http://www.telegraphindia.com/archives/archive.html
Battleship Bollywood
- Veterans decry ' tamasha of sorts' at military ceremonies
SUJAN DUTTA
New Delhi, Feb. 6: A series of changes introduced by the military in formal public ceremonies have confused veterans who worry that the new elements detract from the gravitas and solemnity of the events.
The latest is the inaugural of the international fleet review (IFR) where the Indian Navy saluted President Pranab Mukherjee, the supreme commander of the armed forces, at sea off Visakhapatnam today.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, defence minister Manohar Parrikar and the chiefs of the army, navy and the air force, Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag, Adm. Robin Dhowan and Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, respectively, were also on board the INS Sumitra, that was designated the "Presidential Yacht".
Who else was there?
Actor Akshay Kumar and his son.
On board the ship, from which the President reviewed a fleet of 92 ships that included 24 foreign warships from 21 countries, Akshay clicked a "selfie" with Gen. Suhag, the army chief.
Prime Minister Modi playfully pulled the ears of Akshay's son. The actor proudly posted the picture on photo-sharing social website Instagram.
Last evening, at the INS Satavahana, a land station of the Indian Navy in Visakhapatnam, actor Kangana Ranaut shared the dais with Adm. Dhowan, the chief of naval staff, and the chief of the Eastern Naval Command, Vice-Adm. Satish Soni. Akshay and Kangana have been designated "brand ambassadors" for IFR 2016.
At the event, organised mainly for visiting foreign naval personnel, Shiamak Davar's dance troupe gyrated to Bollywood music.
"Next time, it will be bar girls," a former soldier, Arun Govil, wrote sarcastically on Facebook in a comment on a post that questioned the "Bollywoodisation" of the military.
An international fleet review is being held in India after 15 years. The navy believes that the occasion demands that visiting sailors be treated as honoured guests and be given a glimpse of what Indian culture has to offer. Not only did Davar perform, the guests were also shown performances of classical dances like Kuchipudi, said navy sources.
The evening was a time to relax after the labours of the day and before the next day's demanding routine. Today's events showcase the Indian Navy's capabilities, said navy sources. They included, apart from the steam past, a display by Marine Commandos, water skiing and overflights by fighter planes and helicopters.
"As the Presidential Yacht passed between the review anchor columns, each ship dressed in full regalia, saluted the President. Each ship was manned by her ship's company, dressed in white ceremonial uniform. In a moment that stood still in time, white caps were doffed in unison in a grand salutation," a navy statement said describing the review.
This was the 11th fleet review for the President by the Indian Navy - only the second that is "international". An international fleet review is an assembly of warships without belligerent intention, says the official brochure for IFR 2016.
A picture posted on Instagram by Akshay Kumar shows Narendra Modi playfully pulling the ear of the actor’s son on board the INS Sumitra during the international fleet review in waters off Visakhapatnam on Saturday
In the first IFR in 2001, there were more foreign warships - 29, as compared to 24 this year. The representation from navies, 54, this time is significantly more. Most of the foreign navies sent delegations, not ships. Also, the Indian Navy is hosting the Chinese Navy, with two frigates, in such a ceremony for the first time.
Pakistan was invited to the IFR but did not respond. The waters in which the IFR is being held are the same where the Pakistan submarine, PNS Ghazi, was destroyed in the 1971 war.
There are conflicting accounts on how that happened. Some navy sources insist it was sunk by Indian Navy depth charges. Others say it hit the ground for not having mapped the coastline. It was not till some of its debris floated that the Indian Navy knew there was a Pakistani submarine lurking just outside Visakhapatnam.
The navy's current showcasing of India's military might and Indian culture apart, military veterans are most indignant over the "Beating Retreat" ceremony on January 29.
The ceremony owes its tradition to the end of a day's battle rituals where the armies would return to camps picking their way through the dead and the wounded. In India, "Beating Retreat" usually signifies the end of the military ceremonies surrounding Republic Day.
This year, "Beating Retreat" included for the first time "non-martial" instruments such as the sitar and the tabla, performed by uniformed soldiers who were in a static position. They were seated in rows on ramps. This is highly uncharacteristic for marching contingents that play martial music in honour of the dead, to build camaraderie and to enthuse soldiers for the hardships ahead.
Former vice chief of army staff, Lt Gen. Vijay Oberoi, was so aghast that he wrote an open letter to the three service chiefs that was titled, "Sirs, I am disillusioned and devastated".
Lt Gen. Oberoi lost a leg in the 1965 war with Pakistan and rose to be vice-chief of the army in the years 2000-2001. He heads an association of the war wounded.
He wrote that the "Beating Retreat" ceremony was reduced to a " tamasha" of sorts.
"I need not remind you worthies that traditions are the core of the Indian military and flouting them on account of pressures/requests from political and other bosses amount to letting down the troops whom you lead," he wrote to the chiefs.
