Lt Gen Raj Sujlana (Retd)

June 13, 1970 is unforgettable in the narrative of our military life. It was on this day that we passed out from the National Defence Academy. A year later, after our final training, those commissioned in the Army as Second Lieutenants passed out from the Indian Military Academy, to get bloodied in battles during the India-Pakistan War of 1971. The Naval officers as Midshipmen joined battleships and the Air Force pilots took to the air battle. We all earned for ourselves the right to be called the ‘Born to Battle Course’.

The war took its toll on course mates. In later years, too, facing challenges, many laid down their lives for the country. This year marks the golden jubilee of our Passing Out Parade. With impatience and exuberance, we looked forward to our alumni meet back at our alma mater at Khadakwasla. Little did the word pandemic cross our mind, something which would ruin this dream event.

Preparations had been afoot for nearly a year. A core dedicated team siting in Pune (or Poona, as we fondly remember) worked non-stop tying up details. Those away from the hub, especially the ones living abroad, did not want any slip-ups; there was much to look forward to.

Ours is the only course whose batchmates have been honoured with the nation’s top gallantry awards in war and peace — 2/Lt Arun Khetarpal, Param Vir Chakra, and Col NJ Nair, Ashoka Chakra.

The inaugural event was to be a ceremonial salute and evocation at the Hut of Remembrance for our course mates, who now watch us from the skies. We looked forward to meeting some friends after five decades — the bonhomie, camaraderie, that back-slapping, the loud lovable shouts and many adjectives! But then Covid-19 struck, and the plans came crashing down.

The disappointment is immense but then something else struck me. Our loss is that of an alumni meet, but for those who passed out recently, the Passing Out Parade — the grand finale of successful completion of three years of hectic training — was scaled down.

That day on the Khetarpal Drill Square is one to cherish. The atmosphere is charged, the air feels different, the stamping of feet is louder, the heels dig in like never before. The presence of parents and guests adds to the pageantry.

Then there is the final slow march to the haunting lyrics of ‘Auld Lang Syne’, the solemnity of the salute as one marches over the quarter deck, the fly past and the traditional cheers of ‘38th course ki jai’ — as it happened in our case 50 years back — by the juniormost course, strung smartly on the Jacob’s ladders alongside the mast.

It was music to our ears, the sound of this ‘jai’ remains etched in memory; but 100 courses after us, for the 138th course, the near-absence of this tradition would have been felt. But, as elders, we cheer you all and we are sure that 50 years down the line, you all will be there to enjoy your alumni meet!

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, June 12

Colonel (retd) RL Sharma has come to the rescue of Guddo Devi, a resident of Mehwa village, near Guler, in Kangra district, who is facing hardships amid the lockdown. The ex-serviceman today invited the woman to his residence in Palampur and gave her a cheque for Rs 50,000.

He came to know about the plight of Guddo Devi after reading a news item published in these columns recently.

Guddo Devi, who was in tears, expressed gratitude to the ex-serviceman.

Talking to The Tribune, the retired Colonel said he had also talked to Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, Rakesh Prajapati about the problems being faced by Guddo Devi and he had assured him that the case of land allotment would be processed soon.

Guddo Devi, who would make and sell brooms, had not been able to earn anything for the past two months. She was dependent on the charity of villagers to survive.

Depending on charity

Guddo Devi, who would make and sell brooms, had not been able to earn anything for the past two months. She was dependent on the charity of villagers to survive. Her plight was highlighted by The Tribune recently.

Dehradun, June 13

The “entire situation” along India’s border with China is under control, and both the armies are “disengaging” in a phased manner beginning from Galwan Valley, Army Chief Gen MM Naravane said on Saturday, in the first official confirmation of mutual pulling back of troops after the face-off began in eastern Ladakh over five weeks back.

The Chief of Army Staff also said military talks between the two armies had been “very fruitful”, and exuded confidence that the ongoing dialogue would “settle” all perceived differences over the Line of Actual Control, the de-facto Sino-India boundary.

Gen Naravane was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the passing out parade of the Indian Military Academy.

“Both sides are disengaging in a phased manner. We have started from the north, from the area of the Galwan river where a lot of disengagement has taken place. It has been a very fruitful dialogue that we have had. As I said, it will go on and the situation will improve as we go on,” he said.

The Indian and Chinese armies are engaged in the standoff in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie in eastern Ladakh. A sizeable number of the Chinese Army personnel even transgressed into the Indian side of the de-facto border in several areas including Pangong Tso.

