Indian Army: News and Discussions 15 Apr 2012

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 02 Jun 2012 20:28

I hope the real culprits will not get another continuation of wrong doings, hiding under slue of serving legal notices, and finally nothing happens. In general, public must support the honest whistle blower. mandatory, be it aam admi, fauj, PM or SC judge.

DPP must be further modified that no imports allowed direct, except via assembled in at least SDK kits. It is better to driven by screw drivers, than corruption. Risk for national security is highest in corruption.

PERIOD

Altair · Post by **Altair** » 02 Jun 2012 20:52

MS Dhoni has expressed keen interest in serving the army after he hangs up his boots. Dhoni, who was inducted as an honorary Lieutenant Colonel in the elite Parachute Regiment last year, is in Kashmir as a guest at the ongoing Kashmir Premier League in Baramullah. He will also take a trip to the base camp of Siachen, the world's highest battlefield.

"Where I am today is because of cricket. I would like to serve in the army actively after cricket. I don't want my cricket to suffer because that is something I am good at," said Dhoni, the Indian captain, during a casual media interaction. Dhoni will visit the Northern Command headquarters in Udhampur on Sunday before leaving for Srinagar on a tour of 15 Corps. From there, he will head for the 14 Corps area in Leh and also the Siachen base camp.

"I will try to go to the frontline. It is very exciting because I will get to see the challenges the officers face. I knew the army from a distance. Now I am getting to know the army from close quarters. This is the first time I have come to a forward post," he said.

"Families (of the army officers) come here at this time of the year and I will get a chance to interact with them and I am sure the next few days would be exciting," he added.

Dhoni also said he hoped cricketing ties between India and Pakistan would be restored soon. "It is important to make a start because sports is something that breaks barriers. The two boards have to decide when they play each other. So we will wait and see."

I hope his luck remains the same in the Army and Army can use some of is luck

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 02 Jun 2012 22:49

Baton Has been passed to the New COAS Gen Bikram Singh. Welcome to him and Kudos to outgoing Chief. Both are outstanding man in their own right. It would be tough task to continue the good work done by VKS against all odds and Gen BS needs all the strength and support in his new assignment.

Here is the interview by Gen BS after assuming charge.

Nothing will be brushed under the carpet: Gen Bikram Singh

In his first public comments after taking over as Army Chief, Gen Bikram Singh on Friday made it clear that no controversy in the force will be "brushed under the carpet".

Sending a firm message to his 1.3 million force, Gen Singh said he will strive to maintain its "secular and apolitical" outlook.

"Let us continue to be a secular and apolitical force and do our job the way it should be done," 59-year-old Singh told reporters on Friday after inspecting a guard of honour, a day after taking charge of the force from Gen V K Singh whose tenure was mired in controversies.

He was asked to spell out his message to the army amid reports suggesting factional feuds at senior levels, a new low in civil military relationship and corruption allegations.

On allegations of a fake encounter in northeast and recent clash between officers and jawans in Ladakh, Gen Singh said all these cases would be dealt as per the rule book and "nothing should be brushed under the carpet".

"I think there was a letter by my Chief of Staff to 3 Corps to investigate those allegations and let me tell you that there is nothing which should be brushed under the carpet. I wish to assure you this," he said.

The Army Chief was asked to comment on allegations levelled by a major in letters to Chief of Army Staff, Eastern Command and 3 Corps Headquarters that a fake encounter was carried out by an intelligence unit under the 3 Corps in March 2010 in which three civilians were killed.

On Thursday, Gen V K Singh had said he was alarmed that no investigation was carried out by the 3 Corps despite directions from the Army Headquarters into the allegations.

Asked how he was planning to deal with the incidents of clash between jawans and officers in Nyoma, alleged misconduct of jawans in UN mission in Congo and the allegations of fake encounter in Nagaland, he said, "All these cases will be dealt with as per the rulebook."

All the Best/ BRF , I am sure , would keenly observe his tenure.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 02 Jun 2012 23:02

kunalverma, An chance of a suit on Ind Express coterie for defamation with their false coup story?

kunalverma · Post by **kunalverma** » 03 Jun 2012 06:57

ramana wrote:kunalverma, An chance of a suit on Ind Express coterie for defamation with their false coup story?

A notice had been issued by Col Malaiappan from Chennai, which was answered by IE, their main defence being that their was no cause of action as the paper was not published from Chennai. This notice predated IE's legal notice to Vinod Mehta.

