DANGEROUS IMBALANCE

NOT ANYMORE

Indian Armed Forces have been deeply shunned by the sixth pay commission. A largely ignorant society and the state have virtually remained mute in the entire setback. It is evident that the Armed Forces have never got their dues from pay commissions ever as the government remains trapped in the models prepared by bureaucrats. A continuous dominance of bureaucracy has sidelined this profession to such a low that even the best and the brightest officers of Armed Forces have refused to go for prestigious courses like the Senior Command, Higher Command or even the Staff Course. In most cases these officers are even opting for premature retirement from service. Statistics of pay and allowances after the sixth pay commission reveals that the difference of simple monetary returns between an IAS officer and an Armed Forces Officer to be over TWO CRORE RUPEES after their services. A services officer stands nowhere against his IAS counterpart in this respect; this is over and above the separation from his family which works out to be almost 70% of service. Such a turmoil within the Armed Forces, should be a cause of worry for any nation but India appears to be different.

State makes a sacred relations with her soldiers. While a soldier lays down his or her life, the state should ensure the safety of their family and pride for them. This is a very basis for the survival of a nation. A nation should look for a good bargain or else the implications could be disastrous.

Design: Maj Surender Singh, Graphics: Samson Robert, Photo: Lt Sandhu, Engineer & a part time army officer with Indian Territorial Army

JASWANT HAS PAID THE PRICE FOR BEING MODERATE

Recent expulsion of senior party leader Jaswant Singh by the BJP has once again reaffirmed its fundamentalist ideology. The party, widely considered as the face of RSS, began its march in the political corridors of India with the demolition of Babri Masjid. It was a high note to start, coupled with the raised religious expectations of Hindus; but fell miserably as the party failed in building the Ram Temple during its tenure at centre. Whatever might have been the political compulsions, it was aptly clear that India can not be ruled with religious hatred. Lost in the identity crises, the party tried to be moderate, but seemed, as almost impossible to give up the fundamentalist approach. The RSS had a say in that. This was again visible in the recent debacle of Lok Sabha elections.

An ugly face of party came out in public during the brainstorming sessions post parliamentary elections. Leaders like Arun Shourie, Yashwant Sinha and Jaswant Singh were virtually sidelined for their independent and moderate thinking. It was more to do with their not so fundamental ethics. Again, it was RSS at its best. The sevaks could not tolerate the emergence of independent thinking. The selective sacking of Jaswant Singh followed by a ban on his book in Gujrat is perhaps, a warning to all those moderates. Jaswant Singh has called this ban, a ban on thinking. He has been sacked for having a point of view on Jinnah, whereas, similar was the case of L K Advani when he also praised Jinnah on a visit to Pakistan.

It may seem like an internal matter of BJP but the implications are grave for India's democratic structure. It has sent an open alarm that religious politics is here to stay.

Jaswant Singh , a Soldier and a Politician

Jaswant Singh, an alumnus of the India's National Defence Academy, passed out with the 11th course on 01 Dec 1956 and was later commissioned into the Indian Army's Central India Horse in 1957. He resigned his military commission to join politics. A six term Member of Parliament (of both houses), he was appointed Minister of External Affairs in Dec 1998. On 13 Oct 1999, he was reappointed as the Minister of External Affairs following the elections and formation of the new Government. In Government, he has held a variety of posts in the past, as Minister of Finance and Minister of Electronics and Surface Transport; has chaired several Govt of India Task Forces, including Telecom, IT and Infrastructure, thus preparing the policy framework subsequently adopted by the Govt. He has also been the Dy Chairman of the National Planning Commission. Suave diplomacy, excellent oratorical skills and a reputation for solidity characterise him as an outstanding and respected politician.

SHORTAGE OF GOOD LEADERS IN INDIA , A TAKE ON THE CITIZENS' ARMY

A TIMES OF INDIA editorial read as under :

Numbers Tell The Story
(Ajai Sahni18 August 2009, 12:00am IST)

"Our national leadership is constantly advocating 'out of the box solutions' to meet a rising tide of national crises. But it has persistently and obdurately ignored the quotidian and necessary tasks of governance and of maintaining minimum strength and standards in the institutions already 'in the box'. In India today, basic capacities for governance, enterprise and social action have been allowed to decline to such an extent that the most rudimentary tasks of nation-building, indeed, even of administrative maintenance, cannot be executed with a modicum of efficiency.

