New Delhi : Lt Gen YK Joshi has been appointed commander of the strategically crucial Northern Command which takes care of overall security scenario along the border with Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir as well as with China in Ladakh.

Lt Gen Joshi, with vast experience of anti-terror operations in Kashmir, succeeds Lt Gen Ranbir Singh who retires from service on January 31.

Lt Gen Joshi is currently serving as chief of staff of the Northern Command. He will take charge of the Northern Command as General Officer-Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) on February 1, official sources told PTI. Lt Gen CP Mohanty has been appointed commander of the Southern Command. He succeeds Lt Gen SK Saini who will take charge as new vice-chief of the army on Saturday. The post of vice-chief fell vacant after Gen MM Naravane was appointed Chief of Army Staff.

Lt Gen Mohanty has operational experience along the borders with Pakistan and China and also in active counter-insurgency operations in Assam. He led a multinational UN brigade in Congo. PTI

 

KARTARPUR SAHIB VISIT.

I begin with a quote from Bhakt KabirJi in Guru Granth Sahib :-

On 12 Jan along with three other veterans I went to Kartarpur Sahib. Lt Col H S Kahlon, Vr C Arty 26 NDA, Col S S Bhullar, 18 Cav and self travelled together. Col Mukhtiar Singh, Arty 1979 travelled separately with his wife.

Application:  Application has to be made minimum 15 days ahead of travel, on line, at prakashpurb550@mha.gov.in. Scanned copy of Indian Passport, first and last page and a photo along with some details are sent. Foreign passport holders only with OCI card can travel. Rest through Pak visa. Arrange for police verification same day as you get a notice from the local police station the next day. In 4 to 5 days you get acknowledgement of your application. Final permission comes 4 days before day of visit.

Issue is why fresh police verification required? It is a formality completed by two neighbours of your area.

The final confirmation says “You MAY download the ETA…”. It is MUST. It should say ETD. You need to carry the printed letter. If not, an enterprising guy from a close by village has pasted his mobile number at the first check post and he gets you a copy in about 30 minutes for Rs 20.

Checks At ICP. After two checks on the road leading to the ICP, one by Punjab Police and another by BSF you enter the car park.

At the ICP you have to show your passport and the travel permit more times than to enter an aircraft for a flight to USA or Europe. Finger prints at the immigration counter, mine seldom work and a photograph are part of the check. Customs check. You declare the currency being  carried. Do carry USD 20. Out of the ICP in about 30 mins you are taken in an electric cart about 150 metres to the Zero line. Checked once again you walk across the Radcliffe Line.

Pak ICP. From the Zero line you are taken in electric carts to the Pak ICP about 200 metres away. You get entry permit by paying USD 20. You can also pay in Indian currency. Enter the ICP. Thankfully less checks on Pakistan side. Passport and photo done, you get to the Customs check and out of ICP. You board a bus for the 3 km ride to the shrine. 

Our First Impression.  Entering Pakistan we wished all of them, the cart driver, Rangers, FIA, currency deposit counter, immigration officials and the customs staff Sat Sri Akal and As- Salam-u-Alaykum. All conversation in Punjabi. What a feeling. When told we are ex faujis we got more respect than other visitors. The Customs Officer made us sit and get the check done separately whilst others were in the queue. Where is this animosity towards Indians and that too ex faujis? Not me. Ask anyone who has visited the place their experience. You are given a card to be worn at all times during the visit.

The Gurudwara. A few minutes’ drive across the Ravi takes you to the Gurudwara. A young Sikh lady, Andleeb Kaur briefs you about the layout. Asked her about the non Sikh sounding name she said it’s a Persian word. Its Nightingale. I asked her any problems she and others faced. Coming from Narowal, 16 km away,  she said no problems at all.

It is amazing to see the works done by the Pakistan govt and the Pakistan Gurudwara Committee. Our SGPC and the Kar Sewa Babas must learn from them. The original Gurudwara building, made by Maharaja Bhupinder Singh is not touched except for painting. It’s still a brick structure. The massive area around it, Baradari I should say, on three sides and the huge area in between is beautifully constructed.

