Tribune News Service

Jammu, March 9

To improve connectivity along the International Border (IB) and Line of Control (LoC), two strategically important bridges were dedicated to the nation by the Border Roads Organisations (BRO) onFriday.

These include a 331-m-long Bein bridge at Samba and 121-m-long Dhok bridge in Akhnoor.

The Bein bridge, constructed on the Parole-Rajpura road near the IB, was e-inaugurated from New Delhi by the MoS in the PMO Jitendra Singh along with Director-General BRO Lt Gen Harpal Singh, while the Dhok bridge, constructed on the Akhnoor-Pallanwala road, was inaugurated by MP from Jammu-Poonch Jugal Kishore along with Chief Engineer, Project Sampark, Brig YK Ahuja.

The Bein bridge has been constructed at a cost of Rs 21 crore and was completed six months ahead of the scheduled time. This strategically important bridge will facilitate smooth connectivity and improve the socio-economic development of border villages in the Samba region.

The Dhok bridge has been constructed at a cost of Rs 7.28 crore and was completed 11 months before its scheduled time. This strategically important bridge will facilitate smooth connectivity and improve the socio-economic development of nearby border villages in the Pallanwala region. This is the third bridge being completed in the last one year on the same road and two more bridges are on the verge of completion.

Terming the construction of the Bein bridge a great achievement by the BRO, Jitendra Singh, through video conferencing, said the roads and bridges were the lifeline of any nation and played a vital role in the socio-economic development of far-flung regions. He praised the BRO personnel for working away from their families in most hostile and difficult areas.

The event was attended by a gathering of local dignitaries, civil administration and public of all age groups from local villages.

Have strategic importance

• Two strategically important bridges were dedicated to the nation by the Border Roads Organisations on Friday
• These include a 331-m-long Bein bridge at Samba and 121-m-long Dhok bridge in Akhnoor

Col Dilbag Dabas (Retd)

Grenadiers Infantry Regiment, one of the oldest Sword Arm, has the distinction of giving to the Indian Army five bravest among the braves; three of them were awarded the Param Vir Chakra and two Ashok Chakra. Even peace-time gallantry award tally of the Grinders (as Grenadiers are commonly referred to) speaks volumes of these brave men. One of its Grinders Naik Jardish Ahmed is among the very few in the Indian Army to have been awarded the Shaurya Chakra twice and another Grinder Devinder Singh Bhati is the youngest Shaurya Chakra awardee in the Indian Army till date.

Devinder was the fourth generation soldier; the earlier two generations were also Grenadiers. He grew up listening to the stories of valour of Indian jawans from his father and grandfather and knew he was destined to follow into their footsteps. And he chose to be a Grinder like his grandfather and great grandfather.

 Devinder, son of Havildar Giri Raj Singh, was born in Kaurali village of Faridabad district on June 10, 1980. He was so impatient to join the Army that he didn’t even complete his senior secondary education and passed all preliminaries to become an Army jawan. And on October 28, 1998, he became Grenadier Devinder Singh Bhati of 14 Grenadiers. 

The Kashmir valley has been the hotbed of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir but the Jammu region has also not remained unaffected. Areas around Poonch, Mendhar, Riasi and Udhampur have often been used by militants to cross over to the Kashmir valley. 14 Grenadiers Battalion was deployed near Udhampur in 1999 when militants were suspected of having their hideouts in hamlets around there. It was during one cordon and search operation around Udhampur that Grenadier Devinder Singh Bhati of 14 Grenadiers laid down his life while gallantly fighting the militants, an act of valour for which he was awarded the Shaurya Chakra posthumously. The battle account of his bravery is recorded in digest of service of 14 Grenadiers.

Bhagwan Devi, mother of Devinder Bhati, recalls: “Jatey jatey mera beta mujhe mere doodh ki taqat ka ahsas kara gaya. Bola maa, maine tera doodh piya hai, dekhna ugrawadion pe main kitna bhari padta hun”. 

Havildar Giri Raj Singh, father of Devinder, had only this to say to his son while seeing him off at the Kaurali bus stop: “Beta nirbhay hokar apni duty karna. Pura Kaurali gaon tere saath hai”. And the last words of Devinder to his father were: “Pita Ji, main Bhati Rajput hun, voh bhi chodah Grenadier ka. Aisa kuchh karke lautunga ke gaon ke mere sarey dost mujhe salute marenge”.

