Since decades, our soil has been moistened by the blood of our soldiers. A terror state unleashes its wrath time and again and vows to bleed us with a thousand cuts. Thousand cuts, which have now run into millions. Countless soldiers lost, mothers left childless, wives left alone, and children who have had to grow up never knowing why their father was taken so early.

Here’s an interview with a soldier who shed his blood so we can sleep safe. A soldier who tells us what it might take to tame the beast.

I spoke to Major Gaurav Arya, who served with 17 Kumaon Regiment from 1994 to 1999. He was posted in Rajasthan, Punjab, Tibet border, and Jammu & Kashmir. In J&K he operated along the Line of Control and was also involved in anti-terror operations.

My questions are in bold, though it’s the answers that are actually bold:

It is said that every government comes to power thinking that they can solve the Kashmir issue and the Pakistan conundrum. And somehow, every government fails. Why do you think that is?

See, there are certain facts about Kashmir which people in the opposition don’t know about. And when they come to power and are properly briefed by the intel agencies, then they realise it is not so simple. Solving Kashmir requires using immense political capital in the country, and anybody who wants to solve the Kashmir problem will have to withstand a lot of international pressure and will have to project India as a strong power.

I was recently in Kashmir and almost for a week. I was in Srinagar and I spoke to people on the road. All of them, irrespective of whether they are happy with India or not, said they were not happy with the state of affairs. But the problem is that for a small problem like the roads in Srinagar, which is very much a state subject, people blame the central government because for everything they have been taught to blame the central government. “har cheez dilli ki saazish hai“.

Now coming back to your question, there should be an intent to take hard decisions. For example, the central government has to bypass the Hurriyat. Hurriyat is an umbrella body which was created under Pakistani guidance to unite the separatists. They have not been elected by anybody. The government also has to take hard action against stone-peltors. You must have seen videos of our jawans being beaten. I spoke to CRPF and it is very disheartening why this happens with the CRPF and not the Indian Army.

They tried stone pelting with the Indian Army in two operations. In one, Major Dahiya was martyred. They tried again. And the third time, the Indian Army shot three “protestors”. Now the Indian Army does its operations and nobody comes in between. Now as callous as it may sound, the problem is that the Kashmir problem and this stone pelting has been highly intellectualised by the left-leaning liberals. They peddle this entire narrative of victimhood which is imaginary. You ask a man in Kashmir, “azadi milegi to kya karoge” (what after aazaadi?), he doesnt know. It is just something which is now too big to be questioned and that is mainly because the successive governments in 30-40 years have not had a concrete policy.

Do you endorse the use of force then?

See, when you establish the writ of the state, you have to use force. All the 5 permanent members of the UNSC are not members who are known for their perfect human rights record. We might think human rights makes the world go round, but they don’t. What makes it go round is economy and military might. We can’t take of one Kulbhushan Yadav, we can’t declare Pakistan a terror state or take hard decisions in Kashmir and we want to be the 6th member of UNSC! Who will take you seriously? It takes iron in the soul.

You brought out a great disparity in the functioning of the CRPF and the Army. You mentioned how they pelt stones at the CRPF but the Army did what it had to do and now they conduct their operations without hindrance. Why do you think the CRPF is not given the same latitude as the Army considering the anti insurgency operations are the same?

Well, when the Army functions, it functions under AFSPA. Army has certain constitutional protections which the CRPF doesn’t. The CRPF functions with the state police. For example, if there is a problem in Kashmir and the Army is called, they are not answerable to the Chief Minister or any politician. It assesses the situation and takes necessary action.

Today you see videos of a soldier armed with an AK47 being slapped by a Kashmiri youth. That itself tells you that they are under immense pressure not to react. I spoke to a young Kashmiri in Srinagar and asked him “patthar kyu phenkte ho? Darr nahi lagta?” (Why do you pelt stones? Aren’t you afraid of the consequences?) He said “kya baat kar rahe hai sahab, CRPF ki himmat thodi hai kuch karne ki, hum to unke muh pe thuk ke chale jaate hai” (What are you saying!? CRPF doesn’t have the courage to do anything, we even spit at their face and come back). And this fellow will never try this with an Indian Army soldier.

The problem is with the leadership. The Indian Army is led by General Rawat. 30 years back, he was a second lieutenant in the Gorkha Rifles. He has seen the ground reality. He owes loyalty to that institution. The problem with CRPF is that most of their top management is imported. These are IPS officers. If you are senior enough, you can become DG of CRPF. They might not have seen one day of Kashmir or any sort of counter insurgency operations. And they lead a force that is heavily involved in counter insurgency and internal security operations.

So basically, CRPF is being used as fodder by our political dispensation?

No. They’re being used as a punching bag to absorb Kashmiri anger. On 5th of April, a CRPF column was moving and they were given a school to stay in without any facilities. That’s typically how CRPF is sent in any place. There is one assistant sub inspector (ASI) who was about to retire. This ASI, because of the lack of light and stair railings, he fell down and he died. Nobody knows about it. We know 8 stone pelters were killed. How many CRPF men were killed?

Now I’ll tell you something and I insist you include this in the interview:

Today CRPF and JK police cannot be treated at civil hospitals in Srinagar because as patients they are assaulted in OPDs and ICUs. Put this down and say Major Gaurav Arya said it. I will stand by it. So they come to an Indian Army run hospital. I’ve met them. I’ve spoken to them. Doctors refuse to treat them in Srinagar because they get threatened. This is happening and CRPF is taking all this. My only fear is someday a CRPF soldier will snap because how much humiliation can a soldier take?

I’m so shocked by what you have told me, I have almost forgotten my other questions. Because none of this ever comes up in research. None of this is ever spoken about by the Media.

Media doesn’t talk about this because they want a (sound)bite from SA Geelani. They practice Dal Lake journalism. They’ll go to Dal Lake, sit on a shikara exchange sher-o-shayari and talk about Human Rights.

I’m not saying there should be no Human rights. Any soldiers who crosses the line should be put in jail. But at the same time, soldiers have human rights too. Over 3500 soldiers (estimation) were in the hospital after Burhan Wani. But the media won’t talk about them. These people are expendable.

There was a Pakistan Senate Committee report which was basically a doctrine of alternate warfare. It went to the extent of shifting the blame of radicalisation in Kashmir to anything other than Pakistan. We see that in India too. From beef to Yogi Adityanath are blamed for it. How does the state deal with such 5th column information warfare?

The problem is people in India who end up forwarding this narrative view Kashmir from the eyes of Karan Johar. This radicalisation in Kashmir started in 1989-1990 with a terrorist group called JKLF. Then there were other groups, LeT, JeM, Hizbul Mujahideen, etc. All these names are Arabic. There isn’t one group with a Kashmiri name.

The identity of the Kashmir “struggle” is now not Kashmiri but Islamic. They will never raise the Kashmir flag. They’ll use either the Pakistan flag or ISIS flag.

Pakistan wants to twist India’s neck.

So what can India do to combat the information warfare? When the PM raised Balochistan from the ramparts of Red Fort, we had an entire section say “Balochistan is not our business. Let’s focus on Kashmir” without realising how important Balochistan is for India.

