1965 War Wounded: A Day to Remember

1965: A love and war story which overcame handicaps
Arun Janardhanan, TNN | Oct 21, 2012, 03.03AM IST
CHENNAI: On a pleasant Saturday morning, Kamalam (70) held what remains of her husband K E Sherif's hand to guide him around the Officers Training Academy in Chennai. The couple joked and smiled, not showing a trace of the devastation the India-Pakistan war has had on their lives since 1965.

Sherif, then a 28-year-old jawan in love with Kamalam, lost both his arms below the elbow and both his eyes in a landmine blast while his battalion was crawling towards enemy posts near Sialkot. Incapacitated, Sherif decided not to marry, but Kamalam insisted that she would have a life only with him. On Saturday, Sherif, a father of three, was among the Army veterans brought together by the War Wounded Foundation in the city on Saturday.
"His was a miraculous escape, and I was fortunate to get him back alive," said Kamalam, "We were in love for two years. And then the war happened. Every one was against our marriage since I was a Hindu Malayalee girl and he a Tamil Muslim. But I would not leave his bedside as he was undergoing treatment." The two first met when Sherif, a friend of Kamalam's soldier brother, visited their house in Bangalore.
Despite Sherif's injury Kamalam insisted that they tie the knot.
Soon after the couple first met at the house of Kamalam's brother in Bangalore their romance bloomed. But, Sherif was called to the battlefield not too long after this. Though the 1965 war did not resolve the Kashmir conflict, Sherif proudly recalled his sacrifice for the country and appealed to the youth to join the Army.
He recalled that October night that plunged him into eternal darkness. "It was October 19. Six of us were crawling towards an enemy target in Sialkot, about 25km from Labore. Around 9pm, an air strike triggered a series of land mines near us. We were all believed to be dead. But all of us escaped, only I was severely injured," said Sherif, who lives in Coimbatore.
He was shifted to an army hospital in Jammu where doctors removed the mutilated parts of his forearms to save the rest of his body. Nothing could be done to save his eyes. As he underwent multiple surgeries for a year, Sherif knew life would never be the same again. He told Kamalam that their marriage was now not possible, but she would have none of it. Coming to know that Sherif was% recuperating in Coimbatore, she went there and convinced him to get married. They tied the knot in 1967.
Their 38-year-old son works for a soldiers' welfare board in Salem, while their two daughters are homemakers. The War Wounded Foundation brought together several such living martyrs of Independent India.Colonel (retd) T N Raman, convenor of the Tamil Nadu chapter of Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement said soldiers from all major combats including the Indo-Pakistan war of 1947, 1965 and the Indo-China war of 1962 gathered for the collective.
1965: A love and war story which overcame handicaps

1962 debacle and disgrace due to Krishna Menon's arrogance

Where was Shekar Gupta when Krishna Menon was having tea?
Dear Friends,
This piece is by Gp Capt A Bevoor, s/o late Gen Bavoor.
True the nation should know the truth about the part played by Pt Nehru, Krishna Menon, Mullick the Int guy and their minions which led to the debacle of 1962. Pity is, Chief Editors like Shekhar Gupta, who think they know everything in this world about everything, wilfully vilify the Generals and conceal the identity of and role played by the real perpetrators!!
People of his ilk are the ones who are supposed to tell the truth to the people of India!! The result is Indian leadership in the MOD and at large is learning nothing from the commemoration of 1962 War. Same situation prevails in South and North Blocks and in the Parliament.A sure recipe for next disaster. And the Generals will be blamed again!!
Just by making statements that 1962 will not be repeated is not the solution. Our political leadership, and the bureaucracy need to listen to the professional advice of Generals/ Admirals and Air Marshals and take action.
Harbhajan Singh
Lt Gen

From: A.G. Bewoor Date: Tue, Oct 16, 2012 at 4:45 PM
1. Forget about the Def Secy and Foreign Secy being shown the door, what about BN Malik Director IB. His outfit was singularly responsible for the crass negligence towards Chinese perceptions about the border dispute. The IB was full of arrogance and no one could override or disagree with BN Mailk. No politician had any idea what intelligence was. Nehru had the External Affairs with him, Menon was playing around with the Services. Who was willing to "listen carefully to the generals". I was but a lad in 1957/58 when father was Bde Cdr in Ambala under 4 Div commanded by Biji Kaul. 4 Indian Div (Red Eagle Div), of North Africa fame was busy building houses under OP AMAR, the project that reiterated that there was no danger to India's borders as envisaged by Nehru / Malik / Cabinet / Menon / bureaucrats. Many will not remember that our Ordnance Factories were producing coffee perculators / toasters / and other white goods. And writers have the gall to say that military leadership was the primary cause of 1962 performance? Naturally all the Brig John Dalvi's 7 Brigade had was toasters to throw at Chinese troops, and Menon was drinking tea in a restaurant named Laguna in Connaught Place, I have seen him there.
2. Blaming Thapar was easy, he was Chief. How come no one blamed Malik? Not even today. Reason is that blaming Malik means blaming Nehru and Gulzari lal Nanda. Comparing Ladhak with NEFA, Tawang / Walong sector is wrong. Gen Daulat Singh and his commanders remained who they were and Kaul could not interfere, because Daulat Singh would not take it, and Kaul knew it. But because Eastern Command was in Lucknow, 4 Corps was created in Tezpur, and Kaul took it over. What did he do to make East defendable since he was CGS? Nothing. He behaved like the CIGS, the I standing for Imperial. It is easy to crucify Pathania who was given 4 Div after removing Niranjan Prasad. What did Pathania have to fight with? What strategic / tactical orders did Kaul issue from Tezpur / Delhi / or his sick bed? What intelligence did Malik provide? Pathania had a history of gallantry, being a Military Cross + MVC. Not chota mota decorations. Powers in Delhi must have thought he will create miracles. But he was not the "baba" who was Mailk's guru. For years IB policemen swore that, and I quote freely as heard in late 60s, " when baba raised his hand, the Chinese stopped, and went back" Now it is upto those who can, to find out who was this baba. I saw him only once on board an AN-12.
3. There is also comment about supply drops falling into the hands of the Chinese and not Indians. It is true that this happened. On many occasions, by the time our Daks reached the DZ as indicated to Jorhat, Indian forces had withdrawn South. There being no contact between ground and aircraft, the drop went through as planned. The write up makes it sound as though inspite of all modern commn the drops were a big mess. In the West, it was different. Leh based troops were acclimatised. Open areas permitted photo recce, recall Jaggi Naths photos of Chinese troops. This was not possible in NEFA. Besides, many units fought well in NEFA, and units also failed in Ladhak. The IAF was held back for all sorts of reasons. Whether offensive air support could have been given successfully is a matter for debate given the primitive commn, lack of FACs, swift retreats, and no definable Front Line of Own Troops. That is not germane here.
4. Most surely our troops were badly kitted and poorly armed for mountain warfare. Look at it this way in 2012. If VK Singh can say that the civilian bureaucrats with their political masters have made the Army "nanga", and not one Indian is worried, the same situation prevailed in the late 50s with the very same interlocutors, Generals / politicians / bureaucrats. What is the difference, same difference. If a Chief threatens to resign today and tells Indians on TV prime time why he is resigning, who is bothered? Will any NGO, political party, Mamta, Mayawati, Thakery, Lallu, Jayalalitha make an issue. No way. So what impact would have resulted by resignations of Thapar, Sen, Thorat, Daulat, Engineer, Arjan, Jaswant, etc? In 1962 no one except maybe a few 100 people in Delhi would have known, Akaashvani would not have broadcast it. BN Malik would have frightened Nehru by calling it an attempted coup. Resigning is not the solution, never has been. Resigning is what Arjun wanted to do at Kurukshetra, I am not being dramatic, the story tells us that, and his adviser prevents him from doing so. The rest we all know.
5. Maxwell wrote well, much of what he says has merit. Lets not forget that Henderson Brooks was commanding XI Corps, Bhagat was his BGS, and Daulat was his Army Cdr. I am certain that at least one copy of the report is somewhere waiting to be found. Wonder why no journalist has pursued this? Gen HB could not have consigned everything to Army HQ / MOD. The military can prepare itself, troops / officers can be motivated, training can be done, equipment can be kept fully serviceable etc. But what does a military commander do with out of date fighting weapons? What does he do when his boys do not have even a OG jersey, not even angola shirts, forget great coats, mittens, woolen socks, high ankle boots etc. How does he ensure food when MOD has not sanctioned resources for setting up Rear Area Supply Zones.
MOD says not reqd, there is no danger from China, no funds will be given. Can the commander loot a granary? Yes, many unit / bde / Div cdrs / platoon cdrs failed, were overtaken by events, and every failed commander was sacked. Who was sacked from MOD, which politician resigned? There used to be Three Dy Def Ministers then, who resigned?
6. Now recall the very recent IPKF fiasco. Our troops were with SLRs against AK-47s. Our troops had no maps, poor intelligence, uncertain and conflicting orders, hastily gathered, all commanders were sure that it will end within a few weeks. This in 1987, exactly 25 years after Bomdi La, Se La, Walong, Chushul, Chip Chap etc. Are we doubting military leadership? But unit commanders were sacked. If I am correct more Indians died in Lanka than in 1962, I may be wrong. Once again, why did we intervene? This was not an adventure planned and conceived by generals of the Indian Army. The whole thing came out of RAW, MEA, PMO, with gung-ho inputs from Army Hq. Which MEA / PMO / RAW offical was dismissed? Many army guys went home.
7. There is a need for the 1962 battles to be explained to Indians thru TV. Anchors can take it up if Vadras, Khurshids, Gadkaris, Kejriwals, Khaps, will allow them to do so. Gross misconceptions and misinformation is floating around freely, has been for the last 50 years, and keeping the report secret adds to the disinformation.
Chinese can say what they want. We know that they had to go back since their lines had become too long and could easily be cut off. The "baba" had nothing to do with it. They had an aim, it was achieved, they went back. How much pressure USSR or USA & UK put seems to be unknown, but it must have been there. And lets not forget Nehrus famous line that my heart goes out to the people of Assam. He was ready to abandon the East. Who gave him inputs to say such a dastardly thing? Certainly not Thapar. Best wishes
anant bewoor
The 1962- the story of arrogance.
Defence minister Krishna Menon was undoubtedly the most arrogant man of the subcontinent, but there are many other arrogant personae in the saga of 1962. One was BN Mullik, the Intelligence Chief (IB director) who kept repeating ad nauseam: “The Chinese will not attack”; then Lt Gen BM Kaul who announced to the world that a new Corps (4 Corps), composed of himself and a couple of staff officers, would have no problem to get the Chinese out.
Where is the bloody border?’ The arrogant men of 1962

