Director Defence Services, Brig Jatinder Singh Arora, distributes cheques among ex-servicemen during a camp at Raikot on Thursday. A Tribune Photograph

Our Correspondent

Raikot, May 11

A panel of office-bearers of the District Defence Services Office, Ludhiana, redressed problems of over 400 ex-servicemen and widows of defence personnel from various localities of the subdivision during a camp organised here today.Director, Defence Services, Brig Jatinder Singh Arora, presided over the function and district welfare officer, Lieut-Col (retd) Jasbir Singh Boparai, was the convener of the camp. The organisers distributed cheques to beneficiaries of various schemes being launched by the Union and the state governments for families of ex-servicemen from time to time.Illustrating modalities for availing welfare schemes for the defence personnel, the speakers including Brigadier Arora, Lieutenant Colonel Boparai, Wing Commander Gurpreet Singh Mangat, Major Bahadur Singh and Major Gurdeep Singh, said members of families of defence personnel and ex-servicemen should consult officials at the district defence welfare office in Ludhiana according to their convenience.The speakers highlighted salient features of various schemes and facilities being provided to families of ex-servicemen and defence personnel from time to time.Concessional supply of durable and consumable items, education for wards of ex-servicemen and reservation in various departments of the Union and state governments, were cited among special facilities.

Obsessed with Pakistan, India has grossly neglected the real adversary. In point-to-point skirmishes and standoffs, battle- hardened Indian soldiers will deter, if not defeat, the PLA. However, across a broad front spectrum in an unlikely all-out war, it is advantage China.

CHINA THREAT: This file photo taken on July 10, 2008, shows a Chinese soldier (L) next to an Indian soldier at the Nathu La border crossing between India and China in Sikkim. AFP

At a time when China is threatening to teach India another lesson and warning not to engage in a two-front conflict over the standoff in Doklam, our Service Chiefs, it seems, are not on the same page about fighting a two-front war especially as Beijing might try to emulate the New Delhi-Thimpu alliance in “disputed territory” with one with Islamabad in PoK. While General Bipin Rawat has more than once asserted the Army’s preparedness for a two-front war, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa has highlighted the critical shortfall in the number of fighter squadrons — 32 against the required 42 squadrons — to dominate a two-front conflict, saying: “It is akin to a cricket team playing with seven players instead of 11”. The deficiency in air assets has existed for decades but this is the first time an Air Chief has related it to a two-front war. The Chief of Naval Staff, Sunil Lanba, when asked about the disparity in preparedness of the services, said: “The way national security is being handled is not commensurate with the security environment which is extremely serious at the moment”. Recently, Gen Rawat told a military audience that the military was not getting enough funds for modernisation — repeated ad nauseum by every Chief — due to the perception that expenditure on defence is a burden on the economy. This set the cat among the pigeons as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, a regular fill-in for Defence Minister, is believed to have told Gen Rawat: “Don’t worry about funds. When you run out, call me”. In the mid-1990s, when the Naval Shipyard order books had gone dry, CNS, admiral Vijay Shekhawat went public about the Navy’s operational deficiencies, prompting Defence Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav to invite him to discuss dwindling fleet numbers. Ad hocism has become the hallmark of modernisation of the military.

Power differential

The Chinese are constantly reminding India about the power differential — military, economic and infrastructural — between them. Being obsessed with Pakistan, India has grossly neglected the real adversary. The reason for this is the institutionalised absence of strategic thinking and higher political direction of war and conflict in the face of growing threats and challenges to internal and external security. Prime Minister Modi’s boast about big  defence reforms is hollow: had he been serious about defence, he would have named a full-time Defence Minister. The appointment of a Chief of Defence Staff has not overcome the hesitation of history — read bureaucracy. The country has never produced a “Defence White Paper” or done a “Strategic Defence and Security” review. Something called the “Raksha Mantri’s Directive” masquerades as higher political direction on deterrence and war. This bit of literature drafted by the military has its origin in 1983, with periodic face-lifts to make it contemporary. The Parrikar doctrine covering surgical strikes was included in the Joint Military Doctrine, scripted by the Integrated Defence Staff, which attracted extraordinary flak from the defence community for being substandard. In its present organisation, each service essentially fights single-service combat. In the last border skirmish at Kargil, the Army’s operation was called Vijay while the IAF campaign in support was named Safed Saagar. So much for jointness.  So the Raksha Mantri’s Directive passes off as political guidance by the highest echelons of government. When I once asked a former Air Chief how he evolved his service’s span of responsibility, he replied: “Most of the time, from speeches made by the Prime Minister during the Combined Commanders’ Conferences.” Are we surprised that while President Xi Jinping who heads the Central Military Commission, has personally ordered and supervised the reorganisation of the combat formations facing India, reducing them from three commands to one command — a single Western Theatre Command headed by the powerful Gen Xhao Zongqi — the China front in India is managed by four Army and three Air commands deployed at seven locations. 