We need to have a narrative which is missing right now. We keep saying “Kashmir is an integral part of India”. Stop saying it. Of course it is. So is PoK. But what is the narrative? You see some Kashmiri websites that spread poison. And The Hindu, TOI, etc, some of their Srinagar correspondents write neutral pieces in their newspaper with a tilt towards separatists but in their own Facebook pages, what they write is absolute treason. They take an image of a child killed in Syria and present it as a child killed in Kashmir.

The Pakistan supporters need to realise. We use platoon level weapons. Pakistan uses F16 fighter jets on its own people in Waziristan. Kashmir banega Pakistan? Ye saare bill main ghus jayenge.

Captain Tushar Mahajan was martyred because he wanted to save hostages from terrorists. He went inside and got killed. If it was the American Army, they would have blown up the building. We lost Tushar. We lost Captain Pawan Kumar. They were kids. They don’t realise the lengths the Indian Army goes to in order to avoid collateral damage. We care because Kashmir is ours. Its people are ours.

When narrative building is so important, why is our army so opaque when it comes to interacting with civilians. I have tried to find books etc to educate myself, but could hardly find any. Why is there this disconnect? Why aren’t civilians communicated with about the ethics and operations of the Armed Forces like may be the USA?

Nehru and his cabinet, except for Vallabhbhai Patel, was of the opinion that we don’t need the armed forces after Independence. What we need is a police force. So, the budget was cut to a point where we suffered a debacle against China in 1962. So these people have continuously devalued and humiliated the army, which is why the Army is a very shy institution. Army psychology is ‘do your job and shut up’. The army is under the civilian dispensation. But serving officers can’t be shown on camera. So it’s people like me, Gen. Bakshi etc. who try our best to educate civilians.

You are right. There is very little literature available about the Army. And it needs to change.

Ok. So coming back to Kashmir, you also said we have to by-pass the Hurriyat. But successive governments have given them special privileges. Apparently, in 2013, Asiya Andrabi was flown to Delhi in a special flight to speak to Sartaz Aziz. Regardless of the ways in which the current dispensation is trying to bypass them, somehow, even this government hasn’t revoked their state privileges. Why do you think that is?

Nupur, the problem is these are imaginary fears in our mind. Because the Hurriyat since decades has been projecting itself as the true representative of the Kashmiris. So, it’s always a notion that we can’t offend the Hurriyat warna azaadi ke naare aur bhuland ho jayenge (if we offend Hurriyat, separatist demands will become stronger), which is not true. I don’t know what these think tanks are advising the government!

You have repeatedly said that the political class needs to give the Army 3 days with respect to Kashmir and Pakistan and the issue will be solved. But there is a section of people who think that any sort of military retaliation in heavy measure will lead to unprecedented escalation that in turn might result in a Nuclear winter because we are dealing with rogue state, Pakistan. How do you think we should deal with the escalation that might happen if Army is given a free hand?

Have you seen Sholay?

Yes

There is a character called Veeru who gets drunk on goes on the water tank saying “basanti se shaadi karwao warna main mar jaunga“. The Veeru effect is Pakistan’s schizophrenia.

We are also a nuclear power. They attacked us in Kargil. What happened? Nothing. They fund Kashmir unrest. What happened? Nothing. Because they know India won’t retaliate.

Similarly, we also know Pakistan wont retaliate. These are imaginary fears in our mind and Pakistan wants you to believe that there will be a Nuclear winter if India retaliates. These are called psychological ops. They want us to believe that they will strike even if we look at them. We did a surgical strike. What happened? The best Pakistan could do was say “janaab ye hua hi nahi“.

There are so many ways to militarily teach Pakistan a lesson.

There was an article in New York post on 31st March that spoke about how India may be rethinking its no-first-strike Nuclear policy. Is that true? And do you think that’s desirable?

See, when we say we have a no-first-use policy, it’s because we are looking at Nuclear weapons through the prism of Pakistan. This entire no-first-strike policy defies logic. Why should we tie our hands? Nobody will use Nuclear weapons but we must at least have an option on the table.

Okay. So how does the Cold Start Doctrine fit in if we throw the no-first-use Nuclear policy out of the window? After the Surgical strike, there were many reports in the Pakistani media of them hyperventilating about how India might be gearing up to put Cold Start Doctrine in motion. There were counterparts even in India spoke about it. Can you tell us what it’s about?

When the Indian Parliament was attacked, 9 of our bravehearts were martyred and we took exception to the fact that the fountain of our democracy was attacked. So India launched Operation Parakram. Almost 1 million armed personnel were mobilised to the border. Earlier the Army used to follow the Sundarjee doctrine. The holding and strike cores are based in 3 different locations. The cores are huge. When the time came for mobilisation to the border, these cores took more than 20 days to reach the border. By that time, Gen. Musharraf already went on television and regretted the attack. In war, you need to be quick. Indian Army delayed it and suddenly the justification for war was zero.

The Indian Army then went and started the process of learning. They analysed old battles and they wanted to reduce the time from 21/22 days to 2 days. They studied everything from Hitler’s blitzkrieg and specially the Israeli-Arab war of 1965. Then they came up with the Cold Start Doctrine, which can slingshot Indian army into high intensity war at blinding speed.

The basic idea of Cold Start was this : Pakistan has a nuclear threshold. A point after which they will deploy. Cold Start was designed in a way that before Pakistan thinks of deploying Nuclear weapons, the war will be over and we occupy 70-80 km of Pakistan territory. This hammer is with the government. It’s like the hammer of Thor. They have to understand when it should be deployed.

There was this news of Pakistan planning to declare Gilgit – Baltistan as its 5th province. What steps should India take to counter if Pakistan goes ahead and does it?

Gilgit-Baltistan is from where the CPEC (China–Pakistan Economic Corridor) enters Pakistan. China has apprehensions about investing in CPEC that starts from a place which is not even Pakistan’s. My view is, if Pakistan wants to declare Gilgit-Baltistan as its 5th province, they should go ahead. What India will do then is, abrogate article 370, get rid of the Kashmiri flag and we send the Indian Army to Srinagar. If they say Gilgit-Baltistan is a part of so called “Azaad Kashmir”, it has its own constitution and political establishment. So even the separatists in Srinagar should condemn this move. Now if they don’t do it, China, which can be compared to Shylock, will have a problem. It they do it, they will alienate the separatists and also invite Indian action. It’s all just Chinese pressure.

Now if we talk about South East Asia dynamics, there’s obvious camaraderie between Pakistan and China. But there is also increased camaraderie between India and Afghanistan and India and Balochistan. In this situation, what role do you see India playing in Afghanistan and Balochistan because both along with India is putting pressure on Pakistan?

I think it will get interesting once Chabahar port is fully operational; once India has access to Afghanistan. Our handle in Afghanistan is if we build something North West of Pakistan. We build friends. We arm those friends. And we invest in Afghanistan so we can pressure Pakistan.

