P A G E
Thursday, August 20, 1998
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E D I T O R I A L P A G E |
Thursday, August 20, 1998 |
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Calamitous
pilgrimage
The
legacy of Longowal Problems
of armed forces
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Multan
News
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Calamitous pilgrimage THE Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrimage is an arduous exercise even in the best of times. Lord Shiva has been particularly harsh on the devotees this year. While those who went earlier only had to brave extremely bad weather, those belonging to the 12th batch have simply been wiped out due to the heavy rains and landslides on Tuesday. Equally unfortunate have been residents of Malpa village en route who lost their lives when a nearby rivulet changed course and took them to their watery graves in sleep. The figure has already gone up beyond 202; it might go up further considering that the chances of anyone’s survival are very bleak in the inaccessible region. So strong is the fury of nature that the helicopters and personnel that are sought to be pressed into service cannot be utilised because of the extremely bad weather. Under these circumstances, it is doubtful if any help can be reached there in time. Only when such a tragedy strikes does one come to realise how difficult a life people of such remote areas lead. The means of transport and communication are meagre even in the best of times. These become non-existent when calamities strike, leading to the loss of many precious lives which could otherwise have been saved. While it is conceded that relief and rescue work is bound to be impeded by torrential rains, the administration has never been found to be equal to the task. Rudraprayag district of the neighbouring Garhwal hills has been reeling under flood fury for the past two weeks, resulting in more than 100 casualties, without the authorities swinging into action till it was too late. Rescue operations are going on at a snail’s pace. Local people allege that it took the district authorities one week to realise the gravity of the tragedy. “Nobody has even bothered to count the bodies,” villagers have lamented. Surprisingly, while the Pithoragarh tragedy has caught the nation’s attention, the calamity that has struck Rudraprayag has not been treated with the same urgency. Is it because in the former case pilgrims from all over the country are involved? While the immediate need
is to ensure adequate relief and rehabilitation, it is
necessary to study the reasons for the increase in the
frequency of such incidents. Too many slope failures are
taking place all over the sub-Himalayan belt, including
such far-off places as Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,
Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. Only the other day, there
were reports of landslips in Nainital which have put a
question mark on the very existence of this hill station.
There are reasons to suspect that the environmental and
climatic changes that are taking place have been
triggered by human avarice and callousness. Too many
liberties have been taken with Mother Nature. The
reckless cutting of trees and the changing of crop
patterns are some of the reasons cited by experts. A
thorough analysis of the technical dimensions of the
landslips is essential. This cannot be done in a
piecemeal fashion. The problem has to be tackled in a
comprehensive, all-encompassing way. |
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A strained alliance MAHARASHTRA politics is about to undergo a sea change with the squabble between the two partners of the ruling alliance having entered the terminal stage as is clear from the boycott of the Cabinet meeting by the BJP. Only the removal of Chief Minister Manohar Joshi and the dismissal of Housing Minister Sureshdada Jain will mollify the BJP. The Shiv Sena, the senior partner and the party of the Chief Minister, may agree to replace him but the Jain affair is rather complicated. For one thing, a huge outlay of Rs 600 crore is involved and providing shelter to 40 lakh slum-dwellers is an election pledge of the Sena. And Mr Jain has already firmed up the project with private builders. The BJP, rather its Mumbai unit chief Kirit Somaiya, has picked several holes in the housing blueprint, asserting that the intended beneficiaries cannot afford the units and that the government will be saddled with a sizeable maintenance bill. This is his argument but the motive is to wrest a big say as the city chief of a coalition party in the selection of contractors and reap all consequent benefits. Mr Jain is from western Maharashtra. The debate soon degenerated into an ugly verbal clash with Mr Somaiya demanding an apology. This is the immediate
provocation for the rift but as in the case of a divorce,
the driving force is a long list of accumulated
complaints. The key one is the hard line which Mr Manohar
Joshi took while rejecting the Srikrishna report on the
1992-93 communal riots. (He dubbed the findings
“anti-Hindu”.) At that time the BJP endorsed
the stand but since then it has come out that the report
has bracketed Union Home Minister Advani’s name with
those who incited the mob in the initial stages. The Sena
has, by the same token, appropriated much of the Hindutva
turf, leaving the BJP far behind. The BJP is also losing
ground by its association with a party that is wracked by
internal dissension and violent intolerance. There is
also the imperious behaviour of Mr Joshi. Poor man, he is
caught between the diktats of Shiv Sena strongman
Thackeray and the persistent pressure tactics of his
Cabinet colleagues. The Chief Minister has embittered so
many that immediately after the rout of the alliance
parties in the Lok Sabha elections, Mr Thackeray wanted
to ease him out. The BJP promptly backed the idea and
thus induced second thoughts in the Sena supremo.
