The legend of Milkha Singh is one of the most inspiring stories in Indian sports. Here are some rare pictures that capture the amazing journey of the legend who rightly earned the sobriquet of the Flying Sikh.
25-year-old Milkha Singh with Dhyan Chand (R) and Dara Singh (L). This photograph of the three legendary sportspersons was taken in 1955-56. The then Punjab CM Pratap Singh Kairon and his Minister Teer invited them to his residence in Delhi where it was clicked. Later, it was presented to the Milkha family.
91-year-old Milkha Singh passes away into eternity days after wife’s death | City mourns the legendary athlete
ribune News Service
Chandigarh, June 18
After struggling for nearly a month, legendary Indian sprinter Milkha Singh passed away at the PGI here tonight. The Flying Sikh breathed his last at 11.30 pm.
The legendary Milkha Singh at a competition. File
“With extreme sadness we would like to inform you that Milkha Singh ji passed away at 11.30 pm on June 18, 2021,” read a statement issued by the Milkha family.
“He fought hard but God has his ways and it was perhaps true love and companionship that both our mother, Nirmal ji, and now dad have passed away in a matter of five days,” read the statement.
Milkha’s wife, Nirmal Milkha, a former captain of the Indian women’s volleyball team, died on June 13 due to complications related to Covid-19. “We are deeply indebted to doctors at the PGI for their valiant efforts and the love and prayers we received from across the world,” the statement added.
Earlier in the day, Milkha’s health deteriorated due to fever, followed by desaturation and low pulse.
Kin with Milkha’s body at the PGI late on Friday night. Deepankar Sharda
Legendary Indian sprinter Milkha Singh was admitted to the ICU of the Covid hospital at the PGI on June 3, 2021, and was treated for Covid there till June 13, said PGI spokesperson Prof Ashok Kumar. “After putting up a valiant battle with Covid, Milkha Singh tested negative. However, due to post-Covid complications he was shifted out of the Covid hospital to a medical ICU. Despite best of the efforts by the medical team, Milkha Singh ji could not be retrieved,” said Prof Kumar.
Prof Jagat Ram, Director, PGI, expressed condolences on the demise of the “most revered sporting icon”. “He will be remembered for his exceptional accomplishments on and off the field and his endearing and humane personality,” he said.
A True Love story
With Milkha dying five days after his wife Nirmal passed away, the never forgetting love story continues. While Nirmal was leading the Indian volleyball team in Sri Lanka, Milkha had gone there to compete in an athletics meet. Later, they met at the College of Physical Education, Patiala. The then Punjab Chief Minister Partap Singh Kairon is believed to have intervened to get Milkha and Nirmal married. Since then, the couple was never separated.
Had special place in hearts of indians: PM
}In the passing away of Milkha Singh ji, we have lost a colossal sportsperson, who captured the nation’s imagination and had a special place in the hearts of countless Indians. Anguished by his passing away. Narendra Modi, PM
India has lost its star: Rijiju
}India has lost its star. Milkha Singh ji has left us but he will continue to inspire every Indian to shine for India. Kiren Rijiju, Union Sports Minister
High Court picks holes in Delhi Police chargesheet
Granting bail to student activists Natasha Narwal, Asif Iqbal Tanha and Devangana Kalita, the Delhi High Court has made it clear that the right to protest is guaranteed by the Constitution, and it must not be conflated with terrorism. Booked under the stern Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for alleged involvement in riots in East Delhi last year, the three were incarcerated for over a year. A three-member Bench of the High Court ruled that Delhi Police’s chargesheet against them had allegations that ‘stretched inferences’ and had ‘alarming and hyperbolic verbiage’. Narwal and Kalita are accused of conspiracy to plan riots and destabilise the government on the pretext of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC), while Tanha was accused of planning and organising protests across Delhi.
There was one underlying theme in three separate judgments on the accused — that Delhi Police had failed to provide any evidence to support the grave charges of terrorism or inciting violence. In the case of Narwal and Kalita, the Bench observed that the allegations against them ‘are not even borne out’ by the material on which they are based; in the case of Tanha, the Bench ruled that ‘there is absolutely nothing’ in the chargesheet that might link him to terrorism. The court noted that ‘it seems that in its anxiety to suppress dissent, in the mind of the state, the line between the constitutionally guaranteed right to protest and terrorist activity seems to be getting somewhat blurred’. ‘If this mindset gains traction, it would be a sad day for democracy,’ it added.
