CM Capt Amarinder Singh has cleared the appointment of eight next of kin of martyrs in recognition of their gallantry actions.Amritbir Singh and Tanveer Kaur have been appointed as tehsildars, Aastha Garg as ETO, Malkeet Kaur as library restorer, Gurpal Singh as JE (Electrical), Akwinder Kaur as naib tehsildar, Amandeep as clerk and Radha Rani as inspector. — TNS
The CMO said the appointments were recommended by a high-powered committee headed by the Chief Secretary
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 31
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has cleared the appointments of eight Next of Kin (NoK) of martyrs in recognition of their gallantry actions.
Disclosing this on Sunday, a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office said the appointments were recommended by a high-powered committee headed by Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh.
The state government has appointed
2. Tanveer Kaur has also been appointed as Tehsildar in the Revenue Department. Her husband, Major Ravi Inder Singh Sandhu, joined NDA Khadakwasla in 2003 and was commissioned in the Corps of Signals in 2007. The officer had also done two stints in counter-insurgency in J&K. He laid down his life while serving in the UN Mission in South Sudan and was awarded “Dag Hammarskjold Medal” by the United Nations for courage and sacrifice in the line of duty.
3. Akwinder Kaur as Naib Tehsildar, Martyr Naik Manwinder Singh hailed from Ghonewal village (Amritsar) and was enrolled in the 3 PUNJAB in 2008. He attained martyrdom on November 18, 2019, when he was on operational duty in a high-altitude area in Siachen Glacier. For his supreme sacrifice, his wife, Akwinder Kaur, has been appointed as Naib Tehsildar in the Revenue Department.
4. Malkeet Kaur as library restorer, W/O Constable (GD) Mukhtiar Singh belonged to Fattuwala village in Ferozepur district and had joined the BSF in 2000. He attained martyrdom on July 15, 2018, while fighting valiantly the Naxalites in Pakhanjure sub-division in Chhattisgarh. For the sacrifice made by him, his wife, Malkeet Kaur, has been appointed as library restorer in the Education Department.
6. Amandeep as a clerk in the Defence Services Welfare Department,Gnr Lekh Raj was born in 1990 in Shajrana village in Ferozepur district. He joined the 332 Medium Regt in 2011. He attained martyrdom on Aug 7, 2018, while he was on patrolling duty on the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh. The martyr’s brother, Amandeep, has appointed clerk in the Department of Defence Services Welfare, Punjab.
7. Gurpal Singh as Junior Engineer (Electrical) in PWD, Radha Rani as Inspector in Cooperative Societies and Amritbir Singh as Tehsildar.Gurpal Singh, brother of martyr Rifleman Sukhwinder Singh, has been given the appointment of Junior Engineer (Electrical) in the PWD. Rifleman Sukhwinder Singh was born in Fatehpur village in Hoshiarpur district and joined the 18 JAK Rifles in 2017. He was martyred on December 16, 2019, while fighting at the Line of Control in Sunderbani area of Jammu & Kashmir.
8. Aastha Garg has been appointed Excise and Taxation Officer. Her husband, Flt Lt Mohit Garg, belonged to Samana (Patiala), and after completing his education from PPS Nabha, he joined NDA Khadakwasla in 2009 and was commissioned as a pilot in the Indian Air Force in 2014. The officer died when the AN 32 aircraft, which he was flying, crashed in a high-altitude area of Arunachal Pradesh.
9. Radha Rani, sister of Gdr Sanjay Kumar, has been appointed as Inspector in Registrar, Co-operative Societies. Sanjay Kumar belonged to Rajwal village in Hoshiarpur district and joined the 5 GRENADIERS on October 10, 2012. He died on April 9, 2019, while he was carrying out a field-firing exercise with live ammunition.
Using a video and image of alleged India-China scuffles, we were able to locate the exact place of the fracas and show Army pushed back Chinese intrusion
However, the inadvertent release of an unauthenticated video (showing Indian troops allegedly attacking Chinese troops and their vehicle) and of an image (showing the Chinese allegedly having bound and apprehended Indian troops) provided us vital clues on what has been happening to justify the heightened tensions. Using these two visual sources we were able to not just triangulate the exact location of the fracas, but also the approximate dates and sequence of events.
It turns out our initial assessment of the situation — that there is no Chinese occupation of Indian territory — is quite correct. The reason the satellites did not see any “occupation” is that there was none. Instead, what has been happening is a series of fast-paced in-and-out intrusions by the forces of India and China into each other’s territory. While the gravity of China’s provocation has been much more serious, but note that India stemmed this, push the Chinese back and retaliated swiftly in order to re-establish deterrence.
