Indian and Nepalese troops take part in the inaugural function of the joint military exercise titled ‘Surya Kiran’ in Pithoragarh on Tuesday.

Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, March 7

The 11th Indo-Nepal joint military exercise — Surya Kiran — began at terrains of Panchsule brigade of Army’s Surya Command today. Major General RK Bhardwaj inaugurated the 14-day battalion-level exercise. “600 jawans from both sides are participating in the exercise. The focus is on counter-insurgency measures in hill regions besides establishing military cooperation in tough and hilly terrains between the two armies,” stated a press release issued by Defence PRO in Lucknow.“The exercise is being undertaken keeping in view disaster management in hills, anti- terrorist campaigns and mutual cooperation between the two friendly countries,” said a spokesman of the Army in Pithoragarh terrains.Durgabaksh Batallion from Nepal and Ekta Shakti Battalion from India are taking part in the exercise that is aimed at training troops in counter-insurgency operations in mountainous terrain also incorporates issues related to humanitarian assistance and disaster management.

THOSE WHO DEMAND DOING AWAY WITH THE SAHAYAKS HAVE LITTLE EXPERIENCING OF SOLDIERING AND THE RELATIONSHIP THAT EXISTS BETWEEN AN OFFICER AND HIS SAHAYAK

S uicide by Lance Naik Roy Mathew has sent the media, both electronic and print, into a spin. Equating a sahayak with a slave displays total lack of knowledge of military matters. Where the defence minister inspects a ceremonial guard of honour wearing slippers, with hands in his pocket, and the supreme commander is seen chewing a paan during the Republic Day parade, one can hardly hold out against media’s ignorance.

OFFICER’S COMPANION

Those who call sahayak a buddy to his officer, perhaps do not know that the term buddy was brought into play by the American Army during the Vietnam war, where two soldiers were grouped together as companions to overcome the problems of low morale.

Sahayak system (earlier known as orderly) is not a legacy of the colonial era. Normally, a soldier is assigned to an officer to attend to his personal requirements, setting him free to handle other important tasks. He is not called upon to undertake any undignified work. Over the time, a sort of bonding builds up between an officer and his sahayak. The two are comrades in arms with deep mutual respect between the two. In a million-plus military an odd aberration cannot make it abandon an age-old practice.

INSTITUTION OF ORDERLY NOT NEW

The institution of orderly for an officer in the military (since called sahayak) is almost as old as soldiering. In the Indian Army no sahayak is authorised on the establishment of units and formation headquarters. A soldier (one willing to take on the assignment of a sahayak) is made available to an officer to relieve him of some of the mundane tasks. Thus, a sahayak is not a servant to an officer but, and in some manner, a companion and a helper. The latter would go to any extent to make his officer comfortable and free to attend to more important issues.

When General Mussarvy came to attend his old unit’s centenary celebrations, his long-time sahayak was also there. The two went into a long embrace with tears flowing down their old wrinkled cheeks. During World War-2, a sahayak of a Polish officer would bring hot food from the enemy kitchen for his officer, till one day his identity came to be known and he was taken prisoner by the Germans.

When Major Sam Manekshaw (later field marshal) was leading his company in a charge on a Japanese position, he was hit by a light machinegun bust in his stomach (seven bullets in all). It was his sahayak who lifted the unconscious Major on his shoulder and carried him to the nearest medical aid post. The doctor there examined Sam Manekshaw and felt that he was beyond medical help and moved on to attend to another wounded soldier. Manekshaw’s sahayak intervened and insisted that the doctor attend to his officer (he is believed to have threatened the doctor with shooting him if he did not attend to his officer)

Often a sahayak proffers advice to his officer. When working as a staff officer at a brigade headquarters, I was not regular with my morning physical training, thus my sahayak would lecture me on the imperatives of an officer keeping himself in top physical condition.

He continued to lecture me on this issue with uninterrupted regularity till the annual files miles test run, where I beat him by a wide margin. That put an end to his regular lecturing on this subject.

THE UN-SOLDIERLY CONDUCT

There are cases where officers have misused the facility of a sahayak and it is for the military authorities to attend to this aberration. In the recent past, there have been cases where some soldiers have displayed undesirable behaviour and un-soldierly conduct.

