My first day at RIMC

 

2nd Aug 1978, was just another ordinary rainy day in the Doon Valley, except that it was to change the destiny of 15 young lads  who were a couple of years away from entering their teens themselves. Dehradun Railway Station still exuded the old world charm back then, when the train chugged into the railway station well into the dusk on 1st evening, one of these 15 along with his father disembarked from the second class sleeper compartment, after almost 36 hours of train ride from Indore. The youngster sat mesmerised in the train window, as though he wanted to soak the breathtaking sights in, and store it forever in those little grey cells of his. With monsoons at its peak, rivers were overflowing almost as though keen to form an acquaintance with the boy by flowing alongside on the bridges, the clouds had dissolved into the gentle mist caressing his cheeks, as though planting a peck, encouraging him in his pursuit. The railway stations of Haridwar and Rishikesh provided a kaleidoscope with Godmen  in their saffron robes intermingling with the goatherds in their bright colourful turbans, woodcutters attaching their piles of wood on the train windows with hooks, milkmen doing likewise with their milk cans in the lush green countryside, it was almost poetry in motion.

Next morning, huddled in the Shaktiman, Indian Army’s vintage lorry, Yash Saxena, Arun Sabnis, Ranjeet Nambiar,  Prashant Gupta and self along with our fathers landed in the Rajwada Camp. Rashtriya Indian Military College RIMC, for short was called the Rajwada, as once upon a time way back in 1901 the Imperial Cadet College was established in the same premises and where princes of erstwhile Indian States were trained in their martial duties by the British Military trainers. It was love at first sight for most of us,  as we entered the hallowed  precincts through the Thimayya Gate, nestled in the valley, with a small rivulet flowing through it, the Tudor style buildings and the perfect English weather weaved a magical spell on all of us. The white marbled War Memorial standing testimony to the valour and sacrifice of the alumni Rimcollians, boasting of one Victoria Cross and first Param Vir Chakra amongst the many others whose names were etched there, and our tricolour standing tall on the mast welcomed us into their fold with open arms.

As we got off the Shaktiman, my cadet guardian, late Ranpreet Singh was waiting for us to disembark with his umbrella to keep us from getting drenched in the downpour. I have spoken about him earlier too, (https://thesuyashsharma.com/mentoring/), mind you he himself was just an year older but the responsibility on his shoulders was borne with such elegance that my father was convinced, I was going to be in the right hands. We were introduced to the Commandant Lt Col GPS Warraich, a tall sprightly Sikh officer, whose experience was visible in the way he tackled the queries by the parents satisfying them about every aspect of care and wellbeing of their kids. We were allotted our sections there, Yash, Prashant and self were in Chandragupta Section, while Ranjeet Nambiar got Ranjeet Section, Deepak Chughha and Arun Sabnis went to Shivaji  Sections. Others from other parts of the country joined us here, Jaideep Saikia from Assam and Asim Mahapatra from Odisha were assigned Pratap, Raman Preet Sher Gill, Ashok Kataria and Sanjay Verma went to Ranjit Section and Anil Kumar Sharma, Sanjeev Agarwal joined Arun Sabnis in Shivaji. In next couple of days more cadets trooped in, Adhiraj Yadav, a second generation Rimcollian to be, Arvinder Singh representing Nagaland, Jayant Kumar from Bihar, Jagdeep Kairon and Suresh Yadav from Chandigarh.

The experience in the  Cadets Mess was simply overwhelming, 220 cadets lined up behind their tables, Cadet Captain marching in along with the Commandant and other dignitaries. Liveried immaculately dressed waiters serving continental cuisine, left me wondering more than eating, before the plates were closed. The imposing trophy of mounted Bison Head staring at us perched on top of the wall, antique weapons, boards with names of winners of sports events and you will get the picture of the thoughts going through that small little brain of mine at that time. Soon it was time to say adios to my father, I accompanied him to the War Memorial, where he probed me for one last time if I was ok, and then satisfied with the look on my face he returned reassured.Thus began the odyssey, which I dare say carries on …

Today being the friendship day, this is dedicated to my friends and brothers from my alma mater of these 47 odd years.

