Lack of any cohesive action against Maoists marks failure of successive govts. The Maoists now choose the place, the time to kill our young men in paramilitary forces. A look at what has gone wrong

RISING TOLL: Villagers and family members of CRPF soldier Surender Thakur take his body for cremation at Mandi in Himachal Pradesh. Thakur was among 26 paramiltary men killed in a Naxalite attack in Sukma, Chhattisgarh. PTI

CRPF jawan Ram Mehar being cremated in Karnal. PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR

FOR over four decades, India’s home ministers seem to be vying for the wooden spoon on the anti-Naxalite battlefront. The ease with which nearly 300 Maoists planned and laid the ambush to kill 26 CRPF men at Burkapal in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh last week startled the security experts and political leaders. The Maoists walked away with over 27 sophisticated weapons. As the nucleus of the 106 districts of 10 Red Corridor states, Sukma has been in the news with ominous frequency over the past few years. Being at the tri-junction connecting Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Telangana it facilitates Maoists’ inter-state movement to dodge the police.“The Naxalites have graduated from guerrilla warfare to mobile warfare and have captured nearly 10,000 sq km of the area around Sukma. Their politburo is active in the region,” says former joint director of Central Intelligence Bureau (CIB) and former Director General of Chhattisgarh police, Vishwaranjan. He bore the brunt of intense criticism when 75 CRPF jawans and a state police officer were killed in an ambush in Dantewada on April 6, 2010. The Maoists have gained in strength with multiple layers of leadership. The Maoists now decide the timing of attack. “For now I see no light at the end of the tunnel as the state police are not being trained to meet the challenge,” says Vishwaranjan. He feels the Greyhound force of Andhra Pradesh came closest to meeting the challenge. 

No cohesion

Despite multiple committees at the Centre and state level, there is little cohesion and intelligence-sharing between security forces. Former Director General of Madhya Pradesh police Kirpal S Dhillon, better known in Punjab for leading the police during the dark days of militancy, says, “A well-thought out policy needs to be formulated and executed under a joint command. The primacy of state police is lost.” Upendra Joshi, another ex-DG who handled the Maoists militancy at its initial stage in Madhya Pradesh, says the genesis of the problem lay in disconnect between the people and the state officials. Barring a few development-oriented officers, others saw the posting in the region as punishment and tried to make the most of it for corrupt practices. Cases of financial irregularities and exploitation of women turned the tribal population against the officials. Joshi says the introduction of Central forces to assist the local police had a flip side. The local police absolved themselves of much of responsibility. The first instance of Naxalite violence was reported in composite Madhya Pradesh in 1967. For half a century, the problem has been allowed to fester.

Lack of policy

Political expediency has often prompted administrative responses. The government claims the Naxalites are acting in desperation because of the pressure by security forces. They targeted the CRPF that was helping in the construction of road in the region because they feel development would expose their sanctuary in the thick forests. But, the Maoists’ outlawed outfit, the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC), owned up the attack saying it was carried out in retaliation to the alleged sexual violence by security forces against tribal women.Late last year the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had found several security personnel guilty of raping and physically assaulting at least 16 tribal women in five villages. The commission still awaits the recorded version of another 20 alleged victims of similar sexual violence. The incidents took place in October-November 2015 and the NHRC took suo moto cognizance of news reports after spot investigation.The NHRC directed the state government to probe the incident within a month and pay compensation to the victims. It asked the DIG (Investigation) to record the statements of the 15 victims who could not testify before the commission or a magistrate. The police say the investigations could take a few months as tracing the victims, who live in remote forests, and bringing them to the court to record their statements is a daunting task.

Left-wing extremism on the rise

• 106 districts in 10 states — Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, W Bengal, MP, UP and Chhattisgarh — are hit by Maoists. The area is called the Red Corridor (see map).
• The CPI (Maoist), believed behind killing CRPF men in Sukma, was formed in 2004
• The strength of armed Naxalites is estimated around 9,000 with access to 6,500 firearms

Sumayyah Qureshi

Hindus and Muslims once lived in peaceful coexistence in ‘Kalhana’s paradise’. And, then, they had a bitter separation. The circumstances changed, equations changed, relations change, and friends became foes overnight.

