What lures Generals to Panchkula?:

Panchkula: 'City of Generals'
PANCHKULA: Panchkula, the satellite town of Chandigarh, seems to be fast becoming the " City of Generals" as one more war veteran has made it his post-retirement home. Army commander of Western Command Lt Gen S R Ghosh, who hung up his uniform, has decided to settle down in Panchkula, which is already home to hundreds of Army officers including Gen V K Singh, who also retired recently, and former army chief V P Malik.
Lt Gen Ghosh said he loved the area during his stint as Army commander and decided to settle here because of the atmosphere and way of life the city offers for the defence personnel. Another reason for settling down here, he added, was that his wife, a retired bureaucrat, was born and brought up here. Ghosh, nevertheless, maintained that the city lacks maintenance and that considering the number of senior officers settling here, local bodies should focus on its proper upkeep.
Panchkula already has hundreds of officers and war veterans, who remained commanders of various vital formations of Army during conventional as well as non-conventional wars, settled here. Among them are former Army chief Gen (retd) Malik, former Army vice-chief Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi, former commanders -- Lt Gen H S Panag, Lt Gen P S Hoon, Lt Gen Deepinder Singh, LT Gen T K Sapru, Lt Gen G S Sihota, Lt Gen R S Dayal (died recently), Lt Gen Daljit Singh and Lt Gen Surinder Singh among others.
Sector 12, 12-A, 6, 20 and MDC have a high concentration of top Army officers. In fact, Panchkula has become a station of choice post-retirement not only for those from the region but also those belonging to other parts of the country.
According to senior Army officers, the city is one of the best urban planned cities of the country, has spacious roads, large lung spaces and planned markets. Besides, it is strategically located -- within an earshot of Shimla to the north and New Delhi to the south. With Chandimandir Cantonment in the vicinity, officers' link to service life and a large community of retired and serving officers make it particularly attractive.
Panchkula: 'City of Generals' gets 2 more after 'farewell to arms' by Ajay Sura, TNN Jun 1, 2012, 05.01AM IST

Club for Jawans: Bridging gap between Officers and Men

Club for Jawans: Army's attempt to abolish the relics of British Raj
Ajay Sura, TNN | Sep 3, 2012, 01.45PM IST
CHANDIGARH: In a serious attempt to do away with much of its colonial trappings in the 1.5 million strong 'hierarchy conscious' Indian army, the western command has opened a recreational club for the junior commissioned officers (JCOs) and Jawans-a facility, which was confined to the officers' class till date.
The state of art institute opened last week by chief of army staff, General Bikram Singh, is the first of its kind in the country in terms of standards, where Junior Commissioned officers/other ranks and their families would avail the facilities under one roof such as restaurant, gymnasium, library, cyber cafe conference hall and indoor games.
Development is seen as an attempt to bridge the gap between the officers and others ranks at a time when Army's colonial-era institutions are generating a crisis within its ranks. Earlier in the first week of May this year, the Army had announced that it was considering doing away with the colonial-era practice of sahayak or batmen, where soldiers are assigned to serve as valets.
Importantly, navy and air force had already such facilities for its JCOs/ORs rank but hierarchy-conscious army had not taken any initiative in this concerned and was yet to waken up from the 'colonial way' where white officers were being separated from the local soldier.
The newly opened recreational club at Chandimandir cantonment for soldiers has been named as 'Jadunath Sainik Institute'. Naik Jadunath of army fought the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, where Pak irregular had attacked Indian territories in Jammu & Kashmir. He died in the battle and was later awarded with country's highest gallantry award--- the Param Vir Chakra (PVC). Sources confirmed TOI that army is going to set up more such institutes across the country for its lower rung troops.
Till date, most of the cantonment and cities have institutes/clubs meant for officers only, where officers and their families are members for recreational activities.
Terming the development as 'winds of change' in the army, the defence fraternity is of the view that rule and regulations should change as per change of social and economical changes in the society.
Major General K S Bajwa, an officer of first batch of IMA, commissioned just before the India attained independence, said, "Today's jawan is well educated, more inspirational, having better expectation of life and the move would give them a sense of belongingness".
While terming the move as farsighted with large implications on troops, Gen Bajwa said that it would help in curbing the incidents that has occurred recently creating conflicts within ranks.
Club for Jawans: Army's attempt to abolish the relics of British Raj

