New Delhi, January 5

Plans are on the anvil to bring in a shift in the counter-insurgency strategy in Kashmir in which “false” propaganda inspiring youth to take up arms will be targeted rather than individuals alone, says new Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat.

He is also concerned at the rising number of Kashmiri youth joining militancy.

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Gen Rawat, who has experience in handling the Kashmir militancy, said that unlike naxalism in which locals are joining due to feeling of deprivation, it is not the case in Kashmir, which has been under the siege from Pakistan-backed insurgency since late 1980s.

He said that the “false propaganda” and developments in the Middle East has affected some of the local youth and that is why one finds “more and more educated youth” getting driven towards militancy.

“When the local youth join insurgency and pick up gun it is a matter of concern because our own countrymen getting involved in insurgency is not a happy situation,” Gen Rawat said.

Since the killing of Hizb-ul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8 last year, 59 local youth have joined militant groups as per official figures though security experts say the figure is much higher.

Gen Rawat questioned if the local youth in Kashmir are getting into insurgency because of feeling of deprivation, which he said was happening in other areas.

“Is it similar to what is happening with naxalism? It is not. It has something to do with the false propaganda that is being propagated. I think we need to reach out to people.

Rather than seeing them as targets, we need to sympathise with them and undo the kind of false propaganda that is being spread among the youth,” he said. —PTI

Takht Sri Harmandir Sahib in Patna. File photo

Jitendra K Shrivastava

Tribune News Service

Patna, September 16

link to open below on Red Fonts

350 Prakash Praw of Takht shri harmandir sahib ji gurudwara lighting patna.mp4

Bihar will observe a three-day state holiday on the occasion of the 350th birth anniversary of the tenth Sikh guru — Guru Gobind Singh — early next year in Patna.The state would observe three days government holiday on January, 3, 4 and 5 next year during weeklong celebrations.Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced three days state holiday during Prakashotsava on Thursday, while he also launched a website www.350thprakashparv.bih.nic.in to facilitate tourists visiting Patna on the occasion.The weeklong birth anniversary celebration would begin on December 30 this year. At least ten lakh devotees from different corners of the world are expected to arrive in Patna.Three tents would be erected covering an area of 60.91 acres in Gandhi Maidan. Two other tents would also be erected at Gurdawara Kangan Ghat and near Bypass to accommodate the devotees.The state tourism department would be the nodal agency of the grand celebration.

Throughout his life, Guru Gobind Singh Ji embodied values that help define India and her aspirations today:

National Cohesion: In 1699, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, formed the Khalsa, by choosing the five Pyaras (beloved ones) from different castes, different locations and different vocations. This act reinforces the Guru’s much needed vision of creating a spirit of unity amongst all peoples beyond perceived boundaries of caste, vocation and ethnicity, and is an important value for India in the present day and beyond.

Click here to see a map showing the different vocations and locations of birth of the Panj Pyare

Freedom of Religion: Before becoming the tenth Guru, a young Gobind Rai, prompted his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, to make the supreme sacrifice in order to defend the rights of Hindu Pandits to practice their religion. During the Moghul reign of Aurungzeb, Hindu’s were being forcibly converted to Islam, and Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed after defending the Hindu’s rights to practice their own religion. Unparalleled in the history humankind, this willing martyrdom in the defence of another religious community earned Guru Tegh Bahadur the title of “Hind ki Chadur” i.e. The Shield of India. It has often been noted that this act, together with Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s formation of the Khalsa as “Saint-Soldiers” to defend righteousness, was a major factor in preventing mass forced conversions to Islam across northern India. India has a proud history of not just religious tolerance, but of religious respect, and the importance of Freedom of Religion is enshrined in the Indian Constitution.

Sarbat da Bhalla (the good and welfare of all): Guru Gobind Singh Ji championed universal solidarity by proclaiming “manas ki jaat sabae ek hee paechanbo” (recognise the whole human race as one family) and Guru Ji’s further hukam: “sach kaho sun leho sabhae jin prem kiyo tin hee prabh paiyo” (all those who wish to meet up with God must exercise love for God’s entire creation) is a guiding light for us all to be inspired and motivated in pursuing global “Sarbat da bhalla”.

FastFacts

• Father    Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji
• Mother    Gujri Ji
• DATE OF BIRTH     12/22/1666
• PLACE OF BIRTH      Patna Sahib
• WIFE        Mata Sundari Ji
• CHILDREN      Ajit Singh, Jujhar Singh, Jorawar Singh & Fateh Singh
• AGE, YEAR & TIME AT GUR GADHI    11/11/1675, 33 Year

• REGIMES

  Aurangjeb, Bahadur Shah

• CONTRIBUTION OF BANIES

  Jap Sahib, Akal Ustat, Chopai, War Shri Bhagoti, Vachitar Natak, Chobis Avtar Chandi, Charitar, Shastar Nam Mala (Dasam Granth)

• AGE     42
• JYOTI-JOT DAY      10/07/1708
• JYOTI JOT PLACE     Nanded

It may not be out of the way to say here that throughout the annals of human history, there was no other individual who could be of more inspiring personality than Guru Gobind Singh. At its climax the tenth Nanak infused the spirit of both the saintlihood and the undauntedness in the minds and hearts of his followers to fight oppression in order to restore justice, righteousness (Dharma) and to uplift the down-trodden people in this world. It is said that after the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the tenth Master declared that he would create such a Panth (nation) which would not be cowed down by tyrant rulers but it would rather challenge the oppressor in every walk of life to restore justice, equality and peace for mankind. He further resolved that he would feel worthy to be called Gobind Singh only when any single member of his Khalsa Panth would successfully and undauntedly challenge the army of one hundred and twenty-five thousand opponents in the field. This point was rightfully proven at Chamkaur Sahib when Sahibzada Ajit Singh (Guru’s about 18 years old eldest son) challenged the Mughal forces and their allies, the hilly Rajas.

“The Divine Guru hath sent me for religion’s sake On this account, I have come into the world; Extendthe faith everywhere Seize and destroy the evil and sinful. Understand this, ye holymen, in your mindsI assumed birth for the purpose of spreading the faith, saving the saints and extirpating all tyrants.”(Guru Gobind Singh- Chaupai, Bachitar Natak)

The moment child Gobind Rai was born in Patna,
Pir Bhikan Shah of Thaska offered his prayers
facing East instead of towards West, contrary to
his daily practice. He left for Patna immediately.
On arrival at the Guru residence, Pir placed two
bowl of milk and water before the divine child.
The child Guru Gobind put his hands on both the
bowls, thus signifying: The entire humanity is
from the same divine fountain: How can some be
good and others evil?’

Guru Tegh Bahadur’s martyrdom symbolized in itself the resistance to the tyranny of Muslim rule in favor of a new society. When evil is holding its head high, should a holy man knuckle under it or take up arms to combat and destroy it? The young Guru, Gobind Rai, decided in favor of the latter course i.e. to combat evil and uphold righteousness. He thus enjoined upon his followers to make use of the sword if all other means failed to liquidate the wicked and his wickedness. In order to achieve this mission, he issued ‘Hukamnamas’ (circular letters of authority) to his followers to present to him arms of different designs. The Guru’s orders were obeyed with great zeal and devotion. He himself wore uniform and bore arms and induced others to practise archery and musket- shooting. He encouraged various muscle-developing and strenuous sports as part of the program of physical culture. Many followers with martial instincts whose forefathers had served the Guru’s father and his grandfather, flocked to him. His principal companions at that time were his aunt Bibi Viro’s (Guru Har Gobind’s daughter) five sons, Sango Shah, Jit Mal, Gopal Chand, Ganga Ram, Mohri Chand; his uncle Suraj Mal’s two sons- Gulab Rai and Sham Das; his maternal uncle Kirpal Chand; Bhai Daya Ram, the friend from his youth; and Bhai Nand Chand, a favorite masand.

