Ashu, 54, of the Punjab Congress, has represented the Ludhiana West seat earlier

The Congress on Friday evening announced former cabinet minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu as the party candidate for the high-stakes Ludhiana (West) Assembly bypoll.

Ashu, 54, working president of the Punjab Congress, is a prominent Hindu face of the party and has represented the Ludhiana West seat earlier. His candidature for contesting the bypoll from the seat was approved by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, according to a party statement.

The Ludhiana West seat fell vacant following the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi in January. The date for the bypoll has not been announced yet.

AAP had earlier named Rajya Sabha member Sanjeev Arora as its candidate for the Ludhiana West assembly bypoll.

Ludhiana West bypoll: Congress bets on veteran Ashu

“The party is banking on Ashu’s extensive grassroots network and leadership experience in the upcoming byelection. His ability to mobilise party workers and reconnect with the electorate is seen as a potential game-changer for the party in Ludhiana West,” said a local Congress leader, who did not want to be named.

THE recent assault on a Colonel and his son by police personnel in Patiala has sparked a public outrage across the country. Serving as well as retired Army officers and their families have upped the ante over their demand for…

Ramesh K Dhiman

THE recent assault on a Colonel and his son by police personnel in Patiala has sparked a public outrage across the country. Serving as well as retired Army officers and their families have upped the ante over their demand for a fair probe and exemplary punishment.

More often than not, those who don Army fatigues are seen in a battle-ready mode, guarding the nation’s frontiers in tough terrain and cold climes. They also take part in relief and rehabilitation work when natural calamities wreak havoc, leaving thousands marooned or displaced. Many a times, they assist the civil and police administration in the restoration of law and order whenever the situation spins out of control due to inept handling by the authorities.

One can never forget Major Ivan Joseph Crasto (who retired as a Colonel), the Para commando who became a guardian angel for the tourists who were trapped aboard a cable car at Parwanoo (Himachal Pradesh) in 1992. There is no dearth of such tales of heroism.

I remember a four-decade-old incident that showcased the unwavering compassion of Army personnel. Those were the times when Punjab was in the throes of militancy. A round-the-clock curfew was clamped in Punjab and Chandigarh immediately after the imposition of President’s rule. During the curfew, a special relaxation was allowed to the public to procure provisions and other items of daily use.

One hot and humid Sunday afternoon, I saw my neighbour trying to console his newborn baby, who was crying for milk. The milk he had brought home in three pouches had turned sour due to the heat. All of a sudden, a military vehicle screeched to a halt bang opposite the main gate of the residential complex. While we ran pell-mell, the defiant father refused to budge.

The young officer directed jawans to summon the man. Then, he asked, “Don’t you know that it’s curfew time? Why are you roaming in a forbidden area?”

Without waiting for an answer, he posed another question, “Why is your baby crying so loud?” The father told him that his newborn needed milk. The officer enquired whether he knew any milkman around. My neighbour nodded and said, “Yes, his house is about 3 km from here.”

The officer asked him to immediately fetch a container from his house and accompany them. Later, the soldiers dropped him at his residence after getting sufficient milk for the baby. They advised him to stay indoors, especially during the curfew hours.

The father heaved a sigh of relief and expressed deep gratitude to the gentleman officer for his generosity.

After the Punjab and Haryana High Court handed over the investigation in Colonel Pushpinder Singh Bath’s assault case to the Chandigarh Police, his wife Jaswinder Kaur visited the private hospital where Inspector Ronnie Singh, one of the accused, along with…

Mohit Khanna Tribune News Service

After the Punjab and Haryana High Court handed over the investigation in Colonel Pushpinder Singh Bath’s assault case to the Chandigarh Police, his wife Jaswinder Kaur visited the private hospital where Inspector Ronnie Singh, one of the accused, along with another cop named Randhir had gone for treatment, to secure the CCTV footage.

She said the High Court had issued directions to the Civil Lines police station to secure the footage of the incident and cops had accompanied her to the hospital.

