71-73 Batches will come up for refund next year. The refund amount will be Rs 7000/= only.
Please fwd your application to the um address:-
Director AOBF (CW-8)
Room no 17 B
West Block III,
RK Puram
New Delhi 110066.
The application should include your IC No, DOC and DOR along with a cancelled cheque of the ac in which the amount has to be credited.
Regards
Ramesh Sharma

New Delhi, July 3

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Tuesday said decades of militancy had shattered the education system in Jammu and Kashmir and it was one of factors behind stone-throwing protests in the state.He was interacting with some students of Chhattisgarh, who were on a trip to Delhi, when one of the them asked him why there were frequent stone-throwing incidents in Kashmir.General Rawat replied that Kashmiris were being fed with misinformation that India was anti-Muslim and those who eat beef were being killed.“They try to shield terrorists. They throw stones as these are easily available. Unemployment is a factor for this. However, it is not unique to Kashmir, there is unemployment in other parts of the country as well but youngsters there don’t pelt stones.”“Education there (Kashmir) is shattered. Most of the schooling is done through madrassas, which cannot get you good jobs.”He said the Army had two ways of dealing with the situation. “One is the harsh way, the other is to make them understand that what they are doing is wrong. We bring some of the people from there to Delhi to show them that we don’t have the Army in every corner here as Delhi is peaceful. If Kashmir is also peaceful, the Army will be taken away from there.” — IANS

Cantonments may be colonial creations in their origins, but that does not mean that the military does not need exclusive spaces.

The opening of cantonment roads to public has become a raging controversy and another point of friction in the civil-military relations. This friction is part of a larger struggle between the civic needs of society and security imperatives for the country’s military assets.

The battle is being waged in an ambience of growing security threats and deteriorating civic infrastructure, which is unable to cope with the steep growth in urban population. Mobility within cities and towns is impeded by traffic density and narrow thoroughfares. Commuting within urban spaces is a harrowing experience. Expanding city space has enveloped most cantonments and in many places, urban commuting can be made easier if passage is permitted through cantonments. But such passage is blocked by the security requirements of the military.

In the government structure, the ministry of defence (MoD) is responsible for ensuring security to military assets. In an era of terrorism, military assets are high-value targets and therefore require a greater degree of protection. The responsibility of provisioning civic facilities is essentially that of the ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA) at the Union level and the municipal authorities at the state level. It is therefore revealing that the MoD, the guardian of military assets, is playing a role that seeks to alleviate the suffering of citizens, a role which must be addressed by the MoHUA and the state-level authorities. The MoHUA and state-level authorities are completely absent from any deliberation to resolve the commuting problem raised by the local politicians directly with the MoD. This is surprising since in many earlier cases when private parties waged a legal battle with the MoD, the courts have upheld the superiority of military security requirements over civic convenience.

In the case Mani Enclave Welfare Association Vs Union of India, where the Union of India was represented by the MoD, the Andhra Pradesh High Court on 26 September 2014 ruled that –

“The principal grievance against imposing restrictions on 9 roads in issue in these cases is that there are no proper alternative roads which civilians can use and if civilians are not allowed to use these roads it would cause grave hardship to them. This is a matter which requires immediate attention of civilian authorities. As the imposition of restrictions on above roads may cause added pressure on alternate roads, which are narrow and not planned to take heavy traffic as contended by the Traffic Police and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), all the concerned authorities shall take expeditious steps to improve the alternate roads so that ordinary people are not subjected to any inconvenience. Conscious of the difficulties of commuters, the army authorities have imposed restrictions in a phased manner and such decision cannot be held as one made in an arbitrary manner. Subject to security concerns and training schedules, it is for the General Officer Commanding to allow civilian traffic on the subject roads till alternative road network is developed. It is necessary for the civic administration to rise to the occasion and take immediate urgent measures so that the civilians are not put to inconvenience and hardship in commuting by using alternative roads that are available. The GHMC and the Hyderabad District Collector shall file a report to this Court on the steps taken in this regard within two months from the date of receipt of copy of the judgment. For the aforesaid reasons, the Writ Petitions and Public Interest Litigations fail and the same are hereby dismissed.” See full judgment here.

