Army Vice Chief Sarath Chand,. ANI

New Delhi, February 5

India will continue to give a “befitting reply” and its action will speak for itself, the Army’s vice chief said on Monday, a day after four of its personnel were killed in heavy shelling by Pakistan along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.

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The Pakistani Army has been supporting infiltration by terrorists along the border, Army Vice Chief Sarath Chand said.

“We will continue with our process of giving a befitting reply,” he told reporters.“(Our) action will speak for itself,” Chand added in response to a question on yesterday’s incident.

Four Army personnel, including a 22-year-old captain, were killed yesterday in the Pakistani shelling along the Line of Control in Poonch and Rajouri districts. PTI

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, November 26

The Manali-Keylong National Highway has been closed to traffic due to inclement weather. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has told the state administration that it would not open the Rohtang Pass in the event of fresh snowfall.The Rohtang Pass was closed twice during November due to snowfall. It was cleared by the BRO to enable the stranded vehicles and the people to reach their destination, but now the BRO will open it only after the winter is over. The road was opened for a day today to enable tribals to return to Lahaul from Kullu.Despite the weather being dry, the mercury stayed 10 to 15 degrees Celsius below the freezing point in the high-altitude tribal areas and mountain passes, resulting in the freezing of water and making driving hazardous.Residents of Lahaul-Spiti are annoyed over the closure of the Rohtang Pass. They said barring a few spots like Rahni Nullah and Byas Nullah, there was no risk and the Pass could remain open until the place witnessed heavy snowfall.Kundan Lal Sharma, a resident of Keylong, said SUVs were made for bad roads and harsh weather and that these should be allowed to ply in the area.Sources said the district administration and the BRO were busy passing the buck, while the Lahaul-Spiti district administration maintained that the road was closed after heavy machinery was removed from Rohtang. The BRO stated that in case, the administration decided to allow vehicles to pass Rohtang, they would help.Meanwhile, the minimum temperature has slightly increased in the tribal areas. Keylong was the coldest minus 2.9 degree Celsius followed by Kalpa 0.4 degree Celsius, Manali 1 degree Celsius, Bhuntar 2 degree Celsius, Shimla 7.1 degree Celsius and Dharamsala 7.2 degree Celsius. The Met office has predicted rain and thunderstorm in the mid hills and rain and snow in the higher hills on November 28.

Closure of Rohtang Pass annoys tribals 

• The Rohtang Pass was closed twice during November due to snowfall. It was cleared by the BRO to enable the stranded people to reach their destination.
• Now, it will be opened only after the winter is over.
• The road was opened for a day on Sunday to enable tribals to return to Lahaul from Kullu.
• Residents of Lahaul-Spiti are annoyed over the closure of the Rohtang Pass.
• They said barring a few spots like Rahni Nullah and Byas Nullah, all other roads were fine and that the Pass could remain open until the place witnessed heavy snowfall.

Wg cdr DP Sabharwal (retd)      THERE was a call for you from Delhi,’ said my wife as I entered home. When I enquired who it was, she said she would recollect and let me know later. I did not say anything since dementia was setting in her.‘It was some Arjan Singh,’ she said casually, while clearing the table after lunch. ‘Oh my God!’ was my instant reaction as I rushed to the telephone to retrieve the number from the recording machine. I waited for some hours and called him up in the evening. He was on the line and after the greetings, said: ‘Wing Commander, may I have your permission to change the draft foreword of your book?’ I literally froze. Stumped by his modesty, I managed to mumble: ‘Yes, Sir, my pleasure.’ The few words that, as per military training, should have come out instantly and boldly.He rewrote the foreword: ‘My association with aviation started in 1938 when I joined the Indian Air Force but my curiosity about flying started much earlier when I was a schoolboy and used to see aircraft flying over my village. During my flying training, I flew all fabric and wood aircraft with an uncovered piston engine. In fact, one could see the plugs sparking right in front of you.’ In the covering letter he wrote: ‘You may delete or modify any portion you think does not harmonise with what is given in the book.’ A copybook case of modesty at its best!When I went to present him a copy of the book, 100 years of Aviation, in 2003, he received me, and as I bent down to touch his feet, he appeared to step back a little, but hugged me warmly, and said: ‘I appreciate that you give preference to what you learnt from your parents than what the Air Force would have taught you.’During the next half an hour, over a cup of tea, he enquired about my family and the work I was doing post-retirement. He then went down memory lane to relive the years he had spent in, what he described as,  the glorious Air Force. When I presented him my copy of the book and a pen with a request to sign, he got up, walked to his study table, got a nib-pen, and while writing said: ‘Books should be autographed with ink-pen.’ ‘Yes, Sir’is all that I said. I did not have the courage, or the audacity, to tell him that I was offering him an ink-pen.Before taking his leave, I requested him to allow me to touch his feet again. With a smile, he said: ‘Laylo khushi.’ He then placed his hand on my head and said: ‘Waheguru bless you.’He insisted on seeing me off, saying that guests were to be sent off properly. Out of the porch, he came on to the road where the car was parked. He stood erect while I sat down; the driver started the car. Looking back, I saw him moving only when the car was taking the turn out of the lane. It was then I saluted the Marshal of the Indian Air Force (MIAF), who, without saying much, had taught me an important lesson in decency, humility and graciousness.

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India should consider Chinese twin offers on BRI route and border dispute since they address its military and strategic concerns.