Pakistan is always skeptical because Pakistan is a very narrow country and it does not have space to fight a war and hence it looks for strategic depth. So Pakistan creates groups like Jindolla for Iran, Tehrik-e-Taliban in Pakistan and Haqqani network for Afghanistan, and for India it tries its stunts in the Khalistan movement, Kashmir etc. So, since it does not have the land to fight a war with India or other enemies it seeks to build influence, fifth column and insurgency. Today Pakistan can say that if India plans to attack through Kashmir, they will meet with a lot of resistance and stone pelting, which may not be true because when the Army moves there is generally no resistance.

As far as Balochistan is concerned, it was an independent country even before India and Pakistan. It deserves to be free. And they are also a perfect counterpoint for us as far as Kashmir is concerned. But we most give political sanctity to Balochistan. Simply going on the ramparts of the Red Fort won’t help. On ground, Indian embassies and high commissions throughout the world should hold seminars on 27th March, the day Pakistan invaded Balochistan. We should also help them in infrastructure in various countries. For example, India can fund a small building in Washington that can be called the Balochistan House. Let people ask questions. Let it have the Balochistan flag.

So what you are saying is India needs to go beyond lip service and actually have political involvement in Balochistan?

Absolutely. Have a budget and in at least 15-25 main countries build Balochistan Houses which is manned by Balochistan people.

And give Mr. Bugti political asylum?

Yes. give Mr. Bugti citizenship, get him to Delhi, give him house and protection. India did it for the Dalai Lama. That time we were fighting against China and we weren’t the power we are today. If we could do it then, then why not now?

There were talks of whether India should send troops to Afghanistan. Can we discuss its implications and whether that would be in India’s best interest?

We can certainly discuss it. Finally, it has to be Iran that permits. If Iran permits we should have Indian troops in Afghanistan.

But then there was a lot of “aman ki asha” talks of how that is none of India’s business and we end up sending troops to Afghanistan then we can’t fault Pakistan and China for their aggression in Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, etc.

True. But here’s the thing, whether you send troops to Afghanistan or not, Pakistan and China will continue their aggression. There was no talk of Balochistan or Afghanistan when 26/11 happened or when Kargil happened. So Pakistan and China will do what they have to do irrespective of all this.

So according to you, if Iran permits, India should definitely send troops to Afghanistan and also help Balochistan in their fight for liberation politically and militarily. Did I get that right?

100%. We should give artillery guns and aircrafts to Afghanistan. Afghanistan men are being trained in India but we should train more of them. The more we get involved with Afghanistan, the more loyalty and friendship will be built in the long run. Simply spending money is not enough. Everyone takes Chinese money but nobody is loyal to China because loyalty can’t be purchased. We are loved in Afghanistan.

So you endorse this?

Absolutely. I endorse a foreign policy that is on the front foot. We should bat like Virender Sehwag!

What if someone says that allying with Afghanistan or arming them could be a mistake like that committed by the USA. Especially when you agree that Kashmir problem is now more Islamic than Kashmir.

Allying with Afghanistan has got nothing to do with the Kashmir policy. Further, we are not helping Afghanistan in any “Jihad” like US did. We need access to Central Asia, which is why we should be investing in Afghanistan. Also, it is good for us that Pakistan feels pressure of a hostile regime from its North West. It is about cornering Pakistan.

So diplomatically, why do you think our current political dispensation, which has a declared hard stand against Pakistan, failed to cancel MFN status, abrogate IWT, send the Pakistani ambassador packing and reduce ties to a consular level?

Well, they are learning about international power pressure. And I think much of it is connected to domestic politics. They might fear offending Muslims if they take steps against Pakistan though I don’t think Muslims in India care about Pakistan.

But then there is the disparity. The government of the day has passed a harsh amendment law to the Enemy Property Act, so clearly they are not scared about offending minorities or any religious section.

Yes. They are doing it and doing it aggressively. But except for the English Media, there isn’t too much discussion on these things. As I said, most governments tend to get stuck in domestic agendas.

So you are saying these issues are being put on the back burner because of electoral politics?

No. Not because of electoral politics. But our priorities are different. Narendra Modi can only be at one place at one time. USA prioritises international issues. I do think what Narendra Modi is trying to do is extremely good for the nation.

Israel actually enacted a law that punishes stone pelters with 20 years in prison. Its the kind of law that India has never even considered. Do you think a law like that would help?

Sure. But we don’t even need to put them in Jail for 20 years. Imagine a stone pelter who is 17-18 years of age. Give him 1 year in a jail in Tamil Nadu or Nagaland. India is so vast. Put them in different jails for a year where nobody understands them, their language, their culture. They’ll freak out. Let them not be in Kashmir. Don’t harm them. Just put them in one jail in Manipur.

The whole situation that is being built with Kulbhushan Jadhav being handed out the death penalty, do you think it’s in response to India cracking down on ISI rings in India? That Pakistan wants to drag the Indian army and the state to their level in the international community?

Yes. It is a little of that. But also that for a very long time the Pakistani people have been told by the Pakistan army that every problem in Pakistan is sponsored by India. They don’t have any proof. Mr. Jadhav had a valid visa for Iran. He was captured by the local Taliban and handed over to the ISI. Now suddenly Pakistan had something to beat India with. They have handed the death penalty to Mr. Jadhav because they need something to show their own people as proof of India creating trouble in Pakistan. The Sunni jamaat kills Shias in Pakistan. The snakes they reared are killing each other. And all this is blamed on India but even their people had started asking questions.

This is why I asked, because the Pakistan PM has gone on record to equate Mr. Jadav’s capture to terrorism.

It doesn’t matter what he says. He probably spoke from the brief from Rawalpindi. They captured one guy from Iran, and beat him into giving a confession. Give me one Pakistani and he’ll confess to being a hologram from Russian satellite!

Final segment sir. At the end of your entire interview, once the aman ki asha gang has read it, their standard response will be that this is hyper-nationalism. What do you say to people who term your sentiments are hyper-nationalism and draw a distinction between nationalism and hyper nationalism?

They’re right. I am a proud hyper-nationalist. For me my country comes first irrespective of what happens. I am committed Hindu but when it comes to the nation, it is beyond religion. I am an ultra-nationalist. I have a belief. And for my belief I am willing to shed blood.

The liberals should tell me, what are they willing to do for their belief. I have picked up the gun and a pen for my belief. From violence to debating, I have done everything to uphold my belief because for me, my country is god.

Yes. I am a hyper nationalist and I am proud. This is my commitment. I can shed blood for my commitment.

And what do you say to the people who endorse and propagate views similar to yours but are told to pick up the gun and join the army if they are such nationalists. The sacrifice is done by the army, so civilians have no right to demand strong military action against Pakistan?

They’re wrong. It’s not just the nationalist civilians who say this. The army itself says there should be a strong military reaction. I as an Army person have been injured and have seen my brothers die. We want peace. But we want peace with honour.

The people who are on the path to martyrdom are saying they want a free hand to solve the Pakistan problem. The Army understands the consequences. Our ideology is India.