Is a Constable a Jawan?

 

Are jawans (soldiers) and constables synonymous? I am sure most of us are aware that the two have different roles assigned by the govt. While a soldier is assigned the primary responsibility to safeguard our borders from external threats, a constable is responsible for maintaining law and order within the country. If that be so, why are these terms being used interchangeably by the media and more pertinent question is that why is this being accepted as fait accompli by the military? Media personnel and the masses could even be excused for their ignorance, as they see a person in combat dress and address him as a soldier, but we the uniformed fraternity ought to know the difference and it is our duty to point that out. My civilian friends may feel that I am unnecessarily being a prude or a stickler, after all both serve the govt and their roles are demanding which require dedication and loyalty of the highest order.

In the last couple of decades, since Indian Army has been actively involved in counter insurgency operations in Jammu & Kashmir as also in the North East, the two agencies have been operating in tandem and at times even in joint operations. This intermingling has blurred the distinction between the two and the end result is this confused state of nomenclature. The Central Armed Police Forces(CAPF), BSF, CRPF, SSB, CISF all are attired in different patterns of combat pattern uniforms. Then there are Assam Rifles and NSG which are even manned/officered by Army personnel. CAPFs are under the Ministry of Home Affairs, whereas Armed Forces fall under the  ambit of Ministry of Defence. During the pre-independence period, the uniforms as also the accoutrement of the two were different, the police forces donned Khaki and Army Olive Green. Army was garrisoned and stuck to their cantonments or were in field areas away from the masses, the CAPFs were summoned whenever the situation demanded a beefing up of  the police forces, but the Army was only called out when the state govt called out to the Centre to control the state of affairs. Army by its sheer might was equipped to handle any and every such quagmire which the state or central machinery found itself in, and dutifully bailed them out each and every time, restoring the situation and handing it over back to the civil administration.

Army is the last resort which is available with any state, like the panacea, it can handle aid to civil authorities, be it floods, earthquake or natural disasters, insurgency, loot, arson, riots or even rescuing kids stuck in open bore-wells. Now that the distinction between the Army and CAPFs are being blurred deliberately, at last it appears so, we as a nation are at a risk as was witnessed during the riots and arson in Haryana when Gurmeet Ram Rahim was arrested and the Dera followers went on a rampage, where Army units had to carry ‘placards’ that they were Army and not the CAPFs.

This article is not to discredit the CAPFs and the stellar role which they play, but just that the identity and uniqueness of the Military can’t be and should never be under any such ambiguity. While Army has a Sipahi or a soldier, Lance Naik, Naik, Havaldar in the hierarchy of Non Commissioned Officers, the Police forces have a Constable and Head Constable. Then Army has Naib Subedar, Subedar and Subedar Major as Junior Commissioned officers, while the Police forces have Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI), Sub Inspector (SI) and Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP)/Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), who are selected through state level public service commissions or promoted through the constabulary.

If the designations and uniforms are distinct and different, then why should there be this confusion? Isn’t it high time, there are clear diktats issued to safeguard this distinction and identity. We have observed that in the recent past a number of incidents have been reported where the police personnel have behaved in a high headed manner in their dealings with the Defence personnel, even with senior serving personnel. Punjab incident being the most recent one where a serving Colonel along with his son were roughed up  by the police personnel. This malaise will progressively worsen if measures are not instituted forthwith to address the situation before it ends up demoralising the last bastion of the nation or worse if they decide to take law into their own hands and mete out exemplary punishment to the perpetrators.

NOBEL PIECE PRIZE

 

“Friends, Nobel committee members and my subjects, lend me your ears, I come to claim Nobel, not to seek it…..I am an honour ”Nobel’ man and I have always said it”

You can’t blame Trump for aspiring for the Nobel, he did aspire to be the POTUS and he actually did become one, not once but mind you twice over. Guys guess what, highly inspired by Mr Donald Trump and to emulate him I am nominating myself for the Nobel Prize for Peace. My claim to fame is that I too am an honest peace broker at home, I declare a ceasefire even before the first salvo is fired at home, simply by surrendering to the mistress of the house. Even when it comes to strife within the family or on the streets, whether people turn to me or not,  I too go ahead and announce to all and sundry that I was behind the truce even if no one else is prepared to give me any credit for the efforts undertaken.

