Veekays Newsletter: VEEKAY’S NEWSLETTER -2018

VEEKAY’S NEWSLETTER -2018

Dear Friends,

When I e-mailed my first newsletter in 2006 I wondered if anyone would read it. By then, the custom of writing letters had waned and so had the annual ritual of sending greeting cards for occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries as well as festive occasions such as Diwali, Christmas and the New Year. But I was pleasantly surprised when I received several comments from family members, colleagues and friends. As the years passed, the number of addressees in my mailing list increased and so did the comments. With the advent of social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter, even the e-mail is under threat. But I think I will continue with the practice. After all, not all books and articles written by authors are published, yet they don’t give up writing them!

While on the subject of publishing, I find that there have been many changes in the attitude and practices adopted by editors of newspapers, journals and publishing houses. On going through my old files, I find that in the 60s and 70s, every article, story or poem submitted was invariably acknowledged, even if it was not accepted. Even well known editors such as BK Karanjia (Filmfare) and Khushwant Singh (Illustrated Weekly of India) always responded, even though I was just a novice at that time. The same was true of magazines such as Eves Weekly, Femina, Readers Digest etc. Along with the decline and demise of these magazines, the standards of etiquette and courtesy towards authors have fallen. Today, you rarely get an acknowledgement for an article, unless you are a regular contributor. The lack of response is more galling than a rejection slip – with the latter, at least you can send the piece to another journal.

The demise of these journals has affected me in another manner. Recently, I decided to put all the articles and short stories that I had written on a blog called http://veekaysarticles.blogspot.com/. I managed to collect about 100 of them written in recent years. But what about the ones in the era before computers came into being? In the 60s, 70s and 80s, when everything was written in hand or on a typewriter, it is difficult to find copies now. Of course, I was able to get hold of all the articles published in the Signalman, but in spite of my best efforts, I have not been able to find those published in other magazines. Some libraries do have old copies, but they have not been of much help.

In my last newsletter I had mentioned that 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) was still on, but there seemed to be some light at the end of the tunnel. Alas, the tunnel is growing longer and longer. Arguments had been closed and the judgement reserved on 11^th August 2017 in the case filed by us in the High Court in 2008 to quash the proceedings. It has been almost a year and a half but the judgement has still not been issued. Of course, one can submit an application to the Chief Justice after six months, but this may result in the case being transferred to another judge. It has taken 10 years to reach this stage and I don’t relish the prospect of spending another 10 years going through the same mill. The silver lining is that because of the judgement being reserved, the other cases- one n the High Court and the other in the CMM’s court – are stayed.

The number of my visits to various courts has also reduced. In 2018 there were only four hearings in the High Court and 14 in the CMM’s court, mostly connected with cases which I had filed against the authors of books and articles containing similar information, some of which I had used in my book. Unfortunately, nothing seems to be moving, because of a provision in Section 13 (3) of the Official Secrets Act 1923, under which courts cannot take cognizance of an offence under the Act unless the complaint comes from the Government. This provision was inserted by the British to protect their officers from frivolous complaints. This archaic provision- in fact the OSA itself is a draconian law that contravenes the Right to Information Act. But it is unlikely to be amended, due to opposition from the intelligence agencies.

Some of you may recall that in 2005 my book LEADERSHIP IN THE INDIAN ARMY – BIOGRAPHIES OF TWELVE SOLDIERS was published by Sage Publications. A number of friends and colleagues had been advising me to get it translated in Hindi. I had asked the Publisher to get it done, or allow me to do it on my own. In 2016, during a visit to the Delhi Book fair, I found a Hindi version of my book in the Sage stall. They had translated it without even informing me! When I accosted the person in charge, he was very apologetic. He gave me a complimentary copy of the book, along with a gift hamper containing a calendar, diary etc.