The Guru instructed his followers to lead a well-meaning and disciplined life. He according to the customs of his redecessors, used to rise early in the morning and perform his devotions. He was particularly delighted to listen to Asa di Var. After day-break, he gave divine instructions to his Sikhs and then practised martial exercises. In the afternoon, he received his followers, went shooting or raced horses; and ended the evening by performing the divine service of ‘Rehras’.

The Guru’s handsome exte rior was much admired both by men and women. A person called Bhikhia from Lahore came to visit him. Seeing the handsome young Guru, Bhai Bhikhia offered the alliance of his daughter Jito to him. The proposal was accepted and there were great rejoicing at Anandpur on the occasion of the betrothal ceremony. The twenty-third of Har, Sambat 1734 (1677 A.D.) was fixed for the marriage. The Guru sent orders in all directions for this occasion and the Sikhs thronged from various places including Lahore. A place was set up near Anandpur, which was called Guru ki Lahore where the marriage ceremony took place.

VISIT OF DUNI CHAND AND RAJA RATTAN RAI:

Surging crowds of people with their hearts filled with love and devotion to the Master, thronged to see him.Some came from Kabul, Qandhar, Gazni, Balkh and Bukhara. They brought several priceless gifts- rugs, carpets, shawls and other valuables when they came to pay homage to their Lord. Duni Chand, one of the devotees, visited Anandpur in 1681 and presented to the Guru a woolen tent, ‘Shamiana’ or a royal canopy which surpassed in excellence. It was embroidered in gold and silver studded with pearls. It is said that its splendor surpassed that of the Emperor’s canopy.

Through the grace of Guru Tegh Bahadur, Raja Ram of Assam was blessed with a son, Rattan Rai. Raja wanted to take his son to the Guru but he died soon and could not visit Anandpur. His last injunction to his Rani (wife) was that the prince should be brought up as a devout Sikh. The Rani faithfully carried out the behests of her husband and imparted the knowledge of the lives and teachings of the Gurus to the growing prince. When Rattan Rai, the prince, attained the age of twelve, he felt an inclination to see the Guru. Accordingly he with his mother and several of his ministers proceeded to Anandpur. He brought with him an offering of five horses with golden trappings, a very small elephant, and a weapon out of which five sorts of arms could be made, a pistol, a sword, a lance, a dagger, and a club.

The Raja was accorded a great reception. He offered his presents and prayed to the Guru to grant him the Sikh faith. He was granted all his desires. The Raja exhibited the traits of his presents. He caused the elephant to wipe Guru’s shoes and placed them in order for him. At the word of command the animal took a chauri and waved it over the Guru. The Raja requested the Guru never to let the elephant out of his possession.

The prince and his party remained at Anandpur for five months and during this time, he enjoyed kirtan and Felt uplifted by the Guru’s sermons. At the time of departure, the Guru accompanied them to some distanceand then bade them good-bye. They were sent off with presents. Besides these tangible gifts, the Guru gave Rattan Rai a RATTAN – a jewel of Nam, which was the ultimate gift of life:

“Nam is the priceless Jewel that the perfect Guru hath;
If one dedicates oneself in love to the True Guru,
He lights in one’s heart the Light of Wisdom, and Nam is then revealed.
Blessed is the fortunate one who goeth to meet the Guru.”
(Sri Rag Mohalla 4, p-40)

RANJIT NAGARA:

The wooden sandals of Guru Gobind Singh Ji at
his birth place Patna Sahib

The Guru’s army was swelling day by day and he was now set for the construction of a big beating drum which was deemed necessary to enthuse his army and without which he considered his equipment was incomplete. The work of the drum was entrusted to his Dewan, Nand Chand. In those days, only an independent chieftain was to use such a drum within the limits of his territory. The beating of the drum within the bounds of another chief’s domain was an hostile act and meant an open invitation of war. The completion of the big drum which was called Ranjit Nagara, or victorious drum on the battle- field, was celebrated with prayers and the distribution of Parshad (sacred food). When it was beaten, the men and women of the city came to behold it and there were great rejoicing.

The Guru and his men went for hunting the same day and when they reached near Bilaspur, the capital of Kahlur, the drum was beaten and it sounded like a thunder to the hillmen who became apprehensive of some danger. Raja Bhim Chand of Kahlur consulted his prime minister who advised him that it was the Guru’s drum who was worthy of worship, secondly, he maintained a large army and was greatly feared; and thirdly the Guru was brave, and such men were sometimes useful as allies. On hearing this Raja Bhim Chand desired to meet the Guru and despatched his prime minister to arrange for an interview which was granted. The Raja accordingly went with his courtiers to Anandpur.

Know More About Gobind Singh ji::CLICK TO OPEN THE LINK          

 

 

• VISIT OF DUNI CHAND & RAJA RATTAN RAI
• RANJIT NAGARA
• RAJA BHIM CHAND AND THE GURU
• GURU LEAVES FOR PAUNTA SAHIB
• RAM RAI’S RECLAMATION
• PIR BUDHU SHAH
• THE BATTLE OF BHANGANI
• RETURN TO ANANDPUR
• EXPEDITION OF ALIF KHAN

• DILAWAR KHAN’S ATTEMPT TO WEAKEN
• HUSSAIN KHAN’S EXPEDITION
• CREATION OF THE KHALSA
• THE MASTER BECOMES THE DISCIPLE
• BHAI NAND LAL
• BHAI JOGA SINGH
• POST-KHALSA PERIOD ACTIVITIES
• FIRST BATTLE OF ANANDPUR
• SECOND BATTLE OF ANANDPUR

• BATTLE OF NIRMOH
• THIRD BATTLE OF ANANDPUR
• FOURTH BATTLE OF ANANDPUR
• FIFTH BATTLE OF ANANDPUR
• BATTLE OF CHAMKAUR
• INNOCENT CHILDREN MARTYRED
• GURU AT DAMDAMMA SAHIB
• GURU SEES AURANGZEB
• GURU AT NADER

Mobile Application for 350th Prakash Utsav of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji

An exclusive mobile application is being designed by the Department of Tourism to facilitate a smooth, one-stop travel and information solution for all devotees wanting to be a part of the 350th Prakash Utsav celebrations scheduled in Patna. The application shall provide a platform plan for travel and accomodation requirements, offline maps, emergency contact linkages and vital safety features etc. to provide devotees with an unparalleled experience on this landmark occasion.
Current Status: The app is available for download on the Google play store (Click here).

