Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 28

Hours after a video showing an Indian Army surgical strike against Pakistan terrorists was released, the Congress on Thursday accused the BJP government of “politicising” the sacrifices of soldiers and using them for “garnering votes”.Recalling the September 28-29, 2016 surgical strike which the BJP leaders called as the first ever, Congress media head Randeep Surjewala said the BJP had “brazenly” used that strike-form politics ahead of the 2017 Uttar Pradesh elections.The Congress also asked the PM why he was cutting corners when it came to ensuring the benefits to the Armed Forces. Surjewala referred to ration and various other cuts effected by the government on the forces to make his point.The Congress said the valour of the forces was a “matter of pride and not politics” and cited the post 2000 surgical strikes conducted silently.Surjewala mentioned the following strikes—on January 21, 2000 (Nadala Enclave, across the Neelam River); September 18, 2003 (Baroh Sector, Poonch); June 19, 2008 (Bhattal Sector, Poonch); August 30 to September 1, 2011 (Sharda Sector, across Neelam River Valley in Kel); January 6, 2013 (Sawan Patra Checkpost); July 27, 28, 2013 (Nazapir Sector); August 6, 2013 (Neelam Valley); January 14, 2014 (Army Chief, General Bikram Singh’s statement qua surgical strike on Dec 23, 2013).The Congress said the ruling dispensation had used the September 2016 surgical strikes “shamelessly” to advance their electoral agenda and posters of the PM appeared taking credit for the Army’s job.“The BJP has trashed every tradition of restraint by belligerent chest-thumping to claim credit of surgical strike with an eye on political and electoral gain. BJP president Amit Shah dishonoured the 70-year-long history of bravery and sacrifice of our Armed Forces by making a disgraceful statement on October 7, 2016 in a press conference in New Delhi that the Indian Army had crossed the LoC for the first time in 68 years. This was also a lie,” Surjewala said.

Mukesh Ranjan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 17

In line with the security agencies’ assessment of the ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir and also in view of the Amarnath Yatra commencing on June 28, the Centre on Sunday announced its decision “not to extend” the suspension of anti-terror operations in the state any further, as it was in vogue for the holy month of Ramzan.In the evening, the Army, CRPF and state police jointly carried out the first cordon and search operation post the unilateral ceasefire in Baramulla district.   Earlier in the day, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said, “Security forces are being directed to take all necessary action at the earliest to prevent terrorists from launching attacks and indulging in violence.” At the same time, he made it clear that the government will continue with its endeavour to create an environment free of terror and violence.“It is important that all sections of peace-loving people come together to isolate the terrorists and motivate those who have been misguided to return to the path of peace,” the minister added.The Centre had announced suspension of operations at the beginning of the holy month on May 17 “in the interest of the peace-loving people of the state”.Commending the role played by the security forces in implementing the decision in “letter and spirit” despite grave provocation, the minister said it enabled the Muslim brothers and sisters to observe Ramzan in a peaceful manner.“But while the security forces displayed exemplary restraint, the terrorists have continued with their attacks,” he said. According to officials, there were 18 incidents of terror between April 17 and May 17  and the figure rose to above 50 during the suspension of operations. The period saw brutal killings, including that of journalist Shujaat Bukhari.

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 15

Security agencies have alerted the Centre about 35 terrorists wanting to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir from across the Line of Control on a specific mission to attack Army installations. Based in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the terrorists have been seeking to strike at two locations in the state. Sources said while one group wanted to target Army forward units in Poonch, situated to the south of Pir Panjal mountain range, another was on a mission to attack an installation towards the north of the mountain range.The southern part of Pir Panjal falls in Jammu region where terrorists hardly enjoy any local support. Definitive information with the security agencies is that 26 terrorists have been particularly waiting to infiltrate into the north of Pir Panjal. The possible target could be Army installations in Kupwara, said sources.  The group that is looking to enter Poonch area could carry out blasts or plant IEDs in Bimbher Galli and Saujiyaan, both close to the LoC.

