VEEKAY’S
NEWSLETTER -2017
How time flies. It is
said that time and tide wait for no man. We know that this is true, but for
some reason, the speed at which time passes does not appear to be constant. It
seems to slow down when we are in low spirits but rushes past in good
times. If you are lying on a hospital
bed, the days never seem to end. When your grand children come to visit you,
the days pass in a whirl and before you know it, it is time for them to leave. One
reads about the research being done to stop, or at least slow down the process
of aging. I hope that never happens. Just imagine what would happen if all of
us lived for a thousand years or forever. The Earth would become overpopulated
and many of us would have to migrate to other planets.
At one time, the only
way to keep all your family members and friends updated was the letter or post
card. Very few people had telephones in their homes and trunk calls were
frightfully expensive. Mobile telephony changed all that and one could now talk
to anyone he wished to whenever he
liked, even while on the move. Smart phones and social media have brought about
a sea change in the way we communicate. But it has also affected our lives in
more ways than one. Family members rarely spend time together, since everyone
is busy on his smart phone or I pad. Greeting cards on occasions such as
birthdays, anniversaries, festivals and the New Year are passé – it is more
convenient and cheaper to send a WhatsApp message. But the charm of a
handwritten note or card will probably never fade. A grandma or grandpa will
treasure a scrawled note from a little one and keep it between the pages of a
book or diary. The greetings sent by electronic means will be easily forgotten.
The year 2017 was eventful, like all the previous years.
The case filed against me by the CBI at the behest of RAW in 2007 in connection
with my book India’s External Intelligence – Secrets of the Research
& Analysis Wing (RAW), has not come to an end, but there seems to be
some light at the end of the tunnel. In 2008, Prashant Bhushan had filed a case
on my behalf in the Delhi High Court to quash the proceedings. For 5-6 years he
appeared in all the hearings. But in recent years, his involvement in PILs in
the Supreme Court left him with little time for cases in the High Court, and we
had to seek adjournments. About two years ago, with his concurrence, I sought
the help of Captain BK Subbarao, a retired Naval officer who was falsely
implicated in a case under the Official Secrets Act in the early nineties. He
fought his own case and was honourably acquitted after five years, of which 20
months were spent in jail. He is now a senior advocate and practices in the Supreme
Court. He agreed to help me and has been arguing my case in the Delhi High
Court. He has put in a prodigious amount of hard work and has put forth
arguments in a cogent and forceful manner. Thanks to his efforts, the judgement
has been reserved on 11th August 2017. I am keeping my fingers
crossed, since it may go one way or the other. Either way it goes, it may have
to finally be decided in the Supreme Court.
In addition to the above case, there are some others in various
courts and commissions in which I have to appear. For the record, there were 10
hearings in the High Court, 16 in the CMM’s court in Tis Hazari, three in the
Consumer Forum and three in the Information Commission, making it a total of
32. This is somewhat less than in previous years. Hopefully they will reduce in
the coming years and may finally come to an end, during my lifetime.
Towards the end of 2016, we were hit by the “demonetisation”
bomb. In 2017, there have been several others, of varying intensity. The GST
confusion is still to be resolved, with rates being changed several times. As a
consumer, I am still not sure whether I am being charged the correct rate or
more. In spite of ads that no GST is payable on MRP of a product, everyone is
merrily doing so and consumers have no choice but to pay up. The linking of the
Aadhaar with almost everything under the sun is another issue that is yet to be
resolved. The name written on my Aadhaar card is Vinay Kumar Singh. I have two
credit cards from Citibank and one from ICICI bank. The names on all three are
different. In one it is VK Singh, while in two it is Maj Gen VK Singh. When I
tried to link them to the Aadhaar card I did not succeed, as the names were
different. After dozens of phone calls and e mails, I have finally managed to
change the name on two of the credit cards. What happens to the others such as
PAN, voter card, telephone connections, ECHS card and so on. I wonder when and
how this will be resolved.
In recent years, I have noticed a marked change
in the standards of social behaviour and probity from what existed when we were
young. Sometimes, I wonder why people are becoming more greedy and dishonest. During
the recent past I have come across several instances of cheating, fraud and
other malpractices by various shops, dealers and tradesmen. In most of these
cases, exorbitant amounts have been charged for sale, service or repairs of
various appliances. Of course, such things have been happening earlier also,
but I find that it is now on the increase. It appears that senior citizens are
more vulnerable than others to such malpractices.
