From: Rajendra Prakash rp1930@gmail.com
Date: Wednesday, 15 April, 2009, 7:26 PM
A PAUSE FOR THOUGHT
Dear Sirs,
1. Reference 'Report my Signal' (RmS), below. Here is a discordant voice !
2. Are IESM and RmS going to micro-manage election campaigns of political parties ? When joining-up, one imagined that IESM will remain a-political and continue trying to draw support from all segments of our society ! We as IESM, surely don't want to become branded as the "ESM Wing/Cell" of any bunch of politicians ! This way, we also lose any flexibility, in future contingencies / situations, which we cannot foresee, today.
3. Advisories or no advisories, everyone will vote as he/she wants to. However, what is done is done !
4. For our straight forward OROP goal, it would perhaps be pragmatic and realistic if IESM keeps a low profile, now on, till the fall of dice is visible in the inevitable 'gamble' ahead (unless IESM is confident that it can significantly tilt the scale countrywide - I very much doubt it, as of today !). The scenarios emerging after 15 May and implications for ESM, remain a separate matter.
Faithfully,
(Maj Gen) Rajendra Prakash.
Dehradun.
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From: AS Butalia (Butch) asbutalia@gmail.com
Subject: " AN OPEN LETTER TO GEN. KAYANI " – JANG
To: "REPORT MY SIGNAL(CS Kamboj)" kamboj_cs@yahoo.co.in
Date: Wednesday, 15 April, 2009, 7:19 PM
Dear Brig,
I FEEL THIS IS WORTH CIRCULATING IF NOT ALREADY DONE.
Best regards,
Col A S Butalia, SM, MAeSI (Veteran)
.......
INTERNATIONAL
THE NEWS
Founded by: Mir Khalil-ur-Rahman
Group Chairman: Mir Javed Rahman
http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=172290
An open letter to Gen Kayani
View from the other side Col (r) Harish Puri
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Dear Gen Kayani,
Sir, let me begin by recounting that old army quip that did the rounds in the immediate aftermath of World war II: To guarantee victory, an army should ideally have German generals, British officers, Indian soldiers, American equipment and Italian enemies.
A Pakistani soldier that I met in Iraq in 2004 lamented the fact that the Pakistani soldier in Kargil had been badly let down firstly by Nawaz Sharif and then by the Pakistani officers' cadre. Pakistani soldiers led by Indian officers, , he believed, would be the most fearsome combination possible. Pakistani officers, he went on to say, were more into real estate, defence housing colonies and the like.
As I look at two photographs of surrender that lie before me, I can't help recalling his words. The first is the celebrated event at Dhaka on Dec 16, 1971, which now adorns most Army messes in Delhi and Calcutta. The second, sir, is the video of a teenage girl being flogged by the Taliban in Swat -- not far, I am sure, from one of your Army check posts.
The surrender by any Army is always a sad and humiliating event. Gen Niazi surrendered in Dhaka to a professional army that had outnumbered and outfought him. No Pakistani has been able to get over that humiliation, and 16th December is remembered as a black day by the Pakistani Army and the Pakistani state. But battles are won and lost – armies know this, and having learnt their lessons, they move on.
But much more sadly, the video of the teenager being flogged represents an even more abject surrender by the Pakistani Army. The surrender in 1971, though humiliating, was not disgraceful. This time around, sir, what happened on your watch was something no Army commander should have to live through. The girl could have been your own daughter, or mine.
I have always maintained that the Pakistani Army, like its Indian counterpart, is a thoroughly professional outfit. It has fought valiantly in the three wars against India, and also accredited itself well in its UN missions abroad. It is, therefore, by no means a pushover. The instance of an Infantry unit, led by a lieutenant colonel, meekly laying down arms before 20-odd militants should have been an aberration. But this capitulation in Swat, that too so soon after your own visit to the area, is an assault on the sensibilities of any soldier. What did you tell your soldiers? What great inspirational speech did you make that made your troops back off without a murmur? Sir, I have fought insurgency in Kashmir as well as the North-East, but despite the occasional losses suffered (as is bound to be the case in counter-insurgency operations), such total surrender is unthinkable.