Indian Express: A blast from the blue!

What is wrong with INDIAN EXPRESS? A blast from the blue!
Ref: Poor military leadership, not equipment, led to 1962 debacle: Report under wraps by Pranab Dhal Samanta Posted online: Sun Oct 14 2012
Tribune Response

TRIBUNE SPECIAL: 1962 WAR: LEADERS FAILED INDIA- II

TRIBUNE SPECIAL: Why India and China went to war in 1962-I

Readers Comments
Dear All,
I have info that Shekhar Gupta does not have access to Handerson-Brooks Report. As usual he is bluffing and continues to belittle the Army as he did in the non-existant 'Coup' report.
M.G.Devasahayam

Dear Mr Gupta,
You have once again demonstrated your pathological dislike for military men. On whose instructions have you cherry picked portions of the Henderson Brooks report to pillory the army higher command which was in saddle in 1962? You have conveniently omitted mention of the misdeeds of the bureaucrats and political actors in the fiasco of 1962.
Do you think that if only the generals were to be blamed this report would have been kept under wraps for over 50 years? I will give you an instance which I witnessed as a Maj Gen when I was serving in Army HQ in 1986. The Army under Gen Sundarji was then working on a 15 year perspective plan. After a draft plan had been made the Chief held a conference in his office which was attended by Mr Arun Singh, MOS Defence at that time, and all concerned officers upto Maj Gens and MoD officers upto Joint Secretary level, to explain the Plan and get addl inputs from participants.
Having attended a number of meetings in the Chief's office earlier I was rather surprised to see a tape recorder in the middle of the table. Its presence was soon explained by Mr Arun Singh. He revealed that he had just completed reading the Henderson Brooks report (he had been in the job a few months only) and he wanted that in future all such important deliberations be recorded. I can vouch for it, which can be confirmed from Mr Arun Singh, that there were a number of interventions/ suggestions by the gens present but there was not a word recorded that had been uttered by the bureaucrats. Reason being that they either had nothing to contribute or they were too scared that any foolish utterance would be held against them.
Being ADG (Fin Plg) at Army HQ I attended a few meetings with the Chief at the Cabinet Secretariat to discuss the 15 Year Perspective Plan with the CCPA consisting of secretaries of the most important ministries of the govt. The inputs from the honorable participants were pathetic even if one is most charitable. Firstly, a member had come without even reading the Plan document. Secondly, they would behave like a housewife bargaining in the vegetable market. The plan outlay was a few thousand crores rupees and their only input was that we should cut Rs 50 crores off the amount earmaked for armoured vehicles and or Rs 600 crores out of the ammunition outlay- no reasons being given. It was really shocking for me, a first timer at Army HQ, to see how our higher defence planning was being done. The Henderson Brooks Report must have exposed where the politico-bureaucratic combine had let the Army down; but, with your help, it only wants to give out the portion which the Army was honest enough to reveal to learn lessons from its mistakes. Will the other half be half as honest for the sake of the country?
We have still not been told why the IB/RAW were totally blind in 1962, about LTTE's intentions in 1987, before the IC 814 Hijack, the 27/11 and many other humiliating faux pas where the players were only civilians? The trouble is that there were no Tape Recorders and nobody wants to learn from his mistakes.
Lt Gen SK Bahri (Retd)

Dear Mr. Shekhar Gupta,
Please see the coverage below by The Tribune vis a vis what your worthy Newspaper headllined on the very Front Page two days ago regarding !!
One fails to understand what grouse a person of your eminence and experience has against the generals and what has the Nation gained by reading the headlines in your Newspaper!!
1962 War was primarily failure of political leadership headed by Pt Nehru and his favorite Krishna Menon. Mr. Mullick, the Intelligence Zar also played a key role. Generals like Kaul were thrust on the Army by the politicians, Maj Gen Pathania was brought in by Gen Kaul to command 4 Inf Division at the last moment when it was under attack by the Chinese and one of its brigade annihilated. A division is not a machine whose commander can press a few buttons and start commanding and leading it in battle. He has to know his brigadiers, battalions, troops, the terrain and vice a versa if the division has to face an enemy like the Chinese. The debacle had to happen.
Politicians and the bureaucrats must not interfere overly with the functioning of the Armed Forces. They seem to have learned nothing from 1962 debacle. How can they, when newspapers like Indian Express dish out such headlines on the 50th Anniversary of a monumental historical event!
There is no other organization as professional, dedicated, nationalistic and prepared to give sacrifices as the Armed Forces. There are some bad apples, as in any organisation but the Armed Forces are the only organisation which take strict action in this country.
Elders like you in the media should nurture the Armed Forces. Your mature critique is most welcomed. But not denigrating the Armed Forces please! They are the last bastion in our beloved country along with the judiciary and the media and have risen to the occasion in war and peace. Anyone who derides the generals does a great disservice to the Army and the Nation.
You are fully aware of the tough selection for the officer cadre and their training through out their careers. You also know about the very narrow and steep pyramid to reach the top rung. Only the best that the system selects become flag rank officers. The system is by and large fair.
MR. GUPTA, THIS IS THE BEST INDIA CAN PRODUCE. IF YOU ARE NOT HAPPY, THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY. LIKE FOREIGN COACHES FOR HOCKEY, CRICKET, BOXING YOU MAY SUGGEST TO THE GOVT TO GET FOREIGN GENERALS ESPECIALLY FROM ITALY TO COMMAND THE ARMY!!
Sincerely,
Harbhajan Singh
Lt Gen, PVSM

