Monthly Archives: August 2018

The Indian establishment has been ambivalent in its approach to the resolution of the crisis in Manipur.

Maj Gen Retd Amrit Pal Singh

THE September 1 drone bomb attack on Koutruk and Kadangband villages in Manipur’s Imphal West district marked an escalation in the violence between the Kukis and Meiteis. Two persons were killed and nine injured in this first such use of drones by insurgents to target civilians. This was followed by more attacks the next day. They destroyed three India Reserve Battalion bunkers at Meikhang village in Imphal East district.

Since the security forces have explicit ‘shoot-at-sight’ orders against those crossing the buffer zone between the valley and the hill tribes, this new mode of attack could become the preferred tactic by insurgents. These weaponised drones can operate between 500 m and 15 km. Capable of carrying various explosives, including hand grenades and mortar bombs, these can hover and capture images, adding to the threat complexity. Their value lies not just in their destructive ability, but also in documenting the kills.

The recent attacks targeted Meitei-dominated villages. The Kuki-Zo militias are suspected to be behind these attacks. The use of drones to target civilians has been documented since August 2021, when such attacks were witnessed in the neighbouring Myanmar, in areas bordering Mizoram, not far from south Manipur. The drones were being used by the People’s Defence Force (PDF) against forces of the Myanmarese junta. The PDF is the armed wing of the Myanmarese National Unity Government, which has been Myanmar’s government-in-exile since the military junta-led coup in February 2021. It now controls all areas across the Manipur border, except the two pockets of Moreh and Ukhrul. Some hardware and ammunition/bombs could have been sold by the PDF and other Myanmar rebel groups (some supported by China) to valley-based banned Meitei groups and groups of Chin-Kuki ethnicity that fuel the conflict in Manipur.

The security forces in the beleaguered Manipur are too busy separating the warring factions to guard the Indo-Myanmar border. Armed cadres belonging to the radicalised militia Arambai Tenggol and separatist terror group United National Liberation Front (UNLF) openly roam the streets and flaunt weapons (including those looted from state police armouries in May, last year). This, despite a peace agreement signed between the UNLF and the Centre in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah in November, last year. Taking advantage of the ambiguity in the peace accord, UNLF cadres have not been restricted to camps and designated areas. Nor have weapons been withdrawn by the state government, which uses these Meitei militias to dominate the Imphal valley with impunity and challenge the remit of the Army and Assam Rifles (AR) checkpoints.

The Army, AR and Central Armed Police Forces, which made tremendous sacrifices in the past while waging a successful battle against separatist elements, have effectively been sidelined by the removal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from the Meitei-dominated Manipur valley. The Army and the AR face a serious challenge in maintaining the fragile internal security situation, controlled by the predominantly Meitei state government. This freedom accorded by the state government to the factions responsible for last year’s ethnic violence in Manipur is a serious security concern; the possibility of orchestrated violence or an offensive against the Kuki-Zo tribals and an escalation in armed response remains.

Two extraordinary threats to India’s security have manifested themselves in the past four years. One threat is that of the Chinese incursions in Ladakh, which saw the occupation of Depsang, Chumar and Chang Chenmo by China’s People’s Liberation Army. Despite several rounds of negotiations and mutual disengagement in the Pangong Tso lake area, the status quo ante has not been restored, as demanded by the Indian Government. While the security forces are being augmented by weapon and equipment procurements (an inordinately long process), a gradual sidelining and deliberate diversion from the issue of incursions by the government and the media have fostered a sense of acceptance in the minds of the populace. This is an encouragement to China in many ways.

The second threat is the situation in Manipur that had been festering since early 2023 and escalated in May 2023. The ineptitude of the state government and the subsequent induction of 60,000 paramilitary forces and the Army by the Centre has not resulted in the de-escalation of violence. Conversely, new dimensions have emerged in the attacks, as the recent drone bombings show.

The ongoing disturbances in Manipur have a debilitating effect on security as the open, porous border with Myanmar is ripe for exploitation. The Indian establishment has been ambivalent in its approach to the resolution of the crisis in Manipur. In the initial period, after clashes broke out in May 2023, the Centre had rushed Central and Army forces into the state. But thanks to a lack of coordination and partisan handling of the state police forces, which are predominantly Meitei, there was no let-up in the ethnic clashes. Then, in last December, the government took its eye off the ball and entered the General Election mode. Consequently, national security was relegated to local political expediency.