The new Defence Planning Committee is expected to facilitate India’s quest for military power. But its financial atmospherics need to be delineated since the DPC has a challenging objective of ensuring a cost-effective approach.

Bhartendu Kumar Singh

Indian Defence Accounts Service

When the Defence Planning Committee (DPC) was announced recently, it was hailed as another milestone in India’s ongoing military reforms. Expectations are naturally up that the DPC would carve out grand narratives for facilitating India’s quest for military power. While many components of India’s rising military power profile have been discussed and debated in the follow-up period, the financial aspects remain overlooked. Unless the financial atmospherics are properly delineated, the true roadmap for various components of defence planning may not emerge. Mainstream literature on defence as well as recent write-ups on DPC treat defence planning as essentially a military issue. This is, perhaps, not true. Apart from matters of war and peace, defence planning is equally about economics since the entire fulcrum of military issues are shaped by economic factors. Kevin Narizny in his book ‘The Political Economy of Grand Strategy’ hypothesises that economic interests determine great power military strategies. The very first dimension of modern-day grand strategy is a state’s assertiveness or its willingness to pay the costs (military spending, diplomatic capital etc). His emphasis on politico-economical approach remains the best tool to understand the rise of economic powers (like the UK and US). Therefore, the utilitarian aspect of the DPC lies in enabling India’s military modernisation and reforms in a systematic way along with and benefiting from the country’s growing economic profile. The institutional arrangement for a revamped DPC is necessitated partly because past efforts for autonomous and independent defence planning did not yield the desired results. To ensure flexibility, the defence sector was kept out of the purview of the erstwhile Planning Commission and treated as a ‘non-Plan’ expenditure. However, that arrangement did not work, best evident in delayed approvals of defence five-year plans and associated funding problems. Indian defence planning was often a victim of segregated approach in the last 70 years, having no correlation with the other important aspects of the nation-building process. The low levels of economic growth often translated into scarcity of resources for the defence sector. Further, the macro-reforms of the early 90s did not touch the defence sector. From a futuristic perspective, India as a rising military power is still exploring a cost-effective  trajectory on many issues. The revamping of the Planning Commission into Niti Aayog offers an opportunity for a synchronised thinking on defence and development where both supplement each other, ie development as the best form of defence and defence contributing to the developmental aspects like growth of a robust military industrial complex.  The DPC has a challenging objective of ensuring a cost-effective approach to India’s rise in global politics. At the minimum, India needs a peaceful  environment that is conducive to its goals without being overtly distracted by conflictual relations with China and Pakistan. This is possible by a deft crafting of a national security strategy (NSS), one of the key mandates for the DPC. We need to take a cue from the US NSS, wherein equal emphasis has been given on economic aspects of security and a series of white papers on defence by China over the years that sought to create a ‘peaceful periphery policy’ for enabling focussed attention on development. There are many financial issues that need consideration of the DPC. 1 First, despite the healthy growth in revenue expenditure and budgetary allotment for the same for defence, statements have poured in media lamenting the slow growth of revenue expenditure and its adverse impact on the modernisation plans of the armed forces. In fact, even after adjusting for inflation, there has been a net increase in the defence expenditure by 0.75 per cent in 2018-19 over the previous year. However, the DPC would be challenged in taming the galloping revenue expenditure by innovative ways to facilitate equal consideration for other priority sectors like health, education and infrastructure. 2 Second, there is need to build up a defence posture on the basis of internal strength and save money wherever possible. For example, India has established a lead in missile defence largely through indigenous research and development. And yet, as Stephen Cohen, noted South Asia expert, laments, there has been no systematic analysis of trade-offs between aircraft and missiles. No country chooses one exclusively over the other, but according to him, understanding the trade-off is important to balance investment. It would be prudent to add that such trade-offs be exercised  on a larger scale in mapping out various components of defence planning.  3 Third, contemporary wars are waged by ‘other means’. Focus has shifted to preferred tools like ‘geo-economics’. The Trump administration is practising it vigorously with even allies falling prey to sanctions and duty regime. China is another good player in geo-economics, as is evident in its mega initiative of Belt and Road Initiative and trapping most South Asian countries into its fold. Economic power is as important as military power and increasing India’s visibility in the international economic order, therefore, deserves more salience in DPC’s thought process. These are just representative examples. The idea is to reiterate that while financial aspects are only a part of the larger defence planning problem, the bottomline apprehension is that if they remain neglected or overlooked, we may find it difficult to secure a cost-effective defence planning for India.