There is also a notice that has been issued to India Today.

What surprises me most though is the vilification campaign against the PIL where a review has been filed after it became obvious that the ACC file had been doctored. After SG in his National Interest col insisted it was 'communal', MG Devasahayam issued a point by point rebuttal which IE carried. The main reason for painting the PIL 'communal' is based on the coincidence that three of the people under the scanner are from the same community. Latching on to the word 'langar talk' IE has taken it on themselves to keep on harping on that angle.

In all this, day before yesterday the IE has in its main editorial claimed that the stories appearing about Congo are pure rubbish as indeed a Court of Enquiry was held which exonnerated every member of the Indian contingent. Who held this COI and when, only the newspaper seems to know of it. I guess when you tout yourself to be under the banner of 'journalism with courage' you go into a realm where no one else is willing to go.

merlin · Post by **merlin** » 03 Jun 2012 09:56

The "good" Col has nothing to fear - the establishment will protect him.

wig · Post by **wig** » 03 Jun 2012 18:47

Gen VK Singh upbraids officer before leaving office

a few days before his retirement, former army chief Gen VK Singh punished an officer in connection with a failed intelligence operation in Assam, after the Colonel was accused of planting stories about tapping of defence ministry phones by the Army.

"I direct that my censure in form of 'Severe Displeasure' be conveyed to Colonel G Srikumar of 3 Corps Intelligence and Surveillance Unit (CISU) presently posted at the Headquarters 4 Rapid Division," Gen Singh wrote in the order issued to the officer.
In the same case, the former army chief had issued a show cause notice to 3 Corps Commander Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag and Brigadier Abhey Krishna of the same formation for "lapses" on their part and "abdicating responsibility".

In the show cause notice issued to Lt Gen Suhag, Gen Singh had said that "it was also learnt that Commanding Officer, 3 CISU during his absence from unit on leave was masquerading in Delhi and interacting with the media giving anti-organisation stories".

The Army had alleged that Srikumar was one of the three officers facing action for planting stories against the army while he was on leave from December 18 to January 8.

The Army had recently accused retired Lt Gen Tejinder Singh along with a few serving officers of planting stories in the media about tapping of phones of various senior defence ministry officials by its personnel during the age controversy involving Gen Singh.

The snooping issue had come to light on February 16 when an Army Intelligence team, tasked with carrying out debugging of ministry phones, suspected tapping of phones, but this was denied by the army.

It said there was discrepancy in the telephone lines, which caused an alarm, but no such thing was found during the subsequent checks.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-new ... 65256.aspx

nelson · Post by **nelson** » 04 Jun 2012 00:19

General VK Singh - The man who was slandered for defending his honour

Sanku · Post by **Sanku** » 04 Jun 2012 12:53

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/techn ... m/957584/0

Technology in Tatra trucks 'outdated': MoD-CBI team

Sources said the indigenisation target of Tatra trucks, as agreed upon in the documents signed in 1987, 1997 and 2003, have not been met so far. According to the contracts signed by BEML with Tatra Sipox, it was agreed upon that more than 80 per cent of indigenisation of the trucks should have been completed before 2003. It has been learnt that the cabin, backbone tube and half swing axle being used in the trucks are still being imported. The axle and backbone are being supplied by Slovakia and the cabin by Czech Republic. “According to terms of agreement, Tatra Siphox, UK, is responsible for procurement of these items which form nearly 60 per cent of the trucks being supplied to the Army,” said a senior official.

The technology used in these trucks is ‘obsolete’, and when the BEML signed a new agreement in 2003, they agreed for a 10-year-old expertise, said sources. The 2003 agreement was signed after BEML CMD V R S Natarajan took over the company.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 04 Jun 2012 14:40

Mean while..
Military Intelligence staffer caught trying to sell secrets
Military Intelligence staff caught stealing info for Pak
"The DRI had got intelligence that a staffer working with Military Intelligence was trying to negotiate a deal for passing on classified information. The input was shared with the Army officials and a trap was laid. Following which the staffer was held in Thiruvananthapuram," a senior DRI official, who did not wish to be identified said.

sum · Post by **sum** » 04 Jun 2012 14:48

Notice the pic IE has put up for the story:
Military Intelligence staffer caught trying to sell secrets

Shivdasan was working for the recently created Technical Support Division (TSD) within MI. This special unit, headed by Colonel Honey Bakshi, is believed to have access to a range of privileged information. The unit had recently come under scrutiny on charges of illegal surveillance, an allegation that was denied by former Army Chief Gen V K Singh who accused retired Lt Gen Tejinder Singh of leaking incorrect information. The TSD unit was created in the last two years and functions from within Army Headquarters.

