In a recent post, I had pointed out the confoundment of serving and retired armed forces personnel, many of whom like me are votaries of this government, at the inexplicable decisions adverse to the welfare and morale of armed forces, taken by successive defence ministers in the past four years. Last in the series of such decisions was the arbitrary order passed by the present Defence Minister for the opening of all cantonment roads to the public.

In view of certain inaccurate and misleading remarks made by the Raksha Mantri (RM) during her recent press conference, here’s an examination of this decision and her defence of it in detail. It’s not clear whether it was the positive reaction by a handful of people benefitted by the opening of these roads, lack of accurate advice, or poor judgement which prompted these remarks. But inaccurate they definitely were. The aim is to present facts in case the minister isn’t already fully aware of them. It is also to ensure that this government, which is doing good work in many other spheres, isn’t ‘penny wise pound foolish’ to trip on such issues.

First of these statements is, “a total of 850 roads were closed in various cantonments, out of which 119 were blocked without following laid down procedures and now some 80 of them have been opened while 24 remain closed and rest of the 15 have been partially opened. Of the 39 roads that remain closed despite the order for their re-opening; 14, the highest, is in Secunderabad.”

The inconsistencies in this are as follows:-

The amended Cantonments Act was passed in 2006, as per the Article 258 of which, the GOC-in-C is the competent authority to sanction closure of roads for security reasons. It further states that public notice will be given inviting objections prior to closing such roads.

This act was passed in 2006, and cantonments have been in existence for much before that, governed by the earlier Cantonment Act of 1924. Section 192 of this act applied to the closing of roads, which did not have any provision for giving public notice or inviting objections. The roads were closed much before 2006, as per prevailing rules, obtaining the sanction of the GOC-in-C. The Act of 2006 does not mention anything about giving public notice/seeking objections with respect to roads already closed at the time of its enactment.

In 2014, eight years after the Act of 2006 was passed, Andhra Pradesh High Court ruled on a collection of writ petitions and PILs against the closure of the 14 roads in Secunderabad cantonment mentioned by the Defence Minister. Dismissing all the petitions, the honourable High Court ruled that these closures were valid and within the powers of the GOC. On the other hand, it took cognisance of the fact that petitioners wanted to use these roads “for convenience or because of their better motorability”, a matter that “required immediate attention of the civilian authorities” who should “take expeditious steps to improve the alternate roads so that ordinary people are not subject to any inconvenience.” It further stated that “the army authorities have imposed restrictions in a phased manner and such decision cannot be held as one made in an arbitrary manner.” Since the Cantonment Act of 2006 is cited in above judgement, it is clear that the ruling did not consider any irregularity vis a vis the same. It’s on the strength of this judgement that the 14 roads remain closed despite orders by MoD.

The above judgement quotes rulings by other courts in similar cases from across the country, including one from Supreme Court, in all of which the closure of roads has been upheld. (full text of judgement here)

After the defeat in court, the residents and their elected representatives did not appeal in Supreme Court as they probably knew it would meet the same fate. Instead of pressurising the civic authorities to provide better alternate routes as per the judgement, they took the easier route of trying to put political pressure on the then Defence Minister Mr Parrikar. There were several rounds of meetings in which the army authorities down to the station commanders were summoned to the Minister’s office and given an opportunity to explain the ground realities. Based on this, Mr Parrikar upheld the army’s decision and even offered handing over defence land to construct alternate route as directed by the court.

Instead of using his influence to speed up the construction of the alternate route, the local MP built an alliance of interest with local representatives of areas adjoining the 62 cantonments. This group seems to have started the whole discussion de novo once Ms Sitharaman was appointed the Defence Minister. It’s not clear whether she was aware of Mr Parrikar’s decision and whether she consulted him on the matter before arriving at a decision to go against it, not only in the specific case of Secunderabad, but across all 62 cantonments. Consequently, she ordered the Ministry of Defence to issue the following letter-

Not only do these instructions completely ignore the judgement of 2014 and subsequent deliberations and the decision by Mr Parrrikar, but also subsume the powers of the GOC-in-C to be the final authority for closing any roads as laid down in the Act of 2006. To my mind, this letter is not only in contempt of court (whose order cannot be overruled by a ministry letter), but also implies that the Ministry considers the GOsC-in-C, the senior most rung of field commanders under whom the nation’s army would go to war, incompetent to take prudent decisions on this matter without supervision by it. It is also an insult to the Parliament which vested these powers in the GOC-in-C through the Act of 2006.

