Treatment under Ayush (Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha & Homoeopathy) now permitted for ECHS beneficiaries. #स्वास्थ्य #सहयोग#सहायता #संपर्क Press Information Bureau – PIB, Government of IndiaMinistry of Defence, Government of India HQ IDS – India

To meet the aspirations of large number of#Veterans, Government has allowed #ECHSpatients to claim travel allowances as entitled for the rank at the time of retirement for Rail Journeys / Travel by Government Transport. Press Information Bureau – PIB, Government of India Ministry of Defence, Government of India

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 11

In what will change an important part of their personal gear, the Army has approved an order for 12.75 lakh pairs of new-design high-ankle combat boots to be used by troops in all-weather conditions and in different terrain barring snow-bound areas.One of the parameters to select the boots was that troops should be able to wear them in temperatures varying from zero to 50 degrees Celsius. A cost negotiation committee finalised the boots, their cost, supply and logistics parameters before seeking final approval from the Ministry of Defence, said sources.The selection came after an extensive user trial by thousands of troops in 2016, followed by a feedback session. The Army assessed the feedback before four private companies were selected as eligible bidders. The annual requirement will be 6 lakh pairs of shoes, or 1,643 pairs daily, manufacturing which would be tough for any company. The Army has, thus, suggested distributing the order among three suppliers: Lowest bidder to get 40 pc of the order and 30 pc each for the other two.The Master General Ordnance has set a benchmark of providing better quality boots in tune with the latest concept of military boots available in the footwear industry in India and abroad. The Army had wanted the shoes be light in weight and the toe be made of scratch-resistant leather.12 lakh pairs needed

• Selected boots have special polyutherene sole with shock-absorbing capacity
• Possess slip-resistant properties, making these user-friendly in mountains
• All-weather feature ensures wearability in temp from zero to 50 degrees Celsius

Satya Prakash

Tribunew News Service

New Delhi, July 30

CBI Director Alok Kumar Verma on Monday told the SC that the agency had filed two chargesheets against 15 security personnel in connection with fake encounter killings and 14 of them had been charged with murder, criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence.Verma, who was summoned by the top court to explain the delay in implementing the court’s order, told a Bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur that five more chargesheets/final reports would be filed by August-end.The Bench, which also included Justice UU Lalit, grilled him on various aspects of CBI Manual that provides for almost seven layers of scrutiny before a chargesheet is filed in a case. The agency had maintained that it was simply following its Manual and that was one of the major reasons of the delay.To cut short procedural delays, the Bench asked the CBI SIT to have only three-layered scrutiny before filing of final reports/chargesheets as the SIT chief himself was a Joint Director-rank officer.In view of serious allegations, petitioners demanded that the accused be arrested and subjected to custodial interrogation. However, the Bench left it to the discretion of the CBI Director to take the final call and posted the matter for further hearing on August 20. It asked Verma to remain personally present on the next date of hearing as well. Angry over non-compliance of its order to file chargesheets in seven cases relating to Manipur extra-judicial killings, the SC had on July 27 ordered the CBI Director to personally appear before it on Monday.

The elections in Pakistan have drawn tremendous interest in India, with almost 24×7 coverage by television channels although, ironically, no Indian journalist received a visa to cover the event from within Pakistan. Many Pakistani journalists were harnessed to do some justice to the news flow to India. At the outset, it was clear and is increasingly becoming even more transparent that the election was well orchestrated by the Pakistan army. It ensured a near-absolute victory of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, such that a few smaller parties would need to join in to form a government that is sufficiently weak to be under the army’s control, without making it look anything illegal. That army, reputed to own a nation, is now into its third experiment having earlier dealt with the restiveness of Nawaz Sharif and the PPP leadership. Imran and his PTI will remain effectively under control until he too starts to grow wings. It’s from this assumption that any analysis of the future of Indo-Pak relations must flow. But before that, the election game may not yet be over. The PML-N, PPP and even Fazlur Rehman’s Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) are up in arms about the perceived blatant rigging and Punjab is where it has probably been rampant; that’s the PML-N territory. It may just not be the take it or leave it kind of result that the Army may have expected because voices are being raised even as we have heard not a sound from the international observers from the Commonwealth. So even as the army bullies its way to government formation, the curtains on the internal dynamics itself may not drop for some time. Pakistani civil society may be weak but PML-N street power in Punjab could be something to reckon with especially with its leader in jail.

