First such purchase since the Bofors contract 30 years ago

Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, June 24The Ministry of Defence on Saturday approved the first major weapon purchase for the upcoming Mountain Strike Corps of the Indian Army.The Defence Aquisition Council headed by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar okayed the purchase of 145 artillery guns meant especially for deployment in the Himalayas.Once signed, it will be the first artillery gun purchase since the Bofors contract was inked in March 1986.
The 155 MM, M777 ultra0light howitzer (ULH) has been approved at a cost of US $750 million. The BAE systems will assemble, integrate and test the guns at a facility it has created with Mahindra. This will be the main ground-based weapon for the Mountain Strike Corps.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook and Twitter @thetribunechd)The BAE will supply the first 25 guns in ready-to-use condition. It has been asked to start deliveries within six months of signing a contract. In May last year, the DAC headed by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had okayed the purchase of the ULH, which was originally proposed back in 2008. Made of titanium, each gun weighs 4,000 kg making its transportable by CH-47 Chinook helicopters, C-17 Globemaster and the C-130 Hercules aircraft or on trucks with ease to provide increased mobility in the mountains.The DAC also reviewed the progress of the indigenous 155 mm artillery gun, the Dhanush, modelled on the transfer of technology from Bofors.The DAC also approved the case of the six next generation missile-carrying vessels that will replace the 1980’s design Soviet-era warships. It will cost Rs 13,600 crore.

Kokarnag in the southernmost part of South Kashmir, is a sleepy little township. It once was the bastion of militancy due to the presence of the lofty Pir Panjal range in whose shadow it lies and the forested tracts of the lower hills; the terrain was tailor made for militancy. Through the first ten years of the millennium one of the Indian Army’s famous units, 36 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) (Garhwal Rifles), cleaned the area out leaving few signs of militancy behind. It earned as many four COAS Unit Citations and many more awards  for this feat.

On 8 Jul 2016, at approximately 6 PM gun fire reverberated in Kokarnag  again. I received my first call within minutes which indicated this was not an ordinary encounter. The caller told me that ninety percent it was Burhan Wani who was inside the small cordon. For those who may be unaware Wani is the most wanted terrorist in the Kashmir Valley, credited with having created a wave of what is called New Militancy in South Kashmir. It would not be long before inspiration from him would travel to the badlands of North Kashmir. His Robin Hood image managed an inspiration which saw a new phenomenon; the attempted protection of terrorists by local mobs at encounter sites and large scale eulogizing of even neutralized Pakistani terrorists at their funerals. Burhan Wanimanaged in five years, to create a band of 60-70 young locally recruited terrorists. Many were well educated and technically proficient to exploit social media for their cause. Their photographs in combat fatigues with weapons went viral on Facebook andWhatsapp. Many of the flash mobs they instigated to concentrate at encounter sites were mobilized using social media. Burhan’sentry into terrorism was triggered by ill treatment at the hands of a couple of errant policemen in Tral, a small township in the middle of a broad sub valley on the east of the National Highway, near Avantipura. Tral is notorious for its alienation and use of violence over the last 26 years. The Wagad ridge to its West and the Dachigam Forest to the North afford excellent hideouts. Despite presence of a full RR unit here along with CRPF the area has only been passingly under control. Burhan belonged to Tral and last year in April his brother was killed in an encounter when he was mistakenly taken to be Burhan even as he had gone to the forest to meet his renegade brother.

At 7.30 PM on 8 Jul 2016 the caller rang again to confirm that it was indeed Burhan Wani. He had been killed at the hands of one of Army’s extremely quiet but efficient units, 19 RR (Sikh LI). It is learnt that to his credit Burhan, once cornered, came out in an attempt to break the cordon and was gunned down. This prevented the ignominy of being burnt to death once the house he was holed up in, caught fire due to the effect of rockets and other munitions.

