Dear Gajendra Singhji ,
Thank you for the press reports .Similar events rocked the Navy for almost two
decades in the events and aftermath , which saw the saga of a sitting Chief
turned out for his primarily for his integrity and commitment to national
security . The government which took that decision was dismissed by Parliament
and the Admiral had no interest in going back to serve such a government itself
involved in muddying national security interests and attempting to communalise
the service at the level of the senior most officers .The Indian Navy lost
two decades of technological advance as those involved even reversed the clock
in some areas .This can only be discussed in person by him .
The Army since General Joshi's premature demise in office , with very few
exceptions has had less than outstanding professional and moral leadership
till very recently, and has also lost time ......
Subramanium Swamy is a dark horse , behind his front of honesty is a dangerous
agenda , apart from the fact that he wants all of us to declare that our
ancestors were Hindus . As you know ' Hindu' was an Arabic term for all those
who lived beyond the Indus river broadly in South Asia , the religious
philosophy espoused was probably Vedic and very diverse in terms of worship and
deities . Suppose I wish to say that my ancestors were Apes or my origins are
divine of which I have no knowledge or better still that I am a particle of the
endless process of creation which is the infinity of the Universe , would I
have to leave my country as demanded by Sumbramanium Swamy , who is ignorant
and unscientific . Is this the best way to serve Harvard who has maintained him
on their pay rolls ..........
In India the tradition of unseating some governments is to use PIL ,
to avoid change through political movements, to preseve the political system
only for alliances of two major parties . It is like the" King is dead , Long
live the King" . The parliamentary left unfortunately is also complicit in
this strategy, even as they accepted the Neoliberal reform agenda .The
strategy commenced with the election petition against Indira Gandhi, where a
technicality was used . Those who filed the Petition and their Counsel knew the
results before the citizens of India did .Over the years you see the same
players or their descendants and everyone claims to be holier than thou , and
gets into selective action.
It is highly incorrect to dole out licenses on a first come first basis , as
this has resulted in loss of national revenues ,however this is incorrect
TELECOM policy from 2001 that is from the outset ,and logically all licenses
must stand cancelled . It cannot be done only from 2008 as per the Petition of
Sumbranium Swamy !!!!! You were not here in India when the Disinvestment
process started , with few exceptions, the entire process is a SCAM when
examined, and leading MNCs and Corproate Houses are involved . The post 2008
Telecom licenseesare with a few exceptions the smaller fries ........If you
scrutinize the Non Performing Assets of the Banks which are massive loans not
returned by Corporate Houses , it dwarfs the Telecom Scam .Arun Shourie's track
record is even more serious .Nothing was sacrosanct , not even the Shipping
Corporation of India which I saved . From Oil and Natural Gas to mines and
minerals both political parties and their alllies have sold it out like their
family silver .
The period of Economic Reforms was to open the highway for run away profits by
farming out every sector . That is sought to be concealed because it was policy
imposed by the Washington Consensus , the World Bank and IMF , WTO of MNCs and
the Indian Corporate Sector .
Let me reiterate that the private sector is necessary in India along with the
Public Sector at the commanding heights of the Indian economy for a range of
economic activity , however their operation is required to be within the
framework of the Constitution of India and regulated in the interests of the
citizens of India as a whole .
Eminent financial analysts are now referring to the US and UK economy as the
FASCIST BUSINESS MODEL and their governments as Neo-Nazi , in India the
immediate task ahead of us to resist the FASCIST BUSINESS MODEL with its
accompaniment of illegal wars and economic devastation even as 45% of our
children are already malnourised and new born babies dying llike flies in
Bengal. No one has understood that these babies are dying because the mothers
cannot feed them they are equally malnourished , they need to be immediately
fed all expectant mothers who cannot access nutrition , and the babies need to
be given supplement feeding by bottles to supplement mother's milk otherwise
more will die in the weeks ahead . There has been a severe winter , warm
garments and wrappers are required to be provided .
There is so called insurgency in tribal India only because of unjustified
seizure of whole villages , land , water and other resources .This is internal
colonization .Development requires consultation and participation .But then
unjustified profits cannot be made .Further national revenues have been
decimated , ask what returns has the public exchequer received .Any one who
seriously questions these seizures is being termed a Maoist .
Similar starvation deaths have occurred in the past in tribal hamlets of
Maharashtra and many other areas . Dr. Binayak Sen has sounded an alarm of
decreasing BMI which indicates slow starvation . This read along with death of
new born children is a warning that we may descend into famine conditions .It
was not lack of grain which caused the great Bengal famine , but lack of
purchasing power .
