The attack on Mumbai on 26/11 is over, people have mourned their dead, central and state governments have made the right noises, medals have been awarded (deserved or not) and we, who were far away, are back to our daily routines. Then come visuals over the TV channels of CCTV grabs showing the Pakistani killers moving about casually in the two hotels and firing their weapons nonchalantly. Though no time is indicated on the CCTV visuals but it indicates it was much after the initial mayhem they created on entry into these hotels.
What strikes me is that they did not appear to be worried about any retaliatory action by the security forces and were moving about together. They really must have had a field day shooting up the guests and staff at leisure. Despite having created so many senior appointments in a top heavy hierarchy there was no one to intercept them. The govt is lavish in creating Asst DGPs,Addl DGPs, Spl DGPs and DGPs but there are no officers to lead the policemen and fight the terrorists. Lets be honest, the police is now being lead by Inspectors and Sub Inspectors.
The IPS officers have become pen pushers like the IAS Babus. If someone refutes it then let him account for the number of IPS officers who have died in action against either Naxalites or terrorists in Punjab, J&K, Mumbai or any state in NE India. I can declare as a soldier who has seen action in 1965 and 1971 that the only person in the Mumbai police who deserved a medal was Tuka Ram Omble, and none else. If the Army were to award gallantry medals like they were given to police officers and men, the Nashik Mint will have to work three shifts to produce enough of them!
The sad part is that despite various organisations like ATS, Crime Branch, Encounter Specialists and so on, when it comes to a crunch, the police would like the Army to get their chestnuts out of the fire. What use are all these officers who go about sporting badges of ranks equivalent to Maj Gens and Lt Gens when they cannot even man the control room in a crisis and coordinate action to be taken against a threat. It is common knowledge that Mumbai Commissioner Police was sitting in his car outside Hotel Trident, instead of being at his post. I presume it is easier to dish out medals than sacking non performers.
That brings me to the refusal of the MOD to place the NSG under the Army, as requested by the Chief of Army Staff. A legitimate request as the force is trained by the Army and its cutting edge is entirely officered and manned by the Army. I guess the bureaucrat and the politician is quite happy to have bumbling heads like DGP Roy & Commissioner Ghafoor. No wonder Mr Dutt did not raise hell when he had to let his men wait for an IAF aircraft coming from Chandigarh. Not realising that the delay would make the job of his men more difficult and give the terrorists time to kill many more of their hostages. Why don't the people of Mumbai raise their voices at being at the mercy of a badly led police force which, except for one man, just disappeared into thin air?
Lt Gen SK Bahri (Retd)
Showing posts with label Police Medals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Police Medals. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Medals pose gallantry query 26/11 shower lifts eyebrows
The Telegraph: Medals pose gallantry query 26/11 shower lifts eyebrows by SUJAN DUTTA New Delhi, Feb. 18: The Indian Army finds an “awkward” situation arising after the government this year conferred as many as 11 Ashok Chakras, the highest peacetime gallantry awards most of them to policemen who were killed.
Unable to articulate its dissent in public, the army has expressed its protest by posting on its website the criterion for conferring the medal which, it says, is not meant for members of the regular police services.
In reality, officers in Army Headquarters here say in private that they find the decision to award the Ashok Chakra to Hemant Karkare, Vijay Salaskar and Ashok Kamte of the Maharashtra police and Mohan Chand Sharma of Delhi police dubious because their actions do not fit the definition of “conspicuous gallantry beyond the call of duty”.
The four policemen died in the course of their duties, the first three in the terror attacks in Mumbai and Sharma in the encounter at Batla House in Delhi’s Jamia Nagar.
Former army officers are voicing dissent. “The Ashok Chakra has an aura and a dignity only because it is given rarely. It will lose that dignity if it is given away commonly. Second, these awards are for gallantry and not for dying.
“My condolences to the families and it is true that they have died in action but unfortunately I do not think they are deserving of gallantry,” says former deputy chief of army staff, Lieutenant General (retired) Raj Kadyan.
Kadyan says maybe the army is itself to blame because it recommended the Kirti Chakra, also a gallantry award a notch lower than the Ashok Chakra, to Brigadier R.D. Mehta, India’s defence attache who was blown up when a terrorist drove a bomb-laden truck into the embassy in Kabul.
