Category Archives: Uncategorized

Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 10India will attend the next meet on Afghanistan to be held in Moscow in mid-February. Both Russia and India have confirmed the invitation and the subsequent acceptance to attend the Afghan conference.In December last year, Russia hosted China and Pakistan for a trilateral conference to discuss the future of Afghanistan. Both India and Afghanistan were not invited to the dialogue which was to discuss the future course of action for war-torn Afghanistan.This change in heart is welcome news to India which feared a growing Russia-Pakistan alliance to counter the growing India-Afghanistan relationship. The fact that Iran has also been invited this time is another welcome sign. India and Afghanistan, in the last year, have been very critical of Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan and have pointed to the role of the ISI and the Pakistan Army in fomenting trouble in the country.In December, the Afghans had been quick and blunt to dismiss that trilateral conference stating without the presence of Afghanistan, the future of the country could be decided. Ahmad Shekib Mostaghni, a spokesman for the Afghan Foreign Ministry, had said, “Even if such talks are organised with goodwill, it cannot yield any substantial result because no one from the Afghan side is there to brief the participants about the latest ground realities.”India conveyed its concerns directly to the Russians when National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval travelled to Moscow on January 30-31. The Russia-China-Pak trilateral meet also generated concerns in the strategic community that this was an anti-US alliance.

Tribune News Service

Mandi, February 9

Ex-servicemen of the district have urged the state government to raise a war memorial in Mandi, which has been pending for a long time.Ex-servicemen held a meeting under the leadership of Brig Khushal Thakur (retd) in the town to discuss the issue and pressurise the state government to look into their long-pending demands.Talking to The Tribune here today, Brigadier Thakur said the ex-servicemen were demanding the setting up of a war memorial in the town but there was no progress in this direction so far.“The Union Health Minister had approved Rs 50 lakh for this project but the state government is silent over the utilisation of funds and even a detailed project report (DPR) was not shared with them,” he remarked.“There was a proposal of sainik sadan at Palace Colony but till now even the DPR of this project was not prepared by the state government for the purpose,” he said.He said there was an acute shortage of staff at district soldier board, Mandi, and the post of deputy director was lying vacant for the past few months, due to which ex-servicemen or their widows were suffering a lot.“Ex-servicemen were feeling dismayed because of the apathy of the state government towards their demands and we urge Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to look into the issue,” he added.

Maj Gen Kulip Singh Bajwa

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 9

Maj Gen Kulip Singh Bajwa (retd), who fought three wars with Pakistan and held important command assignments in 1965 and 1971, passed away at the Command Hospital, Chandimandir, this morning.Commissioned in December 1946 with the 1st Post-War Regular Course of the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, he initially served with the Bombay Sappers and took part in the 1947-48 Kashmir operations. He was transferred to the Regiment of Artillery where he served with 13 Field Regiment, 51 Mountain Regiment (Pack) and 161 Field Regiment. Later, he raised 85 Light Regiment and took it into action in the prelude to the 1965 war, directing the fire support to successful attacks, which resulted in the capture of the Kargil heights.As a Brigadier, he commanded the largest artillery force in the history of the Indian Army in the Shakargarh sector during the 1971 war. After the war, while commanding 54 Infantry Brigade, he defended Amritsar and organised the repatriation of Pakistani prisoners of war.Thereafter, he commanded 54 Infantry Division at Secunderabad and pioneered new tactics of assaulting fixed defences and helped in the formulation of the strategy for employment of strike formations post-1971. He also served in counter-insurgency operations in the North-East.