And not only his friends, the entire Kaurali village lined up and saluted the mortal remains of Grenadier Devinder Singh Bhati, the youngest Shaurya Chakra awardee in the Indian Army.

As a mark of respect, the alma mater of this brave heart is now Saheed Devinder Singh Bhati Government Senior Secondary School, Kaurali, Faridabad.

The account of his bravery in digest of service of 14 Grenadiers reads…

Grenadier Devinder Singh Bhati was part of a column, which was carrying out a cordon and search operation in Thinmarg village near Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir on October 12, 2000 .The area of operation was extremely rugged and with steep gradients at an altitude of over 13,000 feet. Grenadier Devinder’s column reached its location after an arduous march in extreme cold conditions and deployed its stops during daylight hours. After it got dark, a group of six terrorists attempted to break through Devinder’s portion of the cordon. The stops came under intense and automatic fire by the terrorists from a dominating position. The terrorists even lobbed hand grenades to silence the stops. Grenadier Devinder rushed to cover the stops but in the process was hit by bullets and splinters of grenades. Ignoring his grave injuries, he asked his cordon to take cover and engaged the terrorists in a fierce combat, killing two of them.

Though Devinder had sustained severe injuries, he remained alert and proceeded to dislodge the terrorists who were bringing down devastating fire. Defying apogee of human endurance, Grenadier Devinder Singh Bhati charged towards the terrorists and sprayed the area with bullets, killing one more. Despite sustaining mortal injuries, the super human effort of Grenadier Devinder Bhati ensured that all the terrorists were killed in this operation. He attained martyrdom after sustaining 22 bullet injuries.

For his raw courage, exemplary determination and supreme sacrifice in the best traditions of the Indian Army, Grenadier Devinder Singh Bhati was awarded the Shaurya Chakra posthumously.

(The writer is a veteran Gunner, 6 Field Regiment)

In a letter to Sunil Arora, Admiral Ramdas expressed concerns on ‘recent instances’ of parties using armed forces’ for political gains.

New Delhi: Former Navy chief Admiral L Ramdas (retired) has asked immediate intervention of the Election Commission in stopping political parties from using the Pulwama attack, Balakot air strike and Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s operations to influence the electorate.

In an open letter to Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora, Admiral Ramdas expressed concerns on “recent instances” of parties using armed forces’ heroics for political gains.

“With elections due in a few weeks from now, it is particularly important that there should not be any misuse of these recent events by any political party to send triumphalist or jingoistic messages which can influence the electorate,” he said.

In his two-page letter, the former Navy chief said the armed forces have always prided themselves on belonging to a structure, an ethos and an environment which have been both apolitical and secular.

“And it is in this context that as a responsible citizen and a proud veteran of the Indian Armed Forces, I share our collective sense of dismay and deep concern at how some political parties are brazenly pushing their agenda using images, uniforms and other examples, showing pictures of the armed forces with political figures, in public spaces, in media, election rallies and so on,” he said.

The former Navy chief said it was completely unacceptable since it has the potential to destroy the very foundations and value system of the armed forces, drawn from the vision, the spirit and intent of the Constitution.

He said he could not circulate the open letter for more signatures “although many veterans are duly agitated by these attempts to compromise the integrity and secular nature of the Indian Armed Forces”.

“We, therefore, urge the Election Commission to immediately intervene and send a strong message to the political parties that there should be no misuse of the photographs as indeed any other material/reports or other information pertaining to the armed forces for electioneering in any way,” he said.

Jammu, February 13

A 30-year-old soldier allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself with his service rifle at an Army camp here, a police official said on Wednesday.

Sepoy Sandeep Singh, a resident of Punjab, was on guard duty at a post in a transit camp at Panama Chowk where he shot himself in the head on Tuesday, the official said.

His colleagues rushed to the scene on hearing the gunshot and found him dead on the spot, he said.

The body was handed over to the Army for last rites after completion of the legal formalities, the official said. The motive behind Singh taking the extreme step is yet to be ascertained, he said. PTI

Gen. Bipin Rawat issued the direction after visiting the forward locations along the LoC and international border in Jammu and Kashmir and several border posts in Rajasthan.

New Delhi: Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat has directed army personnel deployed along the border with Pakistan to remain prepared for all eventualities in close coordination with the Indian Air Force, officials said.