Integrated command

A forward-looking proposal made by a defence committee recommending three integrated operational commands — North, West and South instead of 17 single service commands — was shot out of hand by (no guesses) the Air Force. The CDS and accompanying Joint Staff ordered by the UK in 1984 was a fait accompli. It was introduced by a political class which understood defence and strategic security. In India, countless defence reforms are languishing for want of decision making. It is instructive to recall how the two-front strategy was formally enunciated in December 2009 by the Army Chief Gen Deepak Kapoor. It followed the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack, after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ordered the Service Chiefs to prepare for war. Defence Minister AK Antony then had “preparation for a two-front war” added in his Directive but did little to implement it. Both in 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan despite the collusive threat from China, there was no cross-border intervention by China though sizeable formations of the Eastern Command remained deployed against it and forces could not be switched to the west or east for fighting in East Pakistan in 1971. In a real two-front war, swing forces in east and west will not be able to reinforce either front and only dedicated formations will fight the war. Given the paucity in current force levels, inadequate sophistry of combat support and terrain and infrastructure handicaps, it will be an uphill task to match the PLA’s strength and versatility across a 3,488-km front of undefined borders. In point-to-point skirmishes and standoffs, battle-hardened Indian soldiers will deter if not defeat the PLA. Across a broad front spectrum in an unlikely all-out war, it is advantage China unless India is prepared to rethink its “no first use” nuclear doctrine. As an offset in the western front, Gen Rawat has suggested creating a two-front situation for Pakistan: either in Afghanistan or Iran. Doklam may go the 1986 Sumdorong Chu way; the 10-month-long standoff challenging the Chinese intrusion at Thandrong, west of Tawang over the interpretation of watershed, without a shot being fired. India need not invoke its doubtful capacity to fight a two-front war; instead, speedily augment its deterrence against China. This may not win votes for Modi but it will prevent Chinese pinpricks that he famously called “toothache”.The writer is the founder-member of the Defence Planning Staff.

AMRITSAR: After the central government’s failure to install fullbody truck scanners at the Attari Integrated Check Post (ICP) even five years after the proposal was mooted, the customs authorities have acquired modern hand-held detectors for identification of narcotics and explosives traces.

COURTESY: LASER­DETECT.COMThe I­scan equipment, which has the ability to detect traces of explosives and narcotics.

Imported from Israel, one of the equipment called I-scan will be utilised to check the baggage of Samjhauta Express passengers as well as goods trains from Pakistan. “I-scan, which is capable of detecting traces of explosives and narcotics, will come in handy for checking both trucks and scanning baggage of the passengers,” says a customs official, on the condition of anonymity.

The official further added that the testing of I-scans is currently going on and the gadget will be put to use within a week’s time.

Along with three I-scans, which cost around ₹30 lakh, the customs authorities have also bought another device called video boroscope, which will help in checking cavities in the trucks.

The department says it has acquired four video boroscopes.

TRUCK SCANNERS STILL MISSING

The authorities have failed to set up the much hyped full-body truck scanners at the Integrated Check Post (ICP), which was inaugurated to facilitate trade between India and Pakistan in 2012.

