KARGIL TRUTH Exposed Offends Sanctity of Indian Army already in Question with SAFFRON Terror and defence Deals!Once Again!
Naval employee held for spying!
Army pulled up for delaying action in Tehelka case!
Army to analyse Tribunal verdict on Kargil war officer!
Did not fudge any Kargil war reports: Lt Gen Kishan Pal
Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams, Chapter 485
Palash Biswas
http://indianholocaustmyfatherslifeandtime.blogspot.com/
Rs 1,762 crore Kargil purchase scam buried by UPA?
KARGIL TRUTH Exposed Offends Sanctity of Indian Army already in Question with SAFFRON Terror and defence Deals!Once Again!
Did not fudge any Kargil war reports: Lt Gen Kishan Pal
Top commander showed bias towards Kargil war officer!
Army general falsified Kargil records, rules tribunal!
Naval employee held for spying!
Army pulled up for delaying action in Tehelka case!
Army to analyse Tribunal verdict on Kargil war officer!
Due to the 'fudged' battle accounts, Brig Singh was awarded only a Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) and not a Mahavir Chakra, which he was cited for.In a major embarrassment for the Indian Army, a military tribunal has ruled that a senior commander had falsified records of the 1999 Kargil war with Pakistan that cost a brigadier a promotion.As the Armed Forces Tribunal directed the army to set the Kargil records straight, Lt. Gen. (retd) Kishan Pal, who headed the Srinagar-based 15 Corps during the conflict, denied having done anything wrong and said he had written the 'truth as I saw it'.With the Armed Forces Tribunal indicting a top officer for falsifying Kargil war reports and showing bias towards a brigadier, the Army on Thursday said it will take action on the issue after analysing the verdict.
"We have not yet received the copy of Tribunal's judgement. Once we get it, it will be analysed and appropriate action would be taken," a senior Army officer said.
The Principal Bench of the Tribunal, in its verdict, has held that Lt Gen (retd) Kishan Pal, former 15 Corps General Officer Commanding (GOC) showed bias against Brigadier Devinder Singh, former 70 Infantry Brigade Commander and belittled his achievements in the war besides falsifying accounts of battles during the Kargil operations.
The Tribunal has directed that the affected officer be considered for a notional promotion to the rank of a major general.
After being indicted by the Armed Forces Tribunal for showing bias against a Brigadier and falsifying the accounts of the Kargil war, Lt Gen Kishan Pal on Thursday said he had "not fudged any war reports" and whatever he wrote about the battle was "unbiased".
"I have not fudged any reports or records, I have written one confidential battle performance report about Brig Devinder Singh and as a Corps Commander, the report I wrote about him was totally unbiased and true," he said here.
The former 15 Corps GOC said he had no personal animosity with Brig Singh, who led 70 Infantry Brigade in the Batalik sector in the Kargil war, and wished him luck for the redressal the former Commander got from the Tribunal.
Asked to comment on the Brig Singh's contention that he and the 70 Brigade Commander differed on the number of intruders occupying the peaks, he said, "this is not correct. Whatever assessments were made, are available in the situation reports from the Batalik sector."
He alleged that the "real progress" in operations in the Batalik sector was made during the last 7-8 days of the war and Brig Singh was not present there at that point.
Asked if he would apologise to Brigadier Singh for showing bias against him as said by the Tribunal, Lt Gen Kishan Pal said, "No, not at all. I would not comment against the Tribunal as it is a court."
During the visit of then Army Chief Gen V P Malik to the war-front, Lt Gen Kishan Pal had estimated the number of intruders to be around 45 whereas Brig Singh estimated it to be over 600, which later proved to be right.
Brigadier Singh filed a complaint with the Army Headquarters in 2000, charging Lt Gen Pal with bias, which was rejected by the Army two years later.
In 2004, the Defence Ministry struck down Lt Gen Pal's assessment of Brigadier Singh's battle performance but refused to strike down key sections of his ACR written by the former Corps Commander.
The military tribunal asked the army to consider Brigadier (retd) Devinder Singh, who commanded the Batalik-based 70 Infantry Brigade during the Kargil war, for a notional promotion to major general rank.
Pal had written Singh's annual confidential report allegedly belittling his achievements by noting that he had only partial command of the 70 Infantry Brigade. The 15 Corps is responsible for guarding the Line of Control that divides Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan.
Justice A.K. Mathur, in his order, ruled that 'the annual confidential reports were not written in an objective and unbiased manner'.
The tribunal also directed the Directorate of Military Operations to rewrite portions of 'Op. Vijay: Account of the War in Kargil'.
But Pal stuck to his guns even as he refused to comment on the tribunal judgment.
'I won't like to comment on it (judgment). I have fudged no records. I wrote the confidential report as I saw his performance. The report is unbiased. It was truth as I saw it,' Pal told reporters.
Singh, in his plea, had challenged the post-Kargil operation report that stated that four of his most successful battalions were commanded by the then Deputy GOC of 3 Infantry Division, Brigadier Ashok Duggal.
'For reasons best known to Lt. Gen. Kishan Pal, he was favouring and giving credit to Duggal and my command tenure was shown in bad light. I had to suffer a lot because of this,' Singh told reporters.
He said that as per the tribunal order, he would now be considered for notional promotion to the rank of a major general.
'The records about the operations by my brigade in the war will also be set straight,' he said.
An army officer said that they were yet to receive a copy of the tribunal's copy.
'As soon as we get it, it will be analysed and action will follow,' the officer told IANS.
Singh had filed a petition in the Delhi High Court in 2006 and this was transferred to the tribunal when it was created last year.
Meanwhile, former army chief Gen V.P. Malik, who led the forces during the Kargil operation, described the whole episode as an 'aberration'.
'To pass the judgement on the entire Indian Army and to suggest that complete war history was fudged and the Kargil Review committee report be rewritten, I think this is unfair. This does not take away the entire good work done by the army. This is an aberration,' he said in Shillong.
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Top commander fudged Kargil war records
The Armed Forces Tribunal has held that a former Army commander showed bias towards a brigadier under whose command some of the major victories were achieved in the 1999 Kargil conflict and directed that the affected officer be considered for a notional promotion.
The Tribunal has asked the Army to consider former 70 Infantry Brigade Commander Brigadier Devinder Singh for promotion to the notional rank of major general and to put the relevant records and documents pertaining to operations by his formation in Batalik sector written by Lt. Gen. Kishan Pal, then General Officer Commanding (GOC) 15 Corps, be corrected and put in the right perspective.
In its order, the Tribunal, headed by Justice A K Mathur, held that "the annual confidential reports (ACRs) were not written in an objective and unbiased manner" by Lt. Gen. Pal.
Noting that the report of a person who writes the ACRs in a biased manner could not be allowed to sustain, it observed that the then GOC was not favourably motivated towards Brigadier Singh and had attempted to tailor the report belittling his achievements.
"As per the Tribunal order, I will also be considered for promotion to the notional rank of a major general and the records about the operations by my brigade in the war will be set straight," Brig (retd) Singh said here.
In his plea, which was transferred from the Delhi High Court to the Principal Bench of the Tribunal, Brig Singh said he had contended that in the post-Kargil operations report, Lt Gen Pal had falsely shown four of his most successful battalions under a fictitious headquarters commanded by the then Deputy General Officer of 3 Infantry Division, Brig Ashok Duggal.
"For reasons best known to Lt Gen Kishan Pal, he was favouring and giving credit to Brig Duggal and my command tenure was shown in bad light. Though it could not help him and he could not take his next rank, I had to suffer a lot because of this act," Brig Singh said here.
The Tribunal has also asked the Army to expunge all the ACRs of Brig Singh written by Lt Gen Pal. It, Singh said, has also observed that because of the operational differences between him and Lt Gen Pal, the GOC was not favourably motivated towards him and had attempted to tailor reports belittling his achievements.
During the Kargil operations, the Srinagar-based 15 Corps under its Lt Gen Pal had the responsibility of evicting Pakistan Army regulars and intruders from Indian posts in the mountains along the National Highway 1A in the Ladakh region. Maintaining that it was a long struggle since the Kargil conflict 11 years back, Brig Singh said, "Certainly one feels vindicated.
"One has gone through a number of stages of non-statutory complaints, statutory complaints, legal notices and several writ petitions...Finally the order has seen the light of the day."
Source: Agencies
COVER STORY
SAFFRON TERROR
Political direction and police support enable the death squads of the Hindu Right to run riot in Muslim neighbourhoods in Gujarat.
PRAVEEN SWAMI
in Ahmedabad
ASIF KHAN was not surprised when the police came knocking on his door in Ahmedabad's Narora neighbourhood on the morning of February 28. A bootlegger and a small-time thief, Khan has a dictionary-sized criminal record. Each time there is communal trouble in the air, as a precautionary measure he is arrested along with thousands of others registered at police stations as "bad characters". That morning, however, the police just wanted a walk. Khan took four officers through the neighbourhood, after which they politely said goodbye. "That," he now recalls, "really scared me. They were just there to see how well-prepared we were to defend ourselves. And they learned we weren't ready at all."
MANISH SWAROOP/ AP
Looters stalk the streets in Ahmedabad.
