India produces the finest Generals it possibly can

My Response to Ajay Shukla's "Wake Up Generals"... Click here
Dear Ajay,
(Ajay left the Army a few years ago as Lt Col/Col. He was in the Armd Corps I think)
I feel very very sad and disenchanted to read your article written for the Business Standard. You left the Army and became a journalist. Great. You have significant inside knowledge of the Army and the other two services. One thought you would use it to educate the Indian polity about National security matters, and not write trash as you have done in this article.
Let us try and imagine what will be the end effect of this article. Will it create better impression of our army in the minds of the general public, the politicians, the bureaucracy, the youngsters aspiring to join the Army. What about the negative effect on serving officers and men!!
Writing about how many people work in the Army House should be below the dignity of Ajay. How can a NDA/ IMA trained gentleman officer stoop so low!!
Also do you think this article would be considered a journalistic achievement of yours and raise your stock amongst the new fraternity you have chosen as a result of your second career!!
Ajay dear, I am from the 1st Course JSW/ NDA. Joined in Jan 1949. Have seen the Army since then. I have also seen the US Army/ Marine Corps some what. Worked with TATAs also. I see the Indian Army now. There are changes even since I retired in 1991 but let me inform you that these are more visible in peace areas. These are as a result of societal changes. The Army cannot be divorced from the rest of the nation. But in the field/ operational areas officers and soldiers are doing commendable job. You are fully aware that it is extremely difficult to rise in the Indian Army and one has to be really lucky in addition to having professional capabilities to pick up a flag rank.
I wrote this to the Shekhar Gupta after the most derogatory article published on the front page of the Indian Express a few weeks back.
THIS IS THE BEST GENERALS OUR COUNTRY CAN PRODUCE. INDIA HAS FOREIGN HOCKEY, CRICKET, BOXING COACHES. IF YOU OR THE NATION ARE NOT HAPPY WITH THE GENERALS, IMPORT THEM ALSO FROM FOREIGN COUNTRIES, ESPECIALLY ITALY!!
I would be happy if with your experience in the Army you can come out with some positive suggestions on how to improve the quality of our generals. Deep selection is no answer, as we Indians are experts in beating any system. Also every policy has its pros and cons!!
Whatever we do, we should not hand over the process to the politicians and the bureaucrats.
Ajay please please do not throw muck on the Army of which you are a product. Please do ponder over the ill effects.
Best wishes.
Lt Gen Harbhajan Singh (Retired)

NDA, IMA and OTA train military leaders
A General leads his men by his example. He expects his men to do their duty to the fullest extent of the word. He will send no man to do what he himself would not do of his own accord. He will enforce discipline, and will establish that he is in charge. He must never hold himself higher than a deity, or have his men treat him as such. He must approach warfare from many angles, being flexible direct or aggressive as the situation warrants. He must also not be afraid of losing everything. The General who does not commit himself fully to victory will lose without honour.

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

Rank Pay and SCPC Anomalies: Military discipline and morale on the decline?

Recipe for disaster for the military
by Arun K. Singh.
The writer, a vice-admiral, retired as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam
The state of morale in the armed forces in general, and the Army in particular, should be a cause for worry because of the latter’s rapidly declining combat capability. Moreover, an Army with low morale, insufficient manpower and lacking in the required combat equipment is a recipe for national disaster at the hands of foreign invaders.
The recent Supreme Court ruling giving “rank pay” to those officers who were in military service between 1986 to 1996 following a 25-year-long court battle by a few retired officers shows how this rank pay, given by the fourth Central Pay Commission (4th CPC), had been withheld by unaccountable bureaucrats, who had issued the final implementation orders. Even if the rank pay is finally given in the coming months, many of those eligible have passed away or are bed-ridden, and, many had received lower pension also. Today, there are 39 unresolved anomalies from the 6th CPC, which gave its award in 2008...
The Army, for its part, needs to set its own house in order, weed out corruption, reward merit and concentrate on regaining its past glory, which was based on pure professionalism, discipline and leadership. Can the Prime Minister do something drastic to improve morale and combat capability of the military?
Extracted from original article click here for more

ESM protest central pension package

Ex servicemen protest central pension package
HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times
Sangrur, Patiala September 27, 2012
Dissatisfied with the central government's pension package and decision to take steps in a phased manner towards one rank, one pension (OROP), ex-servicemen and their families from across the state held a protest rally at War Heroes stadium here on Thursday.
Addressing the gathering, Col Bhag Singh (retd) said that the announcement of Rs. 2,300-crore pension package showed that the government was not serious about considering the demands of ex-servicemen.
He said OROP was needed as these men have contributed their life for the security of the nation and were not getting the rightful pension in exchange of their services.
He added that there were many anomalies in the pension schemes of ex-servicemen that required immediate rectification for the betterment of their families.
The protestors also demanded an increase in widow pension.
Meanwhile, deputy commissioner Kumar Rahul and chief parliamentary secretary Parkash Chand Garg assured protestors that their demands would be forwarded to higher authorities.
Ex servicemen protest central pension package

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.