From statements emanating from the MoD, it is apparent that the MoD, based on pressure exerted by local politicians, deemed it appropriate to open, as a temporary measure, all “public roads” that were closed to civilians due to security concerns in 62 cantonments. It has also simultaneously appropriated the powers that were vested in the Cantonment Boards and General Officer Commanding in Chief (GOC in C) by the Cantonment Act of 2006. Although the appropriation of powers has been veiled through procedural cul-de-sac, the intent is obvious.

Even a temporary closure of public roads on security grounds is now procedurally complicated and nigh impossible to implement. Worse, the security grounds that have been justified by the Local Military Authority (LMA) and GOC in C will be subjected to “legal vetting” by the MoD. The competence of the MoD to subject security assessments to legal scrutiny is questionable. It also means, in practice, that the spirit of Article 258 of the Cantonment Act 2006, which states that the LMA under the oversight of the GOC in C is in the best position to judge on-ground security concerns, has been completely undermined. The end result of such a move has grave security implications.

Based on the directions from the MoD, the army has apparently issued instructions to open “all roads” in the cantonments and put measures in place to only monitor the density of traffic. This “all roads” instruction is obviously a result of poor drafting because the MoD letter pertains to “public roads”, which are on the land that is classified as Class C and is under the jurisdiction of the Cantonment Board. Be that as it may, the idea of traffic density is connected more to civic convenience than to security concerns, for security concerns are related closely to preventing a free avenue to inimical forces. But this issue has already been decided, so what remains to be gained from such an exercise? There is more to the MoD’s behaviour here than meets the eye.

The MoD has politicised security for electoral purposes, by privileging civic convenience over security of military assets of which it is the ultimate guardian. Opening of cantonment roads that have been closed for security reasons enjoys great popular support and justifiably so, considering the hardships of urban commuters. It is the natural proclivity of politicians to key into this popular mood with an eye on electoral gains. The victory processions through roads recently opened to public, the statements of some MPs and MLAs, and posters advertising the role of politicians in getting the roads opened offer ample proof. In the process, it has turned civic society against the armed forces who are seen as wanting to retain their “colonial privileges” within cantonments. Cantonments may be colonial creations in their origins, but that does not mean that the military does not need exclusive spaces. This is an unfortunate and undesirable fall out.

While the MoD must be cognizant of the demands of civil society, its primary concern is the defence of India. It should, therefore, review the closure/opening of roads from a security perspective and also attempt to assuage the difficulties of citizens. Its attempt to undermine the security judgements of military commanders when it has no competence to do so is fraught with serious implications to national security. Currently, it seems to have defected to the side of civic convenience from its natural abode of national security.

If the defection by the MoD is not arrested, the natural trajectory would be the usurping of military lands by the nexus of corrupt politicians and powerful estate lobbies in the name of another popular sentiment that understandably envies the military occupying prime urban locations. It is not that such an onslaught on military lands have not happened before, but even when defence ministers themselves were complicit, the Service chiefs have stood their ground.

Now, if the opening of roads on A1 land (land exclusively for military and not administered by the Cantonment Board) in Secunderabad, despite a favourable high court ruling, is any indication, the danger is a pliant military leadership and an MoD that has defected. It is a deadly combination and sounds the death knell for striking a just balance between military and civil requirements.

Lt Gen (Dr) Prakash Menon, PVSM, AVSM, VSM is Director, Strategic Studies Programme, Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru.

Ram Ganesh Kamatham is a Research Fellow at Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru.

Ambala, June 17

Deputy Commissioner Sharandeep Kaur has handed over Veerangna cards to eight war widows in her officer here.The cards will allow war widows priority access to government offices of the district. They will be spared the burden of making endless rounds of offices to get their work done.Along with Veerangna cards, the DC gave gratitude letters to war widows, saluting them for the sacrifices made by their husbands.The district administration will also issue Gaurav cards to families of unmarried martyrs.Col VM Sharma (retd), secretary of the District Military Board, said 54 Veerangna and four Gaurav cards were to be issued.Of the total beneficiaries, 21 are from Naraiangarh sub-division, 20 from Ambala Cantonment, nine from Barara and eight from Ambala City.The onus would be on the office concerned to attend to Veerangna and Gaurav cardholders on priority, the DC said.Acceding to the demand of war widows, the DC instructed the Secretary, District Sainik Board, to organise a camp for them and guide them on job avenues. War widows will also get help in getting bank loans. — TNS