Sources said the DRI received information on an individual trying to sell “sensitive information” in April. A preliminary probe, sources said, established that Shivdasan had contacted a relative of his in Dubai with an offer to sell classified information. Shivdasan, who hails from Kerala, found it convenient to receive the money at Kochi. His relative got in touch with an “agent” in Dubai to broker the deal. This agent, sources said, turned out to be a DRI informant who is said to have laid a trap for Shivdasan in Kochi.

and the pic is:

Pranav · Post by **Pranav** » 05 Jun 2012 06:25

The Shivdasan incident is actually a result of people trying to fix Gen VK Singh -

NEW DELHI: Arrest of a Military Intelligence official a few weeks ago for his purported links to Pakistani intelligence could be the fallout of the intense factional feud within the Army between supporters of former Army chief General V K Singh and his detractors, and may have nothing to do with espionage.

According to Army sources, Havildar Shivdasan, who is in the custody of the Southern Army Command, recorded a detailed video testimony a few days ago about what led to his arrest. He was nabbed in Kerala in April after he allegedly tried to sell off military secrets. Reports had said that he was selling it to Pakistani intelligence through a relative in the Gulf.

However, the story may be different, if Army sources are to be believed. Shivdasan has named a colonel of Military Intelligence, saying the officer had asked him to part with the secrets for "internal" purposes.

According to Shivdasan's testimony, he was offered money and other benefits by the colonel if he parted with secrets of the Technical Support Division (TSD), a new division of Military Intelligence set up by Gen VK Singh and headed by his confidante Col Honey Bakshi. Shivdasan was the head clerk of TSD and thus had access to sensitive details of the division.

TSD has in the past been accused by Gen Singh's detractors of illegally tapping phones of senior officials, political leadership etc. TSD and its "illegal activities" has also been the subject of repeated anonymous complaints filed with the defence minister and other top brass of the government.

According to sources, Shivdasan claimed that he was assured that the secrets of TSD were required only for internal consumption of the Army and was probably to "fix" Bakshi. The Army havildar has confessed that he was taken to Mumbai among other places during the period he was cultivated by the colonel.

Shivdasan finally handed over a CD containing some secrets, including possibly details of some MI sources, payments made to them and some operations carried out, in Thiruvananthapuram. According to sources, the CD was handed over to a Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) official, and a second Army officer was also present when the CD was handed over. The Army officer flashed his official identity card to win over Shivdasan's trust, according to those in the know of the ongoing investigation in Southern Army Command.

Shivdasan was arrested much later, when the DRI alerted the Southern Command, which in turn informed the Army headquarters. Shivdasan was probably assured that it would remain within the Army and he had nothing to fear. But he may have given the detailed testimony in recent days after media reports emerged terming him an ISI spy.

If the Army sources and Shivdasan's testimony are anything to go by, then the intense factional feud within the Army is nowhere near a final settlement despite Gen Singh's retirement. The faultlines of caste and regimental loyalties that were further intensified when Gen Singh went to Supreme Court on his age issue, threatening the succession lines, may not disappear anytime soon. Over the coming weeks, there could be further score settling and muck raked up to fix rivals.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 832098.cms

peter · Post by **peter** » 05 Jun 2012 07:11

Pranav wrote:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ind ... 832098.cms
If the Army sources and Shivdasan's testimony are anything to go by, then the intense factional feud within the Army is nowhere near a final settlement despite Gen Singh's retirement. The faultlines of caste and regimental loyalties that were further intensified when Gen Singh went to Supreme Court on his age issue, threatening the succession lines, may not disappear anytime soon. Over the coming weeks, there could be further score settling and muck raked up to fix rivals.

Unbelievable! Caste is leading to all this? What is the connection or has Mr/Ms Joseph lost their rocker?

peter · Post by **peter** » 05 Jun 2012 08:03

Unbelievable if true!

http://www.eng.chauthiduniya.com/2012/0 ... w#comments

What is the relation between Lt. General Bikram Singh and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh?