When I went through the book at home, I was flabbergasted. The translation had obviously been done by using software or by a person from a non military background. As a result, certain portions of the book were not only incomprehensible but downright funny. For example, 7 Cavalry had been translated as 7 अश्वारोही सेना and 17 Horse as 17 घोड़े. Similarly, pistol had become बंदूक and medium guns were मध्यम बंदूकें. But the worse was that several people who were still alive had been shown as killed. This included Air Marshal Nanda Cariappa who was shot down in Pakistan during the 1965 war and Brigadier Rai Singh who was wounded during the operations in Nathula in 1967. In the book, they had been shown among the casualties, which includes both killed and wounded, but the translator assumed that they had been killed. It would have been very embarrassing if any of them were to read what is written about them. Naturally, they would assume that I am responsible for these gaffes.

I wrote a very strongly worded letter to Mr Vivek Mehra, who had replaced Tejeshwar Singh as the MD and CEO of Sage after the latter’s demise in 2007. I pointed out the mistakes in the Hindi translation and requested him to withdraw the book and get the translations done again. I suggested that he should stop sale of additional copies. Once the book has been reprinted after carrying out the corrections, he could ask those who have already purchased the book to return their copies, with an offer to replace them with the corrected version. If he could not do this, I requested him to omit my name as the author in future reprints. I closed the letter with: “Sage may not be worried about its reputation, but I am certainly concerned about mine.”

Soon afterwards, I received a reply from Mr Mehra, informing me that the entire unsold stock was being pulped, and they would get it translated again. I had suggested the names of a few retired Army officers who could do this. They got another translation done in 2017 and sent it to me for approval. I was surprised to find that this too had similar mistakes. When I contacted them, I learned that they had not been able to get in touch with the person I had recommended and had got it done by one of their regular translators. I then offered to correct it myself and that is what I did. Since I had never written in Hindi, I had to first download the Kruti Dev software. It took me some time but finally I learned how to use it. It took me almost six months to do the job. The Hindi version of the book was finally published this year. It is titled भारतीय सेना में नेतृत्व - बारह सैनिकों की जीवनी. Complimentary copies have been sent to the Colonels of the Regiment and Centre Commandants of the regiments of the twelve leaders covered in the book. Copies have also been sent to all Cat A institutions and prominent libraries.

In my last newsletter I had mentioned the problems I was facing with the Nissan Terrano 1.6 XL (Petrol) that I bought in 2016. It had several design defects that could not be rectified by the service centre. After exhausting all other remedies, I filed a complaint in the District Consumer Forum in Gurgaon in October 2017. After about 5-6 hearings, there was an interesting development. After the hearing on 26/03/2018, I was told to file the affidavit of evidence on the next date, which I noted as 26/04/2018. When I went to Forum that day, I was informed that the case was “dismissed in default for want of prosecution” on 24/04/2018. Apparently, the next date of hearing was 16/04/2018 and not 26/04/2018. Since I did not appear on that date, another date was given on 24/04/2018. When I did not appear on that date also, the case was dismissed.

I was convinced that there was something fishy. First of all, it is quite possible that the Reader had told me date as 26/04/2018 instead of 16/04/2018 by mistake. Of course, it could be on oversight on my part also. However, I found it strange that when I did not appear, the next hearing was held after just eight days. Before this, hearings were held with a gap of about a month or so. Anyway, after reading up some judgments of the NCDRC and Supreme Court, I offered to file a fresh complaint. However, the President told me that this was not permitted and I would have to file an appeal in the State Commission, in Panchkula.

I then went to Panchkula and filed the appeal on 17/05/2018. During the first hearing on 29/05/2018, the President, Justice Nawab Singh asked me why I had not filed a fresh complaint in Gurgaon itself. When I told him about the Gurgaon Forum not accepting my complaint, he was visibly annoyed. He said that I had the choice of either filing a fresh complaint in Gurgaon, or pursuing the appeal in the State Commission itself. I opted for the first course. He immediately dictated an order, permitting me to file a fresh complaint in the District Forum in Gurgaon. When I asked when I could get a copy of the order, he said “General, you keep sitting here. You will get a copy within half an hour”. He was as good as his word. He asked the Reader to type out the order, get it signed and stamped and give me a copy. Within 20 minutes I was given a copy of the order, along with a copy of the Supreme Court order. He also gave me his telephone number. He told me that if the President of the Gurgaon Forum still had some doubts and did not accept the complaint, I should call him on this number. I was pleasantly surprised by his positive attitude and consideration for veterans.

