SC quashes HC's gag order on troops movement

SC quashes HC's gag order on reporting troops movement
Friday, September 14, 2012, 16:29
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday quashed the Allahabad High Court order which had prevented media from reporting on the controversy related to alleged Army units' movement towards Delhi on January 16 amid the then prevailing row over erstwhile Army Chief V K Singh's date of birth.
A bench of justices H L Dattu and C K Prasad allowed the plea of Press Council of India which had challenged the order saying that court cannot impose such a ban on media as it violates the freedom of speech.
The bench said the high court erred in passing such order as ban on media was not sought and the prayer was only to hold an inquiry into the controversial incident.
"We are of the opinion that the high court should not have passed the order as the prayer before it was entirely different and it was inconsonance with the prayer made by the petitioner," the bench said.
The court also took into account its recent Constitution bench judgement which had said press can only be directed to postpone the reporting for a certain period.
The Centre also said it was against the high court's order and it should be quashed.
The high court had directed various Central and state government authorities on April 10 "to ensure that there is no reporting/release of any news item by the print or electronic media on the movement of troops."
The high court's order was passed on a PIL which said a national daily and a news magazine had reported on movements of the Army units from Agra to Delhi when the Singh's age row controversy was at peak. The petitioner had said the reports were against national interest.
The PCI had approached the apex court saying the order was in violation of the fundamental right under Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution, granted to the media and every citizen of the country.
SC quashes HC's gag order on reporting troops movement
Business Standard report

Freedom fighters of a different genre

The Tribune Wednesday, June 22, 2011, Chandigarh, India by Harwant Singh
The freedom movement was fast gaining momentum and all of the military could not remain totally unaffected. During leave, members of the regiment came in contact with Congress workers and some revolutionaries. On return, they disseminated what was picked up during leave. A few nationalist newspapers too were secretly being brought into the regiment. Since all ranks, to the exclusion of British officers were in it, this development remained under warps. There were a few secret meetings where nationalist feelings were expressed openly and vociferously, by the more vocal.
World War II had started and Indian troops were being moved to check the Italian offensive in North Africa. Soon this regiment too, received orders to move to that theatre of war. At one of the secrets meetings in the regiment it was unanimously decided by all personnel that they will decline to board the ship for move to North Africa to fight Britain’s war.
The regiment was moved to Bombay, on way to the war zone. At Bombay it was ‘formed-up,’ by squadrons, on the railway platform to be taken by train to the dockyard for further transportation by sea. There was a light drizzle and the atmosphere was surcharged with expectations of frightful consequences, as squadrons waited to defy orders. Then the adjutant gave orders to the troops to board the train. The Dogra and Jat squadrons mounted the train, forgetting the collective decision not to go abroad to fight Britain’s war, while the Sikh squadron personnel kept standing and did not react to the adjutant’s order. The adjutant repeated the order and still the Sikh squadron did not respond.
This disobedience by the Sikh squadron came as a great shock and surprise to the British officers of the regiment. The Sikh squadron had an enviable service record, spread over nearly a century, including during World War I and its personnel were considered fine soldiers, valiant, imbued with the spirit of sacrifice, loyal and true to their cause and oath.
The squadron was ordered to ‘ground arms,’ which the personnel dutifully did. Thereafter they were marched off to the barracks and placed under arrest. Several court martials were held. The charge was one of mutiny. Many were sentenced to be hanged, more were sentenced to life imprisonment, some others to varying lengths of prison terms. The remaining cashiered from service and the squadron was disbanded.
At the centenary raising day celebrations of the regiment in the late fifties, some from that squadron too came to join in the activities. Most amongst them had served life imprisonment and some others lesser terms, while the remaining had been cashiered from service. They had no regret for their action, nor any bitterness or rancour towards those, who had betrayed the collective decision not to fight Britain’s war, or remorse for the sufferings they had to undergo. They had acted according to their light, suffered much, lost everything and wanted no recompense for their tribulations. They too were freedom fighters, but of an altogether different genre.
Freedom fighters of a different genre