Independently of all these, some Sena ministers have
prepared a dossier on the Chief Minister, particularly on
his approval to land deals which have benefited his
son-in-law Girish Vyas and son Umesh to the tune of
several crores of rupees. The BJP wants to protect its
popular base and thinks that Mr Joshi’s removal is a
key to it. Mr Thackeray shares the view about Mr Joshi
because he has suddenly emerged popular among the
normally hot-headed Shiv Sainiks. But both are wary as
the Chief Minister has shown himself to be an unsubtle
fighter. Fighting with the alliance party is one thing
but fighting with an unseated Chief Minister in uncertain
times is quite another. |
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THE flaws in the procedure for admission of students to non-medical professional courses adopted by the Punjab Technical University may never have come to light had an aggrieved candidate not sought relief from the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The rechecking of the marks of candidates who appeared in the combined entrance test for the current academic session conducted by PTU has not only exposed the inefficiency of the teaching community (born out of criminal indifference to the task assigned to them) but has also put a question mark on the credibility of the system of examination, evaluation and admission in its present form. As far as the present case is concerned, all those who were involved in the exercise of preparing the merit list of candidates for admission to various engineering and other technical institutes in Punjab deserve exemplary punishment for playing with the careers of students. It is a case in which doing justice to one section of candidates may inevitably result in “injustice” being done to students who have already secured admission (to the course of study of their choice) on the basis of the original merit list. That list is no longer valid because the process of rechecking has virtually altered the “merit” position of all the candidates except the one who secured the top position. Apart from directing the PTU to conduct fresh counselling sessions for admission to various courses on the basis of the revised merit list the court may also have to decide about the fate of 600 students whose marks have been reduced after the rechecking. Should they be made to pay for the folly of those who prepared the original list? The outcome of what can be
called the PTU CET scam should make experts in the field
of technical education examine the present system of
admission to professional courses. Blaming the human
element or the computer for the large-scale bungling in
the preparation of the merit list may not do. That India
has produced, and continues to produce, outstanding
professionals in the fields of engineering, science,
technology and medicine does not really prove that the
system of education (at all levels) and admission (to all
courses) in India is in robust health. The student of
today is more vulnerable than ever before. In the present
case, had Vivek Jain not challenged the PTU CET merit
list in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, a large number
of students may have been denied admission or not got to
the course of their choice. The fact which should not be
overlooked is that for every Vivek Jain there are
thousands of students who accept the “verdict”
of the degree or certificate giving authority as final,
and privately complain about their poor standing in the
merit list for admission to various professional courses.
The Hyderabad-based Indian Institute of Information
Technology has added a new dimension to the controversy.