NDA: Declining Contribution of Sainik Schools

Sainik schools decline in discipline and contribution to forces
The Tribune Chandigarh, September 30, 2012 by Vijay Mohan.
Set up to serve as feeder institutes to the National Defence Academy (NDA), Sainik Schools are now under the scanner for more than one reason. A general decline in the percentage of its students joining the NDA, increasing dropout rate and a sudden spurt in disciplinary and ragging cases are among the issues that have brought these institutes into focus.
The contribution of Sainik Schools towards the intake into the NDA has gone down from 30.75 per cent in 2008 to 25.18 per cent in 2011. According to figures listed in the report of the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Defence released last month, these figures were 29.23 per cent in 2009 and 26.17 per cent in 2010.
While there has been a consistent improvement in the schools’ academic performance, a comparative analysis also revealed that on an average, only about 20 per cent of Sainik School students join the NDA whereas in the case of the Rashtriya Indian Military College – which has a similar charter to that of Sainik Schools – the figure was 76 per cent.
One reason for the low intake from Sainik Schools put forward by the Defence Ministry is that students leave the school after their class XII examinations. As they are not under the supervision of the schools, they could have less inclination to write the NDA entrance exam or to appear for the selection interview. Candidates need to pass class XII to join the NDA.
Conceived in 1961 and managed by the Sainik Schools Society, whose board of governors is chaired by the Minister of Defence, the objective of Sainik Schools is to motivate and prepare students to join the armed forces as officers by focusing on moulding and developing their overall personality.
There are 24 Sainik Schools located in 21 states across the country and they are funded jointly by the central and respective state governments. Funding is another issue plaguing these schools with many state governments failing to give due budgetary support.
The dropout rate of students in these schools – having a strength of over 12,000 – has also been fluctuating, moving from 885 in 2008-09 to 843 in 2009-10 and 1,009 in 2010-11. The biggest chunk of dropouts is due to parental requests, which has witnessed a consistent increase, with the figures being 544, 564 and 689 for the aforementioned three sessions.
More significantly, the number of dropouts on grounds of indiscipline saw a spurt from seven and six cases to 60 cases for these sessions. In the past three years, 13 students were expelled and 15 were suspended for ragging. -via The Tribune
Sainik schools decline in discipline and contribution to forces

Widow of war hero granted disputed land

Rahul Gandhi moved at plight of soldier's wife
Updated: Wednesday, September 26, 2012, 17:05 [IST]
Ranchi, Sept 26: The plight of Balamdin, wife of Albert Ekka, a soldier who died fighting in the 1971 Indo-Pak war, moved Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after he came to know that the five-acre plot of land allotted to his family by the government turned out to be disputed.
"We apprised him of our plight, told him about the disputed land, now in a court, and urged him to help find a job for me. We are very happy to meet Rahul Gandhi," said Bhisent, who was nine-months-old when his father Lance Naik Albert died while fighting Pak troops at Ganga Sagar.
Albert was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra. "He assured us to help in whatever way possible," Bhisent, who met Gandhi along with his mother here, said. Over two decades ago, the government had allotted the land to the family in Gumla district as a mark of respect to the soldier's sacrifice.
The land was, however, allotted without proper inquiry and later it was found out that it belonged to someone else. Gandhi, who placed a wreath at the Bhagwan Birsa Munda Samadhisthal here this morning, left for Bokaro to finish with his two-day engagement in Jharkhand. PTI
Rahul Gandhi moved at plight of soldier's wife

OROP: ESM Duped

Ref: Govt enhances pensions of retired soldiers, 'one-rank, one-pension' still distant by Rajat Pandit, TNN Sep 24, 2012, 11.05PM IST
Readers' opinions

Armored Fish (NAuru) 27 Sep, 2012 08:58 AM
It is not understood why the entire English print and TV media are projecting the "One Rank One Pension" having been implemented. This is pure misinformation by the corrupt media who are always hand-inglove with the power brokers of Dilli. Further, despite the world having moved far enough with the rise of Facebook, Twitter and domain expertise , IT IS NOT YET UNDERSTOOD WHY ALL MATTERS PERTAINING TO THE ARMED FORCES OF INDIA HAVE TO BE UNDERTAKEN BY BUREAUCRATS WHOOSE ONLY CLAIM TO BEING INTELLIGENT IS HAVING PASSED A BORING ENTRANCE TEST. THE BUREAUCRATS ARE TOTALLY OUT OF SYNC WITH TODAY'S WORLD AND THEIR SKULLDUGGERY AND TOM FOOLERY WILL NOT LONGER WORK!" All over the world, experts are appointed to do a piece of work, electrical engineers do their bit of work and economics like the Chief Economic Advisor to India, Mr. Raghuraman are hired by the people of India (through the their representative "The Government of India" to handle our ecenomy better. In the HR (Human Resources) world and the Indian Armed Forces theri are domain specialists who rpecisely know the issues of "One Rank One Pension" and yet they are systematically sidetracked. All these years. Compare that with our masters who get themselves employed by the People of India (through a foggy elections of course!) and grant themesleves life-time pensions with a few days of work. Compare that to that of a soldier ( who is not less than a sandhu or a faqir who dedicates his life for a the quisling fools to get a few bread crumbs at the end of his service tenure - which is a long one - compounded by the fact that he has to leave early at a relatively young age and becomes a useless commodity to a heartless society that is India. But in this Hindoostan the Indian Armed Forces have been a gift by the Britishers and to preserve this last bastion the current crop of Chandra Gupta Mauryas and Chankyas (Kautilyas ) of Dilli have to take a stock - whether to go the road the Nandas of Magadh took or something similar to the era of of the Mauryas in Patliputra many eons back. They should read Arthashashtra ( the ancient book by Chanakya and followed as the standard read for many countries around the world and India's adversaries as well) first before attempting anything else like modern day economic juggling as a means to fool the people.

Premangsu Chowdry (Abroad part of the year) 27 Sep, 2012 08:53 AM
The response from the government on the " joke " of the recent measly sop for the old pensioners from the Services needs immediate comprehensive final decision. Sixty years ago, the Nehru government arbitrarily and drastically cut down the pay and allowances of the British days of those commisioned after the Sandhurst days in the early thirties ; the option for them to get out of the Services by anyone disssatisfied with the firman (decision) were made clear to people like this commentatotor in writing in a printed letter signed by the PM .brususquely Some chucked the Services immediaately and became well-known top executives in some of the business and industrial houses or just went back to their lands or abroad. Others hopefully felt that the next elected government would not cheat them and things would be restored. The original despicable moans of the various governments of the paucity of funds had the first beginning for the Services. The latter were in no doubt about how they would be continued to be treated in future; and " kept in their places" till kingdom come. The fiercest national spirit which burned in the Servicemen for the honour and safety of the Country and its people ,and kept them going inspite of the doubts cast on them from the examples across the Country's borders of the Military taking over the Country. Six long decades have proved to a series of governments of different hues how abysmally wrong they had been in their misplaced judgement of the only loyal element in the Country. A 92 year old retired general officer who served in many parts of the world in sensitive assignments, may leave a message in the late evening of his life for India's future rulers,. Do not continue to cheat the Services in their dues by manipulations within the politico-bureaucracy, and crying paucity of funds in the face of scams of their predecessors and worth amounts of money enough to run the Country for years. The great virtue of patience has its limits. Only the blind and those bereft of wisdom fail to understand that.

