Chamba: After eight months, the Saach Pass on the Chamba-Bairagarh-Killar highway, which links the Pangi tribal valley with the rest of Chamba district, was reopened for light vehicles on Saturday.

The HP PWD, Tissa Division, Executive Engineer Harsh Puri said the Saach Pass remained closed due to snowfall during the winter every year.

The PWD workforce removed the snow at Saach Pass at an altitude of about 14,500 feet, Puri said, adding that about 40 feet snow rocks had to be cut with heavy machinery.

However, efforts were still underway to cut the glaciers from both sides, widening the highway for the plying of heavy vehicles. OC

The now-formed third class of disabled soldiers, in all probability, may have opted out of service due to the limited terms of service the medical category offered them or purely out of soldierly pride not allowing themselves acceptance of any concessions.

Maj Gen Amrit Pal Singh (Retd)
Military commentator

The e-space is abuzz with opinions and interpretations of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) circular of June 24 on the latest ruling on taxation of disability pension to the armed forces personnel. The furore it has created in the military and veteran circles is not something that the prudent should ignore or relegate as background chatter.

The circular in question refers to the Income Tax Act 1922 and notification number 878-F of March 1922, among other sections and instructions, issued from time to time. The missive clarifies that income tax exemption would be available to all armed forces personnel (irrespective of rank) who have been invalided out of such service on account of bodily disability attributable or aggravated by such service.

In the last paragraph, the letter drops the bombshell by stating that such tax exemption will be applicable only to those personnel who have been invalided out of service on account of bodily disability attributable to or aggravated by such service and not to personnel who have been retired on superannuation or otherwise.

The rigours of military service are known to all and there is no questioning the extreme conditions of service that obtain in various facets and areas where personnel are deployed in the defence of the country. The very fact that the law caters for disability is proof of the recognition of the need to compensate a serviceman or woman for the bodily disability attributable or aggravated by her or his service.

The latest circular now intends to clarify the applicability of taxes on the disability pension and, in effect, creates different classes of disability for purpose of taxation. A few at a glance are: 

First, the disability that causes a soldier to be invalided out of service as the disability was so severe that they could not serve in the forces due to it.

Second, the disability that is caused due to service but the individual is yet capable of serving (albeit under restrictions due to medical reasons) in what is called a ‘medical category’ in military parlance.

The third class now formed is that of those personnel who had attributable or aggravated disability and chose to leave service prematurely.

The now-formed third class of disabled soldiers, in all probability, may have opted out of service due to the limited terms of service the medical category offered them or purely out of soldierly pride not allowing themselves acceptance of any concessions when they expect the troops they command to undertake all tribulations. Their disability in no measure is less attributable as, for example, the case of a soldier deployed in the icy heights of Siachen who suffers from pulmonary oedema and is downgraded to a medical category that does not allow him to serve in extreme areas thereafter — he has an option to remain a medical category for all of his service and feel like a ‘second grade’ soldier for no fault of his or to leave service honourably. These soldiers are no less deserving of disability pension and taxing it now could have ramifications on risk-taking decisions by soldiers. There is a need by the government to look at the larger picture.

However, it is the second category now created by the circular that has the military fraternity up in indignation.  The armed forces look after their own and especially their heroes who are incapacitated due to operations and even in peace time service. The case of a vehicle mechanic who lost his limb due to a vehicle toppling on him when he was repairing it is no less attributable than that of a soldier who gets shot by the enemy or terrorist and is termed a ‘Battle Casualty’. These individuals are considered on a case-to-case basis and permitted to serve their full tenure. It is a matter of pride that some of such heroes have risen to top ranks and are held in deep regard by the military fraternity.

The new condition set out in the circular seemingly denies the exemption of tax to the disability pension of these soldiers.

The case of General Ian Cardozo who self-amputated his leg during the 1971 operations is a sterling example of raw courage by an officer who served with great pride and who is a hero to this day. But the Indian government now will tax his sacrifice. How prudent is this recovery of tax from the disability pension of a person who never thought about severing his own limb for the security of the country? His words ‘There is not apathy from the bureaucratic circles but antipathy’reverberate profoundly amongst the military circles and will find resonance in many a self-respecting patriotic Indian.

