Lt Gen Gyan Bhushan (retd)

Former South Western Army Commander

THE Army has come out with an out-of-the-box solution for overcoming its systemic shortage of manpower and consequently reducing the pension burden. There has never been a dearth of men and women willing to serve in our Army as officers. However, the challenge has been about quality and not about quantity.

As per reports, the Tour of Duty (ToD) will provide a glimpse of Army life to the public for a short period. It can prove to be a golden chance for those who are not interested in taking up defence forces as their career, but want to have a feel of the real experience.

It is in this backdrop that the Army is looking at the induction of a select few to start with maybe a truncated training period and service for three years. Proposals are still at a nascent stage.

Human resource management in the Army has become a Herculean challenge because of a pyramidal structure, non-grant of the non-functional financial upgradation (NFU) and limited avenues for deputations, leading to anxious moments for the Army hierarchy at all levels.

All professional armies in the world have a lean main cadre that serves for a longer duration and a larger support cadre which peels off after serving for a shorter duration. For better management of human resources, this ratio should generally be 1:1.5.

Any proposal by the Army for the support cadre will need some guarantees from the government in terms of the peel factor, lateral absorption in government jobs/PSUs and/or an attractive severance package.

Many studies have been conducted to achieve this goal, but lack of support from the government for improving the terms and conditions of the support cadre has been a stumbling block. The youth do not find it attractive to join for a shorter duration and peel off thereafter because of lack of opportunities for a second career option and meagre compensation for hardships faced during a short Army career.

The retention of more officers of the support cadre in service after the mandatory period results in a large number of aspirants in the main cadre for promotions to a extremely limited number of vacancies in higher ranks, leading to frustration, disgruntlement and an increasing number of court cases.

The Short Service Commission (SSC) has been the main support cadre of the Army. Initially, the mandatory period of service was five years, which could be extended for five years and thereafter for further four years. Around 2006, the system was changed, making the initial tenure of 10 years mandatory, which could be further extended by four years.

The higher age of exit for SSC officers reduces their chances of a second career option. An enhancement in the mandatory service period to 10 years has made SSC less attractive because various recommendations for job reservations, lateral absorption, industrial attachment, lucrative study leave, better severance package etc. have remained on paper and never been implemented.

Ameliorating measures for the support cadre like the peel factor, deliberated at length by the AV Singh committee, and lateral absorption have been non-starters because of lack of government support. Even various pertinent and viable recommendations of the Standing Committee of Parliament on the issue have been ignored. The recent recommendation of the Standing Committee suggesting compulsory military training for all those who want subsequent employment with the government is an enhanced version of a recommendation of the 1990s when it was recommended that the induction of all officers in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) be through the Army after an initial term of five years. All these options are viable, but need the government’s backing. The recent recommendations of the Standing Committee of Parliament are extremely viable and a variation of the ToD.

In the recent proposal of the ToD of three years, after six to nine months of training, the participants will have around two years plus residual service in the units. Since they will serve only in operational areas, some on-the-job formation-related operational and leadership training will be essential for serving in active areas like Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast. Therefore, the period of engagement needs consideration and deliberations so that active service in the units is for three years.

It is hoped that these well-trained young personnel with a military background will find good job opportunities in the industry, Central and state government services, police and the CAPFs. Without attractive career guarantees and a good severance package, no proposal for the support cadre can be attractive enough to draw the right material for our armed forces.

However, the experience of previous recommendation reports indicates that no proposal of a second career option for the support cadre will succeed without the government’s intervention and directions or a statute passed by Parliament.

The ToD for select government officials from both the Centre and the states in the defence forces for four to five years and giving them benefits for this service in their civil service is also an option in consonance with the recommendations of the parliamentary committee report. This modified version of ToD appears a viable option because there is no need for a second career option or a severance package. This will help develop discipline in these government officials.

The support cadre has to be made attractive to the youth with a fairly good second career option, some job guarantees in the industry, government jobs (as was done for emergency commission officers and for initial batches of the SSC) and a good severance package. There are several studies on the subject, including detailed deliberations in the AV Singh Committee report, but there has been no will to implement it.

The Army can find many ingenious and practical ways of addressing the issue, but rather than aiming for a resolution at the departmental level, it has to be fully supported by the government by ensuring guarantees.

Jammu, January 13

A 150-metre tunnel constructed along the International Border (IB) to facilitate infiltration of terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir from Pakistan was detected by Border Security Force (BSF) personnel in Hiranagar sector of Kathua district on Wednesday, officials said.

This is the third tunnel unearthed by alert border guards along the IB in the twin districts of Samba and Kathua in Jammu region over the past six months and ninth in the past decade.

“A nearly 150-metre-long tunnel was detected by a BSF patrol party during an anti-tunnelling operation in Bobiyaan village of Hirnagar sector this morning,” Inspector General of BSF, Jammu frontier, N S Jamwal told reporters at the scene.

