Thwarted in its last attempt, China has now shifted its unused road construction material North and East of the Doklam face-off site.

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NEW DELHI: 

Barely a month after the winding down of an aggressive stand-off with India at the Sikkim border, the Chinese army is back to building a road on the Doklam Plateau, just 10 km from the location of the last conflict. The Doklam Plateau is claimed by both Beijing and Bhutan as their territory. India backs Bhutan’s clai

In mid-June, Indian soldiers crossed the Sikkim border to stop the construction of a Chinese road near the “Chicken’s Neck”, a thin strip that links India to its northeastern states. After nearly 70 days of soldiers from both sides staring down at each other just 150 metres apart, the conflict, described as the worst in decades, subsided with both countries accepting that they were withdrawing their troops, though details were sketchy.

China pulled back its bulldozers and other road-making equipment, said officials in Delhi at the time. Chinese officers said the weather would be among the factors that would determine its plans for construction.

Now, barely 10 kilometres from the location of the stand-off, China is expanding an existing track, reinforcing its claim to the disputed and remote Doklam Plateau. India backs Bhutan’s claim to the region and has made it clear that it will not tolerate any infrastructure that would allow China access to the Chicken’s Neck, located just south of Doklam.

Thwarted in its last attempt, China has now shifted its unused road construction material North and East of the face-off site. Road construction workers brought into the area are accompanied by upto 500 soldiers though there are no indicators that these soldiers will be permanently based in the area – the Chinese town of Yatung, which is less than 20 km away as the crow flies, is a few hours by road and accommodates them. Neither are there signs of permanent structures to accommodate Chinese soldiers in the area which is snow-bound and bitterly cold in the winter. Army officers NDTV has spoken to believe that the new road construction is meant to be a strong signal of Beijing’s intent to prove its territorial claims. A month ago, Army Chief Bipin Rawat had warned, “As far as the Northern adversary is concerned, flexing of muscles has started. Salami slicing, taking over territory in a very gradual manner, testing our limits or threshold is something we have to be wary about. Remain prepared for situations that are emerging gradually into conflict.”

Construction in the same area that India holds highly sensitive

It is likely that the Army Chief was referring to these renewed Chinese efforts despite the de-escalation of the Doklam crisis which paved the way for the Prime Minister to travel to Xiamen for the BRICS summit last month.

Sources have told NDTV that fresh Chinese road construction activity in the area began shortly after India and China chose to deescalate tensions on August 28. On August 18, the Indian Army, which dominates the area, moved into the Doklam Plateau from their base at the nearby Doka La (pass) and physically prevented the Chinese from stretching the track. China’s goal had been to extend the track south across the Torso Nallah to the Jhamperi Ridge, a dominant feature in the area where the Bhutanese Army has a base.

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi strongly slammed the critics of gloom and doom in an elaborate defence of the economic situation, which shows that former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha’s stinging attack on the government’s economic policies did not go in vain. However, his efforts to downplay the current recessionary trend through an hour-long speech could not adequately camouflage his anxiety over the sluggishness in the economy. In the process, he not only acknowledged that the economy had lost its growth momentum but even said he never claimed to be an economist. These concessions are a tacit acceptance of some reform decisions failing to fire as intended and the willingness of the PM to undertake a mid-course correction.  The PM’s admission that the economy needs special attention is not sufficient. He must look beyond data and numbers cited chapter and verse by him. Higher inflow of foreign investments and a robust performance by the automobile sector are, at best, positive indications but not quite enough. There is no doubt that much more needs to be done to overcome the impact of demonetisation and GST implementation. PM Modi’s assertion that the government is committed to reversing this downward trend raises hope for the poor who have been the hardest hit. Recently government data has posted a decline in fertiliser and cement output, which would imply poor performance of the real estate and farm segments, major employers of casual labourers.In order to shield the poor, the RBI has decided not to cut the interest rate, fearing that an increased supply of money would stoke inflation. One of the major reasons for its apprehensions is the deficient monsoon that threatens to aggravate the woes of farmers. Now, the ball is in the PM’s court and he needs to take definitive actions to stimulate the economy. The best way forward is to revive labour-intensive small and medium enterprises, which have been badly hit by demonetisation and GST. In his speech, the PM promised to help them. To do so, he must relax GST norms for SMEs until they fully adjust to the new system.

