Ira Pande

Queen Elizabeth famously described 1992 as her ‘annus horribilis’, which is Latin for a horrible year. Some cruel Republican wags called it ‘Her Majesty’s bum year’, because in that one year, she saw the marriage of her first-born son and heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, to the beautiful Princess Diana break up, leading to a huge dip in popularity ratings for the royal family. As if this weren’t enough, a devastating fire gutted the historic Windsor Castle, among her most favourite properties and a national treasure. Few will forget the grim Queen, her head covered by a scarf, gazing sadly at the debris of the monument that seemed to reflect her own life at that moment.

Perhaps we can also begin to think of dubbing 2020 as a collective ‘annus horribilis’ for all of us on this planet. No one in this generation remembers another one like it, as grim data is reeled out daily about the mounting deaths and the end of the world as we knew it until a few months ago. Enough has been written about the plight of the unemployed and the poor, so none of us will ever be able to forget the heart-rending sight of long lines of migrants, trudging on highways and sleeping on railway tracks with their little children and pitiful belongings. Nor will we ever forget the ugliness of those who have shown such indifference and callousness to fellow humans wherever in the world they may be. For those of us born after the Partition, it is like a re-run. I doubt if anyone will forget this year that has brought so much misery to so many.

Yet, we cannot also forget how miraculously the planet healed itself as human beings stopped all those activities that have destroyed the harmony of nature. The sight of the magnificent Dhauladhar range, visible after decades from Jalandhar, the pristine blue waters of the Ganga, cleansed of its pollutant industrial and human waste, the heart-warming sight of animals reclaiming their lost world, snatched away by ruthless development — all these and more are equally worth remembering. It now remains to be seen which world we will choose to occupy and build when this scourge is finally over and we can resume our broken lives. If the unruly and jostling mobs outside our thekas were anything to go by, I suspect we will slip back to the life that we should seriously give up. I am an eternal optimist but sometimes even I begin to wonder whether we will really learn some lessons from this pandemic.

If it were up to me, I would declare a worldwide lockdown once a year for a month so that the planet can heal itself. It took Nature just a month to regain its equipoise, how long will it take us? Sometimes when human greed crosses the boundaries of good behaviour, Nature takes over to show them who really owns the planet and what will live on long after you and I are gone.

This may sound like pop-philosophy, but reflect for a moment on how many dear friends and relatives we have seen die and been helpless as we couldn’t attend their last rites. How many homeless people have lost not just their livelihoods but even the will to live — and you will agree that it is time for politicians everywhere to stop throwing blame and playing politics even on an occasion as this. It sickens me when I hear and see them exchange insults or shed crocodile tears over the plight of migrants without lifting a finger to help in any meaningful way. Is this responsible behaviour and do they even deserve to be called our representatives? I have written countless columns but the warmth that my piece on the Sikh community received has taken me by surprise. So many friends, non-Sikhs, mind you, have said they heartily agree. What the Sikhs have shown all armchair philosophers and our lofty academics is simply that they follow their religion in their life in a way that no other community has done. And even if they do not spout wisdom on our TV screens every night, they have learnt well the lessons their Gurus taught them.

Behind all the bombast about India becoming a Vishwaguru and the constant harking back to our glorious past is the reality that we have betrayed the wisdom of our own religions. Mere recitation of Sanskrit mantras, as the great Shankaracharya said, is not going to grant absolution. But who remembers him or Swami Vivekanand or even the wise Sufi saints who lived and died by the doctrine of love for all? Even the West has forgotten Jesus, who pulled down a temple saying to the greedy Pharisees (ancient Jews) that they had converted His father’s house into a commercial place.

Behind every politician I see the unseen presence of their real image which, like Banquo’s ghost, hovers more prominently than their earnest advice. I hope they realise that you can fool some of the people for some of the time, but not all the people all of the time.