Did the Minister consider these aspects before taking the decision and thereafter publicly defending her decision?

The second statement that is inaccurate and misleading is “The order by the ministry of defence addresses traffic related issues. Places where unit lines exist or where families of our servicemen are living, we are cautious about its security”. The Ministry of Defence letter does not distinguish between roads closed to address ‘traffic related issues’ and places which have security implications. On the contrary, the letter calls for an ‘annual review’ of all roads closed. Do they expect the unit lines and family quarters to shift to different locations warranting such annual reviews?

The third misleading statement is “Army Chief General Bipin Rawat and other top brass of the force were consulted before the government decided to allow civilian access to roads in military cantonments across the country”. Misleading, because of the time allocated for such deliberations, as is apparent from the schedule below (Source)

As per this schedule, the issues of road closure was discussed by the Defence Minister with various stakeholders for a total of 485 minutes (8 hours and 5 minutes) between 2nd April and 23rd May before the blanket order dated 28th May was issued. Out of this, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) or any other army representatives were included for 170 minutes (2 hours and 50 minutes) and time allotted to meet with elected representatives was 2 hours. It’s questionable whether the decision to open 119 roads could be adequately deliberated in this time frame.

The Army brass cannot be completely absolved of blame either, as they seem to have been unable to put across the facts and implications of such a decision convincingly enough. On the contrary, when asked to bow, they kneeled. Although the ministry letter talks only about the opening of roads, without mentioning any restriction on checking vehicles that pass by, the following letter issued by the Army Headquarters did away with any security checking as well.

Delhi Cantt shown Independent below in pre-1965 map

It’s unbelievable that security checks, which are routinely carried out at hotels, malls, airports etc, have been dispensed with for vehicles passing through cantonments. Whether this was because of any instructions in addition to this MoD letter, or due to over-enthusiasm by the army authorities to comply with the order and even go a step further, is unclear.

How much of all this has happened with the full acquiescence of the Defence Minister based on complete knowledge of facts is difficult to say. Whether the inconsistencies in her statements pointed out above are deliberate or due to lack of adequate briefing is hard to guess. But at the end of the day, she’s responsible for this irrational and hasty decision. And heaven forbids if there is a single untoward incident, will she look back and wish she had given more time and thought to the matter?

File photo for representation.

Srinagar, July 1

Breaking yet another glass ceiling a special contingent of about 500 women CRPF personnel has been brought to Kashmir Valley for regular security duties and tackle the unruly crowds and stone-pelters, a senior officer of the paramilitary force said.The women personnel, largely in constable ranks, are based at Central Reserve Police Force recruit training centre in Humhama in the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir and are being trained in counter-riot and anti-militancy operations.“This is the newest theatre of operations where women personnel have been brought in. This is the maiden team of women personnel in the Kashmir Valley. A few years back, the CRPF women troops were inducted into the anti-naxal operations grid in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand,” the officer told PTI.He said the women, after their 45-day induction training and combat-stress inoculation, will be deployed in the Valley to tackle stone-pelters and protesters, including women.It was believed that the special anti-riot wing of the paramilitary force — the RAF — could be brought into the Valley to tackle violent protests by civilians and stone-pelting incidents but that was not found feasible, he said.“It was then decided why not induct women to tackle these situations faced by CRPF units in the Valley on a regular basis. These 500 women personnel will be deployed in downtown Srinagar and other parts of the Valley very soon,” he said.The women, according to their training officer Manju K, were now familiarising with the topography of the Valley, Srinagar town and are being trained to handle “less-lethal” ammunition and weapons such as rubber bullets, pellet guns, pump-action guns and tear gas shells and PAVA shells, chilli-based non-lethal munitions.They will also be armed with regular assault and lethal weapons such as the AK-series rifles and the INSAS so that in case of a terrorist attack they can retaliate, take the opponent down and defend themselves, the training officer said.A fresh lot of body protectors and bullet-proof armour is also being procured for the special women squad inducted for operations in the Valley for the first time, the officer said.It was thought, the official said, by CRPF commanders that with instances of women and girls undertaking pitched battles with security forces and targeting them with stones, it will be wise to deploy women personnel to counter them.“There are women personnel in regular CRPF and Rapid Action Force units in all parts of the country so why not in Kashmir? The women were inducted into these combat forces with the belief that they are as good as their male counterparts,” the officer said.Constable Nita K, who is a part of this squad, told PTI she and her colleagues are taking special training sessions to understand the security situation and the response mechanism.“The focus of the training is to ensure that there is no collateral damage during action from our side and that force is used rationally as those whom we face are our countrymen and youngsters who are misled. Tacking stone-pelters and protestors, both men and women, will be a special task for us,” the trooper from Jharkhand said.The training officer said the force has started building accommodation and other infrastructure for the women personnel at its camps in the Valley and they will be deployed in combination with regular CRPF units working there for decades.Mobile toilets and troop carriers are also being brought in to aid the female troopers, he said.The CRPF, India’s largest paramilitary force with about 3 lakh personnel, has about 60 battalions deployed in Jammu and Kashmir for law and order and counter-militancy operations. — PTI