Amar Prasad (Pune) 26 Sep, 2012 12:33 PM
There is no doubt that all the politicians of all hues are rascals and particularly congressmen. They form an unanimity whenever they want to increase their own salary, perks and pelf but soldier who sacrifice prime of their life for the sake of the nation has to beg for his rightful every now and then. WHY? because by giving them their dues these rascals can not have their cut from the allocation as they get in other relief works like flood and drought. Even SPHINX, who becomes furious when names are called can not explain her aloofness from this issue which is related to not only dignity of soldiers but their home and hearth too. She is doing everything to foist YUVRAJ as the PM of country at public expenses. How else she will explain her communal publicity through media. Who has stopped them to uplift the social and health standard of people who need them the most. The answer is simple our own JAICHANDS (The congressmen). Had soldiering been so inconsequential not many youth of the country would have joined Armed Forces to protect the nation. Getting protection and full belly at public expenses is not he birth right of politicians and soldiers are left in lurch. This government of SPHINX has ample money to spend for NREGA and ill conceived Food Security Bill and such many more stupid schemes which does not benefit the intended lot but politicians and their henchmen. Either this government should meet the genuine demands of veterans or should deny them with conclusive reasoning. If expenses are same for the person whether he retires now or fifteen years back then why there should be any disparity in pension. Have the people, who retired early have committed any sin and new retirees are some thing special species. In fact, this is not at all the case of new versus old, but equality which our venerable constitution guarantees to us. Then this is totally incomprehensible solution (Govt version of OROP) and reprehensible the decision of this bold again MMS. MMS is 80 and he himself gets hefty pension from world agencies and understands its need, but he is not bold enough to accede the rightful OROP. STILL HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU PMji!!

Ramesh Kumar (Panchkula (Haryana)) 25 Sep, 2012 09:58 PM
Ex-Servicemen are Men who have devoted their prime part of life for serving the country without looking after their families specially Other Ranks because they don't have sufficient family accommodations even at peace stations, and they also not allowed outliving due to nature of duties. While there are field postings where family accommodation is not available or families not allowed and they also don't have enough salary for shifting them at cities. Interesting thing is that proposal for Other Ranks Salaries given in 1996 so low that government wanted to give more benefits to other ranks (Honorable Defense Minister Sh. Mulayam Singh Yadav disclosed it at Interview with BBC). Other Ranks remain under so much stress because they know what is future of their families. When they retire at 30-40 years of age they are counted as unskilled person and their prime part of life also had gone. Now they have study of their children, Shelter and Marriages (Main Expenses of their life). After considering all above why these soldiers who have wasted prime time of their lives and counted as unskilled and used as a watchmen by the security agencies at very low salaries and 12 * 7 days duty. Why any one of our officers who took our duties and led us during the period which worst our families has not proposed for confirmed job at Home Ministry at the same district or State. Why ? Soldiers who retire during early age (30-40 yrs) should be enrolled direct into the armed police/ other such type of duties where they can earn their livelihood till the completion of 58 or 60 years of age so that they can cast their social responsibility at the later end. Their families, who always felt social insecurity due to residing far from their Husbands and Fathers. They can feel economically at the level of others. But unfortunately, decision making and proposal placing authorities are given to officers only, they never raised these points. Can you tell me why ? Why we have to go to security agencies and have to do as a watchman with less than minimum salaries at 7 * 12 hours duty why no one thinking who are beneficiaries of these innocent ex-servicemen (ORs). Govt enhances pensions of retired soldiers, 'one-rank, one-pension' still distant.

War Disabled Marathon Run

Vijay Oberoi
WAR DISABLED PERSONNEL WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE DELHI HALF-MARATHON ON SUNDAY 30 SEPTEMBER 2012
Twenty war disabled personnel of the War Wounded Foundation would be participating in the Half Marathon being organised at New Delhi on Sunday 30 September 2012. The War Wounded Foundation is a registered charitable organisation, set up in 2002, with the intention of creating long - term avenues for the financial independence of all war disabled personnel of the army, navy and air force.
Participation in the Half-Marathon is not for winning medals, but to display the resolve of the war disabled personnel to be part of the mainstream of our society and to emphasise that the fervour of the soldiers does not get diminished because of their disabilities. The war-disabled veterans want to project the reality that their disabilities do not come in the way of continuing to be useful members of the society and creating an honourable niche for themselves.
The war disabled personnel hope that their example would be emulated by the citizens of our great nation, particularly the youth, who need to be motivated to assist in the growth and well-being of the nation.
The team of the Foundation would be lead by its President - Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, former Vice Chief of Army Staff and would comprise two other officers, two JCO’S and 15 Other Ranks, all of whom are associated with the War Wounded Foundation.
War disabled personnel of the War Wounded Foundation have participated in the Mumbai Marathon twice in the past. Photographs are given below.
Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi, PVSM, AVSM, VSM , President; Maj Gen Ian Cardozo, AVSM, SM,Vice President; Lt Col Gulshan Kumar, Executive Officer; and seven war disabled members of the War Wounded Foundation, ran in the Mumbai Marathon on 16 January 2011, despite their disabilities.
Maj Gen Ian Cardozo, AVSM, SM, Vice President; Brig Veer Pratap Executive Director; Lt Col. Gulshan Kumar, Executive Officer; and seven war disabled members of the War Wounded Foundation, ran in the Mumbai Marathon on 15 January 2012.

Indian soldiers lauded in Israeli textbooks for freeing city

Press Trust of India | Updated: September 23, 2012 11:01 IST
Haifa, Israel: While remaining largely unknown in their own country, some Indian soldiers will now become household names in Haifa in northern Israel after figuring in the history textbooks taught at schools for their contribution in liberating this city in 1918.
The municipality of Haifa has gone ahead with its decision to immortalise the sacrifices made by Indian soldiers, many of whom are buried in the cemetery here, by including the stories of their valiant efforts in liberating the coastal city during the First World War in the school curricula as part of the history textbooks.
"The move is a part of Haifa municipalities efforts to preserve the city's history and heritage," Hedva Almog, deputy Mayor of Haifa told people gathered to pay respects to Indian soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice in the war to liberate the city.
Haifa Historical Society has done an extensive research on the role of the Indian army in the region.
As per their findings, a large number of Indian soldiers sacrificed their lives in this region during the First World War and nearly 900 are cremated or buried in cemeteries across Israel.
Almog said that the municipality is planning big centenary celebrations to commemorate the event in 2018, calling upon India to join hands in making it a success.
Charge de Affaires at the Indian mission in Tel Aviv, Vani Rao, reacted positively to the request extending support in organising the Centenary celebrations.
The Indian army commemorates September 23rd every year as Haifa Day, to pay its respects to the two brave Indian Cavalry Regiments that helped liberate the city in 1918 following a dashing cavalry action by the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade.
Residents of the Israeli city also celebrate Haifa Day the same day with a series of cultural programmes during the week.
Indian soldiers lauded in Israeli textbooks for freeing city

