Monthly Archives: August 2018

New Delhi, August 27

India has ordered an additional 73,000 rifles from US company Sig Sauer.

A formal announcement about the ‘SIG716’ rifles was made by the US company today as Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh ended his five-day visit to the US.

Inda had, in 2019, ordered 72,400 rifles. After the latest order, the total number of such rifles goes up to 1,45,400.

“We are proud to be a partner in the modernisation effort of the Indian Army and prouder still that the SIG716 rifle achieves the Ministry of Defence’s modernisation goals with the second largest army in the world,” a statement of the US company said.

The Indian Army after using the first lot of these rifles provided feedback to the company. The rifle is classified as a ‘7.62 chambered’ class with a 16 inch barrel with a telescope.

Many ambitious Generals in Pakistan and Bangladesh have ended up conflating their individual identities with partisanship.

Lt Gen Retd Bhopinder Singh

MILITARIES of the Indian subcontinent have a common fount — the colonial British Indian Army. Before the raising of the official ‘Indian Army’ in 1895, the collective force of the British Raj was made up of three presidency armies — Bengal Army, Madras Army and the Bombay Army. Till date, the essential construct of the subcontinental militaries retains similar nomenclature, structuring, culture of regiments (reflecting societal/regional diversities) and institutional values that, on paper, make for an aligned purpose for the profession of arms.

The three major subcontinental countries — India, Pakistan and Bangladesh — are constitutional democracies, subscribing to the principle of civilian control of the military. However, the ideal level of civil control, defined by historian Samuel P Huntington as “the proper subordination of a competent, professional military to the ends of policy as determined by civilian authority”, has varied dramatically among the three countries. The ability to keep the armed forces insulated and distanced from internal politics, partisanship or societal passion (e.g., religiosity, regionalism) has varied substantially. Wherever and whenever the militaries have sought a role beyond their constitutionally defined mandate of defending the borders or for tackling internal insurgencies (whenever the police forces have failed to contain them), progressive democracy has weakened.

Since Independence in 1947, the Pakistani military has taken over the formal reins of power during 1958-71, 1977-88, and 1999-2008. Even when the civilian rule ostensibly existed in Pakistan, it was the worst-kept secret that the Army House (residence of the army chief) in the garrison township of Rawalpindi — and not in the political capital of Islamabad — called the shots. The Pakistani Warrant of Precedence may put the army chief at Article (level) 11, but the ‘redlines’ on critical sovereign politics, positions and preferences are always defined by the Army House. Across the Line of Control, the Indian experiment in democracy persisted with virtually no role or relevance afforded to the world’s second-largest military force beyond its constitutional remit. The Indian tradition of maintaining the institution’s healthy ‘distance’ from politics and partisanship, has been the key, unlike in Pakistan.

Even the relatively younger nation of Bangladesh has had difficulties in restraining its ‘barracks’, with as many as 29 recorded coup attempts. The formal takeover by the military could be traced to the presidentship of Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem (1975-77), who took over in the aftermath of repeated counter-coups. He was made the Chief Martial Law Administrator in a junta-style cabinet presided by three chiefs of the armed forces. He was succeeded by Lt Gen Ziaur Rahman (1977-81) and, after a two-year gap, by Lt Gen Hussain Muhammad Ershad (1983-90). The fact that the post-independence Bangladeshi military was composed of diverse elements from the Pakistani army, Mukti Bahini militia and other rebels from varied ideological moorings made the institution susceptible to irreconcilable affiliations that were in conflict with each other and banked on domestic politics to advance their agendas. Since the Bangladeshi military (like the Pakistanis) was unable to extricate itself from the societal morass and afflictions, it partook of extraconstitutional endeavours, and thus democracy suffered.