London, June 9

A Sikh soldier is set to become the first to wear a turban instead of a bearskin hat during an annual parade that celebrates the British monarch, media reports have said.Guardsman Charanpreet Singh Lall, 22, will march among 1,000 soldiers taking part in Trooping the Colour ceremony which also marks the Queen’s official birthday.His turban will be black to match his comrades’ headgear and feature the Coldstream Guards’ ceremonial cap star.His proud parents and sister will be among the crowds lining Horse Guards Parade for the ceremony.Lall, from Leicester, who came to the UK from India as a boy, said: “Being the first turban-wearing Sikh to troop the colour and be part of the escort is a high honour.”“I hope people will look on this as a change in history,” Lall, who joined up in 2016, added.“I hope that more people like me, not just Sikhs, but people from other religions and backgrounds, will be encouraged to join the Army,” he was quoted as saying by Express newspaper.While Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her actual birthday on April 21, the Trooping of the Colour takes place on any Saturday of June. This year the ceremony will take place on June 9. PTI  

Wives of Army officers have launched campaign- ‘Say no to opening Cantonment roads to public. Support the real guardians of the nation’.

Mumbai: A recent remark by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has spurred the Army base into action.

With incessant attacks on Srinagar’s army base having become a norm, it looks like the Ministry of Defence’s new dictum to open cantonment roads to public has not gone down well with the army community.

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 6

Ahead of June 9 passing-out parade, it was a day of presentation of medal and trophies for the passing out courses at Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. Gentlemen cadets (GCs) were awarded for their excellence in various sphere of training.Presenting the medals and awards for 142 Regular, 125th Technical Graduate Course and 25th University Entry Scheme courses held at the Khetrapal Auditorium, Indian Military Academy’s Commandant Lt Gen SK Jha said that it was important for an officer to maintain a competitive streak within the parameters of sportsmanship and fair play at all times. He asserted that the urge to win and excel as a team should always be there. “In the profession of arms, it is always a collective and a team effort that is important and there are no runners up in war”, Commandant IMA pointed out.He said Gentlemen Cadets were also encouraged to achieve excellence at individual level and contribute constructively in team effort to infuse a sense of comradeship amongst them. “Accordingly, medals and rolling trophies have been instituted at the IMA, which mark the highest standards achieved at the Individual and Company levels”, he observed.Among those awarded included Lalit Kumar, who was awarded Parachute Regiment Medal after being adjudged best Gentleman Cadet in endurance and physical toughness. Kuldeep Nanasaheb Pawar was awarded with 9 GR Medal for standing first in military studies. Sachin Kumar Chahar was presented with Haripal Kaushik Sikh Regt Medal after being adjudged best sportsman. Among foreign Gentlemen Cadets, Abidzazai from Afghanistan, Bukhori Saydulloev from Tajikistan, Khafila Habibu Juma from Tanzania and Kupeshov Temirbek from Kyrgyzstan were awarded with diploma certificates.As of trophies, Bubnesh Sharma was awarded with Grenadiers Trophy after being adjudged best shot in INSAS Rifle of the Passing Out Course. Birendra Singh Adhikari was awarded with Motivation Trophy after adjudged Most Motivated Gentleman cadet. Abhimanyu Thakur was adjudged best cadet in weapon’s training and awarded with Maj Shaitan Singh PVC (Posthumous) Trophy.

Army officials said that strategically sensitive equipment that are used in enemy operations are stored here, making it impossible to allow civilians gain access to many of these roads.

HYDERABAD:  After all, not all Cantonment roads may be opened to the public. Days after the Ministry of Defence ordered opening of all cantonment roads, Lieutenant General DR Soni, who is the General Officer Commanding-in-chief (GOC-in-C) of Indian Army’s Southern command based in Pune, has put his foot down against the move. He is understood to have sought a review, which in all likelihood is going to result in most SCB roads remaining out of bounds for the public forever.