Shortage of Officers inspite of implementing AV Singh Committee Recommendations

Officers’ shortfall causing friction in Army
By Ritu Sharma / ENS - NEW DELHI 20th September 2012 09:52 AM
Shortage of more than 10,000 officers in the Indian Army has played a detrimental role in the equation between officers and jawans and the increased friction between them flared up on two occasions this year, Army Chief General Bikram Singh said on Wednesday.
As a Court of Inquiry report into two recent incidents in Ladakh and Jammu were pending, the Army Chief said measures were being taken to address issues between jawans and officers.
Earlier this year, officers and jawans were reportedly engaged in a fist fight in Nyoma in Ladakh and in a separate incident in Jammu, a prolonged stand-off between the two sent the Samba unit into a tizzy.
When asked if the shortage of officers is leading to an increase in the instances of friction between soldiers and officers, Gen Singh said, “Yes, that is one of the main reasons. The shortfall of officers as of now is 10,100. The deficiency is definitely impacting.” The Army has suffered a shortage of officers for the past five years.
Singh, however, termed the two incidents as “aberrations” and “isolated ones”, adding that measures were to be taken once the Court of Inquiry is complete. “We had one or two instances, these are aberrations of course and these were isolated incidents,” he said.
On steps taken by him to address the issue, he said, “As a chief, my concerns have been to ensure that we get back to basics and ensure that climate and environment in the units are correct and conducive to growth and the core values of the Army are upheld.”
Officers’ shortfall causing friction in Army
AV Singh Committee Report- 2005
The government has issued orders to implement the phase 1 of the Ajai Vikram Singh Committee recommendations involving the restructuring of the officers’ cadre, reduction in qualifying service for promotion in non-select ranks and a package of peel off measures to mitigate stagnation. This will help in achieving optimum combat effectiveness by bringing down the age profile of battalion / brigade commanders and to make the three services more effective in fulfilling individual career aspirations of the officers.
Click here for the original post
Shortage of 14,448 officers in Army, Navy, Air Force- 2010
Antony said that a number of steps have been taken to attract the talented youth to join the defence forces. “All officers including those in Short Service Commission (SSC) are now eligible to hold substantive rank of Captain, Major and Lieutenant Colonel after two, six and 13 years of reckonable service respectively. The tenure of SSC officers has been increased from 10 to 14 years,” the Defence Minister said.
“A total number of 750 posts of Lt. Colonel have been upgraded to Colonel towards implementation of AV Singh Committee Report (Phase-I). “Further, 1896 additional posts in the ranks of Colonel, Brigadier, Major General and Lieutenant General and their equivalents in the other two Services have been upgraded towards implementation of AV Singh Committee Report (Phase-II),” he added.
2010- Shortage of Officers
Comment: The AV Singh Committee recommendations has not improved the shortage of officers situation in the military. Now indiscipline is attributed to shortage of officers. This a joke really. All knew the AV Singh only pepped up the senior officers career profile. Top heavy and the Military is saddled with command and control disconnect from top heavy to a bottomless low...

Antony reveals War Memorial at India Gate

Antony reveals War Memorial at India Gate finally on anvil
By ANI | ANI – Fri 17 Aug, 2012
New Delhi, Aug.17 (ANI) Defence minister A K Antony on Friday said that most of the hurdles coming in the way of the construction of the national war memorial next to India Gate have been cleared.
Talking to media persons after attending a function to felicitate London Olympic silver medalist Subedar Major Vijay Kumar here, Antony said:"Most hurdles are over now."
Sources in the Ministry of Defence confirmed that the war memorial will be constructed near India Gate only, as that is the place demanded by the three services.
After a proposed meeting on the issue on August 21 of the Group of Ministers (GoM), a final meeting shall take place and and then cabinet approval will be sought, they added.
The armed forces had submitted a proposal three years ago to construct a war memorial within the India Gate complex, but after the initial rejection of their proposal by the Government recently, they are now looking at new locations for it. The government had earlier decided against the proposal after certain objections were raised by the Urban Development Ministry.
The military's demand for a national war memorial to honour the 20,000 soldiers, sailors and airmen who have sacrificed their lives while defending independent India has been a longstanding one. A broad section of the urban public echoes this plea. The demand is for a prominent memorial on New Delhi's Central Vista, which can be visited freely by the Indian public, and where wreathes can be offered by national leaders on occasions like the Republic Day, and by visiting foreign dignitaries who choose to do so.
The current memorial, the Amar Jawan Jyoti, is merely an add-on to the India Gate, an imposing 42-metre high British structure, built in 1921, to honour the 90,000 Indian soldiers who died in the First World War and the third Anglo-Afghan War. India finds it bothersome to suitably commemorate those who fell in service of the republic.
Anyone who has travelled along India's borders with China and Pakistan cannot have missed the lonely memorials at the places where Indian troops fought and died. Amongst them, is the stark monument to Major Shaitan Singh and his 111 Kumaoni soldiers who battled to the last, holding up a major Chinese advance on the desolate, windswept plateau of Chushul.
Major Shaitan Singh is a winner of the Param Vir Chakra, and is honoured only in that unvisited war memorial near Chushul. No national memorial is inscribed with the name of Major Shaitan Singh.
According to an article written by former army officer-turned journalist Ajai Shukla a couple of years ago, the proposal for a National War Memorial predates independent India.
According to Shukla, a confidential memo, issued on March 3, 1945, from the War Department in New Delhi (in File No. 110-C/45, entitled "Indian National War Memorial", in the Governor's Secretariat, Confidential Branch) declares that the Government of India (GoI) has been examining "the question of the form that an Indian National War Memorial should take".
The memo orders that "the establishment of a Military Academy on the lines of the United States Military Academy at West Point for the education and basic training together of future officers of the Royal Indian Navy, the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force would be the most suitable form for the memorial to take". In short, according to Shukla, New Delhi proposed that what was to become the famous National Defence Academy (NDA), which is still the bedrock of Indian officer training, would also serve as India's National War Memorial.
Till date, India does not have a memorial for post-independence martyrs.(ANI)
Antony reveals War Memorial at India Gate finally on anvil
Related Reading
For those who gave their today by J.F.R. Jacob : Fri Sep 14 2012, 03:38 hrs

National War Memorial approved: Defence Minister

Finally, plans for National War Memorial approved: Defence Minister
Reported by Sudhi Ranjan Sen, Edited by Amit Chaturvedi | Updated: August 17, 2012 17:38 IST
New Delhi: The long-delayed national War Memorial for Indian soldiers, first proposed in the 60s, has been cleared by a group of ministers handled to manage the project. It will be constructed next to the India Gate in New Delhi, a location preferred by the armed forces.
Defence Minister AK Antony told reporters today, "Most hurdles for the construction of War Memorial has been cleared." While the armed forces wanted the war memorial to be built at India Gate at the centre of the capital, the Urban Development Ministry and other bodies like the New Delhi Municipal Corporation had objected, saying that the construction would mar the landscape that includes Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Indian Parliament. Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy was among the group of ministers who were appointed in 2009 to resolve differences of opinion. They have agreed that the layout of the memorial will be organic to the India Gate vista; it will surround the main canopy or chhattri at India Gate, and will list the names of thousands of soldiers who died in the line of duty.
The Union Cabinet is expected to formally approve the construction in the next few weeks.
India Gate and the eternal flame there, the Amar Jawan Jyoti, which remembers the unknown solider, was built by the British in honour of Indians who died during World War 1. Since its independence, India has gone through five wars; soldiers have died in counter-insurgency operations, too. But there has been no memorial built in their honour.
Armed forces will now consult design experts to finalise the design.
National War Memorial approved: Defence Minister

