Indian Army: News & Discussion

[chetak]

Sorry if posted before.

THE TRIBUNE

11 JULY 2010


Special powers for armed forces
We need clarity, not emotions
by Lt-Gen Vijay Oberoi (retd)

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, better known as AFSPA, has been brought out of wraps at various opportune times – opportune for those who have either something to gain, i.e. the insurgents in Jammu and Kashmir, political parties always ready to fish in troubled waters, with an eye on electoral gains or those who are regular establishment-baiters, who have made it a habit to take the plunge headlong in any controversy with the belief that if it is against an organ of the government, it needed to be opposed!



Many have called AFSPA a draconian law and have vehemently supported its repeal, but having read quite a few of their views and watched them pontificating on TV, I am convinced that most lack even a rudimentary, let alone in-depth knowledge on the subject. This Act has been in force for over five decades because it was essential for the conduct of smooth counter-insurgency operations by the army. It will continue to be needed as long as the army is employed on counter-insurgency/ terrorism tasks.



The Act was promulgated on September 11, 1958. The rationale for bringing the Act on the statute book needs to be appreciated. When the army was first employed on counter-insurgency tasks in Nagaland in the 1950s, two aspects came to the fore immediately. First, unlike in the case of maintenance of law and order, when the army is called out in ‘aid to the civil authority’, where time is available to employ the police before committing the army, operations against insurgents are entirely of a different genre, as the insurgents do not give any time for such niceties.



The insurgents we are fighting today are heavily armed, they act speedily, commit heinous crimes and disappear. Unless the army counters such actions with speed and not wait for orders from higher civil or military authorities, nothing would be achieved.



Secondly, the soldiers and officers of the army had to be protected from prosecution for consequential action taken against insurgents in good faith as part of their operations. Here too, the Act does contain the important caveat that the army personnel can be prosecuted with the Centre’s sanction, if their actions warrant it. There is, therefore, no blanket immunity from the laws of the land.



Over the years, some army personnel have indeed been prosecuted where a prima facie case existed. However, it is also true that due to the exceptional care which all army commanders take when their troops are employed against insurgents, such cases are few and far between.



After the initial employment in Nagaland, the employment of the army on counter-insurgency tasks continued increasing, till it was progressively employed in all the north-eastern states for such tasks. Along with such employment, AFSPA was also invoked in all affected states.



When insurgency erupted in Srinagar in 1990, the Act was extended to the Valley. Later, as the activities of the insurgents spread, first to the Poonch-Rajauri area, then to Doda and Bhadarwah and finally to the whole state, the entire state was brought under the Act’s purview in stages. It can thus be seen that AFSPA was invoked progressively only when the situation required the deployment of the army.



The army is designed and structured for fighting external enemies of the nation. Consequently, they are not given any police powers. However, when the nation wants the army to conduct counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist operations, then they must be given the legal authority to conduct their operations without the impediment of getting clearances from the higher authorities.



If this is not done, they would be unable to function efficiently and defeat the insurgents and terrorists at their own game. It is for this reason that the Act gives four powers to army personnel. These are for ‘enter and search’, ‘arrest without warrant’, ‘destroy arms dumps or other fortifications’ and ‘fire or use force after due warning where possible’. Once again, there is a safeguard in the Act, which stipulates that the arrested person(s) will be handed over speedily to the nearest police station.



The law stipulates that AFSPA can be imposed only after the area in question is declared a ‘disturbed area’ by the state government concerned. When this writer was the Director-General Military Operations (DGMO) and the army was asked to deploy in the Doda-Bhadarwah area, we requested for the invocation of the Act. The state government was reluctant to do so on account of political considerations, but we did not commence operations till the Act was invoked.