The Indian Army has been fiercely objecting to the transgressions and demanding their immediate withdrawal for the restoration of peace and tranquillity in the area. Both sides held a series of talks in the last few days to resolve the row.

“I would like to assure everyone that the entire situation along our borders with China is under control. We are having a series of talks which started with corps commander level talks which were followed up with meetings at the local level between commanders of equivalent ranks,” Naravane said.

“As a result, a lot of disengagement has taken place and we are hopeful that through the continued dialogue that we are having, all perceived differences that we (India and China) have will be set to rest,” he said.

The military sources, on Tuesday, had claimed that the two armies began “disengagement” around patrolling points 14 and 15 in Galwan Valley and another in the Hot Spring area, adding that the Chinese side had even moved back up to 1.5 km in the two areas.

However, neither the Ministry of External Affairs nor the Ministry of Defence responded to the queries about the disengagement so far.

People keeping track of the stand-off suggested that there was no evidence so far to show that the Chinese troops were withdrawn from the Indian side of the LAC in Galwan Valley and Hot Spring.

In their first serious efforts to end the row, Lt General Harinder Singh, the general officer commanding of Leh-based 14 Corps, and Commander of the Tibet Military District Maj Gen Liu Lin held a nearly seven-hour meeting on June 6.

The meeting was followed by Major General-level talks on Wednesday and Friday. The Indian side, on both the occasion, pitched for the restoration of status quo ante and immediate withdrawal of thousands of Chinese troops from the areas which India considers on its side of the LAC.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, on Friday, reviewed India’s overall military preparedness in eastern Ladakh and several other sensitive areas along the Line of Actual Control in Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh.

In the review meeting, Rajnath Singh told the top military brass to continue to deal with the situation in eastern Ladakh and other areas with “firmness”, at the same time insisting that the two sides must resolve the row through talks, they said.

Following the stand-off in eastern Ladakh, the two sides have deployed additional troops along the LAC, the de-facto Sino-India border, in North Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh in the last few days, the sources said.

After the stand-off began in early last month, Indian military leadership decided that the Indian troops would adopt a firm approach in dealing with the aggressive posturing by the Chinese troops in all disputed areas of Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie.

The Chinese Army has been gradually ramping up its strategic reserves in its rear bases near the LAC by rushing in artillery guns, infantry combat vehicles and heavy military equipment.

The trigger for the face-off was China’s stiff opposition to India laying a key road in the Finger area around the Pangong Tso Lake besides construction of another road connecting the Darbuk-Shayok-Daulat Beg Oldie road in Galwan Valley.

The road in the Finger area in Pangong Tso is considered crucial for India to carry out a patrol. India has already decided not to stall any border infrastructure projects in eastern Ladakh in view of Chinese protests.

The situation in the area deteriorated after around 250 Chinese and Indian soldiers were engaged in a violent face-off on May 5 and 6. The incident in Pangong Tso was followed by a similar incident in north Sikkim on May 9.

The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long LAC. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet while India contests it.

Both sides have been asserting that pending the final resolution of the boundary issue, it is necessary to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas. PTI

Dehradun, June 13

Army Chief General M M Naravane on Saturday said the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir have had a lot of successes recently as people there are fed up with militancy and want normalcy to return to the Union Territory

“As far as Jammu and Kashmir or our western neighbour is concerned, we have had a lot of successes in the last one week or ten days. In the last 10-15 days alone more than 15 terrorists have been killed there, “Naravane told reporters on the sidelines of the IMA’s passing out parade which he addressed as the reviewing officer.

“All this has been because of the close cooperation and coordination between all the security forces operating in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

He said a majority of the recent anti-terrorist operations were based on information provided by locals which is an indication that they are fed up with militancy and want normalcy to return to the Valley.

“Most operations have been carried out on the basis of information provided by locals which goes to show they are also absolutely fed up with militancy and terrorism and want that the situation should return to normal,” Naravane said. PTI

ribune News Service

New Delhi, June 13

At a time when China has opened fronts against Taiwan and India, Indians for the first time came on the streets of Taipei to thank the country for its success in containing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Indians reportedly gathered at a park in New Taipei City before taking the motorcade of some 50 cars and motorcycles to the northeastern county of Yilan and back, a total distance of around 120 km.

The participants wore matching T-shirts that read “Taiwan Can Help” and flags that read “Health for All, Taiwan Can Help” and “Thank You Taiwan”. The rally by Indians in Taipei and their thanking Taiwan for combating the pandemic holds a deep significance in global politics.

