Siachen Problem

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The Siachen question
A way out can be found
by Lieut-Gen Harwant Singh (retd)

TIMES change, people change, the world has changed, policies are being realigned, free trade, etc, is the current mantra. But there is little shift in the stance of the hawks and doubting Thomases on the Indian side, be it any move towards the resolution of the J and K problem or the nuclear deal with the United States. It has been projected in these columns that a pullout from the Saltoro Range will be a Himalayan blunder and a monumental folly.

Some defence analysts have tried to project the Siachen Glacier and the Saltoro Range as an area of great strategic importance. To the West of it is the road linking Gilgit with Tibet (China,) and to the North- East is the important Karakoram Pass. To the North is the Shaksgam Valley, ceded to China by Pakistan. The Siachen glacier region would facilitate a link-up between Pakistan and China, they contend.

The Gilgit-Tibet road is nearly 250 kilometres across the world’s most forbidding terrain. The Karakoram Pass from the Glacier is across a group of first magnitude peaks in the world, which only a small mountaineering expedition can hope to traverse. The Shaksgam valley across the Indra Col and the Karakoram Range is inaccessible from the Glacier region. The route to the Karakoram Pass emanates from the Nubra Valley, and is well away from the Siachen Glacier. Another is along the Shyok River. Pakistan already has a link-up with China along the Gilgit-Tibet road and areas to the North of the Karakoram range.

It would be incorrect to contend that currently there are no casualties due to climate and weather at the Glacier/Saltoro range. Innumerous afflictions, other that due to enemy fire, continue to beset troops. Indian troops have endured great hardships and afflictions heroically for 22 years. They have the leadership and the perseverance to live with these for another 50 years and more, without a demur. But must they!

There is an upswing in the Indo-Pak relations, including people-to-people contacts. The futility of confrontation is realised by both sides. Opportunities are beckoning them to grasp the emerging economic possibilities in trade and commerce and to better their lot. Neither country can afford reckless expenditure on wasteful and avoidable deployment of troops.

The genesis and the background to the dispute over the Cease-Fire Line ( CFL) beyond Point NJ 9842 on the Saltoro Range and attempts to resolve this issue in the past have been recalled, far too often in these columns, and therefore need no repetition.

Of all the disputes between India and Pakistan relating to J and K, the peaceful resolution of the Siachen imbroglio is less intractable and could be the harbinger of improved relations between the two neighbours. The answer to the question of “we only giving concessions and not the other party” lies in the fact that it is this type of attitude which results in strained relations with all our neighbours. The Indian position recently spelled out by the Prime Minister is that there can be no redrawing of boundaries in J and K. It implies the status quo as far as the CFL goes. So, linking the AGPL with the CLF can be of no avail.

The issue of J and K has defied resolution for the last six decades. So, if de-linking the Siachen from the larger issue of J and K can throw up an opportunity to move forward, then it needs to be grasped. Presently the agreement to demilitarise the Siachen region has hit a roadblock on the issue of authentication of ground positions of troops of the two countries. While India insists that before the troops from the two countries pull back from their positions, the same should be delineated on the maps and authenticated by the two sides. Pakistan baulks from such an agreement. Consequently, India has reason to suspect the intentions and motives of Pakistan. Mutual suspicion runs deep in both countries.

We accuse Pakistan of perfidy and violation of the Shimla Agreement at Kargil, while Pakistan holds us to a similar act in occupying the Saltoro Range in 1984. Though India had evidence of Pakistani intentions to occupy the area and merely pre-empted it at the Saltoro Range, Pakistan projects a different position. Past does carry lessons for the future, but there is little to be gained by being a prisoner to the past. After all, the ceasefire along the CFL in J and K and at the AGPL on the Saltoro Range has held out since November 2003 and that should give a measure of confidence to both sides.

The Pakistani public has been made to believe that its troops are in part occupation of the Siachen Glacier. Authentication of the positions of the troops of the two sides on the maps will expose that lie. Pakistan’s reluctance to authenticate the AGPL must be seen against these compulsions.