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 15

Two cadets from NCC’s No.1 Chandigarh Air Squadron have been selected to join the Army as commissioned officers during the current training year. This is in addition to five cadets from the squadron who joined the forces during the last training year.Chandigarh NCC Group Commander Brig RS Thakur paid an inspection visit to the squadron here on Friday.The unit’s commanding officer Wg Cdr MR Pandeya said the city’s Air Wing cadets had also excelled at national and international competitive events.Apart from reviewing the unit’s training activities, Brigadier Thakur visited the aeromodeling section and took stock of the projects being undertaken there.He also awarded appreciation certificates to Dr Rakesh Thakur, caretaker officer of the Air Wing at the Post Graduate Government College, Sector 11, and to Rajinder Prasad of the unit for contribution to the NCC activities.He interacted with other officers and staff members of the unit. Congratulating the unit for excellent achievements in 2017-18, Brigadier Thakur emphasised the role of the NCC in the personality development of the youth and motivating them to become disciplined citizens.

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, June 14

Two militants and a soldier were killed on Thursday in an encounter in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district, Army said.The fierce gunfight broke in the morning at Panar forest in Bandipora, 60 km from here, where a massive anti-militancy operation has been going on since June 9.“In the ongoing operation, two terrorists were killed and an army soldier was martyred,” Srinagar-based defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia said.The operation is still in progress.The identities of the slain militants and the soldier could not be established immediately.The Army has been carrying out massive combing operations in a dense forest area at Panar from Saturday to trace out a group of militants who were hiding in the area after infiltrating into the Indian territory recently.During the past six days, security forces and militants have exchanged fire on at least six occasions. But each time the militants managed to give security forces the slip in the forest area. The Army, however, maintained a tight cordon around the forest to ensure that militants did not escape.The first contact with the militants was established on Saturday evening when a patrol party of the Army was fired upon by the militants. This was retaliated and the exchange of fire lasted for a brief time.

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, June 6

A group of five to six Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants are giving sleepless nights to security forces in the Hajin area of Bandipora district.The group was involved in the firing on Army’s 13 Rashtriya Rifles camp and a police installation in the vicinity of the camp in Hajin on Tuesday night.“It is the same group of the Lashkar that is active in the area which carried out the attack on forces on Tuesday night,” Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Bandipora, Sheikh Zulfikar Azad said.Azad said militants fired at the camp from across the Jhelum and at a distance of nearly 200 m. “It did not look like a fidayeen attack. They had to cross the river to reach the camp,” the SSP added. “The militants fired a few gunshots and also lobbed two grenades propelled by under barrel grenade launcher,” he said.The SSP said sentries guarding the police installation and the Army camp retaliated the fire and there was no injury in the attack.A search operation was also launched around the camp. Soon after the attack, the Army had said the militants resorted to standoff firing on security forces.Another security officer said they had “advance inputs that militants may try to do something in the area”.“Last year on June 5, security forces had foiled a fidayeen attack on a CRPF camp at Sumbal in the vicinity of Hajin. So we were expecting that Lashkar will do something around this date,” the officer said.The Lashkar owned the attack on the Army camp. The outfit claimed that a few soldiers were killed in what they termed a “fidayeen attack”.

Seventy-one recordings of Punjabi prisoners of war, held at the Half Moon Camp in Germany, are yearning to reach their loved ones