It conducted an entrance test through Ed CIL — a
Central Government sponsored educational placement agency
— for admission to its inaugural graduate diploma
course in information technology. Neither the candidates
from Chandigarh nor elsewhere have been informed about
the outcome of the test although Ed CIL promised that the
merit list would be published in leading newspapers by
July 6. Obviously there is no Vivek Jain among the
candidates who took the IIT entrance test to take Ed CIL
to court. Of course, the court has the option to take suo
motu notice of the grievance of candidates on the basis
of the published reports. |
The legacy of Longowal by S. S. Dhanoa SANT HARCHAND SINGH LONGOWAL’S was a unique personality. He decided to take to the spiritual and religious path at a very early age. He was known as Baba or grandfather when he was in the prime of his youth. He did not marry but he did not opt for a life of seclusion either. His involvement in the affairs of the community brought him to politics and the Shiromani Akali Dal. He rose to be the President of the Akali Dal in 1980. He was the “dictator” of the Dharam Yudh Morcha launched by the Akali Dal in 1982. According to Mr Surjit Singh Barnala, the present Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers, “Sant Longowal was a votary of goodwill and amity between the Hindus and the Sikhs living in Punjab. He believed in ‘sarbat da bhala’. He wanted peace to return to Punjab and said that enough damage had been done and no more should be allowed.” Sant Longowal was taken in custody during Operation Bluestar and released on March 11, 1985, when this writer happened to be the Chief Secretary, Punjab. His initial public statements were harsh, if not inflammatory. I had been closely following the developments in Punjab all through. I had not hesitated in giving my frank assessment of the situation even when I was serving in Bihar. I had written to Lal Bahadur Shastri while serving as Deputy Commissioner of Ranchi to concede the demand for the Punjabi Suba as the Sikh community had come to view the denial of the demand as a grave injustice. I also wrote to Sant Fateh Singh that his declaration fixing a particular time for self-immolation went counter to the Sikh tenets and values. I was keen to make an assessment of the Punjab situation after the release of Sant Longowal. The Sant readily agreed to meet me at his village abode sometime around midnight. It was obvious that our meeting had to be a secret one. I found the Sant to be disarmingly frank. He justified the harsh tone of his speeches on the ground that the Sikh masses were full of anger due to Operation Bluestar and the November (1984) riots, and they were in no mood to hear anyone who did not share that anger. He conceded that the anger was harming the interests of the Sikh community, and he was ready to commit himself to peace in Punjab and to repair the damage done to the cause of Hindu-Sikh unity. On his visit to Delhi he was moved by the goodwill towards the Sikhs displayed during the 1984 riots by the Hindus generally and the Punjabi Hindus particularly. He said he never shared the ideology of Sant Bhindranwale nor did he appreciate the latter’s outpourings against the Hindus in general. He said that Bhindranwale was the creation of the opponents of the Shiromani Akali Dal. Sant Longowal conveyed to the government a request through this author that to enable him to undertake his mission for peace in Punjab, it was necessary that an enquiry was ordered into the 1984 riots, and that the ban on the All-India Sikh Students Federation was lifted. The Government of India under the Prime Ministership of Rajiv Gandhi acted swiftly and both demands of Sant Longowal were met. Thus was started the process that led to signing of the Rajiv Gandhi-Longowal Accord. It is difficult to
visualise at this time the pressures that were operating
on the Sant against initiating any dialogue with the
Central government. Many of the senior Akali leaders had
their reservations, and some were opposed to such a
dialogue. The militants wanted to set the whole country
afire. It was in this situation that Sant Longowal
decided to turn to Guru Granth Saheb for guidance. The
shabad of the Fifth Guru that appeared on the random
opening of Granth Saheb pointed to the blessings of the
Guru for him in the task to be undertaken by him. He did
not live to see the fruition of his efforts, but the
present Akali-BJP alliance in Punjab is the logical
