Articles By Lt Gen Harwant Singh
Damaging a great institution
By: Lt Gen Harwant Singh | Date: 08 Nov , 2013
As compensation for limited promotions, early retirement and to soften blows of the earlier Pay Commissions, the service chiefs demanded ‘running pay band’ and ‘rank pay’ from the 4th Central Pay...
Drop in standards of probity in military
By: Lt Gen Harwant Singh | Date: 25 Oct , 2013
Recent report in the media brings to light that nearly 180 defence personnel, that is, serving, retired and widows, had submitted false affidavits to HUDA for favour of allotment of plots from...
Military discipline: recast officer cadre
By: Lt Gen Harwant Singh | Date: 15 Oct , 2013
Of late a number of units have experienced trouble between officers and their men. The disturbing aspect is that there have been scuffles between officers and men, which was quite unheard of in...
From military coup to toppling J&K government
By: Lt Gen Harwant Singh | Date: 23 Sep , 2013
Not long ago a national newspaper, of considerable standing, ‘in headlines’ on its front page had created a stir amongst the public by raising the specter of a military coup, engineered by...
Don’t over react to incidents on the LoC
By: Lt Gen Harwant Singh | Date: 10 Aug , 2013
Recent incident of killing of Indian soldiers along the Loc in J and K, has been, somewhat, blown out of proportion, which could possibly impact on the efforts to improve India – Pak...
Pakistan needs firm handling not niceties
By: Lt Gen Harwant Singh | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 07 Aug , 2013
The recent killing of four soldiers and one junior commissioned officer near the LoC in the Poonch sector of J&K is yet another serious violation of peace along this line. For Pakistan army to...
Blood trail in Red Corridor
By: Lt Gen Harwant Singh | Date: 01 Jun , 2013
The Maoist attack in Bastar on a Congress convoy was one of the more serious incidents. It has been variously described as attack on the nation, an attack on the very idea of India and a...
Revival of Insurgency in J&K
By: Lt Gen Harwant Singh | Date: 15 Mar , 2013
Various terrorist groups operating from Pakistan and the Taliban in Afghanistan have declared that once the America ‘draws down’ its troops from the region, they would shift their focus...
Defence budgets and national security
By: Lt Gen Harwant Singh | Date: 13 Mar , 2013
For over a decade, allocations for defence in the national budgets have been below 2 percent of GDP. Towards the end of each financial year, instead of allotting additional funds, as regularly...
Justice Verma Committee Report and AFSPA
By: Lt Gen Harwant Singh | Date: 04 Feb , 2013
Justice Verma Committee was appointed after the Delhi rape case and the agitations that followed in Delhi and elsewhere in India. The Committee was required to put up recommendations to modify...
Don't dishonour a brave soldier
By: Lt Gen Harwant Singh | Date: 24 Jan , 2013
The news that the gurdwara in Panchkula ( Haryana ) had refused to hold the ‘Barsi ‘ ceremony of late Lt-Gen RS Dayal, MVC, has sent shock waves amongst the serving and the retired defence...
Pak savagery on the Line of Control in J&K
By: Lt Gen Harwant Singh | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 16 Jan , 2013
Pakistani troops crossed the Line of control ( LoC ) in the Poonch Sector of J and K and killed two India soldiers. It is not so much the killing but the savage act and heinous crime of mutilating...
AFSPA in J&K: Selective withdrawal may be harmful
By: Lt Gen Harwant Singh | Date: 08 Jan , 2013
Speaking to the Press on December 21, 2012, Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister of J and K, once again demanded selective withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from certain districts...
Military and the CAG audit reports
By: Lt Gen Harwant Singh | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 12 Dec , 2012
Military expenditure is subject to audit, similar to that of any other government department. Such checks are essential to guard against wasteful expenditure. CAG has generally done a good job...
There are no 'Menial' jobs in the army
By: Lt Gen Harwant Singh | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 16 Nov , 2012
Some time ago, a newspaper of considerable standing put out on its front page a story that around a dozen soldiers from a unit at Patiala deserted because they were made to do some ‘menial’...
Suicides in the military
By: Lt Gen Harwant Singh | Date: 10 Oct , 2012
Of late, incidence of suicide in the military, have been highlighted by the national press and the issue also came up for discussion in the Parliament. The yearly average of suicides in the...
MoD's animosity with the Military
By: Lt Gen Harwant Singh | Date: 18 Sep , 2012
On September 4, 2012 the Supreme Court of India, in a land mark judgment, has finally and irrevocably uncovered the true face of Ministry of Defence (MoD). The 4th Central Pay Commission (CPC)...
India incapable of conducting Op Geronimo
By: Lt Gen Harwant Singh | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 11 Sep , 2012
Consequent to American operation ‘Geronimo,’ at Abbottabad in Pakistan to eliminate Osama bin Laden, many in civil society have been asking whether India can go ahead with a similar...
Is Ministry of Defence anti-Military?
By: Lt Gen Harwant Singh | Date: 09 Sep , 2012
It has been the stance of the MoD to work against the interests of the military. This sustained attitude and practice of the MoD has created deep fissures in its relationship with the military....
Can committee of secretaries do justice to the armed forces?
By: Lt Gen Harwant Singh | Date: 06 Aug , 2012
Often the political executive appears to find solutions to difficult problems with the help of a group of secretaries. In some cases, this group of secretaries may not have complete knowledge and...