Why is the PMO and Home Ministry overlooking the acquisitions on Lt. General Bikram Singh?

Despite of such serious allegations on Lt. General Bikram Singh the government is trying to prove him blotless. What is the role of Manmohan Singh`s then chief secretary T.K.A. Nair in General V. K. Singh`s age row case?

Was army chief`s age dispute fueled so that Commander of eastern command Lt. General Bikram Singh could be made the next Army Chief?

What happened that for the first time in Indian judiciary history Supreme Court acted as an advisor rather than granting decision?

And the biggest question in the scenario of General V.K Singh`s age row and Lt. General Bikram Singh as army chief, what is the role of Manmohan Singh`s wife Gursharan Kaur?

Manmohan Singh`s wife Gursharan Kaur was born in Jalandhar. Her father used to work in Pakistan`s Navshehra district before independence. Then her father was transferred to Amritsar. She was educated in Guru Nanak Kanya Pathshala, Amritsar and the Government College for Women in Patiala. She has four sisters and a younger brother. But since her childhood she was more close to her cousin Surjeet Kaur. Therefore after Gursharan Kaur`s marriage to Manmohan Singh, Surjeet`s visit were more compared to her real sisters. This benefitted her husband Lt. General Bikram Singh time to time.

The lobbies of people like General J. J. Singh, Tejender Singh, VRS Natrajan, Ravi Rishi, Nanda, Kartik Chidambaram were annoyed with General V. K Singh`s patriotism and honesty while Chidambaram was more annoyed with him. The reason was, 2 years ago V.K. Singh dissolved Chidambaram`s intent of firing on naxals. A no from V.K. Singh`s side caused great loss to Chidambaram`s corporate friends who wanted to set up a mining empire in the Indian forest. Companies like Vedanta and Sterlite wanted to exploit our land, forests and fill Chidambaram`s pocket. Chidambaram earlier was advocate to the foreign capital investment companies, even his wife Nalini Chidambaram and son Kartik Chidambaram name fills the list. Thus, V.K. Singh`s denial firing on the people made him annoyed and Chidambaram was looking for opportunity to humiliate him.

rohitvats · Post by **rohitvats** » 05 Jun 2012 09:32

Hmmm.....I had been given to understand that there was a very strong "wives" angle but chose to refrain from commenting on the same. The above report puts it in more detail. AFAIK, the meeting and socializing between the wives happened during the first PMship of MMS..it seems his wife, who was a greenhorn in the matters concerning her role as wife of PM of India, was assisted by General BK Singh's wife...sort of hand holding...and that is where the bonds were cemented.

Pranav · Post by **Pranav** » 05 Jun 2012 10:16

rohitvats wrote:Hmmm.....I had been given to understand that there was a very strong "wives" angle but chose to refrain from commenting on the same. The above report puts it in more detail. AFAIK, the meeting and socializing between the wives happened during the first PMship of MMS..it seems his wife, who was a greenhorn in the matters concerning her role as wife of PM of India, was assisted by General BK Singh's wife...sort of hand holding...and that is where the bonds were cemented.

IIRC, Harbans ji had mentioned the friendship between wives of MMS, Bikram and Montek.

It is harmless until it starts impacting issues of merit and corruption.

arnab · Post by **arnab** » 06 Jun 2012 11:37

The Sum of His Many Parts
A decorated war hero on love, bachelorhood and why Gen VK Singh is an honourable man

http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/ ... many-parts

Pranav · Post by **Pranav** » 06 Jun 2012 18:52

arnab wrote:
The Sum of His Many Parts
A decorated war hero on love, bachelorhood and why Gen VK Singh is an honourable man
http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/ ... many-parts

Nice article on Lt Gen Jack Farj Rafael Jacob, a pleasure to read.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 06 Jun 2012 21:32

BEML chief asked to explain notice to V K Singh

The defence ministry on Wednesday sought an explanation from BEML chief V R S Natarajan for serving a legal notice on former Army Chief Gen V K Singh demanding an apology for his alleged defamatory statements against the defence PSU on the Tatra truck issue.

"The defence ministry categorically denies giving permission to Bharat Earth Movers [ Get Quote ] Limited chief to serve a legal notice for filing a defamation suit against Gen V K Singh," defence ministry spokesperson Sitanshu Kar said.