Development of Tented City in Patna 

As part of its endeavours, to provide a welcome experience to visitors to the State, the Department of Tourism has decided to undertake the design, construction, operation and maintenance of tented cities in Patna through a competitive bid process. The tented city shall provide accomodation and hospitality services to almost 55000 devotees spread over three locations in Patna:

• Gandhi Maidan (60.91 acre) to house 30,000 people
• Gurudwara Kangan Ghat (approx. 10 acres) to house 5,000 people
• Bypass Parking Sthal (approx. 60 acres) to house 20,000 people

Current Status:  RFP issued for invitation to suitable biddersPreparations at Takht Sri Harmadir Sahib Ji

Considering the 350th birth anniversary (Prakash Utsav) of Guru Gobind Singh Maharaj,Takhat Sri Patna Sahib is undergoing a considerable renovation work at a lightning-fast pace. The gurudwara campus is being given a new glorious look and hundreds of sarai rooms are being constructed for the visitors who are expected to arrive in the mega event which is scheduled in January 2017.  In the recent budget finance minister Mr. Arun Jaitley has made a special provision to allocate a massive package of Rs. 100 Crore for the beautification of Patna Sahib. State government is pushing several development projects which are expected to complete before December 2016. Most of the old electricity wires and power transformers have been replaced with the new ones and remaining are being changed speedily. The construction of the over-bridge, which connects Guru Gobind Path with the National Highway is almost done. The drainage system is being refurbished all around the city to maintain cleanliness. All major roads connecting Takhat harimandir Patna Sahib are being widened for a smooth traffic flow during the Prakash Utsav. Takhat Prabhandak committee had sent a proposal of Rs. 1200 Crore for embellishment and maintenance work. Bhai Mohindar Singh of United Kingdom is bearing the cost of Guru Darbar renovation. Professional artists from all around the country are hired to embellish gold inlay work in the gurudwara campus which is expected to complete by the end of 2016. Several plots have already been acquired to accommodate the pilgrims and park the vehicles. The land of Chowk Police Station is proposed to be acquired for expansion of the road up to 80 feet which connects Takhat Harimandir to Kangan ghat gurudwara. The administration may use play-grounds located at Magal Talab as a temporary arrangements of parking.

People pay tributes to Captain Navpal Sidhu at 40RB village near Padampur. Tribune Photo

Our Correspondent

Abohar, January 3

Army Havildar Anil Patil travelled all the way from Jammu and Kashmir to offer a wreath on behalf of Commanding Officer Colonel Bhaskar Kataria of the 19 Maratha Light Infantry at the memorial of Captain Navpal Sidhu at 40RB village near Padampur.A function had been organised on Captain Sidhu’s 14th death anniversary today. Anil said he had served with the martyred officer for two years and was keen to salute Navpal at the memorial.Anil was joined by hundreds of people who braved dense fog and chill to pay their tributes to Captain Sidhu at his memorial in the Sriganganagar region. Sehaj Path bhog was also performed in the village gurdwara.Navpal of 19 Maratha Light Infantry was killed in 2002 after he gunned down three PoK-trained terrorists in the Surankote area of Poonch region in Jammu and Kashmir.He was awarded the Shaurya Chakra posthumously. Navpal’s father Lieutenant Colonel Agyapal Singh Sidhu had led the offensive against Pakistan in 1965 and 1971.Shaheed Navpal Trust secretary Ghanshyam Harwani and other social activists urged the Rajasthan Government to complete the Navpal Stadium, the foundation of which was laid in 2003.Rajasthan Minister for Mining Surinderpal Singh TT and former Union Minister Nihal Chand offered floral tributes to the martyr and assured that they would request the Chief Minister to sanction funds for the stadium.Earlier, the trust organised a free medical camp in collaboration of Shaheed Bhai Sukha Singh Mehtab Singh Memorial Hospital.

IAF employee attempts suicide

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, January 3

A 25-year-old Indian Air Force employee today tried to kill himself by consuming poison at a park in Sector 5 here.The police took the victim, Vikas Kumar, to the Civil Hospital, Sector 6, here, where he is recovering after treatment. The police have recovered a suicide note from him.Investigating Officer Ishwar Singh of Sector 5 police station said Vikas was having an affair with a girl, who, along with two others, had started blackmailing him. According to the police, the three were demanding Rs 5 lakh and a flat from Vikas. Fed up with the blackmailing, the IAF employee attempted suicide.According to sources, the youth is posted at the Zirakpur Air Force Station. The police have registered a case against the three accused and have started investigations.A case of attempt to suicide has also been registered against Vikas.

At present, the chances of an armoured corps officer commanding a Rashtriya Rifles or an Assam Rifles unit are rare.

With counter terrorist experience helping Lt Gen Bipin Rawat become the next Army chief, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikaris now planning to give more postings to armoured and artillery corps officers in anti-insurgency operations to avoid the situation faced by superseded officer Lt Gen Pravin Bakshi.

Despite being the senior most and competent, the government chose to appoint Lt Gen Rawat over Lt Gen Bakshi due to the former’s experience in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast.

Senior government sources told Mail Today that Lt Gen Bakshi had discussed the issue of armoured corps officers being in a disadvantageous position in light of the recent approach of the government to give weightage to counter insurgency experience in appointing Army chiefs.

MINISTRY TO OPEN NEW AVENUES

“We would find out ways to give more exposure to armoured and artillery corps officers in counter insurgency operations so that they don’t miss out on important appointments due to lack of stints in anti-terrorist missions and operations,” senior Defence Ministry sources told Mail Today.

Also read: Government may assign post at par with Army chief to superseded Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi

Also read: Why Indian Army Special Forces are way behind US Navy SEALs or Israel’s IDF despite upgrade  

At present, officers from infantry get to command their units in Jammu and Kashmir and Northeast but officers of the armoured corps generally get that opportunity in the deserts of Rajasthan or plains of Punjab, as they have to command tanks and mechanized combat vehicles as they can operate in that terrain only.

Tanks and infantry combat vehicles cannot be deployed in hills and mountainous terrain of Jammu and Kashmir except for the China border in eastern Ladakh, which has vast plains where the tanks can have a free run. Moreover, tank regiments are supposed to penetrate and soften any Pakistani resistance in case of a conventional war and Punjab and Rajasthan are perfect terrain to do so in case of hostilities.

Officers from armoured and artillery corps get to do their mandatory stint in counter insurgency force Rashtriya Rifles in Kashmir valley but that is done when they are relatively very young in their military lives.

OFFICERS NO LESS THAN INFANTRY MATES

“We don’t want that the officers from these arms to feel that they are any less from their infantry mates and that is why we will find out ways how they can be given command of battalions, brigades and divisions in the regions where we have antiterrorist operations,” the sources said.

Also read: Why Lt General Bipin Rawat, man who led surgical strikes in Myanmar, is best suited to be Army chief

Sources in Indian Army Headquarters said such a thing can be done by the army by fixing vacancies for armoured corps and artillery officers in Rashtriya Rifles units so that they can also get counter insurgency operations if they want to.

At present, the chances of an armoured corps officer commanding a Rashtriya Rifles or an Assam Rifles unit are rare. The government is of the view that more than conventional wars, the biggest security challenge before India is from non-state actors and small groups of terrorists. Along with Bakshi, Southern Army Commander Lt Gen PM Hariz was also senior to Rawat and was overlooked. Hariz is from the Mechanised Infantry, which handles infantry combat vehicles.