He along with other senior officers rushed to Bobiyaan soon after the detection of the tunnel.

“The opposite of this side is Pakistan’s Shakergarh which is notorious for having launch pads and bases of terrorists. We have inputs available with us as a result of that we are sensitive to whatever is happening here,” the BSF officer said, assuring that all necessary measures are in place to counter Pakistani designs.

He said sand bags with Pakistani markings are evidence of the hand of Pakistani establishment in the construction of this tunnel, which is identical to the previously detected tunnels having a depth of 25 to 30 metre with two to three feet diameter.

Asked whether this tunnel was recently dug or it’s an old one, the BSF officer said it is a matter of investigation.

However, he said some of the sand bags recovered from the tunnel have 2016-17 year of manufacture which suggest that it is an old tunnel.

“We were searching for this tunnel for a long time and its detection was the effort of the anti-tunnelling operation which is underway all along the IB. Whether any infiltration had taken place through this tunnel in the past can be said after completion of our investigation,” he said.

Jamwal, however, said the BSF is sure that no infiltration had taken place through this tunnel in the recent past.

“We are undertaking some development works here and have strengthened the security in view of the anti-tunnelling drive,” he said.                 Referring to the killing of two Pakistani infiltrators in Surankote area of Poonch district and an encounter in Srinagar last month, the IG said Pakistan is always looking for an opportunity to push terrorists into Jammu Kashmir, whether it is through Line of Control (LoC) or IB.

“They are continuing with the attempts but we are fully alert to the situation. Our alertness resulted in detection of underground tunnels and shooting down of a Hexa-copter loaded with a huge cache of arms and ammunition,” he said, adding the border protection grid comprising army, BSF and police are working jointly to scuttle Pakistan’s attempts to push terrorists and weapons into this side.

Last year, the BSF detected two such tunnels in Samba district on August 28 and November 22 following successful infiltration by two groups of terrorists who were subsequently neutralised in separate encounters along Jammu-Srinagar national highway while they were enroute to Kashmir in trucks.

While three Pakistani terrorists affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) were eliminated in a gunfight in Nagrota area near Jammu after they were intercepted aboard a Kashmir-bound truck in January last year, another group of Pakistani terrorists armed with weapons and a large quantity of grenades were killed at the same spot on November 19.

Investigations suggested both the groups infiltrated into this side through underground tunnels.

Meanwhile, Pakistani Rangers violated ceasefire by resorting to unprovoked firing on forward posts and villages in the Border Outpost area of Gurnam in Hiranagar sector, the officials said.

The firing from across the border started around 10 pm Tuesday, prompting strong and effective retaliation by the BSF, they said, adding the cross-border firing between the two sides continued till 2.25 am Wednesday but there was no report of any damage on Indian side. PTI

New Delhi, January 13

The Supreme Court Wednesday issued a notice on a plea of the Centre which urged that the 2018 judgement of a five-judge constitution bench decriminalizing adultery under the Indian Penal Code be not made applicable to the armed forces.

A bench comprising Justices R F Nariman, Navin Sinha and K M Joseph, after issuing the notice to the PIL petitioner and others on the Centre’s plea, referred the matter to Chief Justice S A Bobde for setting up of a five-judge Constitution Bench which can clarify the position.

In a path-breaking verdict, a five-judge Constitution bench headed by the then CJI Dipak Misra unanimously struck down Section 497 (adultery) of the Indian Penal Code and declared that adultery is not a crime and the penal provision was unconstitutional as it dented the individuality of women and treated them as “chattel of husbands”.

The apex court, in a September 2018 judgment, however had said that adultery would continue to be a ground for seeking divorce in matrimonial disputes.

The Centre, in its interim plea filed in a disposed of PIL of Joseph Shine, has sought clarification and a direction that the judgement be not made applicable on special statutes and rules governing the armed forces which take actions on its personnel for indulging in adulterous relationships to ensure discipline in forces.

It has been said when jawans and officers are posted in forward inhospitable areas, their families are taken care of at base camp by other officers and the laws and rules, providing actions for indulging in adulterous or promiscuous activity, help in maintaining discipline.

An armed forces personnel can be cashiered from service on grounds of unbecoming conduct for committing adultery with a colleague’s wife, it said.

Section 497 of the IPC says: “Whoever has sexual intercourse with a person who is and whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the wife of another man, without the consent or connivance of that man, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape, is guilty of the offence of adultery.”

Adultery was punishable by a maximum of five years in jail or fine or both.

Striking down the law, the apex court had said that the section 497 of the IPC was manifestly arbitrary, archaic law which is violative of the rights to equality and equal opportunity to women. — PTI

YOGENDRA YADAV

President, Swaraj India

IN rejecting the Supreme Court-appointed expert committee to mediate between farmers and the Narendra Modi government, the farmers’ organisations have not only wisely sidestepped a possible trap, but have also reaffirmed a basic principle of democratic accountability and responsible governance.

