Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 15

The Army today demonstrated an offensive swarm drone system during the annual Army Day parade here.

The system was tested using 75 indigenously designed and developed drones, which executed an array of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled simulated offensive missions. Such drones will be needed in close tactical battle.

One such project is the AI offensive drone operation. The project symbolises the beginning of Army’s tryst with autonomy in weapon platforms.

“This demonstration is recognition of the Indian Army’s ability to embrace emerging and disruptive technologies to transform itself into a technology-enabled force,” the Army said in statement.

The Army is investing heavily in AI, autonomous weapon systems, quantum technologies, robotics, cloud computing and algorithm warfare in order to achieve a convergence between the Army’s war-fighting philosophies and the military attributes of these technologies.

Army Day is celebrated on January 15 every year in recognition of Field Marshal KM Cariappa’s taking over as the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from Sir Francis Butcher, the last British Commander, in 1949.

It is celebrated in the national capital as well as at all six Army Command Headquarters in the country.

The Cabinet Committee on Security’s approval for the procurement of 83 upgraded Tejas fighter jets for the Indian Air Force (IAF) signals a significant push to accelerate the slow and difficult march towards self-reliance in the defence sector. The nearly

Rs 47,000-crore deal has been described as a game-changer; it would, according to the Defence Minister, act as a catalyst to transform the Indian aerospace industry into a self-sustaining ecosystem. Last year, an import embargo was imposed on 101 defence items, a new Defence Acquisition Procedure was put in place and Foreign Direct Investment in the sector was raised from 49 to 74 per cent under the automatic route. The government may have made clear its intent to support indigenous defence manufacturing to stem the dependence on expensive high-tech foreign imports, but the real test lies in putting that into practice and ensuring results.

Tejas is flying high, but it has been a long and arduous journey for the Light Combat Aircraft. The Mark-1A fighters will have several ‘improvements’ over the 40 Mark-1 jets ordered by the IAF earlier. The indigenous content level is expected to be 60 per cent, up 10 per cent, by the time the entire delivery is rolled out and there will be greater collaboration with private vendors. It is not only the largest make-in-India deal in the defence sector, but also the biggest for fighter jets since the government in the mid-1990s okayed the purchase of 272 Sukhoi-30MKI jets from Russia. The first lot of the upgraded version of the Tejas platform is to be made available by 2023 and the last by 2027. Public sector giant Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has a challenging task at hand and will have to step up its production rate.

The IAF at present has 30 fighter squadrons (16-18 planes each) against the requirement of 42 in case of a simultaneous two-front war. The Air Force is banking on the Tejas to add to its strength, and be the ‘backbone’ of the fleet.

New Delhi, January 15

Around 300-400 terrorists trained in camps across the Line of Control (LoC) are ready to sneak into Jammu and Kashmir, Army Chief General MM Naravane said on Friday.

In his speech during the Army Day Parade, he also said that there had been 44 per cent increase in ceasefire violations, which reflects Pakistan’s sinister design.

Pakistan often provides cover fire to help terrorists sneak into Jammu and Kashmir.

General Naravane said India’s active operations and strong counter-infiltration grid not only inflicted heavy losses on the enemy but they contained infiltration attempts as well.

He said the Army killed over 200 terrorists in counter-terror operations and on the LoC last year, adding these measures have provided people of Jammu and Kashmir relief from terrorism.

“Strong response is being given to the enemy on the other border. Pakistan continues to provide safe haven to terrorists. In the training camps, across the LoC around 300-400 terrorists are ready to infiltrate,” he said.

“There was an increase of 44 per cent in the ceasefire violations last year which is proof of Pakistan’s sinister plans. There were also attempts to smuggle weapons using drones,” he added.

There were efforts to smuggle weapons into India from across the border using drones and tunnels, he mentioned.

General Naravane said the Indian Army was working towards reorganisation and modernisation in order to increase its war fighting capability.

Awantipora, January 15

The Indian Army has changed its standard operating procedure (SOP) for anti-terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir to now focus on ensuring surrenders during live encounters notwithstanding the threat to the lives of its personnel – a policy that has helped save the lives of 17 youths in the last six months.

