Students of Nishan-e-Sikhi School, Khadoor Sahib, during their visit to the Punjab State War Memorial and Museum in Amritsar on Monday.

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, December 2

In the run-up to the Military Literature Festival, 2019, scheduled to be held in Chandigarh from December 12 to 15, the Punjab State War Memorial and Museum hosted cultural activities and sessions by military historians for students and families of the armed forces. The two-day event was kicked off at the War Memorial and Museum with Major General Raj Mehta and historian Prof Radha Sharma sharing some anecdotes from some of the historic battles.

Talking about the Battle of fought between Khalsa forces led by Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Afghan tribals in 1823, Radha Sharma shared the history of one of the greatest military victories of Sikh Khalsa forces. “The battle was fought between Pathan tribes of the Yusufzais, Khattaks and Afridis and Maharaja Ranjit Singh armies. Prince Sher Singh, son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Hari Singh Nalwa led the battalion and the Battle of Attock fought by Maharaja Ranjit Singh was historic as well. Great Sikh warriors, including Akali Phula Singh and Hari Singh Nalwa, needed to be re-introduced to the younger generation through such endeavours. Punjab, a land that has always been vulnerable to foreign invaders, has a rich martial legacy that needs to be shared with the current generation as a reminder of the past.” Major General Raj Mehta, an illustrious former serviceman, also shared some interesting war stories from his time while serving in insurgency-torn Kashmir.

The highlight of the day was the screening of a documentary, Half Moon Stories, an account of recorded messages of the prisoners of war during World War I at the Half Moon Camp in Germany. The audience that included families of serving officers and students listened to the voices of the Indian soldiers held captive in Germany during World War I and how they missed their families and shared their stories. “It was heartening to listen to these voices and their stories more than 100 years ago, talking about their home and what they missed about it,” said Col HP Singh, project director, War Memorial and Museum.

The recordings were kept at Humboldt University’s Sound Archive, Lautarchiv, Berlin, until they were de-classified and made public. The documentary featured voices of 70 Indian soldiers, including those from Amritsar, Mogam and Ludhiana who were serving in 15th Ludhiana Sikhs, 47th Sikhs and 4th Gurkha Rifles during the time, along with detailed information of the soldiers. The documentary was screened by Col Praminder Singh Randhawa, who had researched on the project.

Brig Satinder Singh (retd), director, Defence Services Department, said next year, bigger events would be planned for the War Memorial and Museum under the Military Literature Festival. “Given the significance of Amritsar as an important military as well as historical city with a great martial legacy, it serves as a perfect setting for organising such events. Also, the young generation should be made aware of the India’s military heritage.”

DURING the afternoon of December 3, 1971, as we played baseball in the open area at Drass, our Commanding Officer, Lt Col BS Joshi, was called over to the Brigade Headquarters. He smiled, taking long strides as he walked past us to his jeep. Eruption of a war was imminent, but that could not deter our festivities. Drass is the second coldest inhabited place after Siberia, and located at a height of 10,500 ft. The icy breeze could not dampen our spirits; it could only redden Gulshi Bhola’s cheeks. Holding the baseball bat like a hockey stick, Balkar Singh Gill’s shots tore into the opposing team, making them pant for breath while chasing the ball in the uneven high altitude area. Major Sarjit Singh Sahota roared with laughter, putting the overhanging roaring clouds to shame. The sheer weight of our hefty coat parkas impeded our running, so everyone awaited his turn to hold the bat and hit the ball. The game ended abruptly when the Quarter Master, Pritam Singh, whizzed away as if he was chasing the devil on its tail. For us there could be no sleep that night. Packing, fastening the weapons and equipment, we took off time to sit up, with legs tucked in our sleeping bags to listen to Indira Gandhi’s midnight address to the nation over radio. She had announced, ‘We are at war with Pakistan.’