The Sarovars are like a pool in a 5 Star resort. Pilgrims not aware plus may be the winter cold saw it unused. As the story goes Guru Nanak’s mortal remains were not found as Muslims and Sikhs argued over the last rites. The Gurudwara has a mazar just a few feet outside where the Muslims  buried one half of the Baba’s robe in accordance with their faith and a small enclosure inside the building where the Sikhs performed the last rites with the other half.Both communities had claimed Babaji as their own Peer/Guru.

The Granth Sahib is on the first floor. The space inside is slightly smaller than the Harmandar Sahib in Amritsar.

There is a well a few feet away which was used by  Guru Nanak to  water the fields. A small tail of an exploded bomb is displayed there. The writing says an IAF attack missed the Gurudwara building and landed in the well. I leave it at that.

The Baradari on two sides have long halls

with thick mattresses, clean white sheets and pillows for pilgrims to spend the night. More for locals and those on visitor Visa. We have to return by 4 PM.

The Langar. A large hall, spic and span with a modern kitchen. The Aloo Vadi, Rajma, rice, chappatis, pickle and sewian langar followed by tea was memorable. All sewadars serving food and cooks are Pakistani muslims. The langar is practically Muslim run. Indian pilgrims do take part in cleaning the plates etc.

Experience from Meeting Pakistanis. Greetings are very well

reciprocated. It will pleasantly shock readers of this post that more Pakistani Muslims visit the place than Indians. And they too have to show their ID and get a card to display around their necks. They are not from close by areas alone. Lahore, Multan, Gujrat, Sindh, Bahawalnagar and many more places. Met one Hindu Sindhi family from Sukkur. Asked them how was life. We hear lot of problems they face. NONE they said. Met a group of ladies from Lahore. The eldest, close to 80 said she was born in Delhi. All came from USA and Canada. We branded the Bajwa – Sidhu hug as anti national. What would you say when the elderly Pakistani lady was emotional and repeatedly held us in a hug.

The visit is special for Punjabis. You realise how strong this bond is vis a vis the hatred spread by the politicians. They wanted to know where we came from. One group which had migrated from Ludhiana was thrilled we were all from Ludhiana. They belonged to two villages, one Sherpur near Jagraon and the other Mundian near Ludhiana. Others wanted to know if anyone was from Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur and other parts of Punjab. Some wanted to know the surnames. One was a Waraich. So many common names. The immigration guy asked me are there Dhaiyas in Punjab. I said yes, few Sikhs, more Haryana Jats. He was one himself. There was a Bajwa policeman. We spoke to scores of groups. Teachers, bankers, students, young and old, men and women. Not one showed any ill will towards India and Indians. One of them left a lasting memory. Is the water in Ravi different on both sides he asked? They only said they wished greater friendship, meetings, travels etc.

I remember what late Kuldip Nayyar said many times. Leave the Indo Pak problems to Punjabis. The politicians, bureaucrats and foreign ministry guys from other states will not resolve any problem. This is confirmed after my visit.

The Return. There are about 15 shops outside the gurudwara complex selling handicrafts, dry fruits, desi juttis, women’s dresses etc. Some accept Indian currency, some ask for it to be exchanged at a exchange counter. The passport is again checked by the Pakistan side before leaving the Gurudwara complex. You board the bus back. Same customs and immigration check. Board electric carts. Repeat  checks on Indian side. Since most of the visitors are of higher age group, one wheel chair bound old lady was helped in getting into the cart and another elderly also lifted made a Pakistani Ranger remark in Punjabi, ” ki gal a,saare budhe aa rahe ne”. My prompt reply: The young are lining up in the queue for Canada, Australia, New Zealand. Brought laughter all  around.

We profusely thanked the BSF personnel on return.

This is what Guru Gobind Singh ji said :

What an experience. Pray this initiative brings the countries and communities together once again. Looks it will happen some day.

