http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/sunday-special/perspective/gallantry-display-at-barki/135323.html
Gallantry display at
Barki
Then a young Lt, a
retired Brig — who commanded 4 Sikh during its centenary year, 1987 — recounts
the determination and grit shown while capturing crucial areas in Pakistani
territory
The Indian Army
responded to the Pakistani offensive of September 1 by launching a
three-pronged attack with three divisions towards Sialkot, Lahore and Khem
Karan-Kasur. The 7 Infantry Division was tasked on the Khalra-Barki-Lahore
axis. The International Border was to be crossed at 4 am on September 6; 4 Sikh
of 65 Infantry Brigade and 6/8 GR of 48 Infantry Brigade were to secure firm
base along the road. The 48 Infantry Brigade was to advance to capture Barki by
last light.
4 Sikh, of Saragarhi
fame, had been moved to Ferozepur in August. The CO, (the late) Lt Col Anant
Singh, an outstanding leader, tasked two companies — ‘A’ under Maj Shamsher
Singh Manhas (VrC, the late Brigadier)
and ‘B’ under Maj DS Sidhu (the late Brigadier), who captured two enemy
observation posts. At the same time, 6/8 GR cleared the barrier; a secure firm
base was established across the border.
The 48 Infantry
Brigade, supported by a squadron of Central India Horse, cleared the Hudiara
drain area, about 4 km from the IB. The enemy was having a field day with the
Indian troops advancing in an open area. The troops dug up slit trenches after
every advance and a lull, but casualties were mounting due to artillery fire.
The 65 Infantry Brigade was now tasked to capture Barki and secure the eastern
bank of Icchogil canal, 9.5 km from the border.
On the morning of
September 8, 4 Sikh advanced and its ‘D’ Company, led by me, then a Lieutenant,
captured Brahmnabad village, suffering casualties because of the severe
airburst shelling. By late evening, 9 Madras and 16 Punjab had captured Barka
Kalan and Barka Khurd villages. 4 Sikh was moved north of the road the same
night.
The formidable
defence at Barki and Icchogil behind it had 11 concrete pillboxes, besides
other fortifications. Each pillbox was equipped with a medium machine gun, a
light machine gun, one or two rifles or Sten guns and an ample supply of
ammunition and grenades. To the left of the road was a police station,
strengthened by sand bags.
A deep ditch was
expected before Barki. Icchogil’s rear bank was 3 feet higher than the front,
with solid fortification. Tanks were sheltered behind the canal, 150 feet wide
and 17 feet deep, filled with water, which could be controlled.
After last light,
the Central India Horse, equipped with Sherman tanks, was to assault Barki with
lights on, firing all its armaments, followed by 4 Sikh to physically capture
Barki in the first phase of the brigade attack. Ichhogil canal, which was
expected to be 500 to 700 yards behind, was to be captured by 16 Punjab in the
second phase.
As per the 4 Sikh
plan, the ‘A’ and ‘C’ companies, the latter under Sub Sadhu Singh, formed up on
the right side of the road at 7.50 pm for assault. ‘B’ company was in the rear
as reserve. ‘D’ company was asked to move behind the tanks in civilian trucks
full of wooden planks, to be lowered in Barki drain for the crossing over of
tanks.
After this task, it
was to clear the police station area. ‘D’ company formed up at 7.30 pm. Somehow
the tanks did not arrive till 8 pm. The CO of 4 Sikh, confident of the tanks
coming, ordered the assault companies to move at 8 pm. The artillery pounded
the enemy positions. The enemy illuminated the entire area, turning it into
daylight. This spurred the jawans to reach the objective as fast as possible.
After 20 minutes of
the assault, the CO ordered me to complete the assigned task. The company moved
at a fast pace, hardly for 15 minutes, when the tanks arrived, firing towards
the objective. Assaulting troops therefore were subjected to firing from the
rear.
I climbed atop the
nearest tank, and the fire was then switched to the left of the road. Contrary
to the plan, they had not put on their lights, which proved to be a boon for
the infantry ahead.