Well to be honest, Alfred Nobel himself was the paragon of peace, after all he was the man who literally dynamited the world and brought peace upon many who laid down their lives due to the untiring efforts  of their friends who put it to good use over the last century. While Trump is definitely in the fray but there are many more equally qualified contenders for this coveted prize, for starters, the various Terror groups like the Hamas, Lashkars and Talibans of the world, who with their acts have been delivering the gospels of peace in their own style by putting people to sleep forever. A dead man is the most peaceful man, as the violence buried deep within him has also finally called it a day with his last breath. Then there are the Putins, Zelenskys, Bibis, Munirs of the world who have not been sitting idle themselves but have a been treading this inglorious path for a little longer.

No prizes for guessing who Trump’s sponsors are Bibi and Munir, birds of a feather flock together. Today it is Trump’s turn tomorrow it will be Bibi’s and Munir’s. I just heard that venerable Arvind Kejriwal too has thrown his hat in the ring, having successfully fooled the Magsaysay guys obviously he thinks Nobel committee would be equally gullible. May be these awards are also somewhat in a similar league as Bollywood awards, which are known to be manipulated. American Presidents, quite a few of them have been recipients starting from Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter and the last one was Barrack Obama. Wilson was awarded for brokering the flawed treaty of Versailles and spectacular failure of League of Nations, resulting in the Second World War in just two  decades. Obama for may be indulging in multiple conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria. So obviously befitting the legacy of Alfred Nobel himself, if the military industrial complex is kept busy with orders pouring in, then Peace award is yours for picking.

‘Peace is an illusion’ isn’t that a well known fact, so anything which is more in the minds than on the ground is subject to interpretations. My perception of peace is not the same as yours and who knows it better than Trump himself, reminding us of the last lines of Kenny Rogers’ classic country song, ‘Coward of the County’ “sometimes you gotta fight when you are a man”.

We all know that great leaders inspire confidence and motivate others by setting a personal example, so here he is! His citation would probably go something like this, “Donald Trump showing clear disdain for rules and orders,  with utter disregard for the safety and sanity of the rest of the world, he single handedly has plunged the world into a turmoil by ensuring that the world peace is now actually in “pieces”.” Don doesn’t appreciate anything in the singular, his principle is obviously, ‘more the merrier’, in his perception probably ‘pieces’ is the plural of ‘peace’ itself, so there you have it, Nobel Prize for Pieces and he is the deserving winner.

TEJAS:CALL FOR TOTAL INDIGENISATION

The recent Tejas crash during the Dubai Air show has been a huge setback for our fledgling aero industry  and our efforts at indigenisation in this crucial dimension of modern day warfare. Air shows world over are technology demonstration arenas, where global powers showcase their wares  and obviously the best of the systems are put on display. This was by no means a maiden effort by Tejas, as it has already participated in a number of air shows and even joint international exercises. In fact two squadrons have even been deployed for operations. Both the variants of Tejas, Mk 1 and Mk1A were deployed in OP SINDOOR . It was formally named Tejas in 2003 and the name may have been derived from the verse,

“Om Namah Shivaya Gurave Sacchidananda-Murtaye
Nisprapancaya Santaya Niralambaya Tejase”                                        

which means, ‘We respect Shiva who is the supreme guide and who is the embodiment of truth, tranquility and bliss. He is independent, full of peace and is full of spiritual light known as tejas’. Like Shiva, it is capable of inflicting destruction in the adversaries camps at cosmic levels. 

 It is a  4.5 generation, delta wing, multi role combat aircraft which has been designed by Aeronautical Design Agency and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. A 4.5 generation differs from the fifth generation fighter as it does not have stealth capability. Stealth essentially implies near invisibility to radars. So barring stealth, Tejas is a highly advanced fighter jet and although it has been more than four decades in making, it has come of age now. Recently with MIG 21s having been phased out finally, Tejas will be the main stay of  the IAF inventory.