India suspects that Pakistan will occupy the vacated positions on the Saltoro Range. In such an eventuality it would be both difficult and costly for the Indian troops to evict them from those positions. If one is to surrender to suspicion and mistrust, then even if positions are authenticated, mischief by Pakistani troops is still possible. They could occupy the heights vacated by Indian troops, an agreement notwithstanding. So, authentication of positions by itself is of little help in case of bad faith. What will help is the conviction in Pakistan, the inevitability of violent Indian military reaction to any move to occupy the vacated positions.

As an alternative to the authentication of the positions held by both sides, we could instead show our positions to the international Press. Mark the AGPL on the ground and take satellite pictures and publish these. Draw up an agreement with Pakistan to demilitarise the area and insert a provision in the agreement that in the event of occupation of the vacated positions of the opponent, by either side, it will confer the right on the other to take recourse to such actions, including military action, anywhere, to redress the situation. That would throw up many suitable military options to the aggrieved party. Some system of joint control over the demilitarised zone can also be worked out.

Heaping calumny and ascribing bad intentions will not do. Equally, we need not be the self-appointed champions of democracy for other countries. During periods of a democratic set-up in Pakistan, our relations have never been any better or moves to resolve the areas of disputes more purposeful. We may debate to no purpose whether an end to cross-border terrorism should precede an improvement in relations with Pakistan, or follow it.

Education in Punjab

Education in Punjab
Mere tinkering with the problem won’t do
by Lt-Gen Harwant Singh (retd)