Ironically, this has happened over decades of a public and media discourse about 'bloated government', 'massive police force', 'gigantic expenditure on the bureaucracy', the need to 'downsize government', and other politically correct slogans based on extraordinary ignorance of fact. A look at the most rudimentary statistics may help pull some heads out of the sand.

After numberless terrorist attacks and years of hammering away at every possible forum with the basic data, India's abysmal police-population ratio appears to have found marginal registration in segments of the leadership, at least at the Centre. The ratio, at 125/1,00,000 in end-2007 (it is expected to have risen significantly thereafter, though nowhere approaching what is necessary) stands against western ratios that range between 200 (Australia: 209) and over 500 (Italy: 556). Western police forces, moreover, have tremendous qualitative advantages in manpower, technology, infrastructure, financial resources and conditions of work, and are rarely required to deal with proxy wars and insurgency.

The police are not the only organisation in crisis. Every government institution in the country has been hollowed out by political incompetence and ignorance. A look at the 'bloated bureaucracy' is instructive. The embedded principle in American democracy is that 'the best government is the least government'. Consequently, the state focuses as exclusively as possible on 'core functions' and minimises engagement in welfare and activities that can be taken over by the private sector. The administrative philosophy in India is the exact opposite, with government's fingers planted firmly in every possible pie.

That is why the ratio of government employees to population in the two countries is the more astonishing: the US federal government has a ratio of 889 employees per 1,00,000; India's Union government has just 295. State and local government employees in the US account for another 6,314 per 100,000; in sharp contrast, Uttar Pradesh has 352; Bihar, 472; Orissa, 1,007; Chhattisgarh, 1,067; Maharashtra, 1,223; Punjab, 1,383; Gujarat, 1,694. Worse, in India, the overwhelming proportion of government employees is in the lower cadres, class III and IV, as against the 'thinking' element of the state in higher echelons. Even in the latter category, qualitative profiles, including modern and administrative skills, training and technological competence, are severely limited.

Then, look at the 'second largest army in the world'. At about 1.4 million, the current strength of the armed forces appears large in absolute terms but is utterly inadequate in terms of India's population, territory and strategic projections as an 'emerging global power'. India's ratio of active duty uniformed troops to population works out to about 1:866. China's ratio is 1:591; UK's 1:295; Pakistan's 1:279; the US's 1:187. Again, the Indian armed forces' technological and resource capabilities compare adversely to those of the modernised western powers, and the army is way overstretched in conventional defence and counter-insurgency deployments. It can only be hoped that the navy chief's dark assessment of capacities relative to China will ring a few alarm bells.

Given the magnitude of delays that mar the judicial process, it is not surprising to find this institution is probably the worst off in terms of human assets. India has about 1.2 judges per 1,00,000 population. The Law Commission, in its 120th report, recommended a much-augmented ratio of 5 judges per 1,00,000 - a more than fourfold increase. But even this projected ratio would compare adversely with most countries that could be categorised as reasonably administered. The US has nearly 11 judges per 1,00,000 population; Sweden: 13; China: 17; and, at the top of the scale, Belgium: 23; Germany: 25; and Slovenia: 39!

The obvious 'solution', theoretically, would be to initiate massive recruitment to fill up these deficits. Government revenues have grown tremendously over the past decades, so that seems feasible. But it is here that the system hits a wall. Forget lack of political will, corruption, bureaucratic delays, interminable selection processes or absence of training capacities. India has an abysmal 9 per cent higher education participation rate, lower than the average for Africa at 10 per cent. An overwhelming majority of 'graduates' come out of third-rate institutions and are in fact unemployable, lacking essential language and reasoning skills. For all our boasting about the 'youth bulge', India simply does not have the manpower profile to fuel a modern nation and it will take decades before suitable profiles can be generated to meet the demands of modern governance, commerce and society."

The writer is executive director, Institute for Conflict Management.


