1. SOLDIER IS ALWAYS A SOLDIER....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuTnwHoZfo0
For Min Bhadur Thapa, a jawan from the 4/3 Gurkha Regiment, the bad guy has to be defeated anywhere, be it at Kargil or on a bus, and with equal passion.
It was his soldier's spirit that made him single-handedly take on a group of armed robbers on a bus at the Indo-Nepal border and save his fellow passengers. Unfortunately, the encounter left the braveheart paralysed for life.
"I would have been happy to die fighting enemies during the Kargil war but fate had something else in store for me," regretted Thapa, sitting in his wheelchair at the Army rehabilitation centre at Kadki, Pune. "It's so unfortunate that I was shot by my
fellow countrymen," the 32-year-old soldier said.
Willing his way: Despite his handicap, Min Bhadur Thapa leads an active life and works at the Military Rehabilitation Centre in Pune
The tragedy
In January 2004 Thapa was on leave, visiting his hometown in Nepal. On January 29, the same year, while on his way back to join his regiment, he boarded a bus to Lucknow from Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh near the Indo-Nepal border. It was around 9 pm.
The bus was nearing Ramnagar, about 35 km away, when six passengers forced the driver at knifepoint to halt at a deserted spot. The men, in their early twenties, started threatening people to give up all their valuables. "I was sitting just behind the driver's
seat and they hit my right hand with a knife. I was not in my uniform and requested them not to misbehave. I tried to control myself. But they started punching me. I decided to fight back, hoping the other passengers would help me. But I was wrong," Thapa said.
According to Thapa, he managed to overpower three robbers and pushed them out of the bus. Then one of the robbers nabbed a 15-year-old boy and was about to stab him, when Thapa jumped in to save the boy and succeeded. But the knife slashed his palm.
Meanwhile, another robber fired a round from his country-made revolver, injuring Thapa's spinal chord. "I could feel the pain and knew I was bleeding. I was struggling to get up but the lower part of my body had become numb. I could not move," said Thapa.
The robbers fled the scene, leaving behind the booty in the bus. "Unfortunately, none of the passengers came to my rescue. It was only when the robbers fled that the bus driver and the conductor approached me and I disclosed my identity."
The driver took Thapa to the Ramnagar police station and the local police shifted him to a hospital, from where he was taken to the military hospital in Kirkee, Pune.
Thapa underwent numerous surgeries and was in the hospital for over two years but the doctors could not dislodge the bullet from his body.
Though today Thapa leads an active life despite his injuries, he regrets that none of the 32 passengers in the bus dared to help.
"I am dejected," he said.
The future
Since his handicap was permanent, Thapa retired from the Army in June 2006. Today, he stays at the Military Rehabilitation Centre in Pune with his wife Geeta and two daughters Roshini, 8, and Raveena, 6. He is employed at the Centre, along with 70 other soldiers and officers who were injured in accidents. "I am happy the Army has helped me. I get a monthly pension of Rs 9,000," he said.
Family of soldiers
Thapa hails from Surkhet district in Nepal and is the eldest among four siblings. His father Maan Bahadur Thapa too was a hawaldar in the Indian Army. And after his schooling, as per his father's advice Thapa decided to join the Indian Army. On February 1, 1996, at the age of 17, Thapa's dream came true and he joined the 39 Gurkha Training Centre in Benaras.
Kargil highs
In September 1998, Thapa was transferred to Almora in Uttar Pradesh and later in May 1999, when the Kargil war began, he was moved to Kargil. The war claimed the lives of seven jawans and injured 17 others from his regiment.
"We were honoured to have been asked to march to war. It was the happiest moment of our lives," said Thapa, who served at Kargil for two months.