The Punjab War Heroes’ Memorial-cum-Museum in Amritsar. Photo: Vishal Kumar

GS Paul

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, February 8

The state-of-the-art Punjab State War Heroes’ Memorial-cum-Museum (PSWHMM) has expanded its horizon with the addition of three galleries.With this, the memorial has eight galleries that showcase the era of Alexander, rise of the Sikh Empire (Maharaja Ranjit Singh), Anglo-Sikh Wars, Jammu and Kashmir operations and India-Pakistan wars.The PSWHMM authorities have engaged eight guides, who tell visitors about the significance and history of each aspect in detail.The memorial has a 7-D theatre, where audience can feel environmental effects such as smoke, storm, wind, rain, snow and fire. A visitor from Sangrur said, “It was the live experience of war and being present on the battlefield.”Another viewer Barjinder Singh said, “One climbs the impossible heights of the Himalayas. And you can sense the wind as a bullet whizzes past you. You feel the chill of snow and ice, and howling winds.”One of galleries documents the history of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. It touches upon the dynamic land, mountains, rivers, people, their daily lives, art, craft, cultural ceremonies, followed by the invasion of Alexander, the change in the form of Bhakti Movement by Guru Nanak Dev and formation of Sikhism. This is followed by the depiction of the Sikh Empire under Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Another gallery relates to the first India-Pakistan war (1947-48).Col HP Singh, general manager of the project, said that one more youth-friendly segment was under progress, christened “Out of Area Operations, Proxy War and Motivation”. “As the name suggests, it will motivate the youth to fulfil their ambition of joining the armed forces. It spells out the details of eligibility conditions, selection process, pay, perks and privileges,” he said.A few months ago, ‘The Saragarhi Panel’ on a wall 80 ft by 15 ft was made. Apart from the brief on the Saragarhi battle, the soldiers’ names were engraved on the mural.

BEIJING: China’s newly formed Rocket Force has showcased an advancedballistic missile with a range of more than 1,000 km that canhittargetsinIndia, Japanand Taiwan.

AP FILEDF­16 short­range ballistic missiles pass Tiananmen Gate during a military parade in Beijing.

A video from the People’s Liberation Army showed its Rocket Force personnelshowcasing the DF-16 medium-range ballistic missile at an unknown location.

Thevideowasreleasedwithin a day of US defence chief James Mattis visiting Tokyo. On Monday, Japan said Chinese coast guardvesselssailedinsideitsterritorial waters around the disputedDiaoyuislands(Senkakuin Japanese) in the East China Sea, soon after Mattis said the US would defend Tokyo’s control over them. “Three ships entered thewaterssurroundingtheuninhabited chain,” the Japan Coast Guard said in a statement. The islands are controlled by Japan.

hina’s state media issued a veiled warning to neighbours, especiallyJapan, aboutthecapabilities of the DF-16 missile, whichwasfirstrevealedatamilitaryparadeinBeijinginSeptember 2015.

“ExpertssaidtheDF-16posesa challenge to foreign military installationsalongthefirstisland chain, whichiswhattheChinese militarycallstheseriesofislands that stretch from Japan in the north to China’s Taiwan and the Philippines to the south,” staterun China Daily reported.

Quoting a retired major general, thereportsaidtheDF-16has a strike range of more than 1,000 km, “filling the gap that previouslyexistedwiththeabsenceof amedium-rangeballisticmissile in the PLA’s arsenal”.

New Delhi, January 25

Nineteen soldiers of the 4 and 9 Para, the special forces’ units which undertook the daring cross-border surgical strike across LoC, have been awarded gallantry medals, including a Kirti Chakra, while their commanding officers have been given Yudh Sewa Medal.Major Rohit Suri of 4 Para, who led one of the teams across the LoC targeting terrorists’ launch pads, was awarded the Kirti Chakra, the second highest peacetime gallantry award, on the eve of the Republic Day.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)Havildar Prem Bahadur Resmi Magar of the Gorkha Rifles got the Kirti Chakra posthumously.Col Kapil Yadav, commanding officer of 9 Para, and Col Harpreet Sandhu, Commanding Officer of 4 Para, were awarded the Yudh Sewa Medal, awarded to mark a high degree of distinguished service in an operational content. The award is the wartime equivalent of the Vishisht Seva Medal, which is a decoration for peacetime distinguished service.Five personnel from the two para units also got Shaurya Chakra, while 13 got Sena Medal (Gallantry).The Army conducted surgical strikes on terrorist launchpads across the Line of Control in September last year, after a terrorist attack on an Army camp in Uri claimed the lives of 19 jawans.Those who have been awarded posthumously included Naik Gawade Pandurang Mahadev, who has been given Shaurya Chakra.Lt Col Ranjit Singh Pawar, Maj Krishnan Manoj Kumar, Maj Amit Deswal, Naik Ran Singh, Naik Vijaykumar S, Sepoy Ram Chander of DSC, Sepoy Satya Prakash Singh and Sepoy Satish of DSC along with Signalman Ajay Singh Choudhary were awarded Sena Medal (Gallantry) posthumously.The President has approved award of 398 gallantry and other defence decorations to armed forces personnel and others. — PTI/TNS