The debut novel of Sanchit Gupta takes us to the point where it all started in Kashmir, almost three decades ago. It takes us to the days when Kashmiri Pandits lived happily with their Muslim neighbours, when they used to share their happiness and grief with each other. It brings alive their joys and what they had to go through in later years. The story takes us through that tumultuous journey. While one community suffered away from home, the other was condemned to suffer at home.

The author doesn’t discriminate, or support or oppose anyone. He doesn’t demonise anyone either, or judge or take sides, but talks dispassionately about the overall human sufferings, of those who lived on this land, who belonged here, who stayed and who left.

Gupta weaves his story around three friends, one of whom is a Pandit. He is the link among their lives. The plot revolves around the lives of Bilal, Safeena and Deewan. The three are distanced by circumstances and engulfed in a vortex of violence. But they are destined to meet again, and to pull each other out of the quagmire. They all have their share of grief. They all have grim, sordid tales to tell as they ‘come from the land that has no identity’. It is also the story of two neighbours who live in Srinagar — the Bhats, who are Pandits, and the Maliks, who are Muslims, and who are like one big happy family.

And, then one day, everything changes — for worse. As the chorus about ‘azadi’ gets louder in the streets of the Valley, one night the Bhats take refuge at Maliks’ house. In that long, unending dark night, everything loses its meaning or rather the meaning as understood till that point in time. And dreams, lives and everything synonymous with Kashmir — Kashmiriyat, friendship, brotherhood — are ripped apart, shattered, mauled.

That night, death changes all equations, it changes the way the two families look at each other. It fills their hearts with sorrow and hatred.

The book details the transition from the times of peace to the times of war. It talks of fear — the fear of living in one’s homeland, the fear of living away from home, the fear of being labelled a terrorist. It talks of murder, torture chambers, rape, conflict, crackdowns, destroyed homes, killings, Army brutality and militant excesses. It talks of the plight of Pandits and the plight of Muslims, doing a fair justice to the story. The book covers almost all aspects of the Kashmir conflict. It gives us an overview of everything that Kashmiris have had to go through since armed insurgency broke out in Kashmir.

The author, though not a Kashmiri, seems to have his finger on the pulse. He gets the intricacies and the tenor almost perfect. He seems to have done his work well, giving readers an unprejudiced story from a conflict zone.

It is not one of those lopsided stories. It does justice to the big story that is ‘Kashmir’. It spares no one, neither the Army, nor the militants. It is unforgiving, vivid, well-written, profound and well-paced for a debut novel.

Canada”s Defence Minister Harjit Singh Sajjan presented the coin of honour to Diljit Dosanjh on the sets of a reality show. Photo courtesy Twitter handle: @diljitdosanjh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 23

It was a proud moment for Punjabi singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh on the sets of Rising Star where he received the coin of honour from Canada’s Minister of National Defence Harjit Singh Sajjan.The defence minister had also unveiled the second poster of Diljit’s upcoming film Super Singh.“Had a unique opportunity to meet the famous and very humble @diljitdosanjh. Great discussion on his work to inspire the next generation,” the minister later wrote on his social networking site.The event is trending on twitter currently. Sajjan gave his personal coin of honour that the government of Canada had bestowed upon him.On Twitter Diljit Dosanjh shared his experience, “Harjit Singh Sajjan Said It’s good to get rewards for your Hard work but what is more important is what you give back to society!!”

A video grab of the human shield incident in Kashmir.

