In his fascinating work of 2012, ‘The Rise of China vs. the Logic of Strategy’, Dr. Edward Luttwak, well-known political scientist and military historian, introduced the concept of what he termed as “great state autism”. The term is used to suggest that a collective national lack of situational awareness and distorted communications reduces a country’s ability to perceive international realities with clarity. Obviously, in this context, one accepts in good faith that the authors’ use of this term is obviously neither meant to stigmatize individuals with this disability, nor reflect in any manner on its complications.

In essence, he points out that leaders and ruling cliques are too fully immersed in dealing with the nitty-gritty of domestic politics, resolving crises and attending to their own ceremonial duties to have the time or mind space to delve deeply into or absorb the complexities of foreign affairs, except in times of crisis. Their decision making is thus driven by their dependency on careerist advisors who largely tend to tell them what they want to hear, lest their careers suffer, and that too in the most simplistic of terms. These inputs, after they are dove-tailed with that leader’s own perceptions, beliefs and priorities invariably result in decisions that tend to be out of synch with ground reality.

He further goes on to elucidate that in the context of China the autism it suffers from is of an “especially virulent” strain. This is because apart from its sheer size and massive population it is also impacted by the fact that through much of its isolationist history it has seen itself as the center of the world, a circumstance that it wishes to recreate. He points out that the change in its foreign policy from “peaceful rise” to hyper-nationalism and assertiveness can be explained as a combination of its complete misunderstanding of the impact of the 2008 financial crisis on the United States, the need for President Xi Jinping, who had just assumed power, to assert his authority and the timid response of the Obama Administration to hegemonic actions in the South China Sea.

While Luttwak’s ‘Great State Autism’ hypothesis focuses on the issue of great power interaction through the lens of leadership dynamics, it should be possible to interpolate his hypothesis to understand and analyze leadership behaviors within large organizations, given their relative similarity, like the Indian Army, for instance? After all, in essence the Army is a humungously large organization that has historically been isolated from the general population and remains so, obviously for good reason and marches to its own drum beat. It also sees itself as central to ensuring the well- being of the State, though other instruments of State may have somewhat differing views on the subject. Most importantly, given its highly authoritarian and hierarchical command and control structure and emphasis on unquestioning obedience, their superior officer, especially those at the highest levels, are seen as akin to “God Kings” whose orders are to be implicitly followed.

Being a professional organization in which every individual starts at the very bottom and works his way upwards through time, it would be expected that all senior officers would be conversant and knowledgeable about the lower echelons of command, depending on his specialization and career profile, having been in that position at one time or the other. Yet, over the past few years we have seen a number of patently illogical decisions, verging on the ludicrous, having been initiated by Army Headquarters, obviously on the directions of the Chief. These actions have not only publicly portrayed the Army in extremely poor light, but have also demeaned the officer class as a whole and questioned their integrity and honesty, leading to deep fissures within the hierarchy. This has resulted in a lack of cohesiveness within the organization, an increasing distrust of the motives of the leadership and, as is to be expected, adversely impacting morale.

Some pertinent examples to illustrate the point include the Army Chief’s infamous directions banning officers on temporary duty from staying hotels, as authorized by government regulations, on the specious grounds that “some of them prefer to stay in hotels as they have to exchange briefcases with contractors.” Again in another recent case canteen facilities previously authorized with regard to purchase of cars through the CSD by military personnel have been drastically curtailed because “There were cases of two, three, four cars being purchased by a single person in less than five years. A correction was desperately needed”. Finally, we now have the ongoing controversy over the stoppage of tax deductions to Service personnel receiving disability pension on the grounds that “some veterans feel that the courage and valour displayed by soldiers wounded in battle should be compensated for by mere financial remuneration” and that “over the years broad-banding and compensation awarded for disability with income tax exemption, have led to a rise in personnel seeking disability, even for lifestyle diseases. The trend is worrisome and that too when the security challenges to the nation are on the rise.”

Despite all of this, it is hard to believe and it can be nobody’s case that the Army leadership, in effect the Army Chief, is itself bent on destroying its own credibility, in a sense hacking the very branch they are sitting on. Incidentally, it is pertinent to point out that each of these obnoxious and irrational decisions, of doubtful legality, has been shredded in public forums showing up the military leadership as vacuous, immature, unempathatic and completely out of touch with reality. While undoubtedly much of the blame can be laid on the Army Chief, whose tenure has not been lacking in controversy from the very beginning, those who have been complicit in supporting his decisions or have not objected to them in an effort to protect their career must also share in the blame. Each of us clearly comprehends that every such act only leads to further deterioration of the Service and makes the job of the next Chief that much harder. Yet the only reasonable explanation for their inability or unwillingness to tackle this display of virulent autism clearly points to the relevance of Dr. Edward Luttwak’s hypothesis. Finally, by now Prime Minister Modi must have realized the unnecessary embarrassment that the military leadership has caused his government by its latest foolishness, with regard to the circular on taxing disability pensions. It may not be a bad bet for the Government, and a fillip to his own reputation, to nip the controversy in the bud by nullifying the circular of the Central Board of Direct Taxes on the matter and allow a return to the status quo. Clearly the Army Chief would be shown up for his foolishness, but that is of little concern now that his term is soon coming to a rather ignoble end.