The escalation through drone bombings is an act of terror. The new level of the destabilising effects of a prolonged conflict and the exploitation of the situation by China should be of concern to the security establishment. Let us hope that it doesn’t come to a point when concerted military action will be the only solution to the crisis.

The young Captain of Rashtriya Rifles got a patrol ready in five minutes. He must have wondered at the improbable demand of the visiting middle-aged Colonel to scale the nearest hill. The soldiers spread out and started climbing up the…

Col Ashok Ahlawat

The young Captain of Rashtriya Rifles got a patrol ready in five minutes. He must have wondered at the improbable demand of the visiting middle-aged Colonel to scale the nearest hill. The soldiers spread out and started climbing up the hill terraces in which maize was sprouting.

The over-eager visitor’s knees started creaking. He asked a soldier for a light machine gun. It felt heavy and he climbed for a few hundred yards up the farm terraces. He returned the weapon and wished he had a sturdy walking stick. He felt all his machismo melting away. The soldiers kept moving up. They were super fit. You know it when you climb with them. Your brain and college certificate don’t tell you that. Your legs and lungs give you that education when you move up a mountain with them.

Cries of ‘Jai Hind’ rang out from the old men living in the mud houses. They offered water. It was scarce in the mountains and they had to buy it in tankers. They pulled out plastic chairs and offered hospitality, as they started talking about their Army stints. ‘I served in so and so battalion of JAK LI (Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry).’ Then came the long list of stations they had served in. The Armymen had been climbing for two hours. When they descended from the hilltop, the Colonel stopped at a shop on the road bend. The owner let out a sonorous ‘Jai Hind’. From almost every mud-roofed hut that he passed, he could hear ‘Jai Hind’. Old men, their faces washed with deep lines, proclaimed having served in JAK LI. Buffaloes stood tethered in solid mud and the timber huts were built on hewed slopes. A listless Bihari mason stood and stared as the patrol passed. When asked what he was doing so far away from home, he said he earned ~600 a day as most young men of the village worked in foreign countries.

The shop was well stocked with provisions. A beaming, handsome, 6 foot tall young boy came and stood there. In this part of India, people are generally good looking. The mountains and woods all around are a wanderer’s delight.

The lad insisted that the Armymen come to his house. Another good-looking young man came out. He had long, curly brown hair. A tall man who looked in his sixties stood outside the simple house in a salwar kameez. He welcomed the officers and took them to a drawing room with plastic chairs and a centre table.

A matronly woman came and sat next to the man. Another young man fetched tea, almonds, pistachios and biscuits. The tea was thick-sweet buffalo milk with just a whiff of tea leaves. In rural communities, such tea is an honour. Not much different from the customary offerings in the Colonel’s native Haryana.

The young men were shy and there was a tall young girl, their sister, who went away briskly. The boys had come home from their regiments on leave. It was Eid and homecoming season.

The father was strong, dignified and had little to say. Clouds of sadness remained settled on the mother’s face. The father of the boys got up and went into another room, returning with a framed medal. It had a green ribbon and a bronze circular disc with the Ashokan wheel. On the mother’s face, the lines of sadness and memory became deeper. The boy to whom the medal belonged had left the world.

The brave woman had five sons. She had permitted all of them to wear the olive green. One of them had given up his life in the service of the nation.

Darkness set in on the mountain slope. It was time to leave. The Captain sat quietly. The Colonel got up, saluted the parents and the patrol started walking back.

Rifleman Aurangzeb was conferred the Shaurya Chakra, the third highest gallantry award, posthumously in 2018. Jai Hind!

Two men were arrested on Thursday for the attack on two Army officers and alleged rape of one of their women friends during a picnic in Mhow town of Madhya Pradesh’s Indore district, police said. Six accused have been identified…

wo men were arrested on Thursday for the attack on two Army officers and alleged rape of one of their women friends during a picnic in Mhow town of Madhya Pradesh’s Indore district, police said.

Six accused have been identified in connection the incident which took place in the wee hours of Wednesday in Jam Gate area of the hilly region surrounded by forests, Superintendent of Police (Rural) Hitika Vasal told PTI.

While two of them were arrested, search was on for the other four accused, she said.

The two Army officers, aged 23 and 24, undergoing Young Officers (YO) course at the Infantry School in Mhow cantonment town, had gone out for a picnic on Tuesday along with two female friends when the incident took place, Badgonda police station in-charge Lokendra Singh Hirore earlier said.