“There is no gallantry in getting blown up,” he says. “By that token, every civilian in Sarojini Nagar who was killed in terrorist blasts or in CP (Connaught Place) ought to be given Ashok Chakras.”
There are also insinuations that political expediency shaped the decision on the Ashok Chakras for Sharma and Karkare. The BJP had demanded the medal for Sharma who led the raid against the alleged Indian Mujahideen suspects in Batla House where he took bullets and died hours later. Karkare, of Maharashtra police’s anti-terror squad, was leading the probe into the Malegaon blasts in which an army officer is an accused.
Since the Ashok Chakra — its wartime equivalent is the Param Vir Chakra awarded for gallantry in the face of the enemy — was instituted, only about 40 have been granted. The highest given in a single year was three in 2002 to security personnel involved in defending Parliament against the attack on December 13, 2001.
But on January 26 this year, 11 Ashok Chakras were given by the President, and the Republic Day parade was cut short to make time for the award-giving ceremony. The Ashok Chakra is the only gallantry award given on Republic Day.
Six of the 11 awardees were for security personnel in 26/11 — all posthumous: Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan and Havildar Gajendra Singh (from the NSG), and Karkare, Kamte, Salaskar and Tukaram Omble from the Mumbai police.
The other awardees were inspector Sharma, Havildar Bahadur Dohra, Colonel Jojan Thomas, Orissa Special Operations Group assistant commandant Pramod Satpathy and Meghalaya’s DSP Raymond P. Diengdoh.
Former Vice-Chief of Army Staff Lt General Vijay Oberoi, who lost a leg in the 1965 war with Pakistan, says in an article titled Death is humbling but not synonymous with bravery that “by all accounts, all four police officers were highly efficient, dedicated and exemplary officers. Their devotion to duty needs to be recognised and honoured, but this is not the way of doing so. There is a vast difference between gallantry awards and awards for distinguished service. A large number of military personnel, especially from the army, lay down their lives or lose limbs fighting terrorists in various parts of the country, nearly on a daily basis…. Yet most of them do not qualify for earning gallantry awards….
“Let me cite my own example. I lost my leg during the 1965 Indo-Pak War and became permanently disabled, but I did not get any award. Neither did I ever think that I should have been given one. The same is the case with the large number of soldiers and officers who are killed or disabled in wars or warlike situations. That is how it should be.”
Medals pose gallantry query 26/11 shower lifts eyebrows
Comment: The aura and halo of Ashok Chakra reduced to medal for dying sans bravery. The Military Medals are being freely distributed to those not in the Armed Forces! The Police too should come under the Army Act to be eligible for the awards?
Friday, February 20, 2009
SCPC: Armed forces form panel to resolve pay matters
Ajay Banerjee, Tribune News Service, New Delhi, February 18
Realising that the forthcoming general elections would put their pending demands on hold, the top brass of the armed forces have formed a high-powered committee to seek early resolution of the two remaining pay and status-related issues that have had the troops worried over the past six-eight months.
The committee was formed following directions from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in December last to sort out the four-core issues raised by the armed forces after the Sixth Pay Commission was implemented. While two issues had been resolved, the rest remained.
As the model code of conduct was impending, the armed forces fear that their two demands needed immediate attention, a senior officer said. One is that grade pay for all ranks of officers to be at par with the their counterparts in the civil services. Presently, the committee of secretaries that was looking into the anomalies of the Sixth Pay Commission had created difference by raising the grade pay of civil service officers. This means the salary of person on civil side, including the police, would be higher and was affecting the entire lot of officers.
The other pending issue is putting all lieutenant generals at par with director generals of police. In the previous Fifth Pay Commission, the DGPs were at par with lieutenant generals. Now, the Sixth Pay Commission has bifurcated the lieutenant generals and the equivalent ranks in the Navy and IAF into two. The GOC-in-C, their Naval and IAF equivalents and few other officers at the headquarters are in a grade that is higher than that of the DGPs while other lieutenant generals are in a grade lower than the DGPs. This anomaly is affecting about 150 officers.
Armed forces form panel to resolve pay matters
Realising that the forthcoming general elections would put their pending demands on hold, the top brass of the armed forces have formed a high-powered committee to seek early resolution of the two remaining pay and status-related issues that have had the troops worried over the past six-eight months.
The committee was formed following directions from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in December last to sort out the four-core issues raised by the armed forces after the Sixth Pay Commission was implemented. While two issues had been resolved, the rest remained.