 We have the expertise to go to the moon or even Mars, build aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines, but when it comes to these lean mean fighting machines, the supersonic jets, we are still struggling. Before I go in to the reasons for this huge void in our military capability, a word about the loss of the precious life of the pilot Wing Commander Namansh Syal, our heart goes out to the bereaved family whose son had made them proud by turning into an ace  test pilot, a rare distinction bestowed upon the best in business. While the inquiry committee will no doubt unearth the reasons for this unfortunate crash, one thing is certain, the pilot ensured that he lived upto the Chetwodian motto of ‘his own personal safety being the last priority’ and prevented  any collateral damage, but in the process laid down his own life. This also reminds me of the Urdu couplet, “Girte hain Shahsawar hi maidan-e- jang mein, Vo tifl  kya gire jo ghutno ke bal chale” meaning it is only the brave and valorous fighters who fall, lesser mortals obviously don’t.

The reasons for any crash is either failure of the systems themselves, sabotage, or may even be a result of electronic or cyber warfare or, sometimes even pilot error. The aircraft is powered by  GE Aerospace F404-IN20 engine, which is the heart of the system itself. This dependence creates a huge vulnerability and exposes our failure at not being able to develop this critical component ourselves. Isn’t it ironic that we have successfully developed and deployed cryogenic engines when we were denied these post Pokharan II in 1998 due to sanctions imposed by the US. But Kaveri engine which was designed for combat aircrafts has not been a successful venture and has taken a back seat with our reliance on the GE engines. Technology denial is the most potent weapon which the world powers have been exploiting over the years. We are acutely aware of the Chinese propensity of installing backdoor malware in their systems, providing them with not only intelligence but also the kill switch to render the systems ineffective when most needed remotely. In modern warfare, these acts are not unheard of and will be used extensively, as PM Modi has been stressing, we have no other option but to rely on just one mantra, “atmanirbharta” or self reliance.

While Tejas will continue to surge the skies and blaze a trail of glory in years to come, we as a nation need to develop our own indigenous engines, then and only then, can we keep our adversaries at bay.

Shake it Please

 

“Shake it please”, is the most common shout in the game of Tambola also referred to as Housie. A game played generally by oldies in Army clubs or even in picnics when there were no mobiles. The person hosting the game is the obliged to shake the numerals in the box for an even distribution of numbers being called. Although the callers are actually just hoping that the Shake would result in their number magically appearing in the hands of the host to call.  The there is the “Hips don’t lie” ,Shake it like Shakira, here it is the booty which when shaken raises not just a storm but a lot more which just can’t be satiated with just any shake. I mean fruit or milk shake etc.

All this shaking that I am referring to is due to the storm in the tea cup as Indian Cricket Team did not shake the hands of their opponents, the Pakistan Cricket Team after the T20 match in the recent Asia Cup. This hand shake is an unwritten custom and like all customs it is not binding, however a deliberate act of refusal is a snub. The wave of patriotism which engulfed the nation after OP SINDOOR elicited boycott calls for the match itself. The fact is that we decided to finally play,  despite the reservations expressed openly by millions and the govt also did not put any strictures on the Team or BCCI per se. But Cricket stars are celebrities, you would have noticed I deliberately addressed them as stars and not players, as they are no different from our bollywood ones. These stars thrive in publicity and public adoration so they had to indulge in some gimmickry. There are a number of ways in which sportsperson express their angst, black bands, ‘taking the knee ‘ or raising a fist etc.        To be fair, there are obligations of the national sports bodies to adhere to the  rules regulations and fixtures etc of the international   federations, failing which penalties are normally imposed on the the defaulting Team, which could result in disqualification, or even for subsequent       events. As we lost the opportunity to win a historic Davis Cup back in 1974, when as a protest against apartheid practised by South Africa we refused to play the finals, despite being favourites to win as Amritraj brothers were at their peak then. But here the situation was different, there was nothing at stake actually, a refusal to play would not have effected our chances of reaching the finals. Yes we may have had to face them again in finals but then there was a chance given the current form of the rivals, they wouldn’t have made it through. So BCCI and Team India would have emerged as having expressed their solidarity with the sentiments prevalent in the country.  Imagine even a drubbing of the kind inflicted on the Pakis hasn’t cooled the tempers. The other issue is once the call had been taken to play, then this post match drama did not assuage the feeling of collective hurt . As it is the Shake itself is generally quite fake, with no warmth just a perfunctory ritualistic act. During the game the kind of sledging which goes on, can hardly be described as sportsmanship. Cricket in fact has started to resemble WWE,  like the World Wrestling Entertainment specially the T20 version. Homage to the deceased in the Pahalgam cowardly terrorist act has to come from the heart, mere lip service won’t do and my earnest request to the BCCI and Indian Cricket Team is to refrain from such tokenism. So go ahead and shake it for all we care.