So the hyper-nationalists who don’t have the gumption or courage to pick up the gun, have the right to assert…

You are not allowed to pick up the gun. The army doesn’t have so many vacancies. The army is not a tourist spot. If tomorrow Nupur says she wants to go join the Army, she might not be accepted. Your talent may lie somewhere else. But it’s the civilian’s feeling that counts. You think the Army will allow your group of friends to go fight in Kashmir even if you want to? This is liberal silliness. The Indian Army is not Nainital.

They say if we go to war, the nation should be prepared to absorb the costs. Human and economical. Do you think it’s worth it?

Of course it’s worth it. Why do you have an Army then? But why are we talking of war? We are talking of war because there was a Pathankot, a Nagrota, a 26/11, a Yadav, a Uri. Ask these liberals, what do they want us to do? Ask these intellectuals if we should send another bouquet of flowers? If Pakistan’s question is military, shouldn’t our answer also be military? Mr. Vajpayee went with good intentions of friendships, behind his back they were climbing the peaks of Kargil. What did we do to invite that? What did we do to provoke a 26/11?

So you are saying it’s better to rip the bandaid off?

Absolutely. They are Alice in Wonderland. Even I want peace because I’m the first to die when there’s a war. But peace is the end result of war. War does not care whether we agree with it or not. I don’t want war, but Pakistan will not allow me to live in peace.

On that note sir, I would like to conclude this interview. I thank you. It was an honor and a privilege.

Major newspapers and publications refuse to publish articles by Major Gaurav Arya. They want him to tone down the truth which he refuses to do. I personally am honored to have had the opportunity to interview him. Jai Hind.

India won’t release dozen prisoners scheduled for repatriation

In this March 2016 photograph, Pakistani journalists watch a video claiming K Jadhav to be a spy. AFP

Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 10

Tensions between India and Pakistan today escalated once again after Pakistan sentenced Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav to death on charges of espionage and sabotage activities.Infuriated, India summoned Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit, saying if Pakistan carried out the sentence, India would view it as a case of “pre-meditated murder”.India requested consular access to Jadhav 13 times between March 25, 2016, and March 31, 2017, but it was never granted. India has acknowledged Jadhav to be a retired Navy officer but refuted the allegations of him being a spy, pointing out that if that was the case, he would not be holding an Indian passport.India said if Pakistan went ahead with the sentence, the people and the government of India would regard this as a case of pre-meditated murder that had been “awarded without observing basic norms of law and justice”.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)Calling the proceedings against Jadhav “farcical”, the government, in a strongly worded demarche, said: “The proceedings that have led to the sentence against Jadhav are farcical in the absence of any credible evidence against him. It is significant that our High Commission was not even informed that Jadhav was being brought to trial.”Earlier in the day, a press release issued by the Pakistani military said Jadhav had been found guilty of “espionage and sabotage activities” and sentenced to death. The order was signed by Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.Sources in the Home Ministry confirmed after today’s development, India decided not to release about a dozen Pakistani prisoners, who were to be repatriated on Wednesday.Amnesty International’s South Asia Director Biraj Patnaik said: “The death sentence shows yet again how Pakistan’s military court system rides roughshod over international standards… Amnesty opposes the death penalty at all times.”Sources said Jadhav was a businessman who carried cargo to and from Iranian ports bordering Pakistan and was subsequently kidnapped by Pakistan in March last year. Later, Pakistan released his alleged video confession and held it up as proof of India’s involvement in the Balochistan province.He’s no spy: Delhi

• Kulbhushan Jadhav was ‘arrested’ in Balochistan’s Chaman, near Afghanistan border, on March 3, 2016
• India acknowledges Jadhav is a retired Indian Navy officer, but not a spy
• Pakistan claims he is a serving officer and works for India’s Research and Analysis Wing
• It claims he holds an Indian passport under assumed name ‘Hussein Mubarak Patel’ and an Iranian visa

Donald Trump feels he had no choice but to launch air strikes on Syria — but the balance of power on the ground has not changed

A protest against the US air strikes on Syria, in Los Angeles.

On April 7, US Navy’s Guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) fires a tomahawk land-attack missile in the Mediterranean Sea. The US Defence Dept said it was a cruise-missile attack on Syria  Reuters/AFP

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

SO did Bashar al-As   sad use gas? The Russians must know. They are in the air bases, in the ministries, in the military headquarters. And if they say the Syrians did not use gas, then they had better be sure. The Russians had advance warning of Trump’s 59 Cruise missiles. Many hours of warning – not the one hour that Washington claims – and would have ensured that Syrian jets were way out of the air base. Russians are not to be killed in the Syrian war; their presence would have meant casualties.Did the Syrian army, a trifle arrogant, perhaps, after their capture of eastern Aleppo decide to try to bring the war to an end in a quick way? The question must be asked. In the past, villages in which army officers lived — and in which their families lived — have been gassed. The Syrians blamed the Turks for giving the gas to Jabhat al-Nusra, the Al-Qaida affiliate in Syria, and Isis. The Russians said earlier gas attacks on Damascus used chemical components shipped via Turkey to Syria from Libya. Ever since World War I, when gas made its appearance at Ypres — and in Gaza, when it was used by General Allenby’s forces on the Ottoman Turks — chemical weapons have exerted a horror which even Hitler did not dare visit upon the Allies. But what did Saddam do? He used chemical weapons upon the Kurds at Halabja; indeed, his voice could be heard describing it in the Baghdad court after he himself was hanged. But would Syrian troops use such weapons against their own people?The pictures seem to be decisive. Terrifying. Ghastly. But we must also remember the 250,000 civilians of eastern Aleppo, who became 150,000 and then 90,000. The Syrian war has become the most poorly reported conflict in the world. How many dead has it caused? 400,000? 450,000? Or 500,000, the latest figure. How do we complete the figures for death by gas? To believe the Syrian government? When the last gas attack in Damascus took place, the UN, in a brief paragraph in the middle of their subsequent report, said that the chemical shells had been “compromised” by being moved between different locations.But then we come to the Russians. They underwrote the Syrian removal of all gas weapons. They saved Obama’s pitch after he had threatened — and then withdrew — the warning of an air attack on Syrian chemical weapons. Now the Russians have seen what Trump will do when he believes (if he does believe) the use of gas attacks. And the Russians, so I’m told, knew all about the US raid – and long before it occurred. Would they really have left any Syrian aircraft on the airbase? Would they have left any such weapons at the runway? Or in hardened bunkers?In reality, the US attack on Syria says more about Trump-Putin relations than about America and the Middle East. That’s a problem for Rex Tillerson to work out. And Bashar al-Assad, of course. Be sure, the phone calls between Damascus and Moscow will last long into the night.

The Independent

LATEST OFFERING To release on April 8, book on Battle of Saragarhi tells the story of heroics of 21 soldiers of 36 Sikh Regiment

Battle of Saragarhi should be included in the school curriculum in Punjab. This will help children and youth learn about the bravery of these soldiers. I will ask the department to look at this. And I am talking about the story, not my book. CAPT AMARINDER SINGH, CM

From page 01 CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh is planning to write a book on three decades of turmoil in the state.