Reward
Thapa says the local police and his regiment appreciated his bravery. The local police gave him a cash reward of Rs 1,000 and his regiment gave him a wheelchair and has taken care of all his needs.
http://www.mid-day.com/news/2009/aug/120809-Jawan-Min-Bhadur-Thapa-Kargil-war-veteran-handicapped-paralyzed-armed-robber-thwarted-Mumbai.htm
2. BSF DEMANDS POWER TO ARREST AND SEARCH
( I HOPE ALL THOSE WHO ARE AGAINST AFSPA ARE READING THIS TOO )
in India enjoy when deployed in areas other than the borders. It now wants to be armed with power to make arrests as well as conduct search and seizure operations.
It says that these powers are all the more necessary when it is used for election duty. In recent times, the BSF has been deployed
in large numbers for election as well as internal security duty in J&K and the Northeast and anti-Naxalite operations. In J&K as well as the Northeastern states though, through two separate notifications, the BSF has been bestowed these powers. It now wants them for the entire country.
According to sources in the BSF, the Chief Law Officer of the organisation, H G Garg, has written to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) saying that the BSF finds it difficult to perform its duties for want of “adequate police powers under the various provisions of the CrPC”.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/BSF-demands--power-to-arrest--search/500429
3. SIX NAXALS KILLED
4. ARMY & PMF HOSPITALS ON FLU ALERT IN J&K
Srinagar, Aug 11: After first confirmed case of Swine Flu was detected in the State, military and paramilitary hospitals in the State have been instructed to remain on alert to face any eventuality.
Besides tourists, the troopers move inside and outside of the State on almost regular basis. “The risk rate of them carrying the H1N1 Influenza is very high,” health officials said, adding, “The troopers arriving in Kashmir should be screened for the Flu”.
“The troopers can prove to be potential carrier of the disease to the State,” a doctor said, adding, “It becomes imperative for government to screen all those people including troopers. Otherwise, it can prove disastrous, if they took this aspect lightly”.
Udhampur based army spokesman, Col D K Kachari told Rising Kashmir that military hospitals have been instructed to remain on alert across Jammu and Kashmir.
He said, “We have instructed army hospitals to maintain surveillance and vigilance to detect any Swine Flu case. The army medical services have been directed to look out for any swine flu cases. Till now, no such case has surfaced among the troopers anywhere in the state”.
Asked whether troopers returning after spending their leave are being screened before joining the field units, he said, “The disease has remained restricted. There has been no outbreak of disease as such. We are looking for symptoms, if any, to take remedial measures”.
The army hospitals, according to him, are fully equipped to deal with the Swine flu cases.
On Tuesday, Jammu and Kashmir government sounded the Swine Flu alert in all three regions of the State after a female student tested positive in Jammu.
The CRPF has received instructions from New Delhi to keep their hospitals ready to meet any challenge posed by the swine flu. “We have placed our hospitals on alert. So far no case of Swine flu has been reported among CRPF men,” CRPF spokesman Prabhakar Tripathi said.
He said they are making their men aware about the disease and its symptoms. “We have told them that if anybody complains about cough, sneezing, nausea and giddiness, he should immediately report it to doctors” he said.
Tripathi said CRPF personnel returning to Kashmir after spending their vacations in home are being properly screened by field officers. “If anybody is detected with having cough or any other symptom of flu, he is sent to doctors,” he added.
He, however, said they have not started full fledged screening to ascertain about flu. “We are not taking samples or any such test,” Tripathi said.
A BSF official said they have also set up proper mechanism in their hospitals to deal with the flu.
There are around seven lakh army and paramilitary troops deployed in the state. Bulk of manpower, comprising of troops deployed in the state, come from outside states. The troop movement inwards and outwards, for various official and unofficial purposes, has been a regular feature.
The swine flu has so far claimed 10 lives in India. Around 851 people have been detected positive. Among all the major cities where flu has been found, Pune has been the worst affected.
http://www.risingkashmir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15766&Itemid=1
5. SECRET OF SHARM-EL-SHEIKH
The recent joint statement made by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani at Sharm-el-Sheikh in Egypt was a pleasant reflection of India’s flexibility. It appeared as if India had left behind the bogey of terrorism and staged a fresh start with Pakistan. But many critics and media outlets in India displayed unease and construed that Manmohan Sing was the first Indian prime minister who had ‘surrendered’ to Pakistan.