On the occasion of Army Day on Friday, four Rashtriya Rifles (RR) units working under the Victor Force, which combats terrorist activities in south Kashmir and parts of central Kashmir, were awarded the coveted Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Unit Citation.

The units – 50 RR, 44 RR, 42 RR and 34 RR – have been involved in multiple counter-terrorism operations and have ensured seven surrenders since September last year when it was decided to make efforts to bring the misguided youths back to the mainstream.

The citations to the four units drawn from Kumaon, Rajput, Assam and Jat regiments of the Army were presented by Chief of Army Staff Gen MM Naravane in the national capital.

Videos of some of the surrenders, accessed by PTI, show that in spite of grave risks, the Army brought parents of the terrorists to the encounter site and convinced them to drop arms.

In one of the videos, a terrorist, Zahid, has an emotional reunion with his father, who is seen weeping and telling his son that it is a rebirth.

General Officer Commanding of the Victor Force Major General Rashim Bali, who has been supervising surrenders during live encounters, feels that this has generated tremendous goodwill among the local population.

This has given a reassurance to the local terrorists that the avenue of their return to the national mainstream is open. “For those who want to join the national mainstream, we are committed to accept surrenders, even by putting our lives at great peril,” he said.

At the same time, Major General Bali made it clear that relentless operations will continue against those who pick up guns and resort to violence.

In some of the videos, surrendered terrorists could be seen praising the Army for providing them an opportunity to shun the path of violence.

The new strategy of the Army came into effect last year when Shoiab Ahmed Bhat of the Al Badr terror group expressed his desire to lay down arms during an ongoing encounter.

He was part of the group which had killed a jawan of the Territorial Army in south Kashmir’s Shopian district, but this did not deter the Army personnel in ensuring his surrender and handing him over to police after questioning. PTI

Archit Watts

Tribune News Service

Muktsar, January 15

Gurpreet Singh (28) and Gurpreet Kaur (22), residents of Sector 47, Chandigarh, are camping with their eight-month-old son Ashmeet Singh at the Singhu border for over a month now.

They had reached Singhu border on December 13 by boarding a tractor-trailer from Rajpura town in Patiala district. Speaking over the phone, cab driver and theatre artist Gurpreet Singh said, “Saade kol zameen nahi, par zameer hai (We don’t own land, but we have conscience). We are followers of Guru Gobind Singh. We have come here to create history. Initially, my wife and some relatives had some fear in their minds, but now, they are proud of my decision. We have celebrated my son’s first Lohri here and my birthday as well. Initially, we stayed in a trailer, but later got a waterproof tent. We clean other tents here as sewa.”

He added, “My mother is 76 years old and a widow. She is staying alone in Chandigarh. Though some neighbours daily tell her to call us back home due to the prevailing cold weather, she says we should come back only after the black laws are repealed.”

About his earnings, Gurpreet said, “I used to drive a cab and earn Rs 20,000 a month. I am not working presently, but I think that if the farmers won’t be able to survive, how will we survive? This is the protest for everyone’s survival.”

His wife Gurpreet Kaur said, “We are here to show Prime Minister Narendra Modi that we are Punjabis and know very well how to fight for our rights and win.”

Meanwhile, some people are giving them ‘shagun’ to keep their spirits up. “The protest has created history as from 95-year-olds to eight-month-old kids are present here for the past two months. I go to meet Ashmeet daily to know about his well-being, which infuses a positive energy in me,” said Ravneet Brar, spokesperson, Bhartiya Kisan Union (Kadian).

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 15

Led by Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Sunil Jakhar and joined by several ministers and legislators, a large number of Congress workers today set out on a protest march from the Congress Bhawan here to Punjab Raj Bhawan, demanding the repeal of farm laws. However, they were immediately stopped by the cops from marching towards Raj Bhawan, forcing the party leaders to stage a dharna near the Congress Bhawan.