“The complainant has told us that the accused took his woman friend away to a place and he suspected that she was raped. The woman’s statement is yet to be recorded,” the official said.

On receiving information about the incident, police rushed to the spot and launched an investigation, she said.All the accused are residents of nearby villages and two of them have previous criminal records, the official said.An FIR has been registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Arms Act on charges of assault, robbery and rape, she said.

1.With twins, Chandimandir teacher overcomes tragedy to don olive green

2.Passing out Parade’ held at OTA Chennai, 297 officers commissioned into Indian Army

3. 56 years after pilot’s death in air crash, widow gets higher liberalised pension

4.Over 290 officer cadets inducted into Army

5.Pakistani Army Chief admits to military’s role in Kargil War

6.CDS General Anil Chauhan meets top Maldivian commander to bolster defence ties

7.2,800 youths participate in Agniveer recruitment rally

8.Amid bravehearts, in the hero’s honour

9.BSF to probe killing of Bangladeshi minor girl near border in Tripura

10 7 killed in fresh violence in Manipur’s Jiribam, 3 bunkers of militants destroyed

11.Army trains over 600 village defence guards to counter terrorist threats

12.Poll panel official asks Army to maintain close surveillance at LoC

13.Summary of the passed BY Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) Jaipur

Usha Rani commissioned as Lieutenant in Army after training

Lieutenant Usha Rani (centre), her twins and Vice-Chief of the Army Staff Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani after the passing out parade at the Officers Training Academy in Chennai on Saturday.

The cynosure during the passing out parade at the Officers Training Academy (OTA), Chennai, on Saturday were two four-year-old identically dressed twins, whose mother had just been commissioned as a Lieutenant.

After having lost her husband, Captain Jagtar in 2020, Usha Rani, a teacher from Chandimandir, overcame the tragedy and resolved to move forward in life, marching to become an officer in the Army.

After her husband’s death, Usha Rani completed her BEd and joined Army Public School, Chandimandir, and alongside started to prepare for the Service Selection Board (SSB) interview. Though it was tough with two small kids, it did not deter her.

She got recommended to join the Army from the 18 SSB at Prayagraj, the same board from where her husband had also cleared his interview. She joined the OTA on September 29 last year. It was the same date when she had got married.

After the passing out parade, she told the mediapersons in Chennai that she was determined never to give up and wanted to give her children the same quality of life that she and her husband had planned for them.

Commissioned into the Army Ordnance Corps, she said she was feeling proud to don the olive green and hoped that this would motivate other ‘veer naris’ that nothing was impossible in life.

One day, she added, her children too would be proud of her decision to follow in her husband’s footsteps. During the tough phase, she had enormous support from her family, relatives as well as her husband’s coursemates.

The officer cadets belonged to the 118th batch of the Short Service Commission course and the 32nd batch of the Short Service Commission Course (women) and other equivalent courses in the institute.

A total of 258 officer cadets and 39 women officer cadets were commissioned into the Indian Army at a spectacular ceremony at the Officers Training Academy, Chennai, on Saturday (September 7). The ‘Passing Out Parade’ was held at the Parameshwaran Drill Square of the institute and was reviewed by the Vice Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General N S Raja Subramani.

10 officer cadets and five officer cadets (women) from friendly foreign countries also completed their training successfully, fostering bonds of camaraderie and cooperation across international borders, the OTA said.

The parade marked the culmination of almost a yearlong grueling training for them in the premier institute.

The officer cadets belonged to the 118th batch of the Short Service Commission course and the 32nd batch of the Short Service Commission Course (women) and other equivalent courses in the institute. The significant event, steeped in tradition and reverence, marked their transformation into the future leaders of the Indian Army. The parade of the qualifying officer cadets captivated the spectators as they marched in perfect harmony, with martial tunes playing in the backdrop.

Lt General NS Raja Subramani presented the Sword of Honour to the Battalion Under Officer (BUO) Samrath Singh, OTA gold medal to BUO Simran Singh Rathi, silver medal to Academy Under Officer Tanishka Damodran and the bronze medal to Academy Cadet Adjutant Devesh Chandra Joshi.

Vice Chief of Army addresses officer cadets

The Vice Chief of Army Staff, in his address, lauded the officer cadets and the OTA staff for their exemplary achievements, exhorting the newly commissioned officers to uphold the cardinal military values of ‘Selfless Service to the Nation’ and steadfast pursuit of excellence in all endeavours.