Issue raised by the author is an alarming one, India lack the depth of good leaders in almost all stratas of her national mechanism. The statistics quoted can not be ignored as the stakes are too high. What is more important is to give a more logical thought to it. Now, when it comes to the army, the auther reccomends the rationalisation of strength, whereas, I feel the otherway round. Rather than raising more manpower, we can go in for the broader concept on CITIZENS' ARMY in India. It is prevalent all over the world, why cant in India? A huge part Time army with a strong nucleas of regular elements should be the option for india. In this way, we can ensure the supply of good leaders in society at a very minimal cost. These part time members of the CITIZENS' ARMY can fulfill the wide gap of all sections of our society along with serving in the army. To be more precise, almost 70% elements of the UNITED STATES ARMY belongs to the NATIONAL GUARDS in sharp contrast to 40000 TERRITORIAL ARMY personnel against a huge 1.4 million strong REGULAR ARMY in INDIA. The Americans have a great culture of national service, they never fall short of leaders, even their Presidents have served in this organisation. Similar is the case of all leading democracies all over the world. Unfortunatly, we in India dont even talk on this issue, we dont even know that we also have a CITIZENS' ARMY in India. What is worst is that our policy makers are almost ignorant of this fact.

Picture: Capt Jagdeesh, Chartered Accountant & an officer in the INDIAN TERRITORIAL ARMY

Design : Maj Surender Singh, Graphics : Samson Roberts

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

LET US NOT FORGET THEM

NEHRU REMEMBERED

Pt Nehru had a special attraction towards lady Mountbatten in the mid forties . There first meeting was like a typical filmy plot in 1946, wherein, Mrs Mountbatten was knocked off at her feet by a crowed of Panditji's admirers at the YMCA in Singapore. She crawled under a table from where, Panditji rescued her.

Panditji and the lady had an immediate attraction which blossomed into LOVE.

Nehru, a widower had a daughter Mrs Gandhi, who was married with a husband to look after and was not often around. Nehru had two sisters who were away in Moscow and Bombay. This had left him lonely in the house and he could not share much with his associates as well. This is how, Lady Mounbatten became his confidence. He would never write to her until about two in the morning, when he had finished his work, and his letters were a fascinating story on the creation of new India. The beginning and the ending were full of personal words for the lady but the main text was the reproduction of daily events, what he had been doing and people he had seen, his hopes and fears and towards the end of this twelve-year correspondence, his disappointments and disillusion.

The Lady already had many LOVERS and the fact was known to LORD MOUNTBATTEN. It broke his heart for the first time but not anymore.

It is evident from his letter in June 1948, written to his own daughter,

" She and Jawaharlal are so sweet together, they really dote on each other in the nicest way and Pammy and I are doing everything we can to be tactful and help. Mummy has been incredibly sweet lately and we have been such a happy family.'

So it was a firm understanding on all sides. In one of the letters written by Nehru to the Lady in March 1957, he quoted,

"Suddenly I realised ( and perhaps you did also ) that there was a deeper attachment between us, that some uncontrollable force, of which I was dimly aware, drew us to one another, I was overwhelmed and at the same time exhilarated by this new discovery. We talked more intimately as if some veil had been removed and we could look into each other's eyes without fear or embarrassment."

Both used to meet at least twice in a year even after independence in the backdrop of official visits. The Lady was on an overseas tour in 1960 and had just left India, she died in her sleep at the age of fifty-eight during that tour. A packet of letters from Panditji was found by her bedside. There was a suitcase full of letters left in her will for Lord Mounbatten.

On the death of Lady Mounbatten, INDIAN PARLIAMENT stood in silence in her memory and a frigate from the INDIAN NAVY attended her funeral at sea off PORTSMOUTH. They cast a wreath of marigolds into the ocean on behalf of the PRIME MINISTER NEHRU.

A REAL DOWNFALL OF INDIAN ARMED FORCES

The implementation of sixth pay commission has drastically changed the warrent of precedence (WoP) for the Indian Armed Forces. The chairperson of UPSC has been upgraded to article 9A over services chiefs (at article 12). He/she used to be earlier at article 17 below services chiefs and also below officiating chiefs of the rank of Lt Gen who were on article 16. Chairperson of SCs and STs were added on article 17. Both these chairpersons are now higher than Army Commanders/Vice Chiefs who are on article 23. Members of SCs & STs placed at same level of Army Commanders/Vice Chiefs at article 23.What more to say, even Field Marshall Manekshaw was placed at article 12 below two former civil servants ( Brijesh Mishra and Vijay Kapoor). Now, does anyone know what these gentlemen have done for INDIA????