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 26

The Ministry of Defence has accepted the recommendation of an expert committee to review some of the rules concerning pregnancy of women officers during the course of their service.The five-member committee, constituted to review service conditions and suggest ways to reduce litigation, had recommended a review of certain formats issued by the Coast Guard Headquarters relating to termination of services of women officers in case of pregnancy.  Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has said this recommendation “may be agreed to in principle.”The committee had observed in its report that the Coast Guard, after selection of women officers, takes an undertaking from them that they shall not get pregnant within three years of completion of training. Some other “incongruous restrictions” such as that they shall not get pregnant more than twice during their service careers, and if they do so, their services would be terminated have also been placed upon them.Pointing out that such terms of service were absolutely at odds with reality, the committee had questioned the legal validity of such rules.The committee had also observed that no such undertaking was taken from women in other services or even from women in other uniformed services. “Any such stipulation shows the entire organisation in a regressive light and should not be allowed to remain valid,” the committee had remarked.The MoD has also agreed to in principle another of the committee’s recommendations that decisions to challenge verdicts rendered by the courts in favour of women officers must be taken after consultations with all stakeholders.The committee had said any decision to file appeals should be taken at the highest level of the Defence Minister after discussions involving representatives of the defence services and by inducting on any such study panel at least one serving woman officer and one released woman veteran.

Saka Sirhind… Story of Undying Faith & Spirit

Chhotte Sahibzade (Punjabi: ਛੋਟੇ ਸਾਹਿਬਜ਼ਾਦੇ) of Guru Gobind Singh attained martyrdom on 26 December 1705 at a very young age. This is known as Saka Sirhind. Every year on 26 December, Shaheedi Jor Mela is organised at Fatehgarh Sahib, to commemorate the supreme sacrifice at the place of their martyrdom.

History

The Mughal forces, Hilly Rajas’ forces had laid seize to Anandgarh Fort, Anandpur Sahib for about 8 months, in 1704. The Mughals and Hilly Rajas wanted Guru Gobind Singh to leave the fort they swore on Gita and Quran to give a safe passage to Guru. The Guru decided to leave the fort. Guru Sahib, four Sahibzadas, Mata Gujri, Guru’s Mahil (wives), five Panj Piaras and a few hundred Sikhs left Anandpur Sahib on the chilly night of 20 December 1704 towards Ropar. In the intervening night of 20–21 December, the rnemy breached the vows and attacked Guru’s entourage at a site on Sarsa rivulet some 25 km from Anandpur Sahib. Guru’s family separated. This spot is now known as Parwar Vichhora. Mata Gujri with two younger grandsons, accompanied Guru family cook, Gangoo, a Brahamin, to his village, Saheri near Morinda. Guru’s Mahil left with Bhai Mani Singh, towards Delhi. Guru Gobind Singh with two elder Sahibzadas, 5 Panj Piaras and 40 Sikhs proceeded towards Chamkaur and reached there, in the afternoon of 21 December. Both are in Ropar Distt.(Pb.). The famous Chamkaur battle, took place on 22 and 23 December 1704, where two elder Sahibzadas, 3 Panj Piaras and 40 Sikhs laid down their lives. Mata Gujri and two younger Sahibzadas were arrested by Morinda Police at Saheri village. From there, they were handed over to Suba Sirhind. They were imprisoned, in the Thanda Burj (Cold Tower). A farcical Trial began, in the Kacheri, (Court) of Suba Sirhind. It lasted for three days. On 27 December 1704, a heinous and cold-blooded crime was committed in the Sarzameen of Sirhind. Guru Gobind Singh’s two younger sons, Baba Fateh Singh and Baba Zorawar Singh aged 7 and 9 years were bricked alive and later killed in the presence of the Assembly of Shaitans, presided over by Suba Sirhind, Wazir Khan. Two younger Sahibzadas and Mata Gujri were cremated by a devout Sikh, Diwan Todar Mal, at a spot, know known as Joyti Saroop Gurudwara.

Samat Bikrmi dates and year: Leaving of Anandpur Sahib,5 Poh 1761, Battle of Chamkaur 6, 7 and 8 Poh 1761, Saka Sirhind 11,12 and 13 Poh 1761.

 

Most Pakistanis feel uneasy coming to terms with the reality that is Bangladesh. They hide themselves behind a shoddy narrative of 1971, and neatly categorise the whole thing as a “conspiracy.”But who conspired against whom and when? What were the Bengalis up to? And how did they reach breaking point? A Pakistani reality check about the birth of Bangladesh on December 16, 1971.

Joy of freedom: Bangladeshi citizens take part in a parade to mark the country”s 45th Victory Day in Dhaka on December 16, 2016.

THE areas that constituted Pakistan in 1947 were ruled by the British under different arrangements. Bengal, Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (then ‘NWFP’) were provinces with elected assemblies. Balochistan was governed by an appointed Commissioner; tribal areas by Political Agents; and a number of so-called princely states by Rajas under the paramountcy of the British Crown. 

***

The people who were handed over the reigns of the new country on August 14 were tasked with working out a system which allowed all the above-mentioned entities to coexist peacefully and prosper together. But when they sat down to figure out this formula for an equal distribution of power, every option they considered led to the same concern: the Bengalis were more in number than all the rest put together, and under a democracy, nothing could bar them from getting a majority share in the new state. Now that did not sit well at all with the infant country’s larger, grander designs of spearheading a new Islamic renaissance and hoisting its flag on every other building in South Asia. The dark-skinned Bengalis, who shared their language and culture with their Hindu compatriots did not cut a figure to fit the coveted slot. This glorious feat could only be performed by the blue-blooded Muslim elite that had migrated from India, with a few others playing second fiddle and the rest serving as foot soldiers. So, that was the first crossroad that our nation found itself at; that if the simple democratic path was to be taken, we would miss the golden opportunity to revive all of our lost glories (by losing the government to a Bengali majority). And if we stuck to this cherished goal, we would need to get around democracy and find some undemocratic solution to ‘the Bengal problem’. At the end, it didn’t turn out to be very difficult. Bengalis held faith in democracy and lost in Pakistan.

***

East Pakistan was deadly against separate electorate while the central and Punjab Muslim Leagues were its biggest supporters. Almost a quarter of East Pakistan was Hindu and/or Scheduled Caste while non-Muslims in western provinces made less than five per cent of population. In present- day Punjab, non-Muslims (mainly, Christians) are barely two-and-a-half per cent of the population. So the province that had a miniscule population of non-Muslims advocated separate electorate while the one with a sizeable and significant one wanted Muslims and Hindus to vote jointly!There was an ideological dimension to the issue as well. Those who wanted to make Pakistan an Islamic state considered it important to not let the votes of non-Muslims mix up with those of the chosen faithful so that the sacred state’s mandate is not “polluted”. For others, the non-Muslims started symbolising all of their identity markers other than Islam — like language and culture — which they shared with them and did not want to abandon while building the new state. But I think more important than the ideological exegeses were the hard political facts, the hardest being that there were more Bengalis than all the rest put together. This was worsened by the fact that “the rest” were divided into too many smaller units. So under a democracy, Bengalis would always win. And Bengalis ruling Pakistan was somehow against the blueprint of Islamic republic as laid down by its self-appointed architects. It had to be ruled by the rent-seeking jagirdars of Punjab and khandani bureaucrats hailing from northern India. They had no respect for the Bengali political leadership comprising mainly of middle class persons who were politically conscious, articulate and quite active.They fretted at the prospects of numerically dominant Bengali Muslims ruling over them. They fumed at the tenets of democracy and geared up to fix it. They engineered a two-pronged strategy: One, was to “unite” all except East Bengal into one state entity, called One-Unit scheme resulting in what was named the West Pakistan province. But even that was not enough to counter-weigh Bengalis who were a whopping 54 per cent of population. The second part of the strategy thus was to divide East Bengal into smaller units. And Muslim League had the experience of only one kind of division, that is, along religious lines. So if Bengali voters were separated on the basis of religion, the Bengali Muslim representatives will fall fewer than the elected members of West Pakistan. 