The book will cover the period spanning the trifurcation of the state in 1966 when its troubles really began and till the end of militancy in 1992. “It’s going to be my last book. I have got all the facts and figures, but I will write it after I retire. Before that, I will write one on the 1971 military operations along with Lt Gen TS Shergill (retd),” Capt Amarinder, whose book on the Battle of Saragarhi is due for release on April 8, told Hindustan Times. He took over as the chief minister on March 16 after leading the Congress to a thumping victory in the state assembly polls.

Amarinder said he was involved in the situation from 1980 when (then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi) put him in charge, but later opted out. “Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale came up because of the failure of Akalis. If it had not been for the shortsightedness of Parkash Singh Badal on the Punjabi suba issue, we would not have been in the situation we are in today. It was the genesis of all troubles that the state faced,” he said before the conversation again veered to his latest book, “Saragarhi and the Defence of the Samana Forts”, on the bravery and valour of 21 soldiers of 36 Sikh Regiment (now 4 Sikh) in 1897-98.

Amarinder, a military historian and a former officer of Sikh Regiment himself, said the epic battle had not got the importance it deserved in the military history. “If you look at the military history, you will find many examples of ‘Last Stands’ in a battle at the last minute. But this is an example of collective body of troops who knew at the start of the battle that this was going to be the last day. There were 8,000 people in the front, but were told to hold their ground. If they wanted they could have got out, but stood their ground and fought valiantly,” he said.

The chief minister said he started writing the book two years ago and the Colonel of the Sikh regiment was kind to him to provide the digests of the battalions. “I also accessed material from the army museum in London. During the battle, Gurmukh Singh, who was the signaller at Saragarhi, was passing on signals to the fort. There were also first person accounts of men from Orakzai and Afridi tribes after a peace treaty took place in 1898,” he said.

Asked if this story of courage and determination of 22 men led by platoon commander Ishar Singh provided inspiration to him during his ‘last political battle’, the two-time CM said he was a platoon commander in his battalion and had often wondered how he would have reacted to such a situation. “In my view, Ishar Singh did a great job. And I have made a mention of this in the book,” he said. The 251-page book will be released in the 120th year of the Battle of Saragarhi.

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh with Lt Gen Surinder Singh, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, in Chandigarh on Monday. Tribune photo

The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, Lt General Surinder Singh, paid a courtesy call on CM Capt Amarinder Singh in Chandigarh on Monday and discussed issues of mutual interest pertaining to the state.The Army Commander highlighted the continued support given by the state government to the armed forces and veterans. He also underscored the initiatives taken by the armed forces towards the welfare of veterans and towards joint functioning in the field of security and disaster relief. 

COURTESY CALL

Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh during a meeting with Western Command chief Lt Gen Surinder Singh in Chandigarh on Monday.

Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 29

The last five years of the SAD-BJP government saw public debt increase by almost Rs10,000 crore every year. This was the time when then Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal made claims about ‘Progressive Punjab’.The outcome of the financial mess is that Punjab is now under debt of more than Rs1 lakh crore. A bigger worry is that around 60 per cent of the loans have to be paid in seven years.The Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) of India, in its report released today, called it an alarming situation.The report on the state’s finances said the total debt on Punjab was around Rs64,000 crore in 2011-12 and it swelled to Rs1.03 lakh crore in 2015-16. This means that in five years, debt shot up by Rs10,000 crore every year. During 2015-16, public debt increased by Rs16,377 crore.Another worry for the state government is nearing of loan deadlines. As per CAG, the state has to repay 58.51 per cent of its debt (more than Rs60,000 crore) in next seven years. The state government has to repay 18 per cent (Rs18,500 crore) of its debt in three years, 18 per cent (Rs18,500 crore) between three and five years, and 23 per cent (Rs23,367 crore) between five and seven years.“This is an alarming position and the state is heading towards a serious debt repayment position, especially when its major irrigation projects had accumulated losses of Rs1,600 crore during 2011-16 and the application of debt raised by the state government towards creation of new assets remained below 6 per cent of total expenditure during 2011-16.“The state needs to formulate a well-thought-out debt management strategy and step up resource mobilisation to ensure debt stability. Unless such efforts are made, the state would face serious debt servicing challenges, which could lead to a situation of debt trap,” the CAG observed.On reasons behind the financial mess, the CAG found that the state’s revenue expenditure increased more than revenue receipts in the past five years. As per the report, revenue receipts increased from Rs26,234 crore in 2011-12 to Rs41,523 crore in 2015-16 at an average annual growth rate of 8.86 per cent. But at the same time, revenue expenditure grew at an average annual growth rate of 8.95 per cent. The revenue expenditure includes salaries, pensions and interest repayment.“The revenue expenditure continued to constitute a dominant proportion (85 per cent to 95 per cent) of the total expenditure during 2011-16,” the CAG said.Jagbans Singh, Principal Accountant General (Audit), Punjab, said: “Earlier, Haryana was considered a much smaller economy than Punjab. But recent Budget figures of Haryana suggest that it is almost one-and-a-half times bigger than Punjab.”The capital expenditure decreased by Rs59 crore (1.89 per cent) over the previous year. “The capital expenditure incurred during 2015-16 was 62.98 per cent of budget estimates which indicates that asset creation was not given as much priority as intended in the budget estimates,” the CAG report observed.

Manpreet blames it on SAD ‘misgovernance’

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 29

“Dekhte hi dekhte kafila lut ta chala gaya;Hai sad afsos lutne walon ko bhi khabar nahi hui.”This poetic rendition was given by Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal as he described the poor fiscal health of the state while presenting the vote-on-account. He sought the permission of the House to okay the supplementary grants of Rs25,199 crore, the money spent over and above the Budget estimates for this fiscal.Calling the fiscal mess left behind by the previous Akali-BJP government as sheer misgovernance, he said he was appalled at how the government could be so off the mark in presenting its Budget estimates that Rs25,000 crore was spent over and above that. “Meri zubaan katti jave….but these people (pointing towards the Opposition benches where the Akalis were seated) have left generations of Akalis in chains of slavery,” he said, adding that future earnings of the next five years of the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB), Punjab Mandi Board and several other government undertakings, had been hypothecated by the previous government with various banks.Though former Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa and Bikram Singh Majithia did try and defend his party’s government by saying that there was no illegality in spending funds, he was silenced by Local Bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, who said, “Tu na idhar udhar ki baat kar, bata karwan kyun luta.”He also accused the Akalis of doing “chori te seena zori”, when the Akali MLAs tried to scream against the tirade launched against them.Manpreet’s tirade against the previous government continued through most part of the session, who said: “Angrezan ne vi Punjab nu ihni buri tarhan nahin lutteya jiven pichli sarkar ne luttya hai (even the British did not plunder the state as was done by the previous government).”Manpreet said they were working to bring austere governance in Punjab. “No one will be spared… I have no choice,” he said, reiterating his government’s commitment to fix responsibility for the fiscal mess and to conduct a third-party audit of the PSPCL and the PIDB.For a change, if only for a brief while, Leader of Opposition HS Phoolka too supported the Finance Minister’s decision to bring a White Paper. He, however, insisted that the White Paper should cover the fiscal mess which had been created under different governments during the past 20 years.Sukhpal Khaira, too, supported him, saying the custodians of the treasury were the ones who looted it, and urged the Congress against making political appointments that would be a drain on the state exchequer.Congress MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa demanded that the government punished all, including the bureaucrats, who helped the previous government in cheer haran of Punjab.Manpreet, who presented the vote-on-account for Rs29,389 crore for the first three months of the next fiscal, beginning April 1, said that the White Paper on the state of economy was being prepared and it would be presented in the House during the Budget session. He sought the permission of Punjab Vidhan Sabha to consider and pass Rs29,389 crore.Other than this, the Vidhan Sabha passed the supplementary grants worth Rs25,199 crore (of which Rs6061.38 crore is on the revenue account), which is the amount that was spent over and above the budgetary estimates.