Also read: The Chinese are so predictable, Modi & Shah should’ve seen them coming on 5 August 2019
The video purportedly showing a Chinese patrol intercepted and beaten up by Indian troops is particularly illuminating. The still shot capture (Image 1) allows us to geolocate the incident (Image 2). This is almost 2 kilometres inside Indian territory (as the crow flies), as measured from the LAC close (0.62 kilometres) to the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) camp at the base of finger 4 (Image 3).
The overall location of the incident and the Indian camp with respect to the LAC and the fingers can be seen in Image 4.
We were able to place this incident at some time between 19 and 21 May based on two other incidents. The first was a significant beefing up of the ITBP camp starting on 21 May, clearly in response to some trigger, and the second was studying the movement patterns of the Chinese vehicles involved in this incident.
The vehicle (Image 5) is a Dongfeng CSK131, a Chinese armoured four-wheel drive vehicle similar in function and style to the American Humvee. The purpose of this vehicle is high-speed reconnaissance — which is to say it does a rapid drive-through of hostile terrain. An example of such a drive-through by a similar type of vehicle was during the 2003 US invasion of Iraq when the Humvees along with tanks were the first vehicles to enter Baghdad for a rapid reconnaissance.
Screengrab from video | Abhijit Iyer-MitraOur visual surveillance of Chinese camps in the region did show a change in the parking positions of these vehicles as well as trucks (presumably transporting the troops seen in the background in Image 5). Significantly all these vehicles seemed to have returned to their Chinese bases, with none staying on the Indian side over a 14-day period. This proves that whatever happened was momentary and was repulsed rapidly.
Also read: More ‘Ladakh clashes’ emerge as India-China tension turns into social media battle
This is where the second set of images becomes significant. Image 6 shows Indian troops (at least one quite seriously injured) being allegedly restrained by Chinese troops. This was geolocated to the west bank of Fox point, the peninsula seen in Image 7. There are two interesting features here: 1) note the face-masks on Chinese troops indicating this to be a post-Covid episode, and 2) the boat on the top left of the image, showing this incident to have been just 1-2 meters away from the waterline.
Our study of Chinese boat activity in the region, showed only one episode of Chinese boats coming so far west during the last fortnight and that was at Fox point – the southernmost peninsula on the northern bank of Pangong Tso (Image 9). Fox point – an extension of finger 4 has a high ridge running on its western periphery. This ridge marks the LAC. The boats, as can be seen in image 8, were clearly on the Chinese western side of Fox point on 22 May.
This is significant for three reasons. First, it shows considerable Indian activity west of the ITBP base, literally a day or two after the deep Chinese incursion described earlier. Second, it confirms that the Indian troops were ordered to proceed into the Chinese side of the LAC albeit not as deep as the Chinese incursion into India. Third, it confirms that by this time (22 May) there was no Chinese presence west of the LAC, putting paid to any rumours of an “occupation”. Moreover, it confirms our interpretation of Images 1 through 5, that the Chinese were doing rapid sweeps and testing Indian readiness in the area, not occupying it.
Also read: Video shows Indian troops challenging Chinese in Ladakh, but Army says ‘not authenticated’
In the following articles in this series, we will explain the situation in Galwan and the Hotsprings (Gogra). However, for now, the conclusions as far as the Pangong area is considered are clear. Combined with previous reports, there has been a systemic pattern of testing readiness across the LAC in the Pangong area. This has led to what have so far been non-lethal scuffles, but clearly deep intrusion as described by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh (note his use of past tense). However, India has not been taking this lying down and its response has been robust, albeit not as exuberant as the Chinese
This is the first article in a three-part series, focussing on the Pangong area. Part 2 will focus on Galwan and part 3 on the Hotsprings/Gogra area.
Abhijit Iyer-Mitra is senior fellow at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies. Images courtesy @Detresfa_ an open-source analyst on Twitter who also contributed to this report and spotted the patterns. Views are personal.
As Indian & Chinese troops engage in a tense border standoff, Singh said that bilateral talks were on at military & diplomatic levels to resolve the row.
New Delhi: As Indian and Chinese troops remain engaged in a tense border standoff, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday asserted that the government will not allow India’s pride to be hurt under any circumstances even as he said bilateral talks were on at military and diplomatic levels to resolve the row.
Asked about US President Donald Trump’s offer of mediation to end the face-off, Singh said he conveyed to US Defence Secretary Mark T Esper during a telephonic conversation on Friday that India and China have existing mechanisms to resolve “problems” through talks at diplomatic and military levels.