Democracy is strengthened, not weakened, by plurality of opinion and the freedom to express it. Democracy is weakened when wild allegations of terrorism and sedition are foisted on people to muzzle them. As the High Court noted, ‘The foundations of our nation stand on surer footing than to be likely to be shaken by a protest, however vicious, organised by a tribe of college students or other persons’. People protesting peacefully for their ideals are an important element of a democracy — invoking the most severe penal provisions against them belittles democracy and trivialises terrorism.
A new book, “With Honour and Glory: Five Great Artillery Battles”, that weaves a coherent narrative of the evolution of artillery and the lessons to be imbibed from the historic battles in which big guns played a decisive role has been authored by Maj Gen AJS ‘Abdo’ Sandhu (retd).
The book has been published under the aegis of the United Services Institute of India’s Centre for Military History and Conflict Studies. It was released by Lt Gen Raj Shukla, GOC-in-C, Army Training Command, who is the senior-most serving officer of the Indian Army’s Regiment of Artillery.
Spanning iconic artillery battles across four continents and 136 years, it includes the battles of Gettysburg (1863), Vimy Ridge (1917), Bir Hacheim (1942), Chhamb (1971) and Tololing/Tiger Hill (1999).
The project to write a book of such depth and span was conceived by the Directorate of Artillery, Army HQs, and handed over to the USI for execution. The first print of the book has been distributed by the Directorate of Artillery to the School of Artillery, Devlali, and all formations and regiments of the artillery, and the second print will soon be made available in the public domain. — TNS
Army wants to buy more special clothing, equipment for Ladakh troops as LAC stand-off continues
File image of Indian soldiers in Ladakh | Representational image | By special arrangement
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New Delhi: Amid the continuing stalemate with China at the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh and an increased deployment of troops in several extreme high altitude areas, the Army is looking at raising procurement of special clothing and mountaineering equipment.
In a list released Thursday, the Army projected figures of higher procurement of 17 types of special clothing and mountaineering equipment.
According to defence sources, the Army will give priority to Indian manufacturers, who make the said equipment, in the spirit of the Make of India initiative.
Currently, most of these items are imported from other countries.
However, with the “second positive indigenisation list” of 108 items notified by the Ministry of Defence last month, special clothing and mountaineering equipment will have to be procured from indigenous sources starting January 2023, according to provisions given in the Defence
According to the latest list, the Army has projected an annual requirement of 50,000 to 90,000 sets of Extreme Cold Weather Clothing System and a similar number of special sleeping bags, rucksacks, summer suit for super high altitude area, multipurpose boots and snow goggles.
Additional requirements include about 12,000 special woollen socks, about three lakh sets of two- and three-layer gloves, about 500 High Altitude Pulmonary Oedema (HAPO) chambers, which is a mandatory requirement for providing emergency treatment to soldiers deployed in extreme cold and high altitude areas.
Along with this, the Army has projected an annual requirement of 3,000 to 5,000 avalanche airbags and a similar number of avalanche victim detectors.
A senior Army officer said the equipment projected is extensively used in Siachen and other super high altitude areas.
“Every individual being inducted is given a fresh set of such clothing and with the additional troops an annual requirement of approximately 30,000 such sets is expected,” the officer told ThePrint on condition of anonymity.
“While jackets, trousers and gloves are a part of the personal protective equipment of a soldier, avalanche victim detectors and avalanche cords are rescue equipment while HAPO bags are essential life saving equipment,” the officer said.
A second officer explained that there are more casualties in Siachen and many higher super high altitude posts due to weather as compared to enemy action.
According to data shared in the Parliament, 74 Army personnel had died due to avalanches in three years till 2019.
“This clothing and equipment is essential to protect the soldier from the elements and assist in his duties. It is currently being procured from various countries and especially due to the sudden situation last year, emergency procurement was made from few countries as they were not available with Indian manufacturers,” said the second officer, who didn’t wish to be named.
Last year, after thousands of additional troops were inducted in eastern Ladakh in the months after the military stand-off between India and China began, special high altitude winter clothing were purchased urgently from the US under the Logistics Exchange Memorandum Agreement between the two countries.