Gen. Rawat issued the direction after visiting the forward locations along the LoC and international border in Jammu and Kashmir and several border posts in Rajasthan.

During the visit, the Army Chief was briefed on the prevailing security scenario and preparedness of the formations to deal with any eventualities.
“The Army Chief expressed his complete confidence in the capabilities of the Indian Army to thwart any nefarious design of Pakistan,” the Army said.

He praised high state of morale of troops and instructed them to remain prepared for all eventualities in close coordination with the Air Force,” it said in a statement.

In Rajasthan, Gen. Rawat visited forward locations like Barmer and Suratgarh to review the operational deployment. Tensions between the two countries escalated after Indian fighters bombed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed’s biggest training camp near Balakot deep inside Pakistan on February 26.

Pakistan retaliated by attempting to target Indian military installations on February 27. However, the IAF thwarted their plans.

The Indian strike on the JeM camp came 12 days after the terror outfit claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Kashmir, killing 40 soldiers

Nation’s sovereignty intact because of Indian Army: Mishra

ITANAGAR, Feb 3: Governor BD Mishra hailed the role of the Indian Army in defending the nation’s sovereignty.
“It is because of the Indian Army that the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of the nation are intact,” said Mishra during a meeting with Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), Gen Bipin Rawat, at the Raj Bhavan here on Sunday.
The governor conveyed the goodwill of the people of Arunachal Pradesh to the general for the latter’s gesture to increase
vacancies for Arunachalee youths in the army. He also mentioned the initiative of the 17th battalion of the Rajputana Rifles in Gelemo village in Upper Subansiri, where they opened a primary school.
Handing over a report about the Pay Back to Society Group (PBSG), Mishra commended Gen Rawat’s good gesture to help the PBSG.
The COAS praised the people of Arunachal Pradesh, saying they have always helped the Indian Army in a big way. He also said there are many “very good” officers from Arunachal in the armed forces.
The army chief felicitated four meritorious students, Mihin Ronya (Rajiv Gandhi Government Polytechnic College), Miti Perme (DNGC), Rajiv Ranjan Ray (NERIST) and Joychen Kenglang (NIT).
The governor’s wife Neelam Misra presented a short film on loin loom weaving to Army Wives Welfare Association president Madhulika Rawat, for the benefit of the army wives.
Students from the Donyi Polo Mission School for the Hearing and Visually Impaired, RGU, the NERIST and the NIT, and artist Mibi Nyodu presented colourful cultural programmes depicting the cultural heritage of Arunachal.
Earlier, in the afternoon, the general and his wife planted a palm tree in the Raj Bhavan premises. (Raj Bhavan)

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, February 27

Hailing the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, for granting permission to the Indian armed forces to decide on time and place for action against the perpetrators of the Pulwama attack, Air Vice-Marshal (retd) Sarvjit Hothi of Jalandhar said, “The Indian armed forces be it the Army, the Navy or Air Force, are always ready for such actions. But doing anything across the border is purely a political decision.”

He said, “An airstrike is always a result of a precise planning, hard intelligence and understanding of the area targeted. The demography and the kind of infrastructure are studied properly before executing an airstrike.”

He said every action was planned based on intelligence information, including the timing of bombing the area.

Taking on terrorists through airstrikes is extremely difficult as one second delay in action could be fatal, he added.

“The pilots hold a great responsibility as during an airstrike, the risk of being shot down is involved. You can be shot down in the air and you can be shot down from the ground. And for fighting aircrafts, even a small shot can mean a lot. If there is a strategic hit, it can be fatal as well,” said Air Vice-Marshal (retd) Hothi, who was part of the 10-member pilot crew selected for flying the elite light fighter aircraft — Gnat — in 1971.

Sharing his wartime experiences of 1971, Hothi said, “We were getting training in Jamnagar and increasing our flying hours to be fully operational when the war came. I was among the select pilots who got picked up for flying Gnats. We were inducted in the 2 Squadron that was then based in Ambala. Amritsar was our forward base just 25 km from the border.”

Narrating his one of the risky encounters, Hothi said, “One day when I had just taken off, I saw a Mirage of Pakistan just passed by on the gun side. My commander gave me orders to shoot it. But since my speed was just 180 mph, which was too less and there was another Gnat following me, I could neither turn back nor was capable of overtaking it. By the time I was in the attack mode, I was already over Lahore.”

