Remembering the Battle of Jutland * 70

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The battle of Jutland was fought on 31 May 1916. Exactly 100 years have elapsed since then. This battle is considered the biggest engagement between surface ships in the world. The battle off the coast of Denmark was between the old protagonists Germany and Great Britain. The German navy deployed 99 warships and the British navy could muster 151. The battle lasted 36 hours and ended with both sides claiming victory. Over 100,000 sailors were part of this battle. The Royal Navy suffered the greater number of casualties and lost more ships, but they bottled the German fleet in the ports of Germany. The battle, though a tactical victory for the Germans, was in real terms a strategic victory for the Royal Navy. This momentous event in British history was commemorated by a morning service at St. Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall.

The ceremony.

The event was celebrated with a lot of fanfare. Commemorative events included a service at St. Magnus Cathedral, on Orkney Mainland and a wreath laying ceremony at sea.  A commemorative event was also held at the Royal NavyCemetry at Lyness on the island of Hoy, where nearly 4000 sailors are buried. Invitation for the function was sent to descendants of the sailors who died during the battle of Jutland. The Germans also had their own  program to commemorate their victory in the battle at Wilhelmshaven, home to the German fleet and the Laboe Naval Museum  in Kiel. The  event has been great importance and a waterfall of red color-ceramic poppies will tumble down  from the walls of St Magnus from 22, April -12, June. The British Prime Minister David Cameron attended the ceremony. 94-year-old old Prince Philip was to attend the ceremony, but ill health prevented him from attending the event. The German Chancellor Joachim Gak also graced the celebrations. These celebrations are part of the promise of the British government to remember the fallen soldiers and sailors during the first World #war.

Britain honors its past.

the past always confronts us. Emperor Wilhelm ( kaiser) and Hitler tried to dominate Europe and the only nation that stood between them and domination was England. With the assistance of the USA, they were defeated soundly. However, the world has changed and now what the earlier German regimes could not achieve has been attained by Merkel's Germany which today runs entire Europe on its economic might. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that England wants to leave the EU. The British are a proud people and now they are highlighting their achievements  during the First World War that  was fought 100 years back. The celebrations of the battle of Jutland can be seen in this background

Love and gods will ** 85

India, particularly in the city of Mumbai is a small tea stall run by poor women. These stalls are allotted by the government and they serve a definite purpose in society. Years back I had an emotional encounter with a young girl who ran a tea stall. I could never locate her again as she seemed to have vanished in the depths of this great city.

It all started in the month of June, the period when the monsoon is in full force. I drove to my office, when thunder boomed and boomed again. Torrential rain commenced and I thought it a good idea to stop the car and wait for the rain to stop. I looked around and through the rain espied a small Jhunkar tea stall. I rushed to the stall and saw it was run by a young girl. She was perhaps about 22 or 23, but she looked lovely in her sari that clung to her body.

She served me tea and hot samosa. I was loathed to leave and continued sitting there. We got into a conversation and she told me she was married for 3 years and had no kids.

This was the beginning and almost everyday I visited the tea stall. A strange intimacy developed between us and a few days hence , I became a more frequent visitor to her stall. One day I found her crying and she told me she had been beaten by her inlaws as she didnt have a child. Spontaenously I gathered her in my arms to console her. The effect was electric and we ended kissing each other

Love blossomed, at least for me and we had regular trysts in the stall. I was swept by passion and this continued for 2 months. One fine day, I entered the stall, but could not see my girl. An old woman sat and she prepared tea. I casually asked where the young girl was. The woman beamed and told me god had blessed her and she had gone to her village.

I sat stunned, wondering what to do. I didn't even know her name or address. I wondered what lady meant by the words ” blessed by God”. I had a lurking fear of what it meant, but fate had decreed and I had to obey. Memories die hard.