He said the ministry has "asked Natarajan to explain as to why he made such a statement to the media."

peter · Post by **peter** » 07 Jun 2012 04:50

chetak wrote:BEML chief asked to explain notice to V K Singh

The defence ministry on Wednesday sought an explanation from BEML chief V R S Natarajan for serving a legal notice on former Army Chief Gen V K Singh demanding an apology for his alleged defamatory statements against the defence PSU on the Tatra truck issue.

"The defence ministry categorically denies giving permission to Bharat Earth Movers [ Get Quote ] Limited chief to serve a legal notice for filing a defamation suit against Gen V K Singh," defence ministry spokesperson Sitanshu Kar said.

He said the ministry has "asked Natarajan to explain as to why he made such a statement to the media."

Is it becoming more and more convincing that the reason these guys are so bold (likes of Tejinder, Natarajan) is because they belong to a very strong political lobby and know they cannot be touched?

VKS's awesome interview quotes: http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/news ... wsid=18864
On troop movement:

It happened in January but it appeared in a newspaper in April with big headlines which shows it came out on someone’s direction
...this is ridiculous. There can’t be a bigger allegation against the army than this. Whosoever has done it should be condemned in the strongest possible words. There was 1 infantry battalion and 1 mechanised unit which means 800 jawans and we are saying government got anxious? This is the Indian government we are talking about, what are you saying?

When asked about BEML CMD VRS Natarajan’s defamation notice to him relating to his bribery offer allegations, General Singh raised serious questions about Natarajan’s stint at BEML. He said, “Mr Natrajan is the CMD of BEML for 12 years while no other PSU has had a CMD for that long. There must be a special reason for him to stay that long. It has been reported in the newspapers that plots were given to senior people in BEML colony so that they could influence and Mr Natrajan could continue doing what he was doing. I have full faith in CBI which should get to the core of this”.

Is'nt it true that Manmohan Singh's advisor TK Nair also got some land for his relatives from BEML?

Would he have preferred the defence Minister to take action in this matter immediately when he had reported the matter to the Minister, General Singh only said, “Better late than never. I am still grateful to the defence minister for admitting in parliament that I had indeed told him about the bribe offer”.

General Singh also explained how the arms lobby works saying, “In arms procurement, army and government have their roles and the arms companies have a role. Companies appoint people for lobbying to sell their products and some of these people go around offering bribes everywhere”.

Just 2 days after retiring as army chief, General V K Singh admitted that there are a lot of influential lobbies in the army and dealing with them has been tough for him. He told Anurradha Prasad, “there are a lot of lobbies in the army – one against which we took action. Another which converted military land in to civilian land and Adarsh scam came to light. There were a lot of people in it. These people made a lot of money. It was a very influential lobby considering the money they had, just look at the people who had flats there, you will know how strong this lobby was. Third lobby is of agents dealing in purchase of arms”.

When asked if he could manage to control these lobbies or they proved more powerful, General Singh said, “these lobbies are still trying to influence and you will see that they will keep doing something in future as well to suppress everything”.

General Singh also appeared agitated on the issue of leakage of his letter to the government about lack of army preparedness terming it as part of a smear campaign against him. He said, “Every service chief informs the defence minister on a regular basis on how his force is doing and what it needs. It has been happening forever but the new thing this time was that it was leaked. I want to know who leaked it. It is impossible in the army for such a leakage. It was typed in the operations branch of the army and an officer of the rank of Major General brings it to the army chief to be sent to the minister”.

Downplaying the age row, General Singh said, “I didn’t want one extra day as army chief. When I joined the army, I just wanted to become a Lt Colonel as my father retired at that rank and I didn’t want people to say I was useless. Everything after that has come as a bonus. I told the defence minister I will go the day you want me to go. It was only a matter of honour. The question is whether the school leaving certificate is valid in this country or not”.
On the question ‘Is it difficult to fight the system’, General Singh replied, “It is indeed difficult to fight the system, people have tried to malign me due to all this and they will not stop”.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 07 Jun 2012 07:49

Dr.MMS,mendicant of "snake oil" has also been PM for many years.Is there some ulterior motive why he is still in his post?

Roperia · Post by **Roperia** » 07 Jun 2012 20:28

Army Chief General Bikram Singh lifts ban on Lieutenant General Suhag's promotion: NDTV

RoyG · Post by **RoyG** » 07 Jun 2012 21:27

^^ Smells like sh*t. Oh well...

