Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, July 26

Tears rolled down the cheeks of 75-year-old Gurbachan Kaur as she recalled the day when she got the news of her husband Harbhajan Singh’s martyrdom, who along with five others personnel was killed in the 1965 India-Pakistan war.

Gurbachan Kaur was present here today along with other widows of army-men, who attained martyrdom, to receive honour for being ‘Veer Nari’ from Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Jasbir Singh, on Kargil Vijay Diwas at Punjab State War Memorial.

She said she lived with her husband for only a year. “I got married in 1964 while my husband sacrificed his life in the war of 1965. I’ve lived all these years without him. I have no children, so I pass my time with my neighbour’s children telling them stories of brave martyrs,” she said, adding that once a soldier was martyred, their families cry for government attention.

Similar was the tale of Manjit Kaur, whose husband head constable Sukhdev Singh was killed by terrorists at the Jalandhar district courts in 1986.

Remembering his last day with her husband, she said, “It was April and he told me to get ready as we would go to the market after he returned. Since he got late, I went to the hospital where I was then working as a nurse.”

Manjit Kaur said she was shocked to see a huge crowd gathered in front of her house when she returned around 3 pm as she was not aware of the tragedy till late in the evening.

Though she is now leading a quiet life after both her children were provided jobs by the state government the only grudge she had against the government was that she was promised full salary of her husband as pension till his year of retirement but she was only getting Rs 20,000 even after so many years.

Another retired army-man from Jalandhar, Arjan Singh, who was associated with the Punjab Regiment and was present at the event, said these functions were just a formality by the state government while in reality no one bothered to know about the martyrs’ families and retired army personnel.

He said he used to get a pension of Rs 4,500 per month. However, it has been since long that he hasn’t received his pension, he added.

“For one month or two, if I am fortunate enough, I get my pension, while for other months all I have to do is wait,” he said.

Meanwhile, apart from Gurbachan Kaur and Manjit Kaur, other Veer Naris who were felicitated included Rajwinder Kaur, Harpreet Kaur, Urmila Paul, Harjinder Kaur, Pal Kaur, Kulwinder Kaur, Harcharan Kaur and Gurdeep Kaur

District Defence Services Welfare Officer Major Yashpal Singh (retd) welcomed the dignitaries at the function. He said it was a solemn occasion to pay respects to the brave soldiers for their heroic deeds.

Chief of Army Staff, General Bipin Rawat, on Friday visited Drass sector. During the visit, he was briefed by the General Officer Commanding, ‘Fire & Fury’ Corps on the prevailing situation and operational preparedness in the Sector. General Bipin Rawat also interacted with army personnel deployed on the Line of Control (LC). The Army Chief was accompanied by the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command.

While interacting with the army men, the COAS appreciated the tenacity and resolve of the soldiers guarding the borders in the harsh terrain and extreme weather conditions. Recalling the valour and sacrifice of troops who fought in Operation VIJAY in this sector in 1999, he exhorted all ranks to execute their assigned tasks with the same vigour and responsibility. He also called upon all ranks of the ‘Fire & Fury’ Corps to re-dedicate themselves towards upholding the values that the Army stands for, an army spokesman said in a statement issued to media.

Sandeep Dikshit
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 17

The International Court of Justice’s verdict on the Kulbhushan Jadhav case was a partial victory for both sides with a tilt towards India, if the claims and submissions both sides are taken into consideration. But at the end of the day, a retrial and subsequent judgment by the Pakistan courts will again bring the case back to life.

At the ICJ, India won consular rights that it had pressed for and got Jadhav’s execution stayed. The ICJ also frowned on Pakistan failing to read Jadhav his rights and neither informing India immediately upon his arrest not permitting Indian officials to meet him. Pakistan has taken comfort in the fact that the ICJ did not acquit or release Jadhav, thus rejecting the main Indian prayer.

Though the ICJ found Pakistan guilty of breaching its obligations under the Vienna Convention, it did not grant the main relief sought by India of seeking Jadhav’s release and transfer to India as well as seeking a retrial by a civilian court.

Both countries had upped their stakes in the case as is evident that India had six diplomats at the court, including an Ambassador, an Additional Secretary and the Joint Secretary in charge of the Pakistan Desk. Pakistan, too, had pressed into service five diplomats, including an Ambassador and the Director General (South Asia).

