Martyr Captain Rupinder Singh Garcha (extreme right) with his family members

Rachna Khaira

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, June 30

Rupi was to come home on leave just days before the fateful incident. However, he could not make it as another officer from his unit had to extend his leave due to his father’s ailment. All that came back to us was a ‘box’ filled with the memories of his last days, shared Col Joginder Singh Garcha, father of the martyr, Roopinder Singh Garcha, putting up a brave face as he spoke to The Tribune at his residence here at Ravinder Nagar.While the whole district administration along with senior Army officials gathered on Thursday to lay wreath at his status on his 16th martyrdom day at the Urban Estate Phase II market, his father Col Joginder due to his ailing health could not attend the event and silently paid tribute to his brave heart at his home .“He seems to have been destined for the job as he had an inclination towards Army since childhood. He used to play ‘battalion’ games at home and even made us participate in those games as Army men. Within a short span of two years service, ‘Rupi’ was almost done with four crucial courses of the Army. His flourishing career was cut short by his sudden death,” said the proud father.The family still remembers the fateful day. “Rupi just had his lunch when he was called by the 2IC. As he was the only officer who had done the commando course in his unit during that time, he was asked to clear Ghatlokam village in Pulwama district situated nearby which was taken over by terrorists,” shared Col Garcha. Roopinder along with another officer took a vehicle and left immediately for the spot and instructed his 80 men to come in other vehicles. “Just before entering the village, Rupi stopped his jeep and was about to step down to plan the attack with his men when an Improvised Explosive Devise (IED) planted under his seat went off blowing up his body up to 23 ft. We still could not understand as to how the device was planted under his seat,” said Col Garcha. While remembering his commando days, Rupi’s mother Harminder Kaur shared he never wanted to do the commando course as not being in the infantry, the course was not mandatory for him. Roopinder even planned to leave the course in between. “However, it was only me who convinced him to continue by saying that he will be called a coward who ran away from the course,” said Kaur. She shared an instance when Rupinder was doing his commando training and came to his sister’s home at New Delhi. “His feet were swollen and were covered with blisters. When asked as to how he is managing his morning run every day, he said that he can do it easily by wearing four to five pairs of socks,” said his mother. 

Even though it’s been 16 years since Rupi has gone, the proud mother even remembers the taste of tea which Rupi used to make whenever he would come on leave. “He was a very caring child and always concerned about my health. Whenever he was at home during leave, he would send our house maid on long leave. He made me do all the household chores. When I used to finish my work, he used to make two cups of tea along with some snacks and then we both used to sit on the floor and enjoy it,” said the proud mother as she prevented her tears from falling. While calling the recent provision of One Rank One Pension as ‘half baked’, Col Garcha slammed the Centre for overlooking the concerns of the armed forces. “Army has made huge sacrifices whenever the national security was put under threat by external forces. However, it is unfortunate that the politicians do not recognise their value and hold bureaucracy supreme than the men in olive greens,” said Col Garcha adding that politicians were not interested in sending their own children to Army. Also, raising concern of the city residents for forgetting the war heroes, Col Garcha said the city too had paid heavily during times of need. He said in the Kargil war, the city alone lost seven officers. In rural areas, the number could have gone manifolds. “People are insensitive towards these heroes.  Despite requesting so many times, the banks established inside Capt Roopinder Singh Garcha’s shopping complex do not use his name and instead write their address as the Urban Estate Phase II market,” said Col Garcha. He also informed that though he had started Garcha Trust an year after his son’s martyrdom to support children from poor families who would like to join Army, but could not find anyone till date who could match the spark that was there in his brave son. “I have lost the most precious gem of my life and I will remember the harsh fact till my last breath,” said the aggrieved father. 

16th martyrdom day observed at Urban Estate Phase II

• The city on Thursday observed the 16th martyrdom day of Capt Roopinder Singh Garcha. Former District Welfare Officer Col Manmohan Singh organised an event to commemorate the occasion at Capt Roopinder SinghGarcha Commercial Complex in Urban Estate Phase II.
• An impressive guard of honour was given by the Army men. As many as 323 Air Defence regiment had specially come from Pune to pay tribute to the officer. Also, schoolchildren presented a patriotic cultural show to remember the sacrifice of the braveheart wholaid down his life at the age of 23.
• While remembering Capt Garcha, chief guest Major General Sanjeev Bajaj, GOC 91 sub area, lauded his father for guiding his son to the path of patriotism. Gen Bajaj also presented a cheque of Rs 25,000 to Captain Garcha Trust.
• Also present on the occasion were Deputy Commissioner KK Yadav,Col Manmohan Singh and Deependra Singh, brother of Capt Garcha.