Notwithstanding this high-pitch criticism, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh defended the joint statement on the floor of Lok Sabha:
“Unless we want to go to war with Pakistan, dialogue is the only way-out”. He went on to declare, “the Foreign Secretaries will meet as often as necessary and report to the two Foreign Ministers who will meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly later this year”. This polite assertion makes the hopes generated by the joint statement even more wholesome. One can safely anticipate a fresh beginning in the almost stalled peace process between the two nuclear neighbors.
Now, the question is what actually led India to resume dialogue process with Pakistan and what actually forced Manmohan Sing to mention Balochistan in the joint statement? Was it because of subtle U.S. pressure or a global cry against India’s alleged proxy war in Balochistan?
Many political commentators and analysts across South Asia have smelled U.S. pressure behind the fresh bonhomie that was displayed at Sharm-el-Sheikh notwithstanding the otherwise bitter atmosphere due to Mumbai attacks. It is now much debated that the U.S. wants to spare Pakistan army’s attention for its fight on Afghan-Pakistan border and the policy has already been named as America’s Af-Pak strategy.
But many Indians believe that the country had no reason to rake up Pakistani threats because the elections were long over. Moreover, Pakistan was, and still is, investigating the 26/11 Mumbai attacks seriously though India has not provided positive answers to some questions posed by Pakistani investigating agencies. India, therefore, had no handy pretext to stay away from talking process. There are other views suggesting that India knew fully well that it was high time that it got down on talking to Pakistan and put forward its demand of putting an end to anti-India terrorism from across the border.
Whether a subtle U.S. pressure entailed the Sharm-el-Sheikh declaration or it was the internal compulsion that forced both countries to mend fences, the inclusion of Balochistan is an interesting inquiry to be followed. Not because India ‘surrendered’ but because it’s for the first time in 62 years of conflict that Pakistan has got the guts to accuse India, even if subtly, of indulging in ‘cross-border terrorism against it; earlier India used to blame Pakistan for fomenting proxy war in Kashmir.
According to a leading Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir, who was present during Sharm- el-Shekh meeting, the situation in Balochistan came under detailed discussion during the first meeting of the foreign secretaries on July 14, two days before the meeting between Manmohan and Yusuf Raza Gilani. In a revealing article in Pakistani daily The News, Mir later disclosed : “Pakistani foreign secretary Salman Bashir had told Shiv Shankar Menon that India must de-link the talks from terrorism otherwise Pakistan would be forced to produce before the world at least three Indian Ajmal Kasabs who were directly or indirectly part of the terrorist activities in Balochistan and Pakistan will easily establish that Indian consulate in Afghan city of Kandahar is actually a control room of all the terrorist activities organized by the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army.”
Mir has also narrated the amazement and surprised expressed by many Indian Journalists, covering the event, when they read the joint statement and to their utter shock found the mention of Balochistan in it.
Balochistan has been a long festering problem for Pakistan government but it came into global limelight only recently through a Foreign Affairs article (March 2009) that disclosed the Indian involvement in Balochistan strife. Noted U.S. journalist Christine Fair, Author of the article, writes: “India has been pumping huge amount of money to create unrest in Balochistan and that it has direct links with terrorists’ activities in Pakistan and its job is beyond the issuance of visas.”
This was followed by an editorial comment in Sri Lanka’s leading newspaper, Daily Mirror. The said editorial criticized the role the Indian intelligence agency (RAW), which it, according to the newspaper, is playing in the regional countries to destabilize them. The editorial has specially referred to the threats faced by Pakistan: “Among RAW’s most ambitious operations that are currently underway is the move to separate Balochistan province from Pakistan by supporting the Balochistan Liberation Army.”