Maj PK Dharmani and Others VS Union of India
WP ( C ) 2662/2019

The Delhi High Court has issued notice to the Defence and Home ministries in a PIL titled Maj. P K Dharmani and others VS Union of India and others. Maj P K Dharmani, the lead petitioner is a retired Officer of the Indian Army and has meticulously researched this issue and has preferred the PIL. He is being supported by Col Iqbal Singh, Col Paramjeet Singh Randhawa, Retired Defence Officers Association with over 3700 retired officers, and Disabled War Veterans (India) regd, with approx. 10,000 War Disabled Officers and Men representing their retired and serving colleagues. The matter has been drafted and filed by Adv. Jaideep Singh (reachjai@gmail.com, Dharmvidhi Legal Services and Solutions).

The case of the petitioners is as follows.

Context
With over 11 Lakh serving troops at any time, plus a very large number of retired personnel, the Armed Forces of India constitute the largest government department with over 30% strength of the Central Government numbers.

The Officers and Men of the Indian Armed Forces are educated, highly trained, and a highly motivated force often considered the toughest, and amongst the most professional in the world, who have always given a great account of their valour in each war they have fought; right from the First World War (where over 10 Lakh served across the world; of whom 74,187 Laid down their lives, and 67, 000 were wounded) Second World War ( where 25 Lakh Indian Soldiers served, 87,000 laid down their lives), India’s Independence war – fought by the Indian National Army (Rash Bihari and Subhash Chandra Bose) 60,000 soldiers, of whom over 30,000 are said to have laid down their lives) fought the British forces for India’s freedom. Post Independence, they have gallantly fought and won each war, 1948, 1956, 1962, 1965, 1971, 1999, and the undeclared wars against Insurgents in the North East since Independence, Siachen Operations, Srilanka Operations, Kashmir anti terrorism operations, Congo, etc the list is indeed long.

What however is notable is that during wars, external attacks, natural calamities, riots etc when all else fails, the nation remembers the Defence forces, calls them hero’s who protect the country at the cost of their lives, (Serving in the most inhospitable climates from burning deserts at 48-50*C to Glaciers and extreme high altitude at – 50*C, without any complaints but with great pride) but as soon as normalcy is restored, their sacrifices are not only forgotten, but they then have to face Apathy, Discrimination, and Unethical treatment at the hands of the very Beurocracy that exists to serve them, no one then cares about their welfare.
Issue

The Status, relative seniority, equivalence levels of Armed Forces Officers along with their Pay, Perks, Pensions – including disability Pension, and other emoluments and allowances are being systematically downgraded through various unscrupulous means which include the following.

a) Illegal and unauthorized changes to the Warrant of Precedence through Ghost/unsigned letters
b) Unauthorized letters issued further downgrading ranks and equivalence of the Armed Forces personnel quoting these Ghost letters which do not exist in Govt records !

c) Wrong levels and information further miscommunicated to various Pay commissions to lower Pay, Pensions and allowances of Armed Forces Personnel, including to 7th Pay Commission (in complete contradiction to the order of the Kerala High Court single bench which was upheld by a division bench order and further upheld by the Hon. Supreme Court in the Rank Pay Case – Maj. Dhanapalan and others).

d) Arrogant disregard of orders of the Supreme Court, Prime Minister and Defence Minister – to misquote judgements and not implementing court awarded reliefs (Rank Pay, MFU etc), frivolous appeals to each award. Defence ministry remains the biggest litigant amongst all government departments with over 16000 cases in various courts (As per the Expert Committee report of Defence Minister) 90% Cases being Pensions and Benefits related of Armed Forces Personnel.

e) Denial of any grievance mechanism to any of the pay commissions while the same are available to civilian counterparts, misuse of Anomalies committees to gain a march over Defence Forces in terms of pay and allowances

f) Non representation of any Defence Forces representatives in any of the Pay Commissions after the 3rd Pay Commission.

g) Non publication and non-implementation of recommendations of various committees formed for reform of Defence Forces Salaries and benefits – like the Post War Committee of 1947, Raghuramiah committee of 1960 and One Man Judicial Commission – in fact, the reports of these are still classified as secret and not available in the public domain, and are not being given through RTI’s either.

h) Inadequate Grievance Mechanisms – Conflict of Interest – Armed Forces Tribunal is under administrative Control of the Defence Ministry, and its status is already under scrutiny of the Hon. Supreme Court in a petition. Lack of appointments / Non Functioning Benches and dilution of the qualifications of members are further issues adding to delay and denial of justice to Armed Forces officers and men.

i) Complete disregard of the representations of the Three Services Chiefs by the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister on implementation of 7th Pay Commission.

j) No attempt to resolve the 48 plus points of unresolved anomalies since the 4th Pay Commission till date.

k) Non participation in Service events, opening of Cantonment roads despite terrorist attacks like Pathankot, Samba, Sunjuwan, Nagrota and others thereby putting the lives of serving personnel and their families at grave risk

And others.