In the midst of the flare-ups between Indian and Chinese armies, Trump on Wednesday said he was “ready, willing and able to mediate” between the two countries. He reiterated the offer on Thursday as well.
The Ministry of External Affairs indirectly rejected the offer two days ago, but Singh became the first central minister to speak on India’s position on the issue with clarity.
“I spoke to the US Defence Secretary yesterday. I told him that we have developed a mechanism already under which any problem between India and China are resolved through military and diplomatic dialogue,” Singh told Aaj Tak news channel.
Also read: Naval helicopters will be Modi govt’s first challenge in its ‘atmanirbhar’ push in defence
The defence minister said efforts are on to resolve the border row in eastern Ladakh.
“I want to assure the country that we will not allow India’s pride to be hurt under any circumstances. India has been following a clear policy of maintaining good relationship with neighbouring countries and it is not a new approach; We have been following it for long. At times, situation arises with China. It has happened before,” he said.
Singh also talked about the Doklam episode of 2017, recalling that the situation then too appeared “very tense”. “But we did not step back. Ultimately, we were able to resolve the situation.”
The defence minister noted that China has also said that it wants to resolve the border issue in eastern Ladakh through diplomatic dialogue and that transgressions take place due to varying perception about the Line of Actual Control by the two sides.
“It has been India’s efforts to ensure that the tension does not escalate. It should be resolved through talks at military and diplomatic levels. Negotiations are ongoing between the two countries at the military and diplomatic levels,” he said.
Troops of India and China were engaged in the standoff for over three weeks in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie in eastern Ladakh.
The trigger for the face-off was China’s stiff opposition to India laying a key road in the Finger area around the Pangong Tso Lake besides construction of another road connecting the Darbuk-Shayok-Daulat Beg Oldie road in Galwan Valley.
Military sources said China was also laying a road in the Finger area which is not acceptable to India.
The sources said military reinforcements including troops, vehicles and artillery guns were sent to eastern Ladakh by the Indian Army to shore up its presence in the areas where Chinese soldiers were resorting to aggressive posturing.
The situation in eastern Ladakh deteriorated after around 250 Chinese and Indian soldiers were engaged in a violent face-off on the evening of May 5 which spilled over to the next day before the two sides agreed to “disengage”.
However, the standoff continued.
The incident in Pangong Tso was followed by a similar incident in north Sikkim on May 9.
The troops of India and China were engaged in a 73-day stand-off in Doklam tri-junction in 2017 which even triggered fears of a war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long LAC. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet while India contests it.
Both sides have been asserting that pending the final resolution of the boundary issue, it is necessary to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas.
Also read: India’s approach to defence indigenisation has basic flaws. Private players can up the game
New Delhi: An undated video of Indian troops challenging a group of Chinese soldiers and clashing with them in the Pangong Lake area of Ladakh emerged Sunday.
But the Army said it was not authenticated and attempts to link it with the tension along the Line of Actual Control were malafide.
The 2-minutes-and-45-seconds video, which has been accessed by ThePrint, shows Indian security personnel challenging a group of Chinese soldiers who had brought in their Dongfeng 4×4 vehicle too.
The Indian soldiers can be seen hitting the windows of the vehicle with rods and stones in an attempt to intimidate the Chinese. The windows of the vehicle clearly appear bullet proof as they do not break.
The Indian personnel are seen not carrying any weapons. Both ITBP and the Army jointly patrol along the Line of Actual Control.
They are carrying polypropylene shields with “Police” written on them to protect themselves from the Chinese stone pelting.
There are shouts of “Bharat Mata ki Jai” as the Chinese troops retreat.
One soldier can be seen lying down injured, but his identity is not ascertained.
But the Army said the video was not authenticated.
“It has been brought to our notice that a video is doing the rounds in social media on an incident on the borders. The contents of video being circulated are not authenticated. Attempt to link it with the situation on the Northern borders is malafide,” the Army said in a statement.
“Currently no violence is happening,” it added.
The statement said differences are being addressed through interaction between military commanders, guided by established protocols on management of borders between the two countries.
“We strongly condemn attempts to sensationalise issues impacting national security. The media is requested not to air visuals that are likely to vitiate the current situation on the borders.”
In August 2017, a video had emerged just days after the troops from both sides clashed in the Pangong Lake area.
As reported by ThePrint on 10 May, there was a clash between Indian and Chinese troops on the banks of the Pangong Lake on 5 May in which several soldiers from both sides were injured.
The first move came from the Chinese who attacked Indian personnel with stones and sticks. Taken aback by the sudden attack, the Indian soldiers also hit back.
However, several of the Indian soldiers suffered injuries with many head wounds due to stone pelting.