***

It was embarrassing for many in the government to be unable to agree upon one system of elections in a country that wanted to take pride in its Muslim unity. The Act was soon amended to provide for the same joint system for both the wings. However, no elections could be held under this law, as General Ayub took over and abrogated the nascent constitution. When the general was tailoring a constitutional dress for his brazen military rule, he too was advised to separate electors but he didn’t. Nor did General Yahya dare to do that while drafting his Legal Framework Order that provided the basis for the first general elections in the country held in 1970. 

***

The Constituent Assembly found itself in a perpetual logjam. Bengalis were not asking all else to bow before them. They simply demanded their democratic rights — their language, culture shall be respected; their resources shall belong to them; they should get from the federal pool a share proportionate to their population. The blue-blooded Muslim League thought that it could continue to gamble on the back of the wild card of religion. So if you demanded rights for your homeland, you were accused of narrow provincialism that was against the lofty pan-Islamist ideals, if you dared to ask for your share in resources, you were blamed for obstructing the renaissance of Islam and if you wanted respect for your language, you were definitely a traitor and an Indian stooge. 

***

Bengalis were not afraid of their fellow Hindu citizens and the ruling elite of Pakistan could not instill this fear into them either. Or maybe the Bengalis had started fearing their fellow Muslim overlords more and the state of Pakistan failed to divert their fear towards Hindus. Whatever the case, the Bengali refusal to reject Hindus as integral part of their polity actually made our elite dread Bengalis even more, or perhaps their fear of Hindu and Bengali dominating them got mixed with each other. Blocked effectively on the premise of democracy, they did what people who feed on fear do. They inflicted the worst possible fury on Bengalis to stir fear in their hearts and yet, the lean, placid Bengalis smiled, refusing to be afraid of their freedom. That’s how Bangladesh was born.The writer works with Punjab Lok Sujag, a research and advocacy group in Pakistan. By arrangement with the Dawn

Note ban can have rippled effect on GDP growth and job creation, says ex-PM.

New Delhi, December 9

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in remarks published on Friday that Indians should be ready to face “a tough period over the coming months” due to demonetisation.

Writing in The Hindu newspaper, the Congress leader also said the November 8 decision would cause grievous injury to the honest Indian while those with black money will escape with a mere rap on the knuckles.

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

The economist-turned-politician described as “impetuous” Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s move to ban the 500 and 1,000 rupee notes and warned that this would cause severe hardships to ordinary Indians.

It has “shattered the faith and confidence that hundreds of millions of Indians had reposed in the government of India to protect them and their money”, Manmohan Singh said.

The demonetisation has led to an unprecedented cash crunch across the country, with the Reserve Bank of India unable to supply adequate cash in exchange for the 86 per cent of all currency that was spiked.

This has led to long, daily queues at all banks and ATMs, both of which frequently go dry. The government has also put a cap on how much a person can withdraw from his own bank account.

Manmohan Singh, who was the Finance Minister when India unleashed economic reforms in 1991, said Modi’s stated intentions behind the note ban — fighting fake currency as well as corruption and black money — were honourable.

“However, the popular saying ‘the road to hell is paved with good intentions’ serves as a useful reminder and warning in this context.” Manmohan Singh underlined that all cash was not black money and all black money was not hoarded in cash.

“More than 90 per cent of India’s workforces still earn their wages in cash. These consist of hundreds of millions of agricultural workers, construction workers and so on.” He pointed out that more than 600 million Indians still lived in towns and villages with no bank and cash was the bedrock of their lives.

“To tarnish these as ‘black money’ and throw the lives of these hundreds of millions of poor people in disarray is a mammoth tragedy.” The demonetisation decision had breached the government’s fundamental duty to protect the rights and livelihood of its citizens.

Chiding the government for introducing the Rs 2,000 note, he went on: “This brazen policy measure (demonetisation) has neither tackled the stock of black money holistically nor has it stemmed the flow of it.” He said other countries which went for currency swap did so over a period of time “and not as a sudden overnight operation”.

“As someone who has experienced long lines for rationed food during war time, I never imagined that one day I would find my own countrymen and women waiting endlessly for rationed money. That all of this suffering is due to one hasty decision makes it even more disconcerting.” Manmohan Singh warned that the note ban can act as a negative shock to the economy.

“Consumer confidence is an important economic variable in a nation’s growth prospects. It is now evident that the sudden overnight ban on currency has dented the confidence of hundreds of millions of Indian consumers, which can have severe economic ramifications…This can have rippled effect on GDP growth and job creation.”

“It is my humble opinion that we as a nation should brace ourselves for a tough period over the coming months, needlessly so, ” he said. —IANS

SC asks Centre whether cooperative banks can accept banned currency

New Delhi, December 9The Supreme Court on Friday sought response of the Centre on the issues including whether the district cooperative banks can be allowed to accept deposits with certain conditions and can there be a minimum assured withdrawal from banks.A Bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur asked Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi to seek instruction and apprise it about the stand of the government on issues including the bar on district cooperative banks from accepting deposits in demonetised currency notes.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)The bench also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said that when the minimum weekly withdrawal limit has been fixed, then why people are not able to get that amount.“Can we say that this will be the minimum assured weekly withdrawal amount that a person can get from the bank,” the Bench asked and while fixing the batch of petitions for further hearing on December 14.The Bench, meanwhile, proposed to frame various legal questions to be deliberated upon in the future hearing.Rohatgi sought a direction that cases in various high courts on the demonetisation issue be stayed.The Bench said that it would take up this issue on next date of hearing.The top court had on December 2 asked the Centre to spell out the measures taken to ease suffering of and inconvenience to the people in rural areas.While hearing a batch of pleas challenging various aspects of demonetisation, the court had said that all parties should sit together and prepare a list of categories of cases which could be referred to high courts and those that could be heard by the apex court.The AG had said that the government was aware of the situation in cooperative banks which lack proper infrastructure and mechanism as compared to scheduled banks.The Centre had on November 24 filed an affidavit in the apex court on demonetisation and had said that the “bold move” would eradicate black money and slush funds operating since Independence which cast a “parallel economy” hitting the poor and the middle class.On November 29, the apex court had agreed to hear pleas of 14 cooperative banks of Kerala seeking its nod to transact business like banks and others seeking demonetisation of any currency note higher than Rs 100 denomination. — PTI

Government decides to print plastic currency notes

The Reserve Bank for long has been planning to launch plastic currency note after field trials. PTI file