Warrant of Precedence

One such discrimination has been a systematic down gradation of their Status and Equivalence to the rest of the Government positions as defined under the Warrant of Precedence (First Issued in 1937, later reissued in 1979, both are active) without any sanction from the Parliament or the Cabinet.

Warrant of Precedence is the only Government document that outlines the sequential hierarchy of the various positions in the Government of India, starting from the President on the top as number 1, and then downwards all ranks under the Government of India. The Salary, Perks, Allowances, Emoluments, Pensions, etc all flow from this one document. While the government mischievously added as a foot note – in the 1979 version of the warrant of precedence – that it is only for ceremonial use, it is not so. Indeed there would not be a single case where the pay and perks of someone at a low level below 50 or 60 on the warrant of precedence could match anyone in the top 20.

While the Original Warrant Of Precedence issued in 1937 is more exhaustive, the one issued in 1979 is shorter and covers up to the Rank of Brigadier and their equivalents in the IAS, IPS and Others, the 1937 document is still used for equivalence below the rank of Brigadier and others.

Ghost unsigned letters have been released by Beurocracy downgrading the positions of the Armed forces ranks in comparison to Civil Services, Central Armed Police Forces and Indian Police Service ranks – over the last few decades; leading to instructions and orders being issued by under secretary ranked officers of the Ministry of Defence and others quoting these Ghost letters, to further degrade the ranks of the Armed Forces.

These artificially depressed ranks have then been used by pay commissions starting from the 3rd Pay Commission to 7th Pay commission to reduce the pay, perks and other emoluments of the Armed Forces personnel, leading to an alarming situation today where the Armed Forces Personnel earn lesser than their colleagues in IAS, IPS and even Central Armed Police Forces, who are placed either at an equal level or below/lower in the Warrant of Precedence. This issue today percolates across almost all ranks of the Armed Forces Ranks.

Even the disability pension Of the Armed Forces has also been a bone of contention with allegations of higher pensions being given to civilian counterparts.

Consider this, as per 7th CPC recommendations, the Tough Area Allowance (TRA) given to IAS, IPS, and other Government servants for a posting to a peaceful, state capital and metro of the north east -Gauhati, is 33% of their basic salary, and works out to approx.. RS 55,000 to Rs. 70,000 for IAS and IPS officers, and over Rs 30,000 for others; which is far higher than what the Armed Forces would get even at Siachen Glacier !
While Gauhati lies in the plains of Brahmaputra, with a subtropical climate (Annual average of 22*C), Siachen Glacier varies from 18,000 feet to 25,000 feet, with winter temperatures falling down to -50*C, enough to freeze boiling tea before it hits the ground !

Indian Armed Forces routinely deploy to similar high altitude areas right from Kashmir to Arunachal in the North East. In fact, the difficulty level can be understood from the fact that above 9000 feet, we need acclimatization to adjust to lower oxygen levels. There are few human habitations above this altitude. Leh is at 10400 feet. Above 18000 feet, humans run the risk of getting High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) and High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE), two potential killers if not immediately treated with evacuation to lower altitude. 18000 feet is considered dangerous for human life, yet our Armed Forces routinely deploy up to 25000 feet – from Kashmir to Arunanchal Pradesh across the entire Himalayas. How many civil servants or IPS or CPMF ever serve at such altitudes ?

We loose more Armed Forces soldiers every year to high altitude and complications like HAPE and HACE than enemy bullets ! How many IAS or IPS or other government servants die or get disabled due to complications of serving at extreme high altitude ?

Considering this, is the stand of the 7th pay commission justified ?

Downgradation

The 1937 Warrant placed the service Chiefs at level 9 and 10.

Shashi Tharoor, The MP wrote in his article in the Quint on April 21st 2016 on this subject that after the 1962 war, the Three Services Chiefs – Army, Navy and the Airforce – were put below the newly created Cabinet Secretary, and Major Generals were equated to a rank below the Director of Intelligence Bureau.

After the 1965 War, the Chiefs of Staff were further downgraded below the Attorney General.

In 1971 the service Chiefs came below the Controller and Auditor General (Both previously below the ranks of Lt. General), similarly Lt. Generals have been placed below the chief Secretaries, who previously were ranked lower than Maj. Generals.

This downgrading has since continued, current levels are much lower due to the illegal and unauthorized letters floated by beurocrats which mysteriously do not exist in government records, yet continue to be quoted in many other letters released based on these Ghosts !

It is therefore strange that after each war, instead of rewarding the Armed Forces for their sacrifices and exceptional leadership, the Armed Forces officers and other ranks have been downgraded in their pay, perks, status and equivalence, pensions and other emoluments. How can this be justified?

This downgrading has only continued since, using fabricated and unauthorized letters to further bring down equivalence of officers and men, in one case even to contradict an act of Parliament to place non Gazetted assistant level posts above Gazetted posts of Junior Commissioned Officers !