I returned to Gurgaon and filed a fresh complaint in the Consumer Forum. After the order of the State Commission, they did not have any problem in admitting the complaint. Meanwhile, I met a few experts in the field, some of whom I knew from the time when I used to drive in the Himalayan Rally in the early 1980s. I also met Tutu Dhawan, who told me that he knew from the day it was launched that the Terrano would not do well as it was under-powered. He advised me to get rid of the car as soon a possible. I then did some research on my own and found an interesting detail about the Terrano. It has an unladen weight of 1261 Kg and gross vehicle weight of 1755 Kg. Hence, the weight of load carried by the car including passengers, luggage, tools, accessories etc should not exceed 494 Kg. According to the Owner’s Manual of the car, the engine output and climbing ability are reduced with altitude. It recommends that the maximum load should be reduced by 10% at an altitude of 1000 metres and an additional 10% for each 1000 metres thereafter. Since most popular hill stations are at altitude of approx 2000 metres, this will result in a weight reduction of 20% and the gross weight will be around 1404 Kg only. Since the unladen weight of the car is 1261 Kg, the load that can be carried including passengers, luggage and tools will be only 143 Kg. Obviously, it will be difficult to use the car in the hills if it is fully loaded, with five passengers and luggage. This is a serious design defect in the car, which is being sold as an SUV. I have mentioned all this in the complaint filed in the Consumer Forum in Gurgaon. I am hopeful that it will be decided in a month or two.

In November I went to Hisar to attend the biennial reunion of the unit that I had raised in 1982. It was then known as 33 Mechanised Divisional Signal Regiment. It is now known as 33 Armoured Divisional Signal Regiment. We had a fairly good gathering, including several DOT ARENERS who were part of the team with me in 1982-85. Apart from me, there were five other ex-COs: KS Grewal, AK Saini, GS Bisht, BS Sandhu and Gautam Mahajan. In addition to the officers, there were some JCOs and OR also, though I wish their number could be larger. With the present day means of communication, it is easier to remain in touch. I am hopeful that the participation will improve as the years go by.

My second out station trip in November was to Dehradun, to attend the Valley of Words Arts and Literature Festival. It was a three-day event from 23-25 November covering a wide spectrum of subjects, in English as well as Hindi. There were several sessions dealing with military subjects. I was part of a panel along with Maj Gen Ian Cardozo and Maj Gen Randhir Sinh. The subject was India’s Wars since Independence and a tribute to Gen Zorawar Bakshi. The other two speakers spoke on the first subject while I was asked to speak about Zoru Bakshi. There was a bit or irony in this – both Cardozo and Randhir are from the 5th Gorkha Rifles, which was Gen Bakshi’s parent regiment. But since I had written his biography, I was asked to speak about him. As is well known, Gen Bakshi was the most decorated soldier in the Indian Army. Among his well known achievements are the capture of the Haji Pir pass in 1965 and Chicken’s Neck in 1971. An enigma which we have not been able to resolve is the story of how he was awarded the VrC in May 1948. At that time he was the BM of 163 Infantry Brigade (Brig Harbaksh Singh) which was advancing towards Tithwal, recapturing territory lost to the Pakistani tribesmen. Within five days, the Brigade captured Chowkibal, Nastachun Pass and Tithwal. It was poised to advance to Muzaffarabad when the operations were halted as a result of the UN resolution. Being a BM, Bakshi must have done something extraordinary to be awarded a VrC. I could not find any citation for the award nor was there any mention of his act in war diaries of the Brigade HQ as well as the four infantry battalions that formed part it. I wish I had asked Gen Bakshi himself about it. I had three sessions with him at his home in Defence Colony in 1995-96 when I was writing his biography. I think his innate modesty inhibited him from talking about it on his own, but I am sure he would have clarified the issue if I had asked him.