New Delhi, December 9The central government told Parliament on Friday that it had decided to print plastic currency notes.”It has been decided to print banknotes based on plastic or polymer substrate. The process of procurement has been initiated,” Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal said in a written reply in Lok Sabha to a query whether the Reserve Bank of India intended to print plastic currency notes in place of paper ones.The Reserve Bank for long has been planning to launch plastic currency note after field trials. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) In February 2014, the central government had informed Parliament that one billion plastic notes of Rs 10 denomination would be introduced in a field trial in five cities selected for their geographical and climatic diversity. The selected cities were Kochi, Mysore, Jaipur, Shimla and Bhubaneswar.Plastic notes have an average life span of about five years and are difficult to imitate. Also, currency notes made of plastic are cleaner than those made of paper. Such notes were first introduced in Australia as a measure against counterfeit notes.Replying to another question, Meghwal said the RBI had said in December 2015 that they had received some banknotes of Rs 1000 without having security thread that were printed at Currency Note Press (CNP), Nashik, on paper supplied by Security Paper Mill (SPM), Hoshangabad.Security Printing and Minting Corporation (SPMCIL) and the units involved (SPM and CNP) has initiated an inquiry.”Major penalty chargesheet has been issued to the personnel concerned. Disciplinary proceedings have been initiated as per departmental rules,” the minister said.Meghwal said action has been taken to strengthen quality procedure and online inspection system in manufacturing process and special training has been given to the persons concerned to avoid such types of mistakes in future.”Additional inspections have been introduced to ensure defect-free production,” he said. — PTI

A digital red herring

‘Cashless’ drive a bid to distract from currency disaster

Demonetisation: CJI pained at lawyers outshouting each other

New Delhi, December 9“What kind of memory I would take with me,” was how a dejected Chief Justice of India TS Thakur, who is demitting office early next month, reacted when lawyers tried to out-shout each other during the hearing on demonetisation.A visibly pained CJI made his displeasure known by saying that never in his career as a judge for 23 years he has seen such unruly behaviour when junior lawyers are shouting and attempting to pin down senior advocates and making the atmosphere of the court like that of a “fish market”.Justice Thakur was anguished when some of the lawyers raised their voice to interrupt the submission of Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, who was arguing for the government, and senior advocates like Kapil Sibal and P Chidambaram.”This is not a way to argue. You people are making it a fish market. You people don’t want senior advocates like Sibal to speak. See Mr Chidambaram has not yet stood up. This is very unfortunate.””In 23 years of me as a judge, I have not seen such behaviour. This is the last week as a judge and I would be going with a heavy heart. What kind of decorum is maintained? This is CJI’s court and yet no decorum. You can’t be allowed this kind of behaviour,” the CJI, who will be demitting office on January 3, said. — PTI

Govt stalls debate to avoid Oppn fire, SC turns up heat

DEMONETISATION Rahul hits out at ‘nervous’ Modi, SC asks if any groundwork was done before announcing policy

NEW DELHI: The government’s move to recall high-value banknotes came under fire in Parliament and the Supreme Court on Friday, with judges questioning cash rationing by banks and opposition lawmakers accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “running away” from a debate.

*NOV 8 WAS THE DAY THE PM DECLARED DEMONETISATION OF HIGH-VALUE BANKNOTES

As a lingering cash crunch seemed to temper the initial euphoria over the high-stake policy move, the government has appeared less effusive about the November 8 decision. And with only three working days left, it wants to see off the winter session without any major embarrassment in Parliament.

So much so that ruling lawmakers were seen on Friday preventing a debate in the Lok Sabha, prompting opposition charges that the government didn’t want to be called out on the so-called demonetisation move which suddenly culled 86% of cash in the economy. The Opposition had initially sought a debate with a vote on demonetisation but later relented to one without voting. Only this time, the government has seemed reluctant to hold one at all.

“If they allow me to speak in Parliament, you shall see an earthquake will come,” Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi told journalists. “This is the biggest scam in India’s history. If I say this inside the House, Modiji will not be able to sit.”

The Parliament’s winter session has so far been lost to disruptions by opposition parties, but, in a role reversal on Friday, BJP chief whip Rakesh Singh was seen gesturing to ruling NDA MPs to get up and shout the opposition MPs down.

For the government, the day was no better at the Supreme Court, which wondered if the restriction on withdrawal of “legitimate and taxed money” violated fundamental rights. Cash withdrawals from banks are capped at `24,000 a week, but most banks are unable to pay even that.

A bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur asked the government to consider fixing a minimum assured withdrawal which banks cannot refuse and allow district cooperative banks to accept banned 500-and 1000-rupee notes after stringent verification of the customers.

The court told Mukul Rohatgi, the government’s top law officer, to report back the progress on this on December 14 when it will issue an interim order to reduce people’s hardship.

“Did you have any projections as to how much will you receive and how much notes were to be printed? What would be your gestation period?” the bench asked Rohatgi, wondering whether there was any application of “mind” or “planning” before the demonetisation announcement.

A constitution bench will be set-up to hear 25 petitions that have challenged the government’s demonetisation move, aimed at curbing black money and counterfeit currency. The court said it will frame 11 questions for the consideration of the constitution bench.

Back in Parliament, ruling party lawmakers refused to allow Gandhi to initiate a fresh debate while parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar demanded an apology from the opposition benches for disrupting the proceedings during the past days. At one point, BJP leader LK Advani was seen asking his party MPs not to disrupt the proceedings.

Later, a visibly upset Sumitra Mahajan, the Lok Sabha Speaker, adjourned the Lok Sabha till Wednesday morning.

“Jao sab chhutti par (Go on leave, everyone),” she said on the microphone. Her rebuke came a day after President Pranab Mukherjee castigated MPs for disruptions, asking them to run Parliament “for god’s sake.”

With only three working days left this session, the government is unwilling to allow opposition leaders an opportunity to attack it in Parliament for people’s hardship due to demonetisation, said sources. “The PM is giving speeches across the country but is afraid of coming to the Lok Sabha and is not willing to sit there,” Rahul Gandhi said, wondering about the reason for this “nervousness”.

Cash withdrawals from banks are capped at `24,000 a week, but most banks are unable to pay even that.

A bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur asked the government to consider fixing a minimum assured withdrawal which banks cannot refuse and allow district cooperative banks to accept banned 500-and 1000-rupee notes after stringent verification of the customers.

The court told Mukul Rohatgi, the government’s top law officer, to report back the progress on this on December 14 when it will issue an interim order to reduce people’s hardship.

“Did you have any projections as to how much will you receive and how much notes were to be printed? What would be your gestation period?” the bench asked Rohatgi, wondering whether there was any application of “mind” or “planning” before the demonetisation announcement.

A constitution bench will be set-up to hear 25 petitions that have challenged the government’s demonetisation move, aimed at curbing black money and counterfeit currency. The court said it will frame 11 questions for the consideration of the constitution bench.

Back in Parliament, ruling party lawmakers refused to allow Gandhi to initiate a fresh debate while parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar demanded an apology from the opposition benches for disrupting the proceedings during the past days. At one point, BJP leader LK Advani was seen asking his party MPs not to disrupt the proceedings.

Later, a visibly upset Sumitra Mahajan, the Lok Sabha Speaker, adjourned the Lok Sabha till Wednesday morning.

“Jao sab chhutti par (Go on leave, everyone),” she said on the microphone. Her rebuke came a day after President Pranab Mukherjee castigated MPs for disruptions, asking them to run Parliament “for god’s sake.”