Pay Commissions

From 3rd Pay commission onwards, there has been no representation of Armed Forces in any of the pay Commissions right up to 7th Pay commission. The forces have been denied even anomality committees which are otherwise available to government employees to rectify any issues and grievances. Each pay commission has done its bit to further reduce the pay and perks of the Armed Forces.

For Example,

1. The 4th CPC gave rank pay but reduced the Basic Pay, thus lowering overall emoluments.

2. 5th CPC – The same as above, gave Rank pay but reduced the basic pay, thus lowering the overall emoluments

3. 6th CPC – Gave Military Service Pay (MSP) but reduced grade pay by quoting the 4th CPC, and did not consider adding Rank Pay in Grade Pay. Maj Dhanapalan and others brought this to the notice of the Hon. Kerala High Court, which directed that the rank pay be added to the Basic pay, which was finally upheld up to the Hon. Supreme Court of India. The Government however continues to mis – interpret this order, and the 7th CPC has gone to the extent of quoting this mis-interpretation in their report. This CPC reduced the Rank of Capt. To Junior time Scale. Similarly Junior Commissioned Officers have been downgraded – Higher grade pay is being given to Non Gazetted civilian officers even though JCO’s are Gazetted officers by an Act of Parliament !

4. 7 th CPC – completely changed everything by coming out with new levels 1-18 based on some principles and formulas – and using faulty baselines and without resolving the anomalies of the previous pay commissions has created further damage to the Armed Forces by systematically lowering both the starting and Top End of the pay scales – leading to a situation where even after adding Military Service Pay (MSP) the max pay of Defence Personnel is lower than the basic and max pay of civilian ranks equivalent or lower in the warrant of precedence to them.

Consider this, After 16 years of service – a Lt. Col would be at level 12 A, a Col at Level 13 and a Brigadier at level 13 A, while equivalent or lower ranked civilians and police personnel would reach level 14 !!

Status of Infantry Soldier

A fully trained Infantry Soldier with three years of service experience was equated by the Raghuramaiah committee in 1960 to a semi-skilled worker!! The 3rd Pay commission in 1973 placed a three year experienced and trained soldier between a semi skilled and skilled worker and added a 5% of pay as X factor.

This position has not been revised in the last 45 years till today !! Despite a massive change in the service conditions of the solider due to rapid advances in weapon and warfare technologies. A soldier of Today is a highly skilled person capable of operating sophisticated weaponry like Modern Assault rifles, Sniper Rifles, Grenade launchers, Computer and Software driven Anti Personnel and Anti Tank Weapons and Rocket launchers, Anti Aircraft weapons, High Tech surveillance and target acquisition and designation equipment , operation of small drones, night vision equipment, Use of explosives, Material Rifles, as well as on the spot decision making. They are very frequently involved in controlling terrorism in the North East, Kashmir, and others, are on UN mission deployments across the world, and are routinely working with their counterparts from other armies of the world through frequent international multi country exercises where they are expected to even be well versed with foreign cultures, languages, equipment etc. The threat profile being faced by an infantry soldier has undergone a huge change as well, with internal security today taking a higher toll on their health and lives than even external wars, Kashmir is a burning example where every day we hear of lives of soldiers being lost in the war on terror.

Even PMO Order Ignored and scuttled !!!

Based on representations, the then PM Mr Manmohan Singh, vide letter dated 27/12/2008 ordered setting up a High Powered Committee for determining equivalence of the Armed Forces with the All India Civil Services and Central Armed Police Forces, but till date, this has not been done and the order scuttled !!

Impact

This systematic downgrade in the Equivalence, Pay, Perks, Pensions, Allowances and other Emoluments and Status of the Armed forces personnel is causing a great upset in the members of the Armed Forces across all ranks and is Causing Upset, Alarm, Anger, and a deep resentment for the civilian establishment. While the disciplined soldiers are not vocal in this demand with the rest of the nation yet, their hurt and grievance is very very serious and the small mindedness of some civilian beurocrats is threatening the foundations of the civil – military relationship. This is evident from the large number of representations made by the Defence forces Chiefs.

Indeed the Three Chiefs refused to pass orders for the implementation of the seventh Pay Commission, and were finally over ruled by the Central Government having to bring out a Gazette for it. This is unprecedented in the history of this country.

