Territorial Army recruits ESM as officers

Known as Citizens’ Army, the Territorial Army (TA) is composed of 31 Infantry Battalions and 19 Departmental TA Units such as Railway Engineer Regiments, Oil Sector and Ecological, Signals and General Hospitals Units. The TA which carries out operational tasks, internal security duties and aid to civil authorities in support of the regular Army, has been playing a commendable role. The TA units have also been embodied for the Operation Parakram and deployed with various defence units including protection of essential service and oil and natural gas installations in Gujarat.

The Territorial Army is part of Regular Army and its present role is to relieve the Regular Army from static duties and assist civil administration in dealing with natural calamities and maintenance of essential services in situations where life of the communities is affected or the Security of the Country is threatened and to provide units for Regulars Army as and when required.

By the late 1990s the Territorial Army had a strength of approx. 40000 persons comprising of Departmental TA units such as Railway, IOC, ONGC, Telecommunication and General Hospital and the non Departmental TA units of Infantry Bn (TA) and Ecological Bn (TA) affiliated to various Infantry Regiments.

The report of the KP Singh Deo Committee on TA and the recommendations of the Group of Ministers (GoM) to have been considered and implemented. This would make the TA a visible platform for disciplined and trained citizens from all walks of life to support the regular Army. The strength of the TA recommended to be 80,000- 100,000 by the year 2007 from its strength of 40,085 as in 2006. What is the present status? Can it be conjectured that the strength is 1,00,000 on paper only.

The Government had also accepted the provision of 20 per cent reserve of TA officers to remove the deficiency of Company Commanders in Infantry Battalions (TA). Women to be inducted in non- departmental as well as departmental units of TA, initially in the officers rank and, later, in the lower ranks. At present, women are serving only in the General Hospital and Signal Regiments of the TA. Compulsory inclusion of government employees in the TA were to be explored with the inclusion of private sector partnership, keeping in view the terrorist activities and danger to strategic enterprises. TA and ESM were to play a major role in the proposed 'Trans-Himalayan Development Authority'.

Territorial Army
Evolution of territorial Army
Territorial Army recruits male Graduate citizens of India and EX service men as officers

Comment: Territorial Army is supposed to be the reserve army. Who are running the organisation? Whether Indian Army or Ministry of Defence? It is shame that the organisation does not have a website or any information about recruitment. What is the fun of giving information in wikipedia? The organisation needs to wake up from its slumber and hibernation and give good and wide publicity so as to attract young talent to join the TA.

Soldier Braves Challenges of Life

Remembering Jeet with her precious baby
It was in Jun 55 that I was married to my second wife, my first marriage; it was with all the pomp and ceremony with the Parade the marching columns and the Brass band in attendance. There were VIP’s presiding and relations, friends, colleagues, and a multitude of others present. I was on top of the world, having just braved the long and arduous ceremony, still decked in finery.

Little did I know that my new wife, my new love, had other plans for me. Demanding total submission, whimsical and unpredictable by nature, expecting and getting 24-hour attention, her control over me was total- deep, pervasive and complete, courtesy the ubiquitous Tele J (that was what we had those days to communicate).

My life style was totally controlled by her norms; I was reminded time and again that I had to follow the customs inherited from her forefathers. I did not even have choice of what I ate and when I ate, the timings were fixed; the menu was decided a week in advance.

Periodically, I would be taken out in wilderness, to asses how well I had been conditioned, physically and mentally even when deprived of basic comforts. I would , at times, even be put under test to determine if I was brave enough to face a bullet to keep her honor. However, I was still infatuated by her and the style, glamour and prestige accruing for having tied the knot with her

Then one day she had competition, her own doing, as she permitted me to marry a second time, to my first wife. I was in euphoria once again; the two of us living in our own world, alas the paradise lasted, only, till the leave of absence, a wedding gift, having run its course, came to an end. I was in a dilemma. Short of words and bereft of any logic to convince her, as to why she, a citizen, free to travel anywhere in the country, could not accompany me to where I was going. I did not have any option but to report back to the Second, abandoning the bride of few days, leaving her perplexed and heartbroken. It was some thing that happened time and time again.

Alas, one day, exactly after 30 years of devoted servitude, the Second, perpetually young, decided that I had become too old for her and pensioned me off.

I was now free to spend more time with Jeet and try to compensate for having neglected her all this time. The damage however had already been done, the pain suffered, hurt felt and tensions borne during the earlier life, had their cumulative effect and one day she also left me for her heavenly abode.

Abandoned by one and discarded by the other, I, now left alone, divide my lonely hours, longingly looking at the Photo hanging on the wall and with nostalgia at the uniform in the cupboard.

Brig Lakhsman Singh, VSM (Retd)

State War Memorial in Bhopal and Narsingpur stadium to be named after Col Ajay Mushran

I attended a function organised by the Madhya Pradesh Foundation at the India Habitat Centre, Delhi on 10 July 2008. In the presence of Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia MoS for Communications & IT , the Chief Minister Madhya Pradesh Shri Shiv Raj Singh Chauhan (BJP) announced that Madhya Pradesh would take steps forthwith to establish a War Memorial in the state. He also requested Mr Scindia and the former CM of MP, Shri Digvijay Singh to help get the message across to the politicians at the centre regarding the crying need to set up a national war memorial at Delhi.

To my mind it was not an empty promise. It was made in the presence of Army Chief, Vice Chiefs of Army & Navy, DGOS, DGMS(Army) & Brig Tom Pande, Mahavir Chakra - all are sons of Madhya Pradesh except Army Chief whose father in law Brig Tom Pande is from MP. The occasion was the second annual lecture in memory of late Col Ajay Mushran (Roddy's cabin mate at the academy) who served with distinction 26 yrs in the Army & 24 yrs in politics. Col Mushran was the respected Finance Minister in Digvijay Singh's cabinet.

The CM also announced that the stadium at Narsingpur, MP would be named after Col Ajay Mushran. The CM deserves kudos & the gratitude of Veteran soldiers from all over India for speedy implementation of his promise. Last week I came across the Tender notice issued by MP, inviting Expressions of Interest for setting up the War Memorial in the hills around Bhopal.

Incidentally, at the Function, the quote of the day & - one which was echoed by others came from Brig Pande. He said that today's soldier should be given a better quality of life and that the gaurv & samman of earlier days should be returned to him. He elaborated that everyone should realise that soldiers will often risk/ lay down their lives for that one inch of ribbon and not just for money!

Cdr Arun Saigal