The enemy’s intense
artillery fire was augmented by direct firing weapons and tanks from behind
Ichhogil canal, pillboxes and fortified positions from housetops and the police
station. Our companies inched forward through fire and move tactics with grit
and determination, till they were 100 yards away from the pillboxes. They
shouted their war cry, “Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal”, and pounced upon the
enemy, men crawling and lobbing grenades.
Once the forward
crust was pierced, there were hand-to-hand fights, bayonets crossing bayonets.
The enemy was crushed. The survivors abandoned their positions, running to the
safety behind Ichhogil, wading through it since the bridge had been demolished.
After a stiff fight,
‘D’ Company captured the police station area; the enemy’s tanks brought in
devastating fire from across Ichhogil, 150 yards away.
I conveyed to the
armour not to leave the road or move forward as the objective had been
captured. While this message was being passed, a 4 Sikh recoilless gun jeep
with the CO of CIH, Lt Col SC Joshi, came rushing along and was blown off near
the police station.
The assaulting
companies found Ichhogil only 150 to 250 yards from Barki, scrambled up and
secured the east bank. Maj Shamsher Singh and Capt SS Duggal (later Colonel),
the Adjutant, were wounded and evacuated.
Phase II of the
brigade attack thus was completed during Phase I itself, within two hours of
the assault. 16 Punjab was assigned the task of capturing the area along
Icchogil further north.
The enemy had fired
3,000 bombs within half an hour. Maj Aziz Bhatti, tasked to defend with two
companies, was conferred Pakistan’s highest gallantry award posthumously.
4 Sikh had 39 killed
and 121 wounded. It was awarded Battle Honour ‘Barki’ and Theatre Honour
‘Punjab’, besides one MVC, three VrCs and one SM.
Ironically, the
defender of Barki got his nation’s highest gallantry award, but the CO of the
battalion capturing those formidable defences got nothing.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/determined-to-wipe-out-ndfb-s-rebels-army/135458.html
Determined to wipe
out NDFB-S rebels:_Army
Tribune News Service
Guwahati, September
19
Centre is closely
monitoring the situation in the Bodoland areas of Assam and there would be no
let-up in the operations against banned NDFB (Songbijit) till the time the
“outfit is wiped out”. Lieutenant General Sarath Chand, GOC, 4 Corps, today
said the ‘Operation all-out’ inflicted a severe blow to the NDFB-S as most
hardcore terrorists of the outfit were either neutralised or apprehended.
The ongoing
operations have also succeeded in nullifying the activities of the outfit in
terms of kidnapping and extortion.
The GoC said
additional troops were inducted with the prime aim of decimating the NDFB-S and
to instill faith in the local population and bring normalcy in the region.
Around 3,500 troops
of the Indian Army along with Assam Police, CRPF and the IAF have launched a
massive operation against NDFB-S, covering Manas National Park, Ripu, Chirang,
Sonai Rupai and Behali reserve forests, in Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa and
Sonitpur districts.
“The operation was primarily
launched to eliminate remnants of the group by protracted and sustained
operations for an extended period of time. The troops on the ground have been
sensitised about not to cause any inconvenience to the local population and
carry out intelligence-based operations. The need is to continue with the
operations against the notorious NDFB-S till they are wiped out,” the Army
officer said.
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/land/weapons/2015/09/19/indian-army-test-indian-assault-rifle/32555807/
Indian Army To Test
Indian Assault Rifle
NEW DELHI — After
canceling a $1 billion 2011 global tender
to buy assault rifles, the Indian Army will hold trials of the
Indian-made Excalibur assault rifle — but analysts and Army officials said they
doubt the rifle will go into production soon.
Defense analyst
Rahul Bhonsle, a retired Army brigadier general, said the Ministry of Defence
may eventually have to float a fresh
tender in the Buy and Make (India) category for the assault rifles.
"At present,
indigenous design capability for a next-generation assault rifle has not been
demonstrated by the Defence Research and Development Organisation [DRDO]; what
is in the pipeline is an improved homegrown Indian Small Arms System
[INSAS]," Bhonsle said. "At the same time, the Army's inability to
derive viable qualitative requirements [QRs] for the same is also one of the
challenges faced by the DRDO. After evolving viable QRs, a Buy and Make in
India [weapon] may be a good option."
