We've recently witnessed the tragedy related to the destruction caused by the earthquake in Nepal. An estimated 7000 people died in Nepal (official estimates are normally lower than actual numbers). The physical damage to property and infrastructure can only be imagined. The impact of the quake with an epicentre hundreds of miles away, was felt in Delhi. Strong tremors, buildings swaying and people evacuating themsleves (in a chaotic arbitrary manner) - all of this was seen right here in Delhi. This happened because our Capital city happens to be in the earthquake 'danger zone'. This means earthquakes most likely can occur in Delhi and many other cities in North India. Consider this - if an earthquake of intensity 7.5 happens under the surface of the Earth right underneath Delhi, about 80% of the City would be brought down. This includes most buildings in the NCR, including unauthorised and authorised constructions, high rises and so on. An estimated 8 million people wou...
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So we saw two instances of violence in Delhi the last two days. One resulting in murder and the other related to a police officer actually breaking the law instead of enforcing it. In the first case a young brash teenager was accidentally knocked down by a DTC bus. The resulting road rage was of such extreme proportions and further heightened by instigation by the kid's own mother, that he violently attacked the driver in the most gruesome manner, resulting in his death. The man was in his 40s, head of his family and the bread earner. Obviously, the kid flew into a rage virtually losing his mental balance. His intent therefore was not just to hit but to kill. His actions partly were translated from a thought process that he could teach the victim a lesson, and get away with it, in a Country which is virtually lawless. While he has been arrested, we all know how long it will take our criminal justice system to punish the murderer. In the second instance, a lady scooterist is att...
Think of Pakistan today, and this is the image that comes immediately to mind. A Country that harboured and bred terrorists of all kinds in the last many decades. And by Country, I mean those who matter - the politicians, and the military. The 35 terror camps that exist today, do so, because the intent was to cause harm through 'low intensity' and 'proxy' war against India - an campaign that commenced as a consequence of the vision of General Zia-ul-Haq when he was President and Chief Matrial Law Administrator of Pakistan. India was made out to be, and is still perceived as Pakistan's enemy No.1 Pakistani's were generally unfazed and not bothered till the time the terrorists kept attacking and killing thousands of innocents in Kashmir. The terror game was extended to other parts of India. Then 26/11 happened, perhaps the most bold and audacious attempt, that left 160 people dead. All concrete evidence pointed towards terrorists sitting insi...
Wing Commander KK (Jumbo) Majumdar was one of India's first decorated air warriors. After completing his training at the RAF's flying school at Cranwell (UK, 'Jumbo' was posted to the No. 1 Squadron, in the mid 30s. While commanding No 1 squadron as Squadron Leader, Jumbo saw action in the Burma campaign. For his personal acts of bravery, Jumbo was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. During the Allied campaign in Europe, Jumbo volunteered to fly with the No. 268 Squadron in Europe. For his acts of valor in the European theatre, Jumbo was awarded a 'Bar' to his DFC. Jumbo was the only Indian Air Force Pilot to have been awarded the DFC twice. In 1945, while flying a Hawker Hurricane in an air display, Jumbo's aircraft crashed and he was killed. If he had survived then, there is little doubt that Jumbo would have moved on to the very top position in the Indian Air Force. The story is not so much about highlighting Jumbo's exploits in the 2nd ...
School mates..... People who grew up with, since you were less than 10 years old. Boys with whom you sat in class, played hockey, cricket and soccer in the school play field. Friends - with whom you teamed up to play pranks in class, and remained firmly united in not letting out who the culprits were. Imagine being connected to most of them, even after three decades have passed since you left school! This is the Class of '79 of Mt. St. Mary's School, Delhi Cantt , where I spent 11 of the most enjoyable yet significant years of my life. I belong to that lucky group of friends who have remained connected all these years. Better still, this group of friends meet regularly - now with spouses, every once in a while. For those few hours when we meet, each one of us goes back to that day and age, when we were 15, 16 years old. With the old bonds firmly in place, we connect to each others' present lives, and the trials and tribulations each one of us is p...
