Defence Ministry declares Military as a Monarchy for succession

Defence Ministry: Concert of Errors
Nancy Kaul 02 Feb 2012
A distinguished historian once said, great civilisations do not die, but they can commit suicide. India, a nation and a civilisation, seems bent on taking this perilous path to ruin. Nothing else can explain the morbid determination with which the ruling Congress-led dispensation has set out to humiliate and destroy the Indian Army, the most vital institution for the country’s defence and security in an increasingly turbulent age.

Pig-headed acts of omission and commission by a few individuals concerned only with their petty egos and illicit calculations of gain or prestige are playing with the honour of the Army Chief, the nation’s preeminent soldier and an officer of sterling quality.

The entirely contrived controversy over the date of birth of Gen. Vijay Kumar Singh is little more than a clerical error that a previous Army Chief decided to exploit to create a ‘line of succession’ of his choice – though he had no legal or moral right to create such a chain of succession. The issue should have been sorted out by his successor, but he was upset over the current incumbent’s non-compromising attitude towards corruption in the ranks!

That is why the issue finally landed in the corridors of the Ministry of Defence, which promptly proceeded to make a hash of it. Babus without accountability or conscience stirred the pot, but Defence Minister A.K. Anthony – who did nothing and passed the buck around to colleagues Pranab Mukherjee, P. Chidambaram and Salman Khurshid among others – took the cake when he told the media that the issue was the creation of the Indian Army itself!

What for is he a Minister if he cannot untangle a non-binding error in a form, and reconcile the same with a wealth of legal documentation?

Certainly Mr. Anthony must take full responsibility for the sudden receipt of an undated letter by Army Headquarters on 23 Jan 2012, from the Ministry of Defence.

The letter is blatantly illegal, bad in law and intent, and is doubtless ab initio void. It is a hasty and clumsy attempt to ‘fix’ the legal record in favour of the Government, now that the General’s petition is being heard by the Supreme Court on Friday, 3 February 2012.

Had the Union Law Ministry, or even the unimpressive Attorney General been consulted, they would have warned about the perils of sub-judice. But whom the gods destroy, the first drive mad…

Thus, a bemused nation witnessed the spectacle of a deputy secretary in the Ministry of Defence, K.L. Nandwani, directing the Adjutant General (AG), the official record-keeper of the Indian Army, to ‘change’ its records and ensure that Gen Singh’s year of birth is recorded as 10 May 1950 [and not 10 May 1951 as recorded by a plethora of official documentation].

Does this mean that the Adjutant General should make the desired changes in each and every document that records 10 May 1951 as Gen V.K. Singh’s date of birth, viz. – the Pune military hospital where he was born; his father’s military service record; school leaving certificate; NDA and IMA certificates; career records; decorations and awards from the Government of India … Is it a joke?

But it seems the madmen at the MoD were serious, as the letter directs Army Headquarters to maintain ‘strict compliance’ with this order and send ‘a compliance report to the Ministry at the earliest’. So far, as the media has reported, compliance has been negative. And that is how it should be.

Given the outrageousness of this order, some points deserve to be mentioned:

The concerned bureaucrat was too junior an officer to dare to send such a missive to an officer of the status of Adjutant General

Clearly the letter was an attempt to browbeat the AG’s office at the instance of Defence Minister A.K. Anthony

Even the Defence Secretary would not have taken the decision to have the letter issued without clearance from the Minister for fear of being exposed via an RTI query and hauled up in the courts

The Prime Minister has conducted himself once again as the blind king Dhritrashtra, who brought no glory to the House of Pandu and ultimately caused the demise of each of his hundred sons.

Is Arunachal Pradesh a Monarchy?

Friends,
Arunachal Pradesh in the far Eastern corner of India is in the news these days as the Chinese are laying claim to it and the Indian Government is in a flurry!!

Just look at the pathetic state of development; very limited medical and educational facilities, minimum roads etc etc. And an almost illiterate Chief Minister having 4 wives!! (Obviously the Tribal Law permits this). Getting rich by the day!! click me for the main blog post

During 1962 War, there were any number of rumors that the Chinese had infiltrated spies, who were working in border Roads Organization and opened tea stall near Army units.

With this kind of development in the State, the Chinese will not find it difficult to subvert the population.

The Indian politicians and Babudom have neglected the East for decades. It is only the Army which has been a stabilizing factor and made the Indian presence felt.

God help Bharat!!!
Lt Gen Harbhajan Singh (Retd)
Obama Veering Towards Neutrality on Arunachal Pradesh?

Is Arunachal Pradesh a Monarchy?

Arunachal Pradesh a state in contrast- a plum pudding on the platter for the Chinese
Only politicians make hay in this land of rising sun that is inhabited by about 11 lakh people of 20 major tribes spread over 83743 square kilometer area and divided into 16 districts.

The frontier hill state has the poorest surface communication network, health facilities, education infrastructure in the country. The state has only 16 district hospitals but no referral hospital and no medical college even 37 years after attaining statehood. It has only nine community health centre (CHCs) against the requirement of 176 as per official figures.

The literacy rate is only 44.24 while 33.47 per cent people are living below poverty line against national average of 26.10 per cent.

But that doesn't deter politicians from getting richer and richer after every election. For instance, the incumbent Congress Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu, who has been elected unopposed for the three consecutive times from Mukto LAC in bordering Tawang district, has emerged the richest politician in the state since he became Chief Minister after 2004 Assembly election.