National War Memorial

National War Memorial, at last
The ‘Unknown Soldier’ deserved it
by Lt-Gen Harwant Singh (retd)
IT is more than half a century since the proposal to build a national war memorial at a suitable place in New Delhi was mooted by the defence services. All this time the proposal was being put off for no valid reason. It had been a sustained attempt by successive governments in the Capital to keep the military in the background and, as a policy, never to give due recognition to its services and highlight the achievements and sacrifices made to the nation. The bureaucracy, with a view to keeping the military suppressed, has succeeded in injecting into the political executive the fear of a military takeover of the country. The developments in the neighbouring countries served to reinforce such fears in the minds of the political class.
The media’s role has been anything but laudable. At another level, there has been complete apathy on the part of the public at large and the so-called civil society for building a National War Memorial. After all, it is for the protection and safety of people of this country that these gallant men gave up their lives. Therefore, the idea of National War Museum has been a victim of this policy and attitude of indifference.
India has been the scene of innumerable battles, yet it never evolved a military tradition and resources enough to meet the challenge from invading armies. The soldier was seldom given recognition for his valour and sacrifices. Nations that value freedom and abhor foreign rule remember and honour those who sacrifice their lives for the defence of the country. They honour their martyrs in all possible ways as also build memorials to acknowledge their sacrifices. Unfortunately in India, there has been no tradition or practice to raise memorials to honour those who sacrificed their lives in defence of this land and commemorate battles in which they fell.
The concept of raising war memorials as such was, perhaps, first introduced in India by the British. Some historians have tried to classify the Qutab Minar in Delhi, the Victory Towers in Chittorgarh and Tughlakabad (down South) as a sort of memorials, but that claim is contestable. These were more to honour and highlight the achievements of the king or the conqueror than the common soldier. However, in other parts of the world the tradition of raising memorials in one form or the other has been in vogue from prehistoric times — in the form of ‘Burial Mounds’, ‘Obelisks’, crosses, the female figure as a symbol of victory, statues, structures, arches, etc.
It was the shattering experience of World War I that set in motion the urge to build memorials all over — in every town and village in Europe and elsewhere. In addition to these innumerable memorials, each of these countries, whose soldiers took part in this war, built national war memorials at the most appropriate places. In England, it is next to Whitehall in the heart of London. It is around this time that the concept of an “Unknown Soldier” was evolved and national memorials started being dedicated to him. Arch-de-Triumphe in Paris is the most prominent memorial; it is at this place that the idea of an “Unknown Soldier” was first put into practice. An “Unknown Soldier” lies buried in the Arch complex.
The British built a number of war memorials to commemorate their battle victories against Indian troops. The last great memorial they built to honour the Indian soldiers who fell in World War I is India Gate in New Delhi. While it has the names of all those who laid down their lives in this Great War, on the gate (a memorial arch) are also the manes of British officers who were killed in the NorthWest Frontier. Though some smaller memorials were built in the North-East to honour those who fell defending India against the Japanese offensive across Burma during World War II, no main war memorial could be built to honour the killed Indian troops. Thus, there is no memorial for Indian troops who sacrificed their lives during this war. Many of them had died defending India against the Japanese and others in North Africa and Italy to defend freedom.
India has fought a number of wars since Independence where thousands of soldiers (the term “soldiers” includes airmen and sailors and their officers) died but their sacrifices have never been properly recognised. Therefore, the decision of the government to finally build a National War Memorial in New Delhi should be welcome. The approval to build it near India Gate is both befitting and laudable.
This memorial needs to be dedicated not only to those who fell in the battles after Independence, including those of the Indian Peace Keeping Force during Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka, but also those who laid down their lives during World War II. The failure to do so will be a great injustice to the memory of those who sacrificed their lives in that great struggle.
The monument to be thus constructed must be of a grand design and scale, befitting the valour and sacrifices of those whose memory it aims to perpetuate. It must match India Gate in design, scale and grandeur. It ought to portray the unwavering loyalty, devotion and dedication of the Indian soldier (which includes airmen and sailors) to the country. It would be a place where all visiting dignitaries must be taken to pay homage to the “Unknown Soldier”. Some suggestions are doing the rounds that it should have a statue of a particular Indian general. National War Memorials as such never have a statue. There may be statues of a group of soldiers involved in some activity related to their deeds of valour, etc. National War Memorials are invariably dedicated to the “Unknown Soldier”, “The lads who took the copje (rocky outcrop) and are not known.”
The Tribune: National War Memorial, at last

Corruption case: Maj Gen under the scanner

Corruption case: Maj Gen under the scanner
Press Trust of India / New Delhi August 30, 2012, 15:15
The Army has been hit by yet another corruption case with a Major General coming under the scanner for alleged financial irregularities during his stint at the Udhampur-based Northern Command.
Sources said the Maj Gen belonging to the Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (EME) has been asked to appear before an ongoing Court of Inquiry (CoI) against a Colonel.
The CoI was ordered after allegations of misappropriation of funds through forged bills surfaced in the Northern Command.
However, the Army Headquarters maintained that the Maj Gen has been summoned by the CoI only to appear as a witness and there was no separate investigation against him. The sources said the Colonel has claimed that he was only following the instructions of the Maj Gen.
Another Maj Gen of the Army Services Corps in the Northern Command is facing a Court of Inquiry (CoI) for allegedly accepting bribe from a local contractor in supplies for formations deployed in Siachen and Jammu and Kashmir.
In the last few years, the Army has seen a number of corruption cases involving Lt Gen-rank officers of which three have been court martialled already.
Corruption case: Maj Gen under the scanner
Comment: Most of the senior officers are physically unfit. One way of weeding out the corrupt senior officers board them out in large numbers.

The Army officer who wouldn't retire hurt

Pune: The Army officer who wouldn't retire hurt
Pune: In the summer of 1999, Lt Col (Dr) Samir Rawat was injured in the right leg while fighting against the Pakistan Army in Ladakh during the Kargil war. It was a serious knee injury that put an end to his active soldiering career, but the die-hard Rawat never let his spirits sag. The former tank trooper, who was still in service, started studying psychology. He acquired global certification in neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), transactional analysis, advanced hypnotherapy, wellness and health management, rehabilitation, psychological assessment and testing, and went on to become the first psychologist at the National Defence Academy (NDA).
He retired a week ago. His posting as a psychologist in a premier category (A) cadet training institution of the Indian Army meant he was involved in training, counselling and mentoring, besides which he used to conduct classes on leadership, moderation, stress management, resilience building and gender sensitivity for instructors and personnel below officer rank of the entire Indian Army who came to the NDA.
“I still remember the day of June 21, 1999, when I was posted in Ladakh Scouts in 5230 Batalik Sector, where even after ceasefire shelling was continued by the Pakistan Army,” Rawat says, adding, “During the shelling, shrapnel entered my right leg and I became unconscious.”
He was shifted by helicopter to a hospital nearly a month after he got injured. “I was operated in Command Hospital in Chandigarh and was on a wheelchair for nearly five months,” he says. “I was so passionate about the army and that I channelised my energies and opened a new window for myself — of scholarly pursuit.”
The officer then took study leave for two years and completed his PhD in psychology. His studies completed, he spent the last decade and more counselling the cadets in NDA. “These cadets have many problems; the first, immediate problem they face after entering NDA is that they become homesick,” Rawat says. “Many of them come from rural parts of the country, and so my first duty is to make them realised that irrespective of their social background their status in the academy is only of cadet.”
He says many times he had to go for personal counselling in the case of cadets who were unable to perform certain tasks or who had a phobia about such tasks during their training. “I remember a cadet who could not jump from a height of 10 metres into a swimming pool,” he says. “He was about to be removed from the academy when he came to me. I told him just one thing, that it was not a fear he had but an irrational belief that if he jumped he would die.”
He says the cadet was finally convinced to take the jump after he was told the army worked on trust and that he should have faith in his instructor. “I told the cadet to trust his instructor as the army is all about trusting others,” Rawat says. “Later he not only jumped from 10 metres, but also told me it was an amazing experience and that he would like to do it again. That was the moment of greatest satisfaction for me.”
Rawat says he has no regrets and it does not bother him that had it not been for his injury he might have reached a higher rank. “The army is a way of life,” he says. “How you contribute to it is more important than getting a higher rank. When I look back, I get great satisfaction that I didn’t lose the opportunity to serve the nation even after getting injured in the war. I was, in fact, fortunate enough to get an opportunity to see and take part in the Kargil operation.”
The Army officer who wouldn't retire hurt