Images of charred bodies and burned homes have gone off television screens, and a more terrible truth is starting to reveal itself. No riots took place in Gujarat. What the State witnessed was a fascist pogrom, conducted by organised death squads of the Hindu Right with the entire State apparatus at their disposal. The pogrom was initiated with two objectives. The first was to ensure that the State's Muslim population remained confined to its ghettos, and the second to ensure that the authority of the Hindu Right remained stamped forever on Gujarat's political landscape. The scale of the violence was not the worst the country has seen, but its significance is unmistakable: if Hindu fascists ever wield unchecked power, Gujarat is what India might look like.
Not since the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in New Delhi have senior political figures played such a visible role in directing violence. Nazir Khan Pathan, a school-teacher, had left his home behind the State Transport Workshop in Narora for a walk at 9 a.m. on February 28. "A mob had already gathered at the main chowk in front of Nataraj Hotel," he recalls. "They were all wearing saffron scarves and khaki shorts. Most of them were carrying swords. There were two police jeeps parked there, and two white Ambassador cars with red lights on top. I was about a 100 metres away. One of the persons standing there was Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Pravin Togadia. A little later he left, and the mob started shouting abusive slogans. The attackers threw stones at us, and we responded in kind."
The police now stepped in to allow the VHP squads free access. Four Muslim men were killed in firing, forcing those defending the neighbourhood to retreat. The local Noorani mosque was set on fire, and a saffron flag hoisted on its dome.
RAJEEV BHATT
The Kankaria mosque damaged in a mob attack.
Fatima Bi was one of hundreds who tried to hide in the State Transport staff colony. "The police pushed us out of there," she says, "saying it was our night to die. The people who lived in the colony were giving the mob tyres and petrol to burn people with. While Fatima Bi found a place to hide, others were less lucky. She watched as her pregnant friend Saliya Behn had her belly slit, and was then set on fire along with her children, three-year-old Muskan and six-month-old Subhan. Her badly injured son Khwaja Husain now sits in the Shah Alam refugee camp, unable to talk. Witnesses who can speak describe scenes of rape and torture. Many say they wish they were among the 110 believed killed.
Eyewitness accounts of politicians directing violence are commonplace. Feroza Begum was on the roof of her slum-dwelling in Arban Nagar when the mob massed across the road, which local residents call the border with the Hindu neighbourhood of Haridas Nagar. "I could see what was going on," Feroza Begum says, "because my home is right on the border. Ravinder Sharma, a Bajrang Dal leader, was leading the mob. Pradeep Sharma, a Congress(I) worker who had been involved in riots earlier, was also there. Stones were thrown and then a policeman who works at the local police post, Bhupatdan Gadvi, opened fire. A young man from Bihar, who worked at an embroidery factory, was injured, and fell on the road. I saw them set him on fire."
Gadvi and other police officers, Arban Nagar residents say, kept firing along with VHP-Bajrang Dal cadre who had weapons. Muslims seeking to defend the neighbourhood were slowly pushed back. As the mob pushed forward from Haridas Nagar, it again reached the main crossroads. This time, a street battle followed. One of those fighting was Sultan Khan. "They fired teargas at us," he recalls, "but that wasn't enough to push us back". Then, he says, Bharat Rana, a key aide of State Home Minister Gordhan Jhadaphia, arrived on the scene. Gadvi was instructed to step up the pressure. Firing followed, in which four of Khan's friends were killed. Shops and homes were set on fire right in front of the local police station. In nearby Ansar Nagar, again part of Jhadaphia's constituency, mobs drove in dozens of oxygen cylinders on trucks, and then used them as improvised explosive devices to blow up homes, shops and a seminary.
SEBASTIAN D'SOUZA/AFP
Brandishing swords and sticks during a street battle at Bapunagar on March 1.
If VHP-BJP leaders led mobs from the front along with the police, they also took control of the institutional apparatus. Health Minister Ashok Bhat sat in the Police Control Room in Ahmedabad through the first two days of violence. Given his portfolio, it was an odd place to be - but not given his past. Bhat, along with Union Minister of State for Defence Harin Pathak, faces charges of having incited a mob that murdered a police constable in the course of communal violence on April 25, 1985. According to several eyewitnesses, another State Minister, Harin Pandya, moved through the Paldi area, speaking to leaders of mobs that were burning Muslim homes and shops. Jhadaphia, who ought to have been in the control room after the violence broke out on February 28, was busy telling reporters that he "did not expect Hindus to retaliate".
Political guidance and support were available to help the Hindu Right's death squads select their targets. A car showroom was set on fire because a Muslim based abroad had an interest in the concern, a fact known to no one in the establishment. So too was an upmarket garment store. Establishments with no obvious signs of their ownership, such as Hotel Tasty or Hans Inn, were burned down. The leaders of the VHP-Bajrang Dal squads clearly had access to official records of ownership, which must have been compiled and distributed several months earlier. In several areas, Muslim-owned shops nestled among rows of Hindu-owned establishments were targeted with precision. Many of these attacks took place within yards of police posts. Invariably, police personnel stood by, rarely bothering even to register first information reports.
Such studious inaction went all the way to the top of the Ahmedabad Police. The city, like other communally sensitive areas, has a well-established preventive drill to contain potential riots. "The Director-General of Police, the Additional Director-General in charge of intelligence, the Commissioner of Police, the Home Secretary, the Chief Secretary and the Home Minister or the Chief Minister meet to discuss what must be done to deal with the situation," says Ahmedabad's former Commissioner of Police M.M. Mehta, who years ago won the National Citizen's Award for his handling of riots in Vadodara. "Each police station carries out preventive arrests, curfew is imposed and the Deputy Commissioners of Police meet their Commissioner regularly to review developments."
Contrast this with what actually happened. Although reports of attacks on Muslims came in within hours of news breaking of the killings in Godhra, no meeting was held. Ahmedabad's 30 police stations and posts carried out just two arrests on the night of February 27, both of Muslims on charge of shouting inflammatory statements. The State Armed Police was deployed in small groups of four or five through the city, but was given no orders to fire on mobs. The result was predictable. "During the 1985 riots," recalls Zakia Naseem Jaffrey, the widow of former Member of Parliament Iqbal Ehsan Jaffrey who was murdered, "there were only a few Central Reserve Police Force personnel to protect us, but they opened fire and saved our lives." This time, while Ahmedabad Police Commissioner P.C. Pande visited the Jaffrey home, he left no instructions with the local police to use effective fire and did not respond to subsequent distress calls. Shockingly, Pande sought to blame Jaffrey for provoking his own death by firing into the mob. How the Police Commissioner came by this piece of information is unclear, but Zakia Jaffrey denies the charge, saying she heard no shots at all that afternoon.
RAJEEV BHATT
A car showroom that was attacked.
Jaffrey was not the only prominent Muslim to be targeted. High Court Judge M.H. Kadri had to be evacuated after his house was attacked, while the home of Justice Akbar Divecha was burned down. Top police officials, including Inspector General of Police Ai Saiyed and Deputy Commissioner of Police Samiullah Ansari, were also targeted. Pande made no secret of his feelings about these events, asserting that his force's communal bias was legitimate since it was "a part of society". While Pande has subsequently claimed that his force was "overwhelmed by the mobs", the fact is that just two Gujarat Police personnel were killed in their course. Only one was injured by a Hindu mob. Chaos prevailed in the control room, which was run not by an officer but by a clerk, Jagdish Makhwana, who was promoted to the post of Special Police Officer. "We should have a Deputy Commissioner of Police here," he told Frontline, "but the officers are very busy with other duties."
Interestingly, the factors responsible for the collapse of the Ahmedabad Police seem to be at least three months old. The Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Zone-II, Raj Kumar, was shifted out. No one was brought in to take charge of the highly sensitive areas of Shahpura and Delhi Darwaza. Another key post, that of the DCP in charge of crime, was also left vacant after the incumbent, Gyanendra Singh Malik, left for an overseas assignment. None of the DCPs in the six zones that remained staffed hailed from outside the State, and just two were directly recruited Indian Police Service officers. While there is nothing illegal about these postings, such a line-up is unlikely to have come about by chance.
By way of contrast, officers less open to political pressure did succeed in containing the violence, notably in Surat, Kutch and even Godhra. Pande's only substantial comment on police failure came on March 9, when he proclaimed that the force was crippled because it had only 270 sub-inspectors instead of a sanctioned strength of 500. If this claim of shortages of junior officers is true, this would be yet another achievement of BJP rule. According to the National Crime Records Bureau's authoritative report, Crime in India, Ahmedabad in 1998 had 713 officers of the rank of Assistant Sub-Inspector and above, against a sanctioned strength of 529. The force had 6,462 officers below this rank, against a sanctioned strength of 5,822.