The event also had Independence-minded Taiwan government’s indirect blessings. It nudged companies into sponsoring the rally and the chief local bureaucrat attended the opening ceremony.

The event’s main organiser, 38-year-old Manoj Kriplani, reportedly said the motor rally was attended and supported by various Indian community groups in Taiwan.

Under Chinese pressure, India, along with most countries of the world, did not give diplomatic recognition to Taiwan. And any such move irks Beijing.

Also, there is a clash of views on the question of health.

China managed to eject Taiwan from its observer status at the WHO’s annual meeting. It is today vigorously resisting a demand by 60 countries to seek its re-inclusion after it emerged that Taiwan was among the first to raise the flag on the epidemic in Wuhan but was ignored because of its pariah status.

One of the participants was a 40-year resident of Taiwan, Harkishin Chablani, president of the Indian’s Association of Taipei, who said the event was also dedicated to thanking the country’s health workers.

Another participant, Rajan Khera, president of the Indian Cultural Committee of Taipei, said Taiwan deserved to be thanked because the country did not just help its citizens but people all over the world who need help.

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 13

Nepal’s House of Representatives on Saturday unanimously passed a Constitutional amendment revising the map on its coat of arms to include three areas of Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura that India later in the evening asserted were part of its territory.

Passed by Nepal’s Lower House, the amendment Bill will now go to the Upper House where the ruling NCP holds 50 of the 59 elected seats.

The die for a change in the Constitution was cast about 10 days ago when Nepal’s Lower House unanimously approved a resolution to change the map on its coat of arms. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) here accused Nepal of violating the “current understanding” to hold talks on outstanding boundary issues. “We have already made our position clear on this matter. This artificial enlargement of claims is not based on historical fact or evidence and is not tenable,” said MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava.

Nepal’s map change was in response to two Indian moves over eight months. In early November, India released a new political map. Its basic aim was to reflect the new reality of the erstwhile state of J&K divided into two Union Territories, but it also included Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura. India handled that dissonance by promising dialogue.

On May 8, the controversy was re-stoked when Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a road from Dharchula in Uttarakhand to the controversial spot of Lipulekh. This set in motion a political process that has led to changes in Nepal’s political map and while Nepal’s PM and Foreign Ministry publicly asked India to hold parleys, especially at the level of foreign secretaries, it was on Saturday that the MEA seemed to suggest that it had made an offer for talks.

The amendment in the Lower House hung in balance as the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) was 10 seats short of the needed two-thirds majority. But Madhesi parties, who were asked to display their nationalist credentials, and the Nepali Congress came on board, making the passage of the resolution a fait accompli.

Sandeep Dikshit

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 13

Ahead of its election to the UN Security Council (UNSC) for a two-year term, India’s new Permanent Representative to the UN, TS Tirumurti, said the UN needs to change to reflect the contemporary realities to enable them to remain effective and credible.

‘Rules neither transparent nor consistent’

• Learning from the opaque methods of the UNSC in trying to get Masood Azhar blacklisted, India feels that rules are neither transparent nor consistent
• For instance, there is no uniformity in the procedures of decision-making by various sanctions committees, India stated at the UN last month

Learning from the opaque methods of the UNSC and its sanctions committee in trying to get Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar blacklisted as an international terrorist, India feels that rules are neither transparent nor consistent. For instance, there is no uniformity in the procedures of decision-making by various sanctions committees, India stated at the UN last month.

There is a sense that too much of their work is being carried out without the full knowledge of all UNSC members. Neither is there any fixed practice in terms of their reporting cycles — there are differing time-periods and methodologies for reporting of similarly constituted bodies handling similar work.

Another worrying aspect relates to lack of transparency and consistency in making public the decisions of these bodies. For instance, in many cases, decisions regarding delisting requests made to some of these bodies by sanctioned individuals and entities are not made public at all.

Some subsidiary bodies do not even mention that any such request was received and declined from known and listed terrorist entities or individuals. In effect, the failed efforts of terrorists to get themselves de-listed are shrouded in secrecy.

The non-permanent nations have already been making efforts in this direction and won a few minor victories. Due to one of them, India and the other non-permanent members will be invited to observe the meetings of the UNSC and its subsidiary bodies three months before they formally begin their terms on January 1, 2021.

Ahead of the June 17 poll, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had outlined New Delhi’s priorities for its candidature. Under the rubric of ‘New Orientation For A Reformed Multilateral System’ (NORMS), he said India aims to create new opportunities in five key segments — general progress, effective response to international terrorism, reforming multilateral systems, comprehensive approach to peace and security and technology with a human touch.