1. Flight Lt. Vijay Kumar Wahi - 10144 F(P) Vikram Wahi was my class mate in Class V, in 1971. When the Indo-Pak war broke out in December 1971, our Class V final examinations were on. Many 'fauji' families had to grapple with the stress of these exams, with the war as a backdrop. There were two papers each day, and between them, during the break, I remember seeing the Air Force's fighers landing close by at Palam, after a Combat Air Patrol sortie... On the 7th of December, 1971, we - all 10 year olds were busy writing whatever we had crammed, in our answer sheets, when all of a sudden, we noticed some commotion at the back of the classroom. We saw Vikram Wahi, breaking down, and sobbing away inconsolably. We ten year olds did not quite comprehend the problem, and got back to our answer sheets. That was the last we saw of Vikram Wahi. Till this day, I do not know where Vikram went, and where he is. On the 6th of December, Vikram's family received the news t...
It was November 4, 1977. A TU 124 passenger jet, of the Indian Air Force's elite communication squadron took off from Palan airport at 5.00 pm. The communications squadron better known as the VIP squadron, is tasked with carrying VIPS from one destination to another. Obvioulsy, the squadron consists of the 'cream' of the IAF, as far as both - 'men' and 'machines are concerned. The passengers on board this flight were non other than Morarji Desai, the Prime Minister of India, his son - Kantibhai Desai, the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh - Mr. PK Thungon, and the Chief of the Intelligence Bureau - Mr. John Lobo. The crew of the flight consisted of Wing Commanders Clarence D'Lima and Joginder Singh, Squadron Leaders Mathew Cyriac, VVS Shankar and OP Arora, five in all. Around the time when the flight reached Jorhat, it developed engine trouble, and lost considerable height. At this point the pilots reached the conclusion that crash landing the plane w...
The Lies and Truth about the World's greatest Fighter Ace - Squadron Leader MM Alam (SJ and bar), Pakistan Air Force
Pakistan attacked in India in 1965, the second time after independence, with Kashmir as the objective. The fighting initially was confined mainly to the ground. But as the war progessed, the two Countries began air operations against each other. Pakistan was confident of its air superiority, the Air Force havind equipped itlself with the then 'state of art' fighters like the F-86 Sabre and the F-104 Starfighter . By contrast, the Indian Air Force, had mostly old and aging aircraft in its fleet - like the Vampires (the first jet fighter ever, in the IAF's fleet, was still on active duty in 1965), Orugans (renamed 'Toofanis' ), Mysteres and some part of the fleet comprising of relatively modern planes like the Gnat and the Hunter . At the end of the war, both India and Paksitan made claims and counter claims as to which Air Force had won. The Pakistani's claimed between 60 - 100 Indian aircraft destructions, whereas India claimed a lower attirtion rate (l...
It is September, and in one week’s time, it would be the 46th anniversary of Indian’s second war with Pakistan after Independence. It is befitting then, that we remember those brave soldiers who fought this war bravely, some of them laying down their lives to thwart Pakistan’s designs to once again forcibly take away the Region of Jammu and Kashmir. The first in the series of remembrances is that of Company Quartermaster Havildar Abdul Hamid, who belonged to 4 Grenadiers, who fought gallantry to thwart a massive enemy armoured offensive with just RCL guns, in the Punjab sector, and was successful in restraining the attack and holding back the enemy. In the process Abdul Hamid laid down his life. Company Quartermaster Havildar Abdul Hamid, PVC It was early September 1965 and Pakistan had just launched an intense offensive in J&K (Operation Grand Slam) aimed at capturing Akhnoor in Jammu. The objective was to cut off communications and supply routes to the Indian...
This is how I view the ‘Anna agitation’, based on my understanding of the current situation. There are enough laws existing to govern our Country. Implementation and enforcement of the laws, and judicial reforms is the need of the hour. One more law - an anti corruption law, will in no way guarantee eradication of corruption in the Country. Creating an unaccountable ombudsman will add another such check post unless you believe, like Hazare, that Gandhian purity can keep the Lokpal’s office forever clean. We are in a sense, barking up the wrong tree. Envisioning a system whereby the Lokpal - an all powerful body who will oversee and prosecute the Prime Minister, all politicians, the entire judiciary, and the rank and file of the Government machinery. Team Anna has proposed a way by which the Lokpal and the Lokayukt will be appointed, but there is no answer to the question " Who supervises the Lokpal'? Imagining an end to corruption by making a Lokpal sit in judgment over e...