Amit Khajuria

Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 21

Pakistan has set up a number of cyber warfare centres to fuel violence, militancy and stone-throwing in the Valley with the long-time objective of defaming India over Kashmir across the world.Highly placed sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs told The Tribune that Pakistan after declaring 2017 as the “Year of Kashmir” had intensified its cyber warfare against India over the Valley. It had been producing videos like “Sangbaz” (stone-thrower) with fiery songs and “martyrdom appeals” to target the Indian security forces and wreck its political and democratic system. Pakistan had undertaken a major exercise to make youth, some of them hired cyber warriors, to go in for anti-India propaganda.A highly placed source in the MHA said that after seeing the crowds in Kashmir fight the police and CRPF in the wake of the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani, the ISI and Pakistan army with the clear nod of the civilian government had started such cyber warfare centres. The propaganda material gets downloaded in the social media sites of the individuals hired for the purpose, and that is used by them instantly or at a convenient time.The restrictions on the Internet in Kashmir have not much affected the cyber warriors, who have the patronage of political groups, and are operating through highly sophisticated and undetectable devices that broadcast real and imaginary images.It remains a mystery that who uploaded the videos showing the Army in a negative frame or the heckling of CRPF personnel in Budgam on the polling day on April 9. It is also not known who shot and uploaded the video of the “human shield” used by the Army. The video has been shot professionally as the camera deftly captures the images from the front and then moves to the top and then straight before going to the rear.“This is highly professional work,” a source said, adding that it is suspected that some hi-tech minds are involved with a large financial support.The MHA authorities are looking into the whole affair and are trying to find out ways to get rid of the propaganda-churning machinery. They believe that something more than mobile phone cameras are at work.“We have confirmed and reconfirmed that it is Pakistan behind the trouble. Other factors are secondary,” the source told The Tribune.

Human shield video shot ‘professionally’

• It remains a mystery who uploaded the recent videos on Kashmir showing the Army in a negative frame or the heckling of CRPF personnel in Budgam. It is also not known who shot and uploaded the video of the “human shield” used by the Army. The video has been shot professionally as the camera deftly captures the images from the front and then moves to the top and then straight before going to the rear.

Clashes in Valley, youths protest use of force against students

JKLF activists throw stones at policemen at Maisuma in Srinagar on Friday. Tribune Photo: Amin War

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, April 21

Protests and clashes took place between agitating youth and security personnel at various places in Srinagar and elsewhere in the Valley after the Friday prayers over the alleged use of force against students recently.The police lobbed teargas shells to dispel the protesters in the Nowhatta area of Srinagar, where youths took to the streets after the congregational Friday prayers, prompting a shutdown in the area.Even as the separatists had given no shutdown call today, spontaneous protest demonstrations were witnessed in various parts of the Valley. There were reports of protests and clashes from Pulwama in south Kashmir and Sopore and Bandipora in north Kashmir.In Sopore town, the police lobbed teargas shells to disperse the protesters who were agitating after the Friday prayers.Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who delivers the Friday sermon every week at Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid, continued to be under house arrest for the seventh consecutive Friday, a spokesman said. He said Mirwaiz had expressed concern over the use of force against students of Government Degree College, Pulwama, on April 15 and the subsequent harassment of the protesting students in other parts of the Valley.Meanwhile, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Baseer Ahmad Khan today directed the principals of all colleges to adopt a proactive approach in dealing with any untoward incident on the campuses and focus on ensuring a peaceful atmosphere in the institutions. He also asked them not to allow any outsiders on the premises of their institutions.

Colleges to remain closed today

• Srinagar: While the higher educational institutions in the Valley remained closed on Friday to prevent any further protests by students, the divisional administration said the teaching work in all colleges shall remain suspended on April 22 as a precautionary measure. However, protests were witnessed in Bandipora, where students of Government Boys High School, Bagh, hit the streets, triggering a shutdown in the main town. The Valley witnessed massive student protests on April 17 against alleged thrashing of students, including girls, by security personnel at Government Degree College, Pulwama, on April 15. TNS

Police lob teargas shells to quell protests

• Protests and clashes were reported from Srinagar, Pulwama in south Kashmir and Sopore and Bandipora in north Kashmir
• The police lobbed teargas shells to dispel the protesters in the Nowhatta area of Srinagar and in Sopore town

US NSA Lieut Gen HR McMaster with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo courtesy: Twitter handle of PIB