(Views are personal)

Gen Rawat is questioning privilege that is deemed as a given within the Army like he did through an order removing . soldiers posted as ‘sahayaks’ with retired officers.
General Bipin Rawat is an unusual Army chief. And not due to his different approach in Kashmir or the doggedness to face up to the Chinese in Dokalam, but largely because of the question he dares to pose to his own fraternity.

The office of the Army chief has always been seen as the representative embodiment of the ‘fauj’. He is what his Army is, reflecting both its glory and custom. Yes, he can be an agent of change, but usually in matters of strategy and expansion. Rarely, have you found someone who has questioned privilege, perks or benefits from a perceived sense of exalted status. This is a very sacred territory within the Army, one which is assumed as being undisputed within society. But Gen Rawat questions that. He is worried, a fact he disclosed to ET, that in reality civilian population may actually be getting “irritated” with secluded green zones of the Army. He wants cantonments to open their gates to civilians before they barge into it out of anger and frustrations. He doesn’t agree with the notion that a civilian cannot access the road to Delhi airport through the Delhi Cantt if there’s a traffic snarl, which is routine during rush hour, on NH-8.

Yes, he’s bound to get some of the military brass upset but it’s a question that cannot be wished away. Just like the ‘sahayak’ issue, which is a very emotive officer-soldier relationship but one that he feels requires relook especially if these soldiers end up spending their entire time outside combat formations because of these duties.
Now, these are deeply sensitive issues for an Army chief to raise with his own lot. But he has done so. This includes questioning military club culture, whether there should be elaborate partying in officer messes and the general conduct with civilian residents in cantonments.
In short, Gen Rawat is questioning privilege that is deemed as a given within the Army like he did through an order removing soldiers posted as ‘sahayaks’ with retired officers.
In a changing social dynamic, parity equations in offwork situations change both within the military hierarchy and outside. So, he wants to reconfigure civil-military harmony. The Army can’t be so segregated that it ends up inviting the ire of the civilian population, yet it must retain its core identity.
Which is why the questions that General Rawat asks of his Army will define his time in office. Many within the Army may agree or disagree, or even agree to disagree, with him but they surely can’t ignore his red flag or brush aside the questions.

Jotirmay Thapliyal

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 8

Lesser known Khalanga War Memorial, the symbol of first battle of Anglo-Nepalese war, shot into prominence with Nepalese Army General visiting the memorial, which depicts the brave exploits and sacrifice of the Gorkhas.Nepalese General Rajendra Chhetri, who will be reviewing the passing out parade of Indian Military Academy on Saturday, led a Nepal Army delegation to the memorial in Dehradun on Friday. General officer accompanied by his wife Rita Chhetri and other Nepal Army senior officers took time to visit this memorial which symbolises the battle of Nalapani, which was the first battle of the Anglo- Nepalese War.General Chhetri, who laid the wreath at the memorial, lauded the efforts of Gorkha Samiti and the Archaeological Survey of India in maintaining the historical legacy of Gorkhas in the form of Khalanga memorial and said the Battle of Nalapani was one of the most important landmarks in the history of the Gorkhas.At the memorial, the delegation was briefed by Lt Gen Shakti Gurung, (retd), Madhu Gurung and Ram Singh Thapa, president of the Khalanga Vikas Samiti. The delegation also interacted with the members of the samiti. The visit was facilitated by the Indian Military Academy and 1/3 Gorkha Rifles.The Khalanga War Memorial in Dehradun has immense significance. It is probably the world’s first memorial erected by an Army for their opponent. It was the Britishers who constructed the Khalanga War Memorial in the memory of Major General Rollo Gillepie who led the attacking British troops as well as Captain Balbhadra Kunwar, as a mark of tribute to the courage of the Gorkhas.The Battle of Nalapani was the first battle of the Anglo-Nepalese War. In the battle, General Gillespie was killed on the first day of the siege while rallying his men. Despite considerable odds, both in terms of numbers and firepower Captain Balbhadra and his 600-strong garrison successfully held out against more than 5,000 British troops for over a month.