“The incident occurred near Rajindra Hospital late in the night. I will share the video clip in which it is clear that Randhir was not involved in the fight, but his medico-legal report (MLR) was made from the private hospital. Around 1.20 am, Ronnie Singh and Randhir had visited the private hospital for treatment. If the incident had occurred just outside Rajindra Hospital, why did they visit a private hospital for treatment? Why didn’t they go to Rajindra Hospital the way my husband and son had?” asked Jaswinder Kaur.

On whether she apprehended tampering with the evidence, she stressed, “We have told the authorities of the private hospital that as per the court’s direction, the digital video recording has to be secured.”

Inspector Ronnie Singh claimed that he had been falsely implicated in the case. In a petition before the High Court, he had claimed that he along with a police team had conducted a raid near Rajindra Hospital following an intelligence input on a wanted drug trafficker.

It was alleged in the petition that during the operation, he encountered individuals consuming alcohol in public and obstructing access to hospital. On being asked to clear the passage, those persons, including the Colonel and his son, reacted aggressively, assaulted the petitioner.

The district unit of the Punjab State Pensioners and Senior Citizens Association has criticised the state government for it indifferent attitude towards their current demands. The members, most of who were from different parts of the district, participated in the.

The district unit of the Punjab State Pensioners and Senior Citizens Association has criticised the state government for it indifferent attitude towards their current demands. The members, most of who were from different parts of the district, participated in the meeting organised at Gandhi Municipal Park here. District president of the association, Baldev Singh Kallha, in his address, stressed on payment in one installment of the arrears of Sixth Pay Commission recommendations and DA installments. He also called for the revival of the Old Pension Scheme. Gurdev Singh Sandhu and Satpal Sharma were among those who addressed the gathering. The leaders laid stress on increasing the monthly medical allowance to Rs 3,000 per month. The leaders warned the state government of launching a stir if their demands are not met.

Known as ‘Insta Queen’, used to flaunt her flamboyant lifestyle in reels

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Suspended Punjab Police constable Amandeep Kaur was today remanded in two-day police custody following the alleged seizure of 17.71 gm of heroin from her. Sh was dismissed from service yesterday.

Known as “Insta Queen” for her active social media presence, the police are now interrogating her to uncover more details about her alleged drug trafficking network and financial trails.

Kaur frequently posted Instagram reels on her handle “police_kaurdeep” featuring her SUV and luxury items, amassing more than 30,000 followers. Her social media activities had previously drawn attention within the Police Department.

In addition to her social media presence, allegations surfaced regarding her personal life and assets.

It is learnt that for the past three years, many persons had been filing complaints against her with the Punjab Government officials and senior police officers, but she used to escape scrutiny due to her “high-level connections”.

It is also learnt that she tried to flaunt her close connections with a senior IPS officer to escape this time when stopped for checking.

During her 14 years’ of service, Amandeep had seen 31 transfers and two suspensions.

A woman named Gurmeet Kaur had accused Amandeep Kaur of maintaining a lavish lifestyle disproportionate to her known sources of income, claiming the ownership of a house worth ₹2 crore, multiple cars and a watch valued at ₹1 lakh. Further, Gurmeet alleged that Kaur was involved in a relationship with her husband (Balwinder Sonu) and implicated in drug distribution activities using an ambulance.

According to Gurmeet, Kaur rarely attended duty and would instead go on “medical leave” to travel with Balwinder to purchase heroin. She claimed that Balwinder was responsible for packing and selling the drugs, while Kaur used her police uniform to avoid scrutiny.

These facets of Kaur’s social media behaviour and personal life have drawn significant public and departmental scrutiny, culminating in her arrest and dismissal from the police force.

Bathinda SSP Amneet Kondal said, “We have already started probe into her financial and revenue assets. A team also conducted raid at her house in Bathinda.”

She also said that Balwinder Sonu had also been included in the FIR and further probe was on.

Amandeep Kaur hails from Chak Fateh Singh Wala village in Bathinda and was currently attached to the Bathinda police lines.

She was arrested during a joint operation by the Bathinda Police and the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) as part of the state’s “Yudh Nasheyan Virudh” anti-drugs campaign.

Scuffle between couple in court complex

Tension flared in the District Courts complex today when co-accused in the case and Gurmeet Kaur’s husband, Balwinder Sonu, arrived in the court and both had a scuffle. Police personnel present there intervened in the matter to control them.