Rahul Singh

On May 8, 1945, Nazi Germany surrendered to the Allies, marking the end of World War II in the western theatre. In the East, the war lingered on a little longer but virtually ended with the dropping of the devastating atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan’s Emperor Hirohito personally signed the unconditional surrender on August 15, 1945. The 75th anniversary of the end of the war was marked last week by celebrations and aerial flypasts in all the countries which were part of the victorious Allied forces, including Russia.

But from India and Pakistan, there was a deafening silence. Why? Because New Delhi — and presumably Islamabad as well — feels that this was a “colonial” conflict and therefore not worthy of any kind of official celebration. What utter nonsense and how disrespectful of the armed forces of the Indian subcontinent who fought so gallantly! At the peak of the war, 25 lakh troops from what is now India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal were part of the British Indian army, the largest force of volunteers ever assembled in history. They served in major battlefields, from North Africa to Italy and the Far East. The 5th Indian Division, for instance, fought the Italians in Sudan, then the Germans in Libya, before moving to Iraq to protect the oil fields, then was shifted to the Burma and Malaya front, before finally going to Indonesia to disarm the Japanese there.

Personnel from the Indian subcontinent received 4,000 gallantry awards and 31 Victory Crosses, the highest award given by the British for valour in action. It’s an unsurpassed record of bravery we should be proud of and not something to be hidden in embarrassment.

In 1962, when I had just graduated from Cambridge and was 22, an English college friend of mine, Charles Noon, and I decided to go overland by car to Egypt’s Port Said, from where I would take a ship to Bombay, and he would carry on to Rhodesia, as it was then called, to take up a teaching assignment. Charles had purchased a tiny car, the iconic Morris Mini, for the two-month journey which took us through France, Monaco, mainland Italy, Tunisia, Libya and finally, Egypt. We did everything on the cheap, staying at youth hostels and with friends, sometimes sleeping in the car, or on the beach. We traversed many of the war’s battlegrounds. In South Italy, in a town called Monte Cassino, an aged lady came up to me, pointing to my turban (I had long hair and a turban then), jabbering excitedly in Italian. I got hold of a passerby who understood English and asked him what she was saying. He replied that during the war she had seen many soldiers with turbans like mine, which was why she was so excited. She wondered if I was also a soldier! Later, I learnt that a pivotal battle of the war had taken place there, in which 240,000 Allied troops saw action, including the 4th Indian Division (which must have had a lot of Sikhs). It took four assaults, lasting for over a month of bitter fighting, to dislodge the well-entrenched Germans, on top of a hill, where there was a famous monastery (it was left in ruins). The eventual victory paved the way to Rome.

In North Africa, we passed through El Alamein, where two famed adversaries, Erwin Rommel (“The Desert Fox”) and Bernard Law (“Monty”) Montgomery, squared off in an epic encounter. Monty won a decisive victory. In fact, El Alamein and the battle of Stalingrad in Europe broke the back of the Germans. At El Alamein, I visited the war cemetery where 11,886 fallen soldiers from the Commonwealth are commemorated. There were hundreds of Indian names there, emphasising the vital part Indian troops played in that battle. The memory still brings tears to my eyes.

A maternal uncle of mine, Premindra Singh (“Prem”) Bhagat, then a Second Lieutenant in the Corps of Indian Engineers, was on a mine-clearing operation, an extremely hazardous task those days with no fancy gadgets, only the delicate poking of the sand with a bayonet to detect where a mine had been planted. His jeep was blown up, killing the other occupants and injuring him. But he carried on continuously for 96 hours. He was one of only two Indian officers ever to win the Victoria Cross “for his cold courage”, as the citation said. He went on to become a Lt General.

Vital though the role of the Indian army was in the North African theatres, in the East against the Japanese, it was decisive. After the fall of Singapore, the Japanese troops swept through Malaya and Burma and were knocking on India’s doors, with the intention of taking over the whole country (the only part of India they occupied were the Andamans). They were stopped at Kohima. There, on a tennis court and in the surrounding areas, some of the closest and bloodiest fighting of WW-II took place. Over 7,000 men on both sides died in just 64 hours. After that, the retreating Japanese forces suffered one defeat after another. The worst was at the Second Battle of Sittang river, where the 28th Japanese Army was annihilated. Of 20,000 men, only 7,000 survived. The casualties on the British and Indian side were just 95.

