Saluting the Kirti Chakra awardee, and the braveheart’s wife — Veer Nari Manjit Kaur, who picked herself up after the huge loss and ensured the best for their children

Representational photo

Brig SPS Dhaliwal (Retd)

Baghelawala is a small village in Moga district of Punjab located off the Moga-Ferozepur road. As you enter the village, you are greeted by the imposing memorial of the late Lance Havaldar Zora Singh, Kirti Chakra, of 1 Sikh Light Infantry, opposite of which is the senior secondary school, again named after this gallant soldier.

On October 15, 1970, in this village was born Zora Singh, appropriately named by his parents as he would prove to be a “Brave Lion” later in life. Having completed his schooling, this boy, who was passionate about joining the Army, was recruited in the Sikh Light Infantry Regiment on December 3, 1987.

A veteran of Op Pawan in Sri Lanka, he moved with his battalion to J&K’s Krishna Ghatti sector in January 2001. A month later, information was received at our headquarters of the presence of an infiltrated group of militants in the thickly wooded forest area of Khanetar in Poonch district. The task to search for and eliminate this group was given to the Ghatak Platoon and a patrol party of B Company of 1 Sikh LI and a Ghatak Platoon of 4 Grenadiers under their Adjutant, who volunteered for the operation. He briefed them and they set about the search from two opposite directions. Three days of toil in the area gave no results. The troops were running low on rations and were fatigued, but continued the search on the fourth day.

Lance Havaldar Zora Singh, with the patrol party of B Company of 1 Sikh LI, was in the lead when he saw some suspicious movement next to a dhok (an abandoned hut). As he approached the hut, Zora Singh spotted a lookout militant sitting outside and he immediately opened fire. He dropped the lookout and charged at the dhok, wanting to catch the rest of the party by surprise. However, the militants rushed out with all guns blazing. In the exchange of fire, L Hav Zora Singh received a burst of AK-47 in his stomach. Despite being wounded, he pressed on, dragging himself forward. He eliminated two fleeing militants before he himself collapsed having received a direct shot to his head. It was this unprecedented act of courage and devotion to duty that paved the way for the remaining party managing to eliminate three more militants. The two, who had escaped, fell into the ambush of 4 Grenadiers and were subsequently eliminated.

L Hav Zora Singh displayed a high standard of leadership and indomitable courage and made the supreme sacrifice for the success of the task assigned to his paltan. For this unparalleled courage and devotion to duty, he was awarded the Kirti Chakra (the second highest award for bravery in peacetime, after the Ashoka Chakra). The award was received by his wife Manjit Kaur from President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.

Manjit Kaur was totally shattered. Zora Singh had left behind a daughter, seven years old, and two sons, aged four and a year-and-a-half. With the support of his battalion, the village and the civil administration, this young widow set about dauntlessly bringing up and educating her children. An epitome of fortitude herself, the Veer Nari picked up a job as a Class IV employee in the village school, named after her late husband.

Today, after 20 years of hard work and toil, she is proud of her achievements. Her daughter, having completed her Masters, has migrated to Europe, her elder son has moved to Australia on a work permit and her youngest son has recently completed his Bachelors in Commerce from Moga. A feat even the late braveheart would be very proud of.

There are many more like Manjit Kaur in our country who are re-writing their destiny in a similar manner as their brave husbands gave their today for our tomorrow.

India has clearly conveyed to Pakistan that the entire Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including the areas of Gilgit and Baltistan, are integral part of the country

India maintains the Government of Pakistan or its judiciary has no locus standi on territories illegally and forcibly occupied by it. File

Islamabad, August 1

Pakistani authorities have finalised a law to award provisional provincial status to strategically located Gilgit-Baltistan, a media report said on Sunday.

India has clearly conveyed to Pakistan that the entire union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including the areas of Gilgit and Baltistan, are an integral part of the country by virtue of its fully legal and irrevocable accession.

India maintains the Government of Pakistan or its judiciary has no locus standi on territories illegally and forcibly occupied by it.