In the words of wise Chanakya, who had then told his king:-
“The Mauryan Soldier does not enrich the Royal treasuries, nor fills the Royal granaries. He does not carry out trade and commerce nor produce scholars, works of literature, artists, artisans, sculptors, architects, craftsmen, doctors, and administrators. He does not build roads and ramparts, nor dig wells and reservoirs. He does not do any of this directly. The soldier only and merely ensures that the tax, tribute and revenue collectors travel forth and return safely, that the farmer tills, harvests, stores and markets his produce unafraid of pilferage; that the trader, merchant, and financier function and travel across the length and breadth of the realm unmolested; that the savant, sculptor, maestro, and mentor create works of Art, literature, philosophy, and astrology in quietude, that the architect designs and builds his vaastus without tension; that the tutor and priest teach and preach in peace; that the rishis meditate in wordless silence, that the doctor invents cures and medicines undisturbed; that the mason and bricklayer work unhindered , and that the mother and wife go about their chores and bring up children in harmony and tranquility; that the cattle graze freely without being lifted or stolen.”
Patliputra reposes each night in peaceful comfort, “O king, secure in the belief that the distant borders of Magadha are inviolate and the interiors are safe and secure, thanks only to the Mauryan army standing vigil with naked swords and eyes peeled for action, day and night in weather fair and foul, all eight praharas, (round the clock) quite unmindful of personal discomfort and hardship, all throughout the year, year after year.”
“While the citizenry of the state contributes to seeing that the state prospers and flourishes, the soldier guarantees it continues to EXIST as a state!! To This, man, O Rajyadhyaksha, you own a debt, please, therefore, see to it, on your own, that the soldier continuously gets his dues in every form and respect, be they his needs or wants, for he is not likely to ask for them himself.”

Then Kautilya, known also as Chanakya gave his king this blunt warning :

“The day – the soldier has to demand his dues, will be a sad day for Magadha, for then, you will have lost all moral sanction to be king!!”

Indeed the purpose of this petition is to bring forth this alarm to the nation; the soldiers are now demanding their dues.

NEW DELHI: The vetting process for selection of the next Army Chief has begun, with a list of five top officers being considered for the post after the retirement of incumbent General Bipin Rawat at the end of the year.

The government faces a tough choice for what has now become a selection process where the old convention of seniority no longer applies. At the top of the list are the Northern and Eastern Army commanders — both of whom have rich operational and command experience and a good track record when it comes to anti-insurgency operations. Lt Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane, who is currently the Eastern army Commander, would be the seniormost officer of the Indian Army when General Rawat retires in December end. The Sikh Light Infantry officer has commanded a Rashtriya Rifles battalion in Kashmir, has served in the Assam Rifles and has been posted as the defence attache to Myanmar.
His posting as the head of the Army’s Training Command in December 2017 had raised eyebrows as it is considered a backwater that carries no operational experience. However, in September 2018, a game of musical chairs was played with the top brass of the Army that saw him shifted to the operationally sensitive Eastern Command that has delivered several Army Chiefs in the past. The Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, who became the face of the surgical strikes when he announced operations along Myanmar and in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), also has an enviable career record. The government broke from tradition by choosing him as the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) in 2016 despite him being approved to command a Corps level formation.
The officer, who belongs to the Dogra regiment, was a Major General in the military operations department when surgical strikes were planned in 2015 and had personally briefed the top leadership of the country on the planned operations as well as the post action report. While the selection process will look into the service record of both officers, there’s also speculation that the much delayed restructuring of the top military brass may also be in the offing in the coming months
Read more at:
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Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, June 23

Celebrating his family’s bonds with the Sikh Regiment, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday evening hosted the regiment’s jawans, JCOs and officers to mark 100 years of the Patiala family’s association with the battalion and the Indian Army.

The evening included a cultural programme, which saw the Capt cheering on the jawans and even briefly joining them in a Bhangra performance. He visited the JCO’s Mess, and later joined the regiment officers and guests for dinner at the Officers mess.

The CM met with the families and children of the second battalion of the Sikh regiment (erstwhile 15 Ludhiana Sikhs).

Singh said that it was a matter of “pride and honour” for him and his family to have served the nation as a soldier of the Indian Army.

He said the Army had always been his “first love” and would always remain so.

The Indian Army continued to inspire him to do whatever he could to serve his people, in whichever way he could, Captain Amarinder added.

Capt had served in the 2nd battalion of the Sikh Regiment from 1963 to 1969. Though he left for a short period in between, to take over his family’s responsibilities, his love for the Army brought him back as the Indo-Pak war broke out in 1965.

Before him, his father, Lt. Gen Maharaja Yadvinder Singh served in the regiment in 1935 and was the Colonel of the 2/11 Royal Sikhs and the 2 Sikhs from 1938 to 1950 and 1950-1971 respectively.

Captain Amarinder’s grandfather, Maj Gen Maharaja Bhupinder Singh was the colonel of the 15th Ludhiana Sikhs from 1918-1922 and then of the 2/11 Royal Sikhs from 1922-1938.

On the occasion, the Chief Minster presented a silver memento —a replica of a Sikh regiment soldier in full battle attire, to the battalion —which will be displayed in the Officers Mess.

Capt. Amarinder Singh was accompanied by his family, including his brother, Malwinder Singh, his sisters and brothers-in-law, Heminder Kaur, her husband, K. Natwar Singh and Roopinder Kaur, her husband, Major KS Dhillon from the Armoured Corps. Captain Amarinder’s son, Raninder Singh, his daughter, Jai Inder Kaur, and his grandson, Nirvan Singh was also present.

New Delhi: The Modi government has put a price ceiling on vehicles that can be bought from the Canteen Stores Department (CSD), taking away high-end and popular SUVs that personnel of the Indian Army, Navy and the Air Force bought from these canteens.