For Himachal girl Pratibha Jamwal, 29, who was one of the six women to circumnavigate the earth, the voyage was a test of grit

Sarika Sharma

Leaving her loved ones behind and setting sail had been tough for Pratibha Jamwal. Throughout the eight months that she was out on the sea along with her colleagues, Pratibha pictured the day of returning home in her mind so many times. But a few metres from the berth, she didn’t feel that joy. There was, instead, a sinking feeling. She was going to miss her mornings surrounded by the sea. She was going to miss being with her gang, along with whom she had just become one of the first few Indian women to circumnavigate the earth — she was part of the six-member women team of Indian Naval Sailing Vessel (INSV), Tarini.The feat achieved by Pratibha, who hails from Mohal in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, is unique. The mission makes her and her colleagues an example to follow. Understandably, it was a hard road. As women officers are not posted on sea-going platforms, they had to start from the scratch. “We did our theoretical training in various naval schools and trained in navigation, communication, meteorology and seamanship,” she tells. Then, they were posted at INS Mandovi, where they trained on-board INSV Mhadei, the first Indian boat to circumnavigate the world. “Captain Dilip Donde, the first Indian to circumnavigate the world solo, became our mentor. We covered more than 22,000 nm during training,” tells Pratibha, whose teammates included young women from various backgrounds, all “naive and amateur”, but each “strong headed”.For eight months, she was there in the sea. She says she loved the azure expanse. Was she scared too? She shrugs. “All of us had volunteered for this as it required huge commitment. You can’t force someone as it involves risk of life,” says Pratibha, whose father retired from government service and mother is a homemaker.Rough weather struck near Cape Horn in January when every bit learnt during those three years of training was put to test. The winds were 70-knot strong and waves as high as 9 metres. Pratibha remembers frantic manoeuvring and cherishes their teamwork. “Next morning, everything was clear and there was a sense of pride and accomplishment,” says Pratibha.They met two more storms at the shore while in Falkland Islands and one in Port Louis Mauritius. “While we were close to Falkland, the storm was greater than hurricane force and it was raining continuously,” Pratibha recalls. The temperature too subzero and they were out, steering the boat. “The night had descended. We were wet and cold, but no one could sleep as the person on the wheel had to be relieved every hour. Half of the crew was drying clothes for those steering.”Those eight months were also spent understanding the sea. Pratibha realised they differed in temperament. “The Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean are calm compared to the Atlantic and South Pacific. There the waves are normally 4-5 m high and winds blow at 60kmph, but, in case of a storm, they can go as high as 9-10m with winds of 140kmph.”So, if the sea was ferocious, it was bountiful too. “The waters offer you a lot of beautiful things. We saw different varieties of marine life, encountered auroras and bioluminescence — things you get to see only at the sea,” she says. Among all this fun, madness and fury, lay the sole aim of creating history. She hopes more and more women are inducted as sailors. “It will widen the horizon and make the working environment better for both the genders,” she says.At the shore in INS Mandovi, Goa, now, she soon heads to Kochi, where she will be an instructor at a school for Naval airmen. Until then, the sea inside her will continue to rise — bring a smile to her face, maybe give her goosebumps too.