New Delhi, April 18The US on Tuesday reaffirmed India’s designation as a Major Defence Partner and emphasised the importance of its strategic relationship as its National Security Adviser HR McMaster met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and held talks with his counterpart Ajit Doval.“The two sides discussed a range of bilateral and regional issues, including their shared interest in increasing defence and counter-terrorism cooperation,” the US embassy said in a press statement after the meetings here.“NSA McMaster emphasised the importance of the US-India strategic relationship and reaffirmed India’s designation as a Major Defence Partner,” it said and noted that the meetings were “productive”.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

McMaster, whose trip here marks the first visit by a top official of the Trump Administration, also met Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar.“The visit was a part of the regional consultations that included stops in Kabul and Islamabad,” the statement said.During the US official’s meeting with the Prime Minister, the two sides discussed key bilateral and regional issues, including defence and counter-terrorism cooperation.Doval, Jaishankar and several key officials were present in the meeting that took place at the Prime Minister’s residence.Earlier, McMaster and Doval held detailed discussions on Indo-US relations, especially the security aspect of the ties, sources said.The US NSA arrived here on Monday evening from Pakistan where he met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and some top officials.In Islamabad, the relations between India and Pakistan figured in McMaster’s discussions with Sharif. PTI

Indeed a great general, we owe him so much..

Lt Gen Joginder Singh Dhillon (1914-2003)

Last salute to the Lion of 1965

The death of Lieutenant General Joginder (Jogi) Singh Dhillon on 20
November 2003 at the age of 89 received no coverage in the Indian
papers, although it was his inspiring generalship that helped smash
the superior Pakistani armour, poised to head for the Beas bridge and then onto Delhi, in the opening days of the 1965 India-Pakistan war.
Such milestones seem of lesser consequence to our press than the
extensive coverage given to dubious public figures.What Jogi Dhillon brought to his command as lieutenant general
commanding XI Corps in the 1965 war, was a military service of many
firsts. He stood first in 1933 in the all India entrance examination
to the Indian Military Academy, then won both the coveted gold medal
and the Sword of Honour before joining the Bengal Sappers on February 1, 1936.

Graduating in 1939 with honours from Roorkee s Thomson Civil
Engineering College, he was soon sent overseas for the first four
years of World War II. He saw active service in Iraq, Iran and Burma and, after a stint in the Staff College, Quetta, was again sent to command a field company in Malaya (1945-46), then onto Sourabaya, where he commanded 2 Field Company, before returning home.

From 1946 to 1947 he was staff officer in the E-in-C s Office Army HQ,then went to Quetta as garrison engineer, before taking over as GSO1 in the E-in-C s Branch from October 1947 to February 1948 in the rank of lieutenant colonel.

At this critical juncture in the life of the Bengal Sappers, Jogi
Dhillon was handpicked to take charge of its regimental centre at
Roorkee. The centre’s crisis arose from the fact that since the Indian
Army’s Corps of Engineers had centres in Bangalore, Roorkee and
Kirkee, under the terms of Parition the centres in Bangalore and
Kirkee would remain in India, while the Roorkee centre’s assets would go to Pakistan.

So Bengal Sappers was one of the formations that bore the brunt of the division of the Indian Army. In the division on a two-third, one-third basis the majority assets in the Roorkee centre’s case went to Pakistan’s Engineers Centre at Sialkot, including plant and equipment, and even furniture, carpets, curtains, books, silver, crockery, cutlery and typewriters and one-third of the regimental fund.

In the two years after taking command in February 1948 of what was left of the centre, Dhillon turned the challenge of resurrecting it into a personal triumph that left everyone breathless. Combining
organisational skill with drive, determination and steel, he
rehabilitated the centre, streamlined its training and administration and integrated it into an efficient and war-worthy team.

A change of profound importance introduced at the centre which thenewly independent nation’s army as a whole eventually adopted was that whilst hitherto several messes for the other ranks had cooked food in each unit for a particular caste, Colonel Dhillon decisively ended this outdated practice. He decreed a single integrated mess would serve food to all men and not their caste.