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, June 28

In the last 13 years, the security forces have recovered nearly one million AK bullets and over 6,800 kg of the RDX explosive material from the possession of the militants and their hideouts during anti-insurgency operations.The government forces have also confiscated over 11,000 AK rifles and pistols from the militants operating in different parts of the state.Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who holds charge of the Home also, gave these details in a written reply to a question raised by MLC Naresh Kumar Gupta in the Legislative Council.Gupta had sought details about the arms and ammunition recovered from the militants during operations and from the hideouts by the police and other security agencies from January 2002 to December 31, 2015. He had also sought the numbers of first information reports (FIRs) registered in these incidents and also the number of accused arrested and challenged in the court throughout the state.According to the details furnished by the Home Department, the police and security agencies had recovered 8,146 AK 47, AK 56 and AK 74 rifles during anti-militancy operations from different parts of the state.During this period, the security agencies had also seized 2,877 pistols and revolvers from the militants and during raids at their hideouts, the official data revealed.It also said that from January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2015, the security agencies also recovered 76 sniper rifles from the militants besides 20,158 hand grenades and 6,871.6 kg of highly explosive RDX material from them.The recoveries during this period also include 9.938 lakh AK 47/56/74 rounds besides 38,688 pistol/revolver bullets. In addition, the security agencies have also recovered 24,372 magazines of AK 47/56/74 rifles and 2,899 pistol/revolver magazines.“The arms and ammunition recovered by the police are kept in ‘Mal Khanas’ of the courts or district police lines and concerned police stations as case property,” the government stated in the written reply, adding that during this period 17,607 cases were also registered by the police, in which 6,330 persons were arrested.

NEW DELHI: Central government employees can look forward to fatter salary cheques as the Union cabinet is likely to take up the 7th Pay Commission recommendations on Wednesday.

The commission has recommended an average 23.55% increase in their salary, allowances and pension, a move that will benefit 4.8 million staffers and 5.5 million pensioners.

The commission headed by justice (retired) AK Mathur had presented its 900-page report to finance minister Arun Jaitley in November 2015.

In January, the government had set up an empowered committee of secretaries headed by cabinet secretary PK Sinha to examine the panel’s suggestions. A secretariat has also been set up within the finance ministry to oversee the panel’s recommendations. The cabinet is expected to discuss on Wednesday the Sinha committee’s report on implementation of the pay panel’s recommendations.

The salary hikes will be effective from January 1, 2016.

More cash in hand is likely to result in higher consumption by the government’s massive employee base, which accounts for a large segment of the Indian middle-class. More demand could boost the economy through higher spending on assets such as cars and housing.

The government usually accepts the broad proposals for pay revision — due every 10 years and state governments usually respond with their own hikes.

The Centre’s total salary and allowances bill for 2016-17 has been pegged at `1.84 lakh crore, which is `65,687 crore or 55% higher than last year’s `1.18 lakh crore. The higher wage bill for this year partly factors in the anticipated increase in employee remuneration.

The pay commission’s recommendations say a fresh IAS recruit will get a basic salary of `56,000 a month against `23,000 currently. A sepoy in the Indian Army will earn `21,700 a month from `8,460 at present. In addition, employees are paid dearness allowance and house rent among many other allowances.

If accepted, the new proposals will set `18,000 as the minimum pay of an employee on the central government’s rolls. At present, the minimum salary is `7,000.

The total emoluments of a general helper — the lowestranked employee — amount to `22,579, more than double that of his counterpart in the private sector, a study commissioned by the panel found.

The commission has proposed a change in the salary structure by doing away with the system of pay bands and grade pay and recommended “pay matrix”. It has also called for scrapping overtime allowance and interest-free loans to buy motor vehicles.