Bill on engaging law officers passed

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 29

The Vidhan Sabha today passed The Punjab Law Officers (Engagement) Bill 2017, which paves the way for engagement of law officers in a transparent and fair manner.Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh presented the Bill. Advocate General Atul Nanda was present in the House at that time. The Bill paves the way for appointing senior Additional Advocate General, Additional Advocate General, senior Deputy Advocate General, Deputy Advocate General, Assistant Advocate General and advocates on record.The bill says the number of law officers to be engaged under each category may be notified from time to time based on the assessment made by the government. This assessment will to be based on the number of courts, the number of cases and the number of officers already engaged.Of the total posts, 5 per cent have been reserved for district attorneys. Law officers on the remaining posts will be appointed after inviting advertisements. For this purpose, the government will form a scrutiny committee, which will forward applications to the selection committee headed by the Advocate General. The AG has been given the right to engage seven law officers on his own.The Bill also mandates that an advocate whose professional annual income for the past three years is up to Rs20 lakh can be engaged as a senior Additional Advocate General (he has to have 20 years of standing). The income criterion is Rs15 lakh for Additional Advocate General (designate senior having 16 years of standing); Rs10 lakh for senior Deputy Advocate General (14 years of standing); Rs7 lakh for Deputy Advocate General (10 years of standing); Rs3.5 lakh for Assistant Advocate General (three years of standing).

Sidhu tosses drug barb at Akalis

Chandigarh: Left without the leader of their party, Sukhbir Singh Badal, and SAD patriarch Parkash Singh Badal, Akali MLAs were forced to face the barbs directed at them from both the treasury benches and the Opposition benches occupied by AAP and its ally Lok Insaaf Party. The 16 MLAs of the SAD and the BJP (barring the Badals) were trounced by the other two parties over the financial condition of the state and the drug menace. It all began when Akali MLA NK Sharma began the debate, seeking CM’s clarification on a news report appeared in The Tribune on Wednesday regarding farmers being issued recovery notices by banks. “I want to know that if you have decided to get their debt waived, why farmers are being issued notices,” he said. Though CM Capt Amarinder Singh assured the House of expediting the matter, the MLAs on the treasury benches reacted sharply. Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu said: “For 10 years you were sleeping like kumbhkaran, you have no right to speak against us as our Cabinet does not sell chitta like you did.”  tns

Out on debt recovery, bankers held hostage

Two bank officials (sitting on chairs) detained by BKU activists at Raonta village in Moga on Wednesday. Tribune Photo

Kulwinder Sandhu

Tribune News Service

Moga, March 29

Two bank employees, including a manager, were today taken hostage for a few hours by activists of the BKU (Ekta) when they went to the house of farmers Gurjeet Singh and Gurpreet Singh, both brothers, at Raonta village here to recover a loan of Rs 10 lakh from their father, Tek Singh.Tek Singh told mediapersons that the bank officers threatened to arrest him, besides insisting on attaching his property even as their total credit limit was Rs 50 lakh.“We suffered financial losses in the last couple of seasons due to which we could not repay the loan,” Gurjeet Singh said. As the bank officials were sitting in their house, neighbours informed the local BKU activists, who reached the spot and detained the officials. They also raised slogans against them.The farm activists claimed that the government had asked the bank employees not to conduct raids on the houses of farmers for forcibly recovering the loan amount.Later, the bank officials assured the gathering that they would not visit any farmers’ house to recover loan, following which they were released. Bank official Chandan Kumar said both brothers had credit limit of Rs 25 lakh each and the total interest had accumulated to Rs 10 lakh in the past couple of years. “We issued several notices to them but they did not even visit the bank in the past two years,” he claimed.The bank is likely to declare them defaulters on March 31 and they went to their house to inform about it and request them to at least pay the interest amount

Improvement Trusts’ heads, trustees removed

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 29

To revamp a “collapsed structure” of local bodies, Local Government Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu removed chairmen and trustees of all 28 Improvement Trusts in the state.Now, administrators (DCs or SDMs) would head the trusts appointed by the government till further orders, he said.Sidhu said, “The work in local bodies was not specified. The deadlines were never met. There was no verification of the quality of work. A case in point is a Rs 6 crore work in Hoshiarpur that was sublet through illegal tenders.”The Improvement Trusts in the state are at Abohar, Amritsar, Barnala, Bathinda, Batala, Faridkot, Fazilka, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Kartarpur, Khanna, Kotkapura, Ludhiana, Malerkotla, Moga, Nabha, Nangal, Nawanshahr, Pathankot, Patiala, Phagwara, Rajpura, Ropar, Samana, Sangrur and Tarn Taran.The minister said, “An agency from outside Punjab will audit the quality of works of the Local Government Department. Display boards will be installed outside the project sites, mentioning the name of the contractor, job specification, total cost of the project and the deadline.” This week, Sidhu said, the department would divulge action on the loopholes in the current system. “Preliminary findings have brought out that bills were made in the back date because projects were not completed on time. The department’s engineering wing will conduct surprise inspections and report.”

Power corp CMD resigns

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, March 29

Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) KD Chaudhri today resigned from the post, a day after the state government amended rules “to ensure that a technocrat is replaced with a bureaucrat” to head the Rs 26,000-crore company.The government is yet to appoint a replacement but the new CMD will face a daunting task to run the company which is under a heavy financial burden.Sources say that Chaudhri sent his resignation, through Secretary, Power, A Venu Prasad and vacated his office here today, following which the government asked Prasad to look after the functioning of the company.During Chaudhri’s tenure as the head of the company, the power sector in the state took drastic steps as “from a power-hungry state, Punjab turned to be a power-surplus state”. With the previous SAD-BJP government giving extension after extension to Chaudhri, the PSPCL ensured round-the-clock supply to all sectors from the past two years.Chaudhri was first appointed in June 2010 for a period of one year. Thereafter, he kept getting extensions. The PSEB Engineers Association, a faction of engineers within the PSPCL, was against these extensions. However, the state government continued to back Chaudhri.The Rs 26,000-crore company, as is claimed by the government, faces a debt of over Rs 25,922 crore and is managing its affairs based on loans.