As the model code of conduct was impending, the armed forces fear that their two demands needed immediate attention, a senior officer said. One is that grade pay for all ranks of officers to be at par with the their counterparts in the civil services. Presently, the committee of secretaries that was looking into the anomalies of the Sixth Pay Commission had created difference by raising the grade pay of civil service officers. This means the salary of person on civil side, including the police, would be higher and was affecting the entire lot of officers.
The other pending issue is putting all lieutenant generals at par with director generals of police. In the previous Fifth Pay Commission, the DGPs were at par with lieutenant generals. Now, the Sixth Pay Commission has bifurcated the lieutenant generals and the equivalent ranks in the Navy and IAF into two. The GOC-in-C, their Naval and IAF equivalents and few other officers at the headquarters are in a grade that is higher than that of the DGPs while other lieutenant generals are in a grade lower than the DGPs. This anomaly is affecting about 150 officers.
Armed forces form panel to resolve pay matters
Monday, February 9, 2009
Gallantry Awards - sans bravery
This years’ Republic Day awards have diluted and corrupted the system. We are being carried away by the media. I am confident that none of the defence personnel both serving and retired would approve dishing out these to policemen. We have forgotten the Defence Services Regulation.
How about the men of Border Roads Organisation who worked under the constant threat of Taliban and completed one of the most challenging tasks in Afghanistan? Every day soldiers are doing some of the most challenging tasks which a normal human being will never even think of attempting because of the risk involved. A patrol in mountains during a blizzard, demining, removal of blind bombs, clearance of landslides, rescue of flood marooned- the list goes on. The system has done great injustice to all those people who have displayed courage.
In Mumbai, a NSG commando to clear a terrorist enters the hotel room knowing fully well that he is going to be shot at. When he is faster than the terrorist and shoots him down, his courage as per the system is less than the one who gets shot in a similar situation. How can one compare? One fails to understand! The martyred gets the highest award and the courageous and fast commando will have to wait for the next opportunity to be martyred to receive such an award posthumously.
Lt Gen (Retd)KS Rao,PVSM,SC,SM
Arjuna Awardee
Controversy hits awards for 26/11 cops
How about the men of Border Roads Organisation who worked under the constant threat of Taliban and completed one of the most challenging tasks in Afghanistan? Every day soldiers are doing some of the most challenging tasks which a normal human being will never even think of attempting because of the risk involved. A patrol in mountains during a blizzard, demining, removal of blind bombs, clearance of landslides, rescue of flood marooned- the list goes on. The system has done great injustice to all those people who have displayed courage.
In Mumbai, a NSG commando to clear a terrorist enters the hotel room knowing fully well that he is going to be shot at. When he is faster than the terrorist and shoots him down, his courage as per the system is less than the one who gets shot in a similar situation. How can one compare? One fails to understand! The martyred gets the highest award and the courageous and fast commando will have to wait for the next opportunity to be martyred to receive such an award posthumously.
Lt Gen (Retd)KS Rao,PVSM,SC,SM
Arjuna Awardee
Controversy hits awards for 26/11 cops
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Death is humbling but not synonymous with bravery
Date: Wednesday, 4 February, 2009, 5:22 PM
Dear All,
My article relating to the largesse in awarding Ashoka Chakras this year, titled "BRAVERY AND DEATH" is attached.
I had sent this article to the Indian Express on 26 Jan 09, but they did not publish it. I then sent it to the Hindustan Times last week and it has been published today (04 Feb 2009) in the Chandigarh Edition. Last para and a half of my piece has not been published. My original article is appended below.
The analyst I have quoted is Col Kharab, who had written a piece soon after the Mumbai Mahem.
Regards,
Vijay Oberoi
DEATH IS HUMBLING BUT NOT SYNONYMOUS WITH BRAVERY
By
Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi
An unprecedented eleven Ashoka Chakras were presented by the Rashtrapati on the 60th anniversary of the Republic. That the numbers are exceptionally high may not be an issue, as bravery of the most exceptional order cannot and must not be constrained by numbers. However, the highest peace-time award must only be bestowed for exceptional bravery and for no other reason. There is a question mark on whether the awards this year were given only to the exceptionally brave.
