Mansa, June 26

The bhog ceremony of martyr sepoy Gurtej Singh (23) of the 3rd Punjab Regiment, who laid down his life during a clash with the Chinese army in the Galwan valley on June 16, was held at Birewala Dogra village in Mansa district today. The ceremony was attended by officials from the Army, district administration and political dignitaries.

Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal and Revenue Minister Gurpreet Singh Kangar also attended the ceremony. They paid homage to the martyr and assured every possible help to the family.

The Finance Minister announced Rs 25-lakh grant for the development of the village besides assuring to fulfil the demand of the martyr’s family to lay village roads and install tubewell connection.

He said the government middle school in the village had been named after martyr Gurtej Singh and a library has also been established.

The state had already announced Rs 50 lakh ex gratia along with a government job to the next of kin of the martyr. Kangar along with Mansa DC Mohinder Pal handed over two cheques of Rs 2.5 lakh each to the martyr’s father Virsa Singh and mother Parkash Kaur. — TNS

Rahul Singh

Since everybody is talking about racism after the recent killing of an African-American by the police in the US, here is a true story of an unusual Briton who bucked the racist culture of his time: Lord Willingdon. Mumbai’s Willingdon Club, arguably the best sporting and social club in the country, is still named after him (the Delhi Gymkhana Club swimming pool carries his wife’s name). How did this happen?reeman Thomas came from an upper-class English family, went to the famous Eton College (actually a school) and captained its cricket team. He got admission to Trinity College, Cambridge University (where India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru also went), and played cricket for the university as well as for Sussex county. He then joined the army and reached the rank of Major. He married the daughter of a Baron and served as his ADC when he was the Governor of Victoria, Australia. On his return from Australia, he left the army and joined the Liberal Party, won two elections to the House of Commons and was appointed as a Junior Lord of the Treasury in the British Cabinet.

In 1910, he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Willingdon of Hatton, and in February 1913, he was appointed “Crown Governor of Bombay”. Bombay province then included present-day Maharashtra, much of Gujarat and Karnataka, and part of Sindh (now in Pakistan) as well. On the ship that took him to Bombay, he met and became friends with the Maharaja of Patiala, Bhupinder Singh (grandfather of Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh).

Bhupinder had became the Maharaja at the tender age of nine and remained on the throne till he died in 1938, still relatively young, not from any malady, but according to one account, “from boredom”. He had led a life of unbelievable opulence. His motorcade consisted of 20 Rolls Royce cars and he was the first Indian to own an aircraft, which he bought from the UK (he even built an airfield in Patiala for it). But he was extremely loyal to the British Empire (he was conferred a knighthood) and was the Indian representative at the Imperial War Council during World War I. He also represented the Sikhs at the Round Table Conference.

How much Lord Willingdon knew of the Maharaja’s colourful background is not known but both men clearly got on well. On embarking, he invited the Maharaja as his guest to the Royal Bombay Yacht Club, which faces the Gateway of India. Lord Willingdon was the club’s patron. They were both formally dressed, as per the club’s requirement, and the Maharaja may have adorned his turban with a jewel or two.

At the entrance to the club, the doorman discreetly took Lord Willingdon aside and said to him, “No natives allowed, sir.” An astonished Lord Willingdon responded, “Do you know who I am?” “I do sir,” was the reply, “but those are our rules.” Infuriated, Lord Willingdon ordered him to summon the club secretary, who duly came to the entrance. “I am the new Governor of Bombay, and the Maharaja of Patiala is my guest, and we would like to dine here,” he informed the very visibly embarrassed secretary, who could only say weakly, “Sir, I am afraid there is nothing I can do but the club rules do not allow any natives to enter.”am paraphrasing the incident, but that is essentially what happened. Lord Willingdon decided to do something about it. A large plot of land, near the iconic Haji Ali Dargah and alongside the present-day Racing Club, was acquired to build a club, with a swimming pool, tennis, badminton and squash courts, large enough additional space for several restaurants, bars, cards-room — and an 18-hole golf course! Britons and Indians could be members, the first club in the country to give membership to Indians. It became the premier club of Bombay, and remains so.

Incidentally, a few years later, the Maharaja of Patiala, a sports aficionado, perhaps smarting from the denial of entry to the snooty Yacht Club, founded the Cricket Club of India (CCI), not too far away, with a stadium that could hold international matches. I should add here that Lord Willingdon was the first important Britisher to formally invite Mahatma Gandhi to a meeting at Bombay’s Government House, on his arrival from South Africa. In 1919, Lord Willingdon became Governor of Madras and in 1924, he was elevated to the title of Viscount Willingdon. In 1926, he was appointed Governor-General of Canada and in 1932, he reached the apogee of his splendid career when he became Viceroy and Governor-General of India, the virtual ruler of the Indian subcontinent.