Earlier, Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Burma, had been taunted that though Indians made good soldiers, they weren’t capable of leading. He decided to show that they could be outstanding officers as well. He chose three: Shankarrao Pandurang Patil Thorat (incidentally, the maternal grandfather of actor Rahul Bose), Lionel Protip (“Bogey”) Sen, and Kodandera Subayya Thimayya (they would go on to become among the most distinguished Generals of Independent India, while Thimayya became India’s third Army Chief). Mountbatten put them in command of large army formations and they won key battles against the Japanese.

The role of the Indian armed forces in World War II was an outstanding one. It should have been celebrated, not seen as part of an embarrassing “colonial” conflict. The writer is a veteran journalist

New Delhi, May 16

The Union Home Ministry on Saturday ordered withdrawal of 10 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) from the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and sent nine such units to Maharashtra, officials said.

They said the 10 units comprising over 1,000 personnel are being withdrawn from the Jammu region of the Union Territory. No units of the paramilitary forces deployed in Kashmir have been touched, the officials said.

Among these 10, three companies belong to the CISF and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police each, while two each are from the CRPF and the Sashastra Seema Bal, as per an order issued by the Union Home Ministry.

These forces work under the ministry’s command for rendering a variety of internal security duties and border guarding.

The Home Ministry, meanwhile, also released nine companies — four from the Rapid Action Force, two from the Central Reserve Police Force and three from the Central Industrial Security Force — for deployment in Maharashtra.

While five companies for Maharashtra are drawn from the 10 units being withdrawn from Jammu, the rest four have been released from the Mumbai-based unit of the RAF, CRPF’s specialised counter-riots unit, they said.

The state had sought 20 Central Armed Police Forces companies recently to relieve its police personnel who, it said, were overworked during the lockdown. Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had said state police have been working “day in and day out” to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the state. — PTI/TNS

RAF, CRPF and CISF men shifted

The Home Ministry has released nine companies — four from the Rapid Action Force, two from the Central Reserve Police Force and three from the Central Industrial Security Force — for deployment in Maharashtra

Srinagar, May 17

Amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown, Muslims performed last rites of a Sikh who passed away in Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Saturday.

Ranveer Singh, a resident of Punjab, who was working as a carpenter in Wakura area of Ganderbal district of central Kashmir died a few days ago, the officials said.

Singh was living in the village – about 35 kms from here – along with a few colleagues at a rented accommodation.

Soon after the news of his death spread, locals informed police and made arrangements for performing his last rites, officials said.

Singh was cremated in the presence of officials of the civil and police administration, Wakura Tehsildar Ghulam Mohammad Bhat told PTI.

“The locals showed huge support and arranged everything for the cremation of the deceased. The expenses related to the cremation were made by the locals. They also deposited some money in the account of Singh’s wife,” he said.

“It is our duty to help neighbours irrespective of their religion,” Abdul Rehman, a local resident, said.

He said many people from outside have been working in the area for the past several years and live there for the most part of the year.

“Most of them leave the valley when winter approaches, but return in a few months. They become a part of the society. We try to help them in whichever way we can when they face any difficulty. So, when we heard about Singh’s death, we came forward to arrange for his last rites,” Rehman added. PTI 

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Amir Tantray

Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 17

A soldier and a militant have been killed in the ongoing encounter between militants and security forces in a village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district on Sunday, sources said.

The encounter started when security forces launched a joint operation in Posta-Potra village in Gundana area, 26 km from Doda town, following information about presence of some militants.

Reinforcements have been rushed to the area and further details are awaited.

The militant killed in the encounter was identified as Tahir, alias Uqaab, a resident of Pulwama district.

Two Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists were arrested in Doda district earlier this month.

The headquarters of the Indian Army has been closed for sanitation and disinfection. Officials say contact tracing and quarantine are in progress.

“One soldier tested positive for COVID-19. The affected area of Sena Bhawan closed for sanitation and disinfection,” the official said.

