For Himachal girl Pratibha Jamwal, 29, who was one of the six women to circumnavigate the earth, the voyage was a test of grit

Sarika Sharma

Leaving her loved ones behind and setting sail had been tough for Pratibha Jamwal. Throughout the eight months that she was out on the sea along with her colleagues, Pratibha pictured the day of returning home in her mind so many times. But a few metres from the berth, she didn’t feel that joy. There was, instead, a sinking feeling. She was going to miss her mornings surrounded by the sea. She was going to miss being with her gang, along with whom she had just become one of the first few Indian women to circumnavigate the earth — she was part of the six-member women team of Indian Naval Sailing Vessel (INSV), Tarini.The feat achieved by Pratibha, who hails from Mohal in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, is unique. The mission makes her and her colleagues an example to follow. Understandably, it was a hard road. As women officers are not posted on sea-going platforms, they had to start from the scratch. “We did our theoretical training in various naval schools and trained in navigation, communication, meteorology and seamanship,” she tells. Then, they were posted at INS Mandovi, where they trained on-board INSV Mhadei, the first Indian boat to circumnavigate the world. “Captain Dilip Donde, the first Indian to circumnavigate the world solo, became our mentor. We covered more than 22,000 nm during training,” tells Pratibha, whose teammates included young women from various backgrounds, all “naive and amateur”, but each “strong headed”.For eight months, she was there in the sea. She says she loved the azure expanse. Was she scared too? She shrugs. “All of us had volunteered for this as it required huge commitment. You can’t force someone as it involves risk of life,” says Pratibha, whose father retired from government service and mother is a homemaker.Rough weather struck near Cape Horn in January when every bit learnt during those three years of training was put to test. The winds were 70-knot strong and waves as high as 9 metres. Pratibha remembers frantic manoeuvring and cherishes their teamwork. “Next morning, everything was clear and there was a sense of pride and accomplishment,” says Pratibha.They met two more storms at the shore while in Falkland Islands and one in Port Louis Mauritius. “While we were close to Falkland, the storm was greater than hurricane force and it was raining continuously,” Pratibha recalls. The temperature too subzero and they were out, steering the boat. “The night had descended. We were wet and cold, but no one could sleep as the person on the wheel had to be relieved every hour. Half of the crew was drying clothes for those steering.”Those eight months were also spent understanding the sea. Pratibha realised they differed in temperament. “The Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean are calm compared to the Atlantic and South Pacific. There the waves are normally 4-5 m high and winds blow at 60kmph, but, in case of a storm, they can go as high as 9-10m with winds of 140kmph.”So, if the sea was ferocious, it was bountiful too. “The waters offer you a lot of beautiful things. We saw different varieties of marine life, encountered auroras and bioluminescence — things you get to see only at the sea,” she says. Among all this fun, madness and fury, lay the sole aim of creating history. She hopes more and more women are inducted as sailors. “It will widen the horizon and make the working environment better for both the genders,” she says.At the shore in INS Mandovi, Goa, now, she soon heads to Kochi, where she will be an instructor at a school for Naval airmen. Until then, the sea inside her will continue to rise — bring a smile to her face, maybe give her goosebumps too.

The team

INSV Tarini sailed 22,000 nautical miles in 254 days to circumnavigate the globe. The expedition, christened Navika Sagar Parikrama, was flagged off from INS-Mandovi boat pool in Goa on September 10, 2017 and they reached back on May 21. The INSV Tarini team, led by Lt Commander Vartika Joshi, comprised Lieutenant P. Swathi, Lieutenant Pratibha Jamwal (Air Traffic Control specialists), Lieutenant Vijaya Devi, Sub-Lieutenant Payal Gupta (both Education officers) and Lieutenant B Aishwarya, a naval architect.

