may have been responsible. Whether by design or by default (heeding to biased advice from biased advisers), whatever, the Pradhan Sevak is responsible for the current state of affairs. PS. Let the statesmanship prevail over ego and faujis be also taken along in the Sab ka Saath venture. Far too many elections have been won on the name of the fauj, faujis and “surgical strikes”. It’s high time the BJP won their hearts by giving the ESM their rightful due. By staging a countrywide peaceful protest, they are only reminding the Pradhan Sevak to fulfil the promise he made to them at Rewari. Can the BJP risk antagonising this large vote bank, if their promises are not fulfilled? I am not too sure. Jai Hind. Jai Hind ki Sena. JaiHind ki Bhootpoorv Sena.