On the occasion of Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary, the British High Commissioner to India pens a note of gratitude to the community, while recognising its positive influence on UK history, politics, culture and economy

Dominic Asquith

A lot has changed since the 1950s, when Sikh settlers from Punjab earned London’s Southall its moniker of “Chota Punjab”. Southall can no longer claim to have the biggest Sikh population in the UK (although it does still boast of one of the largest gurdwaras outside of India). That’s no sign of decline — merely a reflection of the fact that the UK’s nearly half-a-million British Sikhs now live across the country, from Hounslow to Glasgow. Sikh communities are embedded into the fabric of British society. There are now direct flights to Amritsar from Birmingham and — more recently — from London. This April, the UK celebrated its first National Sikh Heritage Month.

What has remained unchanged since the 1950s, however, is the community’s positive influence on UK history, politics, culture and economy. Much as they are here in India, British Sikhs are known at home for their enterprising spirit. Lord Raminder Singh Ranger, appointed last month to the House of Lords (where he joins fellow Lords Indarjit Singh and Ranbir Singh Suri) is a telling example of that spirit. As the story goes, Lord Ranger arrived in the UK in 1971, earning minimum wage at a fast food chain. He launched his first company in 1987 out of a shed with a starting capital of just £2. Today, his business is worth over £200 million and has been awarded five consecutive Queen’s Awards.

Perhaps just as remarkable is the fact that such success is not by any means unique. Entrepreneur Reuben Singh was recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s youngest self-made millionaire in 1998 and as a Global Leader of Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum in 2003. Sikh names feature prominently on UK business awards every year. It is estimated that roughly one in three British Sikh families own a business and the community contributes over £8 billion annually to the UK economy.

It’s not just business. In addition to the House of Lords, there are also now two Sikhs in the House of Commons. In the legal field, Lord Justice Rabinder Singh became, in 2003, both the youngest judge to sit in the UK High Court and the first to wear a turban rather than a wig. In another first, he was then promoted to the Court of Appeal. In cricket, Monty Panesar was the first Sikh to represent a nation other than India when he played for England in 2006. And across the third sector, individuals such as Bhai Mohinder Singh of Guru Nanak Nishkam Seva Jatha and Surinder Kaur Ghura of Newcastle tirelessly work to promote inter-faith harmony. Bhai Mohinder was in fact honoured in 2012 with one of the highest Papal Awards for promoting better inter-faith understanding.

Embodying Guru Nanak’s teaching of service, British Sikhs have also championed a commitment to charity — dedicating nearly 65 million hours and £125 million to social causes each year. Organisations like Langar Aid, Midland Langar Seva and Niskham SWAT provide free food to the needy across the UK and internationally. Manjit Gill’s social enterprise ‘Binti’ works in 12 countries, including in the UK and India, to provide affordable sanitary pads for girls and remove the stigma surrounding menstruation. Birmingham-based Sant Baba Joginder Singh Ji Domeli Charitable Trust runs free eye surgery clinics throughout the year, including in Punjab. These are just a selection of impressive examples from the Sikh diaspora.

It would of course be remiss not to mention the long history of Sikhs in the military. More than 3,00,000 Sikh soldiers fought in the two World Wars and British Sikhs continue to serve with distinction to this day. In 2002, the names of all Sikh Victoria Cross and George Cross recipients were inscribed on the monument of the memorial gates on Constitution Hill, next to Buckingham Palace. Last year, Mandeep Kaur became the first Sikh chaplain with the Royal Air Force and Jatinderpal Singh Bhullar made headlines across the UK in 2012 when he became the first member of the Scots Guard to wear a turban instead of a traditional bearskin.

I am conscious that the UK’s complex past with India, including with Punjab, throws shadows on some parts of our history. That should not be forgotten. We must — in keeping with Guru Nanak’s teachings — remember, learn and strive to do better. And as I hope I have managed to convey, there’s much to celebrate as well. In fact, the British Sikh Report 2014 showed 95 per cent respondents were proud of their ‘Britishness’, just as the UK is proud of them.

As the world celebrates the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, I will be grateful — to his many disciples, who continue to make such a mark on British society. I hope this wealth of wonderful examples continues to define the living bridge between our communities, and our shared future.