With only three working days left this session, the government is unwilling to allow opposition leaders an opportunity to attack it in Parliament for people’s hardship due to demonetisation, said sources. “The PM is giving speeches across the country but is afraid of coming to the Lok Sabha and is not willing to sit there,” Rahul Gandhi said, wondering about the reason for this “nervousness”.

Cashless economy a long way to go since cash is still king

HURDLES Vast rural population, few debit cards, fewer ATMs and point of sale machines… the problems are too many

NEWDELHI: Apart from the war on black money, the government’s move to ban old ₹500 and ₹1,000 banknotes was also a push towards a cashless economy (the old notes constituted 86% of the total money in circulation). Ever since November 8, the Centre has announced a number of sops to push for a cashless economy — discount on buying petrol and diesel through cards, waiving off service charge on card transactions up to ₹2,000 and no transaction fees on public dealings with PSUs if they are done digitally, among others.

PTIEven after a month, the queues still remain longer

But is India ready for a cashless society? Or how feasible is it for people to actually go cashless?

Two-thirds of Indian population live in rural areas. The number of bank branches and ATMs are far and few and very few people actually have bank accounts. Besides, most shops in these areas do not have the infrastructure to accept digital payments or plastic money.

There are around 1.45 million point of sale (PoS) machines in use in India, which makes it around 856 PoS machines per million people.

In a population of around 1.3 billion, India has only 662 million debit card holders as of March 31, 2016, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Most people use their debit cards only to withdraw cash.

Around ₹27 lakh crore worth of transactions happened through debit cards in 2015-16. Out of these, 92% were cash withdrawals from ATMs.

And people still prefer to withdraw money through cheques and slips.In 2015-16, cash withdrawal using plastic cards in India was only 32% of the total cash withdrawals; the rest of the money was withdrawn using paper clearances like cheques.

Lack of required infrastructure is another roadblock to the country’s digital drive. India’s mobile teledensity — the number of telephone connections for every hundred individuals living in an area — is 81, whereas in rural is areas it is even less – 51, according to data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Though India is the fastest growing as well as the second-largest smartphone market in the world, there are just a little over 300 million smartphone users in India. The majority still use feature phones.

“India has probably has reached the tipping point. The infrastructure cannot be created overnight but you need to have that intent. There is a lot of ground to cover in terms of spreading financial and digital literacy,” said Rachna Nath, partner and head, digital consulting , KPMG India. “We need to use the complete ecosystem, such as community service centres, to create awareness.”

How note ban was kept secret

Prime Minister Narendra Modi handpicked revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia to spearhead a radical move to abolish 86% of the country’s cash overnight and take aim at the huge shadow economy.

Adhia, and five others privy to the plan were sworn to utmost secrecy, sources with knowledge of the matter said. They were supported by a team of researchers working in two rooms at Modi’s New Delhi residence.

The secrecy was aimed at outflanking those who might profit from prior knowledge, by pouring cash into gold, property and other assets and hide illicit wealth. “One is never ready for this kind of disruption — but it is a constructive disruption,” said Narendra Jadhav, former chief economist of RBI.

Over more than a year, Modi commissioned research from officials at the finance ministry, the central bank and think-tanks on how to advance his fight against black money, a close aide said. He demanded answers to questions such as: How quickly India could print new banknotes; how to distribute them, and whether state banks benefit if they received a rush of new deposits.

The topics were broken up to prevent anyone from joining the dots and concluding that a cash swap was in the offing.

“We didn’t want to let the cat out of the bag,” said a senior official directly involved. “Had people got a whiff, the exercise would have been meaningless.”

But though secrecy was paramount, clues had been left.

The RBI disclosed in May that it was making preparations for a new series of banknotes that were confirmed in August when it announced it had approved a design for a new ₹2,000 note.

The printing presses had only just started turning when the media finally started to run with the story in late October.

“The plan was to introduce it around November 18, but there was a clear sign that it could get leaked,” said one person with direct knowledge.

Gap between haves, have-nots has widened: Manmohan

Says education can overcome division of people on religious, caste lines

Former PM Dr Manmohan Singh at CRRID in Chandigarh on Friday. RP Bhamba (centre), Chairman, CRRID governing body, and SR Hashim, Chairman, IASSI, are also seen in the picture. tribune Photo: Manoj Mahajan

Amaninder Pal

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 9

Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, the architect of India’s economic reforms initiated 25 years ago, today said the progress the country witnessed during the past 25 years was not “equitably distributed”. Certain sections of society such as SCs/STs, OBCs and minorities and those living in the rural areas had lagged behind and their gain or share in the progress of the country was much less than that of the well-off sections of the country, said Dr Singh, who had opened up the country’s economy with his Budget speech in 1991.Though Dr Singh emphasised that the country had made considerable progress, particularly during the past 25 years, but he also underscored the point that “inequality has increased substantially in the country.”Delivering the inaugural address at the 17th annual conference of the Indian Association of Social Sciences Institutions (IASSI), organised by the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRIID), Chandigarh, here today, the former Primer Minister spoke on “Education and Development: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities.”“The size of our economy today is two trillion plus ($ 2.076) compared to the $ 0.327 trillion economy in 1990-91.  The literacy rate has increased from 52.21 per cent in 1991 to 74.04 per cent in 2011-12.The population living below the poverty line has declined from 45.3 to 21.9 per cent from 1993-94 to 2011-12, but the benefits of this progress are not fairly distributed”, said Dr Singh.“The disparity in the country has increased considerably. As per socio-economic surveys for rural India, there were 74.5 per cent households with a monthly income below Rs 5,000 in 2011,” he further added. Dwelling on the quality of education being offered by government schools, he said it was far from satisfactory due to various factors such as lack on infrastructure, inadequate teaching faculty and equipment, etc.“Now, there are schools for the haves and have-nots leading to social segregation of children belonging to various sections of society”, he said.Critically commenting on the private education system, Dr Singh said though private schools were better monitored, they charge a high fee and were beyond the reach of the poor, who could not bear the financial burden such schools entail. He said there was a dire need to address issues like inadequacy of classrooms, shortage of teaching material, equipment and above all shortage of teachers in the schools.

Social divisions

The current tendency to generate and promote social divisions among people on the basis of religions, castes and regional lines can be overcome by educating people to acquire those values which characterised the struggle for Independence and the idea of India. Education must promote what Jawaharlal Nehru described as “scientific temper” and humanistic values. The technically educated individuals can be transformed into culturally advanced citizens, who have the capacity to enjoy their own liberty and respect the liberty of others in a multi-cultural and multi-religious society of India, which is correctly described as ‘unity in diversity’.  The educated and conscious citizens become participants in the deepening and the widening of democracy, in observing the rule of law and saving the polity from deviations from democratic principles, keeping it on the path to follow the cherished ideals of our Constitution, the ‘Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic’.   

Education as business

The new educational institutions coming up in the private sector are mostly for “profit” and are not like the old non-profit charitable private educational institutions. Though at the same time, it must be admitted that some of the private education providers have maintained high quality but there number is not much. He also stressed on empowerment of women through education.