Chasen Lowang Dada, the widow of martyr Hav Hangpan Dada, receiving Ashoka Chakra from President Pranab Mukherjee on behalf of her husband on the occasion of the 68th Republic Day Parade at Rajpath in New Delhi on Thursday. PTI

New Delhi, January 26President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday posthumously conferred the Ashok Chakra on Havildar Hangpan Dada of the Rashtiya Rifles, who laid down his life after single-handedly killing three terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir last year.

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

The highest peacetime gallantry award for valour and courageous action was accepted by Dada’s widow Chasen Lowang, who struggled to hold back tears while receiving the honour.In a firefight in Naugam sector on May 26, when his section was pinned down by heavy and accurate fire, the soldier closed in towards terrorists hiding behind rocks and boulders, saving the lives of his comrades.With scant regard for his life, he displayed exemplary courage and presence of mind and killed two terrorists at close quarters. In the exchange, he was grievously injured.Undeterred, he went after the remaining terrorists.”In the process, he came face to face with the third terrorist whom he killed in hand-to-hand combat before making the supreme sacrifice. His action led to elimination of the fourth terrorist,” the citation said. — PTI

In deed: There cannot be a substitute for the Mahatma.

ITS symbolism was devastating: the replacement of the familiar image of Mahatma Gandhi at the charkha in the traditional calendar and diaries of the main khadi institution by PM Narendra Modi. What was intended to be left unsaid was made explicit by the Haryana Minister in the BJP government, Anil Vij. He declared that Modi was a better brand than Gandhi, forced though he was to withdraw his remarks under pressure from an embarrassed BJP. This was undoubtedly Modi’s biggest misstep in the domestic arena in his first three years in office. Having hogged space in the political arena and in social media, the Prime Minister has done himself no service to proclaim that he has arrived, to rub shoulders with one revered as the Father of the Nation. Assuming that the change in the calendar would not have been made without a nod from the Prime Minister’s office, it was a disastrous decision because it proclaimed Modi’s narcissism and desire to distinguish himself from other politicians across the political board. This comes after he has disregarded the convention that apart from a symbolic speech, the holder of the highest political office in the land does not get into campaigning for his or her party in Assembly elections. As we have seen in the past and continue to witness in campaigning for Uttar Pradesh and Punjab elections, Modi is the star campaigner lusty in his castigation of the Opposition and his party men are not shy in seeking votes for state Assemblies in his name. His persona is writ large in his election speeches, typically suggesting that the Opposition wants to remove Modi while he wants to remove black money. Modi has made two major mistakes in running his administration. In addition to wearing the crown of the Mahatma, his one mistake in foreign policy was to persist in seeking membership of the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group after China made it clear in private and publicly that it would block it. Beijing administered a clear snub by vetoing the move. Indeed, it is a mystery why Modi decided to declare a losing hand, rather than waiting to fight another day. This is not to denigrate the Prime Minister’s astute foreign policy moves in wooing former US president Barack Obama or making a dash to Lahore to greet Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif. However, Modi’s calendar move is of far greater import politically because he is in danger of living in a bubble glorifying his own prominence and the reverential tones his party men are adopting in referring to him are building an aura of invincibility. The Mahatma never held public office although he was the guiding spirit of the Independence movement in which the BJP’s mentor, RSS, played an ambiguous role.In realpolitik terms, by transposing his picture for the Mahatma’s, Modi has peaked too early. Granted, he is thus far the unchallenged and tallest leader of the BJP, but the danger lurking in the background is his propensity to take major decisions alone. Take the demonetisation issue. The new man in charge at the Reserve Bank, Mr Arjit Patel, is suggesting that the demonetisation move was months in the making. If so, why was no homewok done on the urgent steps required to fill the gap after the old notes were withdrawn? The