Crackdown on stone crushers in Pathankot

Despite crackdown, iIlegal mining going on in Abaadgarh village (Pathankot). tribune photo

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Pathankot, March 29

The Pathankot administration, after identifying crushing units operating illegally, has ordered a crackdown.The noose has been tightened particularly against 42 stone crushers operating without the mandatory clearance of the Punjab Pollution Control Board and the PSPCL. To compound matters, these units are operating in river beds, violating the Punjab and Haryana High Court orders.“Owners of these units did not have pollution and electricity clearances yet they were operating because they were hand in glove with lower-level officials. They were the ones who had disturbed the already fragile ecological balance of the region,” said an official.People who have mining licences are elated. With the crackdown on unauthorised crushing units showing results and people no longer getting material from these, a heavy rush can be seen at the legal mining points which include Chak Ram Sahai (Gurdaspur) and Shan points (Madhopur). The owner of Guru Nanak Mines at the Shan point said the drive was paying dividends.However, despite the clean-up operation, some units are still operational like crushers in Abaadgarh village of Mirthal. “Crusher owners knew how to play cat and mouse with the administration and the police. The mining being done in Abaadgarh is a case in point,” said a police officer.“We supply material between Rs 135 to Rs 160 per tonne which are the rates decided by the government. However, crusher owners used to supply at a much higher price. Now, this is slowly coming to an end with the administration acting tough against unauthorised mining,” said a businessman who has mining rights.Pathankot Deputy Commissioner (DC) Neelima said action had been initiated against 15 out of 42 crushers. “We are taking action against others too after verifying the details,” she said.Balwinder Singh, Mining Officer, Pathankot, said 10 committees had been formed which had raided illegal points and stopped mining at Beria, Keeria and Narot (both on the Ravi river), Harial and Mirthal (on the Chakki river) and Anear (on the Beas).

Drugs case: Seven jailed for 15 years

Our Legal Correspondent

Ludhiana, March 29

The Court of Additional Sessions Judge Rajiv K Berry has convicted seven persons in a case of recovery of 1,43,28,400 intoxicant capsules, tablets and cough syrups without any permit or licence.They were also facing accusations of indulging in drug smuggling activities worth crores of rupees in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Himachal. They have been given 15 years of rigorous imprisonment each. They were also ordered to pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh each. Those convicted are Pardeep Choudhary, and Prithi Choudhary of Karnal (Haryana); Sukhraj Singh, Pawan Kumar Goyal and Parveen Kumar of Moga; and Pawan Kumar Malhotra and Sadhu Singh of Ludhiana.However, the court acquitted Puneet Kumar of Sangrur, Deepak Soni, Salem and Sukhdev Singh of Ludhiana finding no convincing evidence against them.Initially, an FIR was registered against three persons on September 19, 2013. During investigation, the police booked other accused. The police claimed to have recovered Parvon Spas capsules (8,65,000), Rexcof cough syrup bottles (1,400), Phenotil tablets (83,50,000), Microtel tablets (9 lakh), Avil injections (12,000) etc.

One teacher each in 1,170 schools

Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 29

The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) funds were released short by Rs1,362 crore during 2011-16, according to the CAG report tabled in the Assembly here today.The SSA is the primary vehicle for implementing the Right To Education (RTE) Act, 2009, and to provide useful and relevant education to all children in the age group of 6-14 years.Besides, 1,170 primary schools in the state are running with single teacher and 572 upper primary schools with less than three teachers, the report said.It also observed that inadequate planning and implementation was evidenced by lack of mapping of neighbourhood schools and data relating to children belonging to weaker sections and disadvantaged groups.The CAG found that only one set of uniform was provided against the required two sets during 2011-16.Besides, excess expenditure of Rs6.76 crore was incurred on purchase of books against the norms fixed by the Ministry of Human Resources and Development.Deployment of resource teachers was not related to the number of children with special needs and the nature of their disability. No norms were fixed by the state for deployment of resource teachers. No resource teacher was appointed in the state in cases of multiple disabilities, cerebral palsy, learning disability and autism spectrum disabilities resulting in deprival of resource support to 18,214 children suffering from these disabilities.The CAG observed that a performance audit of the implementation of the SSA for 2011-16 brought out lack of planning and deficiencies in both financial management and execution of the programme.

Capt Sukhjit Hara, MLA Vaid meet Amarinder

Capt Sukhjit Singh Hara (left) and Gill MLA Kuldeep Singh Vaid (right) with Chief Minister Amarinder Singh during a meeting in Chandigarh. A Tribune photo

Our Correspondent

Sahnewal, March 29

Captain Sukhjit Singh Hara, a close associate of Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, along with Gill constituency MLA, Kuldeep Singh Vaid, met the Chief Minister at his Chandigarh residence recently.They apprised the Chief Minister of various problems of Gill and Sahnewal. The focus of the discussion was Sahnewal airport which has almost been abandoned due to a meager number of flights.“I shared with Captain Amarinder Singh that Ludhiana based industrialists and business tycoons were facing a lot of problems. Foreign delegates reach Delhi but avoid visiting to Ludhiana for business meetings due to no flight connectivity. To finalise deals businessmen from Ludhiana have to go to Delhi, which is a major problem,” said Sukhjit Hara.While accusing the SAD-BJP led government he said “Akali government just believed in showing off. The last government spent a huge amount of money for the aerodrome but it was all futile,” he added.Kuldeep Singh Vaid also stated problems of drugs in his constituency. He made the Chief Minister aware about the number of ‘bastis’ in his constituency where drug menace was expected to be on higher side.Vaid told that if he is given assistance by the Chief Minister as well as proper coordination was maintained with the police and public, he would be able to do solve the problem of drug addiction. Hara said that the Chief Minister assured that he would take personal interest in solving the problems.

Illustration: Sandeep Joshi

On Wednesday evening, a ‘terrorist,’ armed with a knife, managed to break into the outer periphery of the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the British Parliament. He was shot dead, promptly and efficiently. But what was remarkable about the whole terrible incident was that there was no reckless rush among the British media to identify the deadly intruder. The nearest attempt was to suggest that the intruder was perhaps a person of “Asian origin.” It was only after two days of diligent investigation that the London police was able to declare that the dead man was born Adrain Russell Ajao but now used another name, Khalid Masood. There was a professional touch to this reticence.A similar professional calm was on display in Washington when the FBI Director, James Comey, was asked to testify before the House Intelligence Committee on the nature of the Russian involvement in the Trump campaign. Despite provocation from the Congressmen, the FBI Director did not say a word more or a world less, than needed to be said. He, instead, preached to the Congressmen that “the FBI is very careful in how we handle information about our cases and about the people we are investigating.” Cool as a cucumber, as they say. Such calm and professional styles stand in sharp contrast to how we do business in India. Within hours of an “incident”, our agencies whisper in the ears of this or that favourite newsperson the precise name of the Islamist organisation involved. Sometimes, even the seniormost politicos rush out to add to the clamour. It is not just agencies dealing with security matters that leak like a sieve but even the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate are forever telling the media about “incriminating documents” discovered after every “raid.”Often the objective is not to find the culprit but to use an incident to create a political narrative. The leadership in our agencies is obliged to understand the political masters’ requirements and fashion their investigation accordingly.Yesterday, a reader wrote to recall how the British police reacted in April-May, 1980, when some armed gunmen had stormed the Iranian Embassy in London and taken a number of hostages. The situation was brought under control after five days of siege. Our reader recalls that all that BBC reported was that the SAS men “disappeared into the thin air” after performing their rescue act.Our agencies have not appreciated the professional need to remain faceless, nameless; instead, we seek medals and media space. The Western media culture understands the need for secrecy. On the other hand, we have no qualms in besmirching people’s reputations and destroying hapless citizens’ lives.All this has not served our cause. The NIA, our premier agency, has heaped professional shame upon itself by changing its investigation goals after a change of government in New Delhi. Its professional reputation is in the mud. No neutral international observer is willing to accept our agencies’ presumed foolproof evidence against Hafiz Saeed. 