Gone is the Toyota Fortuner, the Ford Endeavour, the Jeep Compass and other four-wheel drives such as the Mahindra Scorpio and even the Tata Safari Storm. Only the base model of the Mahindra XUV 500 is now available in the military canteens.

The changes are part of new rules in place since 1 June.

Under these rules, high-end sedans such as the Skoda Octavia, Skoda Superb and seven of the eight models of Corolla Altis are also off the shelf.

All popular hatchbacks, however, are still available and so are the mid-range SUVs such as the Hyundai Creta and Ford Ecosport. Even here, military personnel will not be able to buy the top end model of the Creta.

Also read: Indian armed forces upset as Modi govt imposes curbs on car sales at military canteens

The new rules

A letter issued by the quartermaster general’s branch at the Army Headquarters on 24 May has stated that from 1 June, only vehicles with an engine capacity of up to 2,500 CC and costing up to Rs 12 lakh (excluding GST) will be available at the CSDs for armed forces personnel in the pay level of 10-18.

Those in the pay level of 3A to 9 can buy vehicles with a capacity of up to 1,400 CC that cost within Rs 5 lakh.

Before the new rules kicked in, there was no limit on the capacity or price of vehicles that could be bought through the CSDs.

The government has also clamped down on the frequency of purchase, reducing it to one vehicle in eight years from the earlier one in four years. As a result of the change, military personnel can buy one car during service and one after retirement but with the gap of eight years.

Military personnel along with civilians working in the defence establishment rely on the CSD canteens for the purchase of cars and other entities as apart from a Goods and Services Tax (GST) exemption, they get regular cash benefits.

Also read: There are 46 upgraded AN-32 aircraft, but none deployed in the Northeast

‘Loss to exchequer’

Official sources in the defence establishment say that Rs 17,000 crore is the annual sanctioned budget for the CSD. It is not part of the defence budget but is drawn from the miscellaneous head.

For products such as cars, the CSD negotiates a price with the dealers before the government steps in with a 50 per cent GST rebate on the reduced price. The 50 per cent rebate is viewed as a loss to the exchequer.

“More car sales in CSD means more loss to the exchequer,” an officer explained. “While there was a 17 per cent decrease in car sales in the country for the 2018-19 fiscal period, there was a 20 per cent increase in car sales through the CSD in the same period.”

He added that last year, car sales were over Rs 6,000 crore, or over one-third of the CSD budget, resulting in the budget itself being overshot. This, the officer said, resulted in a carryover liability of Rs 4,500 crore that is to be paid to car manufacturers.

“The popular belief is that the CSD customers’ money is paid to the car dealer or kept by the CSD but the amount is actually transferred within 48 hours to the Consolidated Fund of India,” the officer said. “Parliament’s approval is required to draw the money from the consolidated fund and this is allotted as part of the budget. The CSD then pitches in with the 50 per cent GST and makes the full payment to dealers after two years.”

Sarthak Dhawan, the son of an autorickshaw driver from Kolhapur, stood fourth in the overall merit list (army cadets) at the 136th course at National Defence Academy. Sarthak, who also excelled in military training, will pass out from NDA on Thursday. “My son has made us proud today. It’s a dream come true for us,” an ecstatic Shashikant, Sarthak’s father, said. Shashikanth has been plying an autorickshaw in Kolhapur for the past three decades. He gives full credit to his son’s iron will, which did not let him falter even when his mother died in a tragic road accident four years ago. “It came as a big shock, but he did not shift his focus from studies and cracked the NDA entrance on his first attempt. Now, he is on his way to becoming an army officer,” Shashikant added.

On Wednesday morning at NDA’s Habibullah Hall, it was family reunion time for the Dhawan family, as joyful relatives gathered around Sarthak and posed for photographs.

Sarthak, a Romeo squadron cadet, studied at the St Xavier’s High School in Kolhapur and completed his HSC from the Services Preparatory School (SPS) in Aurangabad. He said it was his childhood dream to become an army officer. “So, I joined the Maharashtra Cadet Corps (MCC) in school and studied at the SPS to prepare for the NDA entrance exam,” Sarthak said.
He got emotional when he remembered his mother. “She would have loved to see me in this uniform,” Sarthak said. Sarthak will be commissioned as a lieutenant in the Indian Army once he completes a oneyear advanced military training course at the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun.

New Delhi: Former Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief PV Naik has urged the government to involve retired service chiefs in the selection of military heads. In a letter written to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Naik has urged that former chiefs be inducted into panels for selecting future military chiefs.

“Sir, I have a small suggestion regarding the selection of Chiefs. Nobody denies that merit-based selection, with due deference to seniority, is the best method. The question is who determines merit? Is it the RM under Def Secy’s advice? Is it the PMO? Is it Intel or the NSA?” Naik has said in his letter.

All the above have only peripheral knowledge of the officer concerned. Besides political leanings, we need to factor in professionalism too. So whose advice counts in the Appointments Committee? May I suggest a panel involving all the above plus an ex-Chief of the same Service,” he has further said in his letter, news agency ANI reported.