Though official disengagement did take place, more troops were rushed to the location.
The situation in eastern Ladakh has since been tense with China building up troops at various locations on their side of the LAC even as they transgressed in the Finger Area as well as larger Hot Springs area.
The Chinese diverted troops from a military exercise that was being held on their side and moved soldiers to forward locations in the Galwan Valley.
Indians have also done counter deployment and as reported by ThePrint earlier, there is a face off in at least four locations.
Even though the Chinese have now spoken about “resolving differences”, Indian Army is waiting for the words to turn into action on the ground.
The Indian Army has demanded that earlier status quo be maintained by China at the LAC.
Also read: China has definitely crossed India’s Lakshman rekha but it won’t lead to 1962 again
New Delhi: Tensions between India and China have now boiled over to social media, with handles from both sides engaging in a war of videos and photographs, even as reports indicating multiple clashes on the banks of the Pangong Lake emerge. Earlier, it was assumed that the two sides were involved in a physical altercation only on 5 May.
Social media handles from both China and India Sunday began circulating visuals of soldiers being assaulted from both sides.
It was first an undated video shared from Indian social media handles, showing Indian troops clashing with a group of Chinese soldiers in the Pangong Lake area of Ladakh, which started being circulated.
The 2-minutes-and-45-seconds video shows Indian security personnel challenging a group of Chinese soldiers who can be seen with their Dongfeng 4×4 vehicle too. A soldier, believed to be Chinese, could be seen lying on the ground in the video, under the fibre protective shield of an Indian soldier.
However, the Army, in a statement Sunday, said the video was not authenticated and attempts to link it with the tensions along the Line of Actual Control were malafide.
The angle of the video indicates it was shot from the Indian side.
Within hours, Chinese social media handles tweeted an undated image showing five Indian security personnel lying on the ground with their feet tied with the Peoples’ Liberation Army soldiers in the frame.
It appears to be a recent photograph as the Chinese soldiers can be seen wearing a mask. A boat is also visible in the background, indicating it was taken in the vicinity of the Pangong Lake.
However, there was no official word by the forces on this and the picture comes after the Army had officially denied any detention of Indian soldiers on 23 May.
Also read: Senior Indian, Chinese military commanders set to meet to defuse Ladakh tensions
While the clash between Indian and Chinese troops on 5 May has been confirmed by the Army, it has now emerged that several such clashes have been taking place along the Line of Actual Control in the Pangong Lake area.
According to news agency ANI, a major face-off between the troops had occurred in the third week of May in the ‘finger area’. The 134 km of Pangong Lake’s northern bank juts out like a palm, and the various protrusions are identified as “fingers” to demarcate territory.
Sources in the know told ThePrint that a Chinese patrolling party was also stopped by Indian troops from entering the Indian perceived side of LAC on 18 March, which led to a clash.
Both sides had shot videos and pictures during this clash, according to the sources.
On 20 May, ThePrint had reported that troops from both sides have been challenging each other’s patrol on a daily basis.
Meanwhile, the Army’s statement also mentioned that “currently no violence is happening”.
Incidentally, while there is a Chinese troop build-up in the Galwan Valley along the LAC and transgressions by their troops have also been reported in the larger Hot Springs Area, Pangong Lake is a major area of concern. Chinese soldiers have been especially aggressive there.
ThePrint had reported Saturday that Chinese soldiers are busy blacktopping a track in the disputed ‘finger’ area of Pangong Lake after blocking the path of Indian patrols with a new bunker, two bulldozers and a moat-like construction. Blacktopping is the final stage of building a motorable road.
Also read: Chinese troops blacktopping track in disputed ‘finger’ area in Ladakh amid border tensions
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 31
Air Commodore Sanjiv Ghuratia, Air Officer Commanding, No.3 Base Repair Depot, has been elected as the new Chairman of the Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI), Chandigarh chapter.
He took over the post during an online ceremony from Dr Pravendra Kumar, Director, SPIC, DRDO, New Delhi, today.
A life member and fellow of the IETE, Ghuratia is a Flight Test Engineer who has served in the IAF for more than 32 years in various capacities, including United Nations Mission abroad. He is an alumni of Air Force Test Pilots School, Bangalore, BITS Pilani and the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington.
AeSI Chandigarh Chapter is actively involved in promoting aeronautical science in the tricity region.
After taking over, the new Chairman shared the roadmap of various activities planned by the AeSI for 2020-21. He said the AeSI would provide a strong platform to the aerospace industry and academia towards making the country self-reliant in the growing field of aerospace.