Gurmeet Kaur later accused her husband of not only beating her but also threatening to kill her.

Balwinder Singh alleged that Gurmeet Kaur was blackmailing him and also levelling false accusations against him.

There is an urgent need to renovate the building and guestrooms of the Sainik Rest House, said Nishant Kumar Yadav, Deputy Commissioner-cum-president, Zila Sainik Board, after visiting the Zila Sainik Welfare Office here today. During the visit, he was briefed…

There is an urgent need to renovate the building and guestrooms of the Sainik Rest House, said Nishant Kumar Yadav, Deputy Commissioner-cum-president, Zila Sainik Board, after visiting the Zila Sainik Welfare Office here today.

During the visit, he was briefed on functioning of the office and the house by Col HS Ghuman (retd), Zila Sainik Welfare Officer (ZSWO). Yadav was also apprised of the addition and upgrade of the welfare schemes for ex-servicemen, widows and wards being run by the Chandigarh Administration.

The Deputy Commissioner was shown the various facilities available at the office complex for ex-servicemen. The Deputy Commissioner said there was an urgent need to renovate the building and the guestrooms. The office of Chief Architect, Chandigarh, has already approved the drawings for the renovation of this building with a proposal to install a lift.

The DC said the Chief Engineer Office would start the renovation work soon. After approval from the DC, the office recently paid grants to several beneficiaries.

Yadav appreciated the efforts of the Zila Sainik Welfare Office towards welfare of ex-servicemen, widows and wards.

Cites UN convention in veiled dig at China | Flags off INS Sunayna for one-month deployment in Indian Ocean

Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service

For the second time in as many days, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has asked the Indian armed forces to plan, prepare, keep a vigil and conduct exercises, keeping China and its activities in mind.

On Saturday, while reviewing maritime security at the Naval commanders conference at Karwar on the west coast, the Minister said, “India stands for a free, open and rules-based order in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).”

Singh urged the Commanders “to assess the changing circumstances and ensure planning, resourcing and exercising, accordingly, while remaining alert and prepared. Although he did not mention China, the reference to ‘free, open and rules-based order’ and the UNLCOS was towards the India’s neighbour, which had refused to accept the verdict of UNCLOS in the South China Sea maritime dispute.

Beijing has made artificial islands in the sea and self-assumes territorial rights over vast portions and has questioned navigation rights of other countries.

On April 3, the minister was at the Army Commanders’ Conference, following which a statement by the Ministry of Defence said, “He complemented the armed forces for standing firm and vigilant along the northern borders and said same should continue”.

In Karwar, the Minister called for reorienting the future roles of the Armed Forces, adding: “It is our responsibility to ensure peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region”.

The Defence Minister also flagged off INS Sunayna, which is headed for month-long deployment in the Indian Ocean and is the first Indian warship to carry a 44-member crew from nine friendly countries —- Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Tanzania.

The Minister took another dig at China’s attempts at hegemony at sea, saying “The Indian Navy ensures that, in Indian Ocean, no nation suppresses another on the basis of overwhelming economy and military power. We ensure that the nations’ interests are protected without compromising their sovereignty”. He also inaugurated repair and logistic facilities under the ‘Project Seabird’ at Karwar. This include marine infrastructure designed for berthing ships, submarines and harbour craft, an armament wharf, two piers, specifically equipped for refits, marine utility complexes, residential infrastructure.

In March last year, berthing facilities were created at Karwar to allow simultaneous docking of two sea-going aircraft carriers – INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant. They are the biggest warships in the Naval fleet each being close to 50,000 tonnes.

The INS Vikramaditya is 284-m long, while the Vikrant is 262-m long. The warships need a specific depth of water near the coast and length of jetty needs to match their sizes when they come for routine maintenance.

Sustained programmes for economic and infrastructure development are needed. Only then will people not consider Maoism as an option.