Clearly, the Army has no desire to get embroiled in counter-insurgency tasks. It is not the army’s job. However, despite over 50 years of insurgency in our country, the state police as well as the central police forces (CPOs) have not been made capable of tackling insurgency. Consequently, in each case the army was inducted to carry out counter insurgency/ terrorist operations. If the national leadership tasks the army for conducting such non-military operations, then it is incumbent on the leadership to provide the legal wherewithal to all army personnel employed on such tasks.



It is only then that the operations will be conducted in the usual efficient manner of the army and would be result-oriented. They also must be legally protected. It is because these two aspects have been catered for that the army has been neutralising the insurgents and terrorists, so that normalcy is restored and the political leaders and officials can restart governing.



The writer is a former Vice-Chief of the Indian Army

[Juggi G]

Rs 8,000-cr Artillery Gun Tender May Fail Again
Business Standard

[Craig Alpert]

Be Prepared for Anti-Naxal Fight: Army Chief To Officers

[sum]

Rs 8,000-cr Artillery Gun Tender May Fail Again
Business Standard

Have yet to see a bigger farce than this "deal" !!!

Anyways, this outcome was predicted by most on BR when news broke last month about the IA's wait finally ending..

[pgbhat]

Army Major under UN probe attempts suicide

An Indian army Major, who is under probe by the United Nations mission in Congo on sexual exploitation and abuse charges, allegedly attempted suicide, but is now out of danger.

Major R S Ghumman, who came under the scanner of the UN's Conduct and Discipline Unit (CDU) after he was allegedly found in the company of sex workers in a hotel there on July 6, tried to end his life "over the humiliation" he faced, Army sources in the headquarters said here today.

"The officer attempted to commit suicide and it took place about four or five days ago, reportedly over the humiliation he faced due to the probe against him. But we do not have information on the manner in which he made the attempt to end his life," the sources said.

During the course of questioning, Ghumman reportedly asked for a recess and was later found in a critical condition.

The sources said they were not aware if he was found in the residential facilities or at the UN Mission's office, where he was being questioned.

Fellow officers and men noticed him and rushed him to a nearby hospital, they said.
"He is out of danger now. He is safe and the questioning has re-started," they added.
An Indian Army Brigade is in Congo as part of a UN Mission for peacekeeping operations in the civil war-torn nation.

[chetak]

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100718/edit.htm#1

Targeted from within
It’s time to give our defence forces their due, says Maj-Gen Pushpendra Singh (retd)

Sunday, July 18, 2010,

India faces the gravest external and internal security threats today. Pakistan and China are colluding in besieging the nation from all land and sea frontiers and the Af-Pak end-game will, certainly, aggravate the situation.

Internally in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan’s Lashkar-e-Toiya, aided by anti-national elements, including some political parties, has unleashed a virulent psychological war to curtail the operational freedom of our security forces. In central India, China-sponsored Maoists have inflicted demoralising setbacks on the CRPF.

However, their prime target is the defence forces, which in people’s eyes epitomise the best in India by virtue of proven valour, self-sacrifice, character and national commitment. Pakistan and China regard it the only obstacle to their proclaimed intentions of dismembering the country. Yet, the Centre and the states, politicians, peaceniks and Maovadis continue merrily playing into their hands.

Foremost is the government itself which has kept the defence forces precariously short of critical weaponry. Ships, submarines, aircraft, artillery, infantry modernisation and strategic weapons — all remain dangerously deficient even 25 to 30 years after these requirements were first projected. While some procurement preliminaries have commenced, their induction and assimilation would still take many years. Can India afford to lower its guard for close to half a century? Yet, responsibilities in the Ministry of Defence are deliberately diffused. No Defence Minister or bureaucrat can ever be held accountable. Some field commanders may get the sack, a la Kargil!

Some days ago, a Parliamentary Committee ‘reviewed’ preparations on our frontiers. Our infrastructure is woefully short, they stated, China is way ahead of us. Did it really take a Parliamentary Committee to discover what has been articulated by the Army for decades? The Chinese railway to Lhasa took a quarter century, but babustan seems to have just woken up to its game-changing reality.