Imran is familiar with India, has many friends from his earlier avatar and is considered an educated, erudite, sophisticated Pakistani celebratory with a ready and welcome presence at talk shows. However, in political terms that means nothing because he has changed personality as the chameleon to suit the political ambition he has been led into. He has been mouthing support for anti-blasphemy laws and generally playing to the galleries as expected with the electoral rhetoric and the political climate of the street. One would be unrealistic to expect from him anything different, at least in his first few years. The Pakistani realpolitik is army-driven to ensure that the army always remains the power behind the throne. To do that, the relationship with India must remain sufficiently on tenterhooks without crossing a given rubicon.

No one can fault Imran Khan for his initial statements which may generally be in the right direction but it’s also true that no designated head of government ever commences his tenure with threats of war or coercion; these are sweet nothings which people expect to hear.

He has stated his intention of taking two steps for every step that India takes towards durable peace. He would do well to remember that in 2014-15, PM Narendra Modi had taken more than two steps without a single one in response from Pakistan because the Pakistan army could not absorb a peace initiative. Having tracked Imran’s record of utterances in the recent past, people in India expect that with his purported change in thinking he would only play to the Pakistan army’s interests which essentially means no change in Pakistan’s policy towards India. For him to identify Kashmir as the core issue and mention human rights violations in the same breath reflect no change in thinking. If a real difference has to be made in the context of India-Pakistan relations, then early enough he must indicate what sort of action he intends to take against those radical elements long considered Pakistan’s strategic assets against India. Given his inclination towards supporting many of these radical elements, can he be expected to do anything transformational towards addressing India’s concern on terror? That is hardly likely, at least definitely not in the near future as India prepares to get to the starting blocks of its own elections. Any such attempt will be perceived negatively within Pakistan and will remain against the Pakistan army’s carefully crafted strategy. It will, however, also add to Modi’s popularity in India – something that Pakistan would consider completely counter to its interests.

The only silver lining on which many in India may continue to place their bets is the greylisting of Pakistan by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) a few weeks prior to the election, an event which got partially subsumed in the fervour of the election. Pakistan’s economy is in the dumps and the likelihood of Islamabad having to seek a bailout by the IMF does place it on the back foot. However, the international community has historically shown a propensity towards coercing Pakistan on terror and other related activities only up to a point and never beyond. Strategically, Pakistan continues to enjoy the status of a bridge nation, between China and the West, and between the sectarian divide within the Middle East. It also provides the proverbial path to a resolution on anything to do with Afghanistan. It has overcome strictures such as FATF greylisting in the past too and may therefore not entirely be inclined towards doing anything more than simply lobbying with the international community this time as well. That is a field it is adept at and Imran Khan’s suave presence may well help it even more.

India will have to wait and watch. If, however, against all assessment Imran Khan does turn out to be a Pakistani leader who can be his own man then nothing should keep us from backing him to attempt a long- required change in India-Pakistan relationship. The ball is in his hand and he must bowl it straight and not with the reverse swing for which he is famous.

The author commanded the 15 Corps in Jammu and Kashmir. Views expressed are personal.

Ambala, July 13

A 73-year-old woman was strangled to death at her house in Ambala Cantt on Thursday, the police have said.The deceased has been identified as Usha Devi. She was alone in the house. Her son, Colonel Sandeep Kumar, is posted in Rajasthan.On Thursday night, a neighbour visited Usha Devi’s house and found her dead. Her hands and legs were tied. There were injury marks on her head, and her mouth was gagged.The police said, “It appears miscreants had entered the house with the motive to loot, as her belongings were lying scattered in the room.” — TNS

71-73 Batches will come up for refund next year. The refund amount will be Rs 7000/= only.
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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.