“You are privileged to soon be in command of some of the finest soldiers in the world. These troops are your most valuable asset. You are now entrusted with their lives and well-being. Therefore, train and equip your command with the necessary skills, discipline and fortitude, to be combat ready,” he urged.

Also, the Vice Chief of Army Staff called upon them to keep honing their skills and qualities as a leader. “Lead by example, have the courage to make tough decisions, compassion to listen to the needs of others and earn the respect of your command,” he said.

Further, they should acknowledge the contribution and congratulate their parents, he added.

Following the immaculate parade, the highly valued Pipping Ceremony was held in the campus. The cadet officers in their new capacity as the commissioned Army Officers, adorned with gleaming insignia on their shoulders, pledged their allegiance to the Constitution of India and committed to safeguarding the nation at all costs.

(With PTI inputs)

AFT directs the release of arrears of ‘Liberalised Family Pension’ within a period of three months

About 56 years after her husband, an Air Force transport pilot died in a crash over the snowbound Himalayas, his widow has been sanctioned higher liberalised family pension following judicial intervention by the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT).

In 1968, an AN-12 of the Indian Air Force on a flight from Chandigarh to Leh carrying 102 frontline troops deployed at the Line of Actual Control with China lost contact over the Rohtang Pass and crashed at Dhaka Glacier in Himachal Pradesh.

The first remains of a human body were accidentally discovered by a trekking team of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in 2003 at a height of 18,000 feet. A special expedition of the Army recovered three more bodies in 2007, while another body was found in 2018 along with wreckage of the aircraft.

Shammi Malhotra, the widow of one of the pilots of the aircraft, Squadron Leader PN Malhotra, who was declared “presumed dead”, was granted ‘Special Family Pension’ as per the then existing orders. Later in the year 2001, deaths in operational areas were included in the entitlement of a higher pension called the “Liberalised Family Pension” (LFP) from January 1996. It was clarified later by the Government that deaths in air missions undertaken in support of troops and security forces deployed in forward areas would also be eligible for LFP with effect from 1996.

Now eligible under the new orders, Shammi Malhotra applied for LFP but her claim was rejected on the pretext that the death took place in 1968 and the provisions of LFP were only applicable from the cut-off date of 1996, and hence she would not be considered eligible for the said benefit.

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The Chandigarh Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) comprising Justice Sudhir Mittal and Air Marshal Manavendra Singh (Retd) has, however, ruled that the wife of the late pilot would be entitled to LFP from 01-01-1996 since the cut-off date of the government letter in question had already been interpreted to apply to pre-1996 cases also but with financial effect from 01-01-1996 by the Supreme Court in the case of Capt KJS Buttar, a disabled Army officer, decided in 2011.

The AFT has directed the release of arrears of LFP within a period of three months.

In the wake of the 5^th Pay Commission recommendations, many benefits were introduced and enhanced from 1996 onwards, initially with a cut-off date of 1996. However, while for civilian pensioners, the benefits were later extended to pre-1996 cases also with financial effect from 01-01-1996, a similar exercise was not undertaken by the Ministry of Defence for its pensioners leading to multiple litigation till the High Courts and the Supreme Court in the past.

As many as 258 men and 39 women officer cadets were commissioned into the Army after the culmination of their training at Officers Training Academy, Chennai, on Saturday. The “passing out” denotes the completion of training and a parade is…

As many as 258 men and 39 women officer cadets were commissioned into the Army after the culmination of their training at Officers Training Academy, Chennai, on Saturday.

The “passing out” denotes the completion of training and a parade is conducted to mark the ceremony. The officers will be commissioned into various streams of the Army. The parade was reviewed by Lieutenant General NS Raja Subramani, Vice Chief of the Army.

He presented the Sword of Honour to Samrath Singh; OTA gold medal to Simran Singh Rathi; silver to Tanishka Damodran; and bronze to Devesh Chandra Joshi.

Another 15 cadets, including five women, from friendly foreign countries also successfully completed their training. The Army Vice Chief interacted with faculty and students of IIT Madras, startups, MSMEs and other defence Industries in the region.

He also visited a metal 3D printing and advance manufacturing facility which specialises in the design of launch vehicles and engines, as also IIT Madras which is the technology innovation hub for 5G, networking, sensors and control systems solutions.