As I tweeted the information I had a deluge of calls coming in on my mobile. No doubt Burhan’s neutralization was making big news. My top of the head assessment which I shared immediately was first that the authorities had to be careful in handling the post encounter effects. In light of the fact that the Hurriyat would attempt to make much of the event and use it to motivate the youth; passionate crowds should be expected at the funeral. We had occasion to witness 30,000 at a funeral of a Pakistani terrorist late last year. It will need to be a fine decision for the political and security authorities whether to allow a public funeral or give a quiet burial by the Police with the family attending. In the past the authorities have mostly given the freedom to conduct public funerals and have faced the consequences rather well. Only in the case of Afzal Guru the body was not handed over to the family and a quiet burial was conducted at Delhi. However, that had different connotations and comparisons need not be drawn. It is not as if bigger names than Burhan Wani have not been neutralized in counter terror operations in the past. In the very same area we had ShabirBaduri who operated for almost nine years leading the Hizbul Mujahideen’s activities in Anantnag. Abdullah Uni (LeT) was killed atSopore in 2011. I do not recall how the mortal remains were handled in these cases but the major difference today even from the situation five years ago is the widespread use of social media to iconize neutralized terrorist leaders and collect flash mobs.  The authorities know best how to handle the situation and politically this is a challenge for the coalition government.

The Amarnath Yatra is entering its second week. The vulnerability of the Yatra is always a problem for the authorities and especially after the recent spate of ambushes on the National Highway it is causing even more concern. A reprisal strike against theYatris will be perilous although I do feel this is unlikely but the security forces securing the Yatra and its various facilities will remain the targets. Kokernag, incidentally is very close to the National Highway near Qazigund.  The Lidder Valley from Anantnag toPahalgam has been quiet for some years despite the presence of New Militancy but it has shown recent signs of revival of turbulence. My earlier article in Swarajya on the revival of terror around Anantnag brings out the challenges quite clearly.

My second thought immediately after the information came in was related to the need to undertake such a campaign as to deny the creation of another iconic youth leader. No doubt, the replacement can never be as charismatic as the original. It is not as if the Army and the Police did not make attempts to appeal to Burhan Wani to surrender honorably.   It is the ‘honorably’ part which needs to be projected adequately. Militants cannot easily be convinced about this. A campaign on social media and also through outreach contact can help in engaging the youth. What has to be guarded against is the buildup of a fervor which will pitch more youth into militancy on the power of the image created in the eyes of the population. It is the imagination and the might of the information power of the State against that of a few locals and the Separatists. It hasn’t exactly been a strong point with the State and needs to be thought through quickly and efficiently. The Center must extend every bit of assistance on this as a test case. Unfortunately no institution or body exists to undertake this responsibility.  The media must be guarded in its reportage because over projection of the events and the situation will surely play to the advantage of the anti-India elements.  An announcement about the leadership of the New Militancy should be expected any time and many of the splinter groups not in sync with each other may use the moment to forge unity. That is why the information side has to be handled carefully and pro-actively.

Internet has been switched off in the Valley since last night as has much of the mobile connectivity. This is fine for a short duration to prevent the initiative going into terrorist hands making use of the trigger available. Thereafter it will all have to come back and that’s the time when the information battle will commence.

For the moment the challenge is to withstand the emotions of the moment and ensure no ‘martyr effect’. The Separatists have no qualms about a few young men dying and a repeat of 2010 is possible. The agencies dealing with security need to be on the same page and leave aside the unnecessary rancor of the immediate past. I would consider this an opportunity to go well beyond and achieve something positive but equally the wily Separatists will also wish to keep the initiative. The maturity of the leadership (both political and the security related) will decide which way the cookie crumbles.

Never easy to write in a moving train but thats exactly what I did last night in an overnight train to Delhi; using an Ipad.  The event was big – the killing of Burhan Wani. In fact I wrote two pieces on intense pressure from media houses. 

Washington, June 24

The US said on Friday that there is “a path forward” for India to become a full member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group by the end of the year, hours after the group’s plenary meeting ended in Seoul with no decision on India’s membership in face of strong China-led opposition.

“We are confident that we have got a path forward by the end of this year,” a top Obama administration official said.

“It needs some work. But we are confident that India would be a full member of the (NSG) regime by the end of the year,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

Refusing to divulge the discussions and opposition to India’s membership within the 48-member grouping, the official said details of the internal deliberations are confidential.