The tour

The all-women team completed the expedition in six legs, with stopovers at Fremantle (Australia), Lyttleton (New Zealand), Port Stanley (Falkland Islands), Cape Town (South Africa) and Mauritius

It has been known for a while now that all is not well in the Military Secretary’s (MS) branch. It has been suspected for some time now that wrapped in secrecy, despite tall claims of transparency, the MS branch utilises the opaqueness to play with careers of officers. Why and at whose bidding, it is not known. But it may vary from case to case. And now it stands utterly and totally exposed. By none other than the Principal Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal.

The bench of Justice AK Mathur, Chairperson of the Tribunal and the administrative member, Lt Gen SS Dhillon, have blown the lid off one of the worst kept secrets in the Indian Army. That all is not well in the MS Branch and a comprehensive review of how it functions is the need of the hour.

The scathing indictment of the most important branch of the Indian Army, as far as the officer cadre’s career is concerned, came as a result of a petition filed by a Brigadier of the Corps of Engineers. Brig VG Gole, of June 1979 seniority, was shocked when he found out that he had not been empanelled for promotion in the selection board held for the rank of Major General in late 2010. As an officer who had been getting consistently good ACRs, he could not fathom why he was not selected.
And then he found out the reason. To his shock he came to know that the IO portion of his most recent ACR has been effaced, or removed from records in the selection process, as a result of which he fell back in the comparative merit. Why? Because of the following explanation given by the respondents when he filed a case in the AFT:

“A reply has been filed by the respondents contesting the position and took resort to a policy decision at Para 137 of Army Order 45/2001/MS which gives them power to efface the assessment if it is found that the ACR of the incumbent is grossly inconsistent or with inflationary/deflationary/ subjective reporting. This effacing could be done after due approval of the Chief of Army Staff. In this case, the ACR was found grossly inconsistent, therefore, IO’s
assessment was expunged after approval of the Chief of Army Staff”.

When the bench called for the records to see if this was true, they found out that this was not so. The decision to efface had been made arbitrarily. The bench found out that:

“We called upon the respondents to produce the original record before us and after perusing the record, we are constrained to observe that the powers exercised by the respondents is arbitrary. We have seen the ACR record of the petitioner from 2006 to 2010 and we find that during this period
he has earned seven ACRs and has not secured less than 8 marks in any of the qualities mentioned in the ACR. We also found that the IO’s assessment in the ACR from January, 2009 to June, 2009 has been totally effaced. We do not know how much marks were given by the IO but at least we have seen the RO’s assessment in which petitioner was given 8 marks in 5 qualities while in the remaining 12 qualities he has obtained 9 marks. Subsequently, even in the ACR from July, 2009 to November, 2009 he has received almost 8 or 9 marks. From February, 2010 to June, 2010, we find that petitioner has again secured 8 & 9 marks in all the qualities. The explanation given by the respondents is hardly satisfactory. Learned counsel for the respondents has produced before us a minute sheet to justify their stand, but we regret to say that it is a totally arbitrary and if we may say malafide in law also”.

The bench found that there was room for investigating into how and why the officer’s career had been adversely affected. They asked for the officer responsible to be pinpointed and ordered that the Brigadier be considered afresh for promotion notwithstanding his impending retirement and also imposed a cost of Rs 10,000 on the respondents.

“It speaks volumes that such kind of illegality can be committed against an officer. This is a serious matter and we are constrained to observe that it requires deeper consideration by the higher authority and they should pinpoint the officer responsible who has played foul thereby affecting the career of the officer. We allow this petition and expunge the effacing of the ACR of the petitioner for the period from January, 2009 to June, 2009 given by the IO. The marks should be restored back and petitioner should be reconsidered for promotion to the post of Maj Gen in accordance with rules. The impending retirement will not come in the way of consideration of the petitioner for promotion to the post of Maj Gen. The petition is allowed with cost of Rs 10,000”.

If this is how the MS branch functions and if this is how the Chief of Army Staff goes about rubber stamping the illogical and illegal decisions of MS branch put up to him, then it paints a sad picture indeed of the Army hierarchy. How many such cases may have gone unnoticed in the past? What about the time when the AFT was not there? Such cases would drag on and on and the officer’s career be marred for ever by the time he got relief, if any. Criminal, to say the least.