Official figures on violence underline the fact that the State apparatus served as an instrument of Hindu fascism. Frontline obtained details of the pattern of killings both in Ahmedabad and in Gujarat as a whole, showing systematic police bias. In Ahmedabad, 249 bodies had been recovered until the midnight of March 5. Of these, six could not be identified, while 30 were of Hindus. Of the Hindus killed, 13 were shot by the police, while several others died in attacks on Muslim-owned establishments. Six bodies of Hindu workers were, for example, recovered from Hans Inn and Tasty Hotel. Although there were almost no attacks by Muslim mobs on Hindu-dominated areas, 24 Muslims were killed in police firing. State-wide, the pattern was repeated. Forty-six Muslims were killed in police firing, as against 51 Hindus. This despite the fact that 32 Muslims were reported killed in rioting by this point, as against 90 Hindus. The police were not, as Pande claims, overrun: they were choosing their targets carefully.
INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP
Members of a Hindu family, whose house at Vasanth Kunj Maidan in Ahmedabad was set ablaze on March 1, plead for protection.
Statistics on deaths are based only on bodies actually recovered, and therefore give a far-from-complete picture of the scale of the slaughter. No one knows just how many bodies were completely incinerated, or remain trapped in debris. Ehsan Jaffrey's body, for example, was not found. Private estimates range upwards of 1,500 dead, and it will take months before a full picture emerges. Incredibly, the Gujarat government has not even set up offices at refugee camps to compile a list of missing persons. Nor, despite repeated promises by Pande, have policemen been sent to these camps to register FIRs. Where FIRs have been registered, riot victims often complain that they leave out names of local politicians and police officials who led the mob attacks. Only five arrests have been made in connection with the Narora killings, and none of those picked up are key members of the mob named by eyewitnesses. All this seems to be part of a deliberate effort to obliterate evidence.
Meanwhile, the physical obliteration of the Muslim heritage of Ahmedabad is proceeding apace. Some 40 mosques and shrines were brought down during the riots, and the debris has been meticulously moved away by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. That such removal of debris constitutes a criminal offence, in that it amounts to tampering with evidence, seems to bother no one. The shrine of the Urdu poet Wali Gujarati, located just a few minutes walk from the Police Commissioner's Office, was destroyed and replaced with a makeshift Hindu temple. The temple was removed a few days later, but the Corporation has now covered the area with a strip of fresh tarmac. The project of ethnic cleansing initiated in earlier riots has also reached near-closure. The sole Muslim home in Gagori Chawl, adjoining a police station, has been broken down and temples now adorn the ruins. Some Hindus, possibly those who are thought to be obtuse enough to have missed the message sent out by the burning of the showrooms, have received leaflets ordering them not to have any dealings with Muslims.
In less than 12 months, Gujarat's Hindu Right will face Assembly elections. Discredited by its record on the economic front, and its less-than-creditable handling of the 2001 Kutch earthquake, few people had given the Bharatiya Janata Party a serious chance to retain power. Now, after February 28, the Hindu Right is again on a roll. It has learned the lessons of the 1998 Lok Sabha elections when a string of attacks on Christians and Muslims in south Gujarat helped the BJP wrest key seats, including Godhra, from the Congress (I).
Tragically, Chief Minister Narendra Modi has become something of a hero for many Hindus because he presided over this pogrom. That the sentiment cuts across party lines is evident from the fact that the Municipal Corporation is run by a Congress(I) Mayor, Himmat Singh Patel. At a March 7 meeting with Muslim leaders, he flatly refused to allow the reconstruction of a 300-year old mosque near Anjali Cinema, which was destroyed by a VHP-led mob. And until the morning of March 8, hours before Congress(I) president Sonia Gandhi visited the city, the Corporation did not even provide the relief camps with food assistance, clean water or medical facilities.
Even if the Justice K.G. Shah Commission of Inquiry provides a basis for giving the riot victims some justice, it will do nothing to address the larger issue. For decades, riot after riot has pushed the city's Muslims into deprived ghettos. After February 28, they have become Bantustans. Terrorising Muslims is no longer a vote-driven political enterprise. It has become state policy.
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Saffron terror
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Saffron Terror or Hindutva terrorism is a neologism[1] that refers to a few terrorist attacks in India perpetrated by extreme Hindu nationalist groups. It was in the aftermath of the September 29 bomb blast in the predominantly Muslim town of Malegaon in Maharashtra that these terms came to be used widely.[2]
Contents[hide] |
[edit] Usage
The controversial phrase of Hindu terrorism entered public debate in India following the 29 September 2008 western India bombings.[3]
The term has been criticized as a "myth"[4] and as a tool for political posturing toward the Muslim minority[5][6][7].BJP president Rajnath Singh has denounced such claims[clarification needed] as "vilification of Hindu saints and army officers in the name of Hindu terrorism".[8] Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh had been raising the issue of Hindutva terrorism at least since October 2008 when he wrote about it to the prime minister.[9] Although in reality these terrorist groups had been operating much earlier.[10] After a long time the Indian authorities finally cracked down on a radical Hindu terrorist cells which was responsible among other acts for the bombing in Malegaon killing 7 muslims.[11]
[edit] Alleged examples
Three men accused of the 2006 Malegaon bombings, including Lt Col Shrikant Purohit of the India army, have been described as representing Hindu terrorism.[8]. Purohit was also accused of being involved in the 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings until the role of Pakistani terrorist Asif Zamani was unearthed.[12][13].
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ 'Hindu terrorism' debate grips India BBC News - 21 November 2008
- ^ http://www.zeenews.com/news479823.html
- ^ Zubair Ahmed, BBC News, 21 Nov 2008: "A new and highly controversial phrase has entered the sometimes cliche-riddled Indian press: 'Hindu terrorism'. As with the term "Islamic terrorism" and "Christian fundamentalism", this latest addition to the media lexicon is highly emotive. It was in the aftermath of the 29 September bomb blast in the predominantly Muslim town of in the western state of Maharashtra that the term "Hindu terrorism" or "saffron terrorism" came to be used widely.
- ^ Not terrified of terrorism Daily Pioneer - 12 December 2008
- ^ Muslim Anger Vs Hindu Anger International Terrorism Monitor - Paper No. 466
- ^ Rip off 'secular' media's mask The Pioneer - 24 November 2008
- ^ Everybody loves a good conspiracy The Hindu - 23 December 2008
- ^ a b SUBVERSE | Unholy terrors Times of India Editorial, 19 Nov 2008.
- ^ http://www.eurasiareview.com/2010/05/india-rise-of-hindutva-terrorism-south.html - The Rise Of Hindutva Terrorism 17/05/2010
- ^ http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?265400 - 17/05/2010
- ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/world/asia/12iht-12india.17740721.html - India police say they hold 9 from Hindu terrorist cell
- ^ "Treasury Targets Al Qaida and Lashkar-E Tayyiba Networks in Pakistan". US Treasury. 1 July 2009. http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/tg192.htm.
- ^ US names Pak man for blasts on Samjhauta Times of India - 14 February 2009
[edit] External links
- Yahoo News - "BJP soft on saffron terror"
- MSN News - "Anti- terror squad to unmask saffron link of terror"
- MSN News - "Hindu terror outfit targeted saffron leaders: Report"
- IBNLive - "Army in crisis over saffron terror stain'
- NDTV.com - "Corporate links to saffron terror being probed"
- The Times of India - "Gujarat cops silent on links with saffron terror"
- IBNLive - "Saffron terror links grow deep, more arrested"
Army pulled up for delaying action in Tehelka case
The Armed Forces Tribunal has given a go-ahead for court martial against a former Major General who was allegedly caught on-camera taking bribe in the 2001 Tehelka sting operation and pulled up the Army for delaying the matter for so long.Rejecting Maj Gen (retd) P S K Choudary's plea against the court martial ordered against him by Western Commander in July 2004, Principal Bench of the Tribunal said it did not see "any merit" in his petition.
At the same time, it had some critical observations against the Army for delaying the matter for so long.
"It is not necessary that the authorities should wait till the end of the period of limitation for initiating the action. Such action of delay unnecessarily causes the suspicion and creates legal complications," the Principal Bench of the Tribunal said in its verdict.
The Tribunal said that in such matters, action should be taken "promptly and without unnecessary delay".
In the Tehelka sting operation, code-named 'Operation Westend', Choudary was shown in a TV programme on March 13, 2001, purportedly taking bribe from journalists posing as arms dealers.
He was suspended the next day and a Court of Inquiry was ordered against him. Subsequently, court martial against him was convened on May 26, 2004.
In his plea to the Tribunal, Choudary had contended that the Army could not initiate the court martial proceedings against him as the three-year 'limitation period' in the case was over as he was suspended in March 2001 and the court martial was convened only on May 26, 2004.
According to Army Rules, no offence shall be tried after expiry of period of three years which shall be counted from he first day of the commencement of initial action against a personnel and the final action in his or her case.
Rejecting Choudary's contention, the Tribunal said, "in the present case, it is not right that the period of commencement of the limitation should be from 14th-15th March, when petitioner was placed under suspension.
"That suspension order was only a prima facie action on the basis of the media information which was yet to be acquired an actionable information by competent authority to act upon that," it said.
The Tribunal agreed with Army's argument that commencement of limitation period should start from June 14, 2001 when the direction for recording Summary of Evidence was issued on the basis of the Court of Inquiry instituted by Army to verify the facts of the sting operation.
It added that the Army could not have taken action merely on the basis of the sting operation.