Lt Gen Nathu Singh: Courage and Candour has few equals or parallels

Dear Brig Kamboj.
1... edited... I have read with great care to what has been written about Lt Gen Nathu Singh. He was a great son of India, nationalist to the core and a true patriot. He was fortuitous that he had the benefit of a Royal and of the Nehru till he fell foul with Pandit Nehru post Independence.
2. His 2nd/3rd Son-Ran Vijay Singh as a Rear Admiral from the Navy. He was 1st/2nd JSW and was a Flier. Post Retirement, Family stays at Sanik Vihar Delhi. His Wife her Son to play with our Son at Vizag and the remain friends. I believe his Eldest Daughter is married Shri Arjun Singh. There would be many Naval Officers who can brief you better. Commader KK Punchi an Aviator for one.
3. History would record that one of the great blunders of UPA-2 would be not to grant OROP, indifference to difficulties of Veterans-particularly of Junior Officers and Other Ranks. Their this action has allowed IESM to be born. This Movement has created a forum and a platform for personal accounts, the real happening of historical events which were suppressed or not aired by ESM themselves in the best traditions of the yore. Whilst still remaining apolitical, they have been forced to demand their rights. But most importantly in this age of Internet and TV, they have united the ESM as never before. Not putting Henderson Brooks Report or the military history in public domain has become irrelevant. Sardar Patel's Letters and Gen Thakur Nathu Singh have found their rightfull place in military folk lore.
4. Lastly permit to say whilst doing invaluable service, IESM is still to attain full contours of democracy and inclusiveness and functions more like Mini Army Headquarters with writings in the-President is pleased--style. Of course there are many distinguished Air Force and Naval Officers on your honour rolls but few writes come from them. It cannot be that they do not know English. Similarly like Parliament the Other Ranks should be writing like US Army. Vernacular Languages can be accommodated in your signals with Computer translations. Then it would be become truly representative.
With best regards,
Cdr Prem P Batra Retired

Dear Brig Kamboj,
I do not know how many of you readers have had an opportunity to meet Gen Nathu Singh in person. I consider it my privilege to record my meeting with this illustrious soldier. It was in the year 1987. I was a Col in the Pay Cell. One fine morning, I was summoned by the Adjutant General, and told to go to the MH in Delhi Cantt and 'brief' Gen Nathu Singh on the effect of the Fourth Pay Commission on the pension of the KCIOs. Armed with all the details and the relevant files, I went to the Senior Officers' ward and reported to the general. The next two hours were moments to remember. I have not forgotten a word of what he said.
His pension meant nothing to him. He was an angry old man. He just did not like the way service officers were treated by the nation. What he said about about Field Marshal Cariappa is unprintable. According to him, the down slide of the service officers in the table of precedence started during that period. But the words which have got etched in my memory are the concluding part of the meeting. Gen Nathu Singh asked me if my 'Joru' ( wife ) was employed somewhere. When I answered in the affirmative, he said, "Chhore, too eik joroo ke liye nahiN kamaa sakta. Hamaare time meiN ham chaar joru ko samhaal sakte thei!" ( My dear child, you are not able to earn enough for just one wife. In our times, the salary was sufficient to support FOUR wives!"
When I debriefed my boss, his reaction was, "Forget what he says. the old man has gone senile". Be that as it may, I think he was a fine soldier. I will write some other time, about why some British officers had to be retained to provide leadership to our armed forces for several years after our Independence . Many of us remember RSM Ayeling in the NDA, and it is common knowledge that the Chiefs of the Air Naval and the Air Staffs were British until long after Aug 1947.
So much for Gen Nathu Singh. As per him, the history of the Indian Army would have been different if the first COAS was some one else.
But as Ghalib says:
Hui muddat ki Ghalib mar gaya par yaad aata hai,
Voh har ik baat par kehna ki yoon hota to kya hota!"
With fond regards,
Maj Gen Surjit Singh (Retd)
PS
The first two lines of the above ghazal are even more poignant for the Ghalib fans let me record them:
Na thaa jab kuchh, Khudaa tha,kuchh na hota to Khudaa hotaa
Duboya mujh ko honee ne ,na maiN hota, to kya hotaa?

NATHU SINGH AND CARIAPPA
Dear Brigadier Kamboj,
I was Gen Oberoi's CSO in Western Command, and I dare not contradict him. But since this concerns military history, I can't let it pass.
The story about Nathu Singh being offered the post of C-in-C is true. But it was not Nehru, but Sardar Baldev Singh who did it. Nehru did not like Nathu one bit. In the meeting that Gen Oberoi mentions, Nathu Singh objected to his proposal of keeping British officers in India, I am giving below extracts from Nathu Singh's biography that is part of my book LEADERSHIP IN THE INDIAN ARMY - BIOGRAPIHES OF TWELVE SOLDIERS. I have copies of the correspondence between Nathu Singh and Nehru and Baldev Singh.,The original Nathu Singh papers are with his son, Th. Amarjeet Singh, in Jaipur. Colonel Guman Singh, his son in law, has also given me some papers.
I have met Gen Nathu Singh. In fact I spent two weeks in MH Jodhpur in 1993, when we were both in adjoining rooms, but shared the same bathroom. I am attaching his biography, to give the real story.
regards,
VK Singh
Lt Gen Nathu Singh- A short resume by Maj Gen VK Singh

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Pulse of profound Patriotism and Professionalism vibrates in Lt Gen Nathu Singh's Nationalism exibited through his courage and candour that has few equals or parallels...
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Mahatma is Obama’s hero

Power Profiles showcase successful people who you can learn from. If there is any golden rule to follow, take advice from people who are already there.
The Hindu: Thursday, Sep 10, 2009
WASHINGTON: United States President Barack Obama has said if given a chance he would like to have a meal with his “real hero” Mahatma Gandhi, although the apostle of peace did not eat a lot.