‘Month on, no relief in sight any sooner’

Sqeezing cash, stretching queues: A long queue of people outside a bank in Ludhiana on Friday. Photos: Inderjeet Verma

Gurvinder Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, December 9

 

There seems no end to the cash crunch. Most banks and ATMs remained out of cash today as demonetisation completed a month. Even if cash at a few banks was available, withdrawal amount hardly exceeded Rs 6,000.Those who managed to get cash had a mixed expression of some relief and confusion about how they would use the ‘big note’. Most of the banks and ATMs are dispensing only Rs 2,000 notes. Many traders are not accepting Rs 2,000 notes as they don’t have enough change.“Though people have started coming with Rs 2,000 notes, there is no change in the market. Owing to the cash crunch, sales are already down. I have about twenty-four Rs 100 notes. If I give 19 of these to someone purchasing products worth Rs 70, what am I going to give other customers?” asked Baljinder Singh, a shop owner of the Dugri area.Rakesh Singla, a resident coming out of the SBI branch at Fountain Chowk, said he requested the bank official if he could get notes in small denomination. But he told me that those had been distributed in the first hour of cash disbursal and now only Rs 2,000 notes were available.“This is the height of mismanagement on the part of the government. One decision, 30 days, no relief yet and nor in sight any sooner. On top of that, none of the benefits of demonetisation has started manifesting as yet. The only results so far have been negative,” said Yoginder Grewal, a resident at a bank in the Feroze Gandhi market.

This is height of mismanagement

• This is the height of mismanagement on the part of the government. One decision, 30 days, no relief yet and nor in sight any sooner. On top of that, none of the benefits of demonetisation has started manifesting as yet. The only results so far have been negative. —Yoginder Grewal,a residen

Job of a military commander is to lead soldiers into battle with utmost commitment and focus by an authority bestowed in him by an order of the head of the state. Logic often fails to motivate men in the face of death, thus, the task of a commander is to blind the logic by evoking emotions. A good commander will always assemble his men and throw them to the wolf. But when he does so, he too lead his group deep into enemy territory leading from the front. Before men went for surgical strike they all wrote the last letter before crossing over the LOC to be delivered to their next of keen if some of them did not return. Robert Greene wrote in his book 33 Strategies of War, that best way to motivate men is not through reasons, but through emotions. Manipulation of emotion is the art of military leadership.

Humans are defensive by nature, logic make them meek, because if soldiers start reasoning the outcome of their actions during war, they will never be able to fight a war. Logically it is foolish and absurd to run up a hill when the guns are blazing from top with no place to take cover. Yet soldiers do it every time they are asked to do so fully knowing the outcome of such acts. It is all about fogging logic by emotions. Soldiers fight under the influence of emotions but the leaders lead them by logic and reasoning. A tactical commander is not blinded by emotions, he knows what he is asking his men to do and what price he would pay. Lt Anuj Nayyer knew before going to his final assault that he will not return back, yet he went with a smile. It is the rank that makes a military leader do what a normal human being will never do.

Emotion is most essential aspect of soldiering, and the attachment and attraction of a solider to his rank is infectious and fatal. That is why he carries his rank to grave and retains it till eternity. Ask a soldier how has he got his first stripe and his answer will be by blood and sweat. Thus he guards his rank with great degree of pride and self-respect. He feels it insulting when someone starts comparing his rank to a clerk, or a section officer of even to a secretary in the government. It is contemptuous and insulting. Ask Special Forces how they earn the dagger with wings. His reply would be by mortgaging his life for the nation. To go where no human can go, to do what no human can do and survive where no human has ever survived. Those who do not understand what it takes to be a soldier, they may consider soldiering as another government job, but try and live that life for one day and your head will bow in respect. There is lot of pain, sacrifices, physical rigors and mental stress that a soldier is put through during peace and war. There is a streak of ruthlessness in a soldier and his leader, but before they are ruthless with the enemy they have to subject themselves with ruthlessness.

Naik Hanamanthappa survived for six days under 35 feet of snow. It was the ultimate human endeavour. But remember his Commanding Officer did not leave the site till he dug every mortal remains of his men in minus 35C degree without proper shelter without adequate food and under constant threat to lives of his men and his own. It was the ruthless leader in him that led from the front in a life threatening environment. Can he be compared to any other government employee how high and mighty he may be? One can’t even imagine any other government official performing such act.

A soldier fights along the border and LoC because adversary challenges his authority on the territorial jurisdiction entrusted to him by his superior military authority. His task is to ensure territorial integrity and no loss of territory is acceptable during peace and war. When his authority is challenged he does not wait for the orders, rather he acts. His authority comes from his rank that forces him to act against his enemy even if it means war.

A civilian bureaucrat is often defined by designation and military by rank. Designation means label, name, title and description. Whereas military ranks mean order, level, status and authority. Military leaders command the territory, men and resources at their disposal by their word of command. Whereas bureaucrats only can lay restrictions through proxy and suggest pros and cons. Military commander’s word is an authority and he does not issue an order in writing to his men to go to war. In the recent case of surgical strike, no written orders were issued by Special Forces commanders to their men to cross LoC when they all knew the risk to their lives. Men were briefed and orders issued by word of mouth. The men trusted the wisdom of their commanders because of the rank and authority they held. Whereas if a bureaucrat has to get a job done even if it has zero risk to life, he has to issue a government order.

It may appear to be a non-issue for political leadership or bureaucrats to compare military ranks with civilian counterparts, but it is sacrosanct for a soldier. The difference is that when a soldier salutes his superior it means “sir I am ready to carry out your command” and an officer returns the salute by acknowledging that “I will lead you till last breath”. That is why an old soldier never saluted a civilian irrespective of his position because a civilian cannot lead a soldier to war. Comparing a rank with civilian designation is blasphemy but bigger crime is downgrading the ranks. If a soldier and military commander start behaving like a government servant, the army and the nation are doomed. No nation can afford their army to behave like a government organization because government is run by rules and wars are fought by defying rules and conventions. That is why military ranks have sanctity and military accruements are prohibited to be sued even by police. Government of India has committed cardinal mistakes of firstly comparing military ranks with that of civilian counterparts and second is that military personnel’s have been placed under police officer in NSG where the police officers have no idea of command of military personnel’s that too special forces.

The day elitism is destroyed among the soldiers, that day nation is rendered insecure. It is the greatest disservice a political leader or bureaucrat can do to the nation. A visionary political leader of a nation surrounded by inimical forces would never distract his army by causing imbalance in emotional equilibrium of men and tempering with their pride and status. Any force in a state attempting to erode the morale of army especially at a time when there is war like situation along the borders/ LOC is an act of high treason. Military leaders can’t be unsettled and distracted from the main task at hand. Those who attempt to do so are furthering the cause of enemy. We as a nation must remember that Xenophon had said in (Circa 430-355) “whichever army goes into battle stronger in soul and morale, their enemy generally cannot withstand them”. Thus political leaders must prevent endeavours of those who wish to weaken the morale and spirit of the soldier.

Narender Kumar

Brig Narender Kumar is an Infantry Officer with close to 15 years’ experience in counter insurgency and anti-terrorism operations having served in Sri Lanka (Operation PAWAN) J&K and North East. He has been part of UN Mission in North Africa and had a tenure in Indian Training Team in a foreign country. He has served as Brigade Major in Western Theatre, Col Administration of a Division and Brig General Staff of an Area responsible for Northern Border. Commanded a Rashtriya Rifles battalion in J&K and Assam Rifles Sector in North East.