The fact is that we have been looting vast sections of working people , the
peasantry , tribals and dalits of their resources and labour through the
national exchequer and its policies . The subsidies to the Civil Aviation
Sector could have fed many ,just a small example of one sector .
We need to revert to Mahatma Gandhi's vision for development of vast areas of
Rural India . Nutrition , Livelihood , Clean water , simple homesteads
,sanitation ,public health ,education, support for agriculture , shramadan or
voluntary labour on village projects , road and railway connectivity , a
network of small and cottage industries with carefully planned
industrialization respecting ecology .
Let us have our basics right , the icing can follow whenever there are surplus
funds . It is absurd to talk about India emerging or so called big power status
when this is our report card on development after two decades of Neoliberal
reforms on the IMF and World Bank model .
Reinstate the Estate duty and mop up resources of those resorting to
conspicuous consupmption .
Niloufer Bhagwat
----- Original Message -----
From: gajendra singh
Gen wins Round 1 in battle with govt
Krishnadas Rajagopal : New Delhi, Fri Feb 03 2012 Ind Exp
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/gen-wins-round-1-in-battle-with-govt/907556/0
The Supreme Court interrupted the government’s script in the legal battle
against Army Chief General V K Singh, asking the Ministry of Defence to
consider withdrawal of its December 30, 2011 order fixing the General’s date of
birth as May 10, 1950 and save itself from the possible embarrassment of having
the court quash the executive command.
In a charged hearing today, a bench of Justice R M Lodha and Justice H L
Gokhale declared that the very route the government took to arrive at the
December order would not even “prima facie” satisfy principles of natural
justice and that the decision-making process was “vitiated.”
The court asked why the ministry had twice “consulted” the Attorney General —
once, before passing the July 21 and 22 orders, originally fixing the year of
birth of Singh as 1950, and then again before the December 30 order on the
basis of Singh’s statutory complaint.
Justice Lodha said it was a “fundamental flaw” on the part of the defence
ministry to seek legal opinion on the statutory complaint from the very
authority (Attorney General) who had given a “committed opinion” on an earlier
occasion that Singh was born in 1950.
Attorney General GE Vahanvati, flanked by Solicitor General Rohinton Nariman,
was representing the defence ministry.
Addressing Vahanvati, Justice Lodha said: “You have given an opinion. Orders
(July 21/22) is passed on that. Then a statutory complaint is filed (by the
Chief). Again you give an opinion, based on which the ministry issues the
December 30 order. I find this whole decision-making process legally
unsustainable and ultra vires.”
To this, Vahanvati said: “I gave the opinions completely on merits. Day in
and day out this is done.”
“If the matter had ended with the first opinion, there would have been no
problem. But the ministry comes back to you on a statutory complaint that is
filed against the very order passed in consultation with you... and you, the
authority who had already expressed a committed opinion on the issue. In a writ
petition filed under Article 32, this assumes great importance,” Justice Lodha
pointed out.
But the AG said the reference to him for a legal opinion can hardly be termed
“consultation.”
“So you are saying that legal opinions given are just material placed before
the Raksha Mantri, who analyses it and takes an independent decision?” Justice
Gokhale intervened.
Vahanvati replied in the affirmative: “Yes, The order passed is entirely by
the Raksha Mantri. Everything is independently examined.” Justice Lodha
intervened at this point to ask: “But your opinion as highest law officer would
have definitely been taken into consideration.”
“It is the duty of the Attorney General to give legal advice. Your Lordship’s
remark is off-mark. So the defence ministry goes to AG, what else can they
do... If courts start saying that you should not have given that opinion or
this opinion...Why he (Singh) is referring to the opinions of four former CJIs
on every occasion,” Vahanvati said.
But Justice Lodha stood firm that the procedure followed was indeed flawed
and declared that “I am of the prima facie view that materials placed on record
will not stand the test of the principles of natural justice.”
“Then it is perfectly all right if Your Lordships think that Raksha Mantri
should have taken an independent decision, but the setting aside of the order
(December 30) should not lead to him (Singh) getting a declaration that he was
born in 1951,” Vahanvati responded to the judge’s statement before seeking time
to get instructions on whether the government should withdraw the December 30
order
Then addressing senior advocate U U Lalit, who appears for Singh, the court
charted the future course for the General in case the government decides to
withdraw the December order. Noting that if the withdrawal happens, the court
said that the entire case of the General boils down to the legality of the
earlier July 21/22 order
Disagreeing with the government’s contention that the Supreme Court should
leave it to the Armed Forces Tribunal, the court said the Tribunal is “manned
by army men,” and Singh’s case would be probably end up being tried by someone
who was his “junior or former boss.”