The campaign to dilute the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) has the militants and their sponsors salivating at the mouth. To get a perspective, we need only compare current counter-insurgency conflicts. The US uses artillery, aircraft and other heavy weapons against insurgents. Collateral damage is accepted – after all, making an omelette entails breaking eggs!

To avoid incurring heavy army casualties, even Pakistan employs such stand-off strikes against its citizens in the Afpak region — disregarding civilian lives. In contrast, our Army endeavours to avoid any civilian casualties, consciously uses only small-arms, necessitating face-to-face fire-fights — a high-risk, high-casualty option. Hence, militants often use civilian shields to engage the army.

As regards civilian deaths, over 95 per cent have been found baseless. In all proven cases, exemplary punishments have been expeditiously awarded by the Army’s justice system. Despite such commendable restraint, the life-and-death AFSPA decision will be taken by people who have never handled the butt of a rifle, leave alone fancied its business end. The Army will thus be forced to fight with both hands tied. Will it result in another partition? Only time will tell.

While all democracies ensure that servicemen’s sacrifices are nationally recognised and rewarded, India is unique in cheating them of their dues and attempting to undermine their prestige. The mandarins in the Ministry of Defence are perceived to be in the forefront of this unequal ‘corporate war’ against the defence forces. The rank-pay case is illustrative.

The Fourth Pay Commission (1986-1995) unambiguously awarded rank-pay in addition to basic pay. But babustan deceitfully deducted it while fixing the basic pay. Thirty-odd years afterwards, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the affected personnel. However, the Ministry of Defence has filed a review petition, despite having paid these very dues to Major Dhanapalan for 12 years. Is Union Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily listening?

A Right to Information (RTI) application sought to know how many Supreme Court judgments had been honoured by the Ministry of Defence without facing contempt of court? The MoD sections for Army and Navy gave evasive replies, but the one for Air Force replied, ‘Not One!’ No wonder in Sidhu vs Union of India, Supreme Court Judges Justice Markandeya Katju and Justice A.K. Patnaik made scathing comments against the government in admitting defence personnel’s emoluments and pensions.

The apex court asked the MoD counsel, “Is this the way you treat our army officers who are bravely defending the country’s borders? It is unfortunate that you are treating them worse than beggars.” Only, after much grovelling by the counsel did the court consent to keep some, even more incisive, comments off-record.

No wonder, despite Parliament’s Standing Committee on Defence having repeatedly asked the government to grant one-rank-one-pension, babustan constantly cites its inability to do so. Ninety-five per cent of IAS and IPS officers, all judges and scores of other categories already have this pension, yet it is found impractical for defence forces!

On July 7, 2008, a blast in Kabul killed Brig. Mehta and IFS officer V.V. Rao. The Ministry of Defence awarded family pension and other routine benefits for Mrs Mehta. However, for Mrs Rao, the MEA specially sanctioned lifetime full pay and retention of the official bungalow. Clearly, discrimination dogs defence forces even beyond the grave.

Officer shortages have been endemic now for so many decades that the issue has been killed by bureaucratic strangulation. The figures are alarming except for a don’t-care government. Some 30 per cent officers are deficient overall. However, in battalions and regiments in combat zone, the shortage of young officers soars above 55 per cent! With the government taking pains to deny honour to our heroes, to treat them as ‘beggars’ for every crumb of ‘largesse’ which is the norm for other services, is it any wonder that suitable youth no longer opt for the ‘honour’ of defending the nation – a sea-change in just a few years? Yet, even as officer-shortage is a severe handicap in the current proxy war, it may well result in reverses should there be a border war.

Consider the plight of ex-servicemen (ESM). Nearly 20,000 medals and awards have been handed over to Rashtrapati Bhavan in several batches. But the Supreme Commander has neither met the ESM surrendering their precious medals — emblems of sacrifice for the nation she symbolises — nor even acknowledged their concerns.