But the US strongly believes in India’s membership in the NSG and the Obama Administration has “worked closely” with New Delhi and other countries on this issues, the official said.

Without going into details of deliberations, the official referred to a similar discussion within the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) to which India was inducted early this month after months of discussions within its member countries.

Like NSG, decisions within MTCR is taken with consensus.

“We expected a discussion on the role that India will play and where it has been,” said the official.

“We were able to end discussion this week and we have a clear path forward for India to become a full member by the end of the year,” the official asserted.

“That’s our expectation,” the senior administration official reiterated when asked if US expects that India’s NSG membership could be achieved by the end of this year.

“Our expectations is that this would be finished by the end of this year,” the official said.

The NSG ended its plenary meeting in Seoul with no decision on India’s membership.

China, which had made no secret of its opposition, succeeded in scuttling India’s bid despite a significant majority backing the Indian case. Thirty-eight countries supported India, according to Indian officials. — PTI

‘Badal to blame for SYL’

• Amarinder alleged it was Badal who had accepted Rs 2 crore from then Haryana CM Devi Lal in 1978 for the construction of the SYL canal by giving precedence to personal relations over Punjab’s interests.

https://youtu.be/PBo0_q6RhlU

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Can’t give ‘lame excuses’ for project delays: DRDO chief

S Christopher, DRDO Director General
Kolkata, June 23
As it faces flak for delays in executing defence projects, the state-run DRDO chief today said it couldn’t give “lame excuses” and that the reasons for the hold-up were being explained to the government.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at the same time said it was not only ready to compete with foreign companies, but also to export products in the wake of the FDI reforms unveiled in the defence sector.
On Monday, the government announced the opening up of the defence sector by allowing foreign companies to own up to 100 per cent equity.
When asked at a news conference about the repeated delays in the execution of various projects by the DRDO, its Director General S Christopher said when those programmes and projects were taken up they never realised the complexity.
“If I have said seven years (for delivering a product), then at the end of seven years someone will knock at my door. So that is the problem of miscalculation of number of years,” he said.
The second issue, he noted, was that during the gestation period the requirement of the defence forces sometimes increases and therefore the product development takes more time.
“A new product takes a lot of time (to develop) even in other countries. When you take submarines, it takes not less than three decades. Air-borne air-warning system has taken not less than 15 years even in the US. We are also in a similar situation,” he said.
“These are areas where we are stuck. We can’t give lame excuses. We are explaining these to the government,” he said.
The DRDO, functioning under the Ministry of Defence, undertakes design and development of products and technologies to suit the requirement of the three wings of the Indian armed forces. “There may be a possibility when a big company with 100 per cent FDI comes with its technology and gives us competition. We are raring to go for the competition,” he said.
On the government’s thrust on “Make in India”, Christopher said it was a bonanza as far as DRDO was concerned. — PTI

Army may induct ‘Nag’ missile with reduced range

• The DRDO on Thursday said the Army might induct the anti-tank missile “Nag” in its first phase of procurement with a “slightly-reduced” range
• Nag is a third-generation “fire-and-forget” guided missile with capability of detecting and hitting the targets with a very low thermal contrast

Research centre at Jadavpur varsity

• The DRDO is collaborating with Jadavpur University (Kolkata) to start a new Rs 100-crore research centre to develop technologies related to cyber security and robotics for the defence forces
• Housed on the campus of the state-run university, the foundation stone of the Jagadish Chandra Bose Centre for Advanced Technology was laid on Thursday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on April 1, 2016. PTI file photo