The Indian side was helmed by Senior Advocate Harish Salve along with two Indian advocates, while Pakistan fielded its Attorney General besides a battery of local and foreign lawyers.

At the outset, the ICJ made it clear that Jadhav should have been given consular access because there is no reference to spies being excluded in the Vienna Convention. Pakistan had based its denial of access on the understanding that the convention precludes visiting rights to spies. Due to limitations of ICJ’s jurisdiction in such cases, it did not go through the evidence against Jadhav to determine his guilt or innocence.

The Indian plea stood on four pillars: (i) violation of Vienna Convention had rendered the sentence by the Pakistan military court infructuous; (ii) restoration to the original position; (iii) restrain Pakistan from convicting Jadhav, and (iv) trial before civilian courts after excluding Jadhav’s confession. Due to jurisdictional issues, the ICJ could only decide whether Pakistan had breached Article 36 of the Vienna Convention.

The State cannot arbitrarily pick and choose from amongst similarly situated persons, a cut-off date for extension of benefits especially pensionary b

https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/classification-of-pensioners-by-providing-cut-off-date-146278

Permission given for construction of hangars, apron and link taxi track’

In a story stirring pride and inspiration, two brothers from an Army family fought great adversity and overcame numerous challenges to don the olive green uniform after passing out from the elite Indian Military Academy Dehradun. Abhimanyu Ganachari and his younger brother Abhinav grew up with the singular aim of becoming an officer in the Indian Army just like their father late Major G Ganachari of 5 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles (JAK RIF).But tragedy struck very early in life as Abhimanyu and Abhinav lost their father Major G Ganachari while they were just 10 and 7 years old respectively. But Major Ganachari had already inspired his sons for a life in the armed forces which his wife Sunanada Ganachari ensured that boys got the best.

The Indian Army posted the inspirational story of the Ganachari brothers on Instagram after the dream of Abhimanyu and Abhinav came true on June 8, 2019, when they stood among the 459 cheerful faces with stars on their shoulders during the pipping ceremony at IMA Dehradun.

From childhood they had seen their father in uniform, seeking inspiration, but tragedy struck when the officer died in 2003, leaving behind his wife, Sunanada with Abhimanyu and Abhinav still in school. After his death, things were not easy as his wife had to face financial challenges along with providing the best for her sons, read

A serving Brigadier, who was then a Major of 5 JAK RIF, stepped in to guide them through rough sails, helping them to find a secure job and settle pension claims. He stayed in touch with them through the years to help them realise their dream, said the Army.

The second tragedy struck when Sunanada died in June 2014. Abhimanyu was in his final term at IMA and Abhinav about to join an engineering college, but still very determined to join the Armed Forces.

Six months later, Abhimanyu got commissioned into the Corps of Engineers in December 2014. Meanwhile, Abhinav continued to resolutely pursue his dream, with the serving Brigadier, who had continued to look after their interests, arranging for his training and counselling.

His tenacity and perseverance came to fruition when he took commission into 18 BIHAR on June 8, 2019, fulfilling his mother’s dream and the brothers in life truly became ‘Brothers in Arms’.

“The success story of the Ganachari brothers truly reflects the steely resolve of Army families to develop even in the face of adversities, thanks to the environmental grooming and a very strong regimental ethos which continue to remain the backbone of Indian Army,” read the post.

A case has been registered against an Indian Army Colonel and 40 other armymen for allegedly using arms to threaten people living in a village in Maharashtra. The incident occurred in Rajguru Nagar in Pune when Colonel Kedar Gaikwad allegedly threatened the villagers over ancestral property in the area.

It has been alleged in the complaint that the Colonel used his whole battalion for the purpose. The battalion has been accused of indulging in fistfight with the villager who had fought with the Colonel’s father.

Colonel Gaikwad’s father had bought 64 acres of land in a village near Pune, over which he indulged in a dispute with a villager named Sunil Bharne. According to Colonel Gaikwad’s father, Bharne had illegally occupied the land owned by him. However, Bharne claims that he had bought the land and has been using it for farming since long.

On June 14, Colonel Gaikwad’s father and Sunil Bharne indulged in scuffle. The Colonel, who is posted in the artillery unit in Hyderabad, was later informed about the incident. He then reached the village along with 40 members of his battalion. They beat up Bharne and also threatened people using arms.

A case has been registered and process has begun to seek permission from the Indian Army to initiate action against the Colonel and other members of the battalion.