Soldiering is still a tradition in India. Even today, sons (and daughters) follow their fathers into the Army. Naturally, when their elders are treated shabbily by the government, it impacts their serving kith and kin. The forces cannot be isolated from their forebears, but the blind babustan fails to see. Its ESM Welfare Department, modelled on the US Veterans’ Department, has no defence officer. The USA’s is headed by a combat-experienced Lt-General, a Cabinet member.

Simultaneously, a sinister campaign to malign the forces has been launched by our enemies. The media, obsessed by circulation or TRPs, has willingly or unwittingly become their cat’s paw. Take the so-called Sukna scam involving the No Objection Certificate (NOC) for a school on private land — No money changed hands. Yet this non-issue was used to tarnish the Army image in reams of newspapers and hours of TV bulletins.

Now compare these column-acres and TV-hours, with the minuscule coverage of braveheart Colonel Neeraj Sud, martyred on June 23, 2010, while personally leading his troops fighting militants. Also compare the homage paid to CRPF casualties by the Union Home Minister, Chief Ministers and high dignitaries, with the military-only national honours for Colonel Sud.

An eminent journalist, while being appointed to a reputed national daily, was told by top management, “circulation is our sole dharma; national interest is not our concern!” So true! While covering the Kandahar hostage crisis, newspapers and TV channels unleashed competitive emotional reports with footages of hysterical relatives. Finally, the government was compelled to swap JeM chief Masood Azhar plus two terrorists for the hostages. The rest is history!

We need to emulate the American media after 9/11. It stood solidly behind the US government and inspired the patriotic fervour and fortitude that swept the country after it.

In our context, recalling Kautilya’s wisdom is pertinent: “Pataliputra reposes peacefully each night... thanks only to the Mauryan Army’s vigil ...While citizens enable the nation to prosper, the soldier guarantees that it continues to exist.”

Governments can function (or not), the media can ignore national interest and politicians can shut down the nation, only so long as the nation exists. Therefore, some self-regulation, if only in selfish interest, becomes vital.

[Craig Alpert]

Cyber warfare: Indian Army boosts its defences

here's a snippet

Howevever, the Indian army is confident.

Revealing that secret information had been secured with unhackable electronic passwords, the official said various "cryptographic controls" have been incorporated in the wake of a significant number of viruses, worms and other forms of malware.

To address cyber defence, which is also under threat from terrorist outfits that have their own trained recruits, officials said the army frequently upgrades its comprehensive cyber security policy to pro-actively deal with and anticipate these threats.

The force has established the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) to respond to attacks targeting the army's critical systems and infrastructure.

Another official said the army has its own cyber audit process conducted by cyber security personnel.

"The audit is conducted in accordance with established security standards such as ISO 27001. Audit of the network is a continuous and active process which helps identification and mitigation of vulnerabilities in a network to counter latest threats as also check the network for cyber security policy compliance," he said.

[Airavat]

Troops need AFSPA: VK Singh

"We are not against the people or democracy. When you employ the Army for situations which are awkward, where they have to face well-armed, well-trained terrorists, they require a certain amount of legal protection. How that it is done, we leave it to the Central Government," Singh said when asked about the move to dilute certain sections of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).

General Singh said, "We can't let our people get hauled to court. We cannot have our people being subjected to all kinds of allegation. Wherever the Army is operating, it is operating with its hands tied. We have imposed on ourselves certain restriction because we are operating against our own people."

On the Northeast, Singh said the situation has improved by "leaps and bounds and lot of positive things have happened, whether it is Assam, Manipur or any other State".

[VinodTK]

After 15 yrs, Indian Army chief to visit Vietnam

[Juggi G]

Army Plans to Buy Tank Busting Missiles from US
Hindustan Times

The Indian Army intends to buy the US-designed Javelin anti-tank guided missile to equip its troops with the capability to defeat enemy armour systems. The defence ministry is expected to issue a letter of request (LOR) to the US government for a potential sale of the weapon system used by the US Marine Corps, the US Army and 11 other Militaries.