Hall of fame

• Reuben Singh: Recognised by Guinness Book as the world’s youngest self-made millionaire in 1998
• Monty Panesar: First Sikh to represent a nation in cricket other than India when he played for England in 2006
• Lord Justice Rabinder Singh: He is both the youngest judge to sit in the UK High Court and first to wear a turban rather than a wig
• Lord Raminder Singh Ranger: Businessman, appointed last month to the House of Lords; was earlier conferred MBE, CBE
• Jatinderpal Singh Bhullar: First member of the Scots Guard to wear a turban instead of a traditional bearskin
• Mandeep Kaur: First Sikh chaplain with Royal Air Force. Born in India, she is an Amritdhari
• Bhai Mohinder Singh: Chairman of Nishkam Group of Charitable Organisations that works for social regeneration, education, health, etc.

Aiming for bull’s eye: Governor VP Singh Badnore at New Moti Bagh Gun Club in Patiala on Sunday. Rajesh Sachar

Tribune News Service

Patiala, November 3

Governor VP Singh Badnore today kick-started the third edition of the Military Literature Festival (MLF) by inaugurating the second Shotgun Shooting Championship.

The event is a joint initiative of the Punjab Government and the Chandigarh administration in collaboration with the Army.

Badnore said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh would inaugurate the main Military Literature Festival slated to be held in Chandigarh from December 13-15. He also said the event had become so popular in the past two years that it had attained the second position after the Jaipur Literature Festival.

The competitions today saw participation of young shooters from across the state, capturing the essence of military’s formidable sporting culture and ethos.

This year also prominent national and international personalities would be attending the festival, added Badnore. Lauding Captain Amarinder Singh’s visionary approach to promote sports culture in the state, he exhorted athletes to inculcate qualities of both the head and heart to succeed as true sportspersons. “These events are a perfect way to connect today’s youth with the rich history of our forces,” he said, assuring the participants of all possible assistance from the state government.

Along with other shooters, Badnore also participated in an exhibition match of trapshooting. A total of 60 shooters, including international sportspersons, are vying for honours in the skeet and trap categories at New Moti Bagh Gun Club.

Lt Gen TS Shergill, Maj Gen Sanjiv Verma, Capt Amarjeet Singh Jeji, SSP Mandeep Singh Sidhu, Bhupinder Sidhu along with students of Punjab Public School, Nabha, and Yadavindra Public School, Patiala, witnessed the event.

An art learned in two World Wars.

by Charlie Gao

Key point: The Navy has a wide variety of modern weapons to find and destroy enemy submarines.

With things heating up in the South China Sea (SCS), much attention has been paid to the ships and submarines that could potentially square off against each other in the region. This ignores a key asset of most navies that is already on the “front lines” and shaping military interactions—Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA). Skillful use of these aircraft may determine how an engagement plays out, or it could prevent one from happening in the first place.

MPA have been around almost as long as combat aircraft. Navies quickly realized the potential of aircraft when it came to patrolling the sea, as they could move far more quickly than boats and had the significant advantage of altitude.

But modern MPA use advanced sensors to detect to see far more than what can be seen with the naked eye—Magnetic Anomaly Detectors (MADs) can detect underwater submarines, and radar systems are used to detect ships that might just be specks on the horizon. Infrared/thermographic cameras allow MPA to identify vessels even at night.

MPA can also deploy sonobuoys, floating sensors that either detect noises or send out pings to find submarines. ELINT sensors can detect the radar emissions of enemy MPA or ships. All of these sensors means that MPA are incredibly useful in peacetime as well as wartime.

Michael Zehaf-Bibeau attacks the Parliament of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, killing a soldier and injuring three other people.

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One way they could deter potential escalation is through detecting potential violations of EEZ or civilian ships in contested waters ahead of time through the use of radar and infrared. Since modern MPA have all-weather detection capability, they can watch for fishing vessels day and night, and give a navy an advanced warning of such violations so they can be headed off before a more violent encounter up close.

MPA also can provide critical information in tracking enemy submarine posture. While this is a more intensive and not “guaranteed” way to track submarines—as the battle between submarine stealth and submarine detection is ongoing—determining the patrol routes and positions of enemy submarines is critical information. Such intelligence may allow nations to avoid potential losses to convoy raiding (if it occurs) and set up anti-submarine warfare plans before the event of war.