tussle with the judiciary establishment is another facet of the government’s desire to control as many levers of power as it can.Is Modi then leading the country to a virtual president form of government? The Prime Minister appears uncomfortable with the parliamentary system, spending little time in participating in the cut and thrust of debate, unlike his predecessors. Indeed, his metier seems to be one-way communication — through tweets and Facebook — because there is no scope for hostile questioning.The question to ask today is: where Modi’s caravan will go in the remaining term of his office. If he does not believe in the Oscar Wildean adage of “nothing succeeds like excess”, he must trim his sails as he reaches out for a second term. It is all very well to present the country’s problems as a contest between the rich and the poor, but there is a limit determined by credibility to how far you can reduce everything to this simplistic code. Bashing the Opposition parties as dens of the rich is likely to prove unproductive. In his armoury are the double-edged demonetisation issue for its boldness and of course the “surgical strikes” on Pakistan. The tipping point in Modi’s three years of rule at the Centre has arrived inadvertently. But it is a warning signal that there are treasured institutions that cannot be denigrated. Granted that Modi is the big chief, but even big chiefs have to respect icons of the age. There cannot be a substitute for the Mahatma. A presidential system is beyond the horizon of the next general election in 2019 and even when we arrive at that point there is bound to be stiff resistance to the idea. The framers of our Constitution had good reasons to opt for the parliamentary system because of the diversity of the nation. Indira Gandhi’s experiment with the Emergency showed the weaknesses of an over-centralised system of governance, apart from the very repugnance of the regime. What remains to be determined is how far Modi will seek to buttress his own powers even before he can change the parliamentary to a presidential system. The Prime Minister is capable of staking positions that involve risks such as the demonetisation measure. The danger, of course, is that he is so convinced of his own infallibility that he can overreach himself. The outcome of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections is important not only for the BJP, but also for Modi’s own political future. He is banking on his “magic touch” by failing to name a chief ministerial candidate. It is Modi all the way.

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 19

Indigenous fighter jet, Tejas, has finally come of age. It will make its debut during Republic Day flypast on January 26.Tejas would fly over the Rajpath in New Delhi during the parade, said Air Commodore Rajiva Ranjan, Principal Director, Air Defence. It will lead the display formation of fighter jets of the IAF inventory. The IAF will use three Tejas, which are designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) of the DRDO and produced by public sector giant Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.The IAF has contracted 123 Tejas in various configurations; the first lot has been inducted. It will be after three decades that a homemade jet will fly during the Republic Day parade. The last time an indigenous fighter jet was part of Republic Day, it was in 1980s when HF-24 Marut, a 1960s’ German-designed plane was part of the flypast. Marut notably took part in the battle of Laungewala in 1971.A team of Tejas has been forward located at the IAF base Nal, near Bikaner. It will fly in from there and return to its temporary base. Tejas was inducted into 45 Squadron the ‘Flying Daggers’ on July 1, 2016. It’s based in Bangalore.‘Tejas’ is the first advance fly-by-wire (FBW) fighter aircraft designed, developed and manufactured in India. It has flown more than 3,000 sorties and 2,000 hours without any accident. It’s equipped with state-of-the-art satellite-aided inertial navigation system. It has a digital computer-based attack system and an autopilot. It can fire air-to-air missiles, bombs as well as precision-guided munitions.The next version of Tejas will incorporate Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missiles, improved, better stand-off weapons, air-to-air refueling capability, new generation Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radar and an integrated advanced electronic warfare suite.Besides Tejas, as many as 34 aircrafts of the IAF will be part of the Republic Day flypast. There will be 19 fighters, 11 helicopters and four transport aircrafts enthralling the public this year. UAE crown prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is the chief guest.