Soldiering is a profession apart and not a cup of tea for all and sundry. Unfortunately, it is now being taken as a mere employment avenue and given the state of unemployment in the country, many with no inclination, mental make-up and aptitude for soldiering are finding their way into this service. Some of them cannot live with the iron discipline, rigours of military life and dangers therein and simply breakdown and you have these suicide cases.

Therefore, there is a strong case to look into the quality of intake into the military. The policy of male recruitable population have opened the door to all those with no military tradition and aptitude. The military needs to look into the selection systems for enrolment and should consider some psychological tests for recruitment into the army.

Those who demand doing away with the sahayaks have little experiencing of soldiering and the relationship that exists between an officer and his sahayak.

Taking up a solitary case and blowing it out of proportion, endlessly debating it on TV channels and social media will do no good to the military and would seriously impact its discipline. Indian Army has its own mechanism to attend to such issues and should be left to the military to handle. An odd aberration should not trip us overboard. (The writer, a former deputy chief of army staff, is a commentator on defence and security issues. Views expressed are his personal)

27 LAWS OF MILITARY OFFICIALDOM

CM TELENGANA AWD RS 2 LAKH GRANT TO NDA SELECTED CANDIDATES

EXPOSE: IT WAS BARKHA DUTT WHO PLANTED, TRAINED, & WROTE SCRIPT FOR GURMEHAR KAUR

GURMEHAR TROLLED OVER FAKE VIDEO

KAMAL CONDEMNS THREATS TO GURMEHAR, BUT DEFENDS ABVP

JIHADISTS DEFY DEFINITIONS OWEN BENNET-JONES

J&K’S FRESH MIGRATION REGISTER: CURE OR CURSE?

NUH MLA QUESTIONS BJP’S COMMITMENT TO MARTYRS

MP RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR’S OPEN LETTER TO GURMEHAR KAUR

JAWAN IN VIRAL ‘SAHAYAK’ CLIP DEAD, ARMY QUESTIONS ROLE OF WEBSITE

A file photo of snow-cutting operation on the Manali-Leh route.

Dipender Manta

Tribune News Service

Manali, March 2

With the hills witnessing the heaviest snowfall this year, the opening of the Manali-Leh highway to vehicular traffic is expected to take some more time this season.The opening of the Rohtang Pass to traffic may be delayed this year as the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is yet to start the snow clearance work.Every year, the BRO starts snow clearance work from Gulaba to the Rohtang Pass depending on weather conditions. However, this time the BRO authorities are undecided as the state Met Department has predicted more rain and snow in the next four days.Talking to The Tribune, BRO commander Col AK Awasthi said: “We are uncertain about starting the snow clearance work because of inclement weather conditions in the region. We are in regular contact with the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment to get weather updates and as soon as the weather becomes fine, we will start the work.”The 474-km-long stretch of the Manali-Leh highway, 222-km stretch till Sarchu, has received heavy snow this year, posing a challenge to the BRO to resume traffic in the stipulated time.The Manali-Leh highway opens to traffic in May-end or the first week of June every year, but this time, it will be difficult to clear snow from avalanche-prone areas like the Rani Nullah, Beas Nullah, Chumbak Mor, Rakshi Dhank and Bara-lacha areas, which are under a thick blanket of snow.On the Rohtang Pass and Bara-lacha, more than 20 ft snowfall was recorded during the winter. People of Lahaul & Spiti are awaiting the start of the snow clearance work on the Manali-Leh highway as they are dependent on flight services provided by the state government to travel in and out of the district.Though BRO personnel have faced tough challenges in the past during the opening of the road, they are still working even during snowfall to keep Lahaul roads open to public. Despite heavy snowfall this year, the BRO has kept many stretches of the highway in populated areas in Lahaul & Spiti open.

Met warning

• Every year, the BRO starts snow clearance work from Gulaba to the Rohtang Pass by this time
• But now, the BRO authorities are undecided as the state Met Department has predicted more rain and snow in the next four days.
• On the Rohtang Pass and Bara-lacha, more than 20 ft snowfall was recorded during the winter.