As was well known, Army Commanders/Vice Chiefs were equated with secretaries to Govt. of India on article 23. However, Note 10(c) of the WoP make an interesting distinction: In official functions held at Delhi, Army Commanders /Vice Chiefs of the Army Staff or equivalent in other services will always rank after the secrataries to the Government of India.

Following are the deductions:

1. DIG is now officially equivalent to a Brigadier (Earlier this rank was even junior to a Colonel)

2. Ministry of Home Affairs has declared that all IPS officers shall attain the rank of DIG in 14 year's service.

3. Senior Administrative Grade (SAG) is now officially equivalent to the rank of Major General.

4. Dept of Pers & Trg has declared that all IAS officers shall attain the rank of SAG in 14 year's service.

5.What would be achievable by 100% IPS officers in 14 years, 100% CPO and State Cadre (class two) Police officers after 25 years would now be achievable by 7% defence officers in 28 years.

6. What would be achievable by 100% IAS officers in 14 years would now be achievable by 2% defence in 33 years.

7. 20% defence officers attain the rank of COLONEL after 16 years of service whereas, the same rank(SSP) is achieved by 100% IPS officers afters 8 years of service, 100% CPO officers after 16 years, 100% state cadre (class two) police officers after 15 years and in some cases few state cadre Sub Inspectors or even the ASIs as well.

It is now evident from the above deduction that almost 80% of the defence officers will always be junior to all IPS,CPO and even the state cadre police officers throughout their service. The selection grade officers, who make it to the rank of COLONELs and beyond, will also be junior to their police counterparts in all protocols .

It is pertinent to mention that the senior most civilian rank in a state was equivalent to a Colonel during independance; whereas , over a period of time, the nation has only seen the downfall our BABUS. Their machinary collaps even with a simple storm, whereas, their protocol has kept on rising. I dont need to mention the professionalism of our Armed Forces; the nation knows well.

In principle, our politicians needs to give an explanation for this remarkable erosion of a soldier's status over the past sixty years, the Generals , too , are equally responsible. They have virtually failed in restoring the pride of their own men whom they command.

No doubt, even, they dont send their children in the services who rather prefer beauty contests or becoming a Bollywood star. I dont blame them also because they have seen it all.

It is high time that we speak up or else a disaster of command and control during warlike situations is waiting to happen.

(Photo Concept: Maj Surender Singh, Graphics: Samson Robert)

Picture: Capt Rajpal,Jt director FICCI(left) , Lt Sanjeev Kaura,Politician BSP(right) ,INDIAN TERRITORIAL ARMY

THANKLESS NATION

I think time has come to learn the spirit of nationhood from Americans.Being an Army Officer, I felt ashamed of myself when our great politicians linked Operation Vijay (the famous Kargil war) with dirty or rather petty politics.They should learn that a soldier never dies for BJP or a CONGRESS, he rather does so, for the pride of his motherland.It is therefore, for the politicians , to decide the reasons of that pride.The Generals ,too, share equal morality. By associating this war with party politics, we are inviting a complete DISASTER of our sacred ARMED FORCES

In a country like India,where our soldiers have to pay bribe to get a railway seat or run from pillar to post to get a basic work done from civil administration, our politicians should rather concentrate on.

Contrary to this , We must look at the United States of America , where soldiers are considered as national pride & are never linked with politics. It runs in their spirit of nationhood. No wonder they rule the WORLD.

(picture courtsey: google)

CITIZEN INTELLIGENCE NETWORK

A story published on "TIMES OF INDIA" carried the observations of India's National Security Adviser , wherein , he emphasised the need of creating a "CITIZEN INTELLIGENCE NETWORK"

"NSA: Intel from aam admi will help terror fight
(Sachin Parashar, TNN 22 July 2009)

NEW DELHI: If national security adviser M K Narayanan has his way, India will soon have a Citizen Intelligence Network (CIN) allowing residents to participate actively in the intelligence gathering mechanism to help prevent terrorist strikes in the country. Narayanan, sources said, is the force behind the proposal, which is currently being examined by the CCS, to induct ordinary citizens to coordinate with not just the cops but also Intelligence Bureau officials. Once the proposal, which aims to revamp human intelligence, gets the go-ahead from CCS, which can be as early as a month from now, the police and IB will actively go about interviewing residents, initially only in the metro cities but gradually all over the country, to select men and women who could play the role of ‘special intelligence officers’ in their areas. To keep their motivation high, these officers will also be provided with mobile phones and the government will foot the bill.