The officer holding the Military secretary’s appointment at the time when this particular case took place is answerable to the entire officer cadre of the Army. He should be held responsible and action taken against him for such illegal action. And Chiefs of Army Staff must sign on the dotted line with their eyes open. Regimental loyalties must not come in the way of being fair to those who serve under the COAS. To say the last.

by

Man Aman Singh Chhina

(As a journalist who has been on the defence beat for many many years, I wish to use this blog to report many things which are not reported in the media, or more importantly, cannot be reported for a variety of reasons. So expect this blog to be brutally honest… about truth, about the men and women in uniform and the Indian defence establishment at large).

Chandigarh, May 31

The Punjab Cabinet on Thursday made fraudulent practices by financial establishments a non-bailable offence, inviting up to 10 years of imprisonment, with provisions for attachment of properties.The cabinet has approved a new legislation to this effect to safeguard the interests of depositors and curb fraudulent practices by financial establishments, an official spokesperson said here.The Punjab Protection of Interests of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Bill, 2018, has been brought following several complaints of fraud received by the state government, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), he said.The meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.Under Section 6 of the legislation, if a finance company fails to return the deposits on the due date or defrauds the public, then the promoters, managers and employees would be liable for imprisonment up to 10 years and fine of Rs 1 lakh, the spokesperson said.The financial establishment shall also be liable for a fine of Rs 2 lakh, which may be extend to Rs 1 crore, he said.Section 5 of the legislation provides that all financial establishments would be required to submit quarterly return of their business to the district magistrate or additional district magistrate, the spokesperson said.In case of default, the company would be liable to pay fine of Rs 1 lakh.Section 3 authorises the government to attach the properties of the company and also that of its owners or directors, and promoters, he said.The spokesperson said Section 4 provides that the officers, notified by the government, such as district magistrates and additional district magistrate, will dispose of properties as per orders of the court.Under Section 8, the government would notify district and session judges as the designated courts to implement the Act.Sections 9 to 12 of the legislation  deals with detailed powers of designated courts, while Section 16 states that no anticipatory bail would be allowed to promoters, managers and employees of the company found guilty of fraud, he said.The move comes in wake of mushrooming of financial establishments in Punjab, with many of them making unlawful gains by way of receiving money as deposits from the public, particularly of the middle class and the poorer sections, the spokesperson said.This done by companies by making impracticable or commercially unviable promises or by offering highly attractive rates of interest or rewards, with the intention of not fulfilling the obligation of refunding deposits on maturity or of not rendering proper services assured to the investors, he said.The proposed Bill would go a long way in protecting the rights of innocent depositors, who were often duped by such fraudulent financial institutions on the pretext of supplementing their money manifold, he said. – PTI 

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 24

For the first time since the Ramzan ceasefire was implemented, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat arrived in the strife-torn Valley to review the security situation.While the Army officers on ground briefed General Rawat about the security situation, especially in wake of the cessation of the anti-militancy operations, the Army Chief stressed the need to maintain “extra vigil to defeat the evil designs of hostile forces and assured his full support to further strengthen the security posture”.Srinagar-based defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia said the Chief of Army Staff reviewed the prevailing security situation in the hinterland.Accompanied by Chinar Corps Commander Lt Gen AK Bhatt, the Army Chief visited the formation headquarters and units where he was briefed by the commanders on ground regarding the operational preparedness.“The Army Chief was appreciative of the measures and the standard operating procedures instituted by the units and formations to meet the challenges posed by the inimical elements. Commending the performance of the troops in the recent successful operations, the Army Chief stressed the need to maintain extra vigil to defeat the evil designs of hostile forces and assured his full support to further strengthen the security posture,” the spokesman said.General Rawat also took stock of the security and administrative arrangements for the upcoming Amarnath yatra, which is scheduled to commence from June 28, and stressed on the need for close coordination with the civil administration to ensure a smooth and efficient conduct of the pilgrimage.While there have been some militant-initiated actions in Kashmir during the past eight days, the situation has been relatively calm, especially in south Kashmir which has been volatile since July 2016, after the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani .Since May 17, militants have initiated few actions across Kashmir, including an attack on Army patrol in north Kashmir’s Hajin area of Bandipore district. Four civilians, including two sisters, were injured allegedly in Army firing in volatile Shopian in south Kashmir on Monday evening during an iftaar party hosted by the Army.

