Current Events :
Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 25
Twenty years after the Kargil conflict, the 168-km wide ‘Kargil’ frontage along the Line of Control (LoC) now has the heaviest deployment of artillery guns anywhere in India, sources in the Army said.
India’s war-time lessons have resulted in the addition of an array of artillery guns. This is backed by layered surveillance systems meshed in with the huge increase in manpower and fire capability.India has the ability to station a division of artillery guns. Some are permanently stationed, others can be sent within a few hours, a functionary said, narrating what has changed in 20 years.
Artillery guns played a major role in the Kargil war. Lt Gen VK Narula (retd), former Director General Artillery, says: “Artillery guns can neutralise the enemy positions allowing the ground forces much easier access. This is what exactly happened in Kargil. The guns had pulverised the enemy at all Pakistani positions other than those behind the mountains.”Nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan had fought the war in May-July 1999 along the 168-km Himalayan ridgeline that forms the Mushkoh-Drass-Kargil-Batalik-Turtuk axis of the LoC. An internal study within the Army points to how future wars could be different, asymmetric and dominated by the use of cyber and space assets.
At a national seminar in Mid-July “20 years after Kargil conflict”, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat spoke of two issues — changing character of warfare and transformation of forces. “In these 20 years, character of warfare and its conduct has changed. Cyber and space have changed the dynamics and both will be fiercely contested,” he said.
Another change for India is the ability of surveillance. The existing layers include UAVs, long range sights that look as far as 25 km, and thermal imagers. During winter, aerial sorties are carried out with high resolution cameras that provide live feed into control rooms. Twenty years ago, the IAF had just Mirage-2000 jets that filmed things in black and white. The tape had to be carried back to the operations room to be studied.
The next addition in this surveillance layer will be ‘quad-copters’ (small drones) and tactical UAVs. Since 1999, the Army has not vacated any posts in those icy heights. Its manpower for the 196-km frontage was a mere ‘3,000’ troops, but now it stands at 12,000 with the ability to airlift acclimatised troops within hours.
Leh, July 24
After covering nearly 1,000 km from Delhi, the ‘Victory Flame’ today reached Leh before reaching the final stop at Drass in Kargil district.
At Leh, the ‘Victory Flame’ was received by Lt Gen YK Joshi, GOC, Fire and Fury Corps, from Col Sonam Wangchuk, Kargil war hero and Mahavir Chakra awardee. The flame was kindled at the National War Memorial in New Delhi on July 14 and was lit by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The flame was carried by relay in all major cities and towns in North India before reaching Leh. It will reach Drass on Friday to commemorate India’s victory over Pakistan in the Kargil conflict. It will be merged with the eternal flame at the Kargil War Memorial in Drass.
During the relay, flame-bears crossed major passes, including Rohtang La, Bara-lacha La, Namki La, Lachulung La and Tanglang La. — TNS
Our Correspondent
Rajouri, July 20
Amid heavy shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district on Saturday, a man died of heart attack as mortar shells landed near his house, while in another village the deputy sarpanch received splinter injuries and was rushed to the district hospital at Poonch.
The firing and shelling came close to the day-long visit of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Jammu and Kashmir. The Pakistan army targeted forward locations/posts of the Indian Army and many stray mortar shells landed in the villages situated between LoC and the fence.
“Around 9 am, Pakistan initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation with firing of small arms and shelling with mortars along the LoC in the Mendhar sector. The Indian Army retaliated befittingly,” said Lt Col Davender Anand, PRO Defence.
Dr Parvaiz Khan, Block Medical Officer, Mendhar, said Manzoor Hussain (60) of Dheri Dabsi village died due to heart attack when a few shells landed near his house.
Deputy sarpanch of the Kisti Balnoi panchayat Zaffar-Ullah-Khan received splinter injuries in the right hand and was taken to the Poonch district hospital, he added.
Lahore, July 13
The foundation stone of Baba Guru Nanak International University has been laid in Nankana Sahib, the birth place of founder of Sikhism Baba Guru Nanak Dev, in Pakistan’s Punjab province, more that a decade after its construction proposal first surfaced.
The foundation stone of the university was laid by Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on Friday and would be completed with an amount of over Rs 258 crore spread over 10 acres.
