P Stobdan
Former Ambassador 

Protecting Ladakh against prolonged troubles in Kashmir was long overdue and so was the imperative of addressing some of the aspirations of the people there. Ladakh holds 60 per cent of J&K’s territory and plays critical role for national security that can’t be overlooked. Also inconceivable has been how Independent India (at the behest of Nehru) reduced Ladakh’s profile of being one of the five kingdoms in the Himalayas into a mere neglected district of the Valley.

Joseph Korbel, father of former US Secretary of State Madelaine Albright, wrote in 1950 that Kashmiri leadership was playing a trick on the people of Ladakh, if not frightening them to surrender under their control. For seven decades, New Delhi has turned a blind eye to Kashmiri sabre-rattling and the trickery upon the people of Ladakh — perhaps even worse than Pakistanis’ exploitation of the people in Gilgit & Baltistan. In the late 1970s, Sheikh Abdullah drove a wedge between Kargil Shia versus Leh Buddhist, besides creating a nefarious ‘Greater Kashmir’ concept to obliterate Ladakh.

The myth of J&K as a unitary state (a heritage of Dogra fiefdom) has outlived its historical inviolability. India should have thought about doing away with any subjugation links that Ladakh notionally had with J&K. After persistent articulation for the status of a UT, the Union government finally agreed in 1993, as interim measure, to create the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council. In 1995, the Ministry of Law, Justice and Company Affairs announced the Act enacted by the President under the powers conferred by Section 3 of the Jammu and Kashmir State Legislature (Delegation of Powers) Act, 1992, to provide for the establishment of Autonomous Hill Development Councils and an Inter-District Advisory Council in the Ladakh region. 

The Act had to be passed during the phase of the third and longest Governor’s Rule (1990-1996). But the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Act in 1997, passed by the NC government, was toothless. It was in 2002, during the time of the PDP-led coalition government in J&K, that a semblance of power was devolved to LAHDC of Leh district through an amendment to the 1997 Act.

It was remarkable that then CM, Mufti Sayeed, within two months of his coming to power, decided to delegate greater financial and administrative powers to LAHDC (Leh) and create a similar LAHDC for Kargil as well. Under the new Act, the LAHDC chief executive councillor was given the status and perks of a Cabinet minister and executive councillors of a deputy minister’s rank. The council was empowered to decide on the allotment and distribution of land, superintendence and control over the council employees. 

The LAHDCs of Leh and Kargil have been functioning well, rather in an exemplary way since. But in a major decision on September 27, the State Administrative Council (SAC) — equivalent of a Cabinet in Governor’s rule, under the chairmanship of Governor Satya Pal Malik, has approved yet another LAHDC (Amendment) Bill, 2018, to fully empower the councils with greater administrative and financial powers. Inter alia, the amendments gave more powers to the LAHDC to levy and collect taxes, more administrative control over the staff and more allocation and flow of funds from Centrally-sponsored schemes.

While the people of Ladakh had been seeking a separate legislative arrangement in the form of a UT status since 1951, which the ruling BJP agreed to fulfil prior to 2014, constitutional changes seem unattainable. Since the matter is perceived as linked with the Kashmir issue, it can’t be realised for now. Regions like Ladakh, which are in favour of deeper integration with the national mainstream, cannot be allowed to drift against the current context of destabilising forces in the state.

The Centre also cannot punish the region any longer on the ground of its demographic deficiency (low weight in electoral politics). Considering Ladakh’s geo-strategic significance and in the light of Pakistan recently promulgating the Gilgit Baltistan Order 2018 (entrusting it with an assembly with legislative power) a change in Ladakh is critical. New Delhi has to be mindful of China blustering its way through the region under its CPEC projects which will have direct consequences for Ladakh.

While UT status would remain a long-drawn process, strategic articulation and national security imperative should propel the government to upgrade the administrative status of Ladakh at least to a divisional level. Currently, only a DC-level officer in Leh and Kargil acts as the chief executive officer of the respective council, who, in turn, reports to the Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir and Ladakh based in Srinagar. The Commissioner sitting in Kashmir supervises and controls 12 districts, including Leh and Kargil, in terms of administrative, developmental and law and order situation.