Beijing, May 20

China has begun large-scale mining operations on its side of the border with Arunachal Pradesh where a huge trove of gold, silver and other precious minerals valued at about $60 billion has been found, a media report said on Sunday.The mine project is being undertaken in Lhunze County under Chinese control adjacent to the Indian border, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet. Projecting the mining operations as part of China’s move to take over Arunachal Pradesh, the report said “people familiar with the project say the mines are part of an ambitious plan by Beijing to reclaim South Tibet”. “China’s moves to lay claim to the region’s natural resources while rapidly building up infrastructure could turn it into ‘another South China Sea’ they said,” it said.The Post report with inputs from local officials, Chinese geologists as well as strategic experts comes less than a month after the first ever informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping that was aimed at cooling tensions to avert incidents like the Doklam military standoff last year. The 73-day standoff marked a new low in bilateral ties.Lhunze was in the news last October, just about two months after Doklam, when Xi in a rare gesture replied to correspondence from a herding family in Lhunze County underscoring Beijing’s claim to the area.The family is based in Yumai, China’s smallest town in terms of population located close to Arunachal Pradesh. Xi thanked the father and his two daughters for their loyalty and contributions to China, and also urged the people of Lhunze to “set down roots” to develop the area for the national interest.The Post report said although mining has been going on in the world’s highest mountain range for thousands of years, the challenge of accessing the remote terrain and concerns about environmental damage had until now limited the extent of the activities. But the unprecedented heavy investment by the Chinese government to build roads and other infrastructure in the area has made travel easy.Most of the precious minerals which include rare earths used to make hi-tech products are hidden under Lhunze County, the report said. By the end of last year, the scale of mining in Lhunze had surpassed that of all other areas in Tibet, it said. — PTI‘Another South China Sea’

• The mine project is being undertaken in Lhunze County under Chinese control adjacent to the Indian border
• People familiar with the mining project say the mines are part of an ambitious plan by Beijing to reclaim South Tibet
• Most of the precious minerals which include rare earths used to make hi-tech products are hidden under Lhunze County

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 18

For the first time after the unilateral ceasefire was announced by the Centre, militants attacked an Army patrol in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district early Friday. However, no one was injured in the attack.
Militants fired upon a patrol party of 13 Rashtriya Rifles in the Bonikhan area of Hajin, 32 km from Srinagar around 1.40 am. “A brief exchange of fire took place between the two sides,” a source said, adding that none was injured during the gunfight.”
Soon after the exchange of fire, additional soldiers were rushed to the area. However, no further contact with militants was established.
The gunfight took place a day after a youth was tortured to death by militants in the area. The police blamed the Lashkar-e-Toiba for the abduction and killing of Hilal Ahmad Parray, whose tortured body was recovered from an orchard on Thursday morning in Hajin. Several killings have taken place in Hajin in the last few months.
The attack on an Army patrol took place two days after the Centre announced cessation of counter-militant operations across Kashmir during the holy month of Ramzan. The security forces, however, reserve the right to retaliate if attacked or if essential to protect the lives of innocent people.
Since the announcement of the ceasefire on Wednesday, militants have made their presence felt at least four places across Kashmir. On Thursday evening, militants looted three rifles from a guard post at a high security zone in Srinagar. The police have already sounded an alert following the rifle looting incident, which took place close to the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 330-MW Kishanganga hydroelectric project.
Hajin gunfight
Militants fired upon a patrol party of 13 Rashtriya Rifles in the Bonikhan area of Hajin, 32 km from Srinagar around 1.40 am on Friday.
A brief exchange of fire took place between the two sides. None was injured during the gunfight. Soon after the exchange of fire, additional soldiers were rushed to the area. However, no further contact with militants was established.