The government, however, has not yet declared about the tentative period the varsity would be built.
“The construction of the BGNU will begin once the legal formalities in this regard are met,” an official of the Punjab government told PTI on Saturday.
He said the work on this project will begin soon since Nankana Sahib falls in the constituency of Federal Interior Minister Brig Ijaz Shah (retd).
“Brig Shah is a powerful minister in PM Imran Khan’s cabinet and on his invitation Punjab CM Buzdar came to Nankana Sahib and laid the foundation stone of the BGNIU,” he said.
Brig Shah recently took over as the interior minister.
During the occasion, Buzdar said various neglected districts like Nankana Sahib will be brought at par with the developed cities.
“Establishment of Baba Guru Nanak University in Nankana Sahib is the part of prime minister’s vision to facilitate students in Nankana Sahib and other adjoining districts,” he said.
The decision to construct the university came after the Sikhs living in Pakistan demanded a university after the name of the founder of their religion Baba Guru Nanak at his birthplace in Nankana Sahib.
The proposal of the university was first surfaced in the Punjab government of Pervaiz Elahi in 2003.
Two years ago in the government of PML-N, the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) gave a final approval to the project.
Then ETPB chairman Siddiqul Farooq said this varsity would help promote religious tourism in Pakistan and also portray country’s good image at international level.
Earlier this year, for the first time a Pakistani university had created the Baba Guru Nanak research chair to promote the message of peace that the Sikh spiritual leader preached.
A motel of the Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab (TDCP) was also inaugurated in Nankana Sahib by the Punjab CM to promote religious tourism.
Buzdar also laid the foundation stone of a road repair project in Nankana Sahib district that will be completed with Rs 150 million.
“A dual road will also be laid from Gurdawara Tanboo Sahib to Gurdwara Janam Asthaan. The road connecting the Guru Nanak University to Nankana-Warburton Road will also be constructed,” a senior official said. — PTI
Karmela Devi, 40, sounded sad and anguished on Friday while talking about her late husband, CRPF head constable Vijay Soreng.
The 45-year-old was killed when a suicide bomber rammed his SUV into a CRPF convoy in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama on February 14, 2019.
“We haven’t any received any compensation till now,” Karmela said. Revealing that the family was struck by a double whammy, she said, “Hum badi wali [wife] hain, ek chhoti wali [wife] bhi hai, unhonay bhi compensation manga hai.”
The national tragedy, Pulwama terror attack, had received strong reactions nationwide. Karmela got married in 1990 and has a 24-year-old son. Her husband left her after her son was born. She joined Jharkhand police and is a havaldar in its Mahila Wing, a desperate move to earn a livelihood as her husband stopped supporting her and their son.
Though separated, Soreng never legally divorced her. His second wife Vimla Devi choked when she was asked to give details of her marriage to the soldier. She got married to Soreng in 2011 with their families’ consent, knowing that he had left his first wife. She gave birth to four children – three girls and one boy. She said, “My husband left his first wife long ago. He was living with us.”
She also has pictures to support that they had a happy family until the tragedy struck them.
“He loved to spend time with us, he did not get along well with his estranged wife Karmela. My eldest daughter is 13-year-old, and the youngest one is seven. He would send us Rs 12000 for education and household expenditure every month.”
After the February terror attack, the only source of income in the family stopped. The once prosperous family has been getting financial help in “bits and pieces” as they chip in to help the family. Both the wives now claim to be the rightful claimant of the benefits and compensation after the soldier died in the line of duty.
Head constable Vijay Soreng, a soldier of 82 Battalion, who was deployed in Srinagar, died when he was returning from leave to join his team in Kashmir. Suicide bomber Adil Dar struck the convoy in Pulwama, blowing to smithereens, the soldier’s body.
That is the last time the family heard from him. CRPF sources said that they found out the matter only after they handed over the body to his wives and aged parents.
Both the women have now staked a claim for remuneration and benefits, putting the CRPF in a fix.
Soreng joined the force in 1993 and as per documentation, he ought to reveal correctly the status of his marriage. But understanding the sensitivity of the matter, the CRPF is awaiting a decision by the local court to settle the matter for the “right precedent”.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said defence force ..