Sting ops can be used to 'malign' people: Army Tribunal
Sting operations alone cannot be relied upon by authorities to take action against officials as there have been several cases where such operations are "framed-up" to "malign the image" of individuals and institutions, said the Armed Forces Tribunal.The observation was made by Principal Bench of the Tribunal while hearing a petition of retired Major General P S K Choudary, who was allegedly caught taking bribe in the Tehelka sting operation and wanted a stay on his court martial proceedings.
"Cases are galore where it has come to the knowledge that such kind of sting operations are sometimes framed-up to malign the image of any respectable person or the institution," Tribunal Chairman Justice A K Mathur observed.
The Bench added that if authorities start acting on the information provided by the media without verifying its authenticity "it will cause great havoc and will ruin the life of the officers."
The competent authorities should be apprised of the correct facts in order to help it to take decisions with regard to sting operations, it said.
In the particular case, Choudary had contended that Army had suspended him on March 14, 2001, a day after video footages were aired showing him purportedly taking bribe from journalists posing as arms dealers.
Kargil row: Devinder case an aberration, says ex-Army chief
SHILLONG: Former Army Chief General V P Malik, who led the troops during the Kargil operation, on Thursday said Brigadier Devinder Singh's case was an "aberration" and it will be "unfair" to suggest that the complete war history needs to be rewritten.
"To pass the judgement on the entire Indian Army and to suggest that complete war history was fudged and the Kargil Review committee report be rewritten, I think this is unfair. This does not take away the entire good work done by the Army. This is an aberration," he said here.
Gen Malik's comments come after the Armed Forces Tribunal indicted former 15 Corps Commander Lt Gen Kishan Pal for showing bias against then 70 Infantry Brigade Commander Brigadier Devinder Singh and fudging battle accounts of the Kargil war. It has been contended that due to the 'fudged' accounts, Brig Singh was awarded only a Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) and not a Mahavir Chakra, which he was cited for.
Kargil was the most "well-documented and transparent" war India has ever fought, Malik said adding, the issue was between Brig Devinder Singh, the Division Commander and the Corps Commander.
Asked about Brig Singh's claims that there was a difference of opinion between him and Lt Gen Pal on the estimation of intruders, the former Army Chief said, "by the time I visited his Brigade sector, we had the cabinet permission to treat it as a full-fledged war with Pakistan Army and not militants."
Brig Singh had contended that as per his estimates, over 600 intruders were sitting on the top of hills whereas his Corps Commander believed the numbers to be around 45 only.
Agreeing that injustice was done to Brig Singh, Malik said, "I had personally intervened to get the former 70 Brigade Commander a VSM."
Asked if the Army should appeal against the verdict, Malik said whatever order has been given by the Tribunal, the Army should follow it.
In Chandigarh, Brig Surinder Singh who commanded the 121 Infantry Brigade in Kargil during the war and faced inquiry over his role during the intrusion to the Indian territory, said, "the case of Brig Devinder is a small tip of the iceberg. Complete truth of the war should come out. The nation will have to investigate that why so many people died".
Blaming the senior leadership of that time for the death of over 500 soldiers in the war, he alleged, "this case was a straight case of senior commanders trying to save their skin."
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Military tribunal slams Kargil war leadership Praveen Swami
| Judges say 15 Corps Commander falsified accounts of battles in the Batalik sector |
It has called on the Army to expunge Lieutenant-General Pal's assessment of Brigadier Singh
Pal evidently fabricated records underplaying the role of his most successful subordinate
NEW DELHI: In an unprecedented order that is likely to fuel demands for a full investigation into the actions of the military leadership in the 1999 Kargil war, the Armed Forces Tribunal has upheld claims that top commanders falsified accounts of battles in the Batalik sector.
Brigadier Devinder Singh, who led the Batalik-based 70 Infantry Brigade during the war, petitioned the Delhi High Court in 2006, complaining of misrepresentation of his battle performance — misrepresentation which cost him a war medal and led to his being passed over for promotion as Major-General.
In a judgment made public on Wednesday, Justice A.K. Mathur and Lieutenant-General Naidu — who heard the case after it was transferred from the Delhi High Court to the newly-formed Tribunal — have called on the Army to expunge Lieutenant-General Kishan Pal's assessment of Brigadier Singh. They also directed the Army to delete sections of an after-action report prepared by 15 Corps, which claimed that Brigadier Singh only had partial command of the 70 Brigade.
The Tribunal also directed the Directorate of Military Operations to rewrite portions of an official history, Op. Vijay: Account of the War in Kargil. Volume III of the history asserts that while "Commander 70 Infantry Brigade controlled operations on the Western Flank (Jubbar Complex), Deputy GOC 3 Infantry Division controlled the Stangba-Khalubar Ridge operations."
Justice Mathur and Lieutenant-General Naidu said they "cannot trust the report prepared by Lieutenant-General Pal."
Brigadier Singh was hailed as a hero in the weeks after the war. In an official citation issued after the war, he was lauded for having "meticulously planned the application of all the resources at his disposal." Despite sustaining battle injuries, the citation recorded, he continued to fight "unmindful of and with total disregard for personal safety."
But he soon fell from grace, in large part because of a battle performance review prepared by Lieutenant-General Pal. In an assessment of the 70 Brigade's conduct during the war, Lieutenant-General Pal asserted that Brigadier Singh had little to do with the success in Batalik. "Success in operations," he instead claimed, "particularly in the last 10-12 days, came about by superimposing Brigadier Ashok Duggal, Deputy-General Officer Commanding 3 Infantry Division."
Later, an after-action report prepared by Lieutenant-General Pal's headquarters claimed that Brigadier Duggal had control of four battalions that led the assault along the eastern flank of the Batalik sector — the Ladakh Scouts, the 1st Battalion of the 11 Gurkha Rifles, the 12 Jammu Kashmir Light Infantry and the 22 Grenadiers Regiment.
The Tribunal order suggests that personal malice underpinned this rewriting of events. In April 1999, Lieutenant-General Pal dismissed warnings emerging from a war game, which suggested that a Kargil-like intrusion could take place. Brigadier Singh played a key role in the war game; his appraisal was proved correct.
Later that year, Lieutenant-General Pal — who infamously promised to end the war in 48 hours — told the Chief of the Army Staff that just 45 Pakistani irregulars were positioned in Batalik, instead of the 600-odd regular soldiers Brigadier Singh said he was confronting. The Brigadier's assessment was again proved correct by the questioning of captured prisoners of war.
In order to protect himself and some superiors from the consequences of these gross errors of judgment, Lieutenant-General Pal evidently fabricated records underplaying the role of his most successful subordinate.
Brigadier Singh filed a complaint with the Army in 2000, charging Lieutenant-General Pal with bias. Two years later, the Army rejected his complaint. In 2004, the Ministry of Defence struck down Lieutenant-General Pal's assessment of Brigadier Singh's battle performance. However, the Ministry refused to strike down key sections of Brigadier Singh's annual confidential report, a document Lieutenant-General Pal was responsible for reviewing.
Full justice may, however, still lie years down the road. Brigadier Singh — who has retired from service — will now have to petition the Ministry of Defence to reappraise his case after the Tribunal's orders are effected. The Ministry will then decide whether to grant him a promotion.
Brigadier Singh's case is the first of a string of Kargil war-related complaints pending before the Armed Forces Tribunal. Notable among them are those of 121 Brigade Commander Surinder Singh, and Major Manish Bhatnagar, who say they were made scapegoats for the failures of top Generals.