The English have gone, the feudal mindset remains

The English have gone, the mindset remains
This refers to the statement made by Army Chief General Bikram Singh in which he said, “We will provide all help to Olympian Vijay Kumar to become an officer. He is very capable, he talks in English.”
Though General Singh may have made the statement casually, the remark reflects the mindset of not just the Army Chief but also the Armed Force’s definite ‘language bias’. It seems English is the major criterion in the selection of officers. Can those who study in non-English medium get through NDA/CDS examinations? If yes, then I suppose that 90 per cent of the effort at the training colleges must be going to teach them English than making them skilled Armed Forces personnel.
The statement made me feel as though the Indian Army is controlling the Hindustani Fauj. This may perhaps be one of the reasons why we see lot more confrontations these days between officers and jawans. -via The Pioneer
The English have gone, the mindset remains

NDA Scam: Poor villagers were made to pay bribes

NDA recruitment scam: Most candidates who paid were from around Khadakwasla
SushantKulkarni : Fri Jul 27 2012, 03:50 hrs
The CBI investigation of the alleged recruitment scam at NDA has revealed that the almost all candidates who had paid money for securing the job were youths from in and around Khadakwasla and were tapped through the arrested agents.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of the CBI, Pune, has so far arrested two colonels with the NDA, Kulbir Singh and A K Singh, a civilian staffer with the establishment division of the NDA and five others from Khadakwasla who worked as agents and were instrumental in getting in touch with the candidates for Class IV and lower divisional clerk posts.
A senior officer with the CBI said, “We got the list of candidates who had paid up from the a pen drive seized from A K Singh. Most of them are from areas near Khadakwasla. Only a few are from outside Pune. The candidates told us that they paid these agents as they were residents of these villages and the candidates knew them personally or got acquainted with them through someone else.”
Superintendent of police with the CBI ACB Rajkumar Vhatkar confirmed that most of the candidates are local residents and were contacted through acquaintances. Another senior officer said, “All the candidates we spoke to wanted to get into NDA due to the perks and salary the academy offers. Most of them have someone from their family or neighbourhood working as a class IV employee at the academy. NDA draws most of its class IV employees from villages around Khadakwasla.”
The officer added, “One of the agents, Balkrishna Kanojia, was a caterer while Vishnu Prasad Sharma, another agent, ran a small shop on NDA campus. After the advertisement appeared in the newspapers, many youths from Khadakwasla applied for the posts. Kanojia knew some of them and got in touch with them. In some cases, candidates got in touch with Kanojia or Sharma as they knew recruitment could be fixed. Money was paid through Dattatreya Shitkal, Manoj Shitkal and Ramesh Gaikwad, who had their relatives in NDA.”
NDA recruitment scam: Most candidates who paid were from around Khadakwasla
ACB seeks court nod for narco analysis of 8 accused
Comment: Army officers involved in taking bribes from poor villagers need to be court marshalled and imprisoned for life. Only severe punishment will yield results and improve the image of the Military.

Adarsh scam: Former Army chief under scanner

Former Army Chief Gen Deepak Kapoor was on Thursday (July 19) quizzed in connection to the Kargil for profit scam. Gen Kapoor today deposed before judicial commission probing the scam. The former army chief was quizzed on writing personal letters to politicians on letter heads. When asked by the commission, "Do army rules permit army personnel using of letter head to write personal letters to politicians?", Gen Deepak Kapoor is said to have replied, "I am not aware of any rule which prohibits doing so."
Contradicting Ashok Chavan, the promoter of scam-tainted Adarsh Society today said the former Maharashtra chief minister had suggested increase in the number of civilians in the Society, essentially meant for defence personnel.
Adarsh scam: Former Army chief under scanner
Comment: Exemplary punishment must be given to guilty Army Chief's who have proved to be cheaters and corrupt. Otherwise the morale of the Military will continue to sink.

Independence Day Gallantry Awards

Independence Day Gallantry Awards and other Decorations
AUGUST 15, 2010
The President has approved 114 gallantry awards to Armed Forces, Paramilitary and police personnel. This includes one Ashok Chakra, two Kirti Chakras, two Bar to Shaurya Chakras, nineteen Shaurya Chakras, two Bar to Sena Medal (Gallantry), eighty Sena Medals (Gallantry), three Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry) and five Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry).
ASHOKA CHAKRA
MR-08609 MAJOR LAISHRAM JYOTIN SINGH ARMY MEDICAL CORPS / EMBASSY OF INDIA, KABUL (POSTHUMOUS).
KIRTI CHAKRA
IC-70151 CAPTAIN DAVINDER SINGH JASS 1ST BATTALION THE PARACHUTE REGIMENT (SPECIAL FORCES) (POSTHUMOUS), SHRI VINOD KUMAR CHOUBEY SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE, RAJNANDGAON CHHATTISGARH POLICE (POSTHUMOUS).
BAR TO SHAURYA CHAKRA
IC-58637 MAJOR THONGAM JOTEN SINGH, SHAURYA CHAKRA, 21ST BATTALION THE PARACHUTE REGIMENT (SPECIAL FORCES), SS-39651 MAJOR AJAY SINGH, SHAURYA CHAKRA 11TH BATTALION THE MARATHA LIGHT INFANTRY.
SHAURYA CHAKRA
IC-55217 LIEUTENANT COLONEL ADITYA NEGI, SENA MEDAL 3 GORKHA RIFLES / 32 RASHTRIYA RIFLES , IC-61307 MAJOR DEEPAK YADAV ARMY EDUCATION CORPS / EMBASSY OF INDIA, KABUL(POSTHUMOUS), IC-61324 MAJOR NITESH ROY ARMY EDUCATION CORPS / EMBASSY OF INDIA, KABUL(POSTHUMOUS), IC-66201 CAPTAIN SUNIL YADAV PUNJAB REGIMENT / 37 RASHTRIYA RIFLES, IC-68043 CAPTAIN AMIT KUMAR SINGH, SENA MEDAL 2ND BATTALION THE BIHAR REGIMENT, IC-69150 CAPTAIN SUNIL NARANG 4TH BATTALION THE SIKH LIGHT INFANTRY, SS-42657 LIEUTENANT NAVIN NIROLA 4TH BATTALION THE KUMAON REGIMENT, JC-413360 NAIB SUBEDAR INDER KUMAR 1ST BATTALION THE PARACHUTE REGIMENT (SPECIAL FORCES), JC-560161 NAIB SUBEDAR SHIV PUJAN SHARMA 2ND BATTALION THE BIHAR REGIMENT, JC-2300474 NAIB SUBEDAR RANG BAHADUR YADAV 23 ASSAM RIFLES, 13621161 LANCE HAVILDAR RAJAN 1ST BATTALION THE PARACHUTE REGIMENT (SPECIAL FORCES), 2602065 NAIK BAIJU B 7TH BATTALION THE MADRAS REGIMENT, 4366857 LANCE NAIK NENGMAITHEM RAJESH SINGH 21ST BATTALION THE PARACHUTE REGIMENT (SPECIAL FORCES), 4001514 SEPOY RAVI KANT DOGRA REGIMENT / 11 RASHTRIYA RIFLES(POSTHUMOUS), 4002995 SEPOY SURENDER KUMAR DOGRA REGIMENT / 62 RASHTRIYA RIFLES (POSTHUMOUS), 13627069 PARATROOPER MAKUNG SARANG HUCHONG 21ST BATTALION THE PARACHUTE REGIMENT (SPECIAL FORCES), 15619321 GUARDSMAN KRISHAN KUMAR BRIGADE OF THE GUARDS / 21 RASHTRIYA RIFLES(POSTHUMOUS), COMMANDER DILIP DONDE, (03593-T), COMMANDER NITEEN ANANDRAO YADAV, (03965-K).
Click link for complete list
Independence Day Gallantry Awards and other Decorations