CAG's googly on golf- Army stakes land use for the Club

Forces want golf made 'valid' sporting activity
Rajat Pandit, May 9, 2011, 01.44am IST
NEW DELHI: The armed forces want to have their golf and play it too. Senior officers want to tee off in the lush greens of their sprawling golf courses, without having to constantly look over their shoulders for audit watchdogs.
Stung by scathing reports of Comptroller and Auditor General of India, which year after year punches more holes into their golf courses than the 18 required, the armed forces have petitioned the defence ministry to include golf as "a valid sporting activity" on military land.
That golf is big in the military, almost becoming synonymous with having OLQs (officer-like qualities), can be gauged from the fact that over half of the around 180 golf courses in India are either owned or run by the armed forces.
The Army Zone Golf, for instance, runs 97 golf courses. And the military is loath to part with this "physical activity", which as senior officers put it, teaches " discipline, dedication and unwavering commitment in reaching one's goals".
"The armed forces want golf to be included as a legitimate sport on A-1 defence land (basically land in active occupation of military). The proposal is being examined, though it has got in-principle approval," said an MoD source.
This comes after a series of CAG reports pulled up the armed forces for unauthorized use of defence land for golfing purposes, with even some instances of "misuse of special financial powers" meant for operational requirements to purchase golf carts or construct buildings on courses being recorded.
CAG officials, on their part, say they are not against golf per se. "But 'Scales of Accommodation' for defence services do not include golf as an authorized activity on military recreation grounds," said an official.
"MoD has not framed any policy or set of rules to govern the running of these golf courses on prime defence land, as also the treatment of the revenue generated from these activities. So, as things stand now, these golf courses are unauthorized. The government can regularize them by changing the laws," he added.
The armed forces, however, feel CAG "needlessly picks on" their golf courses. In 2004, the then Army chief Gen N C Vij had declared golf as "a sports activity" and not just "a recreational activity", with golf courses even being named as "Army environmental park and training areas".
But CAG remains unimpressed. In the backdrop of scams like Sukna, Adarsh and Kandivali-Malad dogging defence land, MoD (the country's largest landowner, with 17.3 lakh acres under its control) needs to lay down clear-cut rules whether golf is legitimate or not. Otherwise, the audit watchdog and armed forces will remain at daggers drawn.
Forces want golf made 'valid' sporting activity
Comment: If Golf is a sports activity in the Army then Golf should be declared a troops game in which all ranks are permitted to play.
Army wants own empowered police force
Defence ministry launches land audit to curb scams

Nation bereft of Humane Values

We are proud Indians but I still feel there is something we must do to improve our nation. I do not have the answer to this but I feel basically the value of a human being is missing.
Few lines for pondering:
WE LIVE IN A COUNTRY

Where Pizza reaches home faster than the Ambulance and Police.

Where we get Car Loans @ 8% but Education loan is @ 12%.

Where Rice is Rs 40/KG but Sim Card is free.

Where a millionaire can buy cricket team, instead donate money in any charity. I personally hate this IPL nonsense- we as Indians should boycott this game in totality in its revised form.

Where everybody wants to be famous but nobody wants to follow the path for betterment of the nation.

Where people standing at tea stall reading an article about child labor from a paper and says “yaar bacho se kaam karne walo ko to fansi pe chada dena chahiye”
and then they shout - “oye Chotu 2 chai laana”
FIR BHI DIL HAI HINDUSTANI
JAI HIND
Hemant Kamboj
(Son of Brig CS Kamboj)

Hockey India

Hockey has been our national game. All it needed to play, as I remember from my childhood days in our village was, a vacant ground, four bricks to define two goal posts a ball and sticks. We played hockey in school and as I remember huge crowds used to gather in numbers when Aligarh and Allahabd Universities teams fought battle royals on the green grass field. We played as cadets in IMA also, Cricket was boring to watch for which we were detailed on Sundays.

Hockey seems to have fallen to bad days, especially the women's hockey, with the coffers of Hockey India become empty. Sadly the champion women are practicing in Bhopal with black band on their arms and little money in their pockets.

