Lt Gen KJ Singh (retd)

As Viraat sails on her final voyage to Alang, many Naval hearts are brimming with nostalgia and are literally heartbroken. The obvious question is — why can’t we convert these valuable pieces of our maritime heritage into museums to inspire future generations? After all, Gandhi Smriti, Teen Murti Bhawan, and many more prime Lutyens’ properties have been converted into museums. What is even more baffling is three states — Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Goa —showed readiness for a maritime museum, but none was ready to invest Rs 500-odd crore. Perhaps it failed on the criterion of vote-bank potential, despite its most enviable legacy of serving two navies. Commissioned as HMS Hermes in November 1959 in the British navy, it joined our Navy in May 1987, and was our flag-bearer till March 2017. An envious record of 61 years of glorious service!

My abiding connect with the ship is a memorable fortnight on Viraat, during attachment for a Naval Staff course. We were initially accommodated in an officers’ mess at Colaba, but during our visit to Viraat, we made a request to Captain Madhvendra Singh and he prevailed on the staff to make it possible. We got a chance to stay in cabins, linger and wander into flying deck, hangars, bridge, galleys, ward room and engine rooms. It gave me a chance to get even, in some small measure, with my late father-in-law, Cdr PS Sethi, who was part of the commissioning crew of INS Vikrant. Viraat follows the fate of its legendary forerunner, INS Vikrant, landing up in hands of ship-breakers. The only remnant of Vikrant’s legacy is a few motorcycles made out of steel harnessed from the ship. Similar plans have been voiced by the ship-breakers at Alang. Hope the Indian Navy preserves some such bikes and vehicles. The legacy must live on.

This also brings a flood of memories of another ship with which I have a nostalgic connect, albeit a non-Naval one — MV Chidambaram. She was a luxury liner operating between Madras and Singapore, touching Trincomalee, Penang and Kelang. In 1982, I took a honeymoon cruise on this ship — an early generation of cruise liners. When I met the Captain, a former Naval officer, he surprised me by upgrading me to luxury class. When I introduced myself as another ‘Captain’ on board staying in first class, his sharp response was, ‘Captains on ships travel only in luxury.’ Chidambaram was the much-needed incentive for Shipping Corporation employees, as LTC perk. Unfortunately, it perished in a fire accident. Acetylene torches and fire can only cut through the metal — the memories shall linger!

Col K Thammayya Udupa (Retd)

An everlasting memory of my childhood, spent in Bhilai during the 1960s, is of my father taking the night-shift report. Appa was in the foundry and pattern shop of the Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP). The foundry met the requirement of all types of metal castings — ferrous and non-ferrous — of the BSP. The pattern shop produces the patterns required by the foundry. Each morning, Appa would receive a telephone call from the foundry night-shift in charge. The report would cover all activities during night shift. There was a standard template — how many castings, the types, the tonnage of the metal cast and so on. Specific incidents meriting Appa’s attention, breakdowns and deviations from the normal would be discussed.

Listening to the report, I learnt about foundry products like ingot moulds and bottom plates, but my favourite was the ‘pig casting mould’. I learnt that it was not a mould to cast a pig, but one in which the pig iron produced in the blast furnace is cast. Although I had never spoken to, or seen most of the shift in charges, I was used to their reporting habits. One in charge was so loud on the telephone that Appa kept the handset a few inches away. Even I could hear him rattling off the production figures at lightning speed. He was said to be a no-nonsense engineer who went about his duties in a professional manner and achieved the production targets laid down for his shift, with minimum fuss. The conversation would occasionally extend beyond the report. Like Appa, he was a voracious reader. If there was a new book to be read, this was the time for discussion on it.

Then there was one who had all the time in the world. He would ask if Appa had had his coffee, would he be attending so-and-so event that evening, etc. Appa would patiently coax him into revealing the production figures. He would speak softly, mention a few figures and again digress. Appa would again bring him on track, only to be told, ‘There are some shortfalls.’