“The whole thing of July 21/22 orders giving the date of birth as 1951 has to
be examined by a judicial forum. Besides, he has hardly four months left,
remedy before the Tribunal may not be efficacious. So let him be here,” the
Bench said, posting the next hearing for February 10.
Army’s war within: corruption
HT HOME / BLOGS HOME > INSIDE STORY / INDIA / ARMY’S WAR WITHIN: CORRUPTION
http://blogs.hindustantimes.com/inside-story/2012/02/01/armys-war-within-corruption/
After General VK Singh had taken over as Chief of Army Staff in 2010, a
retired Lieutenant General, whose name figures in the Adarsh Society Housing
scandal called on him at the office ostensibly to discuss developments in
Kashmir. After the polite conversation, the retired intelligence chief asked
him about the pending heavy vehicle contract and blatantly made it clear that
there was Rs 50 crore for him in cold cash if the Rs 400 crore deal was awarded
to an East European manufacturer instead of Indo-Russian joint venture. The
retired general was immediately escorted out of the Chief’s office and was
declared persona non grata. The ex-serviceman was not the first or the last of
his kind as greed seems to be good for Army’s top brass.
On Tuesday, the CBI registered a case against a former Army Vice Chief Lt
General Noble Thamburaj for allegedly conspiring with a builder Kalpataru over
a select piece of Pune Cantonment defence land. One of the companies of the
same builder is also under the CBI scanner for illegally obtaining prime
defence land in Kandivili in Mumbai with the support of former minister of
defence production Rao Inderjit Singh and former Army Chief General Deepak
Kapoor. The CBI has already registered a preliminary inquiry into the Kandivili
land deal last month and moving towards registering a proper case.
After Mumbai’s Adarsh Housing scandal, involving two former Army chiefs and
one former Navy chief among others, and Sukhna land scandal, which led to court
martial and dismissal of former military secretary Lt Gen Avadesh Prakash,
these two illegal land deals have taken the Army’s morale to a new low. From
the unsavoury sagas of Ketchup Colonel, Booze Brigadier and Ration General, it
becomes quite evident that Indian military is going through marked
deterioration of human resource and character.
To top it all, there is growing politicisation of the Indian military for
promotions, lucrative assignments and post-retirement jobs. The rot within the
Indian defence establishment is clearly evident from the retired officers who
liaison for defence contractors at golf courses and bars in Lutyen’s Delhi to
ex-generals and admirals being employed by hardware dealers for lobbying in
South Block.
In public perception the image of an Army officer is hardly different from
that of an untrustworthy police officer. It is evident from these scandals that
significant section within Army is out to make a quick buck and would do
anything for few pieces of silver. This mindset goes right to the top, as
otherwise, how one justifies that no less than five top generals including
Kapoor and Thamburaj were declared low medical category for disability pension
and IT rebates. Before the health of Indian Army deteriorates further without
the help of Pakistani ISI or Chinese MSS, it is time that the UPA government
intervened to stem the rot.
Fortunately, South Block has defence minister AK Antony and Army Chief Gen V
K Singh at the helm of affairs at this crucial juncture. Both are above board
integrity wise and cannot stand corruption. While swift action and stringent
punishment act as a strong deterrent, it is time that the military mounted
strong vigilance on its men and started the weeding out process at an early
stage.
The promotions and postings process must be made totally transparent through
technology with any interference from ruling party politicians or influential
arms dealers. Promotion should be based on merit and not seniority as is the
case now. Postings to big cities should be rotated fast so that an officer does
not develop vested interest. There should be consolidation of defence lands
sprawling all over the country with land records updated so that unscrupulous
Army officers cannot illegally pass it on to builders.
While it is impossible to isolate or insulate military personnel from
increasingly money oriented Indian society, it is important that military ethos
is maintained or professionalism will be hit hard in the services. It is
important to drive home the fact that the government takes special care of the
armed forces through dedicated hospitals, housing, primary and secondary
education and recreation facilities.
The average facilities provided to an Army Colonel, equivalent to a director
level officer of central government, are far above as compared to his or her
government counterparts. Same holds true for higher ranks. Yet there is
increasing tendency within the armed forces to get attracted to money through
illegal means or hardware deal making. The prevention exercise has to start
from the top as the trooper on the border or the Line of Control looks towards
the top brass as idols. Otherwise, all the respect won by those armed forces
personnel who gave up their lives will be lost and Indian borders will be at
peril.
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