Sanku · Post by **Sanku** » 07 Jun 2012 21:38

Roperia wrote:
Army Chief General Bikram Singh lifts ban on Lieutenant General Suhag's promotion: NDTV

Gen VK Singh gone, biz returns to usual.

Kanson · Post by **Kanson** » 07 Jun 2012 21:58

peter wrote:Is it becoming more and more convincing that the reason these guys are so bold (likes of Tejinder, Natarajan) is because they belong to a very strong political lobby and know they cannot be touched?

It is much worse. There is much more than some political lobby and each lobby collided together as each try to get benefit under such and became force multiplier to which Gen VKS with some helpful people has to fight against.

Only success deemed possible is through Supreme Court, which is held by people like @SSwamy as something which can be the last pillar to seek justice. But we know it is not so.

Kanson · Post by **Kanson** » 07 Jun 2012 22:00

Roperia wrote:
Army Chief General Bikram Singh lifts ban on Lieutenant General Suhag's promotion: NDTV

Sanku wrote:
Gen VK Singh gone, biz returns to usual.

Watch his actions as the time nears election. You are going to see for the first time in live relay how Army is made as *********** for a political party.

Roperia · Post by **Roperia** » 07 Jun 2012 22:04

It was made clear by most of our media bigwigs that Gen VKS was controversial because he let the rot in the army come out in the open for every one to see. Many former Army Generals also supported this line of thinking and complained that army was in the press for all the wrong reasons. Nobody except Gen VKS was bothered about the rot while virtually everyone of significance was disappointed that the repute of a sacred institution was being tarnished. I'm reminded of a statement by one of the commentators in Satyameva Jayate recently - one should not respect someone just because of their age or any other such quality, you respect them based on their action and conduct.

Anyway, doesn't this sound similar to the argument that Congress led UPA govt. is giving now a days for the economic mess they have created, which is - the anti-corruption mood in the country is putting foreign investors off and has slowed down decision making in the govt. because people in power are scared to take decisions.

India (led by the Nehru dynasty's Congress party) is setting new standards of accountability. The lesson for us mortals is - critiquing wrong doing is bad and not wrong doing itself.

Gen VKS did the right thing, his conscience is clear. That's pretty much what a man of his stature needs. I don't think he was particularly enthused about getting a governorship like the former Army Chief J. J. Singh.

merlin · Post by **merlin** » 07 Jun 2012 22:07

Roperia wrote:
Army Chief General Bikram Singh lifts ban on Lieutenant General Suhag's promotion: NDTV

Woah! Absolutely super fast action

pran · Post by **pran** » 07 Jun 2012 22:15

Bad precedent. Incompetency is being rewarded at every opportunity.

AdityaM · Post by **AdityaM** » 07 Jun 2012 22:21

what is the armys role during a political emergency of the kind IGandhi did?
Do you need a pliable army for that

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 07 Jun 2012 22:46

Many Challenges for General

Many Challenges for General

Cdre. Uday Bhaskar

General Bikram Singh assumed charge as the 25th Chief of the Indian Army on Thursday, May 31 and received the ceremonial baton from his predecessor – General VK Singh. The turbulence and controversy generated by General VK Singh’s defiant actions and statements on various issues during the last phase of his tenure has created an environment that is not conducive to what may be described as a ‘smooth’ transition – and there are many challenges – both personal and professional that General Bikram Singh (better known as ‘Bikki’) would have to address almost immediately.

A small mention here of the Sikh Light Infantry (LI) regiment in which General Bikram was commissioned in March 1972 – that is more than 40 years ago. One of the elite regiments of the Indian Army, the Sikh LI can be legitimately proud of the fact that it has thrown up two Army Chiefs in recent years – the first being General Ved Malik who was the Chief during the Kargil War of 1999.

Tracing their origins to the first Corps of Mazhabi Sikh Pioneers which was formed in 1850, the modern Sikhl LI was formed in 1944 and earned its spurs in the Burma campaign of World War II. Post 1947, the regiment has been deployed in every major combat operation and theatre and the new Chief epitomizes the valor and spirit that is sacred to the military as an institution and of which the Indian Army has been an outstanding exemplar for more than 200 years.

Restoring the élan and combat readiness of the Indian Army which has taken a beating over the last decade plus will be of paramount importance for the new Chief and his predecessor had highlighted the scale of the inadequacies in the Army’s inventory in the letter to the Prime Minister – which alas was leaked.