The team

INSV Tarini sailed 22,000 nautical miles in 254 days to circumnavigate the globe. The expedition, christened Navika Sagar Parikrama, was flagged off from INS-Mandovi boat pool in Goa on September 10, 2017 and they reached back on May 21. The INSV Tarini team, led by Lt Commander Vartika Joshi, comprised Lieutenant P. Swathi, Lieutenant Pratibha Jamwal (Air Traffic Control specialists), Lieutenant Vijaya Devi, Sub-Lieutenant Payal Gupta (both Education officers) and Lieutenant B Aishwarya, a naval architect.

The tour

The all-women team completed the expedition in six legs, with stopovers at Fremantle (Australia), Lyttleton (New Zealand), Port Stanley (Falkland Islands), Cape Town (South Africa) and Mauritius

It has been known for a while now that all is not well in the Military Secretary’s (MS) branch. It has been suspected for some time now that wrapped in secrecy, despite tall claims of transparency, the MS branch utilises the opaqueness to play with careers of officers. Why and at whose bidding, it is not known. But it may vary from case to case. And now it stands utterly and totally exposed. By none other than the Principal Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal.

The bench of Justice AK Mathur, Chairperson of the Tribunal and the administrative member, Lt Gen SS Dhillon, have blown the lid off one of the worst kept secrets in the Indian Army. That all is not well in the MS Branch and a comprehensive review of how it functions is the need of the hour.

The scathing indictment of the most important branch of the Indian Army, as far as the officer cadre’s career is concerned, came as a result of a petition filed by a Brigadier of the Corps of Engineers. Brig VG Gole, of June 1979 seniority, was shocked when he found out that he had not been empanelled for promotion in the selection board held for the rank of Major General in late 2010. As an officer who had been getting consistently good ACRs, he could not fathom why he was not selected.
And then he found out the reason. To his shock he came to know that the IO portion of his most recent ACR has been effaced, or removed from records in the selection process, as a result of which he fell back in the comparative merit. Why? Because of the following explanation given by the respondents when he filed a case in the AFT:

“A reply has been filed by the respondents contesting the position and took resort to a policy decision at Para 137 of Army Order 45/2001/MS which gives them power to efface the assessment if it is found that the ACR of the incumbent is grossly inconsistent or with inflationary/deflationary/ subjective reporting. This effacing could be done after due approval of the Chief of Army Staff. In this case, the ACR was found grossly inconsistent, therefore, IO’s
assessment was expunged after approval of the Chief of Army Staff”.

When the bench called for the records to see if this was true, they found out that this was not so. The decision to efface had been made arbitrarily. The bench found out that:

“We called upon the respondents to produce the original record before us and after perusing the record, we are constrained to observe that the powers exercised by the respondents is arbitrary. We have seen the ACR record of the petitioner from 2006 to 2010 and we find that during this period
he has earned seven ACRs and has not secured less than 8 marks in any of the qualities mentioned in the ACR. We also found that the IO’s assessment in the ACR from January, 2009 to June, 2009 has been totally effaced. We do not know how much marks were given by the IO but at least we have seen the RO’s assessment in which petitioner was given 8 marks in 5 qualities while in the remaining 12 qualities he has obtained 9 marks. Subsequently, even in the ACR from July, 2009 to November, 2009 he has received almost 8 or 9 marks. From February, 2010 to June, 2010, we find that petitioner has again secured 8 & 9 marks in all the qualities. The explanation given by the respondents is hardly satisfactory. Learned counsel for the respondents has produced before us a minute sheet to justify their stand, but we regret to say that it is a totally arbitrary and if we may say malafide in law also”.