Over the years, special clothing, tents and other equipment has been purchased from Austria, Italy, the Scandinavian countries, Australia and Sri Lanka, among others.
The kin of Sepoy Jagraj Singh at his cremation in Bathinda.
Tribune News Service
Bathinda, June 16
Soldier Jagraj Singh (26), who breathed his last at the Military Hospital in Chandimandir on June 14, was cremated with state honours at Sheikhpura village on Wednesday.
A large number of locals bid farewell to Jagraj Singh, who was the only son of a poor farmer. He had been serving the 23rd Sikh Battalion of the Army for the past seven years.
Jagraj Singh’s mother Jasveer Kaur and father Major Singh said Jagraj had joined the Sikh Regiment after passing Class XII.
Jagraj Singh’s elder sister Manpreet Kaur is a Punjab Police employee.
Jagraj Singh’s regiment is currently in Rajasthan. He was injured during training in Rajasthan on June 5 and was taken to Suratgarh Hospital by the Army, but was later airlifted to the Chandimandir Military Hospital. He underwent an operation for his injuries, but passed away on June 14.
Twelve roads built by the BRO in the northern and eastern border areas were thrown open by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today.
At an event in Lakhimpur district of Assam, the Defence Minister e-inaugurated a 20-km double-laned Kimin-Potin road along with nine other roads in Arunachal Pradesh and one each in the Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir.
He said the roads inaugurated today hold strategic and socio-economic importance as they would play an important role in strengthening national security as well as promoting development of the North-East region.
Singh said the development of North-East, was not only the overall development of the country, but also to the nation’s relations with East Asian countries.
DG Border Roads Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry gave a brief overview of the BRO’s achievements. — TNS
Heartening to see the third pillar of democracy asserting itself
Reassuring: The elevation of Justice NV Ramana as the CJI has introduced a discernible change in the way justice is being delivered. PTI
Julio Ribeiro
The elevation of Justice NV Ramana as the Chief Justice of India has introduced a discernible change in the way justice is being delivered by the judiciary. This was first noticed in the process of selection of the CBI chief. It gave the people hope that the third pillar of democracy is asserting itself, as it is expected to do, specially at such times when the political executive is misinterpreting the Constitution and the laws to suit its own ends.
I think of officers who continue to keep the flag flying. Their numbers are dwindling. But people cling on to them in the hope of getting justice, which is what IPS officers were specially recruited to dispense.
Take, for instance, the remarks made in open court by Justices Hemant Gupta and V Ramasubramanian when turning down the demand of the former Police Commissioner of Mumbai for transfer to the CBI the investigation of cases filed against him in Mumbai by sundry complainants. Why the CBI? For one, the ex-Commissioner had asked for the allegations he had made against the state’s Home Minister to be inquired into by the CBI and the Bombay High Court had obliged.
The court’s decision was a good one because you cannot expect the state government’s agencies to establish the truth when its own Home Minister is the object of suspicion. The minister was accused of summoning two junior officials of the police’s Crime Branch to his house and tasking them with collecting Rs 100 crore every month from bar owners and such like who tweak the law for financial gain.
When the former Commissioner was removed from the coveted position held by him, he abandoned his comfort zone and dashed off a letter to the CM in protest. In that letter the details of the minister’s design to strengthen his party’s coffers through encouragement of criminality were laid bare. The name of the two junior officials who had been tasked with the collections were also disclosed. One of the two was Sachin Vaze. The exact contents of the letter have not been published. Vaze was the closest confidant of the chief! When Vaze botched up, the ex-Commissioner had anticipated an unhappy turn of events. He had recorded his conversation with Vaze and the other police Inspector in which allegedly the demand for Rs 100 crore was mentioned. He wrote to the CM and simultaneously released a copy of his letter to the press.
The Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha, BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis, denounced the three-party alliance ruling the state — the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress. When he was the CM earlier, Fadnavis had made use of the same officer, Param Bir Singh, first to justify the state’s action against the left-oriented activists arrested in the Bhima Koregaon conspiracy case, and later, when the officer was appointed Director, Anti-Corruption Bureau, to absolve NCP’s Ajit Pawar in a big irrigation scam, in an attempt to cement a political alliance. It was in the interest of his (Fadnavis) party to ensure that Anil Deshmukh, the Aghadi’s Home Minister, was reviled. So, the BJP welcomed back into its camp the ex-Police Commissioner with open arms.