The review, once undertaken, could possibly stretch for more than two months and till such time, the Local Military Authority (LMA) will prevent civilians from using a majority of the roads. So far, public is being allowed on 11 of the 25 Cantonment roads while others will remain ‘no-go’ zones.

‘‘The General has sought a review and study of security protocols. The matter concerns national security and we cannot allow civilians all over Cantonment area. There is no problem with civilians but who will guarantee that anti-national elements, in the grab of civilians, do not take advantage of the situation ?’’ top Army sources told Express.

Army officials said that strategically sensitive equipment that are used in enemy operations are stored here, making it impossible to allow civilians gain access to many of these roads. Besides strategically sensitive equipment, the cantonment is home to 54 divisions and 76 Brigades apart from the Bison divisional headquarters, a fighting formation of the Indian Army. That makes it one of the most important Army stations in the Country.
“It is here that we and our men get trained everyday to be war ready.  Many of these areas are sensitive from the security point of view and we do not have even mobile phone connectivity here. Our Jawans get trained here starting from 6 am, and opening all roads will become a hindrance to their training. Besides, our communications centres are here, so are the weaponry and defence labs. We have to safeguard them. If something goes wrong here, then it could be disastrous.

People taking a detour of a few kilometres is better than putting the nation itself to risk by opening all roads,’’ Army officials said. “The Cantonment has existed since the time of Independence and was planned far away from the city. Will the authorities allow general public to pass through the Chief Minister’s camp office or the state Secretariat ? What is so secretive there?’’ an official questioned.

Army officials added that though the security scenario in the country was, by and large, better till 2000, in the last 10 to 15 years, the situation has gone from bad to worse in terms of threats from the neighbouring countries which demands heightened security measures. “Even in countries like China, Pakistan, USA or UK, civilians are not allowed anywhere closer to Army bases.’’

Morning walkers prevented from taking Wellington road
Hyderabad: Though the Local Military Authority (LMA) termed the incident where morning walkers were prevented from using the AOC roads on Wednesday morning as rumours, walkers were again prevented on Thursday morning from taking Wellington road in AOC line unit by Army men guarding the locality. However, vehicles continued to ply on the stretch.

Speaking to Express, T Satish Kumar, one of the morning walkers said, “We don’t understand that why Army men are not allowing morning walkers in the AOC line. At the time of restrictions on roads closure, they allowed morning walkers but now they are not doing so.” On contacting J Rama Krishna vice president of SCB said,“We are planning to conduct a meeting with LMA officials. “In the meeting, we requested them not to restrict civilians commuting in Cantonment area. All the issues will be solved in next two-three days.” He said that the roads that were closed are thrown open now and remaining four roads will be opened soon.

With the elections looming in Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif has been forced into a gambit of having to name-and-shame the military and judiciary into a blame-game that virtually compromises on the sovereign narrative on sensitive issues.