While there are thousands of new serious allegations pointing to India’s military involvement in Balochistan insurgency, it would not have been prudent for India to stay away from talking to Pakistan during the Egypt conclave. The country, perhaps for the first time since 1971, appeared in for a global criticism for its alleged involvement in Pakistani territory. To ward off this pressure and scotch down the projected impressions of its involvement, New Delhi found an easy way and that was engaging Pakistan, yet again. That way the fresh Indo-Pak engagement at Sharm-el-Sheikh was directly linked to Balochistan.
(Author is pursuing bachelor’s degree in Business Administration at Islamic University Of Science and Technology, Kashmir. He can be contacted at ubaidiust@gmail.com
http://www.risingkashmir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15776
6. LALGARH
"If classes can't be held, how can we uphold Kshudiram's ideal of bringing all children to school?" he asked. Bhattacharjee went to ebra on Tuesday to inaugurate Shahid Kshudiram Mahavidyalaya on the anniversary of the martyrdom of the freedom fighter. He also disapproved of the police move to occupy four schools in Debra in connection with his visit.
The CM reviewed the progress in anti-Maoist operations. He was of the opinion that the style of operation of the forces must change, but did not elaborate. During the day, two CRPF jawans were injured in exchange of fire with Maoists at Lakshmanpur and Pirrakhuli.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/kolkata-/CM-wants-police-to-vacate-Lalgarh-schools/articleshow/4883175.cms
7. CISF FOR ORISSA STATE IS --- OISF
Official sources here said today that the decision was taken in wake of employees of eight hydel projects expressing fear over Maoist threat to them as well as the projects.
The employees of hydro-power generation stations have reportedly informed the government about security threats, as Maoists virtually ruled the roost in tribal-dominated districts.
"We require as much as Rs 34 crore to set up OISF and an annual expenditure of Rs 14.65 crore to raise the battalion," a senior home department official said adding most of the hydel projects were located in Maoist-infested districts.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/224955_Orissa-plans-industrial-security-force-on-CISF-line
8. ARMY JAWANS NEW LINGO....
“Most of these men are bored with the rules and regulations. They feel there is nothing wrong in using informal words. Cheers was a word normally associated with officers in a mess. I had never heard this at a bara khana,’’ an officer said. “Though most of the infantry of the main combat corp of the army still marches to the orders of seniors, the technical and medical corp troops feel comfortable with civilian language.’’ Citing an instance, a commanding officer of the electrical and mechanical engineering wing said: “Jawans who used to greet us with ‘Jai Hind, Sahib’ have now switched over to ‘Good Morning, Sir or Jai Hind, Sir’.
The use of ‘sir’ is normally associated with officers.’’
Shedding another load of the disciplinary baggage, jawans, again mainly in the technical corps, are more open about their dislike for the term ‘sepoy’. “They despise the tag of sepoy and like to be addressed as craftsmen. They are educated and even question orders dictated,’’ said a subedar major in the Army Medical Corps. The kind of words and language used in any ceremony or occasion are fixed and have been followed since Independence.
This gradual process of doing away with archaic words, though not a gross violation of the army code of conduct, has the officers in a fix as they are yet to adapt to these changes.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/india/At-ease-jawans-raise-a-toast-to-new-lingo/articleshow/4883647.cms
9. ARMY RECRUITMENT INFO
The post for which recruitments are to be held include Soldier Technical, Soldier Clk/Storekeeper technical, Soldier nursing assistant and 'outstanding sportsmen', informed a PIB (DW) release.
Further details may be ascertained from the notice board of PIB (DW) near Johnstone Hr Sec School.
http://www.e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=Snipp4..120809.aug09
10. KARGIL WAR AND CINEMA
rocky peaks. Destination Kargil got catapulted into geographical importance a decade back, one would assume? Trawl the net a little more and the name figures in numerous Indo-Pak skirmishes throughout the tumultuous history of the two nations since Independence.
But Vijay Diwas (Day of Victory), as we celebrate the win today , surged into the national consciousness and earned the stripes only on July 26, 1999.