The newly-inducted Punjab Cabinet Ministers pose with Governor VP Singh Badnore (fifth from left) and Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh (to his right) after the oath-taking ceremony in Chandigarh on Saturday. The ministers are (from left): Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Vijay Inder Singla, OP Soni, Rana Gurmit Sodhi, Gurpreet Kangar, Balbir Sidhu, Sunder Sham Arora, Aruna Chaudhary, Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria and Razia Sultana. Tribune photograph: Pradeep Tewari

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 21

While rewarding his loyalists, Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh on Saturday sprung a few surprises in  the allocation of ministries, ignoring senior Cabinet members.  Chief Minister’s confidant Tript Rajinder Bajwa was allotted the important Housing and Urban Development portfolio. He already holds the Rural Development Department. On the other hand, Health Minister Brahm Mohindra, the seniormost minister in the Cabinet, was given the additional charge of the insignificant Removal of Grievances Department. The portfolios held by senior ministers Manpreet Badal and Navjot Singh Sidhu remained untouched, indicating the Rahul Gandhi factor. There was no change in the departments held by Sadhu Singh Dharamsot and Charanjit Channi either. The Chief Minister retained the 19 departments with him, including the crucial departments of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Excise and Taxation, General Administration, Home Affairs and Personnel. He, however, unburdened himself of Housing and Urban Development Department, which was allotted to Tript Bajwa, Transport  to Aruna Chaudhary, Revenue and Mining to Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria and Food and Supplies to Bharat Bhushan Ashu. The latter is close to Rahul Gandhi. He and Vijay Inder Singla are the juniormost in the Cabinet. Singla has been given Public Works Department. Sunder Sham Arora, who has the backing of MP Ambika Soni, has been allotted Industries and Commerce, a department which is generally given to a senior minister.By elevating Aruna Chaudhary and Razia Sultana to the Cabinet rank and then rewarding them with important portfolio, the CM has pleased the minorities and Dalits. Sultana, who held Public Works and Social Security departments, has now been given Higher Education and Water Supply and Sanitation. Amarinder’s confidant OP  Soni has been allotted School Education. Gurpeet Kangar and Sukhjinder Randhawa, both close to PPCC chief Sunil Jakhar,  have been given Power and Cooperation, respectively. Mohali MLA Balbir Sidhu has been allotted Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development.

Portfolios of Cabinet Ministers

Capt Amarinder Singh
Administrative Reforms; Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare; Horticulture; Excise & Taxation; General Admn; Home Affairs & Justice; Legal & Legislative Affairs; Personnel; Vigilance among others.

Brahm Mohindra
Health & Family Welfare; Medical Education & Research; Parliamentary Affairs; Elections; Removal of Grievances.

Navjot Singh Sidhu
Local Government; Tourism and Cultural Affairs

Manpreet Singh Badal
Finance; Planning; Programme Implementation; Governance Reforms

Om Parkash Soni
School Education; Freedom Fighters

Sadhu Singh Dharamsot
Forests; Welfare of SCs and BCs; Printing & Stationery

Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa
Rural Development & Panchayats; Housing & Urban Development

Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi
Sports and Youth Affairs

Charanjit Singh Channi
Technical Education & Industrial Training; Employment Generation; Science & Tech

Aruna Chaudhary
Social Security; Women & Child Development; TransportRazia Sultana
Higher Education; Water Supply & Sanitation (Public Health)Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa
Cooperation; JailsSukhbinder Singh Sarkaria
Revenue, Rehabilitation and Disaster Management; Water Resources; Mines & GeologyGurpreet Singh Kangar
Power; New and Renewable Energy SourcesBalbir Singh Sidhu
Animal Husbandry; Dairy Development; LabourVijay Inder Singla
Public Works; Information TechnologySunder Sham Arora
Industries & CommerceBharat Bhushan Ashu
Food & Civil Supplies; Consumer Affairs