Separating Ladakh from Kashmir Division and setting up a Divisional Commissioner’s office will go a long way in meeting the regional aspirations of the people. The launch of the overarching national vision of a tunnel through Zoji La (11,578 ft), connecting the Valley with Ladakh, in addition to building a high-elevation all-weather Bilaspur-Manali-Leh rail axis and Srinagar-Kargil-Leh axis will go a long way in removing Ladakh’s isolation. The projects are of great strategic, economic and developmental significance. The biggest spin-off will be the region opening up to better influx for tourism.

New York, August 7

A US Navy veteran, who shot and killed Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla and injured two others at a suburban Kansas City bar in 2017, was on Tuesday sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.Adam Purinton of Olathe shot and killed Kuchibhotla, and wounded two others — Indian national Alok Madasani and Kansas resident Ian Grillot — at Austins Bar & Grill in Olathe, Kansas, in February 2017.Purinton was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement.Earlier this year, he pleaded guilty in federal court to hate crime and firearm offenses arising out of the shooting.At his federal guilty-plea hearing, Purinton admitted in open court that he targeted and shot Kuchibhotla and Madasani because of their race, colour, and national origin, and that he shot Grillot during an attempt to flee the scene of the crime.Purinton has also pleaded guilty in state court to charges of murder and attempted murder, and has been sentenced to a term of life imprisonment in state prison.“The crimes at issue in this case are detestable,” Sessions said.“The defendant acted with clear premeditation in murdering one man, and attempting to murder a second man, simply because of their race, religion, and national origin. As a result, a promising young life has been tragically cut short, and other lives have been filled with suffering.”Sessions said in the statement that while the “irreparable harm” that Purinton has done cannot be undone, “some measure of justice for the victims’ families has been achieved.” — PTI

The gun battle took place in the morning in a forest area in south Sukma, around 500 km from Raipur, Deputy Inspector General (anti-Naxal operations) Sundarraj P said.

Raipur, August 6

At least 15 Maoists were killed in an encounter with security forces in a dense forest in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district on Monday, the police said.

This was one of the biggest anti-Naxal operations in the history of Chhattisgarh, where 15 bodies of rebels were recovered in a single incident, state’s Special Director General of Police (anti-Naxal operations) D M Awasthi told reporters here.

Two Naxals, including a woman who was injured the gun battle, were also arrested from the encounter site.

Based on intelligence inputs about locations of Naxal camps in south Sukma, two teams of security forces were sent into the forest from different directions last evening, Awasthi said.

The teams included personnel of the District Reserve Guard, Special Task Force, Central Reserve Police Force and its elite unit Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA).

One of the patrolling teams, comprising around 200 personnel of the STF and the DRG, spotted a Maoist camp this morning at the forest in Nalkatong village, located around 500 km from here, following which it started encircling the place, Awasthi said.

A gun battle took place between Naxals and the patrolling team for about half-an-hour, he said.

After guns fell silent, bodies of 15 Maoists and 16 weapons, including 315 bore and 12 bore guns, were recovered from the spot, Awasthi said.

Besides, an area committee member and an injured woman Naxal were arrested from the spot, he said.

The killed rebels were from three separate militia formations of Maoists active in the tri-junction forest of Konta, Golapalli and Bhejji areas in south Sukma, he said.

Militia platoon commander Vanjam Hunga was among the killed Naxals, Awasthi said, adding that identities of the other 14 cadres were yet to be ascertained.

The injured Naxal was taken to a hospital.

Another patrolling team that had launched the operation from Bhejji area was still inside the forest and conducting its task, he said.

Intensive search operations were underway in the nearby forest areas, he said.

Awasthi said that bodies of 86 Maoists have been recovered in the state so far this year.