There were unscheduled regime changes in Pakistan (April 2022) and Bangladesh (August 2024), where the hand of the respective militaries was unmistakable. The Pakistani ‘establishment’ (read military) had forced out the vainglorious PM Imran Khan after ‘selecting’ him in 2018, as he had started fancying a bigger role for himself. Imran was soon cut to size and the political forces that were dumped by the ‘establishment’ earlier (PML-N and PPP) made a comeback as unnatural coalition partners. The ‘establishment’ made it clear that it was not bound by any partisan preference, but only by the institution’s self-interest and supremacy.

Meanwhile, it took Gen Waker-Uz-Zaman, who took charge as Bangladesh’s Chief of Army Staff as recently as June 23, to oust PM Sheikh Hasina, to whom he owed his elevation. He is married to the daughter of a former army chief, Gen Mustafizur Rahman, who was Hasina’s uncle and her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s cousin. But all of this came to nought as presumably Gen Waker-Uz-Zaman would have read the writing on the wall in terms of Hasina’s unpopularity and thought it prudent to back her rivals. Importantly, he had refused to honour Hasina’s orders to clamp down on protesters in violation of his sworn oath, irrespective of the merits/demerits of Hasina’s judgement. In many ways, he took a political punt.

In Pakistan, a one-time dashing and cavalier Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, who occupied the important post of DG-ISI (Director General of the Inter-Services-Intelligence), is being targeted for the second time, after he was unceremoniously retired for displaying partisanship (favouring Imran) to the detriment of the ‘establishment’. Now, as the brinkmanship of the ‘establishment’ with Imran continues, a providential corruption case involving Lt Gen Hameed has resurfaced and he faces a disgraceful court martial. He may be the direct casualty, but the aim is to discredit his political master (Imran).

It is a twist of fate that besets so many ambitious Generals in Pakistan and Bangladesh, where they end up conflating their individual identities with partisanship while in uniform. India has been luckier to have a lot fewer with brazen political affiliations, as the proverbial cantonment gates historically remained closed. Regrettably, not only has the metaphorical access and expressions shown a disconcerting influx of partisan invocation in recent times, but politicians too have made dangerous appropriation of the institution to build their ‘muscular’ politics. A cursory glance at what awaits a nation when partisanship creeps into the barracks can be gauged by looking west or east, especially as both sides were part of a common force once. The Indian armed forces must remain proudly apolitical, ‘distanced’ and spared condescending usurpation which is essentially partisan in intent.

Modi’s anti-corruption myth crumbles

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi’s slogan ‘na khaunga, na khane dunga’ (will neither be corrupt nor let anyone be corrupt) once served as a rallying cry against the entrenched corruption in the political system. It propelled him to power, painting him as a crusader against graft. Yet, recent incidents, such as the collapse of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue in Maharashtra and the leaking roof of the new Parliament building in New Delhi, cast a long shadow over this claim, exposing the crumbling foundations of the much-touted ‘Modi model’.

The 35-foot statue, unveiled with fanfare by Modi himself less than a year ago, lies in ruins, a victim of rusted nuts and bolts. This monumental blunder is not merely a case of shoddy workmanship; it is emblematic of the rot that has set in at the core of the government’s projects. The contractor, conveniently linked to those in power, stands accused of collusion, fraud and endangering public safety, while the government scrambles to shift the blame onto anything but its own negligence. The steel used in the statue had already begun to rust; yet, despite repeated warnings, no action was taken. Then there is the new Parliament building, a symbol of Modi’s ambition to reshape India’s democratic institutions. Constructed at an exorbitant cost of nearly Rs 1,000 crore, the building was quickly reduced to a laughing stock when a video emerged showing water leaking through its roof.

Modi’s tenure has been marked by grand announcements and mega projects, but beneath the surface lies a pattern of cutting corners, favouritism and a blatant disregard for quality and accountability. The government that promised to end corruption has become a factory of half-baked, poorly executed projects, all the while shielding its cronies from dire consequences. The irony is stark.

https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/editorials/rusty-promises

Lt Gen Retd Vinayak Patankar

The rural population showed greater inclination to participate at the hustings, even defying threats from terrorists.