The US believes FMS transactions may be complicated in their conception and execution, but are more transparent to financial scrutiny.

Although designed to destroy tanks and armoured vehicles, Javelin provides day/night secondary capability against helicopters and fixed defences such as bunkers and buildings. The imaging infrared system allows the gunner to acquire targets even in darkness and limited visibility.

Javelin’s normally engages and destroys a tank in the `top-attack’ mode. It also has a direct-attack capability to engage targets with overhead cover or in bunkers. The fire-and-forget capability allows the gunner to acquire another target or move position as soon as the missile is launched. It has a range of 2.5 km.

[Juggi G]

Army Orders 1 Million Pieces of Grenade Developed by DRDO’s Chandigarh Lab
The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

[chackojoseph]

Now I have started to get a feeling that there is a systematic and deliberate attempt to jeopardize the army's artillery requirements. I can't contemplate who will gain by doing that. Only I can think of Porkis and chipanda, but then they don't have that kind of international muscle to pull this off. I am simply unable to believe or digest that we are not able to purchase new guns for 2 decades. What is the word in dictionary when the situation is even more pathetic than Ridiculous?

Take it as a omen. Hope DRDO jumps in.

[ParGha]

Does Poland use these Shivalik grenades?

[Manishw]

Take it as a omen. Hope DRDO jumps in.

Amen

[Juggi G]

Army Towed Guns’ Tender Jinxed, Junked
StratPost

[shukla]

Army Towed Guns’ Tender Jinxed, Junked
StratPost

Shocking And the strange bit it is that it might happen all over again..... Only at times like these maybe an FMS route should be pursued.

[vic]

Army has huge love for imports. DRDO wants to develop a follow on for INSAS, the proposal was rejected by the army. Then the F-INSAS project was floated in 2005 by MoD, in which DRDO was to be mandated to develop the weapon i.e. follow on to INSAS. The Army sat on the proposal for 4-5 years till accepting it. DRDO has still not been mandated or funded to develop a follow on to INSAS.


In the meanwhile, The honest and patriotic infantry directorate has floated import requests for carbines, rifles, LMGs, 7.62mmx51 rifles, GPMGs, HMGs, AMRs, (apart from 120mm mortars. 155mm guns, AD guns etc). Remember there are lot of benefits to a honest and patriotic officer even prior to tender being awarded, i.e. during the process itself. The approximate value of reverse engineering ALL these small arms would be around Rs. 200 crores while imports will be valued around Rs, 20,000 crore over a peroid of time.

[shukla]

Major tragedy averted..

Army foils terror bid to disrupt Amarnath Yatra

A plot by militants to disrupt the ongoing Amarnath Yatra was on Friday, Jul 23 foiled by the Indian Army.Army personnel who were conducting a search operation near the Jammu-Srinagar highway in the Banihal area of Ramban district recovered a large quantity of arms and ammunition.

Giving the details of the operation, defence spokesperson said that the personnel recovered a gunny bag hidden in a hollow of a tree around 07:30 am. The bag had 34 detonators, 12 anti-personnel mines, nine RC IED boxes, 36 IED circuits, five RPG charges, 36 metres of safety fuse, 15 metres of cordex wire, one UBGL grenade, one hand grenade and 36 pika rounds, the spokesperson added.

[Raja Bose]

BRF member pmund writes....:
http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.co ... al-mila-ma

[chetak]

Army Towed Guns’ Tender Jinxed, Junked
StratPost

Shocking And the strange bit it is that it might happen all over again..... Only at times like these maybe an FMS route should be pursued.

We will lose international credibility if we continue like this onlee.

There has been a set pattern to such fiascos over the decades.

So very easy to stop the IA from upgrading.