A few months back, I noticed that the 1.5 ton
split AC in my study had stopped cooling. Since my regular mechanic was sick, I
called up another mechanic. As the outdoor unit was on the terrace and I avoid
climbing stairs, I did not accompany him. He came down after a few minutes and
told me that the relay and contactor had to be changed. I told him to go ahead.
He went up again and came down after 10 minutes. The AC was now working. He
said he had changed the relay and the contactor. He gave me the parts that he
said he has taken out of my AC along with a bill for Rs. 2625. This included
Rs. 750 for the relay and Rs. 1875 for the contactor. I paid the amount in cash
and he went away.
I felt that the charges were a bit high. I
searched on the net and found that there was factory known as RR Enterprises in
Udyog Vihar, very close to where I live, that manufactured similar relays. I
spoke to the owner, who turned out to be Col RP Dhawan, an Army veteran like
me. I sent him a photo of the relay and asked him what it costs. He told me
that they sold it in bulk for about Rs.100.
I went across to the factory and he gave me a relay that was similar to
the one that the AC mechanic had removed. Then Col Dhawan asked me what I
wanted it for. I showed him a photo of the AC. He told me that as far as he
knew, there is no relay or a contactor in this model. He called someone from
his staff who confirmed this. They told me that the parts that the mechanic had
given me were definitely not from my AC.
I got a shock when I heard this.
I went home and rang up my regular AC mechanic,
who confirmed that there was no relay or contactor in the AC. Next day, I
called up the mechanic and told him that AC had again stopped cooling. He came
after a few hours. I went up with him to the terrace and asked him to show me
the relay and contactor that he had changed. He said it would take a lot of
time and he would have to open up everything. I told him to go ahead and I
would wait. He started making some other excuse. I then showed him the relay
that I had brought from RR Enterprises and its cost. I also told him what I had
been told by various people. I asked him to tell me what exactly he had done.
He confessed that a wire was burnt and he had just joined it and put a tape on
it. I told him that I would now report
the matter to the police, since this was an instance of fraud punishable under
Section 420 of IPC. He broke down and started begging forgiveness. He took out
the money that I had paid him and returned it. I asked him why he had done
this. He said he needed the money urgently and this was the first time that he
had done this. Of course, I did not believe him.
Another similar incident occurred about two months
back, when I bought an IPhone SE online, through Amazon. Earlier, I had an
IPhone 4S. I went to the Vodafone outlet in Ansal Plaza and got a new sim for
the IPhone SE. I then went to Reliance Digital
and requested them to transfer the contact numbers and photos from the
IPhone 4S to IPhone SE. They told me that the person who deals with IPhones was
on leave and advised me to go to another shop which is located nearby. They
worked on the phone for about 30 minutes and then gave it back, assuring me
that the contacts had been copied. They also asked me if I wanted a tempered
glass shield for the glass and a plastic cover for the back and sides. I agreed
to buy both items. I was given a bill of Rs. 1400. This included Rs. 400 for
transfer of contacts, Rs 600 for the tempered glass shield and Rs 400 for the
plastic cover. After reaching home I began checking if the contacts had been
copied. I found that many contacts were missing. Also, I was told by my son
that the tempered glass shield and plastic cover were available for about Rs
100 each in Sector 23 market and Vyapar Kendra in Palam Vihar. This was
confirmed by a couple of shops which I visited next day.
After a couple of days, my daughter and two
grandchildren (they live in Sector 45) came to visit us for the weekend. I
asked my granddaughter Mriggya (she is 15) if she could help me copy the contacts
and photos from the old phone to the new phone. She did it, in about ten
minutes. And all that it cost me was her favourite ice cream!
I am sure many other tradesmen and shopkeepers do
similar things. Because of lack of time and knowledge, most of us readily pay
whatever they ask us. As long as the appliance starts working, we are happy.
This only encourages dishonesty and should be brought to light, so that others
are not fleeced of their hard earned money. I usually sent a mail to all
residents of Palam Vihar - there are about 2000 at present- informing them of
such instances of cheating and fraud. Sometimes, I also send them photos of
these dishonest tradesmen, copied from my CCTV footage.
It is not only small traders and tradesmen who try
to cheat us. In 2012, I filed case in Consumer Forum in 2012 against IFB for
giving me a faulty washing machine. After almost four years, IFB paid me about Rs.