The title of this post is a well known quote of ‘Alexander The Great’ . Very apt - at a time when a good part of the Country’s population has been swept with the sentiment surrounding Anna Hazare’s ‘fast unto death’ as a means to force the Government to get the Lokpal Bill moving. People of all age groups and from all walks of life came forward to support Anna Hazare’s battle to eradicate corruption. All these people are convinced that all Netas and Babus in this Country are completely corrupt, and all Indians have suffered at their hands. This is the time and the opportunity to being them to book. So all these people gathered at India Gate, shouted, cursed the corrupt politicians and the government, raised slogans. And when the Government ‘gave in’ to the demands of the fasting Gandhian, it was victory for everyone ! According to this group, something really good had happened, at least a beginning, and now there was hope. “How naive people could be?” – I had thought then, and now. W...
Twenty seven years later, I wonder why I let myself be appointed as Member of the Students Union Council of St Stephen's College, when I entered my MSc Class. After having fooled around for three years it should have been high time that I settled down and did the MSc course some justice. But that's not the story here... The highlight of any Students' Unions' tenure was the organization of the winter festival or "Winterfest" We decided to present to the College and to the University, the best College festival organized yet. As part of the cultural programs we decided to invite Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia the renowned flautist, accompanied by Ustaad Zakir Hussain on Tabla. For another evening - and this was a first for the College and for Delhi University - the most popular semi classical artists on the scene at that time - Jagjit and Chitra Singh. Those were old times. Hariprasad Chaurasia and Zakir Hussain very kindly agreed to a fees of Rs 25000 which was s...
T here’s hardly anyone who hasn’t seen the famous Bollywood blockbuster “Border” released in 1997, set to the story of the Battle of Longewala. Thanks to the movie it is now one of the most well known battles of the 1971 Indo Pak war. It was at Longewala that the enemy made his biggest armoured thrust with a view to capture a large chunk of the Indian territory. The Pakistani thrust was completely and comprehensively blunted. Upto here, we all know the story. But who was responsible for blunting the Pakistani attack? This is where there are differences in versions…. In the movie “Border” it was Major Kuldeep Singh Chandpuri and his small force of 120 brave men, who resisted the Pakistani onslaught throughout the night by fighting fiercely, till the Air Force arrived at first light the next morning, to assist them. The Air Force however, has a different story to tell. Here is the story – told by none other than Air Marshal MS Bawa – PVSM, AVSM, VM (Retd.), who was the Base Command...
Physical and moral courage are seldom found in abundant measure, in the same person. Yet Lt. General Bhagat was an example of this. For the former, he won the Victoria Cross during the Second World War. For the second, it is said that there are innumerable instances to recount. P.S. Bhagat was born in 1918, and joined the 10th course at IMA in 1937. Although he was not able to attain the highest rank – that of the Army Chief, and retired as Army Commander, there is little doubt in Army circles even today, that if there was an officer deserving of this position, it was Prem Bhagat. Apart from a truly courageous soldier and and officer, both mentally and physically, Prem Bhagat was known to be a true soldier’s general. There are numerous instances that prove this – sometimes his behaviour extending to what may be termed as ‘carrying it a bit too far…’ In 1970 Prem Bhagat was GOC 11 Corps at Jullundar. One young Captain who as posted in the same Station, and who was newly married, was...
INS Khukri in 1971 INS Khukri, was a Type IV ASW Frigate belonging to the 14 Squadron of the Western Fleet of the Indian Navy during the 1971 War with Pakistan. She was the only Indian sea vessel that was destroyed by the enemy, and sank off the coast of Diu, on the night of December 9, 1971, taking down with her about 178 sailors and 18 officers including Khukri's Captain - Mahendra Nath Mullah. The sinking of INS Khukri continues to haunt the minds of military strategists and planners even today. Because, this was the only instance where the otherwise highly effective planning and tactics of the Indian Navy like those used to sink the Ghazi and for the Karachi attacks, did not come into play. I have tried to put together, a few critical factors that led to this incident which was a huge irreparable loss: 1. Pakistan Navy's strength lay in her new "Daphne Class" submarines, three in number, acquired recently from France (and funded by the United States). The ...