[chetak]

Now I have started to get a feeling that there is a systematic and deliberate attempt to jeopardize the army's artillery requirements. I can't contemplate who will gain by doing that. Only I can think of Porkis and chipanda, but then they don't have that kind of international muscle to pull this off. I am simply unable to believe or digest that we are not able to purchase new guns for 2 decades. What is the word in dictionary when the situation is even more pathetic than Ridiculous?

Take it as a omen. Hope DRDO jumps in.

It takes a few bucks, a couple of bottles of whiskey and a few pliant journos to stampede the politicos who are the ultimate beneficiaries.

The rest of the usual suspects just feed off the crumbs on the table.

[pmund]

BRF member pmund writes....:
http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.co ... al-mila-ma

Hey, Raja, thanks for the post That was my first blog on TOI. WIll post some more. Thanks for the thumbs up

[rohitvats]

BRF member pmund writes....:
http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.co ... al-mila-ma

Hey, Raja, thanks for the post That was my first blog on TOI. WIll post some more. Thanks for the thumbs up

Dude, zimply awesome.....

That fractured leg story reminds of a freind who ran final 42kms run during Commando Course in Belgaum with 103 degree fever because, "Paltan ki izzat ka sawaal tha..."

[pmund]

@Rohit, thanks bro

[Dilbu]

BRF member pmund writes....:
http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.co ... al-mila-ma

Hey, Raja, thanks for the post That was my first blog on TOI. WIll post some more. Thanks for the thumbs up

Good one pmund.

[negi]

Great stuff PMund it gave me goosebumps.

[Rahul M]

nicely written man, we need more like you.

OT: did you cover the latest encounter at lalgarh, the sidhu soren one ?

[pmund]

Thanks all Gives me great motivation. I hope my blog will bring the Indian soldier into people's homes.
@Rahul, what info are u looking for on the Sidhu Soren op??

[uddu]

http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.co ... al-mila-ma
A small error need to be corrected.

Her mother to His mother.

These are minor ones. But I had noticed two major errors, which no BRF member pointed out. One was with an image that saw with respect to upside down flying of our national flag at a border post. I don't remember which one but is a recent one posted on BR. I was astonished to find out that it was done by the Army guys. The second was not posted on BR but happened with our Speaker pinning an upside down version of the National flag on her Sari. I was surprised. It was posted on PIB site.

[shiv]

BRF member pmund writes....:
http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.co ... al-mila-ma

Hey, Raja, thanks for the post That was my first blog on TOI. WIll post some more. Thanks for the thumbs up

That was a touching piece. Thanks.

[Gaur]

pmund,
A touching article. I am eagerly waiting for your next piece.

[Raja Bose]

Lage raho mund mian!

[wig]

sir p mund,
superb piece. i hope that we have many more such articles from you.

[Rahul M]

OT

@Rahul, what info are u looking for on the Sidhu Soren op??

if you have details of the ops, spec. Ashish Tiwari's death. reply in CT/COIN thread please.

[tsarkar]

The reason I keep saying that gizmos are such a bad idea -

http://www.janes.com/news/defence/idr/i ... _1_n.shtml

[Pratyush]

Thanks all Gives me great motivation. I hope my blog will bring the Indian soldier into people's homes.
@Rahul, what info are u looking for on the Sidhu Soren op??

Sir, a heart warming blog.

[nithish]

India Russia military drill

July 19 - Indian military delegation visits Russian army units in North Ossetia as the two countries prepare for joint military drills in October.

it's a Reuters video, it had a code for embedding but I wasn't sure how to do it on this board, advice for future would be appreciated

[VinodTK]

Major in possession of secret files to face CoI

Though some files on Major Santanu Dey's computer were accessed by Pakistan's ISI, a joint probe by the Military Intelligence (MI) and National Investigation Agency (NIA) has given the officer himself a clean chit as far as espionage charges against him were concerned.

[Singha]

report on the construction of rohtang pass tunnel

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/world ... ml?_r=1&hp

[Nihat]

Permanent commission for women in Army soon