The recurring maxim ‘States have armies, but the Pakistani Army has a State’ has led to a cloak-and-dagger game between the civilian politicians in Islamabad and the burly military generals, 20 km down the road in Rawalpindi. Since 1958, when the Pakistani military under General Ayub Khan initiated the first coup d’état, martial law has been officially in place for 34 years and for the balance 36 years, the generals have pulled the strings from behind public glare. The second official coup in 1977 by General Zia was perversely codenamed ‘Operation Fair Play’, and the third entailing a ‘mid-air’ drama culminated in General Musharraf anointing himself, first as ‘Chief Executive’ and then as a ‘President’ for over eight years. All official military interventions in Pakistan have had popular support initially, as the military has consistently projected itself as an effective alternative that is at odds to the civil-political culture, and its accompanying perceptions of ineptitude, corruption and kinship. Pakistan’s greatest political survivor, Nawaz Sharif, has been booted out of the office of prime-ministership, all three times, by the military-judiciary and not by the opposition parties. Ironically, Nawaz was a political creation of General Zia in the 80s. However, he has had a tumultuous equation with all six Pakistani military chiefs who have tenured with him. The first time he was coerced into demitting the office by General Waheed Kakar in 1993, it made him paranoid about trying to get pliant generals by tinkering with the norm of seniority and, almost always, getting it wrong. Sharif’s heightened sense of insecurity came to forth in dealing with one of Pakistan’s most distinguished, apolitical and professional Chairmen of Joint Chief Staff, Gen Jehangir Karamat, after unwarranted paranoia emanating from a lecture made by the General suggesting the reestablishment of the National Security Council (something Sharif was forced into reviving, 15 years later in 2013). Sharif had bundled out General Karamat only to usher in an ostensibly ‘safe’Mohajir, Gen Pervez Musharraf, after getting Musharraf to supersede two senior officers, only to have ‘Tricky Mush’ plan Kargil within six months and then exile Sharif in another eight months!In Pakistan, the third leg of the establishment troika is the judiciary that has, more often than not, acquiesced to the military in providing legitimacy and legal cover in taking on the politicians. The quantum of rebuke to the ruling politicians depends on the perceived intransigence of the red-lines by the generals — even, political proxies like Imran Khan are nudged to muster street protests and wage legal battles against ruling dispensations. Generals also enforce pressure by sending unsubtle messages like sacking six military officers for corruption and then have the military chief preach, “Enduring peace and stability (will not be established) unless the menace of corruption is uprooted”, deliberately coinciding with Sharif’s battle for survival owing to corruption charges on himself. The subsequent drama ensued in the courtrooms with a fairly insignificant charge of ‘non-disclosure’ slapped on Sharif for a petty amount that he was entitled to, but actually never received! Today, the judiciary has bent, nailed and completed the hatchet job of ‘judicial coup’ for the military by ruling that the disqualification on Sharif under Article 62 (1)(f) of the constitution is for life. One standard tactic of the comeback-whiz Sharif had been to selectively project the nefarious and vested role of the military in dim light, and especially harp on its insidious impact and agenda in Pakistan. Sharif has conceded about being in the dark on Kargil, he had later called it a ‘misadventure’ that was tantamount to ‘stabbed in the back’. The quintessential politician in Sharif has made deliberate, calculated and successful attempts at delinking himself from the embarrassing decisions made by the Generals and connected with the electoral mainstream, whenever they have tired of the military bluster and bravado. Today, however, Sharif has been boxed into a tight corner by the military-judiciary combine and can only lament, “You can’t run a country if you have two or three parallel governments. This has to stop. There can only be one government: the constitutional one” and tried to blame the military for its extra-constitutional role in the Afghan crisis by accusing, “We have isolated ourselves. Despite giving sacrifices, our narrative is not being accepted. Afghanistan’s narrative is being accepted, but ours is not” and further embarrassing the military by alluding to the patronised terror industry, “Militant organisations are active. Call them non-state actors, should we allow them to cross the border and kill 150 people in Mumbai?” Nawaz also roped in the judiciary-military nexus by pointing to the pace of Mumbai trial and wondering, “Why can’t we complete the trial.”Besides the shaming of the military-judiciary combine, to whom Sharif attributes his recent fall, he has even contradicted the Pakistani sovereign position on several sensitive matters. This unprecedented gambit has met with expected backlash from the opposition parties and military and the judiciary reacting with indefensible accusations of ‘sovereign compromise’. By this high-risk, high-gain gamble, Sharif hopes to expose the constraints of the civilian-government-in-charge in Islamabad and galvanise his constituency by projecting himself as the martyr in service of democracy. This seemingly extreme track has been literally forced upon Sharif, with national elections due in a couple of months. Nawaz is punting on driving a deep wedge in the ‘moral position’appropriated by the Pakistani military and judiciary in its 70 years of stuttering democracy. However, prevailing perceptions of the endemic corruption associated with the Sharif family may finally be his undoing, with the military carefully orchestrating the optics of a constitutionally approved process in booting out Sharif, yet again.

Amit Khajuria

Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 24

With guns falling silent after days together, there was an uneasy tranquility along the 198-km-long International Border (IB) on Thursday. Wary, most border residents were reluctant to return home. But the more plucky among them decided to see for themselves the damage done to their houses, fields and the livestock.“Though the shelling has stopped, tension persists. We came home to preserve the grain stored inside our houses and to take care of our cattle,” said Gardhari Lal of Treva village in Arnia sector. Not taking any chances, the administration has requested those in shelter camps to stay put, or shift to safer places. “We apprehend that Pakistan may resume firing if they go back to their villages right now. We need to wait and watch,” explained Arun Manhas, Additional DC, Jammu.The relentless shelling for nine days in a row took the lives of nine civilians and two BSF jawans and left 60 persons injured. It started on the intervening night of May 14-15 when a BSF jawan was killed as he repelled aCeasefire violation in Uri sectorSrinagar/Kupwara: Pakistan violated the ceasefire along the Line of Control in north Kashmir’s Uri sector on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday and targeted Army posts in Kamalkote sector of Baramulla district. The firing was retaliated. There was no loss of life or injury. TNSn infiltration attempt in the Samba sector.