In 2011, the Indian
Army floated a global tender for the purchase of 66,000 assault rifles, which
included transfer of technology to the state-owned Ordnance Factory Board
(OFB). The tender was canceled in June because none of the competitors could
meet the QRs, an MoD official said.
The competitors
included Italian company Beretta, US company Cold Defense, Israel's Israel
Weapon Industries, Switzerland's SIG Sauer and the Czech Republic's Ceska
Zbrojovka.
The rifle would
replace the INSAS 5.56mm assault rifles, which the Army has not found
satisfactory. The INSAS has been used since the 1990s, though there have been
Army complaints of technical failures. One complaint was that the inferior
quality rounds had caused a number
of guns to jam.
Arun Sahgal,
director of The Forum for Strategic Initiative and a retired Army brigadier,
said the Excalibur rifle could be pushed on the Indian Army. "As per
inputs, this rifle does not meet critical standards but is being pushed by the
Infantry Directorate and the hierarchy to cover up the mess they created in
producing shoddy QR and an over-ambitious request for proposals."
On the testing of the
homemade rifle, Sahgal said, " It appears that Army and OFB are on the
same page as far as Excalibur is concerned, but testing agencies such as the
Directorate General of Quality Assurance and other certifying agencies are
resisting introduction of a sub-standard rifle. There is every likelihood of
re-tendering with improved and more down-to-earth QRs, which I am told are
being finalized."
But Anil Chait, a
retired Army lieutenant general, is optimistic about the Excalibur rifle.
"The Excalibur
is a 5.56mm rifle designed by the DRDO, and the prototype produced by the OFB,
as reported, is presently undergoing testing," Chait said. "If found
suitable in all respects, it has every prospect of becoming the next rifle for
the Indian armed forces."
An Army official
said the Excalibur is only a retrofitted version of the INSAS assault rifle.
"Assault rifles
are to be used mainly in the counterterrorism role and requirements entail
short barrel, short range, rapid automatic-burst fire with high
reliability," Bhonsle said. "On the other hand, for conventional
battles a long-range, accurate, semi-automatic or automatic weapon to ensure
fire discipline with a higher lethality over ranges of 400 to 500 meters is
necessary. Optical or night sights are also envisaged. Post-2011 tender, there
appears to be a view in the Army after trials that the concept of having a
single weapon for both roles is not feasible."
http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/The-underage-optimist/its-time-to-analyze-orop-with-our-head-not-our-heart/
It’s time to analyze
OROP with our head, not our heart
Few government
professions in India enjoy as much public goodwill as our defence forces.
Mention the Indian Army (for the purpose of this article, Army includes all
forces — Air Force and Navy as well) and our chests swell with pride. The Army
works well, stays quiet, is apolitical and does a great job protecting our
borders from some of our not-so-friendly neighbours. Even in times of domestic
trouble, such as riots or floods, the Army is called in and things begin to get
better. In times of war, or during terrorist acts, our soldiers lay down their
lives or suffer grievous injuries in the line of duty. With all this selfless
sacrifice, it is not difficult to see why the Army enjoys so much support from
our civilian population. Our local culture, films and songs show the Army in a
positive light (unlike the police and politicians). Media coverage, too,
focuses on their sacrifice and hard work.
While this positive
image is great, it can cloud an objective analysis of how we manage our defence
resources in certain situations. One such issue is the OROP scheme. While OROP
means ‘one rank, one pension’, it is a bit of a misnomer. It actually means one
rank, the latest, highest pension for that rank, irrespective of when you
retired. Army veterans essentially want an upward pension revision system for
all past veterans or their surviving spouses, estimated to be around 3.2
million in number. There are several reasons why their demand is justified.
Pension discrepancy between an officer who retired in 1990, versus an
equal-ranked officer who retired in 2015 can be dramatic. A certain consistency
was required, especially since the Army intrinsically believes in the concept
of rank, and even allows one to keep it after retirement. Most political
parties had also promised OROP in their election manifestos, so the government
had to deliver at some point. Popular and social media also sided with the
veterans, with arguments ranging from “they guard our borders so we should give
them what they want” to “how can we disrespect our soldiers?”