Let there be no confusion about it. The expert committee appointed by the SC is not meant to advise the court on technical matters of agricultural marketing or on the implications of the disputed agricultural laws. The order of the Supreme Court makes it clear that the committee is to facilitate negotiations between the government and farmers’ organisations: “The negotiations between the farmers’ bodies and the government have not yielded any result so far. Therefore, we are of the view that the constitution of a committee of experts in the field of agriculture to negotiate between the farmers’ bodies and the government of India may create a congenial atmosphere and improve the trust and confidence of the farmers.”

The court goes on to specify that the committee has been “constituted for the purpose of listening to the grievances of the farmers relating to the farm laws and the views of the government and to make recommendations.” Presumably, the committee will try to find a middle ground and advise the government on how the laws should be tweaked in a way so as to satisfy both the government and the protesting farmers.

That is precisely why the farmers’ organisations had resisted, right from the beginning, the idea of any such committee. They have objected to being forced into binding mediation, questioned the instrument of a committee and suspected the composition of such a committee. On all three counts, their assessment has been proven right.

First of all, the farmers have been suspicious of being pushed into mediation that they never asked for or consented to. They have never said no to negotiations with the government. Sure, the talks with the government have been frustrating. The Modi government has been intransigent. Yet, that is the only site for negotiations in a democracy. In the last instance, elected representatives are there to speak to the people. They are accountable to the people and to the farmers. The courts are there to adjudicate between right and wrong, legal and illegal. The courts are not there to engage in give and take, which is part of any negotiation. That is why the courts are responsible to the Constitution and not accountable to the people. That is the logic of democratic governance. Any attempt to shift the site of negotiation from the government to the judiciary amounts to overturning this basic democratic logic.

The government’s keenness to shift this ‘headache’ and the Supreme Court’s alacrity to take over have strengthened the resistance of the farmers. It needs to be underlined that the protesting farmers did not approach the court. Nor did the government, at least not on paper. The initial petitioners were third parties who wanted the court to evict the farmers from their protest site. The other set of petitioners questioned the constitutionality of the three laws and wanted these scrapped. None of the petitioners prayed for mediation from the court. Yet, from day one, that is what the court was interested in. The court dismissed, and rightly so, the pleas asking for eviction of the protesting farmers. It recognised, again rightly so, the democratic rights of the farmers to engage in a peaceful protest. As for the pleas, regarding the constitutional validity of the three laws, the court put this on the back burner, saying that it will consider these at an appropriate time.

The Supreme Court could have expedited this process by setting a time frame within which it will decide upon the constitutional validity of these three laws. That would have been most appropriate. But it chose not to do so. Instead, the court chose to focus on a third issue beyond what was asked for by any party and beyond its legal remit. Farmers’ organisations were smart enough to resist this move from the beginning.

Dushyant Dave and the other three lawyers representing just eight out of 400-plus farmers’ organisations involved in this protest were wise to keep away from the court’s deliberations on this issue.

Someone might ask: Forget the technicalities, but what’s wrong in the top court stepping in to resolve a deadlock? Well, that is possible, provided the Supreme Court were to enjoy moral authority over and above its legal and constitutional powers. Such moral authority is commanded, not demanded.

rveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, January 13

Driven by the spirit of benevolence, farmers from the district have been contributing to langar stalls that have come up on the NH-44 and those at the Delhi border. It is a manner of opposing the “black” laws, they say.

Farmers have been sending dry ration and other essential items to the four langar stalls in the district. One is located near Oasis Tourist Complex, while another one is near the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources. There are two langar stalls at the Bastara toll plaza.

Darar village resident Deepak Waraich, who is hosting langar near the tourist complex, said: “Initially, only four villages — Darar, Salaru, Kurali and Ramba — contributed to the langar. As the movement gained ground, more villages started contributing. People support the ‘langar sewa’ as per their capacity. Some contribute food items and milk, while some give money.”

Spirit of Benevolence

Initially, only four villages contributed to the langar. As the movement gained ground, more villages started contributing. Some contribute food items and milk, while some give money. —Deepak Waraich, Darar village resident

Salaru resident Gurinder Singh, who is volunteering at a langar stall, said: “Volunteers serve food round the clock to everyone passing by. Rice, dal, mix vegetable, chapati, and tea are served every day, while ‘jalebi’ and ‘kadhi’ are served on alternate days.”

It is not about food alone. Some persons have been distributing medicines for free. Rajat Khanna, the owner of a local pharmacy store, has set up a stall of medicines on the NH-44. “All kind of general medicines are given to farmers in need. Doctors have also volunteered,” he said.

The help also pours in from farmers on their way to the Delhi border. Farmers going to the Delhi border leave some food items at the langar stalls.