On asked about the reason for choosing the Mirage 2000 for the strike, Hothi said, “You have to collect the right weapon to destroy the target and then you decide which aircraft can carry this weapon. And for such a strike, the best capability is the Mirage 2000 and therefore it was chosen.”

Maj Gen Ashok K Mehta (Retd) & Lt Gen Kamal Davar (retd)

Maj Gen Ashok K Mehta (Retd)
former GoC, IPKF, Sri Lanka

I got to know of George Fernandes much before I got to know him and he became the Defence Minister. In those days, he was highly suspicious and distrustful of the military, especially over its alleged abuse of human rights in Kashmir. After I retired and George saab took over as the Defence Minister, we became friends. I joined his extended family, which consisted of refugees from Tibet and the North-East; a couple of Alsatians; Durga Bahadur, his Gorkha cook; mounds of books; and of course, his party colleague Jaya Jaitley. Willy-nilly, I became the Defence Minister’s self-appointed military adviser.

As someone who espoused disarmament, his first test came during the Pokhran nuclear tests, which he welcomed. He shot off a letter to then US President Bill Clinton, attributing the tests to China being ‘enemy No. 1’, a slight that riled Beijing no end. Later, his good friend, then Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh, had to go to China to make amends and state that China was not a threat to India. Fernandes’ sympathy for the Tibetan cause was undiluted, especially as the Dalai Lama and actor Richard Gere were frequent visitors to his Krishna Menon Marg bungalow. During the Kargil war, he protected the Army high command from Opposition attacks on intelligence lapses and made 35 visits to Kargil during the 90-day skirmish. He played a stellar role in the implementation of the Kargil Review Committee report, especially on defence modernisation and improving the living conditions and allowances of soldiers.

For Fernandes, it was ‘soldier first’. The highest battlefield, Siachen, became his datum. Every Christmas, cakes baked in his home town Mangalore were taken by him to Siachen, which he visited as many as 18 times. When the supply of snow mobiles was delayed, he despatched defaulting bureaucrats to Siachen to feel the hardship and pain of soldiers at 20,000 ft. He never left room for the service chiefs to complain and never interfered in the working of the promotion boards, allowing the chiefs full autonomy. In 2000, he launched the concept of a limited war under the nuclear overhang to combat Pakistan’s role in cross-border terrorism.

Fernandes had his share of alleged scams — the Tehelka sting operation, Barak missiles and Coffingate. It was his idea to hand over the bodies of soldiers to their kin in imported-from-US aluminium coffins (allegedly overpriced) instead of cremating them in the battle zone. He had to temporarily step down and his portfolio was taken over by Jaswant Singh till he was cleared of the charges. Under his watch, then Navy Chief, Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat, was dismissed for disobedience of government orders, which the latter claimed in court were ‘unimplementable’ according to the Navy Act.

Though spartan in habits, George saab was a great host who never discouraged good use of make-happy beverages. As he was a teetotaller, his gifts would be sent to Jaswant Singh. The modernisation of his ‘frayed kurta’ wardrobe kept pace with the modernisation of the soldier. On a visit to Vietnam, he crawled through the secret Cu Chi tunnels used by Viet Cong, to the surprised delight of his hosts. As the Defence Minister, he was twice strip-searched in the US, for which the American administration offered apologies. But it was water off a duck’s back as he had been through worse treatment during the Emergency. George saab lived a full life. His role as a popular and weighty Defence Minister has not been acknowledged commensurate with his contribution to improving the soldiers’ lot.

Lt Gen Kamal Davar (retd)
First chief of India’s Defence Intelligence Agency

Could anyone imagine a firebrand trade unionist, anti-Emergency crusader, a genuine socialist with an unkempt appearance and no known background in security matters fitting smoothly into the challenging portfolio of India’s Defence Minister? Then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who surprised the nation by appointing George Fernandes as the Raksha Mantri, would have been himself pleasantly taken aback at the latter’s transition from a fiery politician of the streets to a minister at home with the spit and polish of the armed forces. A key member of Vajpayee’s Cabinet, it was during his tenure that the 1998 nuclear tests were conducted and the nation successfully fought the Pakistan-sponsored Kargil war in 1999.

As a follow-up of the post-Kargil war defence reforms, I had the privilege to raise the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) in 2002 and thus interacted with him frequently as his principal military intelligence adviser. He was an uncommon individual who rose above bureaucratic advice and respected the legitimate aspirations of the three services.