“Actions as per protocol such as contact tracing and quarantine are in progress,” he said.

Sena Bhavan is the headquarters of the Indian Army.

Also read: Govts will need to support armed forces with PPEs, ventilators if Covid situation worsens

New Delhi: Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat Thursday weighed in on reports that the Army is looking to offer a three-year voluntary stint, or ‘Tour of Duty’, to boost recruitment, saying the proposal is yet at a nascent stage.

In an interaction with a small group of journalists Thursday, General Rawat acknowledged that the Army is considering new concepts of temporary recruitment to address the shortage of officers, but suggested that these won’t affect the Short Service Commission (SSC).

The Army, he said, is looking to make SSC more “lucrative” for officers who eventually don’t make the cut for permanent service.

Also Read: Three pitfalls of CDS, Dept of Military Affairs and why it should make us sceptical

‘If not pension, then what?’

The SSC allows people to join the Army as officers for a 14-year tenure. Once their tenure expires, the officers may opt out or avail of permanent commission subject to eligibility.

General Rawat cited the steep pyramid in the armed forces to state the military establishment wants some officers to join the force under the SSC. To make the prospect more appealing for applicants, he said, the military is looking at offering them incentives.

“For an officer who will just serve for 14 years, you don’t want to give him a pension, what then can you do for them? Can you give him training that will make him stand on his feet?” Rawat said.

“We were looking at one stage, can we make him do a one-year MBA? Or if someone has joined the service with a BTech degree, can we make him do a two-year MTech? Or can we offer him ECHS (ex-servicemen contributory health scheme) so that his medicals (expenses) are taken care of?” he added, saying the military will have to “look at some incentive to attract him (applicants) and get him to the service”.

The idea, Rawat said, is to ensure an SSC member competes to get permanent commission but has adequate back-up even if they don’t.

As an incentive, a lump sum amount should also be paid to the SSC officers on retirement, he added. “We are yet to decide on the amount,” he said.

Making the SSC a lucrative career option has been a long-pending reform, especially within the Army.

General Rawat had also made a push in this direction while making a submission before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence earlier this year. The submission centred on plans to reduce the expenses on defence pensions, and greater SSC recruitment was among the suggestions offered.

Also Read: Modi govt’s CDS is big reform, but this is what the charter lacks

On ‘Tour of Duty’ 

CDS Bipin Rawat also weighed in on reports that the Army is studying new ways to address its shortage of personnel, including officers, through other means of temporary recruitment.

As reported by ThePrint Wednesday, the proposals include Tour of Duty, which aims at offering a three-year military stint to youngsters as officers and jawans, and Inverse Induction, which will bring central armed police forces (CAPF) recruits into the Army for seven-year tenures before being repatriated.

Asked about the potential impact of Tour of Duty on SSC, the CDS said the concept is yet at a nascent stage and under the Army chief’s consideration. If it works out, it’s good, he said, but added that its viability needs to be studied.

“It will require a year of training. The tour of duty will be in Kashmir and the northeast… One year of training cost… equipping him and doing everything for him and then losing him after four years. Is it going to balance out? It will require a study,” he said.

The idea of voluntary three-year service, which the government may also extend to the Navy and the Air Force if it’s brought in for the Army, has generated a lot of interest and debate within and outside the defence community.

Talking to ThePrint, a senior Naval officer said Tour of Duty is an interesting concept that is being discussed as a remedy to many issues plaguing the services.

“This concept has also been recommended earlier in different forms and ideas. It now remains to be seen how the concept is executed on the ground to suit the specific necessities of each service while meeting the overall aims of reducing the pension bill and addressing the shortage of personnel in the services.”

New Delhi: India plans to switch to locally-made fighter jets, two years after asking global companies to submit proposals to supply 114 combat aircraft in the world’s biggest warplane contract.

The country’s air force is finalizing plans to induct indigenously made Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas to boost the capability of its aging combat aircraft fleet, Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat said in an interview in New Delhi. It will buy an additional 83 jets, apart from an earlier deal for 40 aircraft, for $6 billion, he said.