It is an open secret that in recent years the CBI has been used by the party in power. So, when the High Court of Bombay ordered the inquiry into the ex-Commissioner’s accusations against the minister to be assigned to the CBI, the former Commissioner could not but have been in seventh heaven.
But the state government counter attacked with three or four complaints of selected victims against the ex-Commissioner. Two former Inspectors, one cricket bookie and one real estate agent were lined up with their own individual grievances of extortion against the officer when he was Commissioner of Thane three-four years ago. The state’s investigation agencies were entrusted with the investigations. Param Bir Singh approached the Supreme Court for relief, knowing well that the state’s police units are as caged in the state as the CBI is at the Centre. While turning down his request, the judges remarked that ‘those who live in glasshouses should not throw stones’. How did the judges conclude that both, the accused and the accusers, lived in glasshouses, a sentiment shared by the rank and file of the Thane and Mumbai police?
When two prominent residents of the SC-dubbed glasshouses join hands, if one of them relies on a specialist to do hatchet jobs of unlawful content and that hatchet man trips up in a crucial operation, because by now he has begun believing in his own invincibility, the denouement is bound to follow.
Faced with unexpected and sudden ruin, the resident resorts to his own instincts of survival. And here, too, he meets a dead end as the judiciary is in no mood to oblige.
The disgraced minister, whose cash-for-transfer policy was universally known to all ranks of the police force he was chosen to administer, hopes to get off the hook because presently it is one man’s word against the other. At this moment of time, his opponent in the adjoining glasshouse has a slight advantage because of the recorded evidence.
The bar owners would have to shut shop if they had to pay these added imposts to the legally mandated taxes they pay. A sharp increase in protection money would be a novel way of combating the crime itself. Only combating the crime was not the intent of the two occupants of the glasshouses!
The entire episode has left a sour taste in the mouth. I was always proud to proclaim my membership of the elite IPS, which I joined in 1953. But opting for positivity of the type our PM preaches, I think only of those officers who continue to keep the flag flying. Their numbers show signs of dwindling. But people cling on to them in the hope of getting justice, which is what IPS officers were specially recruited to dispense.
Early completion of disengagement in eastern Ladakh could pave way for de-escalation: MEA
The two sides are now engaged in talks to extend the disengagement process to the remaining friction points
New Delhi, June 17
India on Thursday said early completion of the disengagement process in the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh could pave the way for both Indian and Chinese troops to consider de-escalation and ensure full restoration of peace and tranquillity in the border areas.
At a media briefing, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said such a step could enable progress in bilateral relations between the two countries.
“Early completion of disengagement in the remaining areas could pave the way for both sides to consider de-escalation of forces and ensure full restoration of peace and tranquillity, and thereby enabling progress in bilateral relations,” he said replying to a question.https://dac735d1aad68a67136649ddc9a7ffcb.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html
The 11th round of Corps Commander-level talks between the two sides was held on April 9 while the last edition of diplomatic negotiations under the framework of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on border affairs took place on March 12.
It is learnt that another round of WMCC talks could take place soon.
India and China were locked in a military standoff at multiple friction points in eastern Ladakh since early May last year. However, the two sides completed the withdrawal of troops and weapons from the North and South banks of Pangong lake in February following a series of military and diplomatic talks.
The two sides are now engaged in talks to extend the disengagement process to the remaining friction points.https://dac735d1aad68a67136649ddc9a7ffcb.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html
There was no visible forward movement in disengagement of troops in the remaining friction points as the Chinese side did not show flexibility in their approach on it at the 11th round of military talks.
Last month, Army Chief Gen MM Naravane said that there can be no de-escalation without complete disengagement at all friction points in eastern Ladakh and that the Indian Army is prepared for all contingencies in the region.
He also said that India is dealing with China in a “firm” and “non-escalatory” manner to ensure the sanctity of its claims in eastern Ladakh, and that it was even open to initiating confidence-building measures.
India has been insisting on complete disengagement in remaining friction points to de-escalate the situation in eastern Ladakh. PTI
Lt Gen & Mrs AS Bhinder, (9 Horse, presently Army Cdr SWC) and their son and daughter.