Shashi Tharoor has been denigrating the record of British rule in India. Yes, imperialism was certainly exploitative and racist, yet of all the main colonial powers — Spain, Portugal, France and Holland — the British were the least bad, if I can put it that way. They, at least, had men like Lord Willingdon, an aristocrat but a liberal at heart who had no animosity against Indians.

— The writer is a veteran journalist

Tribune News Service

Patiala, June 27

A pall of gloom descended on Mardaheri, the native village of Lance Naik Saleem Khan, when his body reached here on Saturday evening.

Friends and relatives rushed to his house and consoled the bereaved family. Slogans like ‘shaheed amar rahe’ and ‘Bharat mata ki jai’ were raised as the body of Lance Naik Saleem Khan, wrapped in a Tricolour, reached his house. Villagers, especially children, showered petals on the military vehicle in which the mortal remains of the soldier were brought. Khan, 24, who belonged to the 58 Engineer Regiment, died in Ladakh on Friday in a military exercise.

He was about to come home this week. The family was planning his marriage. They had got a phone call from him a few days ago where the soldier told them that he would come home next week. Unfortunately, that was not to be. His mother Naseema Begum was inconsolable.

Khan was the sole breadwinner of the family after his father, who also served the Army, died many years ago. The 24-year-old had joined the Army in 2014. He was buried with full military honours at his village. He is survived by his mother, elder brother and a sister.

Cabinet Minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot and SAD MLA Harinderpal Singh Chandumajra paid tributes to the Army man along with officials of the Army, police and district administration.

Chandigarh: Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Saturday announced ex gratia of Rs 50 lakh along with a government job to a family member of Lance Naik Saleem Khan, who laid down his life in the line of duty in Ladakh. Extending his sympathies, the Chief Minister said the state government would provide all help and support to the family.

Washington, June 26

A US State Department report on human trafficking in India has said that non-state armed groups continue to recruit and use children as young as 14 years in direct hostilities against the government in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Congressional-mandated 2020 ‘Trafficking in Persons’ report of the State Department, released by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday, noted that the Maoist groups, particularly in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, forcibly recruited children as young as 12 to handle weapons and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), and in some cases be human shields.

According to the report, India made significant efforts towards the elimination of human trafficking in 2019 but did not fully meet the minimum standards.

Also read: India making significant efforts towards eliminating human trafficking: US report

“Non-state armed groups continued to recruit and use children as young as 14 in direct hostilities against the government in Jammu and Kashmir,” the report said.

“Maoist groups, particularly in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand forcibly recruited children as young as 12 to handle weapons and improvised explosive devices, and in some cases be human shields.

“Several women and girls formerly associated with Maoist groups reported that sexual violence, including practices indicative of sexual slavery, was a practice in some Maoist camps. Non-state Naxalite groups continued to systematically recruit and use child soldiers,” it added. PTI

Arun Joshi

Tribune News Service

Jammu, June 25

Army Chief General MM Naravane concluded his visit to Ladakh on Thursday after having made strategic calculations to face any eventuality in view of the prevailing situation on the borders in eastern Ladakh.

Reviews situation

General Naravane, who was scheduled to conclude his two-day visit on Wednesday, extended it by a day to further review the situation as many reports came in regarding fresh intrusions by Chinese troops in Despang, Pangong Tso and the diversion of waters of the Galwan river.

Sources said after assessing the situation, the Army Chief had drawn a roadmap to maintain the Indian position on the LAC and also to ensure that no violent clashes and casualties took place in the sector that had turned hyper-sensitive in the military terminology.

The situation had deteriorated after the June 15 Galwan valley clashes in which India lost 20 soldiers, while the Chinese stayed quiet about their casualties.

It was a significant visit to take a first-hand review of the situation vis-à-vis the Chinese aggression and their strategic ramifications unfolding in the region. These face-offs have been measured by the international community as “serious” and the calls for deescalation have peaked.

General Naravane, who was scheduled to conclude his two-day visit on Wednesday, extended it by a day to further review the situation as many reports came in regarding fresh intrusions by Chinese troops in Despang, Pangong Tso and the diversion of waters of Galwan river. The emerging situation called for further assessment to work out plans, making General Naravane extend the visit and draw new strategies along with his commanders.

The Northern Command chief Lt-Gen YK Joshi and 14 Corps Commander Lt-Gen Harinder Singh, whose troops look after the boundaries in the whole of the Ladakh sector, were part of these strategic meetings.

Lt-Gen Harinder Singh, who had twice led the Indian side in the military-level talks with his Chinese counterpart in the Chushul-Moldo area along the Line of Actual Control, briefed the Army Chief about the nature of the dialogue and the body language and the moves that the Chinese made during the talks that lasted for hours.