culmination of the process set in motion by the Sant. Devout Sikhs often turn to Guru Granth Saheb for guidance when faced with difficult situations in their personal life. It is said that during the Dal Khalsa days it was the general practice among the Khalsa to seek guidance from Guru Granth Saheb before undertaking any major operation, but this practice fell into disuse thereafter. It was revived in 1920 when priests of the Golden Temple had refused to accept “prasad” from the Sikhs converted from among the Hindu untouchables. The Shiromani Akali Dal was formally launched in 1925 as a political party to project the concerns of the Sikh community and to lead the Sikh participation in the national freedom movement. Under the influence of Mahatma Gandhi, non-violence was accepted as its creed by the Akali Dal. At times the party had to face issues of life and death for the Sikh community like the situation at the time of Partition of the country. But it seems it was only Sant Longowal among the long line of Akali leaders who turned to Guru Granth Saheb for guidance when faced with a situation where the decision taken by him could affect the course of history for the Sikhs. Sometimes one wonders if Master Tara Singh had turned to Guru Granth Saheb at the time of the crucial decisions about Partition, the events that followed could have taken a different turn! There are many in the Akali Dal who take the Hindu-Sikh unity platform as dictated by expediency, and are not prepared to empathise with what they perceive as the Hindu concerns, which often creates problems for the government in Punjab. This mindset must change if they truly cherish the memory of Sant Longowal. They should remember that the Sikh Gurus never allowed themselves to remain indifferent to what was happening to the Hindus. Nor did they try to cut themselves adrift from Hindu heritage. The Khalsa after Guru Gobind Singh agreed to make peace with Zakaria Khan, the Mughal Governor of Lahore, on a specific condition that the Mughal administration would refrain from oppressing the Hindus. The above tradition was followed all through. Maharaja Ranjit Singh had banned cow slaughter in his empire to underline the respect that the Khalsa had for Hindu sentiments. One of the main reasons for the Namdhari uprising against the British was that the colonial administration had permitted the slaughter of cows in Punjab. The political exigencies of Punjab in the post-Partition period have produced doctored history and literature which made a Bhindranwale possible despite the Guru tradition being there. It is time the Akali government and the academia in Punjab initiated a process to get this corrected. Such a process is under way in Western universities especially to understand and remove the bias found in the history and literature concerning Christians, Jews and Muslims. The issue should not be tried to be resolved by pushing it under the carpet. The universities in Punjab should take the lead so that the state did not have to see the dark days of the eighties again. The present Akali-BJP alliance in Punjab has brought political power to the Akalis in the state, and they also have a share in the dispensation at the Centre after a lapse of about 20 years. This is the vindication of the policy of Sant Longowal, but the legacy of the Sant for the Akali Dal goes far beyond acquiring and retaining political power. He was concerned more with promoting the feeling of brotherliness among Punjabis than with acquiring political power. It is this legacy that has to be cherished and carried forward as a true tribute to the sacrifice and memory of Sant Harchand Singh Longowal. (The writer, a
retired IAS officer, is a former Chief Secretary of
Punjab.) |
Problems of armed forces by B. K. Mathur THE Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, gave high priority to India’s armed forces in his speech from the rampart of the Red Fort on August 15, when India celebrated with great gusto the culmination of the nation’s golden jubilee of freedom. He congratulated the forces for their excellent performance in times of security threats all these decades, and assured the nation that the defence of the country all along India’s long borders, land as well as sea, was in safe hands. Those who have been hearing Mr Vajpayee from the Press Gallery in Parliament for the past three decades and more would know that he has a special interest in defence matters. Representing a small group of the Jan Sangh in Parliament, he used to participate in defence debates with indepth knowledge of military matters — and in defence of the brave soldiers. Mr Vajpayee’s as also his BJP’s concern and sympathy for the forces was truly reflected in the National Agenda for Governance prepared prior to his taking over the reins of power. The agenda promised a thorough review of the problems of the armed forces and the setting up of a National Security Council to look into all aspects of India’s security. Nothing of the sort has happened in the last five months, notwithstanding the fact that India has now become a nuclear power, one of the six such powers in the world. It is another matter that the Vajpayee government has made it clear time and again that it will