INstallation of biometric checks by the Punjab Education Department in some schools of Fatehgarh Sahib district to oversee the attendance of teachers and their timely arrival highlights only one aspect of the sad state of affairs of education, even at a location so near the state capital. Late coming and or missing school by teachers of primary, middle and higher secondary schools in the countryside is endemic. Biometric check is a typically bureaucratic solution which an errant teacher can bypass making an entry into the school and then disappearing.
The other shocking practice is the proxy teacher arrangement. The proxies work in place of regulars who make some minimal payments to them. The proxy teachers have dubious academic qualifications and little teaching skills. Some others teach little in schools but take private tuitions at home. Such practices have been in vogue on a large scale and no effort has been made to end these.
Many teachers have fake degrees and many others poor academic record with no teaching skills. Most have sought entry into the profession through political patronage or through a hefty consideration. Postings to stations of choice carry a price.
Of nearly 13,400 primary schools (including private schools), most government schools don’t have basic infrastructure such as playgrounds, suitable classrooms, desks and even black boards. In some schools, classes are held under trees. Of the 6,483 middle and higher secondary schools, most science laboratories are ill-equipped or simply do not exist.
Consequently, the cumulative effect of all these factors results in 100 per cent failures in some government schools and most others produce indifferent results. From the Education Minister down to headmasters, there is no accountability. With poor standard of teaching, mass copying and cheating in examinations takes place, encouraged and abetted by teachers and parents.
Given such an environment, what standards, value system, character building, commitment and fostering of discipline is possible? With many vice-chancellors involved in malfeasance, registrars in corruption cases and political interference, the situation at the university level is no better. Of the five universities and four technical institutes (the better known in the province) not one makes, even a faint blip on the national radar. No college figures amongst the country’s top 100.
To be an Education Minister in Punjab one need not be educated. Tota Singh as Education Minister, not knowing English, did away with English in primary schools. This was when China and rest of India were furiously working to master the English language to find entry into the IT job market and services sector. When in South India, medical, engineering, IT colleges and other institutions were mushrooming all over, the Punjab government in the last decade of 20th century established the Martial Arts Academy.
Even now the political leadership is more keen to promote religious tourism and build hotels to that end rather than focus on more pressing issue of revamping education. The IT boom and auto-industry etc which created  millions of jobs in South India and elsewhere, completely bypassed Punjab due to the short sightedness of our educationists and successive governments in Punjab.
The rural Punjabi youth is poorly educated, has no job skills and is simply unemployable. Consequently, his ambition does not soar beyond joining some petty government job even for which political pull or monetary consideration comes into play. The state’s capacity to create new jobs is restricted to creating new districts, more bureaucracy and state police etc. to accommodate the rising unemployment. Such efforts do not even scratch the surface of this burgeoning unemployment problem. But creating unnecessary jobs is burdening the state exchequer with unproductive expenditure and pushing the province further into a debt trap.
No university is involved in research work, except the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, which has little to show. The Central Government did not locate even one IIT or IIM in Punjab, and the political class has had no idea what these institutions are all about. In bigger towns, teaching shops have mushroomed to prepare students for entry into professional colleges. Many students do succeed but their basic foundation remains weak. Thus one requires a microscope to locate some one, Punjab educated, in say, ISRO, Nuclear Research Centres, DRDO and other scientific institutions working on the frontiers of knowledge.
No industry has come to Punjab essentially on three counts. While every other state has been spreading red carpet for the industrialists and formulated industry-friendly policies, Punjab has been driving them away by spreading the red tape and holding scissors to downsize their pockets.
The other reason is the paucity of qualified, trained and skilled manpower in the province. The third is the pathetic state of infrastructure. So it has been a case of triple whammy, unfriendly policies, lack of qualified manpower and absence of infrastructure. Investments in realty are unproductive, create no wealth and job opportunities, builders take away money and leave behind labour colonies, which have come to dot all towns. With fragmentation of land holdings, overexploitation of land and the ever depleting ground water level, agriculture is on the decline and no more attracts the youth.
For Punjab, good education for the youth must be accorded the highest priority. Mere tinkering with the problem cannot set things right. We need out-of-box thinking and a major surgical operation. All this requires foresight and political will. Punjab has been left so far behind that only a concerted effort of five to seven years is required for the results to show. There is simply no quick-fix solution nor any time to lose.
The first requirement is to thoroughly screen the teaching staff at the primary, middle and higher secondary schools and technical institutions. Those who do not come up to an acceptable level should be offered attractive VRS or compulsorily retired with suitable emoluments.
The pay and emoluments of teaching staff should be substantially increased to attract the right material. Let’s lay down minimum academic qualifications for various levels of entry. Constitute large number of selection boards with educationists of repute on these, to select new teachers and allow no political interference in selection.
Training of teachers, old and new, should be taken in hand by rotating them through various types of capsules. Get suitable staff from South India to work in Punjab schools for three to five years to meet the shortages of suitable teachers.
Teaching of science and mathematics should be given priority and students encouraged to take up these subjects. In the emerging knowledge economy, proficiency in these subjects has become inescapable.
Revamping of education in the state, which includes building infrastructure at the schools requires large funds. Why not sell most state corporations and public enterprises and redeploy the monies so recovered for refurbishing the education system?
To meet the paucity of good teaching staff, high class teaching centres should be created and teaching from these projected through satellite or EDUSAT and received in schools on their video screens. This will also prove very useful for the teaching staff at the schools. Such a system requires considerable investment, but will prove the best and shortest way out of the current situation. Invite foreign universities of repute to set up colleges in the state.
Special incentives for the girl child should be introduced up to the higher secondary level at least. It should be mandatory for private schools to have appropriate infrastructure and minimum pay scales for teachers. They can be given two years to conform to these requirements, failing which they should be de-recognised.
Investing in education has a long lead time, but the returns on it unquestionably outweigh any near term investments. These investments of time and resources have to be made now, because time is fast running out.
The writer, who taught at the War College, School of Armoured Warfare, is a former Chairman, Army Public School, Dagshai

“Fall” is different this year

“Fall” is different this year
by Harwant Singh

IT is during “Fall” that we have been visiting America and are able to savour the “fall colours” for which this country is famous. Manhattan offers beautiful walks, not only in the Central Part but along Park Avenue, Fifth Avenue, Lexington Avenue etc.

Central Park is a riot of colour and along various Avenues it is the spectre of well-appointed stores with latest in clothes, jewellery and assortment of items for the rich and the famous. From Gucci to Cartier to Brioni, to Louis Vuitton or you name it, they are all there, though at a huge price, whereas Lexington Avenue offers more modest shopping. 

But this year we have been late in coming, and colours in the Central Park have lost their myriad hues and wear a drab wintry look. However, there is “fall” of a different kind. It is the “fall” in the economy. 