The bench found that there was room for investigating into how and why the officer’s career had been adversely affected. They asked for the officer responsible to be pinpointed and ordered that the Brigadier be considered afresh for promotion notwithstanding his impending retirement and also imposed a cost of Rs 10,000 on the respondents.

“It speaks volumes that such kind of illegality can be committed against an officer. This is a serious matter and we are constrained to observe that it requires deeper consideration by the higher authority and they should pinpoint the officer responsible who has played foul thereby affecting the career of the officer. We allow this petition and expunge the effacing of the ACR of the petitioner for the period from January, 2009 to June, 2009 given by the IO. The marks should be restored back and petitioner should be reconsidered for promotion to the post of Maj Gen in accordance with rules. The impending retirement will not come in the way of consideration of the petitioner for promotion to the post of Maj Gen. The petition is allowed with cost of Rs 10,000”.

If this is how the MS branch functions and if this is how the Chief of Army Staff goes about rubber stamping the illogical and illegal decisions of MS branch put up to him, then it paints a sad picture indeed of the Army hierarchy. How many such cases may have gone unnoticed in the past? What about the time when the AFT was not there? Such cases would drag on and on and the officer’s career be marred for ever by the time he got relief, if any. Criminal, to say the least.

The officer holding the Military secretary’s appointment at the time when this particular case took place is answerable to the entire officer cadre of the Army. He should be held responsible and action taken against him for such illegal action. And Chiefs of Army Staff must sign on the dotted line with their eyes open. Regimental loyalties must not come in the way of being fair to those who serve under the COAS. To say the last.

by

Man Aman Singh Chhina

(As a journalist who has been on the defence beat for many many years, I wish to use this blog to report many things which are not reported in the media, or more importantly, cannot be reported for a variety of reasons. So expect this blog to be brutally honest… about truth, about the men and women in uniform and the Indian defence establishment at large).

Chandigarh, May 31

The Punjab Cabinet on Thursday made fraudulent practices by financial establishments a non-bailable offence, inviting up to 10 years of imprisonment, with provisions for attachment of properties.The cabinet has approved a new legislation to this effect to safeguard the interests of depositors and curb fraudulent practices by financial establishments, an official spokesperson said here.The Punjab Protection of Interests of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Bill, 2018, has been brought following several complaints of fraud received by the state government, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), he said.The meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.Under Section 6 of the legislation, if a finance company fails to return the deposits on the due date or defrauds the public, then the promoters, managers and employees would be liable for imprisonment up to 10 years and fine of Rs 1 lakh, the spokesperson said.The financial establishment shall also be liable for a fine of Rs 2 lakh, which may be extend to Rs 1 crore, he said.Section 5 of the legislation provides that all financial establishments would be required to submit quarterly return of their business to the district magistrate or additional district magistrate, the spokesperson said.In case of default, the company would be liable to pay fine of Rs 1 lakh.Section 3 authorises the government to attach the properties of the company and also that of its owners or directors, and promoters, he said.The spokesperson said Section 4 provides that the officers, notified by the government, such as district magistrates and additional district magistrate, will dispose of properties as per orders of the court.Under Section 8, the government would notify district and session judges as the designated courts to implement the Act.Sections 9 to 12 of the legislation  deals with detailed powers of designated courts, while Section 16 states that no anticipatory bail would be allowed to promoters, managers and employees of the company found guilty of fraud, he said.The move comes in wake of mushrooming of financial establishments in Punjab, with many of them making unlawful gains by way of receiving money as deposits from the public, particularly of the middle class and the poorer sections, the spokesperson said.This done by companies by making impracticable or commercially unviable promises or by offering highly attractive rates of interest or rewards, with the intention of not fulfilling the obligation of refunding deposits on maturity or of not rendering proper services assured to the investors, he said.The proposed Bill would go a long way in protecting the rights of innocent depositors, who were often duped by such fraudulent financial institutions on the pretext of supplementing their money manifold, he said. – PTI