While police have in the past asked people to become more aware of their surroundings, this is the first time that even IB would involve people in intelligence gathering. The proposal first came up in a report prepared by a joint task force on intelligence, a Narayanan brainchild, headed by former JIC chief S D Pradhan and comprising former IB chief P C Haldar and scientist Roddam Narasimha as members. The NSA is now said to be burning the midnight oil to get the implementation right. ‘‘We will have one or more intelligence units in each residential area and these will be linked to the local police station. There is a perception that human intelligence or HUMINT is weakening and this is an attempt to address the concern,’’ said an official source. Earlier this year, in January, the Centre had sent a note to all chief ministers asking them to focus again on human intelligence without compromising on technical intelligence. In fact, it stated that technical intelligence, even though extremely important and crucial in the fight against terrorism, cannot be a substitute for human intelligence.

It’s perhaps also proper that at a time when the functioning of central intelligence agencies like IB and RAW is being marred by shortage of staff, the government is seeking help from common man. According to an internal study carried out by the same task force, IB needs to increase its staff intake by more than 10% in the next 5 years to meet its requirements."

Dear Mr Narayanan

Pls tell your JIC,IB,RAW and all those committees to stop wasting public money in such wastefull exercises. Anyway for your kind information , we already have a concept of HOME & HEARTH battalions at J & K & NE region under the umbrella of TERRITORIAL ARMY.These battalions are akin to the CIN & have performed with outstanding merit ; much better , than the regular army battalions.

"Territorial Army is an organisation of gainfully employed Indian citizens who are not professional soldiers but civilians eager to do their bit towards the country's defence.Territorial Army provides an ideal opportunity to the youth of the country to receive military training in their spare time; so that, in the event of a national emergency , they might be called upon to meet the needs of country's defence and internal security ."

It is also known as the CITIZENS' ARMY.

The TERRITORIAL serves only two months in a year during the embodiment period & for the rest of the period ,they perform their civilian role. And for your kind information sir , this military organisation is existing in our country since seventeenth century.The US has NATIONAL GUARDS akin to this.

DEDUCTIONS

1.Are we really aware of this fact at the policy making level?

2.Does our police even has the data of Territorial during disembodied state or have they ever tried to liase with military authorities on this subject?

3.Whether we have learned any lessons from HOME & HEARTH or not?

4. Have we really thought of utilising the services of disembodied TERRITORIAL during terrorist strikes anywhere in India?

5.Or do we really know that we have a CITIZENS' ARMY in India?

I dont really have to guess the answer sir,therefore, let us stop fooling the nation once for all & let us do justice to our present security mechanism.

Photo concept: Maj Surender Singh / Graphics: Samson Robert, extreme left:Lt Sanjeev Kaura (Politician BSP), extreme right:Capt Rajpal (Jt Director FICCI), Netaji & Panditji ,Ex Territorial Army cadets at Calcutta & UK respectively during college days & Gandhiji, an Ex TA Sergent during the BOER WAR at SOUTH AFRICA, where, he even won a gallantry award which is preserved at GANDHI archives at Delhi.

SERVE THE COUNTRY BETTER BY BEING A RELIGIOUS LEADER/SPOUSE/SON IN LAW OF A VIP

A story published on TIMES OF INDIA dt july 22,2009 stated as under,

"NEW DELHI: Aviation authorities have sought an FIR against Continental for making Kalam take off his shoes and undergo a humiliating security check at Delhi airport before being allowed to board flight CO 083 to Newark on April 21.

As Kalam was about to board his flight to New York around 10pm, he was put through ladder point security under which the former President was frisked completely. He was also asked to take off his shoes, despite accompanying CISF personnel protesting to the airline staff that Kalam was an ex-President and exempt from such checks. While the airline did not budge, the unassuming Kalam went through the process without any fuss.

On its part, the airline said US rules stipulate all passengers flying to the country must be checked just before entering the aircraft again and that there are no exceptions for VVIPs. The CISF sent a report of this protocol violation to the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security. The airline was issued a showcause notice on July 9 and asked to respond within a week, something they have not done till date."