Ajay K Mehra

In the ongoing operations against Maoists, the security forces in Chhattisgarh have had several successes in eliminating their ranks and key leaders. While a considerable number of Maoists have lately surrendered, a key section of them in Chhattisgarh is seeking ceasefire. But the government wants an unconditional surrender. Even as the Home Minister has lauded those who have surrendered, he has also issued a warning to those still active.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pinned the blame for the Maoist upsurge in the country to Congress policies over the past six decades, ie since Naxalbari village in Darjeeling, West Bengal, exploded in March-June 1967. He is right in referring to a long history of the Maoist movement in India, but the Congress is not responsible for its start. The persistence of the movement, though, is a complex issue.

The PM coined ‘urban naxal’ for indiscriminately accusing the left, left of centre and liberal intelligentsia et al for the emergence and persistence of naxalism/Maoism. Their faulting the government for extreme poverty, exploitation of peasants and tribals by local landowners, money lenders, contractors and power brokers does not go well with the PM.

The 1946 armed revolt by the Communist Party of India against the erstwhile Nizam of the Telangana region to free India from a ‘sham’ independence is the root. Its seeds flowered naturally and quickly amid extreme exploitation of the local peasants’ life and property by doras, local landlords.

The British rule bequeathed this ‘revolution’ to independent India, which had to be tackled amid numerous other problems prevailing in the region. Aside from the operations by the security forces, the initiation of the Bhoodan (gift of land) movement by Acharya Vinoba Bhave in 1951 weakened its principal rationale —’land’. And, the movement declined gradually.

Amid the ideological divide between Moscow and Peking from 1951 to 1967, ‘Spring Thunder’ descended on India in the east — peasants of Naxalbari village of Darjeeling district in West Bengal shot an arrow, killing a gun-wielding cop, as they tried to stop their granary from being looted under police protection. Their clash with the ‘jotedars’ (rich farmers) was similar. A ‘revolution’ was born! The resultant nomenclature — naxalism —has stuck since, even though the movement was crushed during 1972-75 amid land reforms and police repression.

Srikakulam, Telangana, Dantewada and several sites of conflict in West Bengal, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Bihar are various posts through which Maoism has travelled since. The ideological debates as well as the ‘revolutionary action’ carried out by a committed leadership since 1946 boast of several distinguished names — Charu Mazumdar, Kanu Sanyal, Kobad and Anuradha Gandhi, and, more lately, law graduate Gummadiveli Renuka in Chhattisgarh.

They moved from the comfort of their homes to jungles, raised cadres and carried on their ‘revolution’. Since they pursue the cult of violence, many a time indiscriminate, their ideological commitment is tough to appreciate.

The negatives of the movement include fratricide, brutal attacks on the unsympathetic populace and ambush of security forces. While on the one hand the coming together of most of their factions in the form of the CPI(Maoist) at the beginning of the millennium gave headaches to the government, on the other hand, they kept losing their cadres and leaders, including Azad, due to the pressures mounted by the successive regimes of the Indian state.

In the first decade of the millennium, the CPI(Maoist) dreamt of a Pashupati (Nepal)-to-Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh) red corridor. The spread of the Maoist violence to one-third of the districts in the affected states showed that the ‘red map’ had its expanse in the resource-rich regions, which were being exploited by the Indian state and its supporters.

Poverty and exploitation of both natural resources and populace in these areas created a fertile ground for the roots of the movement.

The government did try to understand the socio-economic roots of the problem and take measures to deal with it. An expert group constituted by the erstwhile Planning Commission prepared a report ‘Development Challenges in Extremist Affected Areas’ in 2008. Analysing poverty, exploitation and the mechanisms available with the government to deal with them, the expert group advised the government “to mount programmes on a scale equal to the dimensions of the problem.”

Even the Supreme Court’s judgment on Salwa Judum (2007) in Chhattisgarh quoted contemporary research studies to stress that poverty needed to be reduced for Maoism to be eliminated. It said, “The same set of issues, particularly those related to land, continue to fuel protest politics, violent agitation politics, as well as armed rebellion….Are governments and political parties in India able to grasp the socio-economic dynamics encouraging these politics or are they stuck with a security-oriented approach that further fuels them?”

The Indian state furthered development programmes, successfully focussed on infrastructure to weaken their appeal and came down heavily on them. But the success was limited. With time, it became difficult for the Maoists to replenish their cadres and leadership. Repression continued in the meantime, eliminating prominent leaders and hundreds of their cadre. For example, on March 30, media reported the killing of 17 Maoists in Sukma, of which 11 were women. The surrender of Maoists was also reported. Recruitment and repression of Maoists are going on side by side.