I have been a signaller, and it beats me how my counterparts in your Signal Corps could not locate or even jam a normal FM radio station broadcasting on a fixed frequency at fixed timings. Is there more than meets the eye?
I am told that it is difficult for your troops to "fight their own people." But you never had that problem in East Pakistan in 1971, where the atrocities committed by your own troops are well documented in the Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report. Or is it that the Bengalis were never considered "your own" people, influenced as they were by the Hindus across the border? Or is that your troops are terrified by the ruthless barbarians of the Taliban?
Sir, it is imperative that we recognise our enemy without any delay. I use the word "our" advisedly – for the Taliban threat is not far from India's borders. And the only force that can stop them from dragging Pakistan back into the Stone Age is the force that you command. In this historic moment, providence has placed a tremendous responsibility in your hands. Indeed, the fate of your nation, the future of humankind in the subcontinent rests with you. It doesn't matter if it is "my war" or "your war" – it is a war that has to be won. A desperate Swati citizen's desperate lament says it all – "Please drop an atom bomb on us and put us out of our misery!" Do not fail him, sir.
But in the gloom and the ignominy, the average Pakistani citizen has shown us that there is hope yet. The lawyers, the media, have all refused to buckle even under direct threats. It took the Taliban no less than 32 bullets to still the voice of a brave journalist. Yes, there is hope – but why don't we hear the same language from you? Look to these brave hearts, sir – and maybe we shall see the tide turn. Our prayers are with you, and the hapless people of Swat.
The New York Times predicts that Pakistan will collapse in six months. Do you want to go down in history as the man who allowed that to happen?
The writer is a retired colonel of the Indian army who lives in Pune. Email: hbpuri@hotmail.com
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From: Christopher D'Silva chrisdsilva41@hotmail.com
Subject: FW: "EX-SERVICEMEN GROUP TELLS ARMY TO VOTE FOR BJP" - CNN -IBN
To: "Brig. Chander Kamboj" kamboj_cs@yahoo.co.in ; TRUNCATED
Date: Wednesday, 15 April, 2009, 9:06 PM
Forwarded.
(Cap Christopher D’Silva, IN)
CNN – IBN
http://ibnlive.in.com/printpage.php?id=90201§ion_id=37
Ex-servicemen group tells Army to vote for BJP
Vishal Thapar
CNN-IBN
New Delhi: BJP is gaining popularity with Army men. This has become obvious after an influential ex-servicemen's group has now publicly advised the military community to vote for the party.
The advise sounds more like a fatwa.
Former deputy chief of the Army, Lt General Raj Kadyan says, "It is in our interest that we should vote for the BJP."
For the first time ever, India's sizeable and well-regarded military community has been openly asked to vote for a particular political party.
I am looking for the benefit of my community, my 24 lakh ex-servicemen. And their benefits, as the developments are today, lie with the BJP. They are better than the others," Lt General Kadyan states.
The ex-Servicemen's Group Lt General Kadyan heads has campaigned for a better pay and pension deal for the military and its views are thought to find resonance in the Armed Forces. Spurred by the success, it now seeks a bigger political voice for the men in uniform.
This is the first time that discontent in the military is being expressed politically. The target of the anger is the ruling establishment. And the advisory to vote against the Government of the day is unprecedented.
The UPA Government, accused of being insensitive to the interests of soldiers, was demonised but former generals think that the use of political vocabulary to make their case is fair game.
"We have realised that unless we have a political voice, the Government will not understand the value of our vote. The Government must realise that we have a vote too," says Major General (retd) AJB Jaini.
India has long held to the belief that its military is apolitical but democracy is clearly catching up with the men of arms