Whereas, the act of US Airline is unpardonable,it is interesting to see the list of people who are exempted from security checks in India .Apart from many VIPs, it also includes:

1. HIGH COMMISSIONERS & THEIR SPOUSES
2. DALAI LAMA
3. SPG PROTECTEES & ROBERT VADRA

It is pertinent to mention that even the CHIEF OF INDIAN ARMED FORCES were not exempted from this check about an year back when the spouses(of our VIPs) , Mr Dalai Lama & Mr Robert Vadra(son in law of a VIP) were enjoying this exemption.In fact it was only when the media carried stories,they were included in the list.But the irony is that all military officers even of the rank of Lt Generals ,still have to undergo the security checks ,whereas our SPOUSES,Mr DALAI LAMA & Mr ROBERT VADRA are enjoying the exemption.

I have nothing against the above categories but the larger question still looms large;when these officers can be trusted to defend the entire nation;why cant they be trusted to board a flight.Are they inferior in any manner to the above category?

Let us have a debate on this all over again.

photo courtsey: google

PART TIME FORCES

World over, the current international military trend is to develop the Reserve Force (active part-time components). Fulltime professional forces are becoming prohibitively expensive and the swing is towards part-time elements with professional standards. These formations can, with training and motivation, be honed to a very high standard and it is not unknown for the part-time components to achieve the highest obtainable level during training exercises. Rising Defence costs have resulted in more attention being given to the part-time forces, and in this respect it is interesting to note that the 600 000 members of the US Army Reserve, which provides 24 per cent of the ‘Total Army’ absorbs just slightly more than four per cent of the Army’s budget

French Part-Time Forces: More than Two Thousand Officers are Staff Qualified

The French have a unique system which enables them to sort out the goats from the sheep before their conscripts begin their 10 month period of military service. The conscripts have the opportunity, after they have passed the military medical inspection and psychological test, of volunteering for a 15 day Military Preparation (PMT) period. This PMT can prepare the volunteer for admission for NCO training and after 5 months conscript training, he can become a sergeant. Likewise the pre-training period can prepare a volunteer after 12 days and four jumps for enlistment as a recruit in a para-troop regiment.
The system that provides the French Army with its Officers Corps Reserve Officers works on a different system. The Superior Military Preparation (PMS) consists of a 30 day pre-military service volunteer period. The PMS is open to volunteers who have obtained their ’baccalaureate’ and consists of intensive military training. If satisfactory completed, the conscript is considered to have the potential of becoming an officer and is inducted for officer training.
Both successful PMT and PMS candidates are allowed to choose their branch of the service and there are other benefits that they are entitled to, such as extended periods of service and becoming a permanent force member.
The French Table of Battle requires that a maximum of 300,000 Reservists will be activated and it is interesting to note that in nineties the French Defence Ministry launched a publicity campaign to inform the public of the country’s need and the value of the Reservists with the slogan – “Reservists – the spirit of liberty”.
To encourage the “one force” attitude,more than 1,000 cadet reserve officers are trained each year, together with their professional counterparts at the Military Academy Saint-Cyr. The French require that there is a very high degree of mutual understanding and respect between the fulltime and part-time officers and do everything to foster cross-pollination.
In the French Army there are over 2,000 Reservists filling posts on the Staff with an annual intake of approximately 12. To qualify, a French Reservists has to undertake two years of study by attending a four-hour lecture session every second week for two years followed by a three-week course at the Paris Military School, the Headquarters of CRSEM.

This high degree of military education prepares the Reservists to serve together with their fulltime colleagues and serves as a link between the two cultures the –civilian and the military. Experience over the years has shown that, similar to the Swiss system, the senior Reserve Officer generally holds a position of authority and respect in the civil environment.

Picture: Lt Sanjeev Kaura,social worker/politician/part time officer, Indian Territorial Army.

(Concept: Maj Surender Singh / Graphics: Samson Robert)

TERRITORIAL FORCE

An article published in "THE HINDU"dated May 30, 1958 read as under:

"TERRITORIAL FORCE"

"An appeal to industrialists to help to promote public interest in the territorial and other auxiliary forces which were playing a very useful part in maintaining national solidarity and in the defence of the country was made by Mr. V.K. Krishna Menon, Defence Minister, during a meeting at Rajaji hall, Madras, on May 28. The State Government convened this preliminary meeting with a view to forming an association in Madras similar to the Welfare Association for Auxiliary Forces formed in Bombay under the guidance of Mr. Naval H. Tata. The objects of the Association were to promote public interest in territorial and other auxiliary forces, assist in recruitment to them, encourage liaison between the various forces and the services and provide amenities and comforts for the units and members of the services."