Another thing, according to a retired Sappers officer, Colonel Chanan Singh Dhillon, the dynamic commandant did was demolish the wall that separated the centre’s gurudwara and Hindu temple and build a platform instead, so that gatherings of both denominations could jointly celebrate their special days.

When Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru visited the centre in 1949 he was so impressed by what he saw that he extended Jogi Dhillon the singular honour of selecting him to command India’s first Republic Day parade in 1950.

After command of the Bengal Sappers, Dhillon commanded two infantry brigades in succession before his appointment, in 1956, as director of technical development in Army HQ. He then served as director, weapons and equipment, before being promoted to major general in December 1957.

He was chief of staff, Western Command, at the time of his selection to attend a course at the Imperial Defence College in the United Kingdom, from where he returned to an appointment in the National Defence College, before assuming command of a division in August 1960.
His next job was as deputy chief of the general staff at Army HQ, then promotion to lieutenant general and posting as GOC, XI Corps in Punjab.

The posting would be the culmination of everything that had gone into the making of this exceptional soldier. When on the morning of September 6, 1965, war with Pakistan broke out, with the XI Corps launching a massive retaliatory attack across the border in Punjab on several fronts at 4 am, the aim was to teach Pakistan a lesson for its unprovoked attack on India in the Chhamb sector a few days earlier.

It is not possible to describe this 17-day war here but the decisive
tank battle of Assal Uttar, near Khem Karan, on September 10 does bear telling. Indian units hid their Sherman tanks 500 metres apart in a U-shaped formation in tall and unharvested sugarcane fields, and snared the enemy’s vastly superior Patton tanks into this ambush, annihilating them to the last tank and deciding the outcome of the war.

The destruction of Pakistan’s armoured pride and the casualties it
suffered, including an artillery brigadier and many other senior
officers killed or surrendered, destroyed the enemy’s morale. At Assal Uttar, 97 enemy tanks of which 72 were Pattons and 25 Chafees and Shermans were destroyed, damaged or captured intact, of which 28 Pattons were in perfect running condition.

Facing the very modern M-48 Pattons were India’s old and inferior
Centurions and Shermans outgunned, outdistanced and far fewer in number. And yet Indian losses at Khem Karan were only 32 tanks.

There are countless other such telling statistics but the fact that
stands out is when Pakistan’s chief of army general staff and air
chief met their president on September 19 and requested him to
negotiate a ceasefire with the Indians, Pakistan’s defeat was
acknowledged at the highest levels.

A few days after the cessation of hostilities, Frank Moraes (he was
then editor-in-chief of The Indian Express), spent a weekend in the
Lahore sector, calling first on Lt General Dhillon at his wartime
corps HQ at Raiyya, and then visiting some places that had already
become household words like the Ichhogil Canal, Dograi, Khem Karan.

Moraes described our visit in The Soldier’s Spirit in his paper of
November 1, 1965, and also his meeting with Jogi Dhillon: I was
fortunate to spend some time with Lt General J.S. Dhillon, the corps commander in this sector, and to note and understand how greatly the spirit of all, from jawans to divisional commanders, depends on the calibre of the corps commander. Jogi Dhillon is an enthusiastic, intelligent soldier with a physical vigour, drive and combativeness which enable him to be extraordinarily mobile over his wide command and an inspiring presence and example to his officers and men.

In recognition of his role in the 1965 war, the President of India
invested Dhillon with the Padma Bhushan in August 1966 and appointed him GOC-in-C Central Command, from where he retired on August 4, 1970.

When the army bade farewell to its distinguished comrade in Delhi on November 21, 2003, six generals acted as pallbearers and the COAS, General N.C. Vij, flew in for the funeral from Hyderabad. This reaffirmed that the Indian Army stands steadfast on some of its finest traditions.