Beijing, June 21

In an unusual move, China’s state media on Tuesday defended Pakistan’s nuclear record, saying it was AQ Khan who was responsible for atomic proliferation which was not backed by the government and argued that any exemption to India for NSG entry should also be given to Pakistan.“While India strives for Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) inclusion, it prevents Pakistan from joining by insisting on the latter’s bad record of nuclear proliferation. Actually, the proliferation carried out by Pakistan was done by Abdul Qadeer Khan, Pakistan’s chief nuclear scientist, and was not an official policy of the Pakistani government,” an article in the state-run Global Times said.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook and Twitter @thetribunechd)“Khan was punished by the government afterwards with several years of house arrest. If the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the NSG can give India an exemption, it should apply to Pakistan as well,” it said.Read: Modi to meet Chinese President to win support for NSG  This is probably the first time Chinese official media has directly made a case for Pakistan’s inclusion in the NSG. China officially maintains that there should be consensus about admitting all members.“China and other countries are opposed to NSG including India while excluding Pakistan, because it means solving India’s problem but creating another bigger problem. If India joins hands with Pakistan to seek NSG membership, it seems more pragmatic than joining alone,” said the article titled ‘China no barrier to India joining NSG’.Read: China snubs, Foreign Secy Seoul-boundIndia and Pakistan conducted nuclear tests in 1998, which were condemned by the international community, and the US, the EU and Japan all imposed harsh sanctions on the two countries.After the September 11 attacks, the sanctions were gradually lifted. The US even signed with India a Civil Nuclear Agreement and backs India’s bid to join NSG. But the issue of the legitimacy of India’s “nuclear status” has not been solved, it said.“If India and Pakistan are allowed to join the NPT and adopt the CTBT, it will tarnish the authority of both. How can nuclear weapons development in other countries such as North Korea, Iran and Israel be dealt with?” the article said.The article put the blame of proliferation from Pakistan squarely on nuclear scientist Khan.Khan was disgraced in 2004 when he was forced to accept responsibility for nuclear technology proliferation and was made to live a life of official house arrest. In 2009, the Islamabad High Court declared Khan to be a free citizen of Pakistan, allowing him free movement inside the country.The article came as the NSG began its meeting in Seoul, even as the Chinese foreign ministry said India’s admission is not on the agenda.The NSG remains divided over non-NPT countries like India becoming its members, China’s Foreign Ministry had said on Monday less than 24 hours after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had exuded hope that “we would be able to convince China to support our entry to the NSG”. PTI

Modi to meet Chinese President to win support for NSG

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. File photo

New Delhi, June 21Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday (June 23) in Uzbekistan capital Tashkent in an attempt to win Beijing’s support for India’s membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).Modi will meet Jinping on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit meeting that is currently on in Tashkent. The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic, and military organisation founded in 2001 in Shanghai by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.Sources said the meeting between Modi and Jinping would be an exclusive one-on-one discussion, where the top agenda would be to seek China’s support for India’s membership in the NSG.China, till now, has been playing the role of a dampener on the issue of clearing the way for India’s admission to the NSG, by repeatedly stating that it is not on the agenda of the grouping which began its plenary session in Seoul, South Korea, on Monday.On the other hand, the United States has called on the participating governments of the NSG to support India’s application for membership.State Department spokesperson John Kirby said in a press briefing that Washington had not changed its stand regarding India’s application for membership to the elite group.“Well, as you know, during Prime Minister Modi’s visit, the President (Barack Obama) welcomed India’s application to join the NSG and reaffirmed that India is ready for membership. We continue to call–and nothing’s changed about our position. We continue to call on the participating governments of the NSG to support India’s application at the plenary session this week in Seoul,” he said.When asked if the Obama government has taken up the matter with China, who has been firmly against India’s inclusion in the NSG, Kerry asserted that the US had routinely spoken to other NSG participating members regarding the matter.“This is something that we have–India’s application is something we have routinely talked to other NSG participating members. This is not a new topic of discussion that we;ve had privately with the members,” he said. ANI

US again asks NSG members to support India’s bid

The US has given a fresh push to India’s NSG membership bid by asking members of the elite club to support India’s entry into the grouping during the ongoing plenary meeting in Seoul. PTI/AP file photo