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

Solicitor General Spins the Supreme Court for four hours

Tuesday, September 4, 2012
IV CPC RANK PAY CASE AS ON 04 SEPT 2012
The IV CPC Rank Pay Case was finally heard today ie 04 Sept 2012, in Court no 7, in the court of Hon’ble Justices RM Lodha, TS Thakur and Anil S Dave. The appeal file by UOI for recall of order of the Hon’ble Court dated 08 March 2010 was dismissed by the Court. The court upheld its order of 08 Mar 2010. The Solicitor General spent marathon four hrs to convince the court about the legitimate deduction of the rank pay but was not able to justify the deduction of rank pay and as to fitment of pay of Armed Forces officer vis a vis a civilian offr drawing same basic pay as on 1/1/1986.
The said order will be applicable to all affected offrs of the Armed Forces (AF) wef 01/01/1986 to 01/01/2006 across board. It would also be applicable to all pending cases in various courts and AFT’s across the country on the subject case.
The interest will be applicable @ 6% wef 01/01/2006 and not 1986. This is the only change made by the court. The court has also directed that all arrears should be paid within outer limit of 3 months from today ie 04 Sept 2012.
So, the pay and pension of all affected officers of the AF are set to revise from 01/01/1986.
Finally Three Cheers!! SATYAMEV JAYATE
IV CPC RANK PAY CASE AS ON 04 SEPT 2012
Comment: What will be impact of changes of Basic Pay of Fifth and Sixth PC's (1996 and 2006). Will the Government take ages for paying the arrears. The case has taken nearly 20 years, thanks to MOD, SLP's and friendly AG!

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

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

Pension and Pay Panel Discussion

How many Serving and Retired Military Officers have money stashed abroad?

Blackmoney: Indians have stashed over $500 bn in banks abroad, says CBI
New Delhi, Mon Feb 13 2012, 14:40 hrs
Indians are the largest depositors in banks abroad with an estimated 500 billion US dollars (nearly Rs 24.5 lakh crore) of illegal money stashed by them in tax havens, the CBI Director said today.
India, in particular, has suffered from the flow of illegal funds to tax havens such as Mauritius, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, British Virgin islands etc.
"It is estimated that around 500 billion dollars of illegal money belonging to Indians is deposited in tax havens abroad. Largest depositors in Swiss Banks are also reported to be Indians," CBI Director A P Singh said speaking at the inauguration of first Interpol global programme on anti-corruption and asset recovery.
He said getting information about such illegal transactions is a time taking process as investigators have to peel each layer by sending judicial requests to the country where such deposits have been made.
"53 per cent of the countries said to be least corrupt by the Transparency International Index are offshore tax havens, where most of the corrupt money goes. The tax havens include New Zealand, which is ranked as the least corrupt country, Singapore ranked number five and Switzerland number seven," Singh said.
He said there is a lack of political will in the leading tax haven states to part with the information because they are aware of the extent to which their economies have become "geared to this flow of illegal capitals from the poorer countries."
The CBI director said tracing, freezing, confiscation and repatriation of stolen assets is a legal challenge, a complex process which requires expertise and political will.
"Managing the asset recovery investigation is complex, time consuming, costly and most importantly requires expertise and political will. There are many obstacles to asset recovery. Not only is it a specialised legal process filled with delays and uncertainty, but there are also language barriers and a lack of trust when working with other countries," Singh said.
He said global financial markets allow money to travel faster and further making tracking the money trail in such cases even more difficult which necessitates the organisation of such global training programs as they enhance the knowledge of investigators in tracking assets created out of corrupt and criminal acts.
Singh said criminals are using the territorial issues of investigating agencies to their advantage by spreading their crimes to at least two countries and investing in a third.
"In some of the recent important cases being investigated by the CBI such as 2G, CWG and Madhu Koda, we find that money is taken to Dubai/Singapore/Mauritius from where it goes to Switzerland and other such tax havens.
"For criminals all it involves is setting up of a few shell companies and then making layered transfers from account to another in a matter of hours as there are no boundaries in banking transactions," he said.
He said the World Bank estimates the cross border flow of money from criminal activities and tax evasion is around 1.5 trillion US dollars of which 40 billion US dollars is bribe paid to government servants in developing countries.
Singh quoted the report to say that only five billion US dollars of this money has been repatriated during 15 years.
Blackmoney: Indians have stashed over $500 bn in banks abroad, says CBI