WWII and the Rail line from Thailand to Burma

After the battle of Midway where the Imperial navy suffered a catastrophic defeat, the Japanese had great difficulty in transporting men and material to Burma, where the Imperial army was fighting the British Indian army by sea, as their carrier fleet had been annihilated. This led them to plan to construct a rail line through the thick jungles to Rangoon. It was an arduous task and the Japanese thought it fit to use Allied Prisoners of War as labor for this construction. One of the most difficult stretches was across the river at Kwai. All around the river there were dense tropical forests and cutting through the forest and constructing the bridge over the river was a very difficult task.

The Japanese had a paucity of time and they wanted the bridge and rail line ready in as a short time as possible. this led a very harsh regimen for the prisoners who were made to work 12 hours a day with hardly any food to eat. This aspect of Japanese character has baffled me as they studiously ignored the Geneva Convention on POWs. The Japanese soldiers overseeing the construction treated the prisoners badly and many died during the course of the construction. it was a terrible time and after the war, the Allies tried many of the Imperial army officers and soldiers and hanged many of them.

The Bridge is still there and is a tourist site. There is also an excellent museum that showcases the construction of the bridge. All in all, it’s a place worth visiting.

South China Sea; Muscle power matters ** 88

South China Sea is an area of great economic importance. experts believe that there is more oil under the sea bed here than the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia. Obviously, China wants to appropriate the entire area as part of its economic zone. The Philippines and Vietnam are also having a claim to this area, but the Chinese have rejected their claim and by sheer muscle power have begun to exercise their claim over this sea. The Philippines are the hardest hit as they do not have the military power to match China and aware of the fact their president has stated that he will not go to war with China on this issue.

China continues its build up in the area and is like a bull in a China shop. The Philippines had approached the International Court and the tribunal has given a verdict that the sea is not the preserve of China. It has rejected the Chinese claim over the South China Sea. The Chinese have however rejected the international tribunal’s verdict and mocked the world. The USA for all its power and the defender of the Philippines have been unable to stop the Chinese from continuing its build-up and claiming the entire sea as their exclusive economic zone. The situation is fraught with risk and one wonders what will happen in future. can the world allow China to bully the world? the UNO and the USA must answer this question

Army Top Brass Responsible for present Imbroglio

But there is a bigger question and this  needs to be discussed by me. In fact a veteran gave me his input which I am presenting along with. The gist went something like this. The Indian army and sister services  and their  perks have been gradually eroded since 1947. Yet the army top brass themselves allowed it to happen. Why all this whining and crying now on OROP etc after 69 years when the defense top brass always said 3 bags full? Look, all the big names  and that includes Cariappa, Maneckshaw, and et all. They are culpable.

Talking of civil control in a country steeped in poverty is just hogwash and the situation in such countries is different from the developed nations.Here if the army cannot assert its privileges despite being the largest organized force, something is basically wrong. Has it something to do with  Hindu servility that has become ingrained in the army?. I cannot comment as I will have to study this comment. But the veteran was right.

 I wonder how many would like to comment. Yes, there will be no dearth of opponents but can we shy away from the fact that the present imbroglio is our own doing?

Horse Racing in Dubai ** 82

Horse Racing in Dubai

 Everybody loves to watch a horse race and some even bet money on horses that race. One cannot associate a horse race with betting in an Islamic nation. Yet in Dubai which is an Islamic nation, horse racing is allowed. In fact, Dubai has one of the best horse racecourses in the world. A retinue of workers from India and Pakistan help maintain this course. The race course itself is beautiful and it’s a tribute to the ingeniousness of the owners, the Dubai government that they have been able to transform a desert into a green race course that could almost give you a feel that you were in England.