They are seeking help from the Nation, have opened an account in Syndicate Bank Bhopal Account No 77052010002970 in the names of Surinder Kaur, Dipika Murty, Mamta Kharb and Subhadra Pradhan. Bank code: SYNB0007705, Syndicate Bank, TT Nagar Branch, 75, Malviya Nagar, Bhopal 462003.

Let us all get together to help our team with what ever amount we can spare, what ever, it will all add up.

Brig Lakshman Singh VSM (Retd)

Hi-tech golf gear for the new-age golfer

1. X3R Remote Caddie www.stewartgolfusa.com

You will no longer have to cart your golf bag across the fairway from now. You can instead focus on your game with this remote-controlled caddie. Foldable (to fit into the car's boot) and easy to operate, it offers manoeuvrability and navigation up and down hills and across fairly rugged, uneven terrain.

2. uPro Golf GPS www.uplaytech.com

Golf and GPS devices have been hand-in-glove for quite some time. And now, after SkyCaddie, GolfLogix, GolfPS, StarCaddy, Suunto G9, etc. comes uPro, which debuted at the recent 2008 PGA Orlando show. It claims to provide high-resolution aerial captures, video flyovers and different views as well as GPS info to help you decide how to take a shot. An inbuilt laser rangefinder measures the distance between your location and the hole.

3. Photon Digital Scorecard www.photongolf.com/digicard.htm

Are you still keeping track of those birdies with golf pencils? It's time to zoom into the cyber age with a compact, digital pager-style belt clip unit that keeps an 18-hole score for up to four players. The Photon Digital Scorecard comes with a long-life battery, carabiner bag attachment and a shock-resistant case. It also features an integrated clock and an LED light to help you find your car keys in the dark!

4. Bushnell Range Finders www.bushnellgolf.com

These laser range-finding devices are perfectly legal even for pro tournaments. The Bushnell Pinseeker 1500, a top-of-the-line, 11.9 ounce (337gm), waterproof gadget, offers a range of 5-1,500 yards with a plus-minus yard accuracy and 7X magnification. Since it deploys a digital inclinometer, it can compensate for changes in elevation and determine distance based on the degree of change in the ground slope.

5. Soldius solarcharger golf bags www.mysoldius.com

Many a putt can be ruined by the dying bleeps of a cellphone battery just when you are expecting some important calls out on the green. But with the comfort of a solar charging golf bag alongside, you can chip and chatter away for hours out in the open. The bags include charging tips compatible with more than 250 phones.

6. Suunto G6 Pro www.suunto.com

You know the swing is all that matters in golf! So what if your wristwatch told you all about your swing ”right from measuring the rhythm, tempo, backswing length and the speed? Well, the G6 does just that. You can even hook it to your PC and use the accompanying software to download your swing analysis and game stats onto the computer to identify areas of your game that need some tweaking.

7. Golf Butler www.paramountzone.com/golf-ball-retriever-gadget.htm

Okay, there is nothing really high-tech about this one. This is a simple grip-end ball retriever. But it can save you all the bending. The handy accessory fits onto the end of your putter grip. So you just hold a club by its head and push the gripper over your ball to pick it up from even out of the bunkers and bushes.

8. Dixx Putter www.dixxgolf.com

This unique instructional putter deploys an onboard PDA-like computer to give you specific performance feedback on your shots (stroke patterns, path, impact points, tempo, speed). Along with an inbuilt level finder, it boasts an inertial Navigation System that tracks impact location and a Micro Electro Mechanical System to sense and monitor the motion of the putter. Also check out the Mark Digital Slope Inclinometer and Ball Marker.

9. Victorinox Swiss Army GolfTool www.swissarmy.com

Swiss knives are not all about bivouacking. This golfing special is a one-handed divot repair tool, removable ball marker, and tee punch with groove cleaner. Not to mention some of its more mundane accompanying facets: Bottle opener, nail file, blade, scissors, toothpick and tweezers. Like everything else Victorinox, this one too comes with a lifetime warranty.

10. Ballfinder Scout www.scoutgolf.com

It is touted as one of the most expensive and accurate ball-finding gadgets on the circuit. An innovative hand-held gizmo, it locates golf balls using a 3.2 megapixel digital imager. Ballfinder can find any standard white golf ball from a distance of 35ft just as long as three dimples (or 1% of the ball) are visible.

Ashish Bhatia