Washington, June 21

Amid China’s opposition, the US has given a fresh push to India’s NSG membership bid by asking members of the elite club to support India’s entry into the grouping during the ongoing plenary meeting in Seoul.“We believe, and this has been US policy for some time, that India is ready for membership and the United States calls on participating governments to support India’s application at the plenary session of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG),” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters.“At the same time, participating governments will need to reach a consensus decision in order to admit any applicant into the group and the United States will certainly be advocating for India’s membership,” Earnest said as the five-day annual plenary session of the 48-member club began in the South Korean capital on Monday.His remarks came after China said India’s membership is not on the agenda of the NSG meeting in Seoul.The NSG remains divided over non-NPT countries like India becoming its members, China’s Foreign Ministry had said on Monday less than 24 hours after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj exuded hope that “we would be able to convince China to support our entry to the NSG”.US President Barack Obama, Earnest said, had an opportunity to discuss the issue of India’s NSG membership bid with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their White House meeting earlier this month.“The United States, as you know, strongly supports India’s application to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group,” Earnest said.“We have made our views known both publicly and privately, and we’ll continue to do so,” Earnest said when asked if the US has reached out to members of the NSG in support of India’s application.At a separate news conference, the State Department reiterated the same views.“As you know, during Prime Minister Modi’s visit, the President welcomed India’s application to join the NSG and reaffirmed that India is ready for membership. We continue to call on the participating governments, the NSG, to support India’s application at the plenary session this week itself,” State Department Spokesman John Kirby told reporters at his daily news conference.“India’s application is something we have routinely talked to other NSG participating members. This is not a new topic of discussion that we’ve had privately with the members,” Kirby said.Last week as well, the US had called on members of the nuclear trading club to support India’s membership.While majority of the elite group members backed India’s membership, it is understood that apart from China, countries like Turkey, South Africa, Ireland and New Zealand were not in favour of India’s entry into the NSG.China maintains opposition to India’s entry, arguing that it has not signed Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). However, it has been batting for its close ally Pakistan’s entry if NSG extends any exemption for India.Pakistan applied for NSG membership, a week after India submitted its membership application.India has asserted that being a signatory to the NPT was not essential for joining the NSG as there has been a precedent in this regard, citing the case of France.India is seeking membership of NSG to enable it to trade in and export nuclear technology. PTI

Our Correspondent

Una, June 28

Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the HP Ex-Servicemen Corporation and former Lok Sabha MP Maj-Gen Vikram Singh (retd) died at Solan today. The former Lok Sabha member from the Hamirpur constituency was born and brought up at his ancestral village of Daulatpur Chowk in Una district.He was unwell for the last two months and was staying with his son at Solan. He had remained a Congress MP from 1996 to 1998. He had later started an institute in Una city for training local youth to join the armed and paramilitary forces. His last rites will be performed at Daulatpur Chowk on Wednesday.Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, chairman of the State Finance Commission and Chintpurni MLA Kuldip Kumar, Gagret MLA and secretary of the All India Congress Committee Rakesh Kalia in a press communiqué condoled his death.Guv, CM mourn deathShimla: Governor Acharya Devvrat and Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh mourned the death of Maj-Gen Bikram Singh (retd), former MP and Chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Ex-Servicemen Corporation, today in Solan.The Governor prayed to the Almighty to grant peace to the departed soul and strength to the bereaved family members.Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh expressed deep sympathies with the bereaved family and prayed for the peace of the departed soul.The Chief Minister said Maj-Gen Bikram Singh gave his valuable services to the nation while serving in the Indian Army. He also raised various important issues of the country and particularly Himachal Pradesh as a Member of Parliament. Besides the Speaker of the state Vidhan Sabha, a large number of Congress and BJP leaders also expressed their condolences

New Delhi: At least 250 troops of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army patrolled along a disputed section of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) near Yangtze, 50 km north of Tawang monastery in the western part of Arunachal Pradesh. The three-hour patrol was conducted on June 9 around 25 km east of Bumla, the designated border personnel meeting point for local military commanders. A battalion of the Indian Army is located in the Yangtze area, which incidentally has no road access. This is not the first time that the PLA troops have landed in this area. They do it every year. It may, however, be difficult to connect an LAC-issue with an international event like India’s pending Nuclear Suppliers Group membership and Beijing’s opposition to it. Arunachal is claimed in its entirety by China. TNS