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Sarika Sharma

Ten years ago, voice of Mal Singh, a prisoner of war from the First World War, came to India. Held captive at the Half Moon Camp in Germany, the man was batting for hope, remembering the good times in India — the butter he would eat and the milk he would drink…. He was desperate to return home, but doubted if he ever would.As the voice reached Punjab 100 years after it was recorded at the Camp as an experiment, Mal Singh was traced to Moga after The Tribune highlighted it in a story. We got to know that he had made it back home after all, lived life fully, perhaps had the milk and butter he so longed for too, and died in the 1970s. His voice had been among the thousands of voice recordings at the Humboldt University’s Sound Archive, Lautarchiv, Berlin. Now, 70 more recordings of soldiers from what was the then Punjab have reached home, waiting to tell how they lived as prisoners in a war that they fought to earn a better living for their families. These soldiers were from 15th Ludhiana Sikhs, 47th Sikhs and 4th Gurkha Rifles, among others.The archive has now shared the voices with Col Perminder Singh Randhawa (retd) to understand these recordings from Indian point of view. Jochen Hennig, Central Collection Commissioner at the Humboldt-University, shared these voices as part of the commemoration of 100 years of the war. The ‘access’ has been given to all those who can understand their forefather-soldiers’ languages.The Indian soldiers, fighting the war under the British Army, were taken captive by the Germans at the Western Front. Around this time, Thomas Edison had come out with his latest invention, the wax-cylinder phonograph and the recording experiments were carried out on these soldiers. German scientists, who were awed by their “exotic”, “turban wearing” prisoners, were employing them in various experiments. Royal Prussian Phonographic Commission, founded in 1915, was one of them. The recordings were done under this project.Among the voices is a recording of Bela Singh, a soldier from Amritsar. In almost verse form, he speaks of how they came to the city of Marseille and were ordered to set out for the war, how they fought and how they were captured.There is a recording of Baryam Singh from Ludhiana. He says that when someone decides to do something with all his heart, he does it well. As if reading from a paper where he pauses to decipher the words (which may or may not have been written by him), he says he loves Hindustan because it is his land. He says no lure can buy him. His recording is peppered with the word ji, a word that denotes respect.Sepoy Sunder Singh begins his recording with Ek Onkar, a central tenet of Sikh religious ethos. Apparently referring to a copy of Guru Granth Sahib, which they seem to have been given in confinement, he expresses happiness that the Guru has blessed his ilk. He says that the only one thing that could bring him as much happiness would be a peace treaty. He adds that the Sikhs consider the Guru Granth Sahib a holy book and revere it more than anything else. It appears that the Guru Granth Sahib was not accompanied by Rumala Sahib, which hurt the sentiments of Sikhs in the camp. So while he begins by praising the Germans for providing them Guru Granth Sahib, he later says that if it is disrespected, a true Sikh will take his own life then and there. These are a handful of stories; there are around 70 more that are desperate to reach their loved ones in Punjab.Colonel Randhawa says the Germans kept the voices safe with them for a year, digitised these and have now decided to send these back to where the PoWs came from to understand their context. “Why did Mal Singh say what he said? What did it mean? They don’t have an answer? They want us to find out an answer? We must remember that this could have been their last testimony,” he says. For Colonel Randhawa, who has been translating and analysing these voices, these soldiers are like whistleblowers, who shared what went on in the camps, often in a veiled way. Mal Singh’s recording could well be reflective of the quality of food there.He rues the government has not taken any initiative to bring these voices to India and find out what happened to these soldiers. “Is the government ignoring the First World War story under pressure from Britain and others? Or are they scared of skeletons in the cupboards coming to the fore. These were not British soldiers; these were Indian soldiers. We fought the war, won it, won Victoria Crosses too, but what was happening behind the scenes, let that also be known,” he says. While Mal Singh’s voice was able to reach his family in Moga, Colonel Randhawa feels that voice of the other soldiers should reach their loved ones, some of whom might be in Pakistan today. Also, he says that there is no information on whether these soldiers returned home or not. He feels that while we are still commemorating the FirstWorld War, “Let us at least hear what they had to say. Let us see what lessons we can draw for the youth. These voices have been ‘seized’ for a hundred years. It is time we heard them now.”

The recording project

Founded in 1915, Royal Prussian Phonographic Commission was set up to record languages spoken by the PoWs. Around 30 scientists were involved in this project. With experts from the field of linguistics, musicology and anthropology, the commission recorded the different languages spoken by these PoWs. Under linguist Wilhelm Doegen, 1,650 recordings were made. In an article in 2011, Prof Britta Lange wrote that these scientists, mainly professors at Berlin University, asked the prisoners about their traditional songs and texts. For this reason, many of the gramophone recordings…. “contain legends, fairytales, fables, religious texts and chants from individual ethnic groups. Texts freely formulated by the prisoners themselves, describing their personal situation in the German prisoner of war camp, revealing details of their biographies or the force of war-time circumstance that brought them to Germany are more rare.”

Not lost

The Germans were meticulous in documentation. Along with each recording is a transcript of the script in Punjabi and in English. There is a page on biodata of the PoW in question in both English and German. It lists out details like name, birthplace, regiment, religion, languages known and date of recording.