NEW DELHI: India is now fast-tracking some long-delayed modernisation of the Army’s Special Forces to make them even more lethal and mobile for clandestine warfare.

Defence ministry sources said “restricted” tenders have been issued to select foreign arms companies for acquisition of new assault rifles, sniper rifles, general purpose machine guns, light-weight rocket-launchers, tactical shotguns, pistols, night-vision devices and ammunition.

“Seven tenders or RFPs (request for proposals) were issued last week to American, Israeli, Swedish and other companies for acquisition of the specialised weaponry on a fast-track basis, Times of India in a report said.  Separately in a different capital acquisition project, trials are in progress to acquire over 120 light strike vehicles, which can be carried by helicopters, for the Special Forces,” said a source.

This follows soon after India inked a flurry of emergency deals worth around Rs 20,000 crore for ammunition and spares for the Army, Navy and IAF to ensure they are ready to go to battle at short notice, and sustain the high-tempo operations for at least 10 days.

The Indian Special Forces already have specialised weaponry, ranging from Israeli 5.56mm TAR-21 Tavor assault rifles and 7.62mm Galil sniper rifles to American M4A1 carbines and Swedish Carl Gustav rocket launchers, as well as equipment.

THE ‘BRIDE QUALITATIVE REQUIREMENT’ WAS THROWN OUT OF THE WINDOW AND SELECTION WAS DONE. THE LOGIC: IF GIRL’S MOTHER IS SO DIGNIFIED, SHE WILL ALSO HAVE THE SAME DNA

Army procurement process for warlike and nonwarlike inventory revolves around a term GSQR (general staff qualitative requirement). Procurement goes through a stiff process of trials in all type of terrain, within the laid down guidelines of the GSQR which encompasses issues of price, transfer of technology, back up support and enhancing the war winning potential.

Similarly, there is another term QR (qualitative requirement), which means “right man for the right job”.

In 1983, my brother-in-law was the most eligible bachelor looking around eagerly for a beauty, to be the “fauji bride”. There was nothing like a site Shaadi.com and one generally scanned matrimonial columns of newspapers for finding the “queen of heart”.

Suddenly, a term struck me — BQR (bride qualitative requirement) — mainly derived from a combination of GSQR and QR. A consensus was arrived on the BQR as appended below. She should be three or four years younger than the “man”. Must be five feet three inches or more in the socks. Prepare to live in remote areas with temperature varying from 45°C (deserts) to –35°C (high altitude areas). Ready to move every two years on permanent posting. Has the capability to convert even tentage accommodation into a home. Ability to live in a “fixed salary profile”. Be ready to live in a “separated family accommodation” when the husband moves to the field area. Two educated girls from Delhi were shortlisted, from Lady Shri Ram College and Miranda House. With date and time fixed, the “holy journey” to select the bride commenced from Jalandhar to Delhi. En route, the BQR was further refined saying that the girl should also be dutiful, respectful and should have the “right sanskars”. Mom, dad and the young man by now were wellversed with the core issues as given in the BQR.

My dashing brother-in-law was advised to spell out the BQR in an appropriate, tactful and civilised manner, without being offensive or pro-active to the girl. And once he was through with his choice, he was to indicate to the parents that they could now go ahead for serious business of fixing the date, venue and other modalities of the wedding ceremony. The indication was to be done by holding the right moustache with left hand for 15 seconds meaning that celebrations could now commence.

But the drama unfolded sooner than later in the very first stop of selection venue of the girl from Lady Shri Ram College. Girl’s brothers and father escorted the selection team to the drawing room. Everybody was waiting for the prospective bride to be making the entry next. But it was the girl’s mother who made a grand entry.

The BQR designed over a period was thrown out of the window as my brother-in-law was holding both his moustaches with his hands — the selection was done. The logic as told to us later was that if the girl’s mother is so dignified, charming and beautiful, the daughter will also have the same DNA and qualities. He was not wrong as the girl proved herself as an “ideal fauji wife”.

Gut power is the virtue of successful army officers which enables them to take “quick decisions”.