Army men patrol Darjeeling town. An additional column of the Army has been deployed at Kalimpong. PTI

Kolkata, July 10

An additional column of the Army was today deployed in the troubled Darjeeling Hills of West Bengal, taking the number of Army columns in the hills to three.While one Army column each was deployed on Saturday at Darjeeling and Sonada, troops were today deployed at Kalimpong to prevent arson by agitators.Protesters want Gorkhaland, a separate state to be carved out of West Bengal consisting of areas falling in the erstwhile Darjeeling district (split into Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts in February this year). Responding to a call by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), which is spearheading the movement, indefinite bandh is being observed in the hills since June 12 to press for the demand.The GJM-led coordination committee of hill-based political parties was supposed to meet on July 18 to take a fresh call on the continuance of the agitation. However, for reasons best known to the GJM leadership, the meeting of the coordination committee will  be held tomorrow.This has triggered speculation that the GJM may withdraw the indefinite strike and hold talks. At least five civilians have lost their lives till now in the agitation, the government property worth several crore has been destroyed by protesters who have been setting fire to government establishments. — TNS

INSAS shell casings found at spot indicate use of weapon snatched from police

SRINAGAR: Militants of the homegrown outfit Hizbul Mujahideen abducted and killed off-duty army officer Ummer Fayaz in Kashmir’s Shopian, possibly with arms snatched from security forces, a top police officer said on Thursday.

Two news agencies quoting defence sources, however, said six militants of the Hizbul Mujahideen and the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) were involved in the killing of Ummer, a 22-year-old lieutenant who was on leave for the marriage of his cousin sister.

The army has termed the killing of the young officer, which has sparked outrage across the country, a “watershed moment” that will turn the people of Kashmir against militancy.

“A local Hizbul Mujahideen module was involve(in the killing). Though we have identified the militants, their names cannot be revealed immediately,” inspector general of police Javeed Gillani said.

Investigators recovered two empty cartridges of INSAS rifle from the spot where the officer’s body was found on Wednesday. The officer was shot twice.

A probe was on to check if these were the same cartridges snatched from policemen a few days ago, he added. The made-in-India INSAS rifles are used by police as well as the army deployed in the valley for counter-insurgency operations.

“Although police are yet receive the post-mortem report, preliminary examinations revealed there were no torture marks on his body,” Gillani added, refuting reports that militants assaulted the officer before shooting him dead. The Hizbul Mujahideen is the only homegrown militant outfit in Kashmir battling security forces. The killing of one of its leaders, Burhan Wani, by security forces last year had sparked violent street protests that left nearly hundred people dead, including security personnel.

Hundreds of others, including children, were blinded by pellet guns fired by security forces, stoking public anger. Police said around 200 militants are operating in the valley, out of which around 88 are local youth hailing from South Kashmir.

Pinglana Warriors with the trophy in Pulwama on Saturday. Tribune photo

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 9

While the Valley observed a complete shutdown on the death anniversary of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, the Army organised a series of events for the youth in volatile south Kashmir.The Army organised the final of a cricket tournament yesterday in Pulwama — the home district of Burhan Wani.The Pulwama-based Army camp conducted the final of the Sher-e-Kashmir Inter-Village Cricket Tournament on Saturday. The final was played between Pinglana Warriors and Awantipora Sports XI at the Panzgom cricket ground, an Army spokesman said. Pinglana won by 30 runs.“The game organised amid the various calls given by the separatists on the death anniversary of slain militant Burhan Wani is a reflection of the increasing trust and confidence of the locals in the armed forces, desirable and warranted to bring peace and tranquillity in the Valley,” an Army spokesman said, adding that 16 teams of Pulwama district participated in the tournament that commenced on July 1.In neighbouring Shopian and Kulgam districts, the Army organised a cricket tournament and a trekking trip for a number of youths.“Despite a shutdown, around 250 youths from the volatile areas of Kulgam and Shopian participated in the cricket and trekking events,” an Army officer said.Similar events were held by the Army in central Kashmir’s Budgam district. Victor Force GOC Major General BS Raju said the events were held despite a shutdown.“By holding these events, a message has been conveyed that a large population is not subscribing to separatists and they are ready to take their neck out and be a part of the programmes which show normalcy,” Major General BS Raju said.