The nickname of one engineer was Mr PlusOne. No target was beyond him. Every morning, when he would give the report, it would be laid-down-target-plus-one in every category. His positivity was contagious. Appa would be very cheerful after taking the report from him, saying that Mr PlusOne was a problem solver. He was a bundle of energy and there was never a ‘no’ from him. Appa’s final comment would be, ‘He is like an Army man’, the ultimate accolade he could bestow on anyone. As a child from a non-Army family, growing up in the non-Army environment of Bhilai, I would be intrigued by this comment. Years later, after I joined the Army, it was always my endeavour to live up to the image which Appa had of an Army man.

Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, October 3

Having faced major health issues owing to complications related to lymphatic cancer, Capt IS Dhami (Retd) remains a spirited man and a fighter to the core.

At 59, he is still running the affairs of the Virsa Vihar as its secretary and doubling up as the manager of the 80-bed Youth Hostel at Burlton Park. His day starts at 5 am; jogging in the morning and yoga is next. He follows a healthy diet regimen, which he says has helped him get over his ailments for last few years.

Capt Dhami has had a long spanning, multi-tasking career. Recruited through Short Service Commission (SSC), he was an army man for seven years after which he took up the job in the Youth Services Department of the state government and retired as the Deputy Director of Youth Services in March last year. Staying idle was never his habit; he continues to assist the district administration for various works even after his superannuation.

A ‘jolly good fellow’ as he is known as in his friend circle, Capt Dhami shares, “I have enjoyed my work wherever I have gone. I served in the best of Army stations, including Binnaguri Cantonment along Bhutan border, Leh and Jammu. I served in the Youth Services Department for 28 years. I kept the Jalandhar youth engaged in several activities. During the stint, about 1100 youth clubs were registered in the district, about 500 of which are still actively working. I roped in as many as 40,000 students of schools and colleges in the National Services Scheme and organised their camps and activities.”

It was during his tenure in the Youth Services Department in 2007 that Capt Dhami was detected with cancer. He underwent several cycles of chemotherapy and a three-year treatment for his disease at DMC, Ludhiana, and returned even stronger in the field in 2010. Ever since, he has continued to keep the youth engaged in activities and organised all youth-related events including district-level Independence Day and Republic Day functions. He has been recognised and rewarded for his activities at the district-level functions four times.

As the Secretary of Virsa Vihar, he had set in motion monthly cultural programmes engaging colleges for the same. The ongoing series of programmes, however, had to be shelved off owing to pandemic.

For all the tough phases that he passed through, Capt Dhami says that he sailed through with the blessings of almighty and support of his family. “It was in first week of March that I caught Covid. Being a cancer patient and having had very low immunity, I was quickly prone to it. But thankfully, that difficult time also just went by. My wife, who is a mentor and gives training to caregivers and trains children for etiquettes and table manners, has been my pillar of strength. So have been my son, a city-based dentist, and my daughter, who is a psychologist.”

Tribune correspondent PK Jaiswar and lensman Sunil Kumar give us an insight into the statues erected in memory of great warriors in Amritsar. Standing tall, these structures speak volumes of the courage and sacrifice of bravehearts.

IF Punjab is known as the land of saints and Gurus, it is also identified as the land of warriors and freedom fighters who contributed immensely to the country’s freedom movement. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, which shook the conscience of every Indian and inspired the countrymen to choose the path of freedom struggle, is deeply etched in the memory of every Indian. Though the holy city of Amritsar holds religious and historical relevance, it is also akin to the freedom struggle, with many prominent heroes belonging to this pious land. Many statues and busts have been installed at various places in the city to honour them. Speaking volumes of the historic valour of the holy city, these statues are likely to inspire generations to come.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh

The city has two statues of the legendary Sikh ruler – one at Ram Bagh, which was a summer palace and the other was built recently at the Heritage Street. The one located at Ram Bagh was unveiled in June 1985 by the then Government of Punjab. It is one of the most visited places by locals. Known as Sher-e-Punjab, Maharaja Ranjit Singh extended the frontiers of his state from Sutlej River to Ladakh, Peshawar to Sindh and consolidated Punjab into a prosperous state with highly efficient administrative system.