Tiger Hill, Batalik, Drass, Captain Vikram Batra, Anuj Nayyar to name a few all added to the creation of Brand Kargil. Sure, India has fought numerous wars in the last six decades, but Operation Meghdoot (Siachen glacier ), Operation Cactus (Maldives), IPKF in Sri Lanka or even 1971 victory don’t occupy as much mind space as Kargil.
The reason is that this generation got exposed to war in a setting completely different from that of the previous generation.
“Kargil is India’s first post consumerism war. It was the first televised war so to speak,” says Santosh Desai, CEO of Future Brands. Indeed, it was a war fought in clear view of millions who sat glued to their television sets day after day, to watch every aspect of the action that was beamed into houses across India. “Liberalised India had never seen anything like this.
Sure, satellite TV brought the Gulf war with fascinating visuals, but that was happening at a distance. This was much nearer to home,” explains Ambi Parameshwaran , CEO of Draft fcb+Ulka.
So, television packaged the war into several terabytes of actions chronicling the event, bringing to fore a tidal wave of patriotism in what is always a fissure laden society. “We could consume victory the way we understood it and had a visual reference point as well.
It was like any other product on TV, interpreted and packaged, fitted into byte sizes and brought within our reach,” says Desai.
“You shave off nuances that you don’t want to see and consume what you want. Like for example , war also means hardships and sacrifices for families,” he adds.
While television played a role in bringing Kargil to the fore, Anand Halve, cofounder of brand consultancy, Chlorophyll, however says there’s no such thing as brand Kargil and it is an invention of media herd mentality.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Brand-Equity/Will-the-Kargil-battle-be-a-subject-for-popular-cinema/articleshow/4883735.cms
11. JUDGES Vs RTI
But there are practical implications too when government operates without fear of public oversight, it can and does make policy choices against the common good.
Since the rise of J. Edgar Hoover in the Twenties, its misplaced faith in illegal and covert operations - typically bankrolled by illegal or covert funds as in the Iran-Contra scandal - has been exported to international affairs, blotting its copybook rather comprehensively. Every new administration in Washington comes to office with a legacy of wrongdoing that has gained irresistible momentum from the power of precedent. It sometimes makes new officebearers uncomfortable but they soldier on regardless, because continuity is politically safer than radical change. Even for a government like Obama's, which has gained power on the promise of change. Washington is now struggling with the negative legacy of the Bush years - the export of torture, offshore detention facilities of industrial scale and invasions which, in retrospect, seem to have been initiated partly to enrich certain coteries in Washington.
Despite the reservations of the Democrats, they are finding it difficult to withdraw immediately from the systems of power developed by their predecessors, stretching all the way back to the ill-advised campaigns in Korea and Vietnam.
One doesn't have to be a rocket scientist to detect this. A cursory survey of the preoccupations of Hollywood pot-boilers and US TV serials has more diagnostic value than the President's State of the Union Address.
12. RAKHI 4 JAWANS....
Kargil Vijay Diwas has come and gone. Our netas made the necessary sounds and may have already forgotten the martyrs who, 10 years ago, laid down their lives to keep us secure. But a group of women from Maharashtra are planning to travel to the inhospitable heights of Kargil to honour their brave 'brothers'. On August 15, to commemorate the historic win, the group of 10 women plan to gift more than 15,000 rakhis to the soldiers posted at Kargil. With the rakhis, they will carry messages from Indians across the country.
Honour bravehearts: If you want to send a message or a rakhi, visit www.rakhis4jawans.com |
The initiative, Freedom Rakhis, has been undertaken by the Maharashtra State Commission for Women in collaboration with the Indian Army.
"Our gallant soldiers are standing tall at the border to guard us. Through the rakhis we want to send them a message that the women of India are truly proud of them. We have taken permission from Defence Minister A K Anthony to visit Kargil on August 15. We will tie rakhis and gift a frame of messages to the Army at Drass," said Susiieben Shah, a member of Maharashtra State Commission for Women.