My battalion, 18 Punjab, was tasked to capture Brachil Pass at a height of 13,990 ft. We concentrated astride the Srinagar-Kargil highway at Kala Pahar, which had a sparse growth of rhododendron bushes. These bushes could be lit up to ward off the extreme unbearable cold, but tiny sparkles were thrown up from these fires and a ‘khad-khad’ type of sound emanated, but all this was ignored, because the fires provided the much-needed soothing warmth. Some men would sit in semi-circles around these small fires, with their palms and feet extended towards the bush fires, while others held up their socks to dry. The sun played hide and seek with the clouds, appearing momentarily, soon to be covered by the clouds, till it finally went down beyond the surrounding high mountains. The russet sky turned grey as shades of twilight spread across the valleys. The mountains around Kala Pahar became gloomy high walls. There was no inhabitation on the neighbouring mountain slopes, except for enemy posts that dotted the surrounding peaks. At last light on December 6, we stealthily descended from Kala Pahar into Pakistani territory. Later the valleys had reverberated with the echo of unabated firing of multitudinous weapons and shouts of our war cry, ‘Har Maidan Fateh’, which had reached a crescendo. Brachil Pass was captured after an arduous battle, through sheer grit and determination. This opened the passage for further operations and earned the Battle Honour — Brachil and Wali Malik — for 18 Punjab.

A high-powered panel constituted for creating the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), its powers and hierarchy in the forces has submitted its report to the government. File photo

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 2

A high-powered panel constituted for creating the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), its powers and hierarchy in the forces has submitted its report to the government.

The implementation committee was constituted after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the creation of the CDS post on August 15. “The said committee has submitted its report,” the Ministry of Defence informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

The committee has determined the exact responsibilities, besides an enabling framework, for the CDS, who will be tasked with ensuring synergy in training, logistics, planning and procurements among the Army, Navy and the IAF.

The panel has reportedly suggested that the CDS be a four-star general, but will be senior to the three Service Chiefs, sources said. This will ensure that the British-time structures of the three forces that made them work separately are merged in a manner to ensure togetherness.

Modi made the announcement from the ramparts of the Red Fort during his speech to mark the 73rd Independence Day celebrations. The CDS was suggested by the Kargil Review Committee. Since then, the matter has taken several twists and turns with the services getting involved in a turf war of sorts.

At present, the senior-most among the Service Chiefs is made the Chairman the Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC). Their tenures are very short. Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat is the present CoSC chairman till his retirement on December 31 and he had taken over three months ago on October 1. Before him, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa started his tenure on June 1, which ended with his superannuation on September 30. The government has, over the past few years, stressed on joint operations, the reason being cost factor. The Ministry of Defence spends some 16 per cent of the country’s budget and still needs more. Of this spending, some can be reduced by merging the logistics, training and procurement.

A CDS is likely to be followed up by re-organising single-service commands into integrated theatre commands for better synergy in joint operations. At present, there are 19 commands, including the Strategic Forces Command and the Andaman and Nicobar Command, spread across the three services. This year, new divisions have been raised for aerospace, cyber and special force.

CDS to be First among equals

• The CDS will be senior to the three service chiefs and will ensure togetherness in the forces
• A special panel has determined exact responsibilities and an enabling framework for the CDS
• Major countries such as the US, United Kingdom and China have already taken this route
• 16% of India’s budget goes to defence, some of which can be cut by merging logistics, training and procurement

Our Correspondent

Abohar, December 2

Dr Bal Krishan Kurve, coordinator, Indian Campaign to Ban Landmines, has said India and Pakistan should sign an international treaty to stop use of landmines near borders.

Relatives of persons affected by landmines and coordinators of the Fazilka and Sriganganagar chapters of the NGO were also present on the occasion.

Speaking at a seminar organised by the Indian Institute for Peace Disarmament and Environment Protection in Sriganganagar on Sunday evening, Dr Kurve said 151 countries had responded positively to the call given by the UN-based organisation, but the US, Russia, China, India and Pakistan were still reluctant in inking the treaty.