In writing this piece I am aware that I am touching a sensitive issue, especially as it is about the death of four highly regarded police officers. To that extent, I am guilty of being politically incorrect, but there are times when one has to speak one’s mind, however unpalatable it may be. This is one of those exceptional occasions. My aim in doing so is not to denigrate the sacrifices made by these officers but to caution the national leadership not to succumb to political expediency when considering such weighty issues as conferring of the highest bravery awards.
We Indians are highly emotional when it comes to death, but emotions have no place when it is a question of recognising valour. The highest recognition for exceptional bravery is the award of Ashoka Chakra in peace time and that of the Param Vir Chakra in the face of the enemy during war. These are the only two awards that are bestowed publicly at the Republic Day Parade and for good reason, so that the bravery of the awardees is fully appreciated by the entire nation. All other awards, for bravery as well as for distinguished service, are presented by the Rashtrapati on investiture parades held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
In accordance with the official website, Ashoka Chakra is awarded for most conspicuous bravery, or some act of daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice otherwise than in the face of the enemy. All ranks of the army, the navy and the air force, members of the nursing services of the armed forces or of any of the reserve forces, the territorial army, militia and of any other lawfully constituted forces are eligible to receive this medal. Civilian citizens of either sex in all walks of life, other than members of police forces and of recognised fire services are also eligible.
Soon after the terrorist attack in Mumbai, where a number of senior police officers had lost their lives within a few hours of the terrorist strike, an analyst had termed them “Innocent Casualties”. In amplification he had stated that these three officers, along with a few policemen had been surprised, waylaid and butchered without getting a chance to use their weapons. Perhaps their lack of training did not permit them to anticipate and react with operational swiftness. Their dear ones do deserve our deep sympathy and heartfelt condolences, as well as care and compassion, but do they meet the criteria of “the most conspicuous bravery”? The same applies to another police officer who was unfortunately killed in an earlier incident in Delhi.
By all accounts, all four police officers were highly efficient, dedicated and exemplary officers. Their devotion to duty needs to be recognised and honoured, but this is not the way of doing so. There is a vast difference between gallantry awards and awards for distinguished service. A large number of military personnel, especially from the army, lay down their lives or lose limbs fighting terrorists in various parts of the country, nearly on a daily basis. Their sacrifices are for the country. Yet most of them do not qualify for earning gallantry awards, even of a lesser category. Let me cite my own example. I lost my leg during the 1965 Indo-Pak War and became permanently disabled, but I did not get any award. Neither did I ever think that I should have been given one. The same is the case with the large number of soldiers and officers who are killed or disabled in wars or warlike situations. That is how it should be.
In the army, grant of gallantry awards is an elaborate process, where commanders at successive levels give their recommendations after evaluating all facts. Eventually, a committee presided over by the Vice Chief takes the final decision. During this process, the operational staff briefs the committee about all facets of the relevant operations. It is only when all members of the committee are fully satisfied that the award is approved. In the case of higher level of awards, the cases also need the Chief’s approval and later that of the Minister of Defence.
The trend of bestowing gallantry awards merely because officers had lost their lives in terror-related incidents goes back to the death of two senior officers in Afghanistan in a terrorist incident, who were awarded Kirti Chakras, the second highest gallantry award not in the face of the enemy. The two, one a brigadier from the army and the other an officer of the foreign service, lost their lives as they were driving in when an explosive device was exploded by terrorists at the embassy gate. Surely there was no bravery there. The government must take all actions to help the next of kin monetarily and for subsequent rehabilitation, but it must not be done by bestowing high level gallantry awards. Such hasty and irrational decisions taken by the Government devalue the awards, besides creating embarrassment.
My concern in this piece is that if we persist in this type of populous largesse, the sanctity and aura attached to these highest level gallantry awards that the nation bestows on the bravest of the brave would disappear. Surely, the nation does not want this, even if some political leaders desire it for extraneous reasons.
Dear All,
My article relating to the largesse in awarding Ashoka Chakras this year, titled "BRAVERY AND DEATH" is attached.
I had sent this article to the Indian Express on 26 Jan 09, but they did not publish it. I then sent it to the Hindustan Times last week and it has been published today (04 Feb 2009) in the Chandigarh Edition. Last para and a half of my piece has not been published. My original article is appended below.
The analyst I have quoted is Col Kharab, who had written a piece soon after the Mumbai Mahem.