In their traditional role in the detection of surface ships, MPA are critically important in the SCS region. Due to the relatively short distances between islands, MPA flying out of Japan or Taiwan could potentially track the movement of ships from base to base in China.

Basic MPA surveillance radars like the Seaspray 5000 have publicized ranges of around 200 nm. The more advanced AN/APS-115 and AN/APS-137D(V)5s mounted on Japan, and Taiwan’s P-3C MPA undoubtedly have better performance. Even with a 200 nm range, an MPA flying over the East China Sea could easily track ships moving south along China’s coast.

This could yield significant strategic intelligence on the development and deployment of Beijing’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). In addition, the ELINT suite onboard these aircraft could provide insight into the capabilities of Chinese radars.

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When Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria took over the Indian Air Force (IAF), we were wondering how time passes so quickly. As part of the family of a Pakistani army officer deputed for the Staff Course at the Defence Services Staff College Mirpur (in now Bangladesh), we had the opportunity to interact with the Bhadauria family as Rakesh Kumar was a Wing Commander doing a staff course at Mirpur, Dhaka. Our experience with Indian officers was that they were sharp, wily and hardworking, but had a complex about Pakistan which became more visible as time passed.

Coming back into present times, we have found the same complex about Pakistan, but more pronounced due to the Sanghi rule in India. RSS Bhakts and neo-Nazis have turned every ministry and department into the Sangh Parivar (family). Professionalism is taking a back seat and the Modi cult is the ultimate recipe to fix everything bad in India, whether it’s the downturn in economy, crash of Indian rupee, loss of millions of jobs or the Balakot tree strike; “Modi Hai to Mumkin Hai” (with Modi it is possible).

The February 27 counterstrike by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), which shot down two IAF intruders, including Wing Commander Abhinandan (some social media activists call him “Abhi none done”), shattered many myths regarding the Indian armed forces and the false aura they had created in the past 20 years.

With the Balakot tree strike, which killed a brave Pakistani crow and injured 10 trees, Indian politico leadership started a blitz of lies and deceits and as “Abhi none done” was “undone” by the PAF and was escorted across the Wagha border in shame, this charade of lies and deceit became a shameless cover-up. Unlike a head of any professional force, former IAF chief Dhanoa was forced to become the face of this cover-up. Despite all the twists and fake stories telling the brave intrusion of Abhinandan and shooting down of a PAF F-16, the international experts on air warfare did not buy the Indian charade of lies and Dhanoa had to do a catwalk with Abhinandan till the last day to keep up the IAF’s morale.

Bhadauria, like a true Rajput, did acknowledge part of the truth that the IAF air defence system had shot down their own helicopter right at the Srinagar Air Base and that a military court would sort out those responsible. Our advice would be to put ex-chief Dhanoa into a lie detecting test and maybe Bhadauria will have to court-martial a lot of the top brass of the IAF for covering up this blatant lie. Unfortunately, the Modi-Amit-Doval circus won’t allow that, as accountability of the military would mean accountability of the political decision makers who wanted to take advantage of the clouds to hide their radar signature.

If one looks at the PR media campaign of the Indian military after February 27, one can see a deliberate attempt on giving more space to the IAF. This campaign has four major facets.

The façade of bravado and fakery to cover up the faux pas of the Balakot incident; project IAF’s technological and numerical superiority by advertising the latest procurements on an almost daily basis; conveying to the PAF that India has taken a head lead over Pakistan in acquiring modern hardware; and lastly, showing political pooja paat as essential element of military power and use of nimboo narial and laddus (lemon, coconuts and sweets) to justify the Shastra Pooja.

Maintain the bogey of limited conventional war under nuclear overhang.

But there are sane and serious voices in India, who are cautioning the politico military leadership. Pravin Sawhney has been regularly commenting on why Pakistan is not a walkover and the fact that Chinese military has marched ahead of India in almost every field and this illusion of machismo and false bravado was of no use.

Although Balakot tree strike and the PAF counter-strike lasted for few hours, the PAF’s aggressive response sent some very strong strategic signals across the globe. Pakistan conveyed to the world that it can display a sure footed response based on political intent and was ready to climb the escalation ladder in a nuclear overhang, when it comes to territorial integrity and honour of the nation. The PAF proved that Indian technological and numerical superiority was a myth and the PAF could dominate the skies over South Asia by displaying superiority over the IAF in technical, technological, training and operational domains. The PAF also displayed unwavering faith in Allah Almighty and the cause of Pakistan.