Shaheed Udham Singh

Brought up at the Central Khalsa Orphanage Centre in Amritsar, Udham Singh was considered to be a great revolutionary belonging to the Ghadar Party. He is known for assassinating Michael O’Dwyer responsible for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar in April 1919.

O’Dwyer, a former Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, was assassinated in London, following which Udham Singh was convicted and hanged in July 1940. His statue was installed outside Gandhi Gate or Hall Gate by the Municipal Corporation and the Shaheed Udham Singh Yaadgari Committee on his 50th death anniversary in December 1990.

Akali Phula Singh

Akali Phula Singh Nihang was another great Sikh general of Shaheedan misl and was the head of Budha Dal. He played a vital role in uniting Sikh misls in Amritsar.

New Delhi, October 3

The Army has built a memorial to its 20 personnel who were killed while valiantly fighting Chinese troops in the Galwan valley in eastern Ladakh on June 15, official sources said on Saturday.

The memorial, located at Post 120 in eastern Ladakh and inaugurated earlier this week, mentions the heroics of the “Gallants of Galwan” under operation “Snow Leopard” and the way they evicted the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops from the area while inflicting “heavy casualties” on them in “hand-to-hand combat”.

China is yet to disclose the number of its soldiers killed and injured in the clash, though it officially admitted to have suffered casualties. According to an American intelligence report, the number of casualties on the Chinese side was 35.

Post 120 lies along the Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) road. The names of all the 20 Indian Army personnel were inscribed at the unit-level memorial.

Colonel B Santosh Babu, the Commanding Officer of the 16 Bihar regiment, was among the Indian Army personnel killed in the clash that had significantly escalated the border tension between the two countries with India calling it “a premeditated and planned action by China”.

The Chinese soldiers used stones, nail-studded sticks, iron rods and clubs in carrying out brutal attacks on Indian soldiers after they protested the erection of a surveillance post by China around patrolling point 14 in the Galwan valley.

Giving a brief account of Operation “Snow Leopard”, the Army mentioned in a plaque at the memorial that Colonel Babu led the “Quick Reaction Force” of 16 Bihar Regiment and attached troops tasked to evict a group of Chinese troops from the general area in “Y nala” (a junction) and stop them from moving further to Patrolling Point 14.

“The column successfully evicted the PLA OP from Y Nala and reached PP14 where a fierce skirmish broke out between the IA (Indian Army) and PLA troops. Col B Santosh Babu led from the front and his troops fought gallantly in hand-to-hand combat, causing heavy casualties to the PLA. In the ensuing fight twenty ‘Gallants of Galwan’ achieved martyrdom,” the Army wrote.

The list of 20 personnel in the memorial included three naib subedars, three havildars and 12 sepoys. — PTI

Located at Post 120 in eastern Ladakh

The memorial, located at Post 120 in eastern Ladakh and inaugurated earlier this week, mentions the heroics of the “Gallants of Galwan” under operation “Snow Leopard” and the way they evicted the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops from the area while inflicting “heavy casualties” on them in “hand-to-hand combat”.

Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 6

The Army has cited the current border situation and critical officer shortage to deny the same place posting to its first ‘colonel couple’.

The Army has revealed that the present strength of officers of the rank of Colonel in the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Department, the Army’s legal wing, is just about half of the sanctioned strength.

“The JAG Department at present is holding only 23 Colonels out of its authorization of 40 Colonels,” an affidavit, submitted before the Delhi High Court by Army Headquarters in the matter of the Army’s first “colonel couple” seeking a posting to the same station, states.

In September, the High Court had stayed the postings of the couple. Col Amit Kumar and Col Annu Dogra from Jodhpur to Port Blair and Bathinda respectively, after a petition by Col Amit, averred that the posting orders were arbitrary and in complete violation of the standard operating procedure on the subject. Both are serving with the JAG Department.

Expressing its inability to transfer them both to the same station, the Army has contended that the only potential station is New Delhi, but due to overall paucity of Colonels in the JAG’s Department, posting both to Delhi will be at the cost of maintaining voids at formation HQs, which is not in organisational interest especially in view of the present operational situation along the borders.