For all those who harbor animosity towards Pakistanis please visit Kartarpur Sahib and meet even one person with hatred towards India and Indians.

My heartfelt thanks to PMs Modi and Imran, Gen Bajwa and a Japhi to Navjot Sidhu who made it happen.

Inder Mohan

Jayadeva Ranade

Within days of the beginning of the new year, China made clear that its attitude towards India will not change. The all-spectrum China-Pakistan compact will stay intact and get further consolidated through closer diplomatic and military coordination. At the same time, China will retain, as cosmetic window dressing, the semblance of cordiality in bilateral relations with India through summits and official-level meetings, which have yielded negligible results. Additionally, there will be the dissimulation that it is under compulsion to support Pakistan. Beijing will simultaneously strive to advance its commercial interests by blending economic incentives with threats, as it has in the case of Huawei and the bid for 5G. Beijing would have interpreted India’s recent decision to allow Huawei to participate in the 5G trials, at the risk of introducing vulnerabilities in national security, as succumbing to China’s pressure.

Just look at three of China’s recent actions. One, Beijing attempted, for the third time in barely five months, to convene a session of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to discuss the Kashmir issue. This was blocked by the United States (US), France and Russia and, for the first time in a seeming change of policy, by the United Kingdom. This will not be the last such attempt.

Two, it publicised the first large-scale military exercises in 2020 by Chinese troops in Tibet. Official Chinese media reports — helpfully in English — pointed out that new high-powered weapons suitable for use in high altitudes were used by forces of the Tibet Military Region. The Tibet Military Region is under the direct operational control of the Central Military Commission (CMC) in Beijing headed by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Three, it held the first nine-day joint “Sea Guardian” exercises with Pakistan in the Arabian Sea, starting on January 6. For the first time, these included warlike air defence systems, anti-missile technology, anti-submarine warfare capabilities, and live-fire and joint marine training drills, as well as submarine rescue and amphibious landing operations by 60 Chinese Marines from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)’s Southern Theatre Command. The PLA Navy did add the ritual anodyne comment that the exercise “wasn’t targeted at any third party”.

Together, the two sets of exercises reflect the land and sea-based threats to India.

These have been preceded by other statements in China’s official military media that underscore the extent of China-Pakistan cooperation in military matters. Late last year, reports proposed the sale a few years later of China’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, to Pakistan. The discussions suggested that the sale would help rectify the existing imbalance in maritime power between Pakistan and India, be more affordable for Islamabad, and financially benefit China.

Later, following the Indian airstrikes at the Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist training camp at Balakot inside Pakistan, the Chinese military media reported extensively on the performance of Pakistan Air Force pilots and aircraft. They lauded the performance of the Chinese-made JH-7 jet aircraft, saying its performance would be good for the sales of Chinese military products. At the time, China’s media also discussed further assistance to Pakistan. One suggestion was that China’s air force should position its “electronic” JH-7 jet aircraft on the Sino-Pakistan border to “loan” it quickly to Pakistan when conflict breaks out. The report was recommending deployment of these aircraft in the South Xinjiang Military District, subordinate to the PLA Western Theatre Command, which exercises operational jurisdiction over the areas opposite Ladakh and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, Gilgit and Baltistan, and which is tasked to protect the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

China has, since April 2015, when it announced the CPEC, been exerting pressure on India to improve its ties with Pakistan. Beijing has been insisting in official and Track 1.5 and Track-2 discussions that India commence talks and ease tensions with Pakistan, resolve the Kashmir issue, and only then look to improving ties with China. At that time, the CPEC projects were valued at around $49 billion and now they are officially estimated by Pakistan at almost $64 billion. For China, the stakes are undoubtedly high. To increase pressure, China has revived reference to the UNSC resolutions while referring to the Kashmir issue. Beijing has, in the past, referred to UNSC resolutions when its relations with India were under strain.