never make the first use of the nuclear weapons it plans to produce very soon, as claimed by Defence Minister George Fernandes. Whether or not India will have nuclear weapons only as a deterrent is another point. But as the threat of nuclear arsenal on all sides of India’s borders grows, a truly professional military strategy, commensurate with the inventory of our neighbours, will be needed. And naturally, therefore, the constitution of a Security Council needs a much higher priority than given to it so far. The urgency was all the more great because the previous governments at the Centre have been neglecting defence. There have been indifferent Defence Ministers and ineffective Army Chiefs. Nothing proves this better than the initial recommendations of the bureaucracy-dominated Fifth Pay Commission which had equated the Army soldier with an unskilled labour. Thanks to Mr Mulayam Singh, the United Front government’s Defence Minister, and some extraordinary efforts for the troops welfare by his successor, Mr George Fernandes, the situation has improved a bit. Mr Fernandes, like Mr Vajpayee, is fully in the know of the requirements and problems of the armed forces. Some ad hoc decisions are also being taken. The Defence Minister’s Committee has been revived. It is meeting on a weekly basis. But it cannot meaningfully work out a long-term defence plan, which India needs under the present security environment. In this context, the first significant point to seriously take note of is that even though there is no likelihood of a nuclear war in this part of the world, a low intensity conflict and a proxy war in the subcontinent cannot be stopped. The soldiers, mostly ORs (other ranks), will continue to be killed in the upper reaches of Siachen, in Kashmir and in the North-East. There will be no let-up in the hardships which the troops face, both in forward areas and peace postings. We may prepare ourselves with nuclear weapons as mere deterrents, but we have to keep our armed forces in full operational readiness for a conventional warfare, which seems to be difficult to avoid now — for the fifth time since Independence. The soldier, the sailor and the airman has not got his due all these years of Independence. He is being misused for duties other than those for which he is trained. All this while the armed forces have unfortunately been officer-centric. Whenever we talk, write or plan about the armed forces, we think of the officer cadre — and make them five-star officers at the higher command level. This attitude keeps on reflecting in government decisions from time to time. Two cadre reviews were undertaken in quick succession to please the officers. Not long ago the Pay Commission, and the government’s improvement on its recommendations, gave a middle-level officer of the armed forces a raise of about Rs 6,000 per month, whereas the soldier got barely Rs 600, near-about of which was given to even a municipal sweeper. Actually, the gap between
officers and soldiers is increasingly widening. —
INFA |
Humour on highways by Gopal Kaith TRAVELLING on highways is a boring, tough and tedious task. As a traveller you are a kind of a captive in the vehicle. You can do nothing useful. I for one never find it easy to read. The speed of the vehicle, the deafening noise, the joyless jerks and jolts combine to disturb and slow my reading speed to one word in one minute. As a result, I spend my travelling time in brooding, daydreaming and watching the landscape and milestones. I find it easier to browse the information written on the milestones, moving vehicles and shops. The survey of milestones makes an interesting reading. Certain people have the flair for fearlessly tampering with the facts and figures painted on the milestones. It reveals an impish and playful streak in human nature. Surprisingly, they have enough time and courage to tamper with the milestones. They forget that it is illegal. And if action is initiated, the kind and quantum of punishment can be the same as for tampering with revenue records. Such tamperers succeed in tricking the travellers temporarily. But the truth is out sooner than later. After all, they cannot tamper with all the milestones. They do so at random. The witty tamperers do not incur the displeasure of the travellers on this account. Instead, they tend to tickle us and elicit our smiles. Their act is innocuous. Their intention is to provide sheer entertainment to the tired travellers on the dreary and weary highways. Here are a few samples of what they do. If a place is 50 km away, they will just scrub either of the two digits. Or they will add one more zero. In every case the figure is drastically distorted. A few kilometres away from my village is another village known as Patena. Once I found that the tamperers had changed the name to Patna by scrubbing “e”. Another village is