23% hike likely in 7th pay panel; decision tomorrow

New Delhi, June 27

The government is likely to soon announce the implementation of 7th Pay Commission that would hike the salaries and allowances for over 1 crore government employees and pensioners by at least 23.5 per cent.A committee of secretaries headed by Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha has submitted its report on the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission which may be accepted, a financial ministry official said.Based on the panel’s report, the Finance Ministry is preparing a Cabinet note and the issue may come up for approval by the Cabinet as early as June 29. “The Committee of Secretaries (CoS) has finalised its report on Pay Commission recommendations…We will soon (file) draft Cabinet note based on the report,” Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa said today.The government had in January set up a high-powered panel headed by the Cabinet Secretary to process the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission, which will have bearing on the remuneration of nearly 50 lakh central government employees and 58 lakh pensioners.The Pay Commission had recommended 23.55 per cent overall hike in salaries, allowances and pension involving an additional burden of Rs 1.02 lakh crore or nearly 0.7 per cent of the GDP.The panel recommended a 14.27 per cent increase in basic pay, the lowest in 70 years. The previous 6th Pay Commission had recommended a 20 per cent hike which the government doubled while implementing it in 2008.The 23.55 per cent increase includes hike in allowances. The entry level pay has been recommended to be raised to Rs 18,000 per month from current Rs 7,000 while the maximum pay, drawn by the Cabinet Secretary, has been fixed at Rs 2.5 lakh per month from current Rs 90,000.Sources said the secretaries’ panel may have recommended higher pay increase, with minimum entry level pay at Rs 23,500 a month and maximum salary of Rs 3.25 lakh.While the Budget for 2016-17 fiscal did not provide an explicit provision for implementation of the 7th Pay Commission, the government had said the once-in-a-decade pay hike for government employees has been built in as interim allocation for different ministries. Around Rs 70,000 crore has been provisioned for it, officials said. Lavasa said the 7th Pay Commission report would be effective from January 1. — PTI

Recommendations

• 23.55% Overall hike in salaries, allowances and pension
• 14.27% increase in basic pay, lowest in 70 years
• Rs 18,000/month Entry-level pay (up from current Rs 7,000)
• Rs 2.5 lakh/month Maximum pay, drawn by the Cabinet Secretary (up from current Rs 90,000)

NEW DELHI: The ministry of defence on Saturday cleared India’s biggest artillery gun purchase since the Bofors deal three decades ago. It will import 145 ultra-light howitzer artillery guns from BAE Systems at an approximate cost of $750 million (`5,100 crore) for the newly-raised Mountain Strike Corps.

The decision was taken at the meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), which met after a gap of three months and discussed 19 proposals, among them new schemes worth `28,000 crore, a top source in the DAC said.

The proposals cleared by the DAC are a balancing act between fast-tracking delayed procurement of defence equipment and the government’s flagship programme ‘Make In India’ that aims at giving a fillip to indigenous production.

The first batch of 25 guns will be delivered by the US-based BAE Systems in ready-to-use condition within six months of signing a contract. The remaining 125 will come in a knock-down condition for which a facility for “assembly, integration and testing has been set up in India,” a ministry official said.

At the same time, the Dhanush, an indigenous replacement for the 155 mm Bofors artillery gun, will go into production soon after three guns are handed over for testing sometime next week. “Three guns will be handed over by June 30 for user exploitation and three more by the end of September,” a senior ministry official said. He added the government has given bulk production clearance (BPC) for producing 18 more Dhanush guns. The Ordnance Factories Board will decide on where these will be produced, based on trials. “The DAC noted that the Dhanush had made satisfactory progress,” he said.

Former Army chief Gen VP Malik (retd) said the decision to procure ultra-light guns and start producing the Dhanush will “fill a major deficiency” in the artillery arsenal. “These are important steps. They have taken a long time. Let’s hope there are no further delays,” he told HT from Panchkula.

Governor NN Vohra with Air Vice Marshal GS Bedi in Srinagar on Thursday. A Tribune photo

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, June 23

Air Vice Marshal GS Bedi, Air Officer Commanding, Jammu and Kashmir, called on Governor NN Vohra here today and briefed him about various important matters relating to the role which the IAF has been playing in the state. The Governor lauded IAF’s prompt and valuable support on all occasions.