Congress rushed to the defence of DU student Gurmehar Kaur whose social media campaign against the alleged violence by ABVP has attracted a sharp attack from the saffron camp.As Union minister Kiren Rijiju followed up on finance minister Arun Jaitley’s “alliance of subversion“ barb, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi tweeted his support for the student whose father lost his life in the Kargil war. “Against the tyranny of fear we stand with our stu dents. For every voice raised in anger, intolerance & ignorance, there will be a Gurmehar Kaur,“ Rahul tweeted.

Former UPA minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram lashed out at Jaitley for calling the debate on intolerance in the wake of violence in DU as led by an “alliance of subversion“.“When Jaitley was President of DUSU in 1975, was he heading an `Alliance of Subversion’?“ Chidambaram tweeted. Congress spokesman Manish Tewari slammed Rijiju for saying that Kaur’s mind was polluted.

Capt slams ABVP

Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday lashed out at ABVP over Kargil martyr’s daughter Gurmehar Kaur gettingf rape and death threats for speaking out against the student party. “The girl’s father laid down his life for the country during the Kargil war and she is now being victimized for her legitimate act,“ said Amarinder.

`For every voice raised in anger, there’ll be a Gurmehar’

DU Student, 20, Is Compared To Dawood

The slugfest over last week’s violence at Delhi University’s Ramjas College has snowballed into another nationalist-versus-liberal confrontation, with Kargil martyr’s daughter and DU student Gurmehar Kaur coming under fierce attack from the saffron camp for her social media post condemning the “violence by ABVP“ and an earlier post in which she said war, not Pakistan, had killed her father.The student, daughter of Kargil martyr Captain Mandeep Singh, said on Monday that she had received “rape threats“.

Comparing Kaur with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, BJP MP from Mysuru Pratap Simha tweeted on Monday,“ At least Dawood did not use the crutches of his father’s name to justify his anti-national stand“. Hours later, Union minister Kiren Rijiju waded in with a tweet suggesting Kaur was being influenced.

“Who’s polluting this young girl’s mind? A strong arm (sic) force prevents a war. India never attacked anyone but a weak India was always invaded,“ Ri jiju tweeted, drawing sharp reactions from a section of the Twitterati that criticised him for undermining her freedom of expression. Some even asked why he was questioning Gurmehar’s opinion endorsing peace between India and Pakistan, while being silent on ABVP’s role in the student clashes at Ramjas College.

Kaur got support from Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhifor raising her voice against intolerance. Rahul’s office tweeted, “Against the tyranny of fear we stand with our students. For every voice raised in anger, intolerance and ignorance, there will be a Gurmehar Kaur.“

Kaur’s father captain Mandeep Singh was killed in the 1999 Kargil conflict, when she was two years old. The Lady Shri Ram College student lodged a complaint with the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) on Monday , alleging that she had been threatened with rape on social media.

Rijiju later clarified he was merely referring to Gurmehar’s social media post that shows her holding up a placard that reads “Pakistan did not kill my dad, war killed him“.Reacting to a tweet asking if 20-year-old Gurmehar could not have a view without being hounded, Rijiju posted: “Everyone has right of views (sic) but she said Pakistan didn’t kill our brave martyr and India should shun war. India never perpetrated violence“.

In fact, a battery of senior BJP leaders were in a combat ive mode refuting allegations of intolerance against the government and the BJP . Union I&B minister M Venkaiah Naidu said while “dissent was agreeable, disintegration was not“. “Certain misguided sections are trying to mislead young population and create social tensions and hurt sentiments of the people of India. Having a different opinion apart from majority opinion is agreeable but not disintegration. Nobody can advocate disintegration,“ he said “How can anybody advocate azadi for J&K? You want to make universities labs for separatist experiments?“ Naidu asked. He said, “ABVP is a nationalist organisation. Other organisations have different views, let them express it.Why should outsiders go and disturb peace of campuses?“ RSS’s student wing ABVP was accused of violence during a seminar on `Culture of Protests’ at Ramjas College last week, in which JNU student Umar Khalid was invited to speak. His name was later withdrawn.

On Monday , ABVP held a Tiranga rally on DU’s North Campus, protesting against the All India Students Association for raising shouting “anti-India slogans“.