He said that soldiers would do whatever their superiors wanted "but please do note that they will do so only if the orders are legitimate and legal and not to please your bosses or others".
If military musicians adept at playing symphonies had to play popular tunes, they should do so on an occasion that was not a military ceremony like "Beating Retreat".
The former vice-chief was also angry that a marching contingent of retired soldiers was not included in the Republic Day parade this year. This is a particularly sensitive issue for the Modi administration that this week notified "one rank one pension" but is still unable to convince former soldiers that it has kept an election promise.
Lt Gen. Oberoi wrote to the service chiefs: "You may be fully committed to your bosses, but why have you become such 'Ji Huzoors' that you have now forgotten even your comrades in arms, who incidentally were at least partly responsible for assisting you to reach the present high appointments you hold!"
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Dumped, navy corrects Bollywood script
OUR BUREAU AND AGENCIES
Actor Akshay Kumar takes a selfie with army chief Dalbir Singh Suhag and others on board the INS Sumitra
Feb. 7: Defence minister Manohar Parrikar today addressed the discontent generated by the presence of Bollywood artistes as brand ambassadors at the international fleet review (IFR) and said actors Akshay Kumar and Kangana Ranaut had not been contracted by his ministry.
A navy release issued on Friday had described the stars as "Brand Ambassadors" at the event.
Today, the minister said: "Ask the navy. Brand ambassadors have to sell a brand. I don't think they sold anything. The MoD (ministry of defence) has signed no contract with them. They were invited, but ask the navy."
Akshay and Kangana were feted at the opening ceremony of the IFR on INS Satavahana on Friday. They were taken around the venue escorted by sailors on an open four-wheeler. Yesterday, Akshay and his son were also on board the "Presidential Yacht" when the President was being saluted at the review.
"The highlight of the event (the IFR opening ceremony) was the presence of Bollywood stars Akshay Kumar and Kangana Ranaut, the Brand Ambassadors of IFR, at the event," the navy statement said on Friday.
Actress Kangana Ranaut with Vice-Admiral Satish Soni at the international fleet review in Visakhapatnam
"Cultural performances by the Shiamak Davar troupe kept the adrenaline at high levels while the Joe Barua Band, medley by Sameer and Abhiruchi enthralled the audience," the release added.
Today, the navy officially issued a correction after Parrikar's brief interaction with the media, and said the actors were only "guests".
A total of 54 navies are represented at the review, with 24 foreign warships participating. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the salute at a parade on Visakhapatnam's Beach Road this evening from contingents of the Indian and foreign navies, the state police and cadets.
Speaking before the parade, he said the Indian Ocean Region was one of his foremost policy priorities. "Our approach is evident in our vision of 'Sagar', which means 'Ocean' and stands for 'Security and Growth for All in the Region'," he told the assembled contingents.
Modi said India was a "pillar of stability and growth" and it was important for the navies to co-operate in fighting sea-borne terrorists and pirates.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/editorials/earth-s-highest-battlefield/193244.html
Earth’s highest battlefield
Tragedy must renew bid to end Siachen disputeThe 10 soldiers missing in the avalanche at the Siachen Glacier have been declared dead. It is an indication of the inhospitable conditions that many of the bodies will never be recovered. But the Seventh Pay Commission does not seem to concur. It wants to reward policemen and administrators posted in Guwahati with hardship allowance that is nearly twice that for army officers in Siachen. About 1,000 Indian soldiers have died since the conflict on the earth's highest battlefield began in 1984. More have died because of the extreme weather conditions rather than bullets. Countless others have come away with scars of frost bite. The Karachi 1949 ceasefire fire agreement had understood the insanity of dividing a dangerous, inhospitable slab of ice called the Siachen Glacier. It left the border undefined beyond a place known only by its grid reference, NJ 9842.
In 1984, the Indian Army launched 'Operation Meghdoot' after it felt Pakistan had designs on the glacier. Pakistan responded by rushing troops and Siachen became part of a list of irresolvable disputes between the two countries. Since then soldiers have remained primed for combat at heights where ordinary human beings cannot survive for a day. Every soldier comes away with physiological damage of some sort. But for them, a posting on the ridges surrounding the glacier is the ultimate dare in the service of the nation. Political leaders on both sides have tried to end the confrontation but the Kargil intrusion led to a decline in trust quotient. The Indian Army now wants any Indo-Pak pullout agreement to acknowledge its currently held positions to act as evidence in case of another 'Kargil'.
The latest tragedy on the glacier is the cost the two countries pay for the obduracy of their political and military leaders. The seeds of a withdrawal are present in the draft text of 1992 which is a public document. It is not just for the sake of a confrontation that is pointless. The shelling that continued till 2004 and accumulated human waste have despoiled the glacier. It is time to start descending from those treacherous heights.