Indian Army: Shortage of Officers proves costly

Shortage of officers is the root-cause
By Major General Mrinal Suman
Independent India is 65 years old. If the nation remains united today, the credit goes entirely to the armed forces. They continue to be the sole source of hope for this beleaguered country. They are the last bastion against the fissiparous forces that are inimical to its existence. Therefore, every issue that affects the well-being of the armed forces must be taken seriously.
The recent incident at Sambha is a cause of grave concern. Without sounding alarmist, there are three developments that do not portend well for the health of the army – increasing cases of suicides and fratricide; growing tendency to approach courts for justice; and recent cases of collective indiscipline. Such occurrences were extremely rare earlier.
Indian soldiers are reputed for their mental and physical robustness. They fought a war in sub-zero temperatures in lofty Himalayas without proper winter clothing in 1962 without a word of protest. Have there been any disquieting changes that are compelling them to resort to desperate acts? Why have the soldiers become so restless? Where have the things gone wrong?

Cases of Suicide and Fratricide
On 08 August 2012, the Defence Minister informed the Rajya Sabha that a total of 1,028 soldiers from the army had committed suicide since 2003. During the same period lives of 80 soldiers were lost due to fratricide. There were 102 cases of suicide in 2011 and 62 soldiers had taken their lives till July this year. According to the studies conducted by the Defence Institute of Psychological Research, stress is one of the key factors that drive soldiers to take the extreme step.
Although stress is a biological term, it is commonly used in a metaphorical sense. It has also come to be accepted as a euphemism for describing difficulties faced by an individual. Failure to adapt to challenges results in perceiving them as threats, which in turn generates pressures. Extreme pressures become stress. When stress surpasses ability to handle, it becomes a threat to both physical and emotional well-being.
Challenges in military life are different from those faced by civilians, both in terms of emotional security, psychological equilibrium and physical well-being. Resultant stresses generate the “fight-or-flight” response in many soldiers.
Rapport, which is a function of inter-personal communication between a commander and his troops, is the best protection against stress related break-downs. Therefore, suicides and fratricides are entirely due to the lack of necessary interaction between officers and their men.

Court Cases
There has been an exponential increase in the number of court cases being filed by service personnel to seek justice. Over one lakh cases pertaining to the armed forces personnel are pending in various courts and the trend has acquired alarming dimensions. The most important reason for the surfeit of court cases is loss of confidence in the fairness of the system. Soldiers feel aggrieved when they feel deprived of their rightful due, leading to dissentions and litigations.
The army has an institutionalised arrangement for an effective internal complaint-redressal mechanism. While the commanders keep the troops informed of the latest issues through ‘sainik sammelans’, soldiers can seek audience with their commanders (‘arzi report’) to apprise them of their complaint and seek redressal. If not satisfied, they can submit written appeals to the Chief (non-statutory complaints) and the Government (statutory complaints).
Unfortunately, the above mechanism has become defunct and lost its credibility. Interview or ‘Arzi Report’ has degenerated into a worthless ritual. Most non-statutory and statutory complaints keep shuttling up and down on technicalities, without the complainants getting any response.
As officers are hardly available to attend to troops’ grievances, soldiers feel neglected and are forced to knock at the doors of the courts. Once again, the reason is lack of regular interaction between the officers and the troops.

Collective Indiscipline
Collective indiscipline in a unit is highly ominous. Indian soldiers are too disciplined to resort to insubordination unless driven to it. They are inherently very strong mentally and have a very high threshold of endurance.
Such incidents do not occur as a result of impulsive outburst but are a manifestation of simmering discontentment over a long period. Unconfirmed reports, conjectures and even rumours can give rise to antagonism against the organisation.
A large number of grievances are due to lack of information and are misplaced. A minor misconception or misunderstanding can take the form of major dissent if not noticed and addressed in time. As per press reports, false news of the death of a soldier in the hospital acted as a trigger for collective indiscipline in an artillery unit in Leh. Had the leaders been in regular communication with the troops, they could have scotched the rumour and prevented the events from taking an ugly turn.
Through regular interaction, vigilant commanders can learn about issues of disconcert and take necessary steps to put the soldiers at ease. It is certainly a failure of command, purely due to lack of required communication with troops.

Shortage of Officers is Proving Perilous
Management of stress faced by troops and redressal of their grievances are command functions. Regular interaction acts as a safety valve – perceptive leaders can discern warning signals and take steps to prevent acts of desperation by some over-stressed soldiers.
The current worrisome developments show that the existing bond of camaraderie between the officers and the men is becoming tenuous due to a dilution of communication between commanders and the soldiers.
Acute shortage of officers is the primary cause for the increasing gulf between the officers and the men.
All units are being asked to make do with ‘hard scale’ of officers’ strength. With normal commitment of courses, temporary duties, annual leave and attachments, some units have to function with 7 to 9 officers. Resultantly, a company which should have 4-5 officers is being manned by a single officer. It is well nigh impossible for him either to know all soldiers in his company or to look after their welfare adequately.
Quite unfairly, a commanding officer is expected to train and administer his unit with a handful of officers – a most daunting task. Command of a unit has become an unenviable challenge.
The army is facing a shortage of a whopping 26 percent – carrying a deficiency of over 12,000 officers against the sanctioned strength of 46,500. Authorities are rightly seized of the matter and the intake is being increased. But it will take decades for the deficiencies to be made up fully.
There is a need to take immediate action to mitigate the problem to the extent possible. Some recommendations are as follows:

Presently, all staff appointments are fully subscribed and units are kept under-posted. It should be the other way around. It is better to carry deficiencies on staff.

A fresh look should be taken at all courses being run and their utility – is the value of the course worth depriving the unit of the officer’s services. Courses should not be run purely to sustain training establishments.

Every single young officer should be recalled from ERE duties. No young officer should be detailed as ADC to the President, Governors and the formation commanders. It is a most undesirable sight to see young officers being wasted on ceremonial clap-trap while the units are deprived of their presence.
There should be a total ban on the attachment of unit officers to formation headquarters. Most station duties should be performed by staff officers. To many, the above suggestions may appear to be too radical. But drastic problems need drastic cures. It must be appreciated that units are the real punch of the army and allowing the current drift to continue can prove perilous.

Lt Gen Jatinder Singh to be probed by CBI

NDA jobs scam: CBI gets nod for probe against Lt Gen
Rahul Tripathi : New Delhi, Wed Aug 01 2012, 02:17 hrs
The CBI has got the Defence Ministry’s permission to initiate a probe against the former commandant of the National Defence Academy, Lt Gen Jatinder Singh, in the alleged recruitment racket (NDA jobs scam).
Earlier this month, the investigating agency arrested seven persons, including two Colonels, in this connection.
The CBI had sought MoD’s permission to question Singh, after reportedly establishing a “money trail” connecting him and his brother to the scam.
According to the probe, bribes of Rs 3-5 lakh were allegedly paid for jobs as C-grade staff at NDA while Singh was the commandant there. Lt Gen Singh has since been removed from NDA.
CBI officials said Lt Gen Singh will soon be summoned for questioning.
The CBI has reportedly established that prime accused Col Kulbir Singh, who is among those arrested, handed over Rs 4 lakh to the brother of Lt Gen Singh during a meeting at Mumbai’s Oberoi Hotel on June 23.
NDA jobs scam: CBI gets nod for probe against Lt Gen