Naik’s letter comes ahead of a scheduled change of leadership in the IAF when incumbent Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa retires. Interestingly, the appointment of incumbent Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh has also been challenged in the court by Vice Admiral Bimal Verma even as the former has taken over the office of CNS.

“We should start small, say at Director level, and make it work before taking it further. This, sir, is the first step. Without this, the rest is cosmetic,” Naik said in his letter.

New Delhi, April 30

Months ahead of the India-Pakistan war broke out in 1971, it was just another day at work for the five young pilots at IAF’s 22 squadron in Kalaikunda as they moved around camouflaged nets and concrete blast pens in their black overalls and bikes, preserving themselves for the action.

Realising the similarities in their appearances and the Jawa bikes, they decided to capture the moment in the camera. The five Gnat pilots happily posed for a photograph with one hand on the petrol tank and a cigarette casually dangling from the lips of one of them.

None of them had a clue that the picture clicked nearly 50 years ago will go viral in the social media in 2019.  

IANS spoke to Wing Commander Sunith Soares, Air Vice Marshal A.K. Shyam, group captains P.M. Velankar and Ashok Bhagwat (all retired)— who were traced by Jawa Motorcycles and were made to recreate the photograph with only one difference, the missing fifth man in the 1971 picture—group captain V. Pashupati who is no more.

A fifth bike was placed with only a helmet in a missing man formation, an Air Force way of honouring a fallen pilot.

“It was in 1971, we knew war would come up, there was little flying and most of the day we would just sit around trying to waste time as we were preserving for the hour,” recalled Sunith Soares.

“There was a big shot coming to visit us so we decided to stay in our overalls which was jet black. We did not even have a squadron crest so we called ourselves Hell’s Angels inspired by the US group of bikers wearing black jackets and riding Harley Davidsons, and wore the patch on the sleeve,” he said explaining how they related to the gang of brave bikers who he said was “just like us”.

The Hells’s Angels became Sabre Slayers by the time the war ended as the formation in which Soares was flying shot down three Sabre jets of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) in what came to be known as one of the top five battles of modern jet era. The squadron was later officially crested as “Swifts”.

Air Vice Marhal Shyam recalled that he was only 21-year-old when the picture was taken.

“I used to drive around in my Jawa in the squadron as did all other pilots. I bought the bike from Jamshedpur. On that day (when the picture was taken), it just occurred to us that all of us had same bikes so we decided to take a picture.

“It was spontaneous. We did not plan it,” said Shyam who went on to form IAF’s first aerobatic team Thunderbolt flying Hunters in Hashimara in 1981 and was later posted at the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka before retiring as Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) of Nagpur-based maintenance command.

“I bought the bike for around Rs 5,000 and after using it for 13 years I sold it in Siliguri for around the same amount,” he said.

“In those days, every fighter pilot aspired to have a Jawa or an Enfield. Majority had Jawa. I also bought a bike for around Rs 5,000 which stayed with me for 13 years and I took it around wherver I went,” said group captain Ashok Bhagwat.

P.M. Velankar, the fourth man in the picutre, said that there was nothing special about the photograph as it was just another day and it was spontaneous action.

“We were sitting on the bikes and somebody clicked it,” he said expressing surprise about how it has gone viral.

Ashish Joshi, Chief Executive Officer of Classic Legends of Jawa Motorcycles told IANS it was heartening to just listen to them sharing their experiences.

The starting point for bringing them together was the old picture of them sitting on the bikes. Jawa invited them for the fund raiser event where Rs 1.49 crore collected by auctioning of 13 motorcycles was handed over to Kendriya Sainik Board and recreated the image. — IANS

The fear and terror unleashed by General Dyer still stalks the people living in Khoo Korian. Stories of his vengeful punishment are passed on to generations as tales of woe and suffering permanently etched upon the collective psyche

Nonica Datta

Jeevan Lata is a woman who worked as a mid-wife all her life. She lives in utter poverty on Khoo Korian, a mohalla close to the historic site of Jallianwala Bagh. The 13th of April is a significant date for her for two reasons. First, General Reginald Dyer shot dead innocent people in her city of Amritsar. Second, Dyer also made the people of her lane crawl on the street before he had their bodies lashed. In her mind, the massacre and the crawling episode fall on the same date.

Khoo in Punjabi is a well and Korian means flogging. Thus, Khoo Korian is a reminder that Dyer’s rage did not end on 13th April 1919. He wanted to punish Amritsar more. On 19th April, he promulgated the ‘crawling order’, with reference to a street where Miss Sherwood, a lady missionary, had been assaulted. The order, which was strictly enforced, disallowed Indians to pass through the lane, and if they did, they had to crawl. They were also tied to tiktiki (flogging post) and flogged with several stripes. Dyer also ordered 11 ‘insolent’ inhabitants to crawl between the two pickets. According to Amritsar’s popular writer, Naresh Johar, among those who were made to crawl included a blind man, a few handicapped people and a pregnant woman.