Democracy, ‘darr’ can’t go together, says defiant Sinha

(From left) Congress leader Manish Tewari, BJP leader Yashwant Sinha and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during a book release function in New Delhi on Thursday. Tribune photo: Manas Ranjan Bhui

Smita Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 5

“The soul of democracy is consensus, it is simply not numbers. Even if you have numbers, you have to try and reach out to other people and try and take them along. Democracy and ‘darr’ (fear) do not go together,” said former Union Minister and senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha at an event here today.In the eye of a political storm since his recent critique of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and the government’s “economic mess”, Sinha remains defiant. He was speaking on the occasion of release of senior Congress leader Manish Tewari’s new book — Tidings of Troubled Times. On stage, the two shared space with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal while dismissing off speculation of any political realignment.Central to their remarks was “Modinomics” and “atmosphere of fear”in the country. Kejriwal set the ball rolling with criticism of demonetisation and GST, throwing figures of job losses.“There is an atmosphere of fear that I have never seen before across the country. We do not know how many ED and I-T notices have been sent out. This is a ‘raid raj’ like never before,” said Kejriwal.Taking on his party, Sinha said the government tried pitting his son and minister Jayant against him to divert attention from real issues, but it failed else “a certain gentleman would not have spoken for an hour and fifteen minutes yesterday”, hinting at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech yesterday.Without naming Modi, Sinha said he had been called ‘Shalya’ of Mahabharata, but it was only ‘Duryodhan’ and ‘Dushashan’ who were the most infamous brothers among the Kaurva clan. Sinha said he wouldn’t mind if party acted against him, though he had not done anything to deserve it.On the Opposition getting its act together, Manish Tewari reminded the audience, “Politics is all about probabilities and probabilities are eternal”. The Delhi CM claimed the “battle of 2019 will be BJP versus rest of the country”.

Salaria has an immoral track record: AAP’s Khaira

Mumbai, September 26

The Bombay High Court today granted bail to Army Major Ramesh Upadhyay (retd), an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, on the ground of parity.Since the other prime accused in the case have been granted bail by the high court and the apex court, a Bench of justices Ranjit More and Sadhna Jadhav granted Upadhyay bail against a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh and two sureties each of the same amount. While National Investigating Agency (NIA) counsel Sandesh Patil opposed the bail plea, the Bench said its hands were tied in view of the apex court’s directions on the grounds of parity.The court also asked if Upadhyay’s role in the blast was larger than that of prime accused Lt Col Shrikant Purohit, who was granted bail by the apex court in August. Upadhyay’s counsel denied it and told the court about Purohit having been granted bail. He also told the court that on September 19, a trial court had granted bail to two other accused in the case — Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sudhakar Dhar Dwivedi — on grounds of parity.“Upadhyay played a role in hatching the conspiracy for the blasts. He attended several meetings of the Abhinav Bharat group and we have video recordings to prove his presence in some of such meetings,” Patil said. “However, while the high court recorded our opposition to the bail plea, it took cognisance of the fact that several other accused were already out on bail,” he said.Last November, the trial court had denied bail to Upadhyay following which he had filed an appeal in the high court challenging the order. — PTI

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 21

The Army on Thursday paid tributes to Rifleman Rajesh Khatri, who was killed in a ceasefire violation on Wednesday along the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir’s Keran sector.“Lt Gen JS Sandhu, commander of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps, and all ranks paid homage to the soldier on behalf of the nation,” the Army said in a statement.“In a show of solidarity, representatives and officials from the state government and other security agencies also joined in paying their last respects to the martyr,” the Army said.The rifleman had sustained bullet injuries “due to enemy fire while he was deployed at a forward post in the Keran sector,” the Army said.“He was provided immediate first aid and evacuated from the post but, unfortunately, succumbed to the injuries,” it said.The 27-year-old soldier had joined the Army in 2011 and hailed from Torayan village in Dailekh, Nepal.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the family of Marshal Arjan Singh in New Delhi on Saturday. pti

New Delhi, September 16

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today mourned the death of Marshal Arjan Singh and said India will never forget his excellent leadership in the 1965 India-Pakistan war when the Indian Air Force saw substantial action.”India mourns the unfortunate demise of Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh. We remember his outstanding service to the nation,” he tweeted. Modi said the determined focus of Singh, who was promoted to the five-star rank of Marshal of the Air Force in 2002, on capacity building in the IAF added great strength to India’s defence capabilities. “India will never forget the excellent leadership of Arjan Singh in 1965, when the IAF saw substantial action,” the PM said in a series of tweets. Modi recalled how the ageing war hero stood up to salute him despite his ill health.”Sometime back I met him, who despite his ill health tried to get up to salute even though I said no. Such was his soldier discipline,” he said.