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http://www.hindu.com/2010/05/27/stories/2010052762611000.htm
Wrong history, wronged officer Tribunal says generals distorted Kargil war account | |
| SUJAN DUTTA | |
New Delhi, May 26: The history of the Kargil war should be rewritten because some generals distorted the records, the Armed Forces Tribunal has ordered in an unparalleled judgment. The judgment was delivered after the tribunal concluded that Lt Gen. Kishan Pal, a superior of Brigadier Devinder Singh who commanded the Batalik sector, doctored Singh's "battle performance report" and the "after-action report" that went into the writing of the official history of the war. The official army history prepared by its military operations directorate is titled Op Vijay — Account of the War in Kargil. Brigadier Devinder Singh had also predicted the pattern of intrusions by the Pakistan Army and by militants supported by it. He was injured during a battle while personally leading his forces. Brigadier Devinder Singh was since forced to retire because, he had alleged, his "battle performance report" was fudged by the commander of the 15 corps, Lt Gen. Pal, and he was not considered for promotion to major general. The brigadier is now a senior manager in a private aviation firm. Pal has also retired. The brigadier lodged a complaint within a year of the war but the tardy processes through which such entreaties are considered has taken nearly 10 years. That too has been possible after defence minister A.K. Antony facilitated the creation of the Armed Forces Tribunal to which thousands of military disputes pending in high courts have been transferred. The Armed Forces Tribunal judgment made available today could open a can of worms because there are at least three other officers who served in the Kargil war — Brigadier Surinder Singh who was dismissed during the hostilities as the commander of the Kargil-based 121 brigade among them — who complained that their roles were either undermined or that their warnings were not heeded by superior officers. Eleven years after the war that peaked around this time in 1999, the way it was fought, the lapses that allowed the intrusions into Indian territory and the role of superior officers are still hotly debated in military and strategic communities. Not surprisingly, while the BJP-led NDA government that was swept to power in October 1999 celebrated the "victory" in the war with much fanfare, subsequent Congress-led UPA governments have kept the ceremonies low-key. Inside and outside the army, some people deeply suspect that a clutch of generals who were close to their political masters allowed the intrusions to snowball into a war and then manufactured a victory that came about with US pressure. At the height of the war, then defence minister George Fernandes predicted "victory" in 48 hours but the hostilities lasted 80 days and cost the lives of nearly 550 soldiers and young officers. The then director general of military operations, Lt Gen. Nirmal Chandra Vij, who later became army chief and currently heads (with cabinet rank) the National Disaster Management Authority, also went against military protocol to go to the office of the BJP to brief its leadership on the war. The tribunal judgment notes that the role of Brigadier Devinder Singh, who commanded the 70 infantry brigade in the Batalik sector, was not acknowledged in the 15 corps "after action report" by his reviewing officer, Lt Gen. Pal. The report was accepted by the "senior reviewing officer" — northern army commander Lt Gen. H.M. Khanna — and forwarded to army headquarters' military operations directorate. Before the hostilities peaked, in a wargame in the 15 corps headquarters in Srinagar, Brigadier Devinder Singh, acting as the enemy commander, had forecast the pattern of intrusions along the Kargil front covering the sectors of Batalik, Kargil-Drass and Mushkoh. Even in the middle of the war, during a visit by the then army chief, Gen. V.P. Malik, the brigadier assessed that the number of intruders in the formidable heights of his sector would be in the region of 600 regulars of the Pakistan Army. This was contested by Lt Gen. Pal who put the figure at 45 irregulars (militants), a ridiculous number, as was concluded from the recovery of enemy arms and munitions from Jubbar and Khalubar Ridge. It was probably such an assessment that goaded the government into thinking that the heights could be cleared "in 48 hours". Likewise, in the army headquarters military operations directorate's Op Vijay – Account of the War in Kargil, Vol III, it was noted that the deputy in the 3 infantry division (under the 15 corps), Brigadier Ashok Duggal, "controlled the Stangba-Khalubar Ridge operations". But the commander of the division, Maj. Gen. V.S. Budhwar, contradicted this and told the tribunal that Brigadier Devinder Singh was in command and that Brigadier Duggal was temporarily (for 72 hours) moved to the eastern flank of the Batalik sector "to assist and co-ordinate". Brigadier Devinder Singh was recommended for a Mahavir Chakra (the second highest award for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the face of the enemy). But after Lt Gen. Pal dealt with his "battle performance report" and approved the "after action reports", Brigadier Devinder Singh was awarded a Vishisht Seva Medal (for distinguished service of an exceptional order), usually given for peacetime duties. A brigade usually comprises about three battalions but after Brigadier Devinder Singh and his 70 infantry brigade was moved to the front from counter-insurgency duties in the Kashmir Valley, there was a time when he was commanding as many as 11 battalions, two more than the number usually allotted to a division. A division is headed by a major general and a corps by a lieutenant general. The commanding officers of the battalions filed affidavits and gave written depositions saying that they were under the command of Brigadier Devinder Singh. It will be exceptional for the army to now turn the wheel back and restore to Brigadier Devinder Singh his awards and, may be, a promotion. He himself told the tribunal that he wants his military reputation restored because that is what matters most for a professional soldier. Army headquarters can either accept the tribunal order or challenge it in the Supreme Court. Brigadier Devinder Singh can also go to the apex court if army headquarters does not accept the ruling. All these steps will be in uncharted territory because there is no precedent. But the controversy over the assessments of the Kargil war is set to be stoked again after the tribunal judgment. More so now that the tribunal will also hear the prayers of three more officers – Brigadier Surinder Singh (sacked for allegedly failing to gauge the depth of the intrusions), a battalion commander, Col. Neeraj Mehra, and Major Manish Bhatnagar who was court-martialled and thrown out of service for allegedly fleeing the battlefield during operations in the Siachen sector. |
Why was Devinder Singh targeted?
NDTV Correspondent, Thursday May 27, 2010, New Delhi
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Read more at:
Army general falsified Kargil records, rules tribunal
Ex-Kargil brigade commander wants probe
into role of officers
Fudging Kargil war history
Kargil row: Devinder case an aberration, says ex-Army chief
Top commander fudged Kargil war records
Just the tip of the iceberg, says another Army whistleblower
Why was Devinder Singh targeted?
Military tribunal slams Kargil war leadership
Devinder Singh should have been promoted: ex-army chief
Don't Judge Kargil War on Batalik Judgement: Malik
The truth is out: Army fudged Kargil war history
New Delhi: The Indian Army's history of the 1999 Kargil war with Pakistan may have to be rewritten.
In a major embarrassment for the Army, a military tribunal has ruled that a senior commander had falsified records of the war that cost a brigadier a promotion.
The Armed Forces Tribunal has directed the Army to set the records straight and consider Brigadier (retd.) Devinder Singh, who commanded the Batalik-based 70 Infantry Brigade during the Kargil war, for a notional promotion to Major General rank.
Lt. Gen. Kishan Pal, who headed the Srinagar-based 15 Corps, had written Singh's annual confidential report allegedly belittling his achievements by noting that he had only partial command of the 70Infantry Brigade. The 15 Corps was responsible for guarding the Line of Control in Kashmir.
Justice A K Mathur, in his order, ruled that "the annual confidential reports were not written in an objective and unbiased manner".
The tribunal also directed the Directorate of Military Operations to rewrite portions of Op. Vijay: Account of the War in Kargil. A volume of the official history asserts that while "the commander 70 Infantry Brigade (Singh) controlled operations on the Western Flank (Jubbar Complex), Deputy (General Officer in Command) GOC 3 Infantry Division controlled the Stangba-Khalubar Ridge operations".
Singh, in his plea, had challenged the post-Kargil operations report that stated that four of his most successful battalions were commanded by the then Deputy GOC of 3 Infantry Division, Brigadier Ashok Duggal.
"For reasons best known to Lt. Gen. Kishan Pal, he was favouring and giving credit to Duggal and my command tenure was shown in bad light. I had to suffer a lot because of this," Singh told reporters inNew Delhi.
Singh had petitioned the tribunal that his report on the pattern of intrusions and number of intruders was played down by his seniors. This led to the then Defence Minister George Fernandes's claim that the Batalik sector would be cleared in 48 hours but the battle actually lasted 80 days.
The brigadier lodged a complaint within a year of the war but his claim has been vindicated nearly 10 years later.
He said that as per the tribunal order, he would now be considered for notional promotion to the rank of a major general.
"The records about the operations by my brigade in the war will also be set straight," he said.
Singh had filed a petition in the Delhi High Court in 2006 and this transferred to the tribunal when it was created last year.
Gen. (retd.) V P Malik, who was the Army chief during the Kargil war, told CNN-IBN on Thursday it was unfair to suggest that the entire war history had been doctored.
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Real truth Kargil WAR..
Tweet Thread!
There are two 'truths' about Kargil. The first one is the version of defeatist Pakistanis who can't see us doing any good. And the second truth is the Indian one.
Surprisingly, some fair minded former Indian army officers are willing to give a balanced verdict on the Pakistani performance in Kargil than the ridiculous assessments of some defeatist and self-hating Pakistanis who have no problem making fun of their homeland and their military just because they differ politically with Gen. Pervez Musharraf.
I would like to give some of these defeatist Pakistanis a shock: The revealing statement to a Pakistani newspaper, The News, of an Indian army officer having something good to say about the Pakistani military capability as demonstrated in Kargil in 1999. Some of the defeatist, self-hating Pakistanis will find this difficult to swallow since they are more accustomed to criticizing Pakistan, not praising it.
Read the letter below by retired Col. Harish Puri from the Indian army's Corps of Signals. He uses many of the Indian propaganda lines that raise doubts about the end result of the Pakistani operation, how the Indian people came together in those days to support their military, and how Islamabad underestimated the Indian response.
All propaganda points. But then he makes two points very clear that I wish some of those self-hating defeatist Pakistanis, especially the ones in our English-language liberal newspapers, read and feel some shame – just a little – about how they have been putting Pakistan down whenever discussing Kargil and facilitating the propaganda victory of the other side.
The two points that Col. Puri makes are:
- It is correct to praise the brilliance of the Pakistani tactical maneuver of stealthily occupying the heights and the massive Indian intelligence failure exploited by the Pakistani military.
- The Pakistani military in professional terms ranks among the best in the world, along with the Indian army according to Col. Puri. The implicit irony here is that India is fives times larger than Pakistan. For Islamabad to create this balance of power in just five decades is a Pakistani achievement.
This is not about clearing the name of Gen. Musharraf. History, and military analysts, will do that. Our job here is just to tell those few, self-bashing, defeatist-minded Pakistanis this: Please spare us your self-hatred. We are good at anything we want to be good at if we put our mind into it. Celebrate your strength instead of wallowing in your weaknesses.Kargil – nine years laterLetters to the editor, The News International, Karachi.Sunday, May 18, 2008Pakistan army underestimated both the ferocity of the Indian reaction as well as the resolve of the Indian nation – never have I seen an entire population come together as one nation as in those days. That was heady stuff — a young Capt Vikram Batra declaring "Yeh dil maange more" only to lose his life the next day. And the bravado of Capt Kamal Sher Khan is the stuff legends are made of. But, in the ultimate analysis, to what end?