30,000, which included the cost of the machine, along with compensation,
litigation expenses and interest. In 2017, I was taken for a ride by Reliance Jio.
Since my DSL modem on the Airtel landline was giving very low speed, I bought a
JioFi 3 wireless router. I was told that it can be connected to 10 devices and
I can use data up to 1 Gb per day free for the next six months. It can also be
used with any 2G/3G smart phone and will give free HD voice and video calls. It
can also be used for TV.
Soon after I bought the JioFi 3, I noticed several
shortcomings. One could connect the
phone to the device on WiFi and use it for applications such as WhatsApp. For
voice calls, one had to download the Jio4GVoice, which I did. However, when I
tried to proceed, I got a message asking me to insert the Jio sim card in the
phone. We have two IPhones and I took both to the Jio store in Reliance Digital
in Ansal Plaza mall from where I had bought it. They told me that JioFi does
not work with IPhones and is meant only for Android phones. I was shocked to
hear this. This was not told to me when I purchased the phone. This is also not
mentioned in the Instructions supplied with the phone.
I then raised the issue with the Customer Care.
They replied that “Jio4GVoice is for SIM
based iOS devices (iOS 9.1 and above) on App Store. However, Jio4GVoice
iOS App will not work through JioFi. Jio4GVoice services on iOS client
will not work on WiFi network”. I have had several interactions with Care@jio.com. Their reply is always the
same. If Jio4GVoice does not work with the IPhone, why was
this not told to me when I bought the JioFi 3? It is obvious that Jio is taking
everyone for ride. They are indulging in unfair trade practices and making
false claims. They are liable for prosecution on this account. According to
Section 6 (b) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, the consumer has a right to
be given all information related to the product. This has not been done by Jio.
Another interesting case relates to the new car -
Nissan Terrano 1.6 XL (Petrol) – that I bought last year. Soon after purchasing
the car I noticed that the vehicle stalls and the engine switches off at slow
speed in heavy traffic, unless the accelerator pedal is kept pressed, even in
1st gear. I took it to the Nissan service centre several times but they were
unable to resolve the problem. I was informed that there was no accelerator
cable in this model as there was in other petrol driven cars. Hence the RPM
could not be changed. Then, one day my
wife took the car to the gym in the DSOI which is just about 500 mtrs from
our house. After she had finished, when
she tried to start the car, it just did not start. She gave me a call and I
went with my son and had a look. The self starter was working but the car
did not start. The dash board showed a warning sign, which I found was for
an electronic fault.
I spoke to the Nissan helpline and
they sent a cab for me and a tow truck for the car, which taken to the
Service Centre. Next day I rang up and asked him about the progress on my
car. I was told that they had still not been able to diagnose the fault but the
car was now starting and was in running condition. After a week, the car was
returned to me without the fault being diagnosed. After a few days, I was
informed that they had decided to change the wiring. The car was again picked up
from house and returned next day, after changing the wiring. Of course, they
were still not able to tell me what exactly was wrong, other than that it was
an ‘electrical fault’. During this period, I had been sending e mails to
everyone in the company, including the Managing Director of Nissan Motor India, Mr Arun Malhotra.
Mean while, I had been
consulting various owners and experts round the World on the net. One of them
was a site called “JustAnswer.com” that gives expert advice on such problems, on
payment. After depositing the required
amount I got a reply from a Nissan mechanic that the problem of stalling or no
start condition in Nissan cars is usually due to the crank position sensor. He
asked me to check and confirm if this had been done. In spite of several phone
calls, e mails and personal visits, the service centre was not been able to give
me this information. Finally, on 4/9/2017 I took the car to the service centre
and met Mr Anil Dimri, the General Manager. I asked him if the crank position
sensor had been checked. He was not able to give a specific answer. He told me
that they had carried out detailed checks according to the manual issued by
Nissan and were satisfied that now there is no fault with the car. I informed him
that the car was not picking up speed immediately after the accelerator pedal
is pressed and the problem of stalling in low speed was still there. He told me
that since there was no accelerator cable in this model he could not do
anything about it.
I realised that the
car sold to me by Nissan had a manufacturing defect which the company was
unable to rectify. I again wrote to the Managing Director apprising him that the
car has done just about 2700 Km in the 17 months since it has been with me.