Anu Basa. The tamperers had replaced the last three letters of Basa with “omb”. As a result, the milestone warned, “Anu Bomb 5 km”. Not very far from Shimla is a picturesque place known as Fagu. At one place I found the milestone reading “Fogy”. The tamperers did a simple thing. They converted “a” and “u” into “o” and “y” respectively. Interestingly, the place is prone to fogy conditions in the winter and rainy seasons. But it was only the other day that I encountered the funniest distortion depicted on a milestone. While travelling from Kulu to Kinnaur via Jalori Pass, I passed the maximum time watching the exquisite landscape and milestones. At one place the milestone read “Larhi Pass”. Gone were the letters “JA”. And an additional letter “h” had been sandwiched between “r” and “i”. In simple Hindi and Pahari
the words mean “near or towards bride/wife”. To
me the words seemed to contain a strange irony. I had
been transferred. And I was journeying to the distant
land of Kinnaur district. That entailed separation from
the family. For I had to leave behind my wife and
children to enable the latter to complete their academic
session at Kulu. That morning I had wanted to give a
reassuring and powerful pat on the shoulders of my wife
before getting into the car. But the presence of an alert
cop outside the adjoining “SP Residence” and my
driver holding the door for me forced my hand to truncate
its journey half way. We Indians are extremely shy of
exhibiting our love and affection. |
DR Ram Narain, M.B.B.S, has been appointed Health Officer by the Municipal Committee from 8th instant. Dr Ram Narain is a local man and is popular in the city. We hope he will try his level best to improve the sanitation of the town. Government College MR Tomlinson, Principal, Multan Government College, is on leave and his place has been occupied by Mr Abdul Hamid. Since the departure of Mr Tomlinson the Hindu-Mohammadan question in the college has become acute. It is very painful that on small matters, communal differences arise and that the best brains of the communities quarrel on petty things. The Multan college is in its infancy, and needs help from the Hindus and the Mohammadans jointly. Therefore, it is not good that the rights of one particular community should be ignored. The College Council knows
well the difficulties which arise at the time of
admission of students. Is it proper that the students of
Multan should not be benefited by the college and should
be obliged to go to Lahore to prosecute their studies
simply on the ground that they are not well treated here? |
J&K killings “failure of intelligence” By Jatinder Singh Bedi THE 38-battalion strong Rashtriya Rifles (RR) is the backbone of the counter insurgency (CI) operation in J&K. But it comprises of troops pooled in bits and pieces from all over the Army. In the absence of an independent infrastructure, its regimentation and effectiveness is alleged to have been, at times, adversely affected. Interestingly this para-military force (PMF) is totally an Army affair — be it its arms, equipment, soldiers, command elements or its Rs 8 crore budget. At times dichotomy surfaces: it being a PMF: the Home Ministry wants control over it whereas the Army wants that it be declared “regular” due to its genesis and management. Dissension exists amongst the experts over its deployment in J&K vis-a-vis its role. RR battalions continue to be operationally deployed as a unit. Advocating review of deployment in J&K, former Director-General Rashtriya Rifles, Lieut Gen BS Randhawa, who also commanded a division and a brigade in Kashmir, discussed vital operational, organisational and manpower issues related to RRs in an interview. The following are excerpts from the interview: Q: Why and when was Rashtriya Rifles raised A: Due to
simultaneous operations in Sri Lanka, Siachen, the
North-East, Punjab and J&K, the then Army chief Gen
VN Sharma, felt the operational deployment, particularly
of the infantry, was overstretched. Protracted field
tenures for troops would have been at the cost of
operational preparedness. Intelligence signalled that
unlike in Punjab and the North-East, insurgency in
J&K would stay. Since arms other than infantry had
different role, it was decided to raise about 50,000 men