On a more personal note, Jogi Dhillon was married for 62 years to
Minnie, who survives him, and to whom he was as devoted as she to him.He is also survived by his three daughters, Kiran, Komal and Kamal: an architect, airline executive and head of her own consultancy firm each as individualistic as their indomitable parents

MORE DETAILS OF THE BENGAL SAPPER LION

Lieutenant General Joginder Singh Dhillon (1914–2003) was the first post independence Sapper Army Commander (Central Army) and was a decorated and celebrated Indian and Sikh military war hero. Lt Gen Dhillon was the first Army Officer to be awarded the ‘Padma Bhushan’ on 24 November 1965, for his role in the 1965^[1] Indo-Pak War, where he was the General Officer Commanding Corps (XI corps). The official citation given for the award was as follows:

“In this Sector, the enemy launched repeated counter-attacks and the conduct of day to day operations called for great tenacity, strong determination and robust mind. Lieutenant General Dhillon displayed all these qualities in abundance and the success achieved by his Corps was to a great extent due to the personality of the General officer.”

Early career

He was commissioned into Bengal Engineer Group in 1936, after receiving the Sword of Honour and Gold Medal at the Indian Military Academy in 1935, and standing first in the all-India entrance examination to the Indian Military Academy in 1933. Graduating in 1939 with honours from Roorkee s Thomson Civil Engineering College (now IIT Roorkee), he was soon sent overseas for the first four years of World War II. He saw active service in Iraq, Iran and Burma and, after a stint in the Staff College, Quetta, was again sent to command a field company in Malaya (1945–46), then onto Sourabaya, where he commanded 2 Field Company, before returning home. From 1946 to 1947 he was staff officer in the E-in-C s Office Army HQ, then went to Quetta as garrison engineer, before taking over as GSO1 in the E-in-C s Branch from October 1947 to February 1948 in the rank of Lieutenant Colonel

Resurrection of the Bengal Sappers

The Bengal Sappers was one of the formations that bore the brunt of the division of the Indian Army during partition. Since the Indian Army’s Corps of Engineers had centres in Bangalore, Roorkee and Kirkee, under the terms of Parition the centres in Bangalore and Kirkee would remain in India, while the Roorkee centre’s assets would go to Pakistan. In the division on a two-third, one-third basis the majority assets in the Roorkee centre’s case went to Pakistan’s Engineers Centre at Sialkot, including plant and equipment and more than half its personnel, and one-third of the regimental fund

The onus of resurrecting the Bengal Sappers fell to Colonel JS Dhillon, who was the first commandant of the Bengal Sappers after India’s independence. With minimal resources and limited personnel, Col Dhillon reorganized and rejuvenated the Bengal Sappers into the leading engineering group of the Army.

“In the two years after taking command in February 1948 of what was left of the centre, Dhillon turned the challenge of resurrecting it into a personal triumph that left everyone breathless. Combining organisational skill with drive, determination and steel, he rehabilitated the centre, streamlined its training and administration and integrated it into an efficient and war-worthy team“

“A change of profound importance introduced at the centre which the newly independent nation s army as a whole eventually adopted was that whilst hitherto several messes for the other ranks had cooked food in each unit for a particular caste, Colonel Dhillon decisively ended this outdated practice. He decreed a single integrated mess would serve food to all men and not their caste.“

When Prime Minister Jawarharlal Nehru visited the regimental center at Roorkee in 1949, he was so impressed by the Bengal Sappers that he specifically asked for Col JS Dhillon to command India’s first Republic Day parade

Honour of commanding first Republic Day parade

Having taken the salute from Col Joginder Singh Dhillon, Commandant, Bengal Engineer Group and Centre on 25 November 1949 at the Centre Parade Ground, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru specifically asked for him to command the First Republic Day Parade to be held in Delhi.

The Parade was held on 26 January 1950 at the Irwin Stadium, Delhi, and was duly commanded by then Brig Dhillon. The Parade had contingents from Army, Navy, Air Force and the Police and it was one of the finest spectacles of the Independent India staged in Delhi during that period. Brig Dhillon later commanded two infantry brigades and also served as director of technical development and director of weapons and equipment at army headquarters before being promoted to Major General. As Major General, he was selected to attend a course at Imperial Defence College in the United Kingdom, and returned to a posting at the National Defence College and was later given command of a division in August 1960. JS Dhillon was Deputy Chief of General Staff at Army headquarters when he was promoted to GOC, XI corps in Punjab.