But sustained programmes for economic and infrastructure development are needed. Only then will people not consider Maoism as an option to achieving their rights.

It is high time the government brought the Maoist leadership to the negotiating table and convinced it about the futility of violence.

The book provides a detailed account of the battles fought by Indians during WW I and their experiences of the hardships

Book Title: Indian Soldiers in World War I: Race and Representation in an Imperial War

Author: Andrew T Jarboe

Nearly 10 lakh Indians enrolled for the British army during the course of World War I, considerably less than the 25 lakh who enrolled during World War II. However, the participation of Indian soldiers in particular and of Indian society in general was much greater in the first than in the second war. Indian soldiers were sent to all theatres of the war — Western Europe, Middle East and North Africa. Indian casualties, too, were perhaps the highest for a country that was not a direct participant in the war. Many soldiers sent back letters, writing about the war, the hardships and calamities faced by them. These letters and other records form the basis for the book.

Indian soldiers played no small part in the maintenance and expansion of the British empire. They had fought in Burma, Russia and Afghanistan. The Indian soldiers were generally considered an extremely reliable bulwark in the preservation of the British empire. Some of this dependence was shaken during the Rebellion of 1857 when nearly one-third of the Indian army rebelled, along with other sections of the population, against the British. Fortunately for the British, some other battalions came to their defence. Those who helped put down the mutiny — Sikhs, Dogras, Pathans, Garhwalis — were considered martial races and began to be treated as preferred candidates for the army.

There was a great divergence between British and Indian thinkers on the extent to which the British should rely upon Indian soldiers for the maintenance of their global empire. Racist ideas and theories were quite dominant in 19th century Europe. There was a clear-cut, well-entrenched hierarchy of the races, with ‘whites’ at the top and ‘browns’ and ‘blacks’ much below. The racists were clearly against too much of Indian participation in sustaining the British empire. Racism was also a natural ally of imperialism and provided moral justification to it.

This was also the time when the ideology of nationalism began to develop in non-European countries. Just as racism was a natural and organic ally of imperialism, patriotism was an ally of nationalism. Indian patriotism, reflected in the writings of early nationalist leaders such as Bal Gangadhar Tilak, militated against the idea of providing any support to the British, either with men or with money.

However, between racist imperialism and patriotic nationalism, there also developed a curious and interesting idea of imperial patriotism — a great desire and determination by some Indians to participate in the British wars so as to prove to be worthy citizens of the empire. Gandhi, too, practised this idea in South Africa. Many early nationalists demanded equality with their British counterparts (and not separation from the British connection). They justified their demand by wanting to help the British, in return for recognition of their equal status in the British empire. Participation in the wars was seen as a major instrument to achieve this objective. Thus, India “rallied to the defence of the empire”.

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The book argues that this strand of ‘imperial patriotism’ was easily the most dominant one and resulted in greater participation by Indians in World War I. The extent of the influence of this idea among Indians is quite debatable and the book may have exaggerated its role. What is, however, quite clear is that the scales had completely turned by the time of World War II. Even though the number of Indian soldiers was much higher, their involvement was completely professional and not motivated by a desire to defend the empire. The example of the Indian National Army under the leadership of Subhas Chandra Bose amply illustrates this point. Thousands of Indian soldiers who had been sent to fight for the British turned against them and decided to fight for Indian Independence instead, with the help of the Japanese and the Germans.

The book provides a detailed account of the battles fought by Indians during WW I and their experiences of the hardships. More soldiers died from diseases than fighting on the battlefront. But more than the activities of the Indian soldiers, the book sheds enough light on the principal ideas that were at work — racism, imperialism and an inherent European superiority.

Quite often, the strategic necessity of mobilising Indian soldiers for the war came into conflict with the ideologies of European superiority, which looked upon Indian participation with disdain and contempt. The two world wars played some role in diminishing the power these ideas exercised on the minds and hearts of many Europeans. However, these ideas have not gone completely extinct and still show up so often in international affairs.

— The writer is visiting faculty at BM Munjal University, Manesar