In what is being seen as a first-of-its kind confession by the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir has admitted Pakistani military’s direct role in the 1999 Kargil war against India. During…

In what is being seen as a first-of-its kind confession by the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir has admitted Pakistani military’s direct role in the 1999 Kargil war against India.

During his Defence Day speech on Friday, Munir mentioned Kargil along with the three wars with India while paying homage to what he termed “sacrifices rendered through martyrdom by soldiers of the Pakistan Armed Forces”.

“Certainly, Pakistan is a powerful and brave nation, which understands the value of freedom and knows how to sustain it. The 1948, 1965, 1971 wars, and the Kargil War between Pakistan and India, or the war in Siachen, thousands sacrificed their lives and were martyred for the safety and security of the country,” he told the gathering at the GHQ.

Munir’s statement is being seen as a first-of-its-kind confession by a sitting Army Chief on the direct role of the military in the Kargil War, a position Islamabad has refrained from taking for the past 25 years.

So far, Pakistan had denied its involvement in the 1999 War and claimed that it was an action taken by “freedom fighters” of Kashmir.

Former Army Chief General Pervaiz Musharraf always claimed that the Kargil operation was a successful localised action.

During an interview, Musharraf had stated that then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was not taken into confidence and many decisions taken by the Armed Forces along the volatile Line of Control (LoC) with India did not even require approval of the Army Chief.

However, Musharraf had admitted the role of Pakistan Army’s 10 core FCNA (Force Command Northern Areas) in the entire operation.

“Initially, there was a mujahideen activity in the area. Later on FCNA decided to man the 150-mile vacant area of the Line of Control (LoC). For this, there is no need to get approval or permission from anyone,” said Musharraf.

Mushahid Hussain Syed, who was the Information Secretary under Prime Minister Sharif during 1999, also detailed about his government being informed about the Kargil operation through an official communication by the then DGMO (Director-General Military Operations).

“When Kargil happened, the formal intimation and briefing that was given to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, was given on May 17, 1999, by the DGMO. Before that, voices from India had started to come and there was a realisation that something was happening along the Line of Control,” said Syed in an interview.

Experts maintain that the Kargil operation will remain a success story for some and a big blunder and mistake for many others. They maintain that Musharraf’s claim of FCNA’s involvement, which is part of the 10 Core of Pakistan Army and manages Kashmir and the northern areas of the country, is enough confession to endorse the fact, reiterated by the current Army Chief.

It also remains a fact that many bodies of Pakistan Army soldiers in Kargil were not brought back, prompting their families to raise questions over the reluctance of the Pakistani Government and the Army to own them.

“Those officers, who came to meet us, we kept asking them to try and bring the bodies of their loved ones back. I believe that they should have tried harder. But they didn’t,” said Itrat Abbas, brother of late Captain Farhat Haseeb, the Army officer martyred in Kargil, confirming that officers and soldiers of Pakistan Army were deployed in Kargil.

Rehana Mehboob, mother of late Captain Ammar Hussain, admitted that she kept getting calls from the Army Unit and friends of her son during the Kargil War, adding that then Army Chief Pervaiz Musharraf did not even own the operation.

The above-mentioned statements by families and then government officials along with the then Army Chief are enough evidence to maintain that while then PM Sharif was kept in the dark, the Army’s chain of command was fully on board about the Kargil operation.

Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan on Saturday held extensive talks with Maldives’ Chief of Defence Force Major General Ibrahim Hilmy, focusing on a reset of military ties that came under severe strain after President Mohamed Muizzu assumed office…

Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan on Saturday held extensive talks with Maldives’ Chief of Defence Force Major General Ibrahim Hilmy, focusing on a reset of military ties that came under severe strain after President Mohamed Muizzu assumed office in November last.

The talks between the two top military officials came a day after India and the Maldives held the fifth round of defence dialogue which decided to expedite implementation of the ongoing defence projects.

Officials said the talks were aimed at furthering the bilateral defence cooperation, especially on measures to strengthen regional security and enhance bilateral training opportunities. It is understood that cooperation in the maritime security domain dominated the discussions.

The ties between India and the Maldives came under severe strain since Muizzu, known for his pro-China leanings, took charge of the top office around 10 months back. Within hours of his oath, he had demanded the withdrawal of the Indian military personnel from his country. Subsequently, the Indian military personnel were replaced by civilians.

The Maldives is one of India’s key maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean Region and the overall bilateral ties, including in areas of defence and security, witnessed an upward trajectory under the previous government in Male.