The Hindu: Sushanta Talukdar: 05 oct 2009
ITANAGAR: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu has lawfully declared that he and his four wives possess movable and immovable assets worth more than Rs. 21 crore.

Of these, the bank deposits of Mr. Khandu and his wives account for Rs. 18.10 crore. He also has financial instruments worth Rs. 1 crore.

Among the immovable assets, the Chief Minister possesses a 300-square meter plot at Gurgaon DLF Phase II. Its official market value is Rs. 37.50 lakh. A building erected on this plot has been valued at Rs. 37.50 lakh. Mr. Khandu also owns immovable property at Itanagar and Tawang, with their market value being Rs. 71 lakh.

Mr. Khandu has disclosed his assets in his affidavit filed with the Election Commission for the October 13 Assembly polls. He has been declared elected unopposed for a record third time from his Mukto constituency in Tawang district that borders China and is a strong contender for the top post this time too. His educational qualification as disclosed in the affidavit is Class VIII in Bhoti language. A comparison with Mr. Khandu’s assets and liabilities disclosed in his affidavit filed for the 2004 Assembly polls shows his assets have increased by more than five times.

His fourth marriage also happened during this five-year term. According to the 2004 affidavit, the total movable and immovable assets of Mr. Khandu and his first three wives was Rs 4.19 crore. As on September 21 this year, Mr. Khandu has Rs.15 crore in bank deposit, while his first wife Leki Zangmu has Rs. 10 lakh, second wife Rinchin Drema Rs. 1 crore, and third wife Nima Zangmu and fourth wife Karma Yotun Rs. 1 crore each.

A sum of Rs. 25 lakh is the cash Mr. Khandu has in hand, and his four wives Rs. 21 lakh. In 2004, Mr. Khandu had a total bank deposit of Rs. 2 crore and Rs. 5 lakh in hand.

As per the 2009 affidavit, the Chief Minister owns no vehicle, but his first wife has a Santro, second wife a Santro and a Scorpio, third wife a Santro and a Scorpio while the fourth wife has a Scorpio. Mr. Khandu has seven tolas of gold jewels valued at Rs.1.26 lakh; his first wife also possesses an equal amount of gold. The second, third and fourth wives have eight tolas of gold worth Rs 1.44 lakh each.
Khandu, wives own assets worth over Rs. 21 crore

Can the Governor, Ex- Army Chief impact improvement or will he tread the CM's footsteps?
Indian Army joins Chinese military in their national day celebrations
Prime Minister campaigns in poll-bound Arunachal Pradesh
A picture of contrast around Arunachal polls

UPA Ministry quick facts

NDTV Correspondent, Thursday May 28, 2009, New Delhi

Of the 33 Cabinet ministers, 15 hold a degree in law.

11 Cabinet ministers are postgraduates while 16 have completed their graduation.
Four cabinet ministers including the PM hold a Ph.D., one has an M.Phil. degree and one is a doctor.

Six Cabinet ministers of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's new team are 'non-believers'. These ministers "solemnly affirmed" that they would bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution while taking oath.

The 'atheist' ministers are A K Antony, P Chidambaram, Sushil Kumar Shinde, M Veerappa Moily, S Jaipal Reddy and C P Joshi, a first-timer in the cabinet.

The Prime Minister and 13 of his ministers took the oath in the name of God. The other ministers took oath in the name of God include Pranab Mukherjee, Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee, Vayalar Ravi, S M Krishna, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Kamal Nath, Meira Kumar, Murli Deora, Kapil Sibal, Ambika Soni, B K Handique and Anand Sharma.

As many as three MPs from the national capital, which is nearly half of the total MPs of Delhi, are in the PM's council of ministers.

Agatha Sangma is the youngest minister at 28, SM Krishna the oldest at 77.

The average age of the council of ministers is now a little over 62 years.

One out of every four UPA MPs is a minister.

The southern states have a higher MP:Minister ratio than the North.

Karnataka, with four ministers with 11 UPA MPs.

Kerala is close with six out of 19.

Of 35 UPA MPs, Tamil Nadu has nine ministers - most of them from the DMK.

But DMK chief Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi is not a minister, but son MK Azhagiri is.

Andhra Pradesh has the least of the southern states with four ministers.

Vilasrao Deshmukh and SM Krishna are not members of any House.

Among dropped ministers from last time: Arjun Singh, Shivraj Patil (who had already been dropped post 26/11), Sis Ram Ola, Saifudin Soz, Mahavir Prasad, TR Baalu, Oscar Fernandes, Ashwini Kumar, Santosh Bagrodia.

Despite the Congress bounty in Haryana, only Kumari Selja makes it to a ministerial post.

UP, which gave the Congress 21 seats under Rahul Gandhi's party revival plan, has only five ministers, but not a single Cabinet post.

There are five Muslim ministers.

There are 10 Dalit ministers.

There are nine women ministers.

There are nine former chief ministers in the Cabinet.

Ally tally: Trinamool Congress seven (one Cabinet, six MoS), DMK even (three Cabinet, four MoS), NCP three (One Cabinet, one MoS Independent Charge and one MoS), Muslim League and NCP one each.

Four former Indian Youth Congress presidents become ministers - Anand Sharma, Mukul Wasnik, Gurudas Kamat and Selja.
Most of the younger bunch of ministers are sons and daughters of politicians.
UPA Ministry quick facts