This is because we are chary of taking it out of town due to the fear that it
may stop again. Hence, there is not much point in keeping the car that I cannot
use. I again requested him to take it back and refund the amount that I have
paid. After waiting for a month, I filed a complaint in the District Consumer
Forum in Gurgaon. It is known that Nissan Motors has often been plagued with
manufacturing defects resulting in cars being recalled. On 02/10/2017 I read
two news reports in the Indian Express and Times of India according to which
Nissan Motors has recalled 1.2 million cars in Japan after it discovered that
final vehicle inspections were not performed by authorised technicians. I wish
I had remembered my own experience with Nissan before deciding to buy this car.
In 1982 and 1983, while driving a Nissan Jonga in the Himalayan Rally, our team
was ‘timed out’ due to mechanical breakdowns.
While on the subject
of cars, I had to finally sell my 2008 model Innova, due to the ban on diesel
cars older than ten years in NCR. It was in excellent condition and had never
let us down, even during the long trips to Manali, Gulmarg, Yamnotri,
Uttarkashi and many other similar outings during our vacations. It was a sad
parting, but there was no choice. I intend buying another Innova soon. I will
probably now go in for a petrol version – one never knows, the NGT may ban all
diesel vehicles in the near future.
This year, we again missed our
annual holiday in the hills. With two of our four grandchildren in Class 10,
school activities and tuition leave them very little time for other pursuits.
Mriggya spent about two weeks in Sweden in the home of her friend Nellie who
also studies in Kunskapsskolan school. Nellie had stayed with Mriggya for two
weeks in 2016 during a visit arranged by the school. My
daughter Mauravi, her husband Vaibhav and their younger daughter Eshaana went
for holiday to Europe for a month. They flew to Germany, hired a car and drove
up to Sweden to pick up Mriggya. They drove back to Europe and spent about a
month there, before flying back to India. Naturally, the children missed
several days of school, and could ill afford to go on another holiday this
year.
An interesting event that I attended was the Military Literature
Festival at Chandigarh on 8th and 9th December. This was organised
for the first time, thanks to the initiative of the Chief Minister of Punjab, Captain
Amarinder Singh and the Governor, VP Singh Badnore. The Chief organiser was Lt
Gen TS ‘Mao’ Shergill and considerable assistance was provided by HQ Western
Command as well as the Government of Punjab. I was a member of a panel titled ‘General
Sagat Singh – The Legend.’ There were about 30 sessions at three different
venues, spread over two days, covering a wide range of subjects including
experiences of all post Independence operations. The Air Force was well
represented but for some reason, there was no one from the Navy, a lacuna that
the organisers have promised to correct in future events. A highlight was the interaction of school
children with war veterans and gallantry award winners, which included three
PVC awardees – Capt Bana Singh, Sub Yogendra Yadav and Nb Sub Sanjay
Kumar. Having attended the Jaipur Literature
Festival several times, I could not help comparing the two. Considering that the
Chandigarh festival was the first such event, it was a laudable attempt and I
am sure that the initial hiccups will be ironed out in subsequent years.
We are still staying at Abhimaur Vikum in Palam Vihar in Gurgaon. My son Abhimanyu lives on
the first floor with his wife Jasmine and their two children Bhuvanyu (15) and
Khushi (13), who go to the Sun City School. Bhuvanyu is a budding cricketer and
plays in State level tournaments for under 16 teams. This year, due to his
school and tuition commitments, he has not been able to play much cricket.
Mauravi and Vaibhav are still living in Trinity near the DLF golf course, where
they moved last year from Hextex Commune. Their two daughters, Mriggya (15) and
Eshaana (13), study at the Kunskapsskolan School. Vaibhav, a Captain in the
Merchant Navy is presently sailing. He was expected to return by 18th
December but will now join us on 31st December, on New Year’s Eve.
That about sums it up for the year 2017. This
is my twelfth newsletter (the first one was sent in 2006). Those who wish to read the previous newsletters
can do so by logging on to my blog veekaysnewsletter.blogspot.com.
My other blog that contains chapters from my books and articles on military
history is veekay-militaryhistory.blogspot.com.
Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and Very Happy and
Prosperous New Year.
Vinay and Kumud Singh
G-31, Palam Vihar, Gurgaon – 122017
Tele: 0124-4074077, 9873494521, 9899110913
25thDecember 2017
Post Script:
Kumud and I photographed each other with Salman on 19th
December 2017 at Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum in New Delhi.