In November, there were several events in Delhi connected with commemoration of 100 years of the end of World War I. On 9^th Nov there was an international seminar at the USI on “India and the Great War. This was followed by several events organised jointly by the British High Commission and the USI to commemorate India’s contribution to the Great War. On 10^th Nov there was a concert and a reception at the residence of the British High Commissioner. The highlight was a performance by the band of the Royal Gurkhas in the UK. Digitised copies of the war diaries of all Indian units that took part in WWI were handed over to representatives of the respective regiments by the High Commission. Next morning, there was a service of remembrance at the War Cemetery. All these events were attended by a large number of serving officers and veterans, some wearing the medals of their fathers and grandfathers on the right side of the chest.

Though I was afflicted by a host of medical problems this year, I am purposely not mentioning any of them. At our age, we all suffer from some ailment or the other. But I would like to mention something that may help others suffering from spinal problems or pain in the back. I suffer from lumbar canal stenosis with prolapsed disc in 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th lumbar vertebrae. Many years ago, I realised that whenever I sat on a hard seat or a low seat, I would have severe pain in my leg. I avoid sofas with soft cushions and prefer to sit on a dining chair. But sometimes, one cannot find a chair or seat that suits you, such as in a taxi, a hospital waiting room or a court room. I think I have finally found an answer. While browsing the net, I came across a company known as GRINHEALTH that makes seats and cushions for those afflicted with such problems. I ordered a coccyx plus seat cushion that is actually meant for people who have pain in the tail bone. I am using it for the last six months and I find it a Godsend. You can use it on any chair, including the car seat when you are driving. If you don’t like it, they are ready to change it or refund the cost. It is quite light in weight and has a carrying case with a zipper, similar to the ones used to carry coats and suits.

This year, we again missed our annual holiday in the hills. We had plans to visit Kasauli and Shimla towards the end of May but it did not go planned. One reason was the extreme heat and the other was the commitments of the grand children. Finally, only my son-in-law Vaibhav accompanied me to Kasauli. After spending three days there, we were all set to leave for Shimla when there was an unforeseen development. Due to a severe water shortage in Shimla, there was an appeal from the residents to visitors not to come there. We were booked for stay in the A Mess and though the Mess NCO confirmed that they were still getting water, we decided drop the plan and returned to Gurgaon.

We are all planning to leave for Jaipur shortly after Christmas. Kumud’s brother, Col Jitendra Singh Nathawat, has converted their ancestral house, Devi Bhawan into a heritage hotel - Bharat Mahal Palace – and that is where we will be staying. Kumud’s sister lives next door, and so do many of her cousins. Kumud’s brother has recently built a country resort called Chomu Bagh very close to the Chomu Fort and Palace, where Kumud’s ancestors lived. The grand children are naturally more excited than their parents and grandparents. They will get to spend time with their first and second cousins,

We are still staying at Abhimaur Vikum in Palam Vihar in Gurgaon. With two malls – Ansal Plaza and Global Foyer – coming up nearby, the traffic situation has become chaotic. The only consolation is that the DSOI next door has an excellent gym, which Kumud and I visit every morning. My son Abhimanyu lives on the first floor with his wife Jasmine and their two children Bhuvanyu (16) and Khushi (14), who go to the Sun City School. Bhuvanyu was a promising cricketer and played in State level tournaments for under 16 teams until last year. 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 in 2016 from Hextex Commune. Their two daughters, Mriggya (16) and Eshaana (14), study at the Kunskapsskolan School. Vaibhav, a Captain in the Merchant Navy is presently having a break and will be joining only after a month or so. Nowadays, he has to schedule his breaks to coincide with the kids’ holidays or exam schedules (he is also their maths tutor).

I can go on and on but I think it is time to close. This is my twelfth newsletter. Those who wish to read the previous newsletters can do so by logging on to my blog veekaysnewsletter.blogspot.com.

My second blog that contains chapters from my books and articles on military history is veekay-militaryhistory.blogspot.com. The third blog that has most of my articles is http://veekaysarticles.blogspot.com.