At this juncture, for India to host a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which is a China-sponsored and controlled organisation, will afford Beijing another opportunity to exert pressure on India. This time, China could try and muster support from sections of the Indian media, civil society and others to persuade India to soften its stance on Pakistan and Kashmir.

Jayadeva Ranade is a former Additional Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat and is President of the Centre for China Analysis and Strategy

Ashiq Hussain

letters@hindustantimes.com

Srinagar : One militant was killed in a gunfight with security forces at Khrew in south Kashmir’s Pulwama after the operation resumed on Wednesday. The encounter, which left an army man and a cop dead, had begun on Tuesday.

J&K director general of Police Dilbag Singh said the counter insurgency operation resumed at Khrew in the morning. “The Khrew operation was resumed in the morning after being suspended late on Tuesday,” Singh said after the wreath-laying ceremony for the slain policeman here. In a tweet later, Kashmir police confirmed the killing of one militant. “The operation is still going on,” deputy inspector general of police, south Kashmir, Atul Kumar Goel said in the evening.“Security forces had launched an operation in Khrew and there were inputs that two terrorists were hiding in a house. As the operation started, there was exchange of fire, in which an army jawan [Rahul Rainswal] and SPO Shahzad Ahmad were martyred,” DGP Singh said.

He paid tribute to both the slain security men. “The lives of our martyrs won’t go waste,” he said. Chinar Corps Commander Lt Gen KJS Dhillon also paid tribute to late Sepoy Rahul Rainswal at BB Cantt. An army spokesman said that Rainswal was part of a Cordon & Search Operation team when he was fired upon, causing him severe injuries. He was immediately evacuated to 92 Base Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Twenty-six-year-old Rainswal had joined the Army in 2013. He belonged to village Riyasi Vamangaon of Champawat District, Uttarakhand, and is survived by his wife and a daughter. DGP Singh said counter terrorist operations had intensified in Kashmir valley .

“There have been more than six successful operations and the operations will continue. We will continue to work harder for peace in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

letterschd@hindustantimes.com

Houston : Amrit Singh, an Indian-American law enforcement officer, has scripted history by becoming the first-ever turban-wearing Sikh to be sworn in as deputy constable in Harris County in the US state of Texas.

Singh, 21, will be the first in his profession to wear his articles of faith — a turban, beard, and uncut hair in the line of duty. It was a historic day on Tuesday as Singh’s swearing-in coincided with the adoption of a new policy that allows law enforcement officers in nearly every single Harris County Constable’s Office to wear articles of their faith while in uniform. For Sikhs, that means being able to wear a turban and beard while on duty.

Singh always wanted to work as a peace officer. He spent years in law enforcement explorer programmes and five months in a police training academy.

“Growing up, I always wanted to be a deputy and my Sikh faith was also very important to me,” Singh said. “Constable Alan Rosen was the first one to give me a callback. He opened this agency with open arms for me,” he said.

Speaking at Singh’s swearing-in ceremony, Precinct 1 constable Rosen said the county’s eight constables supported accommodations for Sikhs to serve while adhering to their religion.

“To me, wearing a yarmulke or him wearing a turban really doesn’t impact the quality of work he’s going to do. It should have zero impact on public safety or what job we do. Are you going to care if the person showing up to your door to help save you has a turban or yarmulke? You’re not. You’re just happy they’re there to save you and keep you safe,” the officer said.

Singh will now go on to months of field training, after which he will be assigned to patrol within Precinct One.

In 2015, Harris County made headlines after sheriff’s deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal fought for and won the rights to wear his turban and beard on duty. At the time of the deputy’s murder last year, just a few dozen law enforcement agencies across the United States had uniform policies with religious accommodations allowing Sikhs to serve in accordance with their faith.

“Legacy of Dhaliwal is not far removed, it clearly recognised and acknowledge his service and this is a gift that continues to give in his recognition and legacy,” said Bobby Singh, a Sikh community leader.

In 2009, Dhaliwal was the first Sikh to join the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and in 2015, he became the first Sikh law enforcement officer to be allowed to wear his articles of faith in uniform.