“The posting would be the culmination of everything that had gone into the making of this exceptional soldier. When on the morning of September 6, 1965, war with Pakistan broke out, with the XI Corps launching a massive retaliatory attack across the border in Punjab on several fronts at 4 am, the aim was to teach Pakistan a lesson for its unprovoked attack on India in the Chhamb sector a few days earlier“

Role in 2nd Indo-Pakistan War, 1965

Lt Gen J.S. Dhillon was the Commander of XI Corps which was responsible for the Punjab sector during the 1965 Indo-Pak War. He is credited in producing and conducting the battle plan that destroyed or captured over 100 superior Pakistani battle tanks, turning a potentially dangerous defeat into an amazing victory, as the Pakistani tanks were poised to head for the Beas Bridge and then on to Delhi.

“The decisive tank battle of Assal Uttar, near Khem Karan, on September 10 does bear telling. Indian units hid their Sherman tanks 500 metres apart in a U-shaped formation in tall and unharvested sugarcane fields, and snared the enemy s vastly superior Patton tanks into this ambush, annihilating them to the last tank and deciding the outcome of the war.

The destruction of Pakistan s armoured pride and the casualties it suffered, including an artillery brigadier and many other senior officers killed or surrendered, destroyed the enemy s morale. At Assal Uttar, 97 enemy tanks of which 72 were Pattons and 25 Chafees and Shermans were destroyed, damaged or captured intact, of which 28 Pattons were in perfect running condition.

Facing the very modern M-48 Pattons were India s old and inferior Centurions and Shermans outgunned, outdistanced and far fewer in number. And yet Indian losses at Khem Karan were only 32 tanks“

Frank Moraes, the editor in chief of the Indian Express, who spent time on the frontlines, wrote: “I was fortunate to spend some time with Lt General J.S. Dhillon, the corps commander in this sector, and to note and understand how greatly the spirit of all, from jawans to divisional commanders, depends on the calibre of the corps commander. Jogi Dhillon is an enthusiastic, intelligent soldier with a physical vigour, drive and combativeness which enable him to be extraordinarily mobile over his wide command and an inspiring presence and example to his officers and men.“

Lt. Gen Dhillon was awarded the Padma Bhushan for his role in the 1965 war and was promoted to Army Commander of the Central Command, from where he retired on August 4, 1970.

Lt Gen JS Dhillon’s counterpart Pakistani Generals who fought against him in the 1965 war, on hearing of his death in 2003, paid warm tribute to him as a great general and warrior.

Indian and Chinese delegations at a border personnel meeting in Ladakh. tribune photo

Jammu, April 10

The ceremonial Border Personnel Meetings (BPM) were held today at the Indian BPM Hut in Chushul and at the Indian Meeting Point Hut at Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) in eastern Ladakh.The Indian delegations were led by Maj Gen Savneet Singh in Chushul and by Maj Deepak Tiwari in DBO whereas the Chinese delegations were led by Senior Col Xhang Jun Yong in Chushul and by Lt Col Duan Yu Gang in DBO.Giving details, PRO (Defence), Udhampur, NN Joshi said the Border Personnel Meetings were marked by both the delegations saluting the national flags of the two countries. “This was followed by the ceremonial address by leaders of the delegations. Thereafter, a cultural programme showcasing the vibrant Indian heritage was organised,” he said. — TNS