strong PMF called RR to tackle low intensity war (LIW). Q: Did the super powers and Pakistan have any apprehensions over its raising A: They apprehended that RR was a special mission force and India was expanding its force level through this force multiplier. These apprehensions were based on half-baked information. RR is funded by the defence budget and is within the manpower ceiling of the Indian Army. Q: How much is RR dependent on the Army A. RR is integral part of the Army. RR’s operations, manpower, equipment, administrative back-up etc is entirely an army show. Q: Then why call it PMF A: Objections from these nations were avoided by raising RRs under the schedule that governs raising of PMFs. It was given a ‘PMF weapon profile’. An organisational tree akin to PMF was used instead. Even the deployment protocol is that of a PMF. Now since it has been raised as PMF the Home Ministry wants it to be placed under its control. This has resulted in a conflict between the Army and the Home Ministry. Q: Does this conflict show up in operational matters too A: At times, yes. Whenever PMFs, including BSF, CRPF, RR etc, are given an independent sector to defend the commanding officer of RR is the sector commander. The other PMFs object to it and demand the RR to be placed under them — it being the juniormost PMF. Even in non-operational matters too: I wanted RR contingent to participate in the Republic Day parade. It was accepted subject to its peculiar placement at the end of the PMF contingents. Q: Could you compare weapon profile of RR in this LIW vis-a-vis that of anti-national elements (ANE) A: I personally feel that ANEs have more sophisticated weapon system which plays a key role in LIW. In a proxy war be it the regular Army or RR, it must acquire moral ascendancy over the ANEs. I recommend that RR be equipped with lighter weapons, modern communication system and versatile vehicles. At present RR mostly possesses 7.62 SLRs with inadequate bullet-proof jackets. ANE’s have fin stabilised air-to-ground rockets, disposable rocket launchers, high velocity grenades, auto-grenade launchers, telescope fitted dragnor sniper rifles with IR facilities, multimode HF wireless sets etc. RRs must also be given more legal powers. A magistrate has to accompany every ‘building-search-party’. After all how many magistrates can you muster there? Q: Is there any training institution for RR A: There is no training institution for RR troops inducted into J&K operations. Ad hoc pre-induction training is planned by command headquarters for them before their induction. This is a very serious lacuna for troops being inducted in J&K. It must be examined since the needs of fighting a proxy war and hot war are entirely different. However, there is an RR training school for CI operations in the North-East. Q: With
the entire RR operationally deployed how is the relief of
troops in field area being organised A: Unlike the Army battalions the relief is carried out on man to man basis from within the Army units. Infantry provides 50 per cent, services 10 per cent and other arms 40 per cent of the troops. Q: During 1994-96 there were over six shooting incidents amongst RR ranks. What measures have been taken to plug loopholes. A: Those unfortunate incidents occurred due to man-management lapses. Though due to appropriate action these have not reoccurred, their total eradication can only be guaranteed if authorities address the training, fire discipline and dedicated junior leadership. An aware jawan today tends to analyse the orders passed to him! Q: Despite this elite force our troops continue to get killed in J&K unabated. What should be done to stem further killings A: I am of the opinion that there is definite failure of intelligence. Command and control at lower level too has slackened. There is a definite need to review the deployment there. I have always believed in pro-active policy. Doda has been in the limelight. These killings aim at disturbing the demographic pattern. How much more troops can you pump in? If insurgency is not checked now it will soon reach Udhampur and Nandni tunnel. This is serious matter, any lip service may prove costly. Q: Why officers avoid postings to RR A: RR is
involved in a live war scenario. If one is pushed into a
job other than what he has been trained for, the first
reaction is obviously reluctance. Despite this we get
requests for voluntary postings. |
New Pak outfit for proxy war in Kashmir By P.N. Jalali THE Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) or the “Army of the Pure”, the new terrorist outfit which has now become the main instrument of Pakistan’s proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir, surpasses, the 40 odd other Pakistan-backed militant groups operating in the troubled state in brutality. Mass murders of defenceless people, mainly Hindus, is the speciality of this outfit. It was responsible for the murder of 23 persons at Wandhama in Kashmir Valley, massacre of a wedding party in Doda, and merciless killing of labourers in two remote villages of Chamba in Himachal Pradesh. An indication of official Pakistani patronage to the LET was the recent visit of Mushahid Hussain, Minister for Information in the Nawaz Sharif Government, to the LET headquarters in Muridke. Lauding the role of LET, Mushahid told his audience that it was the Lashkar-e-Toiba which was implementing the true concept of ‘Jehad’, thereby signalling to other terrorist