Corruption in Military: Falling Standards of Officer Cadre

Corruption in military
The malady requires an effective remedy
by Lt-Gen Harwant Singh (retd)
The Tribune Thursday, July 12, 2012, Chandigarh, India
A TV channel recently showed a sting operation in which a junior commissioned officer is caught on camera handling wads of currency notes allegedly obtained from prospective candidates for various jobs in the military with a colonel-rank officer operating in the background. A maj-general is caught red-handed taking money from a contractor. These two are the more recent incidents of corruption in the Army. One is from down South, near Pune (National Defence Academy), and the other from up North in J and K. Earlier we had the case of Sukna land scam in the East where a few Lt-Generals were involved and were duly court-martialled. The DG, Supply Corps, a Lt-General rank officer, is court-martialled on charges of corruption.
A few from very high echelons of the Army are involved in the Adarsh housing society scam. The Supreme Commander of the armed forces, forsaking the very propriety of the act, reportedly made a desperate attempt to grab the military’s land in Pune. A more recent development is that of the nudging by the Supreme Court to hold court-martial of a number of officers involved in fake encounters at Pathribal in J and K, though the military should have done so on its own. Colonel Purohit is alleged to have been associated with a terrorist group. If all this is not enough, a second incidence of gross indiscipline in a unit at Nyoma in Ladakh leads one to infer that it is not only probity and integrity that are under assault but discipline also is on the wane. Corruption, malfeasance, fake encounters, ill-discipline, etc, from one end of the country to the other and right across the rank structure, give the impression that all is not well with our military.
During the last few decades the composition of manpower intake, both of officer class and the rank and file, has undergone a sea change. The military is simply not able to get suitable material, not only in the officer cadre, but in recruitment of soldiers too. With the opening of the economy and expansion in civil services, a number of lucrative options are on offer for the youth. Those likely to join the military as soldiers find the state and central police forces as a better option. Faced with these constraints, has the military lowered its intake standards?
In the early 1980s, army headquarters ordered a study to review the system of recruitment and selection for entry into the officer cadre. I headed the committee constituted to examine and review the officer selection system. Though the selection process had stood the test of time, military career as such had become least attractive and, as a result of that, a fewer number of suitable candidates had been opting to join the officer cadre. Consequent to this development, there was discernible tinkering with the selection process. Since then there has possibly been further lowering of intake standards!
The officer selection process is based on a triad system of evaluation. In this system three different techniques are applied over a period of four to five days to assess a candidate’s ability. When these three techniques are applied correctly, they are expected to produce the same result, thus reinforcing the selection process three times over. It also eliminates the possibility of fudging the result by an operator of any of the three techniques without being found out. When applied correctly, it is the most comprehensive and authentic selection process devised so far anywhere, in any army. Of late, the DRDO has managed to bring in some changes in the selection process, perhaps for the worse. During the eighties the DRDO, working on the recruitment intake standards, had projected that weight carrying capacity had no bearing on the height of a person and other physical attributes and, as such, the requirement of a minimum height for recruitment be done away with. One was constrained to observe that the Army wanted to recruit soldiers and not coolies.
It may be argued that the military is a mere reflection of society — where corruption is rampant, right across the national spectrum, and is accepted and even respected. When cheating and lack of discipline are all-pervasive, the military could not remain unaffected. After all, the Army draws its manpower from the same stock. Even so in this climate of loot and plunder, malfeasance and state of lawlessness, the military has strived hard to maintain its core value system by creating a sort of rampart of “do’s and don’ts” to isolate it from outside influence.
Of late, this rampart has been under attack, both from outside and within and breaches have appeared, but the military has made brave attempts at repairing this wall of core values. Cases of corruption, misconduct, false encounters and cheating have often manifested from within, cutting right across the rank structure. But the military has been quick to deal firmly with all such aberrations. Though a more recent development, venality threatens to engulf the very top echelons of the Army.
Some may contend that the level of corruption in the military is not even a minuscule of what prevails in the government machinery and civil society, and, therefore, there is no need to worry about it. Military service is quite apart from all other callings and it demands the highest standards in probity, integrity and personal conduct from its officers. Any shortfall in these will render the force ineffective, and national security will stand imperilled.
Even with the lowering of intake standards, the Army continues to remain short of over 12000 officers, thus reinforcing the fact that over time military career has been turned into the least attractive option. The officer cadre has seen an influx of not so suitable leadership material and, as such, the profile of the officer cadre has been undergoing a change for the worse. Though the military does strive to develop leadership skills in its young officers and instil in them an appropriate value system, in many cases it does not succeed.
However, individual aspirations, careerism, personal gain and dilution of leadership traits do sometimes get the better of some individuals, but where failings in character qualities surface, or discipline is lacking, action to correct the fault-lines is both stern and swift. It is essential to detect fault-lines in character at early stages of an officer’s career and apply correctives, which could even be weeding out.
The senior leadership in the military no more insists on setting good and enviable standards of conduct for juniors to follow. A few, at the very top, have faltered and fallen prey to greed. As the higher rank officers climbed into what is called “five star culture”, quite distinct from what fits in the military’s way of life, lower down the ladder some junior rank officers slid down to levels unacceptable for the officer class.
Finally, the officer cadre is the very soul of an army and mainspring of the whole mechanism. Any fall in its standards will surely lead to failures during a war.
Corruption in military