THE Election Commission of India’s (ECI) announcement on holding the three-phase Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir brought back memories of the landmark polls held in September-October 2002. While the forthcoming elections would be the first in the Union Territory, the one in 2002 was also significant for several reasons.

While there has been a rise in terror attacks in the Jammu region in the recent past, it was the Kashmir valley that had witnessed an escalation of terror activities in 2002. It was the first time that the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) participated in the Assembly polls. There was a call for boycotting the elections, given by the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat. This was also the first poll in J&K in which EVMs (electronic voting machines) were used.

Even before the announcement of the dates of the four-phase elections was made, it was widely known that they were in the offing. While the PDP had pulled out all stops to reach out to the electorate, the J&K National Conference appeared to be relying on its solid organisational structure down to the grassroots level in its traditional strongholds. While the political parties had already begun their preparations, the official machinery had also started gearing up for the important event. It included, besides the Central and state governments, various security forces and intelligence services. The dynamic security situation was being closely watched and discussed regularly at the Unified Command Headquarters.

It was apparent that the security situation was widely different in urban and rural areas. The terrorists, wanting to make their presence felt, were more active in towns and cities, which had a large concentration of population, rather than in sparsely populated villages and hamlets. The urban population, which enjoyed better civic amenities, had more time to participate in political activities. In those areas, it was relatively easier for terrorists to enlist overground workers and quasi-political organisations like the Hurriyat. In mofussil areas, daily life was hard in the absence of basic facilities like medical treatment, supply of water and electricity which left little time for politics, except at the local level. The urban population was thus more polarised along existing political lines, whereas rural folk looked forward to the polls as an opportunity to have their say to improve their lives. In the rural areas, the enthusiasm to vote in the elections was palpable, especially among the youth and first-time voters. Interestingly, the rural population showed greater inclination to participate at the hustings, even defying threats and intimidation from terrorists and at times tearing posters warning voters of dire consequences.

The first phase of the elections was to be held on September 16, 2002. James Michael Lyngdoh, then Chief Election Commissioner, visited Srinagar a few times in the weeks prior to that to hold detailed discussions with the state administration and oversee polling arrangements. He was unequivocal in emphasising that he would accept no mismanagement at booths and would order repolling as many times as needed to ensure free and fair polling.

After the official announcement of the election schedule, the elected state government went into suspended animation and the Governor, Girish Saxena, took charge. About a week prior to the first round of polling, he held a meeting to take stock of the situation and satisfy himself that all was in readiness for the big event. Apart from officials directly involved in the conduct of polling, the meeting was attended by local heads of various security forces, intelligence agencies, senior bureaucrats of the state government and a few others. At the end of the meeting, the Governor wanted to know what in our estimate would be the percentage of polling (voter turnout). As he went around the room, the estimates varied from 10 to 20 per cent. The Army’s estimate of ‘nothing less than 40 per cent’ seemed too optimistic to all present, including the Governor.

By the evening of September 16, reports of polling started pouring in. As expected, the percentage was low in urban areas, but that from the countryside were above 40 per cent; in fact, in remote areas along the border regions and the Line of Control, where the number of voters was small, it was as high as 80 per cent! The overall turnout that day was almost 48 per cent.

Pakistan’s proxies had already increased their activities to somehow force the cancellation of the elections or at least impede the process. It had also stepped up its propaganda broadcasts on radio and TV. An amusing incident occurred on September 16. That evening, in a round-up of news from ‘India-occupied Kashmir’, a Pakistani TV channel showed fake footage of ‘unwilling voters’ being ‘pulled out from their houses to cast their votes’ by Indian security forces, besides other ‘atrocities’ being committed by them. The red-faced channel had to withdraw the story in a hurry as it became known that there was no polling in that constituency that day, having been countermanded following the death of a candidate due to cardiac arrest!