“The Indian Air Force is switching that to the LCA,” Rawat said, when asked about the global tender for jets. “The IAF is saying, I would rather take the indigenous fighter, it is good.”

The decision is a set back for the likes of Boeing Co., Lockheed Martin Corp. and Saab AB who were in the race for the $15 billion order and another sign that India is abandoning costly foreign defense purchases which have been plagued by bureaucratic delays and a funding crunch. Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week stressed the need to buy locally made products to boost an economy battered by the Covid-19 outbreak.

“Since it has been decided to go the indigenous route, the Ministry of Defence must ensure ramping up” capacity at Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., the builder of the jet, said Manmohan Bahadur, additional director general at the New Delhi-based Centre for Airpower Studies. “The IAF, like the other services, has to maintain the required edge over our adversaries — emotions have to be eschewed.”

The induction of jets will help India emerge as a key defense exporter due to its “relatively low price,” Rawat said in his office in New Delhi. Several countries may be interested in purchasing the aircraft once they see them in operation with the airforce.

The process to buy fighter jets started more than a decade ago. India scrapped a long-awaited order with Dassault Aviation for 126 Rafales worth $11 billion in 2015, but has since bought 36 of the planes to speed replacement of older aircraft.

In April 2018, India floated a global tender seeking responses from global manufacturers to purchase 114 jets. The deal attracted initial offers from global giants like Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Sweden’s Saab AB and the Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30Mki and Su-35. At least 85% of production was to be in India, according to the initial document.

While New Delhi is the world’s third-biggest military spender, its air force, navy and the army are still equipped with weapons that are largely obsolete.

Local Production

The move to indigenous fighters marks a shift to start using locally made weaponry, Rawat said. The defense forces will be using a lot more domestically produced goods, and there is an understanding there may be some quality issues in the beginning, but these will be improved, he said.

“The artillery guns, air defense systems and radars will all be indigenous systems as well. We are doing well with artillery guns and in air defense systems,” he added. “We are also looking at ammunition manufacturing in our country in a very big way.”

Modi had made clear his intention of reducing India’s dependence on foreign made weapons platforms soon after taking over as leader in 2014 but the progress hasn’t been remarkable.

India desperately needs new aircraft to replace aging Soviet-era jets. It needs about 42 squadrons of fighters to defend its western and northern borders simultaneously but is making do with about 31 squadrons only. By 2022, it is likely to add on two more squadrons of the Rafale fighter.

While the IAF is backing the indigenous fighter program, there are several glitches, including faster delivery schedules and quality issues that still need to be ironed out. As per plans, the 123 Tejas fighters are to be followed by the Mark-II variant which are medium weight fighters. The test flight for the next generation Tejas aircraft is likely in 2022.

U.S., China and India were the world’s three biggest military spenders in 2019, followed by Russia and Saudi Arabia. The two Asian countries made it to the top three for the first time according to a recent report of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. For the fiscal 2020-21 India has earmarked $ 66.9 billion for defense but budget cuts are imminent because of CoVID-19 pandemic. – Bloomberg

Also read: India’s oldest flying aircraft in spotlight after radar website shows it going to Pakistan

The Jaipur-based 61st Cavalry is set to say goodbye to its horses, as the government is said to have approved a proposal to equip it with T-72 tanks.

New Delhi: One of the world’s last remaining horse-mounted cavalry regiments may be riding into the sunset.

The Indian Army’s only mounted cavalry regiment is set to say goodbye to its horses, with the government approving a proposal to equip the 61st Cavalry with tanks, two senior officers said on condition of anonymity.

The famous 61st Cavalry is being converted into a regular armoured regiment on the basis of a recommendation made by the Lieutenant General DB Shekatkar (retd) committee in a report on sharpening the army’s combat edge and trimming its revenue expenditure, said one of the officers cited above.

The Jaipur-based 61st Cavalry is likely to be equipped with T-72 tanks, said the second officer cited above. “Three independent squadrons of other regiments are being amalgamated under the headquarters of the 61st Cavalry to form the new tank unit,” the officer added.