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IT was reported the other day that the Punjab and Haryana High Court disposed of a case of culpable homicide after 34 years and the accused, the dead man’s wife, walked free. Thirty-four years. What a shabby reflection on our presumed premier investigation agency. And, what a sad comment on our criminal justice system. Worse then Charles Dickens’ Bleak House. It also occurs to me that Chandigarh seems to be having a particular taste for murder. This week, we had this horrible case of Ekam Dhillon murder. What I find particularly abhorring is the deceased’s wife, mother-in-law, brother-in-law and friends calming cutting up the body and nonchalantly going about disposing of the pieces. And, then earlier, we had the Saketri village murder, on the outskirts of Chandigarh. Young men murderously settling scores over an alleged insult.Something seems to be going terribly wrong in our society. Too much anger, too much money, too much greed, too much prideful aggression, too little respect for law and its deterrence. No wonder we rank so low on the global happiness index. Maybe because all the social ‘reformers’ have become entrepreneurs, promoting dubious brands’ doubtful politicians; and, the so-called ‘cultural organisations’ are busy providing foot-soldiers for the never-ending electoral battles. The social order is becoming precarious and fragile. 

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ALL of us know a doctor — or rather have to know a doctor. At least, one if not more doctors. Because someone or the other we love — a daughter, a son, a grandchild, wife, husband, parents, in-laws, friends — falls ill or gets injured and needs medical attention and care. A doctor becomes ‘god’ in that moment of intense personal vulnerability. In India, as in any other society, all of us have strong views about doctors and hospitals. Each one of us can tell a long story — a tale of anger, frustration, satisfaction, exasperation — about an encounter with this or that doctor. Each one of us feels fleeced and short-changed after every visit to a hospital; sometimes we feel blessed having been healed by the magical touch of a surgeon or a perfect diagnosis. Rarely do we get to know or feel the need to understand as to what goes on in the doctor’s complicated universe — the imperfections in medical knowledge and care. That is where we must meet Atul Gawande, a US-based surgeon, public health activist, and writer. Over the years, he has produced a number of best-selling books. I find him fascinating not only because he is an engagingly brilliant writer but also because he opens the door and lets us in the mysterious world where a doctor often stands between life and death. He gives us a glimpse of the inherent nobility of the medical profession — the god-like gift and opportunity to save a human life. “Our decisions and omissions are moral in nature,” he writes in the introduction to his first book, Better.Gawande tells us that after all the advances in science and technology, the knowledge, the experience, the tools and the environment often prove inadequate: “The knowledge to be mastered is both vast and incomplete. Yet we are expected to act with swiftness and consistency, even when the task requires marshaling hundreds of people — from laboratory technicians to the nurses on each change of shifts to the engineers who keep the oxygen supply system working — or the care of a single person.”He is simply an excellent storyteller about his craft. Take for instance the chapter, entitled “Naked.” He talks about what the surgeon and the patient should wear at the time of examination. Practices and protocols differ from the United States to Ukraine to Venezuela, he tells us. Then, there is the ticklish question: should a nurse or chaperone be present when a male doctor examines a female patient? I recommend him to all my younger journalist colleagues. He displays to a perfection the writer’s basic skill: power of observation, to observe the details, to see patterns and then make the most technical topics into a very, very readable and accessible language. He forces us to understand the critical importance of such mundane chores as “on washing hands” or on “the Mop-up” after an operation.Or, the importance of making a checklist of things that need to be done by a doctor. “There are a thousand ways the things can go wrong when you have got a stab wound,” he writes about an emergency room experience, when the doctors had forgotten to ask the patient for the nature of the weapon. There is a larger, simple message in Gawade stories: irrespective of the field of activity, we need to understand: “what does it take to be good at something in which failure is so easy, so effortless.”

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OUR new rulers in Punjab seem to be determined to want to squander away their goodwill even before the honeymoon period is over. Drunk with power, perhaps. I do not know what they are drinking, but whatever it is, it certainly can’t be coffee.

kaffeeklatsch@tribuneindia.com

Several parts of Jagatjit Palace were closed after being ‘declared unsafe’

The ceiling of the drawing room of Jagatjit Palace in a dilapidated condition due to paucity of funds. Tribune Photo: Malkiat Singh

Rachna Khaira

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 28

While Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh recently proposed to set up two new Sainik School in the state, the one established in Kapurthala is on the brink of collapse due to paucity of funds.A majority of the Jagatjit Palace that houses the school were closed in the last one year after they were ‘declared unsafe’.Perturbed over the sad plight of the royal Jagatjit Palace, which was bought by the state government for Rs 16 lakh in 1961, the school authorities have now written to Capt Amarinder to come to their rescue.Though the state government in a Governors’ meet held in 1997 at New Delhi had agreed to sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Centre, it did not do so till date.School Principal Group Captain Shakti Sharma said as per the agreement, the Ministry of Defence was to frame rules and regulations of the school along with the admission policy and management, the state government was to provide a building and to release Rs 1.5 crore along with other constructional and infrastructural development funds.“The school was the third in the line of five Sainik Schools established in 1961 across the country. As the state government did not sign the MOA, we did not receive any dedicated annual grant. It was only last year that we received a grant of Rs 1 crore after 2012-13 but that too went away in clearing maintenance dues of the school accumulated all these years,” said Sharma.She said the only library established in Durbar hall of the school was closed on August 13 last year after its ceiling started collapsing.“As the school is established in a palace, it requires an enormous amount to maintain it. With no dedicated financial support from the state or the Central Government, we could not get the library repaired,” said Sharma.At present, around 618 students are studying in the school. The 12 hostels commissioned in 1963 are also on the brink of collapse and a majority of them have been declared unsafe.Cabinet Minister and Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjit slammed the SAD-BJP combine for the dilapidated condition of the heritage building and alleged that the Badal family wanted to grab the 200 acres sprawling palace to use it for commercial purposes. “They wanted to close the school and utilise the palace for hotel purpose,” alleged Rana Gurjit.He, however, said he would soon take up the matter with the Chief Minister and the Ministry of Art and Culture to get a national heritage status for Jagatjit Palace.