On March 6, 2002, a day after the gazette notification on the DIA was issued, I went to the Defence Minister’s office for a courtesy call. He promised me all assistance to raise the DIA speedily and effectively. And he kept his word.

His senior staff would tell me that he would read our analyses, especially the Quarterly Intelligence Analyses, which was the last document he went through before going to sleep. He was always well-informed and greatly appreciated intelligence inputs from the DIA. He would ask piercing questions and, unlike most politicians, who are only interested in electioneering, he was the quintessential professional Raksha Mantri with a wide vision, well-versed in history and geopolitics.

Fernandes was well known to a large number of political leaders around the globe. They admired his straight talk. This was evident when I accompanied him to the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. The US delegation led by their Secretary of State and other high-ranking officials had called upon him to request the Government of India to exercise restraint and not mount operations against Pakistan during the Operation Parakram phase. He did give them a piece of his mind, highlighting Pakistan’s incessant terror acts against India. At a formal dinner at the Singapore President’s palace, he complimented me, dressed in my blue patrols, saying, “General, you are looking dashing.” He appeared immensely pleased when I said: “Sir, I better be as I am accompanying the Defence Minister of India!”

He made countless visits to Ladakh and the Siachen Glacier units to interact with the jawans. He would say that he always felt rejuvenated meeting the soldiers. He had earlier ordered his AC room-ensconced bureaucrats to visit Siachen to see the difficult conditions in which the soldiers were operating.

On my farewell visit to his office, he joked, “How can you retire?” I told him, “Sir, we all have to superannuate when we are 60.” I carried with me a classified four-page letter recommending the steps the government must take to sharpen our arsenal and intelligence. He speedily glanced through the letter and said, “General, we had all unanimously decided to establish the institution of the Chief of Defence Staff, but PM Vajpayee changed his mind twice.” Fernandes felt that Vajpayee’s powerful National Security Adviser (NSA) and Principal Secretary Brajesh Mishra was largely instrumental in making the PM change his mind.

Easily one of India’s finest Defence Ministers, Fernandes was unlike the common rung of politicians. All those who interacted with him admired him for his commitment to national security.

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 1

While the nation is in a patriotic frenzy over airstrikes against Pakistan, the Haryana-based family of Punjab Police Inspector Hari Ram— who achieved martyrdom in the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war at the Jammu frontier — has been awaiting land compensation for more than five decades.

The trouble in this peculiar case is that none of the three states — Punjab, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir — owns up the martyr. The Army and the paramilitary forces too have expressed helplessness in the matter as the martyr was not part of their force.

His son Varinder Kumar Saini, who runs an electrical equipment repair shop in Tohana in Fatehabad district of Haryana, is struggling to get the compensation.

He says his father Inspector Hari Ram was posted with the Punjab Police before Haryana came into being. In 1965, he was with the Third Battalion which was called to the Jammu frontier to defend the border against Pakistan invasion. At that time, the Border Security Force (BSF) was yet to be raised and policemen assisted the Army on the border. “My father achieved martyrdom in the Chhamb sector in Jammu. My mother was given pension and compensation by the Punjab Government and monetary compensation by Jammu and Kashmir.”

However, some state governments gave land to the Indian Army soldiers prompting the martyr’s family to apply as well. Saini says their residence fell in Haryana after reorganisation of Punjab. But the Haryana Government refused to acknowledge him as a state resident.

When he moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, he was asked to approach Punjab too. However, the Punjab Police headquarters gave him a shocking reply that there was no record available about his father’s service with the Punjab Police. A letter written to him by the DGP office said the Third Battalion of Punjab Police was merged with the Central Reserve Battalion Force (CRPF) and the record of all men was handed over to the CRPF. The CRPF in its reply said they don’t have record of the martyr or other men from the Third Battalion.

Meanwhile, the government of J&K said it was the duty of the parent state to provide land in compensation. Saini cited examples of soldiers who were given land by the Haryana or Punjab governments, saying he had been denied the benefit as his father was not a soldier but a policeman. Officials with the police department of Punjab and Haryana said they had replied to Varinder Saini on the status of the case and had nothing more to add.

The case

Inspector Hari Ram achieved martyrdom in the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war at the Jammu frontier. His son says Hari Ram was posted with the Punjab Police before Haryana came into being. In 1965, he was with the Third Battalion which was called to Jammu to defend the border against Pakistan invasion.