Home minister Rajnath Singh said he was in touch with Delhi Police over the situation arising out of the Ramjas College clash. He has asked police to act with caution and “practise restraint“.

Congress’s Manish Tewari slammed Rijiju for suggesting that Kaur’s mind was being polluted. “The gentleman shouldn’t be in Parliament… it’s unfortunate, this emanates from the top, they feel by insulting martyrs’ families, they will get to Modi’s Cabinet.“

Tewari said the assault on students and teachers by alleged ABVP activists at Ramjas College was part of a concerted effort by right-wing forces. “There is this pattern of intimidation and violence going on across the country …The time has come for all to come together and fight this relentless assault on the Indian democracy by elements of the Sangh Parivar,“ Tewari said.

Meanwhile, former UPA minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram lashed out at finance minister Arun Jaitley for calling the debate on intolerance in the wake of violence in DU as led by an “alliance of subversion“. “When Jaitley was president of DUSU in 1975, was he heading an ‘alliance of subversion’?“ Chidambaram tweeted.

BJP using ABVP to take control of varsities: AAP

New Delhi: TIMES NEWS NETWORK

AAP functionary Atishi Marlena and MLAs, Sarita Singh and Alka Lamba, will meet the Delhi Police chief on Tuesday to complain against rape threats issued to DU student Gurmehar Kaur. Last week, Kaur spoke out against ABVP in connection with the violence at Ramjas College.On Monday , in response to MoS (home) Kiran Rijiju’s tweet on Kaur’s post wherein he said: “Who’s polluting this young girl’s mind? A strong arm force prevents a war. India never attacked anyone but a weak India was always invaded,“ Marlena asked: “Who is polluting the minds of ABVP workers who go around beating people ..who issue death and rape threats to women on social media?“ Calling ABVP the goon brigade of BJP, AAP has asked what action has been taken by police against those ABVP members who allegedly indulged in violence at Ramjas College last week.Marlena said that Delhi Police, which has travelled to even Gujarat to arrest an AAP MLA, had failed to take action against a single ABVP member despite proof of violence against them.

“Kaur, who spoke out against ABVP’s violence, is being explicitly threatened with rape but what has Delhi Police done about it. This is not about specific threats.Women are being threatened online with death and rape all the time and many of those issuing these threats are people being followed by senior BJP members, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi,“ added Marlena.

Singh, AAP MLA from Rohtas Nagar, said BJP was trying to capture Indian universities through ABVP’s “gundagardi“. “DU and JNU have united over several issues in the past year. What has happened over the past two years that there is no space for dissent, that difference of opinion is tackled through violence,“ she asked.

The party accused Delhi Police of playing to the tune of the Centre, harassing those who spoke out against BJP and its allies and not taking action against those genuinely guilty of perpetuating violence.

Chandni Chowk MLA Alka Lamba spoke about journalists who were threatened and heckled by some people at Patiala House court last year and mentioned BJP MLA O P Sharma who was caught on camera beating up people outside the court.

“What action has been taken against these people?
BJP has made it a habit of lodging cases against those whom it targets and while they are harassed by the police, no action is ever taken against the real culprits,“ she said.

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 27

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has relocated the Headquarters of the Additional Directorate General, North-West, to Chandigarh from New Delhi. The headquarters is responsible for all border roads and associated projects in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand.The move has been undertaken to augment infrastructure development in the western and north-western border regions and to have better coordination with state governments, Army and other stakeholder agencies. The headquarters began functioning from Chandigarh a few days ago.PK Mahajan, a highly experienced officer, has been appointed the first Additional Director General (ADG) at Chandigarh. He was the first Chief Engineer of BRO’s Rohtang Tunnel project and had played a key role in its conceptualisation, planning and execution. The BRO has two ADGs, the other one responsible for road infrastructure along the eastern borders. The ADG North-West has nine BRO projects under its jurisdiction in the aforementioned states, these being Beacon, Chetak, Deepak, Himank, Hirak, Rohtang, Sampark, Shivalik and Vijayank, which cover the deserts as well as some of the highest passes in the world like Khardung La, Chang La and Baralacha La.Mahajan said with changes in the BRO set up, the pace of road construction as well as inter-departmental coordination is expected to improve. He added that efforts were underway not only to provide road connectivity to the remotest places on the borders but also to ensure that the lines of communication in harsh terrain and inclement weather conditions remain open.