Signing of the treaty by India and Pakistan would be considered as a major step towards restoring peace in the subcontinent, he observed.

Dr Kurve claimed that the number of casualties due to landmines across the world had come down from 30,000 per annum to 5,000 in past few years. He said Illiterate villagers could not be expected to realise that the objects they had found in the fields were explosive landmines.

“Comprehensive efforts are needed to educate border residents while laying landmines,” he said.

Sub-Lieutenant Shivangi

Sub-Lieutenant Shivangi of the Indian Navy became first naval woman pilot and joined operational duties at Kochi base on Monday

Hailing from Muzzafarpur in Bihar, Shivangi will fly Naval Dornier surveillance aircraft. “It is a very proud feeling for me. It is a different feeling,” she said

She will continue her training at INAS 550, the Dornier squadron at INS Garuda, to become a fully operational pilot on Maritime Reconnaissance (MR) aircraft. pti

Despite the Supreme Court’s reservations, General Bajwa will have his way

Signs of change? It remains to be seen if the court’s exercise of quasi-judicial independence will be a passing episode or help change the civil-military equation.

Vivek Katju
Ex-secretary, ministry of external affairs

For three days, Pakistan was gripped by the Supreme Court drama regarding army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa’s continuance in office after the expiry of his conventional three-year ‘term’ on November 28. The court initially suspended PM Imran Khan’s decision that Bajwa would serve for an additional three years. However, finally after many quick twists and turns in the case, the court allowed Bajwa to what amounts to a provisional continuance for six months and more later, subject to the enactment of necessary legislation.

While the court gave the government and Bajwa relief, it also caused them deep embarrassment. Pakistan army chiefs are larger-than-life figures who inspire awe and fear in the country’s political class and the public. Now the people saw the judges, at least for a few days, treat the army chief’s post as any other governed by the laws of the country and the directions of the court.

 Imran Khan is not the first Pakistani head of government to extend the tenure of an army chief. PM Yousaf Raza Gillani, who belonged to the Pakistan’s People’s Party led by then President Asif Zardari, gave a three-year extension to then army chief Ashfaq Kayani. Army chief Zia-ul-Haq, who ousted PM Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in July 1977 in a military coup, became the President of the country, but continued as army chief till his military aircraft exploded in the sky in August 1988. Pervez Musharraf, who was appointed army chief in 1998 by PM Nawaz Sharif, deposed him in October 1999 in a military coup and became President, but he retained the army chief’s position till he appointed Kayani to that post in November 2007.

Neither Zia-ul-Haq nor Musharraf would have allowed the judiciary to examine the validity of their continuing as army chiefs for these long periods. It seems that no one asked the judges to take up the issue of the validity of Kayani’s extension, but even if it was brought before the court, it is doubtful if it would have gone into the issue. This time it did because of the personality of Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa who has a well-earned reputation for being a fearless, if a somewhat maverick judge, who looks into the law and the facts of a case and is not swayed by other considerations.

 The current Pakistan constitution mandates that appointments of defence services chiefs, including the army chief, will be made by the President on the advice of the PM. The problem is that neither the constitution nor the laws and the rules governing the army provide for a tenure for the army chief or for his extension or reappointment. All this has been managed till now through the practices followed by the army. When the court asked the government the basis for giving extension to Bajwa it could not do so convincingly. Worse, it began to offer contradictory submissions. The court’s final order noted the government ‘moved from one position to another’.

Ultimately, the judges, despite their scathing observations during the hearing, accepted the fiction that the President had appointed Bajwa as army chief with effect from November 28, 2019, in terms of the constitution. They overlooked the obvious fact that he had served as the army chief for three years. They also accepted the government’s assurance that the practice relating to the tenure, extension and reappointment would be codified in an Act of parliament. They ordered that Bajwa’s current ‘tenure’ would be for six months and would be subject to the conditions of the new legislation. The court also stated that it was exercising judicial restraint because of the army chief’s responsibilities. This was contrary to its earlier position which stressed the role of the army as an institution and not of an individual.