Deja Vu

‘Deja vu’, the recent events in Nepal have again played out a similar script as witnessed earlier in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the subcontinent and in Egypt and Syria in the Middle East a little earlier. The revolutions led by Gen Z seem to be a spontaneous revolt against poor governance by the ruling dispensations leading to full scale anarchy forcing the leading politicians to flee the country and those who fail end up being humiliated and even lynched by the unruly mobs. Then an unelected interim government occupies the seat of power, whether it was Mohammed Yunus in Bangladesh or Sushila Karki in Nepal, the sequence of events are eerily  similar. The striking resemblance  makes one suspicious about the so called spontaneity of the unrest.

The medium here is the social media, which is exploited by the forces inimical to these countries and tool kits are deployed to engineer the events by agencies which are commonly being referred to as ‘deep state’. The economy was teetering on the brink of a collapse due to corruption and Chinese debt trap in SriLanka when ‘Aragalaya’ (Sinhalese for ‘Struggle’) happened, in Bangladesh, the stability of Shaikh Hasina government for more than a decade had helped boost the economy of this country which was once referred to as basket case of Asia. But absence of credible political opposition and the  ‘quota reforms’ i.e. reinstating of 30% quota for descendants of freedom fighters reinstated by the Supreme Court triggered the ‘July Revolution’. Modus operandi remained the same, through instigating the youth by means of social media.

Nepal has been plagued by unstable political coalitions ever since the fall of monarchy and the scourge of Maoists in the early part of the century. Unemployment was rising rapidly, even the regular Gorkha recruitment in Indian Army was disrupted due to the Agniveer policy introduced in the recent past. Nepal government had insisted on recruitment as per old provisions, which was not acceptable to India, being discriminatory against its own citizens. The trigger for this round of unrest was once again the banning of social media which angered the GenZ which survives and thrives in the virtual world itself. Social media, X formerly twitter, Instagram and Whats App have together become the new WMD, ‘Weapons of Mass  Disturbance and Disruption’. The GenZ is addicted to it, with rising unemployment it only gets further accentuated.The targets were typically symbols of governance, the parliament house, residences of the Prime Minister and other ministers.

Since the events are unfolding in the immediate neighbourhood, India needs to watch the developments closely. Similar experiments have been tried out here also during the orchestrated Farmer’s agitation and Shaheen Bagh protests. Farmer’s agitation was reported to have been hijacked by the Khalistani elements and ended up vandalising the Red Fort on the 26th Jan 2021. The Central Government acted with remarkable maturity and let the issue subside without resorting to any violent suppression. Violence unleashed by the governments in the case of all three, SriLanka, Bangladesh and now Nepal did not stem the tide, instead ended up adding fuel to the raging fire.

Fault lines are prevalent in all societies, as none of them is truly homogenous. Even if religion a common thread as has been the case in all these nations, be it Nepal predominantly Hindu, SriLanka Sinhalese majority and rest being Islamic countries like Bangladesh or even Egypt or Syria. The fissures are all too visible for exploitation and ripe for the picking by the vested interests. India, though a melting pot of cultures and religions with subcontinental proportions and its 1.5 billion population has many fault lines which have been targeted by our adversaries in our chequered history. Thankfully, the governments of the day have acted with maturity and tenacity to weather these storms. The reason for this, is the strength of our institutions of governance, the Judiciary, the Executive, the Legislative and the Armed Forces. As was evident even in our neighbourhood, the Armed Forces had to come to the rescue of the countries from falling into the abyss of total anarchy. As long as we are vigilant of the developments and retain the strength of these institutions, the nation is safe. 