Addressing the protesters, Jakhar said the central government was behaving in an arrogant manner and did not have any respect for democratic practices and public opinion. “It is the arrogance of the central government that is preventing it from repealing the laws which have been outrightly rejected by the farming community across the country,” Jakhar said, while warning against the prolonged stalemate on the issue.

He said it was after a long struggle by the Congress that constitutional institutions had been set up and strengthened, and now the BJP was trying to undermine all such institutions as it had hardly any value or respect for them. “Arrogance of the central government was not only challenging but undermining the democratic and constitutional institutions of the country,” he said.

Paying glowing tributes to the farmers who laid down their lives during the ongoing protests, party leaders said they were the martyrs of the movement and held the Modi government responsible for their martyrdom.

“The way the central government was responsible for pushing our soldiers into the death trap in Galwan heights by the lack of will and planning, in a similar way the government is accountable for pushing our farmers to death,” he said.

BJP leaders gheraoed for 3 hrs

Won’t let them hold any meet: Farmers

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, January 15

A Punjab Police special investigation team (SIT) probing the 2015 police firing incidents today filed a chargesheet against former DGP Sumedh Singh Saini and IGP Paramraj Singh Umranangal in connection with the Behbal Kalan firing incident in which two protesters were killed on October 14, 2015.

While many other accused, including former SSP Charanjit Singh Sharma and two SP-rank police officers, have already been chargesheeted by the SIT, the supplementary chargesheet against the former DGP and IGP has been filed in the court of the JMIC, Faridkot, today. The court has summoned both accused police officers on February 9.

The SIT had nominated Saini and Umranangal as accused in the case of murder and attempt to murder of Behbal Kalan in September 2020. In the chargesheet, the SIT claimed both police officers had been found guilty in the case on the basis of documentary evidence and the statements of witnesses. A week after the killing of two Sikh protesters in police firing at Behbal Kalan on October 14, 2015, an FIR was registered on October 21, 2015, at the Bajakhana police station under Sections 302, 307 and 34 of the IPC and Sections 25, 27, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act. The complainant in the FIR was Iqbal Singh Sahota, director, bureau of investigation-cum-chairman, SIT, which was constituted on the directions of the Punjab DGP.

Earlier, no police officer was nominated as an accused in the FIR but later, the SIT had nominated many police officers as accused in the case.

In the supplementary chargesheet, the SIT has relied upon 22 phone calls, allegedly made between the then DGP Sumedh Singh Saini and IGP Paramraj Singh Umranangal, to buttress its claim that the former DGP was a part of the conspiracy of “unprovoked” firing on protesters.

The firing on the protesters at both places was a part of an already hatched conspiracy. The accused police officers did not procure necessary permission from the duty magistrate or SDM before resorting to unprovoked firing on the protesters, the chargesheet alleged.

The SIT claimed that its investigation had found that Umranangal was in constant touch with Saini and after getting directions from him, he told then SSP Charanjit Singh Sharma and others to use force on the protesters.

Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, January 15

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha said on Friday that “misconceptions” are being spread about the proposed tractor march on January 26 and that their “motive is not to harm the Republic Day parade”.

“We are making it clear that we have no motive to harm the parade of the Government of India by this parade of farmers.  The detailed plan for this parade will be delivered only after a meeting of farmers’ organisations on January 17 and the hearing of the Supreme Court on January 18,” Dr Dashan Pal said.

Balbir Singh Rajewal also urged everyone to maintain peace and harmony and not pay heed to “false and unfounded inflammatory propaganda and rumour-mongering” like “unfurling the national flag at the Red Fort etc”.

“Misconceptions/false inflammatory propaganda is being spread about the January 26 movement. Some people are saying that the national flag should be hoisted at the Red Fort, some are saying the Parliament will be stormed,” Rajewal said, accusing “anti-farmer forces and government agencies” of trying to malign and scuttle the peaceful agitation of farmers and common people.

Morcha leaders also condemned inflammatory statements by an organizstion called ‘Sikhs for Justice’

“We urge farmers to be aware of such organisations which are breaking the unity among us,” they said.