All those stores for the rich and others for not so rich are shorn of customers and wear a deserted look. Many have put up notices for discounted sales, while some others are simply down and out and ripe for outright closure and great picking.

The newspapers make gloomy reading with layoffs in thousands by the day: Industry after industry seems to be going under. No one appears to know how all this came about. There is a recall to the Great Depression of 1929 and we learn that Bernanke, Chairman Federal Reserve Bank of America is an authority on the Great Depression and will surely fix the economy. 

They say that perhaps “sub-prime lending,” in housing is the villain. But Greenspan, the previous Chairman of Federal Reserve Bank, was an authority on housing finance. So also were a bunch of CEOs, each an expert in his field, drawing fat salaries and millions in bonuses, whose companies have gone bust. 

America too has the largest number of Nobel Laureates in economics. But now
we are told the economics is not a precise science. No two economists agree
on any one economic issue. The debate often turns to free capitalism versus
controlled economy.
The motor car industry is on the brink of collapse and is in dire need of resuscitation in the form of bridge loan (whatever it means) of 25 million dollars. Oil prices had shot through the roof and the great American gas guzzlers had lost their attraction and now when the oil prices have come down there is no credit available and there is little money in the wallets. 

Law makers are not enthused with this fat demand of 25 million dollars. So uncertainty prevails as it does in most other areas. Auto manufacturers should have been working on fuel-efficient vehicles rather than on gas guzzlers. is the refrain .

Much hope is being pinned on the President elect, Mr Barack Obama, and his team. But the new Presidency is still many weeks away and much more “fall” may occur. Nor does the President elect have a magic wand to restore sanity and economic order in a jiffy.

The way Roosevelt handled the 1929 depression is now the subject of much study. But no two situations are ever exactly alike, so we wait out for the current financial turmoil to run its course.
Even if we are late for the “fall colours” this year, the Fall is there, though of a different type where the colours are missing but it does offer great bargains and is a shopper’s paradise. All you need is a fist full of dollars!




http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20081124/edit.htm#5

Grim picture

Grim picture

The article, “Services contempt of civil authority is not casual” (Oct 22) has caused much consternation amongst the services. Arundhati Ghose has tried to see ghosts where there are none. The article itself is highly biased.
We have the ambition to be a world economic power, but the vision and will of a third world country when it comes to creating strategic capabilities. Given the geo-strategic environments of the region and India’s unwillingness to rise to meet the emerging challenges, the picture is getting fairly grim by the day. To complete that picture, one may add the factor of de-motivation of country’s  armed forces.
Now that the fudging of the Cabinet decision by the Babus to advantage the IAS and the IFS has come to light (Outlook, Oct 13), would some one file a PIL against this forgery?
It also explains Ms Ghose joining the fracas. Had the Defence Minister told the Service Chiefs that the Cabinet decision was final, it would have left the chiefs two options to either resign in protest or accept half a century’s piled up degradations of their commands.
Lt-Gen HARWANT SINGH (retd), New York

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20081025/letters.htm

Siachen Allowance

Hike in Siachen allowance must be fair

We had taken up the issue for enhancement of Siachen allowance, in these columns, during the Fifth Pay Commission time. Ten years later, a simple issue took an hour of discussion, presumably because some members on the Cabinet Committee appear to have contested the need for increase. Even at the time of the Fifth Pay Commission, the present Finance Minister displayed pronounced bias against the defence forces.Any number of troops during their tenure at Siachen have suffered frostbite and other disabilities, and lost life by slipping into those innumerable crevasses, getting buried under avalanches and, of course, through high altitude sickness. 

There has been no experience worldwide on the long stay and the consequent physiological effect of prolonged exposure to low levels of intake of oxygen combined with extreme cold.
Nor has there been a comprehensive study in this field in India. The psychological effect did surface earlier in most cases and is in the knowledge of the Army. The range and extent of these afflictions set the scale of Siachen allowance quite apart from all other types of allowances.

The issue, therefore, is the fairness in the extent of increase when compared to the allowances made available to civil servants even when functioning under normal living and operating conditions.

Lt-Gen HARWANT SINGH (retd) Camp: New York