This is in reference to an article "Kargil — none years on" by Brigadier Sher Khan published in your newspaper on May 6. It was an absorbing article which transported me back to my days in the Indian army, and that particular conflict. My reflections, nine years on, focus on the utter futility of the whole exercise — it doesn't matter which side you're on, a soldier's life is always precious, and sadly, expendable as well.
You're right about the brilliance of the tactical manoeuvre of occupying the heights so stealthily, and about the massive intelligence failure on our part. But the
War is too dangerous a game to be left to generals alone. Fortunately in India, the civilians call the shots, and Vajpayee's conscious decision not to allow his troops to cross the LoC was a major factor for India's gaining the high moral ground.
But let us as army men salute the spirit of the soldiers on both sides — professionally, both our armies rank among the best in the world.
Col (retd) Harish Puri
Indian Army (Corps of Signals),
Pune, India
pakistani1 added 2 Minutes and 32 Seconds later...
The Kargil Conflict between Pakistan and India took place in Kashmir between May and July 1999, the objective of the whole conflict was to cut off the link between Kashmir and Ladakh by hitting National Highway No.1 (NH 1) and cause Indian forces to withdraw from the Siachen Glacier forcing India to negotiate and resolve the decade old Kashmir dispute.
Detailed map of Control Line showing the flash points Kargil and Drass sectors with NH 1 passing along them.
Controlling the peaks of Kargil
Pakistan Army shelling Indian Army positions.
A Mujahid takes position on a ridge in a battle with the Indian Army during the Kargil conflict.
Pak Army soldiers with the tail of Indian fighter jet MiG-27 in Hunzi Ghund in Pakistan territory.
Last edited by Silent Assassin; 06-04-2008 at 02:20 AM. Reason: Automerged Doubleposthttp://www.friendskorner.com/forum/f39/real-truth-kargil-war-48790/
A thousand Kargils wil be waged to liberate Kashmir.
by Moin Ansari, July 16th, 2009
| NEW YORK | RUPEE NEWS | Copyrighted Materia l. All Rights Reserved | July 16th, 2009 | Moin Ansari |
Kargil was Pakistani territory before 1971, and there is documented proof of this from international sources, from Japan and other countries (which had sent climbers to the area and had to get Pakistan's permission). Bharat had the gall to call this an incursion when she herself had occupied the territory. And this was the Cease Fire line. Bharat has the gumption to call this an incursion when it sent thousands of Bharti soldiers across the border under the banner of the Mukti Bahni, and has been sending terrorists into Swat and FATA under the umbrella of the TTP. Delhi has done the same with Bangladesh, when it tried to rule the country under the Rakhi Bahni, and she did the same in Nepal. Her despicable role in Sri Lankais also known to the planet. The death of the Indian agent Parphakhan was a victory for freedom everywhere. Bharat has also tried to destabilize China in Tibet and more recently in Xinjiang.
Kargil internationalized Kashmir.
Kargil made Bharat forget the "atoot tang line".
Every day, some nincompoop comes up with a new story about the so called "victory" in Kargil. The brave soldiers of the Pakistan has have exemplified thier guts through blood sweat and tears. They found the Bharti army lacking in strength, courage, stamina, tactics, and strategy. They were caught napping. taking over 300 peaks is no man feat. The brave jawans of the Pakistan did it. It is these soldiers that keep the agressors away.
Kargil made the world wake up the simmering war in South Asia.
The peaks and caves of the Himalayas hide many secrets. Kargil cannot be explained in one line or a paragraph. The secret history of Kargil is shrouded in tactical, laconic and incommunicative Pakistani silence, deliberate Indian obfuscation and nonsensical banal Bollywood bluster.
The Pakistani military in professional terms ranks among the best in the world, along with the Indian army according to Col. Puri. The implicit irony here is that India is fives times larger than Pakistan. For Islamabad to create this balance of power in just five decades is a Pakistani achievement. Indian Army Col. Puri
Kargil told the world, Pakistanis have not forgotten Kashmir.
The facts are lost because of the sensitive nature of the operation, the reticence of commandos to discuss it, the as well as the army tactiturn not to address the issues which may impact current or future operations. Let us look into the seeds of time, and decouple the story from history andbring out the truth.
"We Shouldn't Have Given The Secret Kargil Tapes To Pakistan":Vajpayee's handing over the Musharraf tape to Nawaz Sharif was an intelligence disaster
Kargil:When Five Kashmiri-Pakistani battalions overcame four Indian Division and captured more than 300 peaks–deep into Indian occupied Kashmiri territory. Kargi: When the USA, Western Europe, Israel, and India forced the status quo to remain.
Kagil reminded the planet that Kashmir was un unresolved issue.
For obvious and partisan reasons the Pakistanis have not been forthright about the American and Israeli involvement in Kargil. However there is enough evidence to findthe kernels of truth. Recently during his trip to India, Mr. Olmert the Israeli Prime Minister publicly reminded Indians and the world on the valuable assistance Israel had provided to to India during Kargil. What help could have Israel have provided? Satellite pictures, drones, AWAC surveillance andhigh altitude aviation are some of the areas that would have helped India.
Kargil told the world, the Kashmir issue is not dead!
The Kargil episode was like the 1973 Ramadhan War between Egypt and Israel–by crossing the Suez Canal and destroying the Bar Lev Lines the Egyptians forced the Americans to paint the Star of David on their F-16s and bomb the Egyptian forces. It thus showed the world that the invincibility of the Israeli soldier was a myth…and they sued for peace.
During the Kargil War in 1999, India received from Israel unmanned aerial vehicles, laser-guided bombs and other hardware to knock out Pakistani hilltop bunkers. Israel's support helped India appreciate its sophisticated electronics and weapons systems. Salem News. Israel's Military Supplies to India, By Hari Special to Salem-News.com
Kargil also announced to the planet that India from that day forward can never cross the international border ever!
The world accepted Siachin, but did not accept Kargil (which was Siachin in reverse). According to General Pervez Musharraf, the architect of the operation, Kargil was a preventative action which stopped Indian incursions into Pakistani Kashmir. It was a success in every way.
Kargil made the world think of Indian Occupation of Kashmir.
There is a lot of junk out there on Kargil. Many are exposed to the Bharti point of view. Here is a an unbiased perspective. Bollywood has come up with all sorts of yarns and Mr. Nawaz Sharif has used Kargil for political advancement and to gain sympathy from the Americans and his friends across the border Mr. Vajpayee. Mr. Sharif's current book "Ghaddar Kaoun" is actually an apology for himself and a justification for horrid propaganda from across the border–which is being periodically released in small poison pill dosages. Kargil: Sharif's policy of plausible deniability exposes lies.
Mr. Sharif lied to President Clinton and even to Prime Minister Vaypayee. Mr. Sharif went to the extent of handing over edited but taped conversaitons between Pakistani commanders to the Indians. After the coup Mr. Sharif and his son were in touch with the Indians.
At the height of the Kargil conflict, former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is said to have told then US President Bill Clinton that he was prepared to help resolve the crisis if India committed to settle the 'larger issue' of Kashmir in a specific time-frame, but the American leader snubbed him saying it would amount to a 'nuclear blackmail.' When Sharif visited Washington in 1999 to discuss Kargil with Clinton, he insisted, 'I am prepared to help resolve the current crisis in Kargil but India must commit to resolve the larger issue in a specific time-frame,' former US deputy secretary of State Strobe Talbot writes in his new book Engaging India – Diplomacy, Democracy and the Bomb.
The above narrative clearly shows that Mr. Sharif wanted to leverage Kargil and then lost his nerve. An incensed army and establishment deposed him. His act of treason should place him on trial and the gallows.
Mr. Sharif has lied about Kargil. Mr. Sharif has denied that he was even aware of Kargil. Mr. Shairf should have waited for a few more weeks, and there would have been no Kashmir problem to solve. At some juncture, he ran to White House.
Kargil made the Bhartis wake up to a threat!
Let us look at the Line of Control and dig a bit deeper. Kargil is intricately tied to Siachin. Here are some maps of Siachin, Kashmir and Kargil. These maps show the Kashmir region, the Northern Areas and Azad Kashmir in three folios.
Kargil cannot be explained in a soundbite. Let us look into the seeds of time, and decouple story from history and bring out the Pakistani narrative. Let us begin the story of Kargil by describing the story of Siachin first
Siachin was "India's Kargil operation". India's incursion was allowed to stand, and Pakistani'soperation was not allowed to stand.
Kargil proved to the world that the Pakistanis were not asleep.
Who does Siachin belong to? It was Pakistani territory right up to the 80s when Indian forces snuck in. The fact that the Siachen Glaciers were under de-facto control of Pakistan, was even recognised by the Indians and also by the International community. Even after the Simla agreement, the international alpinerswere taking Pakistan's permission for their mountaineering expeditions. It is a long list, but some of the teams include:-
1. 1974- Japanese Kwoto university- Karakoram mission to conquer K-2 at the heights of 74680 meters.
