CLICK BELOW TO OPEN NEWSPAPER

THE EXPRESS INDIA NEWS : NEWSPAPER

LEST WE FORGET: GUTS AND GLORY ON FOREIGN SOILS – IX

Ishar Singh, The hero of Waziristan

(Maj Gen Harvijay Singh, SM)

1921: Between the Wars

Sardar Bahadur Captain Ishar Singh Victoria Cross

In 1921, Ishar Singh was a Sepoy in the 28^th Punjabis, Indian Army.

During the First World War, the Battalion fought on the Tigris Front, as the British made desperate efforts to relieve their besieged garrison at Kut al Amara. In 1917, the regiment took part in the Third Battle of Sannaiyat, the Capture of Baghdad, and the actions at Istabulat and Tekrit. In 1918, the 28^th Punjabis participated in the Palestine Campaign. During the war, the regiment suffered a total of 1423 casualties. It raised a second battalion in 1918, which was disbanded after the war.

In 1921, Sepoy Ishar Singh of the 28^th Punjabis was awarded the Victoria Cross for exceptional valour during the Waziristan Campaign.

The Waziristan Revolt of 1919-1920 was sparked by the Afghan invasion of British India in 1919. Though the Waziri tribesmen fought hard. This conflict the first time that air power was used in the Sub Continent.

Near Haidari Kach, Waziristan, Sepoy Ishar Singh was No. l of a Lewis Gun-Section when the convoy protection troops were attacked.

Ishar Singh received a serious gunshot wound in the chest, and fell next to his Lewis gun. The British officer, Indian officer, and all the Havildars of his company were either killed or wounded, and his Lewis gun was seized by the enemy.

Calling up two other men he got up, charged the enemy, and recovered the Lewis gun. Despite bleeding profusely, he again got the gun into action and killed many of the enemy breaking their attack.

Ordered to go back and have his wound dressed, he went to the medical officer. There he instead started helping the other wounded and carried water to them, making many trips to the nearby river and back. It was only after three hours that he finally submitted to be evacuated, being then too weak from loss of blood to object.

His bravery was recognised with the award of the Victoria Cross.

During World War II, the 28^th Punjabis (redesignated as the 4^th Battalion, the 15^th Punjab Regiment) fought in the Burma Campaign with great distinction, suffered 921 casualties and was awarded numerous gallantry awards including two Victoria Crosses to Lieutenant Karamjeet Singh Judge and Naik Gian Singh. In 1947, the Battalion was allocated to the Pakistan Army.

Indian Armed Forces stand tall among their global peers because of their rich battle-hardened heritage, motivation and tough training.

………………Contd, because these stories must be told

SANJHA MORCHA WISHES ALL VETERANS HAPPY LOHRI

Tribune News Service

Ajay Banerjee

New Delhi, January 12

Army chief Gen Manoj Pande on Thursday said the security situation along the northern borders (with China) is stable but remains unpredictable. 

Addressing a press conference ahead of the Army Day, the Army chief said they had resolved five of the seven friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

Gen Pande praised the troops on the ground saying, “We have been able to maintain a robust defensive posture to prevent our adversary from changing the status quo along the LAC.

“The Army has decided to undertake transformation of Army across five key domains. These are force re-structuring and optimisation; modernisation and technology infusion; man management like agnipath; jointness; and the refining systems and processes.https://d22cba0186b65889fd9bfa3075bbe965.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html

“2023 will be the year of transformation,” Gen Pande said, adding that the process would continue.

On being asked about modernisation, Gen Pande said, “We as of now have 45 per cent vintage equipment; 41 per cent of the equipment is current technology and some 12 to 15 per cent are state-of-the-art.

“By 2030 we aim to have 45 per cent state-of-the-art and 35 per cent current technology,” Gen Pande said. 

When asked if there was any impact on military movement ahead of Joshimath, he replied in the negative, adding that they were ready to help the local administration, if required.

There is a slight increase in the number of troops of People’s Liberation Army facing the eastern command, Gen Pande said.

“The troops that came for training have remained,” Gen Pande said, adding that they had adequate deployment and the reserves to meet any challenge.l

“There is a marked improvement in infrastructure on our side,” the Army chief said, adding that the tunnel under the Zoji La would be operational by the end of the year. The issue of round-the-year connectivity to Ladakh will be sorted,” he said.

Col TBS Bedi (retd)

The India-China conflict in Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh has brought to the fore the challenges faced by our troops deployed along the Line of Actual Control. I am reminded of my own ‘lockdown’ at Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) in 1985. There was no road up to DBO at that time, and the only source of access was an old airstrip lying virtually abandoned after its use in the 1962 War. The supplies for our troops used to be managed through mules or by air-dropping in the DBO area. Fairchild Packet aircraft were used to carry out logistics sorties. Fortunately, now there is a fairly well-maintained airstrip, which has put us in a strong position in the Karakoram area.

I was commanding a field company of engineers operating in the Siachen Glacier area under Operation Meghdoot at Thoise. Our brigade commander, Brig Jal Master, called me to his office and told me that a special Cheetah helicopter had been arranged for going to DBO, and that I had to go there urgently for carrying out a recce of the abandoned airstrip and to reactivate it fast. The next day, I took off in a helicopter from Thoise. We followed the old Hindustan-Tibet Silk Route, which was visible from the air. DBO is located on that ancient route, about 16 km from the Karakoram Pass.

We could see the carcasses of perished animals along that route. After about 45 minutes, we landed there. I was dropped along with my haversack and the pilot flew back to Thoise as there were no refuelling facilities available at DBO. I carried out the recce of the advanced landing ground (ALG) the very next day. It was a gravel-type airstrip, situated at an altitude of 16,700 ft.