‘Goodwill’ events across Valley

• The Army also organised a cricket tournament and a trekking trip in Shopian and Kulgam districts
• Despite shutdown, a number of youths took part in the events, showing that they too wanted normalcy, said Victor Force GOC Major General BS Raju

The military wants a greater say in policy matters, but it wants to keep civilians out of its domain

Speaking to a military audience in 1973, the eminent war historian Michael Howard said that he was tempted “to declare dogmatically that whatever doctrine the Armed Forces are working on now, they have got it wrong.” But he went to add: “it does not matter that they have got it wrong. What does matter is their capacity to get it right quickly when the moment arrives”. I was reminded of this speech after reading the recently unveiled Joint Doctrine for the Indian Armed Forces. The first such doctrine to be published by the Indian military, it has been panned by many perceptive analysts of military affairs.

All the same, the doctrine is an important attempt by the armed forces to inform and influence public debates on strategic issues. From this standpoint, the most curious part of the document is an appendix on “Civil-Military Relations”. These couple of pages lay out the military’s perspective on what is wrong with our existing institutional arrangements of civil-military relations and how to set it right.

Civil-military relations in India have been balancing on the brink of a crisis over the past few years. Controversies over one-rank onepension and the latest pay commission were symptoms of deeper problems. Yet successive governments have done nothing to address them. The doctrine’s attempt to flag this issue in public attests to the military’s deepening disquiet on this front.

The appendix on civil-military relations opens with a quote from an air marshal: “Direction in the Civil-Military Relationship in any democracy is strictly the right of the political leadership and not bureaucracy”. This harks to the military’s longstanding complaint that civilian control has turned into civil service control. There is something to this claim, though it tends to be overstated in military discourse. Nevertheless, the doctrine is right in observing that “it is prudent that institutional and structural mechanisms exist that facilitate free flowing communication between the two, thereby enabling critical and timely decision making. The functionaries in the MoD ought to be enablers of this relationship.”

More problematic is the military’s own view of how these arrangements should function when it comes to such critical areas as the use of force. The doctrine states: “Military professionals are experts in the use of force under the political institution of the State. Apropos, it would always be essential for the civilian authority, in consultation with military (as part of decision making process) to decide the Military Objective and then leave it to the military professionals to decide upon the best way of achieving the objective.” In other words, the military should have a say in deciding the aims and should be left free to pursue it.

The underlying premise about military professionalism is not as compelling as it sounds. As scholars of civil-military relations have pointed out, the military is quite unlike other professions. Few military officers have actual experience of fighting wars: our top military leadership, for instance, joined the services well after the 1971 war. Treating them as experts in the management of violence is a bit like entrusting a crucial surgery to a doctor who has prepared all his life to perform a surgery without ever having done one. To be sure, the military will always know more about military affairs but there is no reason to presume that they know best.

Equally dodgy is the subsequent claim about operational independence for the military. Earlier, the doctrine quotes Clausewitz’s famous dictum about war being a continuation of politics. But the demand for operational independence is inconsistent with the Clausewitzian view. If war is a continuation of politics, then politics will influence and intervene at levels of warfare down to the tactical. As the recent incident of using a human shield in Kashmir shows, even tactical actions can have political consequences. Hence, there can be no inviolable military sphere–either in theory or in practice. Acquiescing in such a demand will be deeply damaging. The history of our own wars underscores these problems.

It is curious that on one hand the military wants greater say in policy matters, but on the other it wants to keep the civilians out of its domain. The former demand is entirely understandable, but the latter is incompatible with any properly integrated system of civil-military relations. The military can’t have its cake and eat it too. If strategy is the bridge between political ends and military means, then it will have to be jointly constructed by the civilians and the military.

Angry Mamata lashes out at Centre for ‘non-cooperation’; orders probe into communal flare-up

Police personnel at the Sonada toy train railway station that was set afire during an indefinite strike called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in Darjeeling on Saturday. AFP