Regards,
Vijay Oberoi
By
Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi
An unprecedented eleven Ashoka Chakras were presented by the Rashtrapati on the 60th anniversary of the Republic. That the numbers are exceptionally high may not be an issue, as bravery of the most exceptional order cannot and must not be constrained by numbers. However, the highest peace-time award must only be bestowed for exceptional bravery and for no other reason. There is a question mark on whether the awards this year were given only to the exceptionally brave.
In writing this piece I am aware that I am touching a sensitive issue, especially as it is about the death of four highly regarded police officers. To that extent, I am guilty of being politically incorrect, but there are times when one has to speak one’s mind, however unpalatable it may be. This is one of those exceptional occasions. My aim in doing so is not to denigrate the sacrifices made by these officers but to caution the national leadership not to succumb to political expediency when considering such weighty issues as conferring of the highest bravery awards.
We Indians are highly emotional when it comes to death, but emotions have no place when it is a question of recognising valour. The highest recognition for exceptional bravery is the award of Ashoka Chakra in peace time and that of the Param Vir Chakra in the face of the enemy during war. These are the only two awards that are bestowed publicly at the Republic Day Parade and for good reason, so that the bravery of the awardees is fully appreciated by the entire nation. All other awards, for bravery as well as for distinguished service, are presented by the Rashtrapati on investiture parades held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
In accordance with the official website, Ashoka Chakra is awarded for most conspicuous bravery, or some act of daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice otherwise than in the face of the enemy. All ranks of the army, the navy and the air force, members of the nursing services of the armed forces or of any of the reserve forces, the territorial army, militia and of any other lawfully constituted forces are eligible to receive this medal. Civilian citizens of either sex in all walks of life, other than members of police forces and of recognised fire services are also eligible.
Soon after the terrorist attack in Mumbai, where a number of senior police officers had lost their lives within a few hours of the terrorist strike, an analyst had termed them “Innocent Casualties”. In amplification he had stated that these three officers, along with a few policemen had been surprised, waylaid and butchered without getting a chance to use their weapons. Perhaps their lack of training did not permit them to anticipate and react with operational swiftness. Their dear ones do deserve our deep sympathy and heartfelt condolences, as well as care and compassion, but do they meet the criteria of “the most conspicuous bravery”? The same applies to another police officer who was unfortunately killed in an earlier incident in Delhi.
By all accounts, all four police officers were highly efficient, dedicated and exemplary officers. Their devotion to duty needs to be recognised and honoured, but this is not the way of doing so. There is a vast difference between gallantry awards and awards for distinguished service. A large number of military personnel, especially from the army, lay down their lives or lose limbs fighting terrorists in various parts of the country, nearly on a daily basis. Their sacrifices are for the country. Yet most of them do not qualify for earning gallantry awards, even of a lesser category. Let me cite my own example. I lost my leg during the 1965 Indo-Pak War and became permanently disabled, but I did not get any award. Neither did I ever think that I should have been given one. The same is the case with the large number of soldiers and officers who are killed or disabled in wars or warlike situations. That is how it should be.
In the army, grant of gallantry awards is an elaborate process, where commanders at successive levels give their recommendations after evaluating all facts. Eventually, a committee presided over by the Vice Chief takes the final decision. During this process, the operational staff briefs the committee about all facets of the relevant operations. It is only when all members of the committee are fully satisfied that the award is approved. In the case of higher level of awards, the cases also need the Chief’s approval and later that of the Minister of Defence.
The trend of bestowing gallantry awards merely because officers had lost their lives in terror-related incidents goes back to the death of two senior officers in Afghanistan in a terrorist incident, who were awarded Kirti Chakras, the second highest gallantry award not in the face of the enemy. The two, one a brigadier from the army and the other an officer of the foreign service, lost their lives as they were driving in when an explosive device was exploded by terrorists at the embassy gate. Surely there was no bravery there. The government must take all actions to help the next of kin monetarily and for subsequent rehabilitation, but it must not be done by bestowing high level gallantry awards. Such hasty and irrational decisions taken by the Government devalue the awards, besides creating embarrassment.
My concern in this piece is that if we persist in this type of populous largesse, the sanctity and aura attached to these highest level gallantry awards that the nation bestows on the bravest of the brave would disappear. Surely, the nation does not want this, even if some political leaders desire it for extraneous reasons.
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