Though Samyukta Kisan Motcha leaders said they are yet to finalise the contours of January 26 tractor march, BKU leader from Uttar Pradesh, Rakesh Tikait, has already announced programme for the day. He said on Thursday that farmers will hold a simultaneous parade from Red Fort to India Gate on Republic Day.

“The Republic Day Parade has been cut short, it will now be from Rastrapati Bhawan to India Gate, I am told. Farmers will march from Red Fort to India Gate and meet the Republic Day parade there. Jawans marching from one side and kisans from the other and meeting at the Amar Jawan Jyoti (at India Gate), It will be a historic moment,” Tikait said.

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 15

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday led protests outside the Delhi Raj Niwas in solidarity with the agitating farmers and demanded repeal of farm laws.

As the Congress marked ‘Kisan Adhikar Divas’ by gheraoing Governor houses across India, several of party leaders offered arrests, including in Delhi where Congress leaders from Punjab were detained and kept at the Mandir Marg police station for long hours.

Congress MPs from Punjab Ravneet Singh Bittu, Gurjeet Aujla, JS Gill and MLA Kubir Jira were among those detained from Jantar Mantar, where they have been sitting in solidarity with the farmers for 41 days.

Govt helping corporates

The Central farm laws have been drafted to aid corporates like Ambani and Adani. The government had earlier attempted to usurp farm land by bringing in the new land acquisition Act. The Congress foiled that attempt. —Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader

Priyanka also joined the protesting Congress leaders from Punjab at Jantar Mantar and said the party would not withdraw until the laws were repealed.

“We will stand with the farmers till the black laws are repealed…the government will have to budge,” said Rahul. “The laws are meant not to help farmers, but to destroy them. They have been drafted to aid corporates like Ambani and Adani. The Congress will continue to stand with the farmers. The government had earlier attempted to usurp farm lands by bringing the new land acquisition Act. The Congress frustrated that attempt. Now the BJP and their corporate friends have again made a bid to attack the farmers and we will again stand against the government,” he said before going to Jantar Mantar, where he said the Prime Minister did not respect the farmers and wanted to tire out the protesters in battle with the Centre.

AICC general secretary KV Venugopal later said water cannons were used against Congress workers in Chandigarh while they were trying to gherao the Punjab Raj Bhawan. Uttar Pradesh leaders of the party were detained when they were trying to march towards Raj Bhawan in Lucknow. “Haryana leaders, including state chief Kumari Selja, held a protest march and courted arrest. Reports of protests also came in from Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan,” Venugopal said.

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 15

The Supreme Court’s four-member committee on farmers’ agitation appears to be in limbo after the lone farmers’ representative and Bharatiya Kisan Union national president Bhupinder Singh Mann recused himself in view of criticism from his own union which sacked him from its primary membership.

Legal experts told The Tribune that the panel can’t start its work until it was reconstituted and the vacancy filled.

“The SC will have to nominate some other person to the committee. Since setting up of the committee is a unilateral action on part of the court, only it can find a replacement for Mann,” senior counsel Vikas Singh, who is appearing a PIL petitioner seeking guidelines on agitations, said.

Advocate Virag Gupta said, “The SC may modify its previous order and allow the committee to continue with only three members or name Mann’s replacement. Since kisan unions have expressed their willingness to continue talks with the government it may keep its order on hold or even refer it to a Constitution Bench.”

While staying the implementation of the three farm laws, a three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde had on January 12 set up a four-member committee to hear stakeholders’ views.

Besides Mann, the other three members of the committee were Pramod Kumar Joshi (Director, South Asia international Food Policy), Agricultural Economist Ashok Gulati and Shetkari Sanghatana leader Anil Ghanwat.

They were mandated to talk to the agitating farmers on the Farmers (Empowerment & Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance & Farm Services Act 2020, Farmers Produce Trade & Commerce (Promotion & Facilitation) Act & Amendment to Essential Commodities Act and file a report before the court in two months.

Advocate AP Singh, who is representing some farmers’ bodies in the case, said, “it was bound to happen as most of the members were pro-farm laws and their views were already known”.