Having spent many years in Kashmir in various capacities in the hinterland from Avantipur and Srinagar to the LoC at Uri I never  the enjoyed the Valley the way I did as a child in 1956.

With my parents at Jammu’s Damana Cantt that year, we drove to Srinagar the only way then known, a public transport bus. Staying at the un-walled Badami Bagh, the delight was in the evening walks to Adoos whose cold coffee still lingers in my taste buds. The boulevard – that is what I presume it was – was awake till late and life was a breeze. The shikarawalas sang songs while paddling their oars; and there was cinema and salted peanuts just like at any other hill station. I never went back to that Kashmir again except very briefly.

Today, after 26 years of internal turbulence, the search for happiness in Kashmir ends very early. In fact it hardly begins. Unless you are booked at the high-end hotels like Lalit Grand or Taj Vivanta, cocooned in the hillsides of the Zabarwan and enjoying only the weather and the view and nothing much beyond. Within Srinagar, the unpredictable law and order situation is a fun-spoiler. Reaching the traditional tourist spots of Gulmarg and Pahalgam too is fraught with unpredictability because some anti-terror operation may be on or an ambush could have taken place on a BSF bus. If you manage to stay at an Army facility, the checking and the curfew timings for entry and exit will upset you no end.

Many who are stakeholders in Kashmir’s return to peace like to evaluate their own parameters on what peace means. Some prefer the term normalcy to the rather utopian sounding ‘peace’ because they do not think Kashmir was ever at war, or remains in any form of conflict. No need to debate the semantics because most of us would agree that much of J&K has not been normal for the last twenty six years or so. Many of us in the Army do feel that we have been in a war-like situation for all these years. The term is ‘proxy war’ and I too have been brought up on this belief which I still hold dear.

For a tourist, the understanding of normalcy would probably dwell on predictability; the ability to enjoy the Valley’s serene beauty in the company of loved ones, away from the din of Delhi and Gurgaon, without having to be confronted with shut-downs (bandhs) or cancellation of flights. Gulmarg and Pahalgam, Srinagar’s boulevard or the Nagin houseboats can’t be enjoyed if one has to keep Plan B, C and D ready to escape awkward situations.

For a taxi driver, tourist operator or restaurant owner normalcy means tourists around the year and not restricted to the season. Tourists are carefree people. They like to do things they would normally not do while at their home stations. They like to take walks at awkward times, sit beside the lake and croon a few numbers, sip coffee at midnight in a brightly-lit coffee shop or eat aloo paranthas at 2 AM; some would love to even take in a cheap-thrill Bollywood movie, something they wouldn’t touch with a bargepole otherwise. Unfortunately, the proxy war has taken out the characteristic fun of a hill station. Forget tourists, it is usually difficult to find a smiling face in the local crowds. Happiness seems to be eluding its people and the new generation used to the gun-and-checkpoint culture is brooding in this unhappiness.

I do remember that on February 6, 2011 a young man in Maidan Tsogul near Handwara lost his life because he preferred to run when challenged by an Army ambush at 9.30 PM instead of stopping and identifying himself. It was a regretful case because all that the young man was doing was meeting his sweetheart in an orchard; a huge risk no doubt, given the environment. Where should young people meet and express love in a world today in which awareness is unbounded due to social media and the Net.

The awkwardness which prevails in the psyche of the young Kashmiri today is that he is technically modern, with access to information from all over the world. He is not necessarily radicalised as many would be wont to thinking. However, how does the modernity of outlook take shape? There are no outlets for entertainment, no burger joints which are open in the evenings and no coffee shops – the natural outlets for steam within the coffee and within the hearts. During the infamous Emergency of 1975-77, one of the first casualties was Delhi’s iconic Coffee House at the place where the run-down Palika Bazaar stands today. It was the place where intellectuals sat and let out all their steam against the system, the government and against probably God himself. It was Delhi’s happening place which gave much happiness to people until it was torn down. If Kashmir needs an outlet to vent frustration of the people, it is coffee, tea and kahwa which must find place in its landscape at ‘nukkads’ and at Residency Road. I now hear something like this is emerging, not in a transformative but in a slow way. The emboldening entertainment from stone-throwing can then perhaps be stopped.