Pakistan also re-established nuclear deterrence by a quick and bold conventional response, the mere fact that Indian politico military leadership did not venture across the LoC or the international border after 27th February proves that India chickened out in this brinkmanship.

Pakistan’s defence forces displayed that a battle-hardened force can compensate for technological or numerical asymmetry, and there is no alternative to experience.

This takes us to our last part of the paper, an advice to Air Chief Marshall Bhadauria: It’s the spirit and real force which fights in battle. The US-led coalition has the best weapon systems, smart bombs and even nuclear power, but they still failed in achieving their objectives in Afghanistan. Induction of modern weapon system is a common feature in all defence forces, but the Indian military is reminding the hapless people of India that next time they will overpower Pakistani military through numbers and technology. Is this advertisement born out of fear?

Dhanoa, the ex-IAF chief, had a peculiar habit of answering every question with the word ‘No’ and he kept lying through his teeth to convince a Bollywood Zombified audience of more than a billion people that Balakot tree strike was real and ‘Abhi Non Done’ really hit an F-16 before going down. Rakesh Bhadauria should avoid that.

The IAF has the worst air safety records in South Asia and they have lost more than a dozen aircraft in the past one year. When Modi said that he wished Rafale was there on February 27th, it was a slap on the face of the largest air force in the region. This statement by Modi points out that the IAF was unfit for war without new inductions. Should Dhanoa and his team be made accountable for this admission? While we congratulate Mrs Asha Bhadauria on becoming the Chief Parton of AFWWA (Air Force Wives Welfare Association), there is a need to control AFWAA Sazi (Fake news in Urdu) in IAF. The new IAF chief should try enroll some real pilots: Coconuts won’t work in war.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2019.

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Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria while interacting with media for the first time very bluntly refused to place additional orders for 36 Dassault Rafale and instantly also killed any speculation of India buying Russian developed Su-57E Stealth fighter jet and for the first time in decades its seems IAF got chief who had clear cut vision for Indigenous airforce and it seems to have dubbed badly on some so-called Defence analysts in the country who have attacked both MWF-Mk2 and AMCA programs off late. IAF is on verge of placing fresh orders for 83 Tejas Mk1A by end of this year and has backed the development of 200 Medium Weight Fighter program (MWF) and also India’s lone 5th generation AMCA fighter jet program, which leaves little space for induction of new jets in the coming decade rather then what already has been planned out earlier. IAF Chief has called for the induction of 114 new fighter jets under MMRCA Tender along with additional orders for the 21 Mig-29 and 12 Su-30Mk1 but out rightly rejected any further orders for additional 36 Dassault Rafale and has also backed away from buying 100+ FGFA fighter jet from Russia, which means that MMRCA tender for 114 units might be last foreign fighter jet type inducted into IAF if for some reason Dassault Rafale is not chosen by India. With little or no scope for any new import of fighter jets, MWF-Mk2 and AMCA programs have come under intense attack in India even before the program has lifted off the drawing board. The MWF-Mk2 program has been attacked for being a 4.5 generation fighter jet program even when air force around the world is making a gradual shift towards 5th generation fighter jets and country is investing in 4.5 gen technology. The second lobby has attacked the AMCA fighter jet program since according to this experts India doesn’t have any technical expertise in undertaking such complex project and others have criticized it timeline which they believe will be difficult to fulfill due to constant delays which we saw in past with LCA-Tejas program.  Two front attacks on countries two upcoming fighter jet programs suggest that new IAF Chief has rattled Arms Lobbyist who see clear backing of the Indigenous programs who can sense that future programs will revolve around Indigenous programs with little or no chance of any imports any further.  Disclaimer : Articles published under ” MY TAKE ” are articles written by Guest Writers and Opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. IDRW.ORG is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this article. All information is provided on an as-is basis. The information, facts or opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of IDRW.ORG and IDRW.ORG does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same. article is for information purposes only and not intended to constitute professional advice .

idrw.org .Read more at India No 1 Defence News Website https://idrw.org/why-arm-lobbyist-seemed-rattled-after-new-iaf-chief-backed-indigenous-programs/ .