Shubhadeep Choudhury

Tribune News Service

Kolkata, July 8

The Army was today called in, the second time in 30 days, as Darjeeling and neighbouring Sonada erupted after the body of a youth was recovered in Sonada. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, blaming the BJP-led Union Government for the crisis, said if enough CRPF companies had been made available to the state in time, violence would not have occurred in the hills.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)“There is total non-cooperation from the Centre”, she alleged at a press conference here. “The Union Government did send seven companies of central forces after trouble broke out in Darjeeling, but six of the seven companies had inherent limitations as these consisted of three companies each of SSB and women CRPF personnel,” she said. Pointing out that personnel of the SSB and women CRPF were not geared up for the job at hand, Mamata said this only showed that “there was a deliberate attempt” by the Centre to deny her help. She announced a judicial inquiry into the communal violence in Baduria and Basirhat in North 24 Parganas district as well as a probe to ascertain who was responsible for the death of a young man at Sonada on Friday night.Young Tashi Bhutia’s body was found at Sonada this morning with bullet wounds. The Gorkha National Liberation Front, which had earlier spearheaded the movement for Gorkhaland but was reduced to a fringe force following the emergence of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), claimed that the deceased was one of its activists. “Another Gorkha martyred. Tashi Bhutia alias Khitta, a Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) cadre,  was last night martyred by CRPF in Sonada @ around 11 PM”, Neeraj Zimba Tamang, GNLF spokesman, posted on his Facebook page.Residents of Sonada took out a procession with Bhutia’s body and clashed with the police who used tear gas shells and rubber bullets to disperse the mob. Miscreants set afire the waiting room of the Sonada railway station — a heritage station on the Siliguri-Darjeeling toy train route. In Darjeeling, Gorkhaland supporters set ablaze an office of the ruling Trinamool Congress and clashed with the police at Chowkbazar. One person was reportedly killed in the violence.The Army was first deployed in Darjeeling on June 8 and withdrawn on June 24, much to the chagrin of the CM.

Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 9

Even as the state government today appointed Maj Gen Dharam Vir Singh Rana (retd) as Chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (HPPSC), the appointment of the outgoing Chairman KS Tomar as Chief Information Commissioner could not be made despite a meeting of the selection committee.Rana hails from Bhattu village in Kangra district and will head the commission for six years or attainment of 65 years of age. There have been several occasions when senior Army officers have occupied the post of chairman or member of the HPPSC with Maj Gen CK Sharma (retd) and Brig Lokender Chauhan (retd) also occupying these posts recently.A meeting of the selection committee to finalise the names of the next State Chief Information Commissioner (SCIC) and State Information Commissioner (SIC) was held here today at a very short notice. The meeting was attended by Virbhadra, senior Cabinet minister Vidya Stokes and Leader of the Opposition PK Dhumal amid hectic lobbying by contenders. Even as it was being expected that a decision on the new SCIC and SIC would be taken, it has been decided to invite fresh applications till May 24. As per the fresh advertisement, issued by the Administrative Reforms Department, the applicants, who had applied for the post in May 2016, need not send fresh applications.Besides Tomar, the other front runner for the SCIC is Narender Chauhan, Additional Chief Secretary, Public Works Department (PWD), who also holds an LLM degree and enjoys impeccable integrity. Some other retired IAS, IPS and IFS officers too are in the race for the post of SCIC lying vacant for the last over one year.The post of Chairman, HPPSC, fell vacant on May 7 on the completion of the term of Tomar. A total of 137 applications had been received against the advertisement on May 13, 2016, after the completion of the term of Bhim Sen, a former IAS, who completed his term on March 23, 2016. The post of State Information Commissioner (SIC) too fell vacant last month on the completion of the term of KD Batish. A total of 37 applications have been received to fill the lone post of SIC.

Hails from Kangra

• Maj Gen Dharam Vir Singh Rana (retd) hails from Bhattu village inKangra district
• He will head the commission for six years

Our Correspondent

MANALI, July 3

Lt Gen SK Shrivastava, Director General Border Roads (DGBR), visited both portals of the Rohtang tunnel to evaluate the current status and progress of the work. He visited south portal of the Rohtang tunnel at Dhundi on Sunday and north portal at Sissu today.He spent hours at the sites and had detailed discussions with his staff and the companies involved in the construction of the tunneling works. Brigadier DN Bhatt, Chief Engineer of Rohtang tunnel project, briefed him about the ongoing works and further steps taken to speed up the works.The DG, BRO, said the breakthrough of the tunnel would happen in October 2017. He said after the breakthrough other activities too would speed up and in this snow season, the remaining activities at north portal would be taken up from the south-end to further enhance the pace of work.