It is pertinent to mention that TERRITORIAL FORCE (or TERRITORIAL ARMY) is also known as the CITIZENS' ARMY .Now, looking back on the article....can someone tell where are these associations which were promised in 1958 ???????

There is an urgent need to bring all Territorial on a common platform whether serving or retired.It is,highly unfortunate that a trained manpower of this magnitude has gone unrecognised in India.This manpower can surely act as a force multiplier in all our nation building activities.Our policymakers needs to give a serius thought to it.They can even be utilised in combating terrorism during disembodied state.

WOMEN IN TERRITORIAL ARMY

Following is a writeup from my book "ITS TIME FOR INDIAN CITIZENS' ARMY" (to be published soon).A piece of information on women's role in the Indian Armed Forces.

TERRITORIAL WOMEN’S AUXILIARY CORPS OF INDIA WAC(I)

"Women from the Indian sub-continent, (present day India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka
And Pakistan), played a considerable part in the Allied war effort during the Second World War. The Territorial Women’s Auxiliary Corps of India WAC(I), was established in 1942 and by the end of the war over 10,000 Indian

Women had served in its ranks. The Territorial Women’s Auxiliary Corps of India WAC (I) was an all ranks women’s corps. The object of the Corps was to release men for more active duties in the Second World War by engaging women in military appointments at static formations of the Army. Later, it was widened to permit the employment of members of the Corps with the Royal Indian Navy (RIN) and the Royal Air Force (RAF), and allow them to replace other ranks and civilian clerks in certain establishments. Indian women also served as nurses, worked in the vital warIndustries and in civil defense. Indian princess Noor Inayat Khan served first in the WAAF(RAF) and then with the Special Operations Executive in occupied France. Captured and tortured by the Germans in October 1943, she was executed at Dachau concentration camp on 12 September1944. Her gallantry was recognized on 5 April1949 when she was posthumously awarded the George Cross."

In today's modern India,when there is a debate on whether to grant permanent commission to lady officers in our Armed Forces or not,this historic fact needs to be given a serious thought.

A REAL BRAINSTORMING FOR INDIAN ARMY

Recently a story published on NDTV read as under:

"Savneet Paul's husband, an army officer is fighting insurgency in Kashmir but back home in Patiala, she is fighting a different battle. She has decided to take legal action against her husband's superior officer Col D.S Loomba and his wife.

This after Col Loomba made adverse remarks in her husband's annual confidential report (ACR) because of her non-participation in the Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA) activities during their posting at Meerut last year. Savneet says, she could not follow the orders given by the CO's wife since she was pregnant.

"I was pregnant and I was not well and I am not serving in the Army. My husband is in the army. Why should I? See I have married an army officer. I have not married the Army. I have not joined the Army. They are not paying me," says Savneet Paul, wife of Maj P S Paul.

The Annual Confidential Report showers praises upon Maj P S Paul but towards the end says: On the social front, nil AWWA activities. The couples' performance was found to be below average.

Savneet, claims she was under depression as there was a social boycott against them inside the Army campus once she refused.

Indian Army earlier had declared under oath that the AWWA is not a part of its functioning. If that was the case this case has surprised many. Now an officer is judged on the conduct of his wife.

"It is very surprising when Army is saying that it's a welfare organization, an NGO - how can working with an NGO affect the officer's career? It is surprising and shocking. AWWA has nothing to do with an officer's capability," said Major (retd) Guneet Choudhary, Advocate.

There is a saying that behind every successful man there is a woman. Savneet Paul doesn't want this saying to be proved wrong. She is working hard to get her husband's ARC amended. It may not be very easy but then there are many who believe it is not fair to mention the contribution of AWWA activities in an officer's ACRs."

It is also important to mention that Army had earlier disowned AWWA in a written oath to the court.Please reply to arouse a public opinion on this story.