{Note the decade where the combat readiness has taken a beating. UPA is fully accountable for this. This is their CBM to TSP and USA}

However this is only one of the many challenges that the new Army Chief will have to address and the other two which are equally critical are to remove the ‘bitterness’ in civil-military relations that the Raksha Mantri had referred to; and ensure that all the issues raised by his predecessor are pursued – and taken to their logical conclusion – within the time available to him.

The first remarks made to the media on May 31 are encouraging and along expected lines. Very prudently the new Chief refused to comment on his predecessor’s actions – despite the latter having made some veiled and less than complimentary references to the Eastern Command, which Gen. Bikram was heading prior to elevation to Chief. These remarks were in relation to the case of Lt. General Dalbir Suhag – whose appointment as the Army Commander in Kolkata has been placed on hold by General VK Singh.

{Looks like Gen. Bikram Singh has chosen to ignore the VKS actions and reinstated the Lt. Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag!}

It is this personal context that will prove to be a major test to the new Chief's perspicacity and leadership qualities. One of the central elements of the many controversies associated with the VK Singh tenure is the date of birth issue. There is a widely held perception that this was engineered by previous Army Chiefs to ensure than Gen. Bikram would become the Army Chief in mid 2012. The favoritism twist to this interpretation is self-evident and to my mind , unfortunate.

But in keeping with the prevailing trend in India of intrusive transparency into every aspect of government decisions, two charges have been made against Gen. Bikram in the public domain and the matter referred to the judiciary. The first pertains to an encounter with terrorists in J&K and the other in relation to a UN Peace Keeping operation. In both cases Gen. Bikram is being indicted for command failure.

This pattern of aspersions being cast on the appointment of the new Chief will make significant demands on his time and focus and his own actions will be under intense media scrutiny on every issue that has a VK Singh linkage. Thus it was encouraging to hear Gen. Bikram reiterate that no issue will be swept under the carpet and that all matters would be dealt with by ‘the rule-book’.

The focus by Gen Bikram on looking ahead – and not through the rear-view mirror as he put it is well-taken. The Indian Army is robust and can weather these convulsions at the higher ranks and must move ahead. But his challenge is not the view in the mirror – it is the multiple storms and under-currents that have been triggered by his predecessor – and the aspersions cast on the leadership that preceded VK Singh.

Beginning with the ignominy of the booze Brigadier followed by the dal General and later the Adarsh allegations and the Sukhna scam that saw a Military Secretary being stripped of his rank, and now most recently a mini-mutiny in one Army unit – the internal challenges are varied and complex..

Carrying his senior officers in restoring the internal balances inherent to a one million plus Army is the top most priority and here Gen. Bikram begins with a personal handicap. But hopefully the internal resilience of the Army will ensure that the collective interest is prioritized over the personal or the sectarian.

The larger challenge and gap in the higher defence management that came to the fore in the VK Singh tenure was the manner in which the political establishment with the Defence Minister at the helm have allowed grave matters of national security to languish and deteriorate in the manner that they did. Inefficiencies and corruption in defense production and procurement a la the Tatra fiasco and denying the Army funding for modernization are structural problems that have plagued the military for decades. Redressing this will have to begin among legislators – the elected representatives - and one hopes that there will be more debates on reforming the Indian military in the Parliament than on national television!

Good luck General Bikram – and be careful of the many banana peels strewn on your path.

member_23364 · Post by **member_23364** » 07 Jun 2012 23:02

Seems to me that Gen VKS was the proverbial "sand in the sandwich" which stopped the usual greasing going around-arms lobbies making money by selling sub-standard equipment, BEML selling sh*t at gold prices, corrupt army folks selling govt land. The lobbyists started hitting back-someone bought a newspaper and planted a "coup story", another lobbyist paid off some govt official who had a "sale" sign outside his house to "leak" a letter. BEML, saying their sh*t is indeed gold, even though it smells like....you know what, and here's a lawsuit for you daring to smell my "products".

The worst is the last bit-Till the time, Gen VKS was there, the corrupt army folks could not speak, but now that things are back to "business as usual", the cases against the "thieves in the house" will be quietly closed. We just saw the trailer today, right?