Mercifully, one does hear of an odd seminar being organized at Srinagar but the feelings are yet tentative and hesitant. Many an expert is consulted about the safety of organizing these. The wonderful facility of the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) must unhesitatingly host events of a cosmopolitan nature, protests from the separatists notwithstanding. Some years ago Delhi’s outstanding choir, the Capital City Minstrels, were invited by the then-Chief Minister to perform at Gulmarg and the SKICC. The event was so poorly advertised that only a few rows could be filled, and Maxell Pereira and his excellent choir could hardly find appreciation. The German Ambassador to India organized the Zubin Mehta concert at the Nishat Garden a few years ago but the Separatists got the better of the event by organizing their parallel event based on the misplaced notion that local music and song were being endangered. Speak to former Governor SK Sinha and he will tell you of the show by the Pakistani rock group Junoon on the banks of the Dal Lake, and how it was appreciated by the young public of Srinagar and other towns.

The Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre must be used to organize world-class conferences at Srinagar to bring it on the international map of intellectual activities.

Kashmir’s youth needs to get out of the well in which has been been stuck. Frustration is rife, when information of the world is at your fingertips but the occasion and opportunity eludes you. Many believe and preach that cosmopolitanism is against the tenets of Islam. Yet, nowhere does Islam ban entertainment. A casual search of the Net reveals the existence of cinemas in Tehran, Dubai, Djakarta and Kuala Lumpur. Indeed they do in Pakistan too. Is there any reason why cinema should not return to Kashmir? All these cities, where people adhere to the Islamic faith, are rich in café culture contributing to the basic desire of their nationals to do what most human beings do; go out as families or with friends and sit around a table of food or steaming cups of some beverage or the other.

Good weather in Kashmir, especially around the spring season can see hundreds of families with their picnic baskets descending on picnic spots. The desire for fun and togetherness in outings is inherently there in every Kashmiri; and the ‘mehmendari’ they are used to, can even give some good Punjabis a run for their money. When a people have an unnatural environment which stymies their natural social psyche, the effect is even more frustrating.

So even as security agencies debate parameters of normalcy by comparing figures of grenade blasts and terror acts, they need to realise that security considerations go beyond physical limits. To secure a people you also need to create and promote an environment of happiness for them to thrive in. Nothing artificial; just see the desire of the people and combine what comes naturally to them from their roots. Don’t ever mar the happiness in families, for if you do so the memories would be difficult to detach.

Given the temper and anger in the streets, and the increasing tendency on the part of the public to come to the assistance of the terrorists once encounters begin, this advice will be criticised. But we seem to be hugely short on ideas on how to change the tempo in the Valley. We cannot await the end of street confrontation to commence initiatives towards changing the narrative, and we cannot be held hostage by Separatists who wish to play the religious card and keep a society from progressing. It’s a a difficult task for the government of the day: to change the concept of governance from the simple ‘roti, kapda, sadak, makan’ to something more transformational which will usher more happiness among the common people.

For the professional security provider, and for the political leadership perhaps, here is food for thought. The attempts to establish normalcy in Kashmir must have a concept that is commonly understood by both. Discussing this in only Unified Command Meetings is not going to evolve narratives that are well-understood. It has to be through brainstorming at the highest level and frequent meetings between the core agencies. As prime professionals in the game of counter-violence, perhaps the Army needs to take this more professionally, war-gaming it at all its premier institutions and giving the Nation the results of all its nurtured military intellect.

People pay tribute to Maharana Pratap statue on his birth anniversary in Gurgaon. PTI file photo

Udaipur, June 8

A new Indian Reserve Battalion in Rajasthan will be named after Maharana Pratap, the great warrior of Mewar region, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has said.The Home Minister, who is on a two-day visit to the state, made the announcement at a programme here yesterday.Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje had made a request to Singh in this regard.The Indian Reserve Battalion will be named after Maharana Pratap, a Rajput ruler who had fought against the Mughals and never bowed before them, Singh said.The government will make sure that his contribution is highlighted, he said.The Union minister also announced setting up of a global centre for counter terrorism at Sardar Patel University of Police, Security and Criminal Justice at Jodhpur and said the process of police modernisation will be expedited. — PTI