New Delhi, June 26

Army Chief Gen MM Naravane on Friday briefed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on the overall situation in eastern Ladakh as well as India’s military preparedness in the region where Indian and Chinese troops are locked in a bitter standoff, official sources said.

The Army chief was in Ladakh on a two-day visit from June 23 to take stock of the situation.

“The Chief of the Army Staff apprised the defence minister about the situation in eastern Ladakh,” said a military source.

Singh was on a three-day visit to Russia from June 22-24.

On Thursday, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastaba said the conduct of the Chinese forces in the region is in “complete disregard” of all mutually agreed norms, and warned that “continuation of the current situation would only vitiate the atmosphere for the development of the relationship” between India and China.

The Indian and Chinese armies are locked in a bitter standoff in multiple locations in eastern Ladakh for the last six weeks, and the tension escalated manifold after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a violent clash in Galwan Valley on June 15.

Senior military commanders of the two armies on Monday held a nearly 11-hour meeting during which they arrived at a “mutual consensus” to “disengage” from all the friction points in eastern Ladakh in a gradual manner.

The two sides on Wednesday held diplomatic talks under the framework of Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs.

In the diplomatic talks, both sides agreed to ensure expeditious implementation of the understanding on disengagement of troops from eastern Ladakh as decided in a meeting of senior military commanders on June 6.

Following the Galwan Vally clashes, the Army has sent thousands of additional troops to forward locations along the Line of Actual Control in various sectors including in Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim.

The IAF has also moved a sizeable number of its frontline Sukhoi 30 MKI, Jaguar, Mirage 2000 aircraft and Apache attack helicopters to several key air bases including Leh and Srinagar following the clashes.

The situation in eastern Ladakh deteriorated after around 250 Chinese and Indian soldiers were engaged in a violent faceoff on May 5 and 6. The incident in Pangong Tso was followed by a similar incident in north Sikkim on May 9.

Prior to the clashes, both sides had been asserting that pending the final resolution of the boundary issue, it was necessary to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas. PTI

Arun Joshi
Jammu, June 25

The Indian army is reviewing a fresh strategy to guard and secure its borders with China in eastern Ladakh. Army chief Gen. M M Naravane did not conclude his visit to the area as per his original schedule on Wednesday due to the same reason.

Consultations are going on between the Army chief, Northern Command Chief Lt. Gen. Y K Joshi and 14 Corps Commander Lt. Gen Harinder Singh at the 14 Corps headquarter in Leh about the latest situation in eastern Ladakh. The satellite pictures of the LAC—which show new structures built by the PLA troops—have made them relook the whole situation.

Sources said that each and every aspect of the developing situation is being studied minutely with regard to the positions in Galwan Valley, where a deadly clash on June 15 had left 20 Indian soldiers dead.

China has laid its sole claim on the Valley and rebuffed all the Indian claims beyond the estuary of Galwan and Shyok rivers.

Indian army, that has access to Karokarom pass through this area, is looking at the claims made by Beijing. It has become clear from the Chinese claims that the military commander-level talks on June 22 did not lead to a strategic breakthrough.

Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Zhao Lijian’s statement on Wednesday reiterated Chinese stand.

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 26

China, with its recent military activities along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, looks to be trying to ‘fix’ the LAC alignment as per its unilateral claim line proposed as a boundary with India during discussions in 1960.

The claim line has been disputed by India which has overlapping claims eastwards of this 1960 cartographic belligerence by Beijing. Since 1960, there have been suggestions on demarcating the LAC on ground, but with no success. The buildup at ‘Finger-4’ north of the Pangong Tso to block Indian Army patrol teams from moving eastwards; the attempt to block patrol point 14 in the Galwan valley and the ensuing clash; the buildup at Gogra in Hot Springs area and the setting up of new radars and observation posts and stationing of tanks in the Depsang plains indicate at China’s attempts to ‘fix’ the LAC as per its 1960 claim line, a senior functionary said.

Used often, the diplomatic phrase ‘troops patrolling in own claimed areas along the LAC’ refers to these disputed sections of the LAC which

are claimed by both sides. Various protocols and border management guidelines agreed upon since 1993 mention how the troops have to behave on coming face-to-face when patrolling in these disputed areas. The 1960 Chinese Claim Line (CCL), in areas facing Daulat Baig Oldie, Depsang plains, Murgo and the Chip Chap river, stretches several kilometres west of the 1956 claim line, originally proposed by Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai at talks with India. An additional 5,100 square km area was claimed in the cartographic aggression in 1960.

The 1960 claim line and Nehru’s subsequent November 1961 ‘forward policy’ led to the 1962 war.