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Tribune News Service

Srinagar, October 14

After 70 days of communication blockade, postpaid mobile services were restored in the Valley today. People were seen calling up friends and relatives as the service was reactivated around 11.45 am.

“I finally managed to call my sister in Delhi after 70 days. She broke down on hearing my voice,” said Imtiyaz Ahmad, a local.

Chaos was witnessed at offices of mobile operators where people queued up for new connections or clearing bills. On October 12, government spokesperson Rohit Kansal had said services would resume on Monday noon, adding there were 40 lakh postpaid subscribers.

There is, however, no word on restoration of prepaid services. The Internet blockade imposed on August 5 remains.

Anirudh Gupta

Ferozepur, October 14

In order to combat the threat posed by unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) from across the border, the BSF will soon purchase a ground-based anti-drone system with a 360-degree surveillance mode equipped with radio frequency receiver, electronic-optical sensor and a jammer.

Sources said the tenders for the system would be floated soon. The easily deployable anti-drone equipment will be able to work day and night and able to detect multiple drones simultaneously.

In addition to procuring the state-of-the-art system, the BSF has also stepped up vigil and devised several other counter measures to deal with air intrusions in future.

“We had fired on the drones when these were sighted last time. Since then, no drone has been seen,” said a BSF official, adding that the troops manning the border had been directed to scan the skies regularly.

Rubbishing recent reports of the force ‘getting a nod’ to bring down the drones, the official said the option of opening fire in any such exigency was already available to them and was being exercised.

The sources said in places like Ferozepur and Amritsar where the cantonment was located close to the border, the drones were also used for tactical surveillance.

Apart from boosting its technological prowess, the BSF has also started sensitising the border residents about the need to identify drones or flying objects.

According to information, the Central and state security and intelligence agencies have also evolved a joint strategy to deal with any such misadventure along the border.

Though there have been no sightings of drones in the past few days, the security agencies are working out a strategy to prevent any possibility of arms and drug smuggling through the UAVs.

Last week, Punjab DGP Dinkar Gupta had also convened a meeting of various security establishments, including the Air Force, Military Intelligence, BSF, Intelligence Bureau, NIA besides other intelligence agencies.

The meeting was called following the seizure of a huge cache of arms, satellite phones and grenades from the modules backed by Pakistan-based handlers of Khalistan Zindabad Force which were dropped by drones.

IN his customary address at the Vijayadashami function of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), its chief Mohan Bhagwat tried, in vain, to kill several birds with one stone. He claimed that the term ‘lynching’ was a western construct that was being used to defame India as well as Hindus. He also attempted to dissociate the Sangh from any kind of mob violence and denied charges of Islamophobia against the right-wing outfit. Bhagwat only ended up displaying selective amnesia.

With apologies to Shakespeare, a lynching by any other name would be as heinous. In July last year, the Supreme Court had told the Union and state governments that ‘horrific acts of mobocracy’ could not be allowed to become the new normal, while underscoring the urgency to protect India’s ‘pluralist social fabric’ from bloodthirsty mobs. Five months later, Manipur had become the first state to pass a law against lynching. The fact that a government, and that too BJP-ruled, promulgated the Protection from Mob Violence Ordinance, flies in the face of Bhagwat’s ‘alien concept’ theory.

In most cases of lynchings in recent years, the role of cow vigilantes or religious fanatics has come to light. The chilling murder of Pehlu Khan, a dairy farmer, at Alwar in 2017 and other such hate crimes prompted the Rajasthan Assembly to follow in Manipur’s footsteps. In June this year, Jharkhand’s Tabrez Ansari had died after he was beaten up with rods while tied to a pole and forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ over an alleged theft. These incidents have largely been the handiwork of elements emboldened by the Sangh Parivar’s Hindutva push amid the BJP’s pan-India hegemony. The RSS has been generally loath to condemn violence directed at the minorities and has made little or no effort to allay their fears. Hate-mongers like Pragya Thakur and Sakshi Maharaj have been allowed to spew venom. The sincerity or otherwise of Bhagwat’s message of maintaining harmony and upholding the rule of law would be demonstrated by how RSS workers and supporters acquit themselves on the ground.