Pointing out that they had been granted a spouse coordinated posting at Jodhpur after about three years, the officer had claimed that they had remained separated for long durations in the past due to various factors that prevented spouse coordinated postings. Further, the tri-service Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) was a low-key appointment with the relatively little workload.

The Army has contended that ANC is an independent and important command which is not under the JAG, therefore demanding the posting of an experienced officer and presently there is an operational situation which includes high security at all levels including ANC which requires strengthening of hands.

In its affidavit, the Army has also pointed out that in 12 years of marriage, the officer and his wife were given three spouses coordinated posting, including the home station and extended tenures.

Dimapur, October 6

The NSCN (IM) has demanded direct involvement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the talks to resolve the festering insurgency in the northeastern state and insisted that the negotiations be held in a “third country”.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi written on February 25, but kept secret so far, Thuingaleng Muivah, the general secretary of the group and chief Naga negotiator in the talks with the government, also spoke about the framework agreement (FA) signed in 2015 and its proposal that the state should be allowed to have a Constitution and national flag.

In the letter released to the media on Monday, the outfit said it was making public the letter for “lack of response” from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

Muivah, who is the Ato Kilonser (prime minister) of the self-styled Naga government, referred to the circumstances in which he and the then chairman of the outfit Isak Chishi Swu first arrived in India in 2002 and “patiently” stayed here since 2010 to conclude an “acceptable and honourable political settlement.

He said the NSCN(IM) started political negotiation with the government only after it recognised the Naga problem as a “political issue” and stopped calling it India’s internal law and order issue.

Referring to the framework agreement, Muivah said, ”We mentioned in our proposal that Nagaland shall use its National Flag, Anthem, Emblem and Insignia” and have a Constitution called ‘Yehzabo’.

Though Muivah said it was not a “demand”, his letter spoke about how “sovereignty lies with the people” and the “peaceful co-existence” of “two entities” through “sharing of sovereign power”.

Talking about the deal in implementing the framework agreement, Muivah said, “In the given circumstances and in order to save the political dialogue, the talks should resume at the highest i.e. prime minister level, without precondition, and outside India in a third country”.

Muivah also wrote about the “obnoxious” conduct of the Ministry of Home Affairs while dealing with the Naga question.

“We are totally shocked and surprised that even after more than two decades of political negotiation, the MHA and its agencies have become obnoxious.

“It has come as a total shock and surprise that the Gol has started branding and accusing the members of the NSCN who are in political negotiation as terrorist and with impunity they are arresting the members of the organization, he wrote.

He dubbed as “serious provocation” the conduct of the home ministry, and said it went against the spirit of political negotiation and the framework agreement.

Muivah was also bitter about the role of Nagaland Governor RN Ravi who, before taking up the new assignment, was the Government of India’s chief negotiator for the Naga talks.

He alleged that Ravi was interfering with the law and order issues in “deliberate deviation” from his appointment as the Centre’s representative for the peace talks.

“The activities of the Representative of the Gol is polarizing the Naga society instead of uniting the Nagas for an honourable political solution,” Muivah wrote.

He alleged Ravi was meeting only a “certain section” of the Naga society that is not committed to a “genuine political solution and who do not represent the genuine aspiration of the Naga people”.

Despite Muivah’s fulmination, several rounds of talks to restore peace in Nagaland have been held in New Delhi. The Indian side was largely represented by officers of the Intelligence Bureau (IB).

“We have come to India on the invitation of the Gol and we are in Nagaland to meet our own Naga people vis-a-vis the peace process. If the MHA is trying to stop us from meeting our own people, then their negative intent against the peace process has become very clear,” he said.

Muivah also wrote that the Indian government should allow him to leave the country if our stay in India is no more welcome. All necessary arrangements must be made for us to leave India and the political talks be resumed in a third country.

The NSCN(IM) leader said the letter was released belatedly as he expected the PMO to respond “positively”. PTI