2. 1975-UK North-West Karakoram Expedition- To conquer Sherbi Kangri at height of 23960 feet.
3. 1976- German KK Himalaya Expedition- For Salotre Kangri at 77060 Meters.
4. 1978- Japanese Kojo Alpine KK Expedition- Terim Glaciers at 6476 Meters.
5. 1980- Mr. Glen Roel-USA KK skating and tracking party-Lofound Glaciers.
6. 1984-Austrian Arex Expedition for K-12; were given permission effective for June , but Indians landed forces in April 1984.
In taking over Siachin, India was in total violation of all international agreements as well as Simla.
Simla like Versailles was signed under duress, when the dice was heavily loaded against Pakistan. The Indians who took the lead to violate their own agreement. The most relevant clauses of the Simla agreement are:-
Article 1(ii) of the Simla Agreementstates: Pending the final settlement of any problem between the two countries, neither side shall unilaterally alter the situation and both sidesshallprevent organisation, assistance or encouragement of any acts detrimental to the maintenance of peaceful and harmonious relations.
Article 4(ii) states: The Line of Control shall be respected by both sides and both sides shall refrain from threats or use of force in violation of this line.
In 1972, soon after signing the Simla Agreement, India transgressed in the Chorbatal area. In 1984, when Pakistan was busy in the Afghan war, India occupied the Siachin Glaciers in complete violation of the Simla Agreement. In 1988, the Qamar sector was seized. Since 1996, India is using the artillery fire to interdict the road running through the Neelam valley. In May 1999, the Indians made an abortive attempt to occupy the Shyocksector on the Pakistan sideof the Cease Fire Line.
Retaking Kargil. Kargil used to be under Pakistani control also. Kargil was not agression. the peaks of Kargilwere under Pakistani control to begin with.
Kargil informed everyone that Kashmir will be liberated.
The truth about Kargil is hidden under Pakistani secrecy laws andthe politicization of the event–both in India andPakistan makes it very difficult to get to the truth. The situation has gotten worsebecause some of the naive and appeasing Pakistanis who seem to think, that if we forget Kashmir, all problems will end, and India will give up its support for Balauchistan, Pakhtunsitan, Sindhu Desh, and Akhand Bharat. Some of thesedefeatist Pakistanis are under the illusion that if we forget Kashmir they will forget their desire to extend "Bharat" from Kabul to Raj Kilhani East of Bali. These "Pakistanis" seem to think that if we forget Kashmir, they will withdraw from Saichin, andSir Creek. This "Fifth Column" amongst us thinks that if we forget Kashmir, they will immediately liberate the 150 million Muslims in India. These enemies of Pakistan seem to think that if we forget Kashmir the unemployment, discrimination, andactual genocide of Muslims in India will evaporate. These traitors forget that if if we don't draw a red-line on Kashmir, they will stop our water, starve us, and then treat us like the 250 million untouchable Dalits of India. Even in the USA some Hindus do not allow Muslims to touch their food even if they are friends.
At the strategic level, besides embarrassing India, Pakistan's aim was to internationalise the Kashmir issue, as it was losing its grip in the valley and had to do something sensational to bring the issue to international centre stage. Pakistan perceived that the political situation in India was fragile and in such an environment the Indian polity would not have the stomach to retaliate to any aggressive designs. Militarily, Pakistan selected areas for the intrusions which would offer minimum resistance and where they could exploit the large gaps in the defences. Also by launching such an operation, Pakistan aimed to secure maximum territory for strategic and tactical gains, change the status of the Line of Control (LoC), revive insurgency in the valley and elsewhere in J&K as well as isolate Ladakhfrom Srinagar. It was a highly ambitious plan andsince it surprised the Indian Army, it was tremendously successful.
The Indians have had a tough time spinning the defeat anddeveloping a story that disguises their failed policies in Kashmir. Part of the problem with this operation is that some of the issues are hidden in the partisan politics of Pakistan. Let us try to narrate the facts about Kargil.
Kargil told the Kashmiris that Pakistanis will continue to fight for them.
In response to the partisan carping by General (Retd) Talat Masood, General Ali Hamid says the following:
Those who criticize Kargil never attempted to analyze the operation from a politico-military perspective. It was a limited operation – more so a border conflict – designed to achieve strategic effects. Limited operations have a planning and operational dynamic of their own and cannot be approached in a manner in which a general war is planned and executed. Major-General (retd) Syed Ali Hamid
The truth about Kargil cannot be inunciatedin a soundbite. The entire complex background of Kashmir has to described in detail.
0) Kashmir does not belong to India. India occupied it by showing a forged article of accession which was never submitted to the UNO or to Pakistan. India claims that the original article of accession is now lost. The dates even on the forged article of accession are all wrong. Stanley Wolpert and Alistair Lamb have written extensively about the discrepencies. Azad Kashmir revolted against the Raja of Kashmir, so he did not have any right to sign over any territory which was not under his control.
00) Northern Areas were not part of Kashmir. Gilgit Skarduvoted with their feet to join Pakistan andsigned the articles of accession to Pakistan. Many foreign maps show Northern Areas as part of Kashmir. Nothing is farther from the truth. President Zia ul Haq absorbed the Northern Areas into Pakistan and they are as much a part of the Pakistani Federation as the Punjab or Sindh.
The Kargils keep the Kashmir issue alive.
A thousand Somnaths, and Kargils will liberate Kashmir.
000) Foreign news agencies should be informed as follows: Only Azad Kashmir is the area that should be labeled "Pakistani administered Kashmir." Northern Areas are not "Kashmir", they are part of Pakistan.
1) First of all it needs to be pointed out that Kargilwas under Pakistani control for about 40 years after independence. After the aftermath of 1971 it was illegally taken over by India.
2) The same applies for Siachin. Siachin was under Pakistani control. This has been discussed in a separate article.
3) Indian forces snuckover the Cease Fire Line and captured Siachinwhen Pakistan was busy fighting the war in Afghanistan. The world was quiet. The silence is deafening. The world allowed India to take over more Kashmir because many in the West do not want the Chinese to have land access to the Arabian Sea. This is not personal, only geo-political. India wants to cut off Pakistan's link to China.
4) Let us look at the historical perspective on Kashmir. India has few access points to Kashmir. One of the most important ones is through East Punjab. Gurdaspur was a Muslim majority area in East Punjab. it was a strategic point of access to Kashmir. Without Gurdaspur, Indian and British forces could not get to Srinagar as they did later to force the Maharaja out ofoffice with a forged article of accession.There were four districts in Gurdaspur. Three were Muslim Majority areas and should have been given to Pakistan. Lord Radcliff after receiving 6 corore Rupees from Birla and other Hinuvata businessmen who had also created the marketing image of Mr. Gandhi. This bribe influenced Mr. Radcliff from demarcating the border which takes reversal convulsions in East Punjab. In one of the most blatant and heinous crimes in modern history, the Muslim majority areas of Gurdaspur were handed over to the republic of India.
5) In the 80s the geography had not changed. Gurdaspurremained a choke point for India. With the Khalistani insurrection raging uncontrollably, the Indian supply lines from Gurdaspur were in jeopardy, and India could not count on sending its troops via rail or road to Kashmir without being harassed by Sikh nationalists and Kashmiri separatists. A raging insurgency in East Punjab deprived India of effectively controlling Kashmir.
5) APPEASING INDIA ON KASHMIR: Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto understood all of this. Ms. Bhutto did not have a clue. Ms. Benazir Bhutto came to power and wheeled and dealed with Mr. Rajiv Gandhi on Sichain for East Punjab. The deal confirmed by many Indian authors lately has been described as follows. Pakistan would stop all support for Khalistan in return for Indian withdrawal from Siachin. Mr. Ahtizaz Ahsan handed over a list of all Khalistani freedom fighters to India. In one night the entire leadership and cadre of the Khalistan movement was extinguished. A massive crackdown across India led to the denouement of the movement that would have deprived Gurdaspur to India–and therefore Kashmir.
5) During Rajiv Gandhi's visit to Pakistan, the sign in front of Kashmri House was removed, the name of Kashmir Road was painted over to hide it, and the maps of Pakistan were changed on PTV not to show Kahsmir as part of Pakistan.
6) RajivGandhi either hoodwinked Ms. Bhutto, or reneged on the deal or could not deliver on his promise. In either case the denouement of the Khalistan movement caused irreparable damage to Pakistan and the Kashmir. This was the main reason for the removal of Ms. Bhutto from power. She was a security risk and was henceforward prohibited from visiting the nuclear facilities of Pakistan.
6) Pakistan wanted to pay back India for Siachin and re-take Kargil which used to be under Pakistani control for decades.
7) An operation was planned to put pressure on India to withdraw from Siachin.
The Pakistanis had been seething since Saichin. They were also planning to unseat Indian from Siachin and not accept any more status quos. General Pervez Musharraf in book mentions India's intentions of preparing for an attack since 1998 and that Pakistan's Kargiloperations were merely defensive in nature. The timing of the intrusion did not coincided with Mr. Vajpayee's vist it at all.