The average citizen needs to be aware of the ever-increasing animosity being generated by seemingly innocuous steps initiated by the government. The recent news of the government seeking resignations of commanders of military bases that were attacked by terrorists has been reportedly identified as a selective leak from the ministry as the recommendation to this effect was earlier too resisted and disposed of by the armed forces.  Was the leak intended to rake up the issue afresh with the new Defence Minister?

Similar is the case of the orders of opening of cantonment roads by a missive from the ministry which created a messy debate with accusations of political favours and selective decision-making aggravating the fissures in a strained civil bureaucracy-military relationship.

The present CBDT circular seems to be yet another instance in the same vein as with numerous other pinpricks such as OROP and ration money disallowment and its subsequent reinstatement.

The cases of tax evasion in all other spheres of economic and financial activities are something which needs to keep the attention of the tax lawmakers. It is not without ample reason that the present circular has been initiated to plug loopholes being exploited in the taxation of disability pension in cases of misrepresentation and misuse by the military hierarchy but such cases must be dealt with departmentally and applying such a broad-brush instruction needs to be well thought out.

The armed forces, on their part, have to clearly differentiate those cases of disability attributable to and aggravated by military service and unambiguously lay down the criteria for grant of disability pension. Once the disability is granted, it must be honoured by bureaucrats and ministries alike as a service to the nation which must not be taxed.

Among the ones who donned olive green, 382 are Indian while 77 are from friendly foreign countries; of the Indians, maximum 72 GCs belong to Uttar Pradesh and 33 to Punjab

uwahati, June 7

Kargil war veteran Mohammed Sanaullah, who was sent to a detention camp in Assam after a tribunal declared him a “foreigner”, was granted bail by the Gauhati High Court today.

A Division Bench heard a writ petition, along with an interlocutory application, and granted bail to Sanaullah on two local sureties of Rs 20,000 each.

The Bench ruled that Sanaullah cannot leave Kamrup district, of which he is a resident, without the permission of its Superintendent of Police. It also issued notices on the respondents, including the Union of India, the Assam Government and the Foreigners’ Tribunal, Boko.

Sanaullah is likely to be released from the detention centre tomorrow. Sanaullah, who retired from the Army in 2017, was awarded the President’s Medal in 2014. — PTI

Aman Sood
Tribune News Service
Patiala, June 4

A Samana family has rushed to Assam after learning that their son, 28-year-old Indian Air Force Flight Lieutenant Mohit Garg, was among 13 aboard the AN-32 military transport plane that went off the radar yesterday.

The pilot’s family, including father Surinder Garg and brother Ashwani, are hoping against hope as the chances of survival seem to be fading.

Surinder Garg and pilot’s uncle Rishi Garg have rushed to Assam to be with their daughter-in-law Astha, who is in a state of shock.

“All we can do is hope for a miracle. He had visited us a few months ago and was supposed to visit us later this month,” says Ashwani.

The Flt Lt’s friends describe him as a brilliant student who got selected to the National Defence Academy 12 years ago after clearing his higher secondary. “He made our small town proud. We hope to hear something positive,” say his friends. “Mohit married Astha, currently posted in UCO Bank in Assam, last year. We are worried about her as well,” says Ashwani. 

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 5

The Army has handed “loss of seniority” by six months to Major Leetul Gogoi as punishment for “fraternising” with a local woman in Srinagar last year and for “being away from the place of duty while in an operational area”.

He will also be posted out of  Kashmir as his 30-month tenure with Rashtriya Rifles has ended. Maj Gogoi had hit the headlines after he tied a man in front of a jeep, purportedly as a shield against stone-pelters, during polling for the Srinagar Lok Sabha byelection on April 9, 2017.

The court martial proceedings against Maj Gogoi were completed in March and the punishment needed to be ratified by the Army headquarters, which has been done now, sources said. The punishment is classified as “severe reprimand”. The six-month loss of seniority will apply for life.

As this period will not be counted towards his service, he will now get lesser pension on retirement. He will not get the next rank of Lt Colonel as per schedule on completing 13 years in service. This will happen six months later and he will, in turn, become the juniormost officer in his batch.

Maj Gogoi was posted with the RR in March 2016 and posted out in October 2018. Since then, he had been attached with the Srinagar headquartered “Victor Force”, pending inquiry.