MEMBERS OF INDIAN TERRITORIAL ARMY CONDUCTED A TRUE MISSION IMPOSSIBLE DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR

The volunteers (Territorial Army of modern India) have performed some of the most outstanding feats of gallantry in the history of Indian military warfare. Unfortunately these acts were either ignored by our historians or not considered worth enough to be studied at India’s military institutions. In a nutshell, we can broadly say that volunteers were responsible for shaping the glory of Indian Army right from its inception days. They were the largest officer producing units during the first world war and in the second world war, they created history, when few middle aged part time soldiers from the Calcutta Light Horse and the Calcutta Scottish formed their own boarding party and destroyed the secret transmitter aboard a German Ship which had sought shelter in the neutral territory of Goa, a Portuguese colony. This was perhaps one of the best operations of the Second World War which remained classified till 1978.

Calcutta Light Horse

The Calcutta Light Horse was raised in 1872 and formed part of the Cavalry Reserve in the British Indian Army. The regiment owned its origin to the first British Governal General , Robert Clive, who in 1759 raised a formation of irregular cavalry from Europeans in Calcutta to frustrate a Dutch attack on what was then a new British settlement.The Calcutta Light Horse was disbanded following India's independence in 1947.It is pertinent to mention that Robert Clive was a clerk in the East India Company before volunteering part time in Army.He can truely be hailed as the FATHER OF INDIAN TERRITORIAL ARMY.

Operation creek

Inactive since the Boer War, they were the most noted for their attack with members of the Calcutta Scottish against the German ship, Ehrenfels that was sending coded messages to German U-boats in the Indian Ocean. These messages revealed the location of ships, which were then torpedoed and sunk. The problem facing the British was that the radio transmitter was on a ship that was interned in a neutral territory, Goa, on India’s western coast.
This was a true “mission impossible.” The British did not want to violate Goa’s neutral status, so they devised a plan to destroy the transmitter by using civilian volunteers. The remarkable thing about the volunteers was that they were all retired military men, members of the Calcutta Light Horse, which last saw active service in the Boer War in 1900. Simple mathematics tell us that in 1943, these men were all in their sixties or even, perhaps, in their seventies.
They were advised that they would get no recognition, no pay, no medals, and if they were caught, they would be on their own. Still, they willingly risked their lives to serve their country.
The operation was organized by SOE's (SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE UNDER MINISTRY OF ECONOMIC WARFARE) India Mission. It was kept covert, to avoid the political ramifications of contravening Portuguese neutrality in Goa, and was not revealed until thirty-five years afterwards, in 1978. The Ehrenfels was known to be transmitting information on Allied ship movements to U-boats from Marmagoa harbour in Portugal's neutral territory of Goa on 9 March 1943.The Light Horse embarked on the barge Phoebe at Calcutta and sailed around India to Goa. After the Ehrenfels erupted in a fireball and was sunk by the team of British saboteurs, British intelligence dispatched an open message over the wire falsely warning that they would invade Goa. The crews of the other two German ships in the harbor, the Drachenfels and Braunfels, received the message and scuttled their ships in Goa's harbour in the belief that they were protecting their ships from capture by the British. Italian ships in the harbour were also destroyed. In 1951 all three ships were salvaged.

Prominent Members

Honorary Colonel Louis Mountbatten (1947)
Corporal John Raymond
Colonel Bill Grice
Colonel Lewis Pugh, Commander of covert mission in Goa
Sir Owain Jenkins

James Leasor, an ex British Army officer who participated in the second world war wrote the book Boarding Party :The Last Action of the Calcutta Light Horse in 1978. The Hollywood film The Sea Wolves based on the book was made in 1980, with actors David Niven, Gregory Peck, Trevor Howard and Roger Moore .The movie recounts how these men commandeered a river barge in Calcutta and a few of them sailed it around the tip of India. They briefly stopped to pick up the rest of the volunteers, who had traveled by train to the meeting place. The entire group then sailed to the harbor at Goa, boarded the German ship, restrained the crew, found the hidden radio room, took the code books, and then destroyed the vessel.
One of the technical advisors of this movie was Major General Lewis Pugh, who was the military leader of this 1943 mission as Lt Col. Also credited as technical advisor's were four survivors of the German ship. Consequently, In fact, it is assumed that most of the details of this mission were accurate.
The mission was a huge success. The movie ends with the following statement: “During the first 11 days of March 1943, U-boats sank 12 Allied ships in the Indian Ocean. After the Light Horse raid on Goa, only one ship was lost in the remainder of that month.”

NOTE: Above writeup has been taken from my book "INDIA'S TERRITORIAL FORCES" (to be published soon)