Monthly Archives: August 2018

CANBERRA, JUNE 4 Foreigners who have lived in Australia for at least 12 months will be eligible to join the nation’s armed forc es from 2025, the federal government has announced. Richard Marles, the min ister for defence and deputy prime minister, and De fence Personnel Minister Matt Keogh announced the initiative on Tuesday in Canberra, saying it would help grow the Australian Defence Force (ADF), Xi nhua news agency reported. Under the expanded eli gibility criteria, New Zea landers who are permanent residents of Australia and have lived in the country for at least 12 months will be able to join the ADF from July 1. Starting in 2025, citizens from all other countries who meet the same criteria will become eligible to serve in the ADF. Applicants must not have served in a foreign military in the previous two years and will be subject to ADF entry standards and security requirements. Keogh said in a joint statement with Marles that expanding eligibility would help reverse ADF recruit ment shortfalls. IANS

Teams of Indian Air Force, HAL security and HAL technical unit visit the spot

PTI

Mumbai, June 4

A Sukhoi fighter plane of the Indian Air Force crashed in Nashik district of Maharashtra on Tuesday, police said.

The pilot and co-pilot ejected safely, Special Inspector General of Nashik Range D R Karale said.

The plane crashed in a field near Shirasgaon village, the IPS officer said.

The fighter jet was being flown by Wing Commander Bokil and his second in command Biswas when it crashed in a farm in Nifad tehsil at 1.20 pm.

Both the pilots ejected safely and have suffered minor injuries, another police official said. They were shifted to the HAL hospital.

After it crashed, the aircraft caught fire which was doused. The parts of the plane are now spread in a 500 metre radius, he said.

Teams of Indian Air Force, HAL security and HAL technical unit visited the spot.

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 4

In North India, a region seeped in martial tradition and contributing a significant chunk of manpower to the armed forces, the introduction of the Agniveer scheme for the recruitment into the rank and file of the armed forces is among the factors affecting the outcome of the 2024 General Election.

Rolled out by the BJP government in June 2022, the scheme did not go down well with the defence community, which was of the opinion that not only did it downgrade the forces’ war-fighting ability, but was also a raw deal for the soldiers as it put them at a huge disadvantage vis-à-vis not only uniformed personnel in the Central Armed Police Forces, but also other government employees.

Over three lakh serving personnel in the three services belong to Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The combined strength of registered ex-servicemen in these states is about 6.20 lakh. Members of their families too are on the electoral roll.

“Residents in the rural areas of Punjab conveyed a strong sentiment against the scheme because of post-release uncertainty and limited employment opportunities,” Brig KS Kahlon (retd), state president of the All-India Defence Brotherhood and former director, Defence Services Welfare, said.

In Haryana, the introduction of the Agnipath scheme for recruitment into the armed forces proved a crucial factor in the Lok Sabha election. The state faces a tough challenge in terms of unemployment and a big chunk of its youth used to join the Army till recently.

However, after the introduction of the Agnipath scheme, a significant portion of youth from Haryana seem to have lost interest in military service. The local youth as well as elderly residents feel that military service has been robbed of its honour and reduced to a temporary job.

The Congress leaders raked up the issue at their rallies and public meetings. Rahul Gandhi announced at a rally in Charkhi Dadri district that the Agnipath scheme would be scrapped if their party came to power.

In Himachal Pradesh, the issue, too, appears to have made a dent into the BJP vote bank as, despite winning all four Lok Sabha seats, the victory margins of the candidates have been reduced to even less than half of their 2019 win.

To be honoured by Guterres for Congo peacekeeping service

On May 29, 1857 (167 years ago), residents of Hisar district had sounded the bugle against British Raj, leading to one of the bloodiest revolts — now known as the First War of Independence. People had to face the consequences of the revolt as the British unleashed brutality on the revolutionaries once their forces took command of the situation nearly 83 days later.

Dr Mahender Singh, a historian and professor of history at DN College, Hisar, said the incident of May 29 was part of the countrywide revolt against the Raj. People of Hisar had made a strategy three-four days prior to the incident, which was executed meticulously.

Haryana Light Infantry and Dadri Cavalry stationed at Hisar — led by Shah Nur Khan and Rajeb Beg — raised the banner of revolt against the Raj at Hansi – 18 km from Hisar — at 11 am on May 29.

At about 1 pm the same day, they killed 42 Britishers, including Hisar Deputy Collector John Wedderburn, his family members and other officers. They took possession of the DC office and the army cantonment in the quila and opened the gate of the prison.

The revolutionaries unfurled the flag of independence at Nagori Gate at the entrance of the historical Hisar Fort in the town and looted Rs 1.70 lakh from the treasury. Hisar remained ‘free’ for 83 days, said Prof Singh. The revolutionaries, comprising soldiers and civilians, were armed with guns and indigenous weapons.

Historian MM Juneja wrote in his book that a large number of Jats, Ranghars, Rajputs, Bishnois and Bhattis also revolted against the British. But the Ranghars of the district, in particular, threw themselves heart and soul into the revolt. Muhammad Azim, jagirdar of Bhattu (now a town of Fatehabad district), a descendent of a royal family of Delhi, entered Hisar with the intention of heading the revolt. He used to live at Dogran Mohalla in Hisar during the revolution.

When the British reclaimed the district, 435 revolutionaries were killed near Nagori Gate on August 19 and 123 persons were crushed under a road roller. The attack concluded on September 30. By then, about 9,500 persons had laid down their lives.