Dawn newspaper reported that under the proposed law by the Ministry of Law and Justice, the Supreme Appellate Court (SAC) of Gilgit-Baltistan may be abolished and the region’s election commission is likely to be merged with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Sources in the law ministry told the newspaper that the draft of the bill titled ‘26th Constitutional Amendment Bill’ had been prepared and submitted to Prime Minister Imran Khan.

In the first week of July, the prime minister had assigned the task of preparing the law to federal Law Minister Barrister Farogh Naseem.

According to the sources, the draft bill has been prepared after careful reading of the Constitution of Pakistan, international laws, the United Nations’ resolutions especially those related to a plebiscite on Kashmir, comparative constitutional laws and local legislation.

The stakeholders, including the governments of Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, had been consulted on the proposed constitutional amendment, the report quoted sources as saying.

The proposed law suggests that due to sensitivity attached to the region, it could be given provisional provincial status by amending Article 1 of the Constitution that related to the provinces and territories, the sources said.

They added that a set of amendments would be introduced to give the region representation in Parliament, besides the establishment of the provincial assembly in the territory.

The sources are confident that the constitutional amendment is in accordance with the international practice of merger of territories and it will not adversely affect the Kashmir cause in any manner, the report said.

The Pakistan government and the Opposition had reportedly discussed the move prior to last year’s meeting of the political leadership with the Pakistan Army chief.

According to an Opposition leader, Gilgit-Baltistan has acquired great significance in the region due to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that is now a “jugular vein” for the country.

The CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Pakistan’s Balochistan with China’s Xinjiang province, is the flagship project of Beijing’s ambitious multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

India has protested to China over the CPEC as it is being laid through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. PTI

Lt Gen DP Pandey addresses the media.

New Delhi, July 31

A top Pakistani terrorist, Ismal Alvi, alias Abu Saifullah, alias Lamboo, was among two Jaish-e-Mohammed militants killed by security forces in an encounter in J&K’s Pulwama district today, said police officials.

Probably the biggest strike this yr: Officials

Ismal Alvi: An IED expert, he was from the family of JeM chief Masood Azhar; had trained Pulwama suicide bomber Adil Dar, say sources

Sameer Dar: He too was involved in the Pulwama attack. Of the 19 accused in the attack, eight have so far been killed, said the J&K DGP

Belonging to JeM chief Masood Azhar’s family, Lamboo was allegedly involved in the planning of the 2019 attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama that had left its 40 personnel dead. A resident of Pakistan’s Punjab province, he was believed to have been the JeM operational commander (alongside Rauf Asgar) in southern Kashmir, the hotbed of militancy. The second terrorist has been identified as Sameer Dar. An A-category terrorist, he was named in the Pulwama attack chargesheet.

A suicide bomber, Adil Dar, had rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the CRPF convoy on February 14, 2019, on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway in Pulwama.

Lt Gen DP Pandey, General Officer Commanding of Chinar Corps, is reported to have said that Lamboo was one of the masterminds for having trained a local, Adil, who blew himself up in the IED attack. — TNS

Beijing, July 30

Customs officials in China have seized a large consignment of world maps, meant for export, for showing Arunachal Pradesh as part of India, the official media reported on Friday.

China claims the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh as part of South Tibet, which is firmly rejected by India. India says Arunachal Pradesh is its integral and inalienable part. The maps were wrapped in about 300 export consignments. — PTI

12th round of military talks last for around nine hours; no official comment on the outcome of the meeting that took place at the Moldo border point on the Chinese side of LAC

Photo for representation only. PTI

New Delhi, July 31

India on Saturday pressed for an early disengagement of troops and weapons in Hot Springs, Gogra and other remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh during the 12th round of military talks with China that lasted for around nine hours, sources in the security establishment said. 

Both sides held detailed deliberation and the talks were comprehensive, they said without elaborating further.

There was no official comment on the outcome of the meeting that took place at the Moldo border point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh amid expectations of a breakthrough in the disengagement process in Gogra and Hot Springs.

It is learnt that both sides discussed “specific details to cool tempers in the remaining friction points including moving ahead with the disengagement process and agreed to jointly maintain stability on the ground”.

The talks started at 10.30 am and ended at 7.30 pm, sources said.