All four phases of the elections were conducted smoothly. At the planning stage, the ECI felt that it had a tough assignment ahead; various agencies involved in holding the elections also considered it to be a challenging task. However, the skeptics and naysayers were proved wrong in the end. While the ECI, along with the state and Central governments deserved to be applauded for the successful conduct of the election, the real winners were the people of J&K.

In the end, the elections reflected the true will of the people. People elected those in whom they placed their trust to make a fresh start with a new dispensation. It was a victory of the ballot over the bullet, a paradigm shift in the political landscape of J&K.

The man, who identified himself as Jagsi Koli, was caught by the BSF on August 25 in Barmer and was handed over to the local police for interrogation on Monday

Jaipur, August 27

A 20-year-old Pakistani national who crossed the border and was caught by the BSF in Rajasthan’s Barmer has told police that he had crossed the border to escape from the family of his girlfriend.

The man, who identified himself as Jagsi Koli, was caught by the BSF on August 25 in Barmer and was handed over to the local police for interrogation on Monday.

Barmer SP Narendra Singh Meena said that during preliminary interrogation, the Pakistani national claimed that he was trying to escape from the family members of his girlfriend and crossed the border.

“The man said that he had gone to meet his girlfriend in Tharparkar district of Pakistan but her family spotted him so he escaped from there with a scarf of the girl. He said that he also attempted suicide by hanging himself with the scarf but could not succeed and crossed the border,” the SP said.

He said the accused was being interrogated, adding that a joint interrogation by intelligence agencies will continue.

the top court referred to August 9 verdict in money laundering and corruption cases involving Manish Sisodia to say that liberty of individual is always the rule and deprivation of it by procedure established by law is the exception

New Delhi, August 28

The Supreme Court on Wednesday held that even in money laundering cases, bail is a rule and jail is an exception, and granted relief to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s aide in an illegal mining related case registered by the Enforcement Directorate.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan said the court has held that even in cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), “bail is a rule and jail is an exception.”

The bench said no person should be deprived of its liberty and section 45 of the PMLA which lays down twin conditions for bail of an accused in a money laundering case does not rewrite the principle to mean that deprivation of liberty is the norm.

The top court referred to the August 9 verdict in the money laundering and corruption cases involving former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia to say that liberty of the individual is always the rule and deprivation of it by procedure established by law is the exception.

“Twin test under section 45 of the PMLA does not take away this principle,” the bench held.

It granted bail to one Prem Prakash, who is alleged to be a close aide of Soren by the ED and has been accused of being involved in illegal mining in the state.

The top court set aside the March 22 order of the Jharkhand High Court denying him bail and directed the trial court to expedite the trial in the case.

Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) Commanders warned Pakistan 🇵🇰 and China 🇨🇳 to withdraw from Balochistan.

Video 1: BLA commander warns Pakistan and China to withdraw from Balochistan immediately; end the CPEC in Balochistan — failure to do so, they will face dire consequences. Chinese Officials can be attacked too.

Video 2: BLA Commander vows to attack Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi if the Punjabis continue to attack us and put pressure on us, we will retaliate harder and better.The fire of protest in Pakistan’s Balochistan was burning for a long time. But now it has taken a bigger form. After the big attack by Baloch rebels in Pakistan, now the Baloch Liberation Army has given a big threat to China and Pakistan. In this video released by the Baloch Army, China and Pakistan have been asked to leave Balochistan and warned that if Balochistan is not vacated, then it will have very bad consequences

Ukraine has, in the last few days seized control of at least
1,250 sq KMs of Russian territory and 92 settlements.
Ukraine used manoeuvre (Mechanised Brigades and
Drones) to strike fast and deep into the Russian territory:

• Six brigades, mostly equipped with western tanks
  and armoured fighting vehicles.
• Light reconnaissance groups moved as vanguard
  to confuse the enemy about the intentions and
  target of the main force.
• Ukraine managed to establish an Air Defence and
  Electronic Warfare bubble over their advancing
  forces.
• It was indeed a successful ‘Manoeuvre Battle’, in a
  war which had slipped into a slugfest of attrition
  and destruction.
  Their Op Security was airtight, even the Americans were not possibly aware of the operation. The Russians certainly were surprised. In this era of ground, air and space surveillance, the force that achieves surprise deserves victory.
  Ukraine army picked a weakly defended stretch near the Russian town of Sudzha, 10 KMs from the border. The nearest active frontline is at Kharkiv about 200 Kms Southeast. Russian surveillance elements were low in the Kursk sector which was perhaps never appreciated to be threatened.
  Ukraine army continues to surprise, they have successfully used First Person View (FPV) drones against Russian Attack Helicopters. It requires excellent skills to crash the drones into an airborne Attack Helicopter; after considerable recent successes, Russian Attack Helicopters are in for some scare.
• Morale plays an important role in any war:
• The morale of the Ukrainian Army and the Nation has got a huge boost, a reason to smile.
• While the Ukrainian push is mainly into the Kursk region, Russian citizens are now also being evacuated
  from the neighbouring region of Belgorod. People are scared and upset. While morale is visibly low,
  there is no clamour for a regime change ……. yet.
• What needs to be watched keenly by Ukraine is whether the Kursk operations will bring relief for the
  beleaguered defenders in Donetsk.
  According to RBC Ukraine News Agency, Putin has ordered his forces to push back Ukrainian troops from
  Kursk by 1 Oct. Russian forces are reportedly already operating in the salient disrupting Ukrainian supply lines.
  Also, Ukraine may not have enough boots on ground to exert control over the entire area they claim under
  occupation; the Russian counteroffensive may come sooner than later.
  As of today, Russian forces have managed to recapture the settlements of Olgovka and Kremyanoye.
  Conclusively, Ukraine’s Kursk offensive is a high risk and high stakes operation. If they manage to hold onto the
  vast captured real estate, they have a good hand at any future negotiation table.
  On a lighter note, the war has many …. Lets just say humorous geopolitical angles to it ……. Natural gas flowing from West Siberian gas fields to Europe via Ukraine passes through a metering station near the border in the Sudzha district.
  And,
  Gas has continued flowing on to Europe despite the war, allowing Russia’s Gazprom natural gas giant to earn money from the gas and letting Ukraine collect transit fees!!!!!

Staff welfare, fiscal prudence equally important

THE Centre has unveiled broader benefits for its employees in the new guaranteed pension scheme. The Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) is surely a political response to the growing nationwide demand to revert to the pre-2004 Old Pension Scheme (OPS). The Centre claims the UPS, to be implemented from April next year, will benefit 23 lakh employees. Those covered under the current National Pension System will have a chance to shift to the UPS. The move is aimed at resolving the debate on the OPS, a cause championed by many Opposition-ruled states, including Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, on the ground that its benefits are more favourable to employees. With an eye on the upcoming Assembly elections, the BJP-ruled states are expected to adopt the UPS. The tweaking of the pension scheme presents a chance to the stakeholders in all states to have an informed discussion, keeping an open mind. A summary dismissal without an in-depth study of the provisions or offering insightful suggestions will be an opportunity lost.

The Reserve Bank of India had last year flagged concerns about the strain on government finances and accumulation of liabilities for the states opting for OPS. The Centre’s contention is that the UPS is fiscally more prudent as it is a funded, contributory scheme, unlike the OPS. The likely additional strain on the Centre and the states now has official sanction. Striking a balance between employee welfare as well as their aspirations and fiscal prudence must be the guiding principle. Both are equally important.

The mixed response by the employees’ unions is on the expected lines. Sticking to a hard stance is an unreasonable approach. As for employees in the private sector, their hopes for any enhanced pension and retirement benefits do not seem a priority for the government.