On July 19, eight Naxals, including six women, were killed in an encounter with security forces in the state’s Bijapur district. PTI

New Delhi, October 27

The Centre has filed in the Supreme Court details of the decision-making process for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets in a fly-away condition from France’s Dassault Aviation.

The details of the decision-making process were submitted to the Secretary General of the Supreme Court on Friday in a sealed cover as directed by it on October 10 while hearing a PIL by advocate ML Sharma.

The Supreme Court had on October 10 asked the government to disclose details of the decision-making process for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets.

Directing that the information would be furnished in a sealed cover and reach the court by October 29, the court had said that it was not issuing notice to the respondents.

The court had sought information from the government as Attorney General KK Venugopal said the purchase of the French fighter aircraft concerned the national security and described the petition as a “political interest litigation” which had been filed when the government and opposition were locked in a severe political fight.

Addressing the court, PIL petitioner advocate ML Sharma had referred to the pricing of the aircraft that had been quoted at different points of time before different forums to drive home the point that price being paid by India was high.

He had taken the court through the history of deal initially starting in 2008, involvement of a corporate house before finally the deal for purchase of 36 Rafale aircraft in a fit-to-fly condition was signed. IANS

An affidavit by a serving Colonel’s wife has alleged systemic killing of suspected insurgents in the North-East. The Supreme Court’s monitoring should restore trust in the rule of law and clear the fog around the killings.

Pradip Phanjoubam

Editor, Imphal Free Press

In the manner of a ghost, the alleged systematic custodial killings during 2009-2012 by an Army unit of the Dimapur based 3-Corps Intelligence and Surveillance Unit (3-CISU) is returning repeatedly to haunt this formation. It is difficult not to be reminded of Lady Macbeth’s exclamations, wracked by guilt, trying to rid her hands of imaginary blood stains: “Out, damned spot, I say!” The 3-Corps is a formation with a large spread of land area under its command, stretching across Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, parts of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, therefore touching three international borders. It is also one which has thrown up a very large number of Army chiefs, including the last three.The tipping point of some consciences within the 3-Corp establishment apparently came after an alleged spree of cold-blooded killings, in particular of three Manipuri men, Phijam Naobi, R.K. Ranel and Th. Prem, reportedly picked up from Dimapur town in Nagaland in 2010. Their bodies were recovered from a jungle just across the Nagaland border in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district, with tell-tale signs of severe torture on their bodies, including nails driven into their skulls.An elder brother of one of the three men lodged an FIR with the Dimapur police. When the police did not show much interest, the brother approached the Guwahati High Court, which asked a special investigation team of the Nagaland Police headed by a Superintendent of Police to pursue the case. But even this probe dragged its feet inordinately.The Army all along has been claiming no knowledge of the three murdered persons. However, on August 1, a copy of a letter from the Army archives came in the possession of a veteran journalist-activist Yambem Laba. The letter, signed by Col. Shrikumar of the 3-CISU, dated June 30, 2010, is a citation recommending a Captain, Capt. Rabina Kaur Keer, for a Sena Medal for busting a terrorist ring, apprehending and killing three of them. Unfortunately, the three bear the same names as the three whose bodies were recovered from the Karbi Anglong jungle.A few weeks earlier, nervous unease within the 3-Corp establishment again become apparent when Lt. Col. Dharamvir Singh of the 1st Para Regiment, who was also attached to the 3-CISU, was “arrested” by the Army on July 1 from his quarters within the Army’s M-Sector outpost in the heart of Imphal, right next to Imphal’s Zero-mile milestone. Col. Singh had in September 2016 written a letter to the Corp commander inquiring about the progress of the Karbi Anglong bodies case but was reportedly made to withdraw the letter on the assurance that the matter would be brought to its logical conclusion.When nothing was heard from or of her husband after his arrest, Col. Singh’s wife Ranju Singh took the help of some local women to hold a press conference on July 3 at the Manipur Press Club to make her husband’s disappearance public. The Army promptly issued a rebuttal, claiming the officer was only being escorted back to his original post at Dimapur as his temporary assignment at Imphal had ended. The rebuttal also charged that the officer had brought his family along to his post without prior permission from his superiors.When her husband still did not show up, Ranju Singh filed a Habeas Corpus writ with the Manipur High Court, and upon the court’s directions, Col. Singh was produced on July 11. Accompanying him were, again upon the direction of the court, the officers who “arrested” him without warrant, Lt. Col. Nanda and Maj. Rathod, against whom an FIR had been earlier lodged with the Imphal West Police by Col. Singh’s wife. She later also said her husband was tortured during detention. The officers were subsequently charged for wrongful confinement, kidnapping and concealing with criminal conspiracy by using arms.” The Army denied this and reiterated that Col. Singh was only being escorted back to his original post.However, just as Lady Macbeth exclaimed “Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him,” the 3-Corps case too turned even messier. On July 28, the affidavit filed by Col. Singh’s wife on behalf of her husband to the High Court was flashed by the English daily Imphal Free Press. The affidavit charged a lot more blood was spilled than those of the three bodies in Karbi Anglong. The affidavit claimed systematic arrests, tortures, extra-judicial executions and extortions, perpetrated by a 3-CISU team. Apart from the three men killed and dumped in the jungle, there was also the mention of a Manipuri insurgent leader, G. Jiteshwar alias Gypsy, picked up from Dimapur, killed and buried behind the unit’s mess. Another Manipuri boy, Thangjam Satish, a student, who was reported missing since February 5, 2010, the affidavit says was picked up from his rented accommodation in Shillong and killed along with an unnamed companion by the same team. It also mentions a lady and child who were picked up from Dimapur town but released on the payment of a ransom.The affidavit also called for all officers associated with the 3-CISU from 2009 to 2010 to be questioned and paraded before surviving victims for identification. This horrifying picture of brutality and inhumanity, if established, is probably another warning of what power without accountability that draconian laws like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, (AFSPA), under which the military in Northeast and Kashmir functions, can do to the souls of men and women given it. This must be the “Heart of Darkness” that Kurtz stared into before going mad.

Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 31

To review the operation preparedness and the prevailing security situation, Northern Command chief Lt Gen Ranbir Singh on Tuesday visited the counterinsurgency force — Delta — at Dharmund in Ramban district.Lt General Ranbir Singh was accompanied by General Officer Commanding, White Knight Corps, Lt Gen Saranjeet Singh.General Officer Commanding, Delta Force, Maj Gen Rajiv Nanda briefed the Northern Command chief about the prevailing security situation and the preparedness of the force.Defence spokesperson Lt Col Devender Anand said Lt General Ranbir Singh also reviewed the security arrangements for the Amarnath yatra.The defence spokesperson said the Northern Command chief also visited various posts where he was briefed in detail on the actions being undertaken to ensure a robust counterterrorism grid.“He interacted with soldiers and exhorted them to continue to remain vigilant,” the spokesperson said.During the interaction, Lt General Ranbir Singh complimented the formation for its untiring efforts and reiterated the need to remain vigilant to counter the nefarious designs of the anti-national elements, the spokesperson.

41 security men killed in militant attacks this year

Jammu, July 30

In all, 41 security personnel, including 20 policemen, were killed and 907 others injured in militancy-related and stone-throwing incidents in the Kashmir valley this year, officials said on Monday.Giving details, the officials said 39 security personnel, including 17 Army personnel, 20 policemen and two CRPF personnel, were killed and 96 others injured in militancy-related incidents in the first six months of the year.Of these, 28 Army personnel, 31 CRPF personnel and 37 policemen were injured in militancy-related incidents, they said.In stone-throwing incidents, two CRPF personnel were killed and 811 others injured during the same period.Of these, 592 policemen and 219 CRPF personnel were injured in 734 incidents of stone-throwing in the Kashmir valley.According to officials, 32 civilians were killed and 117 others injured in militancy-related and stone-throwing incidents. —PTI

innovative change is the acme of military effectiveness. However, much depends on the circumstances dictating such change and the process adopted.

Lt-Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)