While the government will bring in legislation to fill the lacunae pointed out by the court, the question is: will this exercise of quasi-judicial independence be only a passing episode or will it help in changing the civil-military equation or reduce the aura of the office of the army chief? These questions go to the heart of Pakistan’s polity and this judicial action must be judged through seeking answers to these queries.

All things considered, a serving army chief is the most significant public office-holder in Pakistan. During periods of civilian rule, the army allows the PM to choose the chief from among the eligible generals, but once chosen, he becomes the country’s real power centre. That stated the army generally also wants a chief to retire after his term is over, even if it has gone along with extensions in the past. Thus, after the legislation if extensions for the chief become difficult in the future, the army will not be unhappy.

The army controls Pakistan’s security policies and crucial areas of foreign policy. This judgment does not concern itself with these matters. It will therefore not strengthen the civilian leadership to spread its wings in these domains. If anything, it has profiled the civilian leadership as inept and therefore added to the impression that it cannot be trusted with the security of the country. It will, therefore, not impact on the basics of the civil-military relationship.

This case is unlikely to strengthen the judiciary, for when this matter was ongoing the Islamabad High Court prevented the special court hearing the Musharraf treason case from delivering its verdict. Thus, some judges may show some independence, but the institution will continue to be careful and circumspect in dealing with the army.

Pratap Singh Bajwa. Tribune file

New Delhi, December 3

A demand to exhume and bring back remains of Maharaja Duleep Singh, the last ruler of the Sikh empire, from his grave in the English countryside was made in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

Raising the issue through a Zero Hour mention, Pratap Singh Bajwa of the Congress said the issue is close to entire Punjab and “history should be corrected”.

Duleep Singh was born in Lahore in 1838 to powerful ruler Ranjit Singh. At the age of five the boy prince sat on the throne of the Sikh kingdom, he said, adding that Punjab was annexed to British India after the second Anglo-Sikh war in 1849.

Duleep Singh was removed from the throne and separated from his mother Maharani Jind Kaur, who was imprisoned.

Bajwa said he was taken to England and converted to Christianity at the age of 16 and lived in England under the patronage of Queen Victoria.

After 13 years of separation from his mother, he was reunited with her and upon learning of the history and Sikh identity, he decided to reconvert and gave away British pension.

In 1886, Duleep Singh set sail for India along with his family but fearing mutiny, the British detained him and placed him under hour arrest, he said, adding that his grave is in the English countryside Elveden.

Bajwa demanded that the maharaja’s body be exhumed and brought to Amritsar where his last rites should be performed as per Sikh traditions. PTI

Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh addresses a press conference. Tribune photo: Mukesh Aggarwal

Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, December 3

Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh on Tuesday said the upcoming position of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) should be empowered enough to implement the plans as desired.

He was answering questions at the annual press conference ahead of Navy Day here. He said the issues of the services had been conveyed to the empowered committee which had submitted its report.

On the upcoming massive exercise Milan in March 2020 that will see 41 navies participating, the Admiral said the idea is to collectively meet the challenge in the Indian Ocean region. This exercise will also have a operational part to it.

On being asked why China was not invited, the Admiral said, “We have called people who we think are like-minded.”

Asked if the Navy could conduct an exercise with China, Admiral Singh said, “That’s beyond my pay grade,” an indication that the decision rested with the government.

About the scope of the exercise, the Navy chief said their role is to stabilise and not a militray one.

He dismissed the upcoming China-Pakistan naval exercise as “routine”.

On being asked if the Chinese survey vessel had been turned away from Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off Port Blair, the Admiral said, “Our stand is clear; anything in our EEZ cannot be without our permission.”

China’s presence in the Indian Ocean had started in 2008 and at any given point it has seven to eight ships in the Ocean for various reasons like anti-piracy.

“We have our defence in place,” the Admiral said.