Me thinks in the near future, there will no noise coming from the Army, we will buy the Tatra trucks very soon-possibly at a higher price than earlier (Inflation, you know) and new "BEML Layouts" will be created in New Delhi & Mumbai in addition to Bangalore, which will grace residences of of top government officials and Army Generals (no entry for Gen VKS, though). New residential complexes will come up in Army land (with the tagline-In this age of crimes, can you not afford to buy an apartment here-with the Army next door. Buy an apartment here, you owe it to your family).

And if we get attacked by China in the near future, IT WILL BE A BLESSING, because that is the only chance our corrupt to the core society will change and a new beginning will ensure, maybe after 200 years of another foreign rule.

GopiD · Post by **GopiD** » 08 Jun 2012 02:53

Guru_Tat wrote:Seems to me that Gen VKS was the proverbial "sand in the sandwich"

+1000 to that.....and more

Sir..you have said everything that I wanted to say and I couldn't have put it better.....

Absolute sorry state of affairs.........

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 08 Jun 2012 07:01

Gen J J Singh on his memoir

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 08 Jun 2012 07:26

from the link on JJs book

What kinds of Army experiences are in the book?

There is a chapter on the death sentence to Brig Shaitan Singh. Militants used to call me that. They made three-four attempts to kill me. I was shot and badly wounded; I have described how that operation was carried out. It has been written from an interesting perspective, from the [point of view] of a militant.

Jaybhatt · Post by **Jaybhatt** » 08 Jun 2012 07:38

Army Chief General Bikram Singh lifts ban on Lieutenant General Suhag's promotion: NDTV

Sanku : Gen VK Singh gone, biz returns to usual.
__________________________________________

Disgraceful start by Bikram Singh as the COAS. If this is an indication of what the man stands for, all our fears about him and his moral foundations are gradually being vindicated.

What a shambles ! Sad days for the Army and the Republic.

nelson · Post by **nelson** » 08 Jun 2012 18:22

Great way to go for the Indian Army. Ex-COAS along with current VCOAS, DGMI, ADGPI and one other officer summoned by a Delhi Court in Lt Gen retd Tejinder Singh defamation case.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/a ... 505144.ece

pragnya · Post by **pragnya** » 08 Jun 2012 18:45

Indian Army’s Gorkha Troops

Pranav · Post by **Pranav** » 08 Jun 2012 19:21

As regards defamation, the law is clear - any statement in public interest, made in good faith is not defamation.

The questions are -

(1) Was it in public interest to know the background of the person orchestrating a campaign in national media? Obviously, yes.

(2) Was the statement made in good faith, i.e., did the person making the statement have reasonable grounds to believe that it was true? That should also be easy to show.

Any reasonable advocate should be able to handle the matter with ease.

Hope VKS has competent legal advice, I was not too impressed with his advocate in the Supreme Court.

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 08 Jun 2012 19:52

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 932406.cms

Former Army chief Gen V K Singh and four top serving officers were today summoned as "accused" in a criminal defamation case filed by Lt Gen (retd) Tejinder Singh, in perhaps the first occasion when top-ranking officials have been called by a court.

Besides Gen V K Singh, the other four named in the complaint and have been summoned are vice-chief of Army Staff S K Singh, Lt Gen B S Thakur (DGMI), Major General S L Narshiman (Additional Director General of Public Information) and Lt Col Hitten Sawhney, accusing them of misusing their official positions, power and authority to level false charges against him.

A Delhi court directed them to appear before it on July 20.

Metropolitan magistrate Jay Thareja said all the five have been "summoned as accused in the present matter".

The court, however, said the summons are only for the alleged offence of defamation as the allegation of hatching a criminal conspiracy appears to be "absurd".

"However, it is made clear that the accused are not being summoned qua the allegation of hatching a criminal conspiracy against the complainant (Tejinder Singh).

"Upon appreciating the entire evidence and material produced before this court, the allegation regarding hatching of a criminal conspiracy by respondents appears to be absurd and without any foundation.

"The accused are only being summoned qua offence as described under section 499 (defamation) read with section 35 (act done with criminal knowledge or intention) of the IPC," the magistrate said.

Tejinder Singh had filed the complaint alleging that he was defamed by the Army through its press release issued on March 5, which accused him of offering a bribe of Rs 14 crore to the erstwhile Army chief.

The court directed Tejinder Singh to file a process fee along with copies of the complaint and documents within one week of the re-opening of the court on June 21.

"Upon filing of the process fee, copies of the complaints and the documents, the accused shall be summoned for July 20," the court said.