Jammu, June 1
Three heavily-armed Pakistani terrorists were killed as the Army scuttled a major infiltration bid along the Line of Control (LoC) in Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, officials said on Monday.
The Pakistani terrorists made the abortive attempt to sneak into the Kalal area of Nowshera from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on May 28 but were killed in the subsequent counter-infiltration operation, the officials said.
They said bodies of all the three terrorists were found by the search parties Monday morning but could not be retrieved due to close proximity of the enemy posts and the lurking threat of firing during any attempt to recover them.
However, a large quantity of arms and ammunition, including two AK assault rifles with 13 filled magazines, a US-make M-16A2 rifle with six filled magazines, a 9-MM Chinese pistol, an Under Barrel Grenade Launcher (UBGL) with six grenades, five hand grenades and two knives, was recovered during the operation, the officials said.
In addition, they said, a large quantity of food items, medicines and Rs 17,000 in Indian currency was recovered from the rucksacks which were found left abandoned by the terrorists while trying to flee back in the face of the heavy firing by the Indian Army.
The area is still under domination and operations are in progress, the officials said. — PTI
hey were part of the 138th NDA Course. Source: Social media.
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 31
The Passing out Parade at the tri-service National Defence Academy (NDA), Kharakvasla on Saturday, saw as many as 18 alumni of Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute (AFPI), Mohali making the final step through its portals before joining their respective service academies for pre-commission training.
They were part of the 138th NDA Course that completed its three-year rigorous training in the journey of a cadet towards becoming an officer. While the passing out parade is a grand affair, with parents and siblings of cadets as well as military and civilian dignitaries invited to the event, this time it was a low-key affair due to prevailing conditions of COVID-19.
Instead of the customary outdoor parade in the revered Khetarpal Drill Square, a solemn ceremony was held in Habibulah Hall, the NDAs main auditorium.
Only cadets of the passing out course and some members of the faculty attended the event, which was presided over by the Commandant, Lt Gen Asit Mistry.
The passing out parade at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, scheduled to be held next week, will also see a similar setting.
A total of 335 cadets graduated from the NDA which includes 226 Army cadets, 44 Naval cadets and 65 Air Force cadets.
In addition, there were 20 cadets from friendly foreign countries including Bhutan, Tajikistan, Maldives, Vietnam, Tanzania, Mauritius, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Turkmenistan, Fiji, Uzbekistan, Sudan, Mongolia and Bangladesh.
In the normal course the cadets would have been given some leave on completion of their training to go home, but this year that has not been possible.
They will be proceeding directly to their respective service academies and will possibly their due leave only when conditions permit.
The AFPI alumni passing out on May 30 were from the 5th AFPI Course 2016 – 17.
Several of them held senior appointments in the passing out course including Academy Cadet Adjutant Loveneet Singh, Battalion Cadet Captain Rajdeep Singh and Squadron Cadet Captain Arunav Laroiya. Loveneet Singh was awarded the Commandants Medal for Dedication to Duty and Arunav Laroiya was awarded the Commandants Medal for Exceptional Leadership.
Loveneet’s father, Rupinder Singh, is a farmer who belongs to Jalalabad and Arunav’s father is an assistant general manager (IT) from Patiala. Both of Rajdeep’s parents are teachers, and they belong to village Nangli in Punjab.
The 8th AFPI Course has completed its training in the Institute in April this year and selected candidates were scheduled to join NDA in July, but the commencement of the next NDA course is likely to be delayed as it has not been possible to complete all SSB interviews so far.
As of now 17 cadets of this course have already qualified to join the next NDA course.
Currently, the 9th and 10th courses are undergoing training at AFPI. This training is being conducted in the form of online classes for the time being.
Sandeep Dikshit
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 31
India has declared two Pakistan High Commission officials persona non grata for espionage and asked them to leave the country by Tuesday.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the two were caught red handed by the police while accepting documents of Indian security establishment. The Indian who gave them the documents was handed over money and an iPhone. The duo was then interrogated during which they disclosed that they were also working for the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI, it said.
The Pakistan Foreign Office has accused India of violating the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations for the “detention and torture” of its visa section employees Abid Husain and Tahir after they were “lifted by the Indian authorities on false and unsubstantiated charges”. It said the incident was an attempt to escalate tensions to divert attention.
The MEA said Pakistan’s Charge de Affaires was issued a demarche in which a strong protest was lodged with regard to the activities of these officials against India’s national security. The Pakistan’s Cd’A was also asked to ensure that no member of its diplomatic mission should indulge in activities inimical to India or behave in a manner incompatible with their diplomatic status.
The two have been declared persona non grata for “indulging in activities incompatible with their status as members of a diplomatic mission,” it added.