The Indian side forcefully pressed for early resolution of the standoff and particularly insisted on expeditious disengagement in Hot Springs and Gogra, a source said.

Ahead of the talks, sources said India was hopeful of a positive outcome on the disengagement process.

India has been insisting that the resolution of the outstanding issues, including at Depsang, Hot Springs and Gogra, is essential for the overall ties between the two countries.

The latest round of talks took place after a gap of more than three and a half months. The 11th round of military dialogue had taken place on April 9 at the Chushul border point on the Indian side of the LAC and it lasted for around 13 hours.

The 12th round of military talks took place over two weeks after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar firmly conveyed to his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that the prolongation of the existing situation in eastern Ladakh was visibly impacting the bilateral ties in a “negative manner”.

The two foreign ministers had held a one-hour bilateral meeting on the sidelines of a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Tajik capital city Dushanbe on July 14.

In the meeting, Jaishankar had told Wang that any unilateral change in the status quo along the LAC was “not acceptable” to India and that the overall ties can only develop after full restoration of peace and tranquillity in eastern Ladakh.

In the last round of military talks, both sides discussed ways to take forward the disengagement process in Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang with a larger aim to bring down tensions in the region. However, there was no forward movement in the disengagement process.https://4cdf56fc6d7d8a21f498d43bcb12f202.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

The Indian delegation at Saturday’s talks was led by Lt Gen PGK Menon, the Commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps.

The border standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries erupted in May last year following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas and both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry.

As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the withdrawal of troops and weapons from the North and South banks of Pangong lake in February in line with an agreement on disengagement.

Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the LAC in the sensitive sector. PTI

Gogra, Hot Springs, Depsang friction points

Photo for representation only. PTI

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 31

Senior Indian and Chinese military commanders could possibly arrive at a consensus of some sort for a pullback of troops at the identified friction points along the 832-km Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

The agreed upon agenda for the Lt Gen-level talks, which began at 10 am and lasted around 10 hours, included disengagement and de-escalation of troops, weapons and equipment from Gogra and Hot Springs, the two flashpoints along the LAC. The Chinese were learnt to be unwilling to discuss troop build-up in Depsang plains, said an official.

Round 12 of Army talks

• It was the 12th round of military talks since June 6 last year
• Come 2 weeks after S Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart
• EAM told China that LAC tension was ‘negatively’ impacting ties
• Any unilateral change in status quo was ‘unacceptable’, he had said

Organised at the Moldo garrison of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China, it was the 12th round of senior military level talks between the two sides since June 6 last year. Moldo faces Chushul on the Indian side.

A formal announcement of the outcome, if any, was expected after the Indian side returned to its base and the decision was conveyed to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The MEA is the coordinator of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India-China border affairs. The WMCC is a group comprising representatives of the foreign ministries and the militaries of the two sides.

Lt Gen PGK Menon, 14 Corps Commander, led the talks from the Indian side. Once Lt Gen Menon along with his team returned to Chushul from Moldo, he was expected to head back to his headquarters at Leh, a 4-hour journey in normal weather conditions.

The 12th round of military talks took place over two weeks after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar firmly conveyed to his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that the prolongation of the existing situation in eastern Ladakh was visibly impacting the bilateral ties in a “negative manner”.

The two foreign ministers had held a one-hour bilateral meeting on the sidelines of a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Tajik capital city Dushanbe on July 14.

In the meeting, Jaishankar had told Wang that any unilateral change in the status quo along the Line of Actual Control was “not acceptable” to India and that the overall ties could only develop after full restoration of peace and tranquillity in eastern Ladakh.

Assam security personnel stand vigil outside the Mizoram House in Guwahati. PTI

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 31

Assam and Nagaland have inked a pact to “move back” their security personnel from the current location to their base camps in a bid to reduce tension at the border, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

Border conflict: Several clashes since 1965

• The border dispute between Assam and Nagaland began soon after Nagaland became a state in 1963
• The Nagaland State Act of 1962 had defined the state’s borders according to a 1925 notification
• Nagaland, however, did not accept border delineation
• Several major clashes have taken place on the inter-state border since 1965

In a Twitter Post, the Assam Chief Minister said, “the two states have agreed to move back their security personnel from the current location to their base camps in a bid to reduce tension at the border.”