groups, Pakistan government’s decision to prop up LET as the instrument of its new violent thrust in Jammu and Kashmir. The brutal operational style of LET is a result of the manner in which they are organised and the level of indoctrination that the LET cadres are subjected to. The cadre base of LET comprises mainly Pakistani nationals who predominantly belong to an Islamic sect called the Al-e-Hadis or the Wahabis. Lashkar-e-Toiba is basically the militant arm of the Markaz Dawa-Wal-Irshad (MDI), an Islamic fundamentalist organisation of the Wahabis in Pakistan. Established in the early eighties, the MDI is headquartered at Muridke, Gujranwala, a small town near Lahore in Pakistan. The sponsors of MDI are the Jamaat-e-Ahle Hadis of Pakistan and the creed of the organisation is to indulge in constant “Jehad” till the “rule of Allah is established throughout the world”. Currently, with active support from the Pakistan government, India is their prime target for establishing the “rule of Allah”. The MDI has over 500
offices in various parts of Pakistan, bulk of them in
Punjab. These offices function as recruitment centres for
the cadres and some of them are located in areas like
Bhawalpur, Jang Mor, Muzzafarabad and Baldiya Rajajung,
Kasoor district. Initially MDI was heavily involved in fighting the Soviet troops in Afghanistan in alliance with an Afghan outfit called “Jamaat Al Dawa Ilal Quran Va Sunna”. The first time LET came into the valley was in 1993 when, in tandem with Islami Inquilabi Mahaz, a terrorist outfit based in Poonch district of Jammu, 12 Pakistani and Afghan mercenaries were smuggled into the Indian side. Prior to their incursion in Poonch, this group had been briefed by Col. Murtaza Gillani and Major Hassan, both operatives of the infamous ISI. Their basic task was to attack an Indian army camp based at a place called Balnoi in Poonch. Equipped with heavy field weapons this group attacked the headquarters of 11 JAK Rifles, killing two army personnel and injuring several others. In the retaliatory action, three mercenaries were killed and five captured. The rest escaped. However, it was from mid-1994 onwards that LET started getting active in Jammu and Kashmir. The first major action of this group was on October 29, 1994 when a gang of 50 to 60 LET personnel attacked an army patrol. Around 1996 after the failure of Pakistan-sponsored militancy to prevent elections in Kashmir, LET and its mentors, the ISI, changed their strategy and started concentrating on the border districts of Jammu division, mainly in Poonch and Doda districts. This was apparent when in May, 1996, LET attacked another army patrol in a region called Thathri in Doda district. In this five militants were killed. Four of them were from Pakistan occupied Kashmir and one was an Afghan. LET has been preferred to play this role because its cadres are so fundamentalist in their attitude that the term mercy does not enter the realms of their thought as far as killings in India are concerned. And this is where LET provided the answer for the new orientation to terrorism that Pakistan was giving. With Kashmiris getting tired of militancy, Pakistan had to find a new area for operation in this state. They selected the border districts of Jammu, mainly Poonch and Doda, for sending trained militants into India. Both Poonch and Doda like Kashmir have been known for communal harmony between Hindus and Muslims residing in these regions. Despite the brutal killing of innocent people in Doda, Pakistan failed to drive a communal wedge between Hindu and Muslims of the region. Muslims of Doda have not only condemned the massacre, but have also decided to give shelter to Hindu children rendered orphans. LET is a handy tool in the current gameplan of Pakistan which is to create communal riots in the border districts of Jammu region. Besides, as most LET cadres are of non-Kashmiri stock (mainly Punjabis) they could easily blend with the local population who are also linguistically close to Punjab. Moreover, as a result of their blind advocacy of fundamentalism, unlike other militant groups, cadres of LET prefer to die in an encounter with the security forces rather than get caught. This is apparent from the fact that in 1997 the largest group of militants killed in clashes with the security forces belonged to the LET. The LET command structure
in Jammu and Kashmir is led by Attah-ur-Rehman whose
alias is Qari and is from Punjab in Pakistan. The Deputy
Commander in Kashmir is Abu Duziana who was born in
Sialkot. In addition, there are seven other deputy
commanders for Kupwara, Srinagar, Anantnag, Budgam,
Baramulla and Devar in Kashmir valley. In Doda, LET
conducts its activities under the supervision of Amir Abu
Moosa, who is aided by his two deputies, Abu Dajana and
Khalid Bhai. — IPA |
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