New Delhi, April 9

Individuals struggling to link their Permanent Account Number (PAN) with Aadhaar because of differently spelled names can now simply upload a scanned copy of PAN to get the work done.The tax department is also planning to introduce an option on the e-filing portal through which taxpayers can choose to link Aadhaar without changing the name by opting for a one-time password (OTP), provided the year of birth of the person matches in both documents.With the linking of PAN with Aadhaar being made mandatory, individuals can log on to e-filing website of the Income Tax Department or NSDL, but the seeding cannot happen if the name is differently spelt in two cards—like use of full name in PAN and initials in Aadhaar. In such cases, the government has allowed a simple uploading of a scanned copy of PAN on the Aadhaar website. The tax department would start educating taxpayers from this week through media outreach on ways to link PAN with Aadhaar. — PTI

Show credit, loan payments over Rs 2 lakh in tax return

• All cash payments of over Rs2 lakh for paying loans and credit card bills during the 50-day period after demonetisation will have to be disclosed in the new one-page income tax return form
• Besides providing for declaring income, exemption claimed and tax paid, the forms have a new column providing for declaration for any deposit of over Rs 2 lakh in bank accounts made during November 9 and December 30, 2016.

Monument to be built in village of Ishar Singh who led Army unit; Punjab to hold defence literary fest on Oct 27

Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh interacts with the audience during his book release function in Chandigarh on Saturday. Tribune Photo: S Chandan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 8

While it is widely believed that 21 soldiers had made the last stand at Saragarhi in the North-West Frontier Province 120 years ago, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh said there was a 22nd man in the fortress whose sacrifice had gone unnoticed.Dedicating his book, ‘The 36th Sikhs in the Tirah Campaign 1897-98: Saragarhi and the Defence of Samana Forts’, that was released here today to the 22nd man, he said the man, a non-combatant and deployed at Saragarhi as a cook, picked up a rifle after others were killed and shot four tribals.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)Though his exact identity is unknown, he probably belonged to Noushera and is referred to simply as ‘Daad’. He wanted to join the Army, but was rejected on medical grounds. There is only one edifice dedicated to the battle on which his reference crops up.The Saragarhi battle, where 21 soldiers from 36 Sikh (now 4 Sikh), led by Havildar Ishar Singh, fought to the last man last round against over 8,000 Afridi tribals, is listed by UNESCO as one of the 10 greatest battles ever fought. British Parliament had risen in unison on hearing about the exploits of the soldiers, all of whom were awarded the Indian Order of Merit, then the highest decoration applicable to Indian soldiers. When they apprised their commanding officer, based in a neighbouring fort, about the situation, they were simply ordered to “hold your position”. When they faced the enemy, they were determined to fight to the death. The remnants of the fort and memorials still lie in Saragarhi.There are three memorials to the battle in India: at the Sikh Regimental Centre in Ramgarh, in Amritsar and one in Ferozepur, for which a regimental trust is being set up for its upkeep. A Bollywood film on the battle is also in the making. The Chief Minister said the government would set up a proper monument in Ishar Singh’s village, Jhorran near Jagran, where at present his bust is installed. A discussion on the importance of the battle as well as the contemporary geo-strategic significance of the area was also held. Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore; GOC-in-C, Western Command, Lt Gen Surinder Singh; Col of the Sikh Regiment, Lt Gen SK Jha along with a large number of serving and retired service officers and civilian dignitaries attended the function.  The Governor suggested holding of a literary festival exclusively on defence issues in Chandigarh as a large number of senior and distinguished service officers were based in the city. In response, Capt Amarinder agreed that the Punjab Government would host such an event on October 27 this year, the date coinciding with Infantry Day marking the landing of troops of 1 Sikh to defend Srinagar from Pakistani raiders in 1947.

Army jawans undergo paragliding training in Palampur. Tribune photo

Palampur, April 3

Paragliding pilots of the Army conducted a two-week Simulated Incident in Flight (SIV) course at Ranjit Sagar Dam, which concluded today. A number of Army jawans took part in the event.The course was conducted by the Army Aero Nodal Centre (Paragliding), Alhilal, to train pilots to develop their dynamic reaction capability and skill set required to make a glider recover from unstable or severe situations during flight.The jawans gained confidence on their wings under expert guidance led by Lt Col Neeraj Rana (retd). The course prepared paragliding pilots for participation in cross country and other national and international-level competitions. — OC