“In a major breakthrough towards de-escalating tensions at Assam-Nagaland border, the two Chief Secretaries have arrived at an understanding to immediately withdraw states’ forces from border locations to their respective base camps,” Sarma said.

The joint statement, a copy of which was also pasted on Twitter by Sarma, read: “Both sides agreed that in order to maintain peace and tranquility in the areas around Ao Senden village and Vikuto Village, as known in Nagaland and in Assam they are known as Jankhona Nala/Nagajankha respectively, urgent and effective steps are required for defusing the standoff between the security forces of Nagaland and Assam.”

W DELHI: A new biography on former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has stoked a fresh controversy with his claim that he had recommended that Gen. Bipin Rawat supersede two senior officers to become the Army Chief, “convinced that he was a better choice”, with the author describing it as “a bold move”, contrary to claims at the time that the correct procedures had been followed.

“Gen. Bipin Rawat, India’s first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and Army Chief prior to that, had a close association with Parrikar when he was Defence Minister. In fact, it was on Parrikar’s watch in the MoD that Gen. Rawat was made the Army Chief by by-passing two generals senior to him.

“It was a bold decision since the civilian leadership is normally loathed for tampering with convention. Parrikar was convinced that Gen. Rawat was a better choice to head the Indian Army at that point. So he signed on the recommendation to supersede two senior most generals and make Gen. Rawat the Army Chief, ” Nitin Gokhale, a media entrepreneur, strategic affairs analyst and author of more than half-a-dozen books on military history, insurgencies and wars, writes about his “very close” friend in “Manohar Parrikar – Brilliant Mind, Simple Life (Bloomsbury)” that records his 28-month tenure in South Block and has been sponsored by the Goa government, that he headed for four terms as Chief Minister over an eight-year period.

“Prime Minister Modi concurred with Parrikar’s recommendation and took what is considered a decision that broke the tradition in appointing an Army Chief on December 31, 2016. I am now at liberty to reveal that Parrikar had confided in me the fact that he was recommending Gen. Rawat as the next Army Chief, at least a month in advance, ” Gokhale writes.

“I was impressed with Gen. Rawat’s decisiveness and bold nature in my meetings with him as Commander of 3 Corps in Dimapur, Nagaland, and later as Southern Army Commander in Pune, ” Gokhale quotes Parrikar as mentioning to him one evening in November 2016. “Perhaps that was the reason why Gen. Rawat was brought to the Army headquarters as Vice Chief of Army Staff from September 2016 onwards, in preparation for his elevation as Army Chief”.

Parrikar’s claim runs contrary to what he himself had stated on January 6, 2017.

“A set procedure was followed. There was no seniority principal or it would’ve merely been a date based computer job, ” Parrikar had stated at the Defence Ministry’s Swachhta Pakhwada (cleanliness campaign that forms a part of the government’s Swachhta Abhiyan initiative) here.

In being elevated, Gen. Rawat, an Infantry officer, superseded Lt. Gen Praveen Bakshi (Armoured Corps), the Eastern Commander, and Lt. Gen. P.M. Hariz (Mechanised Infantry). Southern Army Commander.

Interestingly, six of the eight Army chiefs over the past two decades have been from the Infantry and two from the Artillery.

“Rawat’s supersession of Bakshi and Hariz indicates how difficult it has become for a non-infantry general to become chief, even when he has the seniority and merits. The army’s command hierarchy has demonstrated its ability to bring the government around to their viewpoint, ” noted defence analyst Ajai Shukla wrote at the time.

“The government, however, justifies Rawat’s selection as based on merit. In leaks to chosen journalists on WhatsApp (which this correspondent has reviewed) a defence ministry spokesperson claimed Rawat’s rare combination of skill and experience makes him ‘the best suited among the Lt. Generals, to deal with the emerging challenges’, ” Shukla added.