Somewhere in all
this, things became too simplistic. The Army was good and the veterans were
always right. The political class and the government were all stingy, greedy
and insensitive. After all, those who protect our borders must be treated well.
OROP was seen as something that meant soldiers were treated well. Hence, you
better give OROP, and now!
People who wanted to
do an objective analysis had to scurry and hide in a corner. For nobody could
hear a word against OROP, and with the veterans protesting in the Capital, even
the government was pushed to a corner. OROP was announced. The government
estimated a liability of around Rs 12,000 crore per year to just implement this
one recommendation. However, the veterans were not happy. As you read this,
other protests are being organized as the veterans feel many of their demands
are not met.
What should we do?
Should we still maintain the ‘Army Good, Politician Bad’ argument? Should we
still say ‘give them whatever they want because they guard our borders’ (by the
way, the Border Security Force, or BSF, does not get OROP)? Or should we now at
least look at various aspects of OROP and, dare we say, its pros and cons?
We should. For, in a
country of limited resources like India, an expense as big as OROP must be
examined carefully, and kept in limits. At present, our defence budget is Rs
250,000 crore. In addition, we pay defence pensions of around Rs 60,000 crore per
year. OROP will add another Rs 12,000 crore to it annually. Note that these
pensions are, by definition, for services already rendered.These funds are
given out with no output obtained in return. While we all agree we should treat
Army personnel well, what’s better? To pay the veterans more, or to pay new
hires in the Army more? To pay the officers more or the jawans more? To pay
more to get better talent, or pay more and create more jobs? Should more money
be spent on pensions, or more hospitals for veterans? Should war-affected
veteran families be paid differently from those who retired safe and sound? As
a solution to increased pension expense, can veterans be re-hired in certain
jobs useful to the economy? Also, if we have OROP for defence, why not for our
paramilitary and police? Can we afford to pay them all?
All these issues
make OROP more complex than it seems, and it is about time we have a sane,
objective debate about it rather than an
emotional, army-is-amazing-so-just-give-it-everything one. Forget OROP, many
sectors don’t even have pensions. Sure, a certain form of rank and pay
equalization needs to exist so things don’t fall too far apart. However, it has
to be done in the context of what is possible, affordable, and after analyzing
what alternative welfare those funds can provide and the precedent it will set
for others. Only then will we reach a good conclusion on OROP. We love our Army
with all our heart, but it’s time we also think about issues related to it with
our head.
http://news.webindia123.com/news/Articles/India/20150919/2683015.html
Indian, Chinese
Armies to hold "Hand in Hand" next month
The fifth edition of military exercise between
the Indian and Chinese Armies will be held at Kunming, the southern military
region of China's Peoples Liberation Army(PLA).
The fortnight long
exercise will begin on October 11, with an inaugural ceremony, which will be
attended by the top brass of both the armies, sources in the Defence Ministry
told UNI. The exercise, which is code named as "Hand in Hand" comes
exactly a month after both the sides were locked in a brief stand-off in Burtse
region of northern Ladakh along the disputed border over the issue of a watch
tower constructed by the Chinese Army ,which was brought down by the Army troops
as the other side did not heed to objection raised by the Indian side.
Situation was resolved after two simultaneous meetings were held between the
local army commanders of two sides at Burtse and Chushul border post.
This is the third
time that China is hosting the Indian Army for a battalion level exercise after
it started in 2007. The annual exercise is held in India and China on
rotational basis. The exercise had remained terminated for four years over the
issue of stapled visa, which China was insisting on issuing to people of
Arunachal Pradesh, claiming it to be a disputed region.
Finally, the
exercise was restored in 2013 after China blinked and terminated the practice
of issuing stapled visa.
The exercise is
crucial part of the confidence building measures the two countries have been
putting in place time to time to maintain peace at the their more than four
thousand km long disputed border.
India has been
pushing China for the verification of the LAC, which witnesses frequent
transgression by the Chinese army. UNI MK RSA AE 1447
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