A House for Brig Suyash

 

So finally we have moved into our  permanent dwelling at Indore, having led a nomadic life for 47 long years, it was finally time to settle down. Although, in the same breath, there is nothing which is permanent in this world, but still we would like to believe that this is the final destination, or should I say last but one as the final one, we all know takes us beyond the world.

Please don’t get me wrong, this blog is not philosophical, this one is about the trials and tribulations of renovation of the house, which has endured fifteen tears of tyranny of tenants. Let me begin from where the story of House Number 550 actually started. I was posted in Wellington, when this newly constructed four bed room duplex was found by my father, which he found quite suitable for us. I was given two days’ leave to come and sign the title deed, which was managed quite efficiently by the lawyers of course at a price. Parents moved in here along with my younger sibling Sujay’s family who were in Indore during that time. But soon, they moved on to Nagpur and my parents found this too big for the two of them, so moved out into Sujay’s flat in Indore itself. Now the tenants story unfolds, one after the other, this place was ravaged and brutalised by over ten of them, barring the last one who was a retired High Court Judge, ensured that we spent better part of the rent received on its maintenance and upkeep sometimes they left the place infested with termites, sometimes with rats, sometimes with broken doors and windows and sometimes with outstanding rents for months along with unpaid bills for electricity and piped gas connection etc.

Anyway, now that we had finally retired, we decided to renovate it to our tastes and try to undo all the pain which has been inflicted on this poor structure. So it commenced with just the windows to be replaced and a new modular kitchen to be installed but then it gradually took on the complete overhaul of wash rooms, all the doors, windows and installation of a new  railing for the stairs as well. When I realised that I am already spending so much doing it up, I might as well create a small cosy study for myself, where I can seek refuge in the garb of indulging in my favourite pastime from time to time. We thought we could manage it sitting pretty at Mhow without having to get into the pit and getting dirty avoiding the usual duels with the labour with our weekly visits to the site, as it was handed over to a highly recommended architect.

 The work commenced in April and we were expected to be here by mid August, which seemed to be adequate period for it to be completed. But it was end August, we were to vacate the  govt premises allotted and retained as permitted for six months by mid September and the work seemed as good as finished from the outside. So finally we took the plunge on 4th September night, as there were predictions of a heavy spate of rainfall after that. The shifting commenced in the evening and finally culminated at 0400 h in the morning. But the situation seemed overwhelming, as the whole place was piled up with boxes and cartons and the renovation work still seemed to need a couple of days effort.

Now the ordeal began, first the unpacking without our domestic helps and the driver who were with us at Mhow, who had promised to accompany us here, ditched us at the eleventh hour. The fact that the plumber, the electrician, the carpenter and the mason were still around trying to complete their unfinished tasks we were in the pit literally. Each one of them had put in their bit to beautify the place but as we say in the Army, non-adherence to time lines jeopardises the operation. So for the last fifteen days, it is a daily flight of 40 stairs with ten rounds up and down making it quite an exercise in cardio and strengthening of thigh muscles, climbing the tower to check the water tanks on top to descending down to the underground sump, the bourgeois and the proletariat  rolled into one.  My knees are knocking, shoulders are sagging with all the lifting having been caught plumb by the plumber, screwed by the carpenter, the electrician all but electrocuted us in the bargain, it appears as though the architect had her designs on us. This reminds of the cross country runs of the academies, the damn thing just goes on and on, with finish line still not in sight. We are still hopeful that the Glider Dome will soon appear on the horizon, when we can begin sprinting and then savour  the pure bliss of having come out winners. With apologies to Mr  Naipaul for having borrowed and tweaked the title of his  classic “A House for Mr Biswas”, mine can be aptly described as “A House for Brig Suyash”