The Major was detained by the J&K Police on May 23 last year from a Srinagar hotel along with a local woman and another soldier. The detained woman was 19 years old and had gone with the officer of her own volition, Jammu and Kashmir Police had said. Hence, no police case was made out. However, the Army rules did not allow Maj Gogoi to be let off without punishment.

During the court martial proceedings, the woman expressed her unwillingness to depose. The court martial process against Maj Gogoi’s driver Sameer Malla, who was facing charges of unauthorised absence from the unit, has been completed. He has been given a “severe reprimand”.

Immediately after the incident came to light last year, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat had said exemplary punishment would be given to Maj Gogoi if he was found guilty of any offence.

Jaiswar

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, April 11

Preparations are in full swing to commemorate the centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Heavy police force has been deployed for the security arrangements. Huge pandals have been erected for the visitors coming to the holy city for paying tributes to those who attained martyrdom in the massacre.

Thousands of people from across Punjab and a number of organisations have prepared plans to pay homage to the martyrs on April 13. Being Baisakhi on the day, a huge number of devotees is expected to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple also. This has posed a great challenge for the police force.

Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu, AICC president Rahul Gandhi, Punjab Governor VP Badnore and CM Capt Amarinder Singh are among the dignitaries who would be visiting the Jallianwala Bagh on April 13. On the eve of the event, being organised by the Central government at the Jallianwala Bagh, a candle march, led by Capt Amarinder Singh, would be held.

In view of the huge gatherings and VVIPs visiting the memorial on Saturday, the police have urged the people to reach there in a “controlled” manner. “Elaborate security arrangements are being made considering the visits of the Vice-President, Punjab Chief Minister and Governor, besides the AICC president. We are expecting huge rush on the day. Many organisations had also announced to pay tributes to the martyrs at the memorial on the day. Therefore, we are urging the people to come in controlled manner so that nobody is inconvenienced,” said Police Commissioner SS Srivastava.

A temporary divider has been erected in the middle of Heritage Street for the smooth movement of thousand of devotees coming to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple and VVIP movement towards the Jallianwala Bagh.

Three-day photo exhibition

A three-day photo exhibition on freedom struggle at the historic garden commenced here today. Regional Outreach Bureau, Chandigarh, under the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, has organised the exhibition.

New Delhi, April 8

Vice Admiral Bimal Verma on Tuesday withdrew his petition challenging the appointment of Vice Admiral Karambir Singh as the next chief of naval staff after a military tribunal told him to first explore “internal remedies”, official sources said.

Verma, commander-in-chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command, approached the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) on Monday, asking why he was overlooked as the next Navy chief despite being the senior-most in the line of command.

Sources said Verma withdrew his petition after being told by the AFT that he should first explore “internal remedies” to his grievances. It said he could again approach the tribunal if he was not satisfied with the remedies.

In his petition to the AFT here on Monday, Verma sought to know why the government ignored his seniority and appointed Vice Admiral Karambir Singh as the next Navy chief.

His petition is likely to be taken up on Tuesday.

The government last month named Singh as the next chief of naval staff, succeeding Admiral Sunil Lanba who retires on May 30.

The government made the selection following a merit-based approach and did not go with the tradition of appointing the senior-most eligible officer to the post.

Verma is senior to Singh and was among the contenders for the top post.

While appointing the Army chief in 2016, the government did not follow the long-held tradition of going by seniority. Bipin Rawat was appointed Army chief superseding then Eastern Command Chief Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi and Southern Command Chief PM Hariz.

Besides Verma, the other contenders for the Navy Chief post included Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar, FOC-in-C of Western Naval Command Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar and FOC-in-C of Southern Naval Command Vice Admiral Anil Kumar Chawla.

Singh, who is at present serving as the Flag Officer Commanding in Chief (FOC-in-C) of the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam, will be the first helicopter pilot to become chief of naval staff. PTI

Manoj Joshi
Distinguished fellow, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi 

A Latin phrase comes to mind, given the sudden mushrooming of chowkidars across the land: ‘Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?’ Its closest English translation is, ‘Who will guard the guards?’ To put it in our context: Who will keep watch on our self-declared political chowkidars?