Kargil was an appetiser of things to come.
General Karamat was opposed to the Kargil operation. He was removed and General Musharraf was appointed as the COAS of the Pakistan Army. It was a well known fact that General Musharraf was ready to spearhead the Kargil operation that had been planned by the army and also presented to Benazir Bhutto.Some of earliest intrusions had occurred as early as Dec 1998. It was an ongoing operation so some of the stocks recovered later only represented the only the tail end of the operation in Feb/early Mar timeframe.
9) General Pervez Musharraf, no matter what you think of him as a politician is a brilliant commando and great strategist. He planned the entire Kargil program and was able to take over 300 peaks in the Kargil sector during the dead of winter where even winds avoid the area. This was one of the most difficult terrains on the planet where only seasoned mountaineers andmountain climbers can trek under the best of conditions. Moving entire battalions across the high altitude passes and capture the peaks was probably the most brilliant maneuvers in the history of mountain warfare.
10) With all their satellite technology, and drones, Kargil was a massive failure of Indian, American, and Israeli intelligence. The Indian did not have a clue about the encroachment of Pakistani forces which had been undertaken to re-take peaks that were previously under Pakistani control for decades anyway. The Indian posts were not manned during winter and had been abandoned.
Indian Military intelligence has limited depth in picking up information and much is left to other intelligence agencies for acquisition of information. During the operations air photos were supplied to us by Research and Analysis Wing but there was a total mismatch in the interpretation of the air photos with the maps mainly due to difference in the scales with the result we could not with accuracy locate the information available on the photos. Intelligence was a total failure. There was no worthwhile information coming our way and we were totally dependent on the troops in contact
11) With great care, one peak after the other was taken. Once a peak was secured, arms and supplies were sent to the peak. Cell or satellite phone were not used, so as not to alert the Indian, America and Israeli ears in the area.
12) Inevitable, but quiet by accident the Indians discovered that one of the peaks that it wanted to return to could not be accessed as it was occupied by the Pakistani crescent and Star forces.
The terrain in which the operations were conducted was rugged with precipitous slopes and heights varying from 18000-21000 ft. The inhospitable and daunting terrain took a heavy toll of men andmaterial. The extreme high altitude made breathing difficult and movement sapped one's energy. Our initial failure to evict the intrusions could well be attributed to lack of acclimatization of the troops. Ladakh was served from Srinagar by the highway to Leh which remained closed from end Nov till May due to heavy snow. The road was used during fair weather period for the logistic stocking for the military garrison and the local population of Leh which was indeed a Herculean task. It was on the heights dominating the highway that Pakistan infiltrators intruded and began to effectively interdict movement on the main road axis to Leh. The timing of the intrusion has been hotly debated in the media and in military circles.
13) The Indians did not know what had hit them. Teams were sent to Washington, Tel Aviv, and all European capitals complaining about the Pakistani encroachment.
14) The Indians initially tried to re-capture the peaks. They failed miserably. They were unable to climb the mountaintops. They panicked. They asked for help from Israel. A massive flow of weapons, materials and forces were sent to New Delhi. A satellite was repositioned to focus on Kargil. American reconnaissance toys were deployed in Kargil. In the 1973 Ramadhan war, when Israel faced imminent defeat andpossible annihilation. American F-16s were painted with the Star of David and ran bombing missions on Egypt's 3rd army. A similar feature awaited Pakistan.
15) If Pakistan had held out for about 3 more weeks, the snows would have prevented India from retaking the peaks.
16) Pakistan was a nuclear power, and India knew it. This was a golden opportunity for Pakistan. Therefore crossing the international border was not an option. All Pakistan had to do was to wait out about 3 weeks and that would have sealed the fate of Kargil, Drass, and would have forced India to withdraw from Siachin.
17) India, America and Israel realized that they could not inflict a military victory in Kargil. The only option left was political pressure. Unfortunately for Pakistan, Mr. Nawaz Sharif, Mr. Shahbaz Sharif and Abbajee ran the government in Islamabad. Mr. Nawaz Sharifwas under tremendous pressure from America to withdraw. Within a few days, the whispers out of the White House turned into a crescendo from world capitals.
18) Mr. Nawaz Sharif's tube light was off. Under normal conditions it takes a tube light some time to come on. It flickers and waits, and then finally comes to full luminescence. For Mr. Nawaz Shiar, the tube light sometimes fails to come on at all. Most of the time it flickers and comes on after a long time. Mr. Sharif at the time of Kargillwanted to make some lucrative deals with India to help his friends in the industrial sector.
19) Mr. Sharif had the option to believing his chief of staff, General PervezMusharraf, or believing his friend and business partner Mr. Vajpayee. He had an option to take the entire matter to the National Assembly or build national consensus on this or resolve it without the parliament andmake a decision with his kitchen cabinet.
20) Mr. Sharif the frightened funk failed to see the long term consequences of his actions. He ran to Washington and surrendered what the Pakistan army had won on the battle field. Mr. Clinton humiliated him by calling the Indian Prime Minister before, during andafter the meeting which was not even held in the White House.
21) It wasn't just General PervezMusharraf, but the entire army the nation that was livid with Mr. Sharif.
The United Jihad Council was the primary public voice of the Mujahideen in the Kargiloffensive. Pakistan backed the guerrillas in a bid to change the cease-fire line through the territory. The United Jihad Council, including four fighting in the Kargilmountains, said the guerrillas would not leave the area becauseit is their homeland. The Pakistani government pullback of its troops and allied Kashmiri secessionist and Taliban fighters from the Kargil-Dass-Batalik region of Indian-held Kashmir in July 1999 caused considerable criticism of the Pakistani government, and contributed to the military coup of October 1999.
22) The removal of Mr. Shairf was welcomed not in the army, but in all quarters in Pakistan.
23) The rest is all Bollywood nonsense.
A thousand Kargils wil be waged to liberate Kashmir.
6 Responses to "The Truth about Kargil"
http://khudi.wordpress.com/2009/07/17/kargil-separating-fact-from-fiction-a-decade-later/Kargil War
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kargil War | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Indo-Pakistani Wars | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 India |  Pakistan, Mujahideen, Foreign Jihadi Volunteers[1] | ||||||||
| Commanders | |||||||||
 Ved Prakash Malik |  Pervez Musharraf | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 30,000 | 5,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Indian Official Figures: 527 killed[2][3][4] 1,363 wounded[5] 1 POW | Pakistani Estimates: 357 — 4,000 killed[6][7] 665+ wounded[6] | ||||||||
| |||||
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The Kargil War (Urdu: جنگ کارگیل karagil jang, Hindi: करगिल युद्ध karagil yuddh), also known as the Kargil conflict,
August 21, 2009 at 8:11 am
[...] [...]
November 19, 2009 at 10:09 pm
If Pakistan really wanted to notify the whole world regarding unresolved Kashmir issue and all those blah blah blahs…. then why did the ISI as well as the Pakistani govt denied the role of the Pakistan army in the war earlier? Why did they say that it were actually the Mujahiddins who were trying to gain control of the peaks of Kargil?
And all ur talk of "had pakistan army waited for 3 weeks, kargil wud have been ours is bullshit". Havaldar Lalan jan was given the Nishan-e-Haider after his shahadat protecting the Tiger Hill and eventually losing it under Indian armed forces. Pakistan hadn't withdrawn all their forces even after Sharif went to Clinton for help.
The whole war actually ended on July 26 after the Indian army did bombardments in the Drass sector which had the remaining Pakistani intruders.
So dont mislead people with your nonsense which is completely biased towards one nation.
November 21, 2009 at 11:23 pm
There were 300 peaks–Bollywood could get only to Tiger Hill. If you had read the article you would have read the details.
The guns froze in August and September…the war has not ended..
A thousand Kargils will be waged to liberate Kashmir—'till the occupiers get tired of the occupation!!
The Pakistani military in professional terms ranks among the best in the world, along with the Indian army according to Col. Puri. The implicit irony here is that India is fives times larger than Pakistan. For Islamabad to create this balance of power in just five decades is a Pakistani achievement. Indian Army Col. Puri
December 5, 2009 at 3:29 pm
hey moin,porkistan has got an useless, cowardly army and u r a bastard
January 12, 2010 at 9:07 am
SALAM!
kargil is the place where brothers of my land(Gilgit-Baltisatn) have shed their holy Blood.
warmest salam to all sacrifiers of my native land
April 29, 2010 at 2:04 am
This article from Moin Ansari is highly contorted and biased to say the least.The claim of Pakistan during the initial campaign was a total self denial, blaming mujahideens.The fathers who lost their sons (Northen Light Infantry personnel ) were outraged that credit was given to milittants while their sons fought and died. Indian intelligence failed… that is a fact, but with heavy casualties the Indians vanquished the pak army.Please read the Bio-graphy of Nawaz Sahrieff, where he laments that the entire Northen Light Infantry was wiped out.I live in Canada and have a number of Pakistanis as friends. It is people like Moin who spew venom and distort facts and whip up emotions.War is a no winner,it is the Soldier who dies.Both countries have tremendous potential and should work together on development projects, and more than anything, fanatics such as Moin should be asked to shut up!