But when I had completed my assignment and was waiting for the helicopter, the weather suddenly turned very bad. The temperature was below minus 30 degrees and the wind velocity was around 150 km per hour. The arrival of the helicopter was ruled out. I was stranded in a semi-underground bunker for 28 days. In freezing weather, in a land without trees or grass and no human around, it was the kerosene bukhari that kept me warm. My family was worried until my unit informed them about my safety. It was quite an experience. Guarding our frontier against a formidable enemy in such abnormal conditions is not easy. We must salute our soldiers for the courage they bring to their task.

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 12

Discussing multiple challenges for India from China and Pakistan, experts have pointed out that relations with either are not expected to normalise in the near future.

Delhi Forum for Strategic Studies organised a discussion on ‘2023: Security Challenges Confronting India’. The discussion revolved around the two neighbours of India and the lessons from the Russia-Ukraine war.

Tilak Devasher, who retired as Special Secretary at the Research and Analysis Wing and is now a member of the National Security Advisory Board, said, “For India, relations with Pakistan are not a priority, India is looking at Indo-Pacific. Relations with the neighbour will be in limbo till political and financial situation stabilises there.”

“In the last 70 years we have tried to live as normal neighbours. Pakistan does not behave as a normal state, ‘anti-India’ is what defines its identity,” Devasher said

The founding head of the Defence Intelligence Agency, Lt Gen Kamal Davar (retd), mentioning China, said, “Why do we have to even talk about differing perceptions of the so-called Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh? The Chinese are in occupation of their November 20, 1962 claim-line and are now salami slicing in the buffer zone. We need to carry out mirrored actions against them.”

Maj Gen BK Sharma (retd), who heads the United Services Institution, made an assessment of the Russia-Ukraine war saying wars would be long. “In India we have been talking about short intense wars. We are in a state of war with China and have been in a state of war with Pakistan for decades. The Russia-Ukraine war has shown how inexpensive drones hit valuable targets or cruise missiles brought down a warship.”

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (retd) mentioned strategic communication as a vital tool saying, “We need research and academic back-up to run social media handles

India, he said, needs a think-tank where diplomats, retired soldiers, Indian Police Service and mass communication specialists decide on the context of communication.

Former ambassador Suresh Goel said, “Relationship between India and China is going to remain adversarial and this is not due to the territorial dispute; it’s due to China’s ambitions.

Click heading below to open newspaper

The express india newspaper

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 11

Chandigarh-based laywer, Maj Navdeep Singh, has been appointed to the Military Justice Advisory Committee constituted by the Commonwealth in December 2022, that comprises five global experts on military justice.

The Committee, under the aegis of the Office of Civil and Criminal Justice Reform (OCCJR) in the Commonwealth Secretariat, will deal with requests from member countries for assisting them in military justice reforms and other related legislative transformation.

The Commonwealth is an international body of 56 nations and promotes democracy, good governance, peace and the rule of law. It is also considering working upon model military justice principles.

Navdeep was earlier a member of the High Level Committee of Experts constituted by the Defence Minister in 2015 to reduce litigation related to service issue of defence personnel, and has authored several books on military law and regulations.

He was also a member of the ‘Yale Draft’ that was compiled after a conference of global jurists at the Yale Law School in 2018 to promote independence, competence and impartiality in military justice processes. He is an International Fellow at the National Institute of Military Justice, Washington DC.

The other members of the committee include Judge Alan Large, head of the service judiciary of the United Kingdom, Professor Eugene Fidell from Yale Law School and president emeritus of the National Institute of Military Justice, Washington DC, Chief Judge Kevin Riordan, Judge Advocate General of New Zealand and Dr Michelle Nel, Vice Dean, Faculty of Military Science of the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Two belong to Himachal Pradesh, one from Jammu

Samaan Lateef

Srinagar, January 11

Three soldiers, including a junior commissioned officer (JCO), lost their lives after they slipped into a gorge during patrolling along the Line of Control (LoC) in North Kashmir, officials said on Wednesday. The soldiers were part of a regular operational task in Machil sector of Kupwara when the mishap took place at about 5:30 pm on Tuesday evening.

Will be remembered

Their sacrifice and selfless service to the nation will always be remembered. Manoj Sinha, L-G

Stand with families

We offer glowing tributes and express sympathies with bereaved families. Ravinder Sharma, Cong leader

“While moving towards the forward post, snow along the narrow track broke, leading to the slipping of one the JCOs and two jawans into a deep gorge,” said Srinagar-based defence spokesperson Col Emron Musavi.

The Army launched a rescue operation with the help of troops from a nearest post. Sustained efforts of the search party led to the recovery of mortal remains of the three soldiers between 4.15 am and 4.45 am on Wednesday morning,” the spokesperson said.

The deceased have been identified as JCO Parshotam Kumar, 43, of Majua Uttami village of Jammu, Havildar Amrik Singh, 39, of Una and and Amit Sharma, 23, of Hamirpur in Himachal. Kumar had joined the Army in 1996. He is survived by his wife and two kids. Singh had joined the Army in 2001 and is survived by his wife and a son. Sharma joined the Army in 2019 and is survived by his mother. The mortal remains will be taken for last rites to their respective native places.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha tweeted, “Their sacrifice and selfless service to the nation will always be remembered.” Ravinder Sharma, chief spokesperson of the J&K Congress, also expressed grief over the deaths. “We offer glowing tributes to the slain soldiers,” he added.

OROP 2 Revision सरकार ने किया साफ कब मिलेगी OROP और कितनी किस्तों में ! SC ORDER 9TH Jan 23