Interestingly, the rakhis and the messages were collected just within 10 days at the website www.rakhis4jawans.com. "Our website www.rakhis4jawans.com has got more than 12,000 hits. We have received more than 15,000 messages and thousands more are pouring in even today. People are sending their wishes from the remotest corners of the country and even abroad. We have set up three collection centres," Shah added.
Though this movement is starting from Kargil and Drass, it will turn into an annual affair and the delegation will visit soldiers posted at all international borders in the country.
http://www.rakhis4jawans.com/
http://www.mid-day.com/news/2009/aug/120809-10-women-15000-rakhis-Kargil-Jawans-Independence-Day-August-15th-website-Delhi-news.htm
13. UGs CAMP IN BHUTAN AGAIN
This reports from the Indian intelligence agencies came at the backdrop of the claim at the Seventh Border Coordination Development Meeting held at Thimphu recently by Bhutan which dismissed reports about ULFA and NDFB militants setting up permanent camps on its soil.
But, it did not rule out occasional intrusion by them.
According to official sources in Giuwahati ULFA and NDFB militants were re-organising and attempting to sneak into Bhutan.
In fact, New Delhi has informed Thimphu of the intrusion of about 30 militants into its soil..
We have information that they (ULFA and NDFB) have set up temporary hideouts there in the wake of stepped up counter-insurgency operations especially in Lower Assam, an officer from the Military Intelligence (MI) disclosed NNN on condition of anonymity.
It is worth noting that police and para military forces gunned down over 60 NDFB militants in the past two months in Assam following reports that a group of 18 militants of the anti-talks Ranjan Daimari faction of NDFB sneaked into Assam from Bangladesh and were planning to trigger a series of blasts.
They have their presence there (Bhutan) though we dont have the exact number.
Or else why should there be so much of activities in places on the border inside India? the officer asked.
The source claimed that the militants were operating in collaboration with the Communist Party of Bhutan (ML), Bhutan Tiger Force and Revolutionary Youth of Bhutan.
Even Bhutan admitted that it had received reports that the two Assam-based insurgent groups were imparting training to these groups.
At the moment, an SSB battalion is manning the 272km long Indo-Bhutan border.
Sources said a section of the militants use Bhutanese vehicles to go across the border.
But police claimed the vehicles are regularly frisked.
Its not possible for the personnel to identify the militants given that a number of tribals from the Northeast, working in Border Roads Organization, banks, NTPC and in private sectors in Bhutan, travel in the vehicles everyday, the officer from the MI argued.
In may also be noted that in the 2003 Operation All Clear, conducted jointly by the Indian Army and the Royal Bhutanese Army, scores of rebel camps were busted inside Bhutan while a number of militants were killed and captured.
Since then, militants of the Northeast virtually lost their ground.
Rio welcomes corruption check move of Cong (Kohima): Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has welcomed the suggestion of the Union Minister for Planning and Parliamentary Affairs and All India Congress Committee general secretary, Narayanaswami to form a committee in order to check misuse of centrally allotted funds in the State.
Interacting with media persons on the sidelines of inauguration of a Multipurpose Spo rts Hall at Indira Gandhi Stadium, here today, Rio said, 'We welcome the statement of the Union Minister in saying that they (Congress) will form a committee to check corruption in the State.
However, he said that, they should be specific in pointing out the anomalies and not blindly cast aspersion.
Admitting that there could be some slackness in the performance, he said, We are ready to make necessary correction if the wrong doings are pointed out.
http://www.e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=9..120809.aug09
14. ISRO's OWN GOOGLE EARTH
However, the new mapping service -- Bhuvan, which means earth in Sanskrit -- will allow users to have a closer look at any part of the subcontinent barring sensitive locations such as military and nuclear installations.
ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair will unveil the Bhuvan webportal at a function here tomorrow in the presence of Minister of State in the PMO Prithviraj Chavan.
Bhuvan will use images taken by ISRO's seven remote sensing satellites at least a year ago. These eyes in the sky can capture images of objects as small as a car on the road to build three-dimensional map of the world.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/224413_ISRO-to-unveil-mapping-application--Bhuvan--tomorrow
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