Thane/New Delhi, February 26

The Thane police today claimed to have busted a recruitment racket in the Army following leak of question papers of an examination conducted by the Army Recruitment Board.Eighteen suspects, including a retired serviceman and a paramilitary force employee, have been arrested during raids in Maharashtra and Goa since last midnight.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)Army sources in the national capital said tests were cancelled at examination centres, including in Kamptee, Nagpur, Ahmednagar, Ahmedabad, Goa and Kirkee.The examinations were held for a number of posts, including those of soldier clerk, strongman and soldier tradesman, at 52 centres across the country.The sources said the Army had ordered an internal inquiry and action would be taken based on the findings. Tests were likely to be “countermanded” in more centres.Joint Commissioner of Thane police Ashutosh Dumbare said 350 students who possessed question papers were also detained for questioning.A case has been registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, IT Act and Prevention of Corruption Act against the accused, who were being brought to Thane for further probe.Among those arrested, nine were from Pune, six from Nagpur and three from Goa, he said. Of the detained candidates, 79 were from Pune, 222 from Nagpur and 49 from Goa, the officer said.The Thane police had received information a couple of days back from an institute which conducts coaching classes for Army job aspirants that some city students were to be given the question papers in advance for a price.Around 80 personnel laid a trap and caught the students and middlemen from lodges and other places with copies of question papers, the officer said. The middlemen had also arranged for fake domicile and residence proof for students hailing from other places. The beneficiary was to pay Rs 4 to 5 lakh to the middlemen, said Dumbare.The police suspect the papers were leaked from the press where it was printed or from the distribution centres. DCP (Crime) Parag Manere said the papers were leaked through WhatsApp. — PTI

Army question paper leaked; ex-serviceman among 18 held

Thane Crime Branch officials show a examination paper of the Army Recruitment Board that was allegedly leaked, in Mumbai on Sunday. PTI

Thane/New Delhi, February 26The Thane police on Sunday claimed to have busted a recruitment racket in the army following leak of question papers of an examination conducted by the Army Recruitment Board.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

As many as 18 suspects, including a retired serviceman and a paramilitary personnel, have been arrested during raids in Maharashtra and Goa since last midnight.Army sources said in the national capital that tests were cancelled at examination centres including in Kamptee, Nagpur, Ahmednagar, Ahmedabad, Goa and Kirkee.The examinations were held for a number of posts, including those of soldier clerk, strongman and soldier tradesman, at 52 centres across the country.The sources said army has ordered an internal enquiry and further action will be taken based on the findings. Tests were likely to be “countermanded” in more centres.Joint Commissioner of Thane police Ashutosh Dumbare said 350 students who possessed question papers were also detained for questioning.A case has been registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, IT Act and Prevention of Corruption Act against the accused who were being brought to Thane for further probe.Among those arrested nine were from Pune, six from Nagpur and three from Goa, he said.Of the detained candidates, 79 are from Pune, 222 from Nagpur and 49 from Goa, the officer said.The Thane police had received information a couple of days back from an institute which conducts coaching classes for army job aspirants that some city students were to be given the question papers in advance for a price.Around 80 officials of the Thane city police laid a trap and caught the students and middlemen from lodges and other places with the copies of question papers, the officer said.The middlemen had also arranged for fake domicile and residence proof for students hailing from other places so as to enable them appear for the exams in that zone.The beneficiary was to pay around Rs 4 to 5 lakh to the middlemen, said Dumbare.The police suspect that the papers were leaked either from the press where it was printed or from the distribution centres.The Thane city police are exchanging information with Director of Army Recruitment Exams and also the Military Intelligence wing regarding the leak, he said.DCP, Crime, Parag Manere said the papers were leaked to aspirants through Whatsapp.Following the tip-off about the leak, Thane police, with the help of their local counterparts, conducted raids in Nashik, Pune and Nagpur in Maharashtra, and Goa.Some aspirants were found writing the papers at different places in Thane during the raids. — PTI