This was only the second time in 33 years that a supersession has happened after Lt. Gen. S.K. Sinha, the Army Vice Chief, was passed over in 1983 by the Indira Gandhi government in favour of Lt. Gen. A.S. Vaidya.

On his part, Gen. Rawat returned the compliment, as it were at the First Manohar Parrikar Memorial Lecture, organised by the Forum for Integrated National Security (FINS) in Mumbai, in December 2019.

“Mr Parrikar, or ‘Honourable RM (Raksha Mantri)’, as we addressed him, was a man of many attributes—politically savvy was of course the key—that explains his very successful career in politics; but there were other qualities that I would like to recall: Outstanding qualities of head and heart, a very curious mind, a military–scientific temper, persistence, doggedness, great clarity of thought and above all, a person of enormous simplicity and pragmatism, ” Gen. Rawat said.

“A voracious reader, he would often quote from military classics like Victory on the Potomac (a book by a Pentagon insider, detailing the grim battles before the Goldwater–Nichols Act got promulgated in the US) and Robert Greene’s 33 Strategies of War. Any concept that he propounded in the military domain was done after careful and in-depth study of global developments and experiences. Above all, it was he who envisioned this uniquely Indian Defence Ecosystem that we are in the midst of creating—a happy amalgam of the strengths of the DRDO, the private sector, MSMEs (Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises), startups and DPSUs (Defence Public Sector Undertakings); these hubs of defence excellence which lie at the intersection of engineering, science, innovation and enterprise, ” Gen. Rawat added.

Indian Army To Conduct 13 Day Long Military Exercise With Russian Counterpart From August 1. The 12th edition of Indo-Russia joint exercise ‘Indra-21’ will strengthen bilateral security cooperation & reinforce the longstanding bond between the two nations, Indian Army said
Indian Army on Tuesday confirmed that India and Russia will jointly conduct a 13-day mega military exercise ‘Indra 21’ emphasizing on counter-terror operations in the Russian city of Volgograd from August 1.
They also mentioned that successful completion of the 12th edition of the exercise will be nothing short of touching another “milestone” in intensifying the bilateral security cooperation and will also serve to reinforce the longstanding bond of friendship between India and Russia.
The Army said 250 personnel from each side will participate in the 12th edition of the joint military exercise.
“The 12th edition of Indo-Russia joint military exercise Indra-21 will be held at Volgograd, Russia from August 1 to 13,” the Army said.
It said the exercise will entail the conduct of counter-terror operations mandated under the UN’s framework of joint forces against international terror groups.
“Exercise Indra-21 will further strengthen mutual confidence and interoperability between the Indian and Russian armies and enable sharing of best practices between the contingents of both the countries,” the Army said in a statement.
“The exercise will be yet another milestone in strengthening security cooperation and will serve to reinforce the longstanding bond of friendship between India and Russia,” it added.
It said the Indian Army contingent participating in the exercise will comprise a mechanised infantry battalion.
Volgograd is a major Russian city situated on the western bank of the Volga river.

A total 333 private companies have been issued 539 industrial licences for defence production in India and out of these, 110 companies have started production.

In a written reply to Vijay Pal Singh Tomar in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said that the defence industry sector, which was hitherto reserved for the public sector, was opened up to 100 per cent for Indian private sector participation in May, 2001. Thereafter, many measures have been taken by the government to promote private sector participation.

Out of the total capital acquisition budget for the year 2021-22, 64.09 per cent has been earmarked for domestic capital procurement, while the defence capital outlay has been increased by 18.75 per cent in the Budget for FY 2021-22, the minister informed.

The Defence Procurement Procedure-2016 has been revised as Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP)-2020, which is driven by the tenets of the defence reforms announced as part of the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ (self-reliant India campaign), Bhatt said.

In order to promote indigenous design and development of defence equipment, the ‘Buy’ (Indian-IDDM or Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured) category has been accorded top most priority for procurement of capital equipment, he said.

The ministry has notified a ‘Positive indigenisation list’ of 209 items for which there would be an embargo on the import beyond the timeline indicated against them.

This would offer a great opportunity to the Indian defence industry to manufacture these items using their own design and development capabilities to meet the requirements of the armed forces in the coming years, Bhatt said.