Mr. Obama’s response came to a question from a ninth grade student at the Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia, who asked him if he could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who it would be.

“Dinner with anyone dead or alive? Well, you know, dead or alive, that’s a pretty big list,” he said amidst laughter. “You know, I think that it might be Gandhi, who is a real hero of mine,” Mr. Obama said. “Now, it would probably be a really small meal because he didn’t eat a lot.”

He said Gandhiji was someone who has inspired people across the world for the past several generations. “He [Gandhiji] is somebody whom I find a lot of inspiration in. He inspired Dr. King [Martin Luther], so if it hadn’t been for the non-violent movement in India, you might not have seen the same non-violent movement for civil rights here in the United States,” he said. — PTI
Mahatma is Obama's hero

Contribution of the Armed Forces to the Freedom Movement

Dear Friends,
This to inform you of the publication of my latest book, CONTRIBUTION OF THE ARMED FORCES TO THE FREEDOM MOVEMENT IN INDIA. This was the result of project that I did in 2007-08 for the USI.
I am attaching the front and rear jacket and a copy of the contents page.
Regards
Maj Gen VK Singh (Retd)


Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research
United Service Institution of India New Delhi
Contribution of the Armed Forces to the Freedom Movement in India
Maj Gen VK Singh
knowledge world
KW Publishers Pvt Ltd
New Delhi
Contents
List of Abbreviations v
Glossary of Hindustani Terms vii
Prologue ix
1 The Vellore Mutiny –1806 1
2 The Barrackpore Mutiny – 1824 11
3 The Great Indian Mutiny – 1857 19
4 The Singapore Mutiny – 1915 55
5 The Peshawar Mutiny – 1930 69
6 Mutinies and Revolts During World War ii81
7 The Air Force Mutiny - 1946 91
8 The Naval Mutiny – 1946 105
9 The Jubbulpore Mutiny – 1946 131
10 Nationalism in the Armed Forces 151
11 The Soldier’s Contribution to Indian Independence 167
Bibliography 185

REAR JACKET
The saga of India’s independence movement has been documented by scores of Indian and foreign authors, but none has documented the role of the Indian soldier in the struggle for freedom from British rule. The general public remains unaware and the nation’s leaders have never acknowledged or appreciated the part played by the military in this important chapter of our history. Some lost their lives, while many were deprived of their livelihood and liberty, without recognition or compensation. This book attempts to undo this injustice and acquaint the nation with the soldier’s contribution to the freedom movement.

Except for the Great Indian Mutiny of 1857, also called the First War of Indian Independence, historians have virtually ignored the uprisings by soldiers that occurred during the British Raj, many of which were politically motivated and inspired by a spirit of nationalism. Though the mutiny of 1857 was quelled, the spirit of nationalism that it kindled could not be extinguished. A number of smaller mutinies and revolts took place during the next 90 years, especially during the two World Wars and immediately after wards. These rebellions were instrumental in the decision of the British Government to pull out of India in August 1947.

The non violent struggle led by Mahatma Gandhi is universally credited for India’s independence in 1947. However, documentary evidence of that period conclusively proves that the crucial factor in the British decision to quit India was the realization that they could no longer trust the Indian military to maintain control over India. Had the Indian Armed Forces remained staunch, British rule would have continued for at least another 10 to 15 years.

Major General VK Singh is career soldier who was commissioned into the Corps of Signals on 27 June 1965. He served in the Army for 37 years, his last appointment being Chief Signal Officer of the Western Army. In November 2000 he joined the Cabinet Secretariat, (R&AW), where he served up to June 2004, when he retired from government service.

Major General VK Singh’s varied interests include adventure sports, military history and journalism. A regular contributor to magazines and journals, many of his short stories and poems were published in the Illustrated Weekly, Filmfare, Femina and Eve’s Weekly in the seventies and eighties. In later years he took to professional writing and has authored four books. His previous books are Through – Saga of the Corps of Signals (2001); Leadership in the Indian Army - Biographies of Twelve Soldiers, (2005); History of the Corps of Signals, Volume II, (2006) and India’s External Intelligence – Secrets of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in 2007.

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