Pravin Sawhney,Editor, FORCE

his could well be India’s opportunity to manage China. In an interesting gesture, China has offered to assuage India’s sovereignty concern on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China has also proposed to start a series of dialogues for an “early harvest” on the disputed border issue, provided India agrees to consider finding common ground between its Act East policy and other development strategies, and the BRI. Both Chinese proposals have come from its Ambassador in India, Luo Zhaohui. “We can change the name of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Create an alternate corridor through Jammu and Kashmir, Nathu la (pass) or Nepal to deal with India’s concerns,” he said at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. Earlier, he wrote in this newspaper (November 16), making a connection between the BRI and Act East policy. In what may not be a coincidence, the Russian Ambassador in India, Nokolay Kudashev, said that China and India should talk on the BRI and set aside their differences in favour of economic cooperation.The timing of the Chinese offer is opportune. In December, the foreign ministers’ trilateral meeting between India, China and Russia is to be held in Delhi followed by the 20th round of border resolution talks between special representatives of India and China. The Chinese interlocutor, Yang Jeichi, has been elevated as member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China. India’s military anxiety

India should consider the Chinese offer since it could address India’s two core concerns: military and strategic. Let’s start with the military anxiety. Given the unbridgeable gap between the Indian and Chinese military power; the fact that the disputed border is neither agreed on maps nor ground; that the terrain favours China owing to better infrastructure and acclimatisation of troops; and above all, that the border has a military moniker called the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which can be shifted by military force by the powerful side, India is constantly worried about intrusions and transgressions by Chinese troops.This is why, departing from protocol, PM Narendra Modi, during Xi Jinping’s visit to India in September, 2014, publicly sought clarification on the LAC at the joint press conference. Unlike the present LAC, transgressions on an agreed LAC — a de facto border — would be an act of aggression tantamount to a declaration of war. Since China did not want to lose the advantage of exercising military coercion by sauntering across the LAC at will, it rejected Modi’s proposal. This proposal, which is the best that India could get short of the border resolution (which is unlikely anytime soon), could be the “early harvest” hinted by Luo in exchange for India considering the BRI.Strategic concerns

Moreover, India has two strategic concerns — the said and the unsaid. The said one is about the CPEC which passes through territory held by Pakistan, but is claimed by India. China has responded by saying that a mutually acceptable route could be formulated. The unsaid concern, which is the trickier, is this: India believes that joining the BRI would limit its strategic options necessary for its rise. The best option, India believes is to partner with the US, and other like-minded democracies and friendly nations, in ensuring that the present regional architecture does not get upended by the BRI. India, therefore, has announced its Act East policy with connectivity, trade and security as its three pillars. Its other development strategies include Sagarmala, Spice Route and Mausam initiatives, the Asia-Africa sea corridor with Japan, and the Quadrilateral — India, the US, Japan and Australia — dialogue for strategic and maritime cooperation. Moreover, the US, by renaming the Asia-Pacific as the Indo-Pacific has sought maritime partnership with India from East Asia — with the pivot in ASEAN —across the Indian Ocean Region. The US has also proposed connectivity on land and sea to counter the BRI.Important issues

While all this appears exciting, India should consider three issues:1 Its national power (economic, military and technological) does not compare favourably with China; the Indian Navy warships lack long-legs, numbers and endurance. Not to forget its limited annual allocations and an unenviable shipbuilding industry. 2 The BRI is a strategic threat since it impedes India’s rise by getting its neighbourhood and “extended neighbourhood” on board the BRI. Soon, this would translate into military threat for India (on land and seas) since the People’s Liberation Army would develop defence ties with nations that have joined the BRI to protect its own people, assets, infrastructure and interests there.3 The US administration, with its withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and ‘America First’ policy, has handed over the economic leadership of the Asia-Pacific to China. This has resulted in a review of the regional balance-of-power by US’ allies Japan, South Korea and Vietnam, who are gravitating towards China. Since these nations are hedging their bets, does it make sense for India to position itself as China’s rival, especially when China is a power which cannot be contained? India’s interests would be better served by considering the Chinese double offer. Strategic hedging or as the foreign secretary, S Jaishankar, recently said, “rigidity of positions no longer holds” should be adopted soonest.

Nawanshahr, November 13

The police today busted a gang of snatchers that was planning to loot a cash van. Two pistols, a kirpan and a bike were recovered from the possession of five gang members.The police said Army jawan Vikramjit Singh, who belongs to Hoshiarpur and is posted in Rajasthan, was the mastermind of the snatchings along with Jagdish of Jalandhar. Both are on the run.Those arrested have been identified as Bihar resident Mithilesh Kumar, Nandish of Balachaur, Malkit and Rampal of Ropar and Prabhlobhan Singh of Banga. The police said Vikramjit had recently gone back to Rajasthan after spending holidays with his family. — TNS

File photo

Arun Joshi

tribune news service

Srinagar, November 10

The Kashmiri separatists had made up their mind to give another try to an engagement with New Delhi and also to bring Pakistan on board as latest as November 4, but a notice to JKLF chief Yasin Malik the very same day made them do a U-turn and reject the talks offer in almost absolute terms.“They felt the space to operate for the Hurriyat Conference was being completely squeezed. Since there was no back channel at work, they thought it was time to tell Delhi that separatists cannot be cowed down and made to sit across the table,” sources said. This also gave a boost to pro-Pakistan elements like Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who on Thursday reaffirmed that “Kashmir should be a part of Pakistan”.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)According to the separatists, Delhi’s special representative Dineshwar Sharma was being used as a ruse.Sources said the Hurriyat, like all other groups in Kashmir, was convinced that “Pakistan, good or bad, cannot be wished away. It has a historical stake and also controls the levers of militancy to a large extent”. Already there is dismay among separatists over the very limited public support they have garnered against the NIA raids, and the opening of doors to the interlocutor would have strengthened the impression propagated by Delhi that they had been doing wrong all through.