The phrase, attributed to Roman poet Juvenal, has come to be used in the context of policing a tyrannical government or demanding accountability of those in power.

PM Modi, who is very good in capturing narratives, has given his chowkidari a neat twist: Instead of accountability for the acts and omissions of his own government, he says his chowkidari is directed at the malfeasance of governments  past.

Accounting for the performance of the old watchmen is important, but surely, it is more important to know how the current lot is performing. There are charges that they allowed high-profile corporate crooks like Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi to escape. Indeed, our political chowkidars pushed out the real ones, RBI Governors Raghuram Rajan and Urijit Patel, who had presented a list of high-profile fraud cases and non-performing assets to the supreme chowkidar, Narendra Modi’s office.

Then, there is the Rafale deal. Even now it is not clear as to the circumstances in which the old deal for 126 aircraft was scrapped and one for the off-the-shelf purchase of 36 came about. Junior chowkidars like the CAG have not covered themselves with glory by accepting the dubious accounting through which the deal is being made to look cheaper.   

All democratic polities have watchmen—the police, Parliament, civil society groups, RBI, CAG, Central Information Commission (CIC), National Women’s Commission (NWC), National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the media, and so on.

In the watch of our self-appointed political chowkidars, police malfeasance has reached new heights. The CBI Director and Special Director slugged it out for months before the chowkidars woke up. The charges that have been flung against the top-most officers of the CBI and the CVC will put ordinary criminals to shame.

We have seen how the RBI has been undermined, the CIC, too, has been rendered toothless; CAG has bent with the wind; and the National Statistical Commission (NSC) defenestrated. Key appointments have not been made to the NWC and NHRC.

But thievery is not just about money and valuables, it is also about depriving the people of good governance, justice and national security. Here, our self-declared political chowkidars have been found wanting. Their wanton decision to demonetise the currency brought untold hardship to the entire nation, especially the poor.

Political chowkidars have always been quick to claim credit and wrap the tricolour around themselves on national security matters. But a closer accounting shows their conduct has been less than satisfactory. On their watch, J&K has seen a sharp rise in violence leading to an increase in the deaths of security personnel. Worse, indiscriminate and disproportionate violence has led to the rise of local recruitment. Alarmingly, the Pulwama bomber was a local.

Pakistani raids across the border in J&K and Punjab continued unabated despite the so-called surgical strikes of 2016. But we cannot forget the grossly incompetent handling of the Pathankot attack earlier. Despite prior information, the response was so messed up because the chowkidars in New Delhi insisted on handling them by remote control. It took four days to put down the attack by some four attackers with the loss of seven security personnel. And despite the strikes, attacks from across the border continued—Nagrota 2016, Pulwama 2017, Sunjuwan 2018, and then earlier this year again in Pulwama.

The recent events relating to Balakot and the aerial clash, too, does not quite jell with the excessive self-praise that the chowkidars have heaped on themselves. While the Air Force strike was well conceived and executed, the aerial encounter was hardly an Indian victory as is being made out. We lost one MiG-21 and an officer prisoner to the Pakistanis, and another Mi-17 helicopter and six personnel aboard to what was probably friendly fire.

Now in the fog of war this happens, but not the fact that the Indian fighters lacked the equipment or weapons to deal effectively with the Pakistani challenge. Who can we blame for this, if not the chowkidars who said they would be guarding the national turf better than the team before them?

Perhaps the most pernicious action of these watchmen has been the manner in which they have systematically undermined the status of the real chowkidars—Parliament, police, civil society, autonomous institutions like CAG, NHRC and CIC.

Civil society groups have been systematically targeted and neutered because of their critique of government policies in the name of curbing foreign funding influencing policy, yet the chowkidars had no hesitation in allowing anonymous foreign funding for political parties to come in.

The respected chairman of the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Defence, Maj Gen BC Khanduri (retd) was replaced in 2018 because of the devastating report on the sorry state of our defence system. Murli Manohar Joshi has been denied a ticket for the Lok Sabha elections because the Estimates Committee chaired by him had questioned the government’s performance on job creation.

So, what have political chowkidars achieved in the past five years? Seeking accountability from the earlier chowkidars is needed, but it is not as important as getting an accounting of the performance of our current ones.