Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 4

Kin of Jallianwala Bagh martyrs feel led down by the government. They say those who “betrayed” freedom struggle now control the Jallianwala Trust and question the hold of the Mukherjee family over the management for the past 100 years.

Sunil Kapoor, great-grandson of martyr Wasoo Mal, who is also president of the Jallianwala Bagh Freedom Fighters’ Foundation, says: “Before the centenary events, the Bagh was under the control of the Union Government, but it did nothing. Now they have demolished the historic well too. When dubious politicians can make it to Trust, why not relative of a martyr? It must not be forgotten the memorial was raised with small collections from commoners.”

Satpal Sharma, bedridden grandson of martyr Amin Chand, wanted a wheelchair to attend the centenary function in April, but none paid heed. Critical of the Mukherjee family, he recalls: “Once Sukumar Mukherjee (Trust secretary) questioned my credentials. He asked if there was a photograph to prove my grandfather was part of the freedom struggle. My grandfather took bullets on his chest. History bears testimony to the fact.”

Agrees Mahesh Behal, the grandson of martyr Hari Ram Behal. “The Jallianwala Bagh must be freed from the clutches of politicians.”

SK Mukherjee, who is away to Kolkata, refused to comment on the matter.

About Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Act, 1951

• Following the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, fear gripped Punjab, people were scared to contribute to raising a memorial
• But Mahatma Gandhi’s offer to sell Sabarmati Ashram proved to be a turning point and funds started pouring in
• In 1920, Madan Mohan Malaviya was appointed Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Trust president
• The memorial now is managed by the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Trust, which was set up under the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Act, 1951
• Besides other things, the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill, 2019, passed in the LS on August 2 seeks to remove the Congress president from the list of trustees

The Mukherjees

Sukumar Mukherjee’s father Sashti Charan Mukherjee was founder-secretary of the Trust. His father Uttam Charan Mukherjee too was Trust secretary. He himself was made secretary in 1988. As per the rules, the secretary implements the decisions of the Trust.

In an exclusive interview, Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat told India Today TV that he took the decision in the matter after an extensive deliberation with the Army commanders and junior officers.

The Army chief said that the formation of these IBGs will help the force to become lean and efficient in terms of war fighting. (File Photo)
Aiming to further strengthen its ability to carry out swift strikes during wars, the Indian Army is going to raise new lethal battle formations along the borders with Pakistan by October.

In an exclusive interview, Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat told India Today TV that he took the decision in the matter after an extensive deliberation with the Army commanders and junior officers.

“After we received the reports from the Army commanders, we carried out field trials and exercises to validate the concepts of Integrated Battle Group (IBG). I’m happy to tell you that from now, top to bottom, our troops are really happy with the formation of the IBGs,” he said.

The Army chief said that the formation of these IBGs will help the force to become lean and efficient in terms of war fighting. As per the plan, the Indian Army is going to raise the first few Integrated Battle Groups along the Pakistan border and then it will simultaneously start raising them on the China border too.

“We carried out an exercise to test the new Integrated Battle Group concept under the Western Command. The feedback from the formations and top commanders has been very positive and that is why we are going to start by raising two to three IBGs along the Pakistan border by October this year,” top sources in the Army said.

The sources also said that the discussion regarding the exercise and feedback was discussed in detail by seven commanders in the Army headquarters in their war room last week, and the commanders-in-chief have been given the powers to raise the IBGs in their respective areas of responsibilities. The first three IBGs to be raised will have elements from different formations of the Western Command.

ADVERTISEMENT

According to sources, the Army has tested two types of configurations of the IBG during the exercise, including one for offensive roles which during hostilities involves cross-border operations and the other for defensive postures to withstand an enemy onslaught. During the exercise, IBGs will be used instead of brigades.

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/video/army-better-prepared-to-tackle-26-11-like-attacks-says-general-bipin-rawat-1395653-2018-11-24?jwsource=cl

ALSO READ | Future wars would be more violent, unpredictable: Army chief Bipin Rawat
ALSO WATCH | Army better prepared to tackle 26/11-like attacks, says General Bipin Rawat

Chandigarh, August 2

A day after Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh appointed Lt Gen Jagbir Singh Cheema as the Vice-Chancellor of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh Punjab Sports University at Patiala, a war of words has started over the name of the institution.

“The Punjab Chief Minister wished not to name the university after his grandfather, but the ministers in Punjab Government seem to be more loyal to the erstwhile feudal king. They even went against the Indian Constitution, which has long ago abolished the feudal titles of kings, princes and their privy purses,” said Prof Chaman Lal, senator, Panjab University.

“Also, Bhupinder Singh is said to be a cricketer, but was he bigger than Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar or Virat Kohli? And has he contributed to Indian sports like hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand?” Professor Lal asked.

Opinder Kaur Sekhon, a master athlete from Chandigarh, though said a person’s achievements and contributions should not be mixed with politics. “Any sportsperson who made a name in cricket, wrestling, athletics or some other sport was given a place in the state services by Bhupinder Singh,” she said.

“A number of athletes who have represented India in the Olympics enjoyed the patronage of the royal house. The National institute of Sports at Patiala houses one of the country’s best sports museums,” Opinder added.

She further said Bhupinder Singh started taking interest in the sports affairs after Patiala athlete Dalip Singh failed to make it to the Indian contingent for the 1924 Paris Olympics.

“Soon after taking the charge of the Indian Olympic Association, Bhupinder Singh faced the difficult task of sending the team to the 1928 Amsterdam Games. It was the result of his effort that India managed to send seven athletes and 15 hockey players to Amsterdam,” Opinder claimed.

“He was also instrumental in sending teams for the Eastern Games in Tokyo (1929), 1932 Olympic at Los Angeles and the 1936 Berlin Olympics,” she added. — TNS

http://

Attari (Amritsar), August 1

For the first time after Independence, the ‘Nagar Kirtan’, which was taken out from Nankana Sahib district of Pakistan’s Punjab province, arrived here on Thursday to mark the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of the Sikhism founder, Guru Nanak Dev.

The ‘Nagar Kirtan’ (religious procession), carrying the holy Guru Granth Sahib, crossed over to India from Pakistan in the afternoon.

Around 500 Sikh devotees, who were part of the procession, reached here through the land transit route of the Attari border.

Several ministers of the Punjab government, along with senior officials of the Amritsar district administration, received the ‘Nagar Kirtan’ at the border. The top leadership of the opposition Shriomani Akali Dal was also present.

A large number of devotees from the Indian side stormed the roads when the ‘Nagar Kirtan’ arrived in a decorated palanquin.

An official of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), an apex religious body of the Sikhs, said a large cavalcade followed the religious procession from Gurdwara Nankana Sahib to Wagah border amid a thick security cover. The SGPC was involved in organising the event with the support from both Indian and Pakistani authorities.

Gurdwara Nankana Sahib is the birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev, which falls in Pakistan.

The Pakistani authorities had provided a special permission to the Sikh community to take out ‘Nagar Kirtan’, which will culminate at Sultanpur Lodhi in Kapurthala district of Punjab after passing through various cities and towns.

The Nagar Kirtan will halt at Golden Temple, Amrisar, tonight before it begins its onward journey.

Prominent among those who were with the ‘Nagar Kirtan’ from Pakistan include Akal Takht Jathedar Harpreet Singh, SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal and Delhi Gurdwra Management Committee president Manjinder Singh Sirsa.

SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, his wife and Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal were present at the Attari border to receive the procession.

Punjab Cabinet ministers O P Soni, Sukhjinder Randhawa and local Congress MLAs were also present.

Around 500 kg of flowers were arranged by the SGPC to shower on the ‘Nagar Kirtan’ on the way from Attari to Golden Temple, besides a special ‘langar’ (community kitchen) arrangement has been made for the devotees who will move with the religious procession.

A special red carpet was also laid by the SGPC at Joint Check Post at the Attari border to accord a welcome to the ‘Nagar Kirtan’.

On July 30, nearly 500 Sikh devotees had crossed over to Pakistan to bring the ‘Nagar Kirtan’ to India. — PTI

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 29

India and Myanmar today signed a Memorandum of Understanding on defence co-operation.

This was preceded by talks between the two sides. The talks were aimed at enhancing defence cooperation, reviewing joint exercises and training provided to Myanmar Defence Services, strengthening maritime security by joint surveillance and capacity building, medical co-operation, pollution response and for developing new infrastructure.

Minister of State for Defence Shripad Yesso Naik held talks with Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services (CDS) Myanmar.

The visiting military commander is on an eight-day visit to India (July 25-August 2). Earlier, he paid homage at the National War Memorial.

Myanmar is a key pillar of India’s Act East Policy towards prioritising relations with its East Asian neighbours. India has steadily increased defence cooperation with Myanmar in recent years.

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 28

In a serious professional lapse, the Director-General of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major General Asif Ghafoor, on Sunday tweeted a doctored video of Air Marshal Denzil Keelor (retd) and termed it as an ‘admission of Indian failure and losses on February 27, 2019’.

Hours later, on being called out over Twitter that the video was not post-Balakot (February 26, 2019) but a programme made in 2015 about India’s wars in the 1960s, Major General Ghafoor accepted his error saying “the clip of Air Marshal is revealed to be doctored….Unintentional omission is acknowledged, especially to Indians”.

Air Marshal Keelor is an Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter pilot, who was awarded Vir Chakra for his role in 1965 Indo-Pak War.

In the video, originally shot in 2015, the IAF ace is speaking about the 1962 war with China and the 1965 war with Pakistan. Air Marshal Keelor is heard saying: “Some of the things that happen are losses, for instance. During war, you win and you lose. Some of the losses were not right. They were due to tactical errors, due to inexperience and you can’t go to war with this type of inexperience.”

The video ends with him saying: “Firstly, it should have been made public. Because it gave a detailed account of the political failures, military leadership failures, tactical failures, strategic failures…which led to this debacle. We all know it. I don’t see any reason why people should be ashamed to show it.”

Major General Ghafoor used this video and claimed that the IAF veteran was admitting to failure of Balakot strikes on February 27.

The original video was posted on YouTube in August, 2015, three years before the Balakot airstrike, by a channel called Wild Films India. In the video titled ‘Nehru lost India the war’, the Air Marshal speaks about India’s battle losses.

In this, he said of the 1965 war that Pakistan had a radar system, interception system with ability to detect, identify, intercept and destroy, we did not have it”.

Major General Ghafoor in his first tweet assumed that Air Marshal Keelor was talking of the present scenario. The IAF veteran, now 85-year-old, lives a retired life in Lucknow and has not reacted so far.

Civilians and army veterans paying tributes to the war heroes at Kargil Park in Mandi on Friday.

Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 25

Twenty years after the Kargil conflict, the 168-km wide ‘Kargil’ frontage along the Line of Control (LoC) now has the heaviest deployment of artillery guns anywhere in India, sources in the Army said.

India’s war-time lessons have resulted in the addition of an array of artillery guns. This is backed by layered surveillance systems meshed in with the huge increase in manpower and fire capability.India has the ability to station a division of artillery guns. Some are permanently stationed, others can be sent within a few hours, a functionary said, narrating what has changed in 20 years.

Artillery guns played a major role in the Kargil war. Lt Gen VK Narula (retd), former Director General Artillery, says: “Artillery guns can neutralise the enemy positions allowing the ground forces much easier access. This is what exactly happened in Kargil. The guns had pulverised the enemy at all Pakistani positions other than those behind the mountains.”Nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan had fought the war in May-July 1999 along the 168-km Himalayan ridgeline that forms the Mushkoh-Drass-Kargil-Batalik-Turtuk axis of the LoC. An internal study within the Army points to how future wars could be different, asymmetric and dominated by the use of cyber and space assets.

At a national seminar in Mid-July “20 years after Kargil conflict”, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat spoke of two issues — changing character of warfare and transformation of forces. “In these 20 years, character of warfare and its conduct has changed. Cyber and space have changed the dynamics and both will be fiercely contested,” he said.

Another change for India is the ability of surveillance. The existing layers include UAVs, long range sights that look as far as 25 km, and thermal imagers. During winter, aerial sorties are carried out with high resolution cameras that provide live feed into control rooms. Twenty years ago, the IAF had just Mirage-2000 jets that filmed things in black and white. The tape had to be carried back to the operations room to be studied.

The next addition in this surveillance layer will be ‘quad-copters’ (small drones) and tactical UAVs. Since 1999, the Army has not vacated any posts in those icy heights. Its manpower for the 196-km frontage was a mere ‘3,000’ troops, but now it stands at 12,000 with the ability to airlift acclimatised troops within hours.

If the user has Aadhaar registered mobile number, he/she can also check the Aadhaar update history.