Jeevan Lata has grown up with the memories of the horror of 1919. Though her father was a survivor of the massacre, she, too, indirectly became a witness to the trauma of the violence. She shared with me the brutality enacted on her street by Dyer. A master storyteller, she identified the main sites connected with Dyer’s savagery. For her and the people in her neighbourhood, Dyer is remembered as a living monster, a khooni Dyer, a paapi Dyer, a katil Dyer and a kasai Dyer. She showed me the ramshackle building where Miss Sherwood had gone to conduct the exams for girls. I was then led to the house of Lalu halwai, who had rescued the lady missionary, and along with other friends, hidden her in Badri Nath’s old haveli. Jeevan Lata said, ‘She [Sherwood] was saved, if she had been killed, the entire mohalla would have been wiped out [O bach gayi si, je mar jandi, te mohalla urh janda]’.

The fear and terror unleashed by Dyer still stalks the people living in Khoo Korian. Stories of his vengeful punishment are passed on to generations as tales of woe and suffering permanently etched upon the collective psyche. I notice a six-year-old girl correcting her grandmother by adding ‘General’ to Dyer’s name and saying that Dyer arrived with a kora (hunter) in his hand. Indeed, the cycle of collective torture associated with the crawling street becomes a reference point to remember and forget the trauma of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. The residents conflate the massacre in the Bagh with Miss Sherwood’s assault and Dyer’s inhuman crawling order. The violence at Khoo Korian remains the most powerful living memory, whilst that of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre recedes into the background. Many downplayed the significance of the Amritsar massacre: ‘It’s just a jalsa (community gathering) on the Baiskahi day which the sarkar (the ruling dispensation) organises for swtantrta senanis (freedom fighters).’ But, Khoo Korian, for these people, represents torture, humiliation and violation. The gaps in popular memory make the hidden histories of the Amritsar violence impenetrable in present times. I tried to find Punjabi folk songs around Amritsar district on the massacre, but to no avail. Communities do not remember. The irony, according to the local historian Madan Lal Vij, is ‘visitors go to Jallianwala Bagh, but never come to see Khoo Korian, which is just 10 minutes away.’

The locals remember the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy in varied ways. The shifting memories evoke unleashing of violence on a victimised collectivity. Some of those living in the vicinity of the Bagh, however, admit: ‘Shehr da sabto wadda hadsa si’ [it was the biggest tragedy of the city]. Different castes and communities, Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus, were present on 13th April. The city people feel that saadda (our) Amritsar was let down by the British Empire that they had devotedly served during World War I. Such memories are devoid of nationalist ideas and mainstream political meanings. Gandhiji’s name is absent from the scene. However, people remember the outstanding role of Punjabi leaders like Drs Saifuddin Kitchlew and Satyapal, Chaudhry Bugga Mal and Mahasha Rattan Chand. Hans Raj, the agent provocateur, who masterminded the Jallianwala Bagh meeting, has disappeared from public memory, almost the same way he vanished just before Dyer started shooting.

Sudarshan Kapoor, a well-known lawyer from the city, recalls that his father and grandfather saw the army entering the Bagh from the terrace. There were no women in the crowd, recalls Kapoor—a memory which challenges the dominant narrative that women were present in the Bagh. Kapoor tells me that an old man, Shankar Singh, munadiwala (public announcer), used to pass through the bazaar when he was growing up. He had publicly announced General Dyer’s infamous proclamation and order in the city, with the beating of the drum before the Jallianwala Bagh meeting. Kapoor’s father often asked him to repeat that pronouncement for the entertainment of his sons. Shankar Singh would declare in a loud voice: ‘Khalqat khuda di, mulaq Badshah da, Hukam General Dyer da’ [the public belongs to God, the country belongs to the King, the order is from General Dyer], implying that the gathering of more than four persons was prohibited and anyone disobeying the order, will be shot at sight. But people did not pay heed. Some did not even hear. They went to the Bagh and fell to Dyer’s bullets.

On the 100th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, such popular memories have been revived in gali-mohallas, katras, nukkads and dhabas of Amritsar. They are the most tangible testimony to the broken history of the massacre and the memory of the brutal violence perpetrated in Khoo Korian. The silences are equally telling. They point to the spiral of unresolved trauma that the people of Amritsar experienced in April 1919.

Khoo Korian is a reminder that Dyer’s rage did not end on 13th April 1919. He wanted to punish Amritsar more. On 19th April, he promulgated the ‘crawling order’, forcing Indians to crawl on the street where Miss Sherwood, a lady missionary, had been assaulted

* * *

The residents conflate the massacre in the Bagh with Miss Sherwood’s assault and Dyer’s inhuman crawling order. The violence at Khoo Korian remains the most powerful living memory, whilst that of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre recedes into the background

* * *

Communities do not remember. The irony, according to the local historian Madan Lal Vij, is ‘visitors go to Jallianwala Bagh, but never come to see Khoo Korian, which is just 10 minutes away.’

— The writer is  associate professor of history at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi