The BJP under Narendra Modi-Amit Shah is making fresh political conquests by the day but is leaving behind the odious residue of discord, conflict and impunity. The latest to raise the flag is a group of over 100 retired officers from all the three services who have penned a collective letter to the Prime Minister protesting the relentless vigilantism that is sweeping parts of the country. This is not the first time that superannuated officers, with no ostensible axe to grind, have cautioned the Modi government about the social discord unleashed in towns and villages of the country. Last month 65 retired bureaucrats of all India and Central services, who were at pains to point out that they had no political affiliation, had expressed their deep disquiet over the erosion of the credo of impartiality, neutrality and commitment to the Indian Constitution.What makes the latest missive different is that all of its backers are retired officers from the three services, the constituency completely claimed by the ruling dispensation. These former officers also say the compelling reason for penning the note of protest is the current climate of divisiveness behind which is the cultivated buildup of climate of hate and distrust. Like their retired civilian colleagues, these officers have also done some plain speaking on the browbeating of the media and the targeting of Dalits and Muslims.Success is a major disincentive for changing course, especially in a hard-fought profession like politics. The Prime Minister referred to communalism in his latest broadcast to the nation but it was water off the duck’s back for the Hindutva vigilante crowd. The formula worked brilliantly in UP and Assam and reaped a decent harvest in Bihar that subsequently came in handy.  This approach is overlaid with the sauce of hyper-nationalism in which it is proclaimed that the armed forces are co-opted partners as they chip away at the Constitution’s liberal and secular values. Now it is that very section which says it can no longer look away in silence while diversity, the glue of cohesion for the nation and the armed forces, is under attack. 

Barbs to-fro on lynching in LS

Kiren Rijiju. File photo

Ravi S Singh

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 31

Combative Treasury and Opposition benches today exchanged barbs in the Lok Sabha during a discussion on “atrocities and lynching in mob violence”, with Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju saying the Congress suffers from “selective amnesia”.He cautioned that BJP’s popularity would grow with attacks on the government.(Congress and other Opposition members staged a walkout when Rijiju took the floor to reply to the six-hour debate. The Treasury benches periodically stepped in to defend PM Narendra Modi.Rijiju said the Congress was indulging in double standards. On the allegation of government inaction, he said Modi had already made public condemnation of the incidents and urged CMs to deal firmly with culprits.“The Centre has also issued an advisory to states to take action and its role is limited. Law and order is a state subject. The states must take strict action,” he said.Responding to concerns raised by Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge that the incidents had sullied India’s image abroad, Rijiju said the atrocities were part of the continuing trend of several years.“You try to avoid discussions on incidents that happen in states ruled by you,” he said, and questioned CPM cadres’ fatal attacks on RSS and BJP workers in Kerala.“The Opposition is bereft of issues. It raised issues like intolerance and attack on churches, which on investigation were found to be bogus. This was to defile Modi’s image,” he added.Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan reminded the Opposition of the anti-Sikh riots.The tone of the Opposition’s belligerence was set by Kharge, who said the Centre was giving tacit support to the perpetrators of the crime. “The VHP, Bajrang Dal and local cow protection samitis are behind cow vigilantism.”

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 28

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) today said Rs 3,800 crore had been spent on missiles that were yet to be inducted. Half of these missiles have absorbed moisture due to wrong storage, while 30 per cent have failed tests, it has said.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)In its report tabled in both Houses of Parliament today, the CAG said, “The strategic missile system for the IAF in the “S” sector was to be put in place between June 2013 and December 2015. Till date, however, none of the missile systems has been installed.” In December 2010, the MoD concluded a contract with BEL for the delivery of six squadrons of this missile system. Though the CAG did not give any name, this reportedly refers to surface-to-air missile Akash and the “S” sector is a description of the eastern part of the country, including a location in the foothills of Bhutan. Akash is a medium-range SAM that travels at 3,000 kmph to hit incoming aerial threats.The CAG termed it as an “abnormal delay in the creation of infrastructure required for installation of the missile. About Rs 4,000 crore has already been spent for the purpose”.The report blames the IAF and the Ministry of Defence-owned public sector giant Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for the delay.The missiles were received at six IAF stations between April 2014 and June 2016, after delay of six to 18 months. The, IAF released 95 per cent of the payment (Rs 3,809 crore) by March 2016, which included creation of infrastructure like storage, workshop etc.“The strategic missile system delivered by BEL was deficient in quality”, the CAG said. Of the 80 missiles received up to November 2014, 20 missiles were test fired during April-November 2014. Six of them (30 per cent) failed the test. “Missiles fell short of the target, had lower than the required velocity, besides malfunctioning of critical units,” the CAG said.So even as missiles arrived in 2014, the infrastructure to store such weapons could not be completed at any of the six sites till October 2016.The life span of missiles is 10 years from the date of manufacturing and these have to be stored in air-conditioned environment at 23°C. Between April 2014 and May 2016, the storage was in conditions that did not have that facility. “During periodic checks of missiles, it was found that there was moisture ingress in 71 missiles,” it said.“Till the missile system is commissioned, a significant part of their serviceable life would have been over, without contributing to operational readiness and its strategic purpose,” the report said.

‘30% failed test’Of the 80 missiles received up to November 2014, 20 missiles were test fired during April-November 2014. Six of them (30 per cent) failed the test. — CAG report

Sushma Swaraj, External Affairs Minister

Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 20

India today played cautious and maintained that talks were the way forward when it came to resolving the month-old Doklam standoff. China has maintained that Indian troops need to withdraw as a pre-condition for any ‘meaningful dialogue’ to begin.Gopal Baglay, official spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, today chose not to directly answer questions on the Chinese pre-condition for talks but emphasised that ‘diplomatic channels’ had not been impeded. India’s response to the situation so far has been mellow, in contrast to the Chinese posturing which has been overly aggressive.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)The spokesperson said Bhutan wants China to go back to the status quo that existed on the ground before June 16 and in essence India also wants that status quo to be restored. Speculation has been rife that differences between India and Bhutan have arisen over the Doklam crisis.“Differences between India and China should never become a dispute…We’ve said diplomatic channels are available and have been available. To the best of my understanding they have never stopped,” said Baglay when asked whether India will approach any international bodies such as the UN to intervene in the dispute.Earlier in the day, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj made a strong statement in the Rajya Sabha and demanded that China withdraw its troops for the talks to begin. “We are saying that if a dialogue is to be held, then both should withdraw (their troops),” she said. The Chinese action “is a challenge to our security”, Swaraj said, adding that India was not doing anything unreasonable.She added that foreign countries are with India. “They feel that China is being aggressive with a small country like Bhutan. Bhutan has protested, including in writing. All the countries feel India’s stand is right and the law is with us,” Swaraj added.

Beijing ‘threatens security’ at tri-junction

• In the Rajya Sabha, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said China intends to unilaterally change the status of the tri-junction with Bhutan, posing a challenge to India’s security
• On the standoff at Doklam, she referred to the written agreement between India, China and Bhutan in 2012 that the three nations would together decide on the boundaries at the tri-junction point
• She said China had been constructing roads earlier too, but now they had brought in bulldozers and excavators. “We are saying that the matter can be resolved through talks, but both sides have to first take back their armies,” she said

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•  Major thapa cremated with full military honours at his native place
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• Subedar killed in cross-border firing
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• Pak again targets 2 primary schools in rajouri, one injured
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• Violation one civilian injured in attack; tuesday attack’s injured jawan succumbs to injuries
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• Who are the gorkhas written by a non gorkha col sarbjit singh
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• US again lists pak as a safe haven for terrorists
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• Report: beijing moves ‘huge military hardware’ into tibet
•  
• China military movement ‘not unusual’ internal security assessment says it can’t be counted as ‘red flag’ to pla observers
•  
• India-russia 5th-gen jet deal ‘soon’ fifth-generation fighter aircraft maker says negotiations have entered second stage
•  
• Army sets sept deadline to end south kashmir terror
•  
• Shelling for 4th straight day, soldier succumbs soon-to-retire subedar from hp was injured in nowshera
•  

EX-SERVICEMEN TAKES INITIATIVE TO CLEAN AND PAINT MARTYR MAJOR BHUPINDER SINGH MVC MEMORIAL AT LUDHIANA

A CAREER SPENT IN COUNTER­INSURGENCY OPERATIONS

NO ROOM FOR TALKS NOW, SAYS CHINA

HOVERING ANGEL’, FAREWELL WING CDR MANDEEP SINGH DHILLON DIED IN A HELICOPTER CRASH DURING A MERCY MISSION ON JULY 4

PRAYERS FOR WG CDR DHILLON; CM INVITED

I WAS VICTIMISED, SAYS ARMY’S MOST DECORATED OFFICER

UNITED BEHIND THE SOLDIER WELCOME CONSULTATIONS WITH THE OPPOSITION

MARTYR’S KIN TO BE GIVEN RS20 LAKH

EXTERNAL FORCES’ CREATING TROUBLE IN STATE: CM MEHBOOBA MEETS RAJNATH, DISCUSSES OVERALL SECURITY SITUATION IN STATE

MARTYRS GET TEARFUL ADIEU AMID MILITARY HONOURS

ARMY VOWS TO CONTINUE TARGETING MILITANTS

251 YOUTHS FROM STATE INDUCTED INTO ARMY

US AMENDS LAW FOR CLOSER DEFENCE RELATIONS WITH INDIA

NEWS ANALYSIS DIPLOMACY MAY WIN, BUT CHINA CAN THREATEN AGAIN

JAWAN DIES AT LOC; 3 JEM ULTRAS SHOT LANCE NAIK KILLED IN PAK ARMY SNIPER FIRE IN RAJOURI; BLOW TO JAISH IN SOUTH KASHMIR

INDIA-CHINA STANDOFF: WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE CHUMBI VALLEY?BY LT GEN H S PANAG

SC REJECTS ARMY APPEAL AGAINST PROMOTION OF MAJOR GENERAL

EXPERT’ WHO EQUATED ARMY CHIEF WITH JALLIANWALA BAGH BUTCHER IS GUEST SPEAKER AT NDC

WANT 100 PAK SOLDIERS KILLED FOR MY SON’S DEATH’

The genesis and extent of the problem that the Indian Army faced in its quest to find the best man for the best job, at its higher ranks needs to be understood. The Indian Army is a command- oriented Army with the necessity of all officers to perform in command or deemed command appointments in order to be eligible for promotion at every stage.

The Army & MoD need to reassess the promotion policy for senior officers. The command orientation has to make way for a system where an equally challenging staff tenure are given the same importance & weightage.

It is rare to find an analysis of the Army’s promotion policy related to senior ranks although the policy on junior select ranks has been flogged enough in the last two years as a consequence of a legal case. A recent opinion piece in The Tribune tempted us to offer a little contextual updated explanation to the background superbly explained by Lt Gen OP Kaushik (retd).In 1986, General K Sundarji introduced the promotion policy of Command and Staff and Staff streams for promotion from Brigadier to Maj Gen upwards. Ostensibly, it was to enable the more accomplished rise a little faster by entering the Command and Staff Stream and giving the slightly less endowed a chance to gain one promotion in the Staff stream which meant they would not be considered for further promotion at all. The Sundarji policy was shelved in 1992 as it created considerable turbulence in the absence of any credible tools to help the promotion board allocate streams to officers. The compulsions that led to its reintroduction in 2009 have not been adequately explained and are elaborated below. It also adopted the Quantified Selection System which gave the required accurate inputs for merit-based selection for the two streams.The reader must understand the genesis and the extent of the problem that the Indian Army faced in selecting the best man for the best job, at its higher ranks. All officers must perform in command or deemed command appointments in order to be eligible for promotion at every stage. This assumes much greater importance in the higher ranks. Secondly, slippages occurred in the vacancy-based promotion system of 1997 despite accurate calculation of vacancies. To add to the woes, all post-1974 batch senior officers were university graduates adding a year to their age. As problems in vacancy management accentuated, the number of eligible General Officers reduced, thus rendering some outstanding officers ineligible.The Ajay Vikram Singh Committee (AVSC) cadre review threw up additional vacancies for 20 Lt Gens and 75 Maj Gens to be gradually absorbed from 2005 onwards. But there are 14 Corps (Lt Gen) and 45 divisions (Maj Gen) commanded by General Cadre officers. This means not more than seven officers for Lt Gen and 22 officers for Maj Gen from each calendar batch can hold commands for the recommended two-year tenure. However, with additional AVSC vacancies (all on Staff), for each batch there are 16-17 vacancies for Lt Gen and almost 45-50 vacancies for Maj Gen. In a command-oriented Army, all the corps and divisions will have commanders for less than six-month tenures to accommodate the entire batch. Thus a reasonable solution was to keep the Corps Commander’s tenure at 12 months and of Division Commanders, 18 months; still less than desirable. To execute this not more than 14 Lt Gens should become Corps Commanders and approximately 33 Maj Gens should become Division Commanders to maintain the sanctity of tenures and also vacate command appointments for subsequent batches. The balance (about 20 General Officers) cleared for promotion has to be promoted only in the Staff stream. This would not have caused so much of heartburn that necessitated a “Staff Only” Maj Gen approaching the AFT, but the fact that he could never aspire to become a Lt Gen, even within that stream is a flaw. One of AVSC’s aims — to reduce the age profile of commanders — has not been achieved in the ranks of General Officers. The implementation of AVSC provided personal satisfaction due to increased approvals for promotion but did not help the organisation in the absence of commensurate vacancies in deputations. The “peel factor”, on which the Committee based its recommendations, never got implemented. Coupled with the laid-down residual tenure as Army and Corps Commanders, this resulted in and still results in many outstanding senior officers being ineligible for command due to their higher age profile.The Army wants to revert to the single-stream system so that all General Cadre officers are eligible for Command and Staff. However, it has not clarified how it intends to manage viable tenures in command of Corps and Divisions while promoting all for Command and Staff who will have to necessarily be squeezed through the command funnel.The solutions though limited, are not hard to find. First, the Command orientation has to make way for a system where an equally challenging Staff tenure (Army to identify appointments) are given the same importance and weightage. In the single stream, some selected ones may Command for viable tenures and others perform viable Staff tenures with all being eligible for promotion. Alternatively, the two streams may continue with all Maj Gens on Staff stream eligible for promotion to Lt Gen (Staff only) with earmarked pro rata vacancies.The Army also wants a lower cap in the percentage of approval for both ranks to gradually reduce the age profile. Once that is achieved all approved officers will be eligible to command Corps and Field Armies. Its impact will be the feasibility of having a Selection Board for approval of Lt Gens as Field Army Commanders, which is a crying need. It is ironical that we place a very high premium on command at all levels, the most important of them all, the selection of the Field Army Commanders is still based upon the date of birth. The latest AFT judgment clearly states that the present policy violates Article 14 of the Constitution. The Army and the Ministry of Defence have to relook this important policy for promotion to the General Officer ranks. It would be fair to the officers and lead to greater satisfaction and would also benefit the nation as it would throw up the best of the best to lead its field armies into war.The writers have extensive experience in handling complex personnel policy-related issues of the Army

Every claim of “liberation” these days is taken with a generous dose of salt ever since US President George Bush, decked up in a flying suit, announced the end of major combat operations in Iraq 14 years ago. It is the same with Mosul. If the retaking of Mosul is such a seminal event that the Iraqi PM personally arrived to congratulate the commanders, then can the world hope to end the spectre of unmitigated violence against civilians? The short answer is no. At this point, at least six battles are under way in a vast battlefield that has opened up from North Africa to West Asia after the destablisation or overthrow of several largely secular but anti-US regimes.The recapture of one or two cities will not make much of a difference now that the genie is out of the bottle. Besides the ISIS, a bewildering array of militant organisations is also in the fray, frequently at cross purposes with each other because each is backed by nations with conflicting strategic goals. And now that several nations have sunk their teeth into the real estate of what was once Iraq and Syria (besides Libya), they are unlikely to back off without cutting a beneficial deal for themselves. The only saving grace is that the reversal of the ISIS’ run of victories will dissuade many susceptible youngsters from other countries trying to lend their shoulder to the establishment of a so-called Islamic caliphate.The ISIS is not down and out. It has tended to morph elsewhere such as in Afghanistan despite suffering debilitating reverses in its strongholds. This ability of the ISIS to survive lends to the suspicion that despite public disclaimers, countries keep propping up militant organisations as proxies to advance their interests. In areas such as Mosul, where there was complete unanimity on clearing out the ISIS, the tougher task of restoring civilisation from rubble still remains. The locals will inevitably benchmark the new regime against the rule of the ISIS. Unless these countries join hands to provide decent governance, the ISIS will continue to tempt all those radicalised on social media by ideologues of the Takfiri\Wahabi ideology.