The regiment’s 300-odd horses (200 in Jaipur and around 100 with a squadron of 61st Cavalry in Delhi) will become part of a new equestrian node, he said.

Lieutenant General Shekatkar, who headed the 11-member expert committee named after him, said the recommendation to mechanise the 61st Cavalry was taken after scrutinising the track record of the unit.

“It has not taken part in any operation during the last 25 years. Nowhere in the world is playing polo or taking part in equestrian sports the main occupation of any army unit. It’s in the army’s best interests that it (the unit) operates tanks instead of horses,” Shekatkar said. He said the President’s Bodyguard, also a mounted unit, has the well-defined role of performing ceremonial duties for the country’s President. The decision to mechanise the mounted regiment, steeped in tradition and sporting history, has evoked mixed reactions. While some in the army argue that the regiment’s military heritage should have been preserved, others counter that it makes more sense to assign the 61st Cavalry an operational role rather than limiting it to ceremonial functions and sporting events.

“The 61st Cavalry has a rich and storied history that should have been preserved. There can be no 61st Cavalry without horses. It’s heartbreaking to see the unit being disbanded,” said an armoured corps officer who asked not to be named. Another officer, however, said mechanisation of the regiment was the way forward and mounted units were a thing of the past.

The 61st Cavalry was raised in Jaipur in October 1953 by putting together mounted elements of cavalry regiments of the erstwhile princely states of India.

Rich in sporting history, the regiment accounts for one Padma Shri, 10 Arjuna Awards, 11 Asian Games medals and a raft of representations at the Polo World Cup and international equestrian competitions. It has been a part of the annual Republic Day parade for several decades.

Also read:Lt Gen. Hanut Singh — bold commander who led from front in 1971, but was never made Army chief

Army Chief Gen MM Naravane said two incidents of violent clashes between armies of India & China at Ladakh & Sikkim were not related and are being resolved at local level.

New Delhi: Indian and Chinese armies are working out the dates for the next formal discussions between “higher” military authorities in the Ladakh sector to sort out the tensions arising out of the recent violent face-off in the area.

Sources in the know said the dates for the discussions are yet to be fixed, but will be finalised soon.

Clashes on the evening of 5 May, which left several soldiers injured on both sides, have led to tensions on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Fist fights also broke out in North Sikkim following aggressive posturing by Chinese soldiers last weekend. However, this was a much milder altercation than what occurred in Eastern Ladakh.

Also read: Why India won’t take sides on US-China spat over Covid, despite skirmishes in Sikkim-Ladakh

Army chief says established protocol will be followed

In a statement issued Thursday, Army Chief General M.M. Naravane sought to play down the development and said the incidents were not linked, and everything is being resolved mutually as per established protocols and strategic guidelines given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the two informal India-China summits.

“Temporary and short duration face-offs between border guarding troops do occur along the LAC due to the differing perceptions of the alignment of boundaries, which are not resolved. There were two incidents at Eastern Ladakh and North Sikkim where aggressive behaviour by both sides resulted in minor injuries to troops, post which both sides disengaged after dialogue and interaction at local level,” Gen Naravane said.

He said both these incidents are neither co-related nor do they have any connection with other global or local activities.

“All such incidents are managed by established mechanisms wherein local formations from both sides resolve issues mutually as per established protocols and strategic guidelines given by the PM after the Wuhan and Mamallaparam summits,” he said.

He added that the Indian troops have always been upholding peace and tranquility along the border areas.

“I can say with confidence that development of infrastructure capabilities along our Northern borders is on track. Our force posture will not suffer due to the COVID pandemic,” the Army chief said.

Following the Doklam stand-off in August 2017, the informal summit at Wuhan in April 2018 led to several steps being identified to de-escalate tensions between both the countries’ military.

ThePrint had on 10 May reported that while the situation in Sikkim had been “resolved”, official “disengagement” had taken place in Ladakh, even though additional troops have been pressed in.

lso read: India isn’t worried about tension with China, unlikely to give in to US pressure on Taiwan