J&K Guv mourns death

J&K Governor NN Vohra condoled the Marshal’s death. Vohra recollected how since the time he was posted as Defence Secretary (1990-1993) he had been interacting with the Marshal on several issues of importance and national security. Vohra is a 1959-batch Punjab cadre IAS officer. — TNS/PTI

He won nation’s gratitude: PrezPresident Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday condoled the demise of war hero Marshal Arjan Singh, saying he won the nation’s gratitude for his military leadership in the 1965 Indo-Pak war. “Sad at demise of a great air warrior & Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh. Condolences to his family & IAF community. Marshal of the IAF Arjan Singh was a WW II hero & won our nation’s gratitude for his military leadership in 1965 war,” Kovind said in a series of tweets. PTI‘Outstanding soldier & diplomat’Arjan Singh was an outstanding soldier and a diplomat who led from the front. He will be particularly remembered for his successful operation tenure on the Burma front during World War II. He was a jewel in the throne of our armed forces and his extraordinary contribution as an air warrior would always be a source of inspiration to us.— Sonia Gandhi, Congress President‘Great loss to country’The kinds of aircraft he has flown, the positions he held, the awards he has received and number of years of service. It is very rare for any country to have a soldier of that kind of potential. It is a great loss to the country.— Nirmala Sitharaman, Defence Minister

Members of a delegation from British Royal Army during an event organised to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the Battle of Saragarhi at Nirvana Club in Ludhiana on Monday. Photos: Ashwani Dhiman

Gurvinder Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, September 11

British army officers paid tributes to the martyrs of the epic battle of Saragarhi, when the contingent of mere Sikh soldiers overcame the might of 10,000 Afghan soldiers. Despite losing their lives, they brought with them the best displaying extraordinary courage and valour on September 12, 1897.In an event organised to commemorate the 120th anniversary of Battle of Saragarhi, a delegation from British High Commission having several officers of the British army and representatives from different organisations saluted the Sikh brave hearts at Nirvana Club.The event began at Guru Ram Das Academy, where students of the school presented gatka and cultural programme, from where the delegation went to the Nirvana Club nearby.The delegation comprised members from England, including Major Gen Duncan Francis, Col John Richard Kindall and others. Speaking on the occasion,Col Kindall said it was a hugely inspiring story of not only courage, but loyalty for fellow soldiers, for their regiment, the army and the country.“This is the story of two nations — the British and the Sikhs, who first met in the battle field and left as friends. The Sikhs in the British army carry on that tradition of valour,” he said.They were bestowed with gallantry award — Indian Order of Merit. A retired army officer present on the occasion, said: “Generally individuals are given gallantry awards, but it is very rare that the entire unit is bestowed with a gallantry award.”Major Sartaj Singh Gogna, who is part of the British Royal Army, said he was two, when his family migrated to Britain from India. He studied pharmacy, but realised his true calling and joined the British Royal Army at the age of 21.He said the Battle of Saragarhi has been an inspiration and so has been the participation of Sikhs and Indian Regiments during World War I and World War II. There are around 187 Sikhs, who are part of the British Army, he said.Ranvir Singh, who is serving the British army, said they were following Sikh values and ethos in the British Army.

About the battle…

• The battle was fought before the Tirah Campaign on September 12, 1897, between Sikh soldiers of the British Indian Army and Pashtun Orakzai tribesmen in the North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan.
• The British Indian contingent comprised 21 Sikhs of the 36th Sikhs (now the 4th Battalion of the Sikh Regiment), who were stationed at an army post attacked by around 10,000 Afghans. The Sikhs, led by Havildar Ishar Singh, chose to fight to the death, in what is considered by some military historians as one of history’s greatest last-stands. The post was recaptured two days later by another British Indian contingent.
• Sikh military personnel commemorate the battle every year on September 12, as Saragarhi
• 

Lt Gen Devraj Anbu, GOC-in-C of the Northern Command, with the awardees at the investiture ceremony in Udhampur on Thursday. Tribune Photo: Inderjeet Singh

Tribune News Service

Udhampur, September 7

An investiture ceremony of the Northern Command of the Army was held here today and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command, Lt Gen Devraj Anbu presented the gallantry and distinguished service awards to 108 officers and other ranks.The Army Commander presented a Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak, two Yudh Seva Medals, two Bar to Sena Medals (Gallantry), 76 Sena Medals (Gallantry), 10 Sena Medals (Distinguished Service) and 17 Vishisht Seva Medals to the recipients, which were bestowed upon them for their act of valour and distinguished services.Meanwhile, 14 civilians were also given the certificate of appreciation and cash awards by the Army Commander for their yeoman service. Unit appreciation to 31 units for their outstanding performance in the Command Theatre in 2016 was also awarded.The Army Commander also honoured four personnel of the J&K Police for their act of gallantry and devotion.Lt General Anbu commended all ranks of the Northern Command for their dedication and devotion to duty. He exhorted them to rededicate themselves to the cause of the nation.He congratulated those who were decorated for bravery and distinguished service.During the event, the regional president family welfare organisation, Northern Command, also interacted and presented gifts to the next of kin of the posthumous awardees.