Apart from having one of the finest race courses, Dubai also hosts the richest race in the world. The prize money is close to $ 30 million and makes it the richest race in the world. Known as the Dubai World Cup, the race attracts enthusiasts from all over the world. Some of the best race horses from the USA take part. I had witnessed the 2013 race when the American horse “Animal Kingdom” ridden by Jockey Jel Rasarion won the honors. He is an American

The F-117 Night Hawk a Stealth Fighter to Remember * 54

World's first Stealth Fighter

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_F-117_Nighthawk

 When I visited the USA in 1998 as part of the air team we were quartered at one of the USAF bases. At one end (that area was kept off bounds) we could see dark bat shaped planes. They were part of the secret arsenal of the USAF and from my knowledge; I knew that this was the famous stealth fighter. It was given the number as F-115 and called Night Hawk. The plane at that time was the most advanced in the world and nobody had anything like it.

 The Night Hawk cost 111 million dollars apiece and was discontinued in the USAF after 25 years and replaced with the F-22 or Raptor.  Never the less the F-117 was something unique and incorporated the stealth technology. This technology was published in a research paper presented in 1964 by a Russian scientist named Pykr. The Russians ignored this paper but the engineers at Lockheed studied the paper in detail. In effect, the Prof has stated that a plane could be made that could allow the radar waves to bounce off the plane and thus render the aircraft invisible to detection by radar. it could only be sighted visually.

 It meant making a plane with an unconventional design > it had to have angles of construction, that were of a particular slant so that the radar waves could bounce off. The plane thus had the look of a bat and was christened the Night Hawk. The Night Hawk first flew in 1981 and a few years later was inducted into the USAF. The Night Hawk was a revolutionary design and for 5 years the Americans kept it secret before the world came to know of this unique plane. The Russians rued the development of the F-117 and wondered how they had missed the bus.

 The Night Hawk was put into operational use and used extensively in the air bombardment of Iraq, during the 1992 US-Iraq war. The plane despite a slow speed of some 660km/hr could not be detected. It had limited range of about 1000 km and thus for a target it needed mid-air refueling. It carried no defensive armaments relying on its ability to attack a target undetected. It carried 2 x 1000 il laser guided bombs that could penetrate even 12ft of concrete and was thus a force multiplier.  The Russians were however hard at work to perfect their own stealth fighter and the US the need of another plane was felt. Research started and this led to the led to the Raptor, which had a longer range and flew at 3 times the speed of the Night Hawk. 

 The F-115 remained the only stealth fighter in the world during the days of the cold war and even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the plane was the mainstay of US offensive action. It was used extensively in Afghanistan when the USA mounted an invasion and no plane was lost despite missiles with the Taliban. It hastened the defeat of the Taliban by a relentless bombardment with laser guided bombs. The plane was also used in operations in Kosovo and Yugoslavia.

 The Russians were wary of the Night Hawk and later they did develop their own stealth fighter, but one wonders whether the Russian plane is as good as the latest American plane with stealth technology the Raptor. 

Book Review: Sophia Schiller " The Race to Tibet"

Review of Sophie Schiller’s latest novel: The Race to Tibet

The novel “Race to Tibet”

Historical fiction is a class by itself. The latest novel of Sophie Schiller is a novel in this genre. The book makes interesting reading. The novel titled “The Race to Tibet” is a wonderful book by an American writer Sophie Schiller. The writer has written this book with the background of Tibet which for centuries was a forbidden land, where it was a crime for a foreigner to enter. It still remains the same as even now communist China has occupied the land and a bamboo curtain is imposed on Tibet, keeping the mystery of Tibet alive.

All credit to Sophie Schiller to have chosen to write with the central theme of Tibet. The novel’ The Race to Tibet’ is a great addition to historical fiction on Tibet which still fascinates scholars and common people.

Introduction

Fiction is the forte of writing interesting story's and vast number of novels and tales are published. One of the classes of books published is historical fiction which is a difficult genre to write upon. However historical fiction is a fascinating subject and one that appeals to many. As far as I am concerned, historical fiction is my liking and reading a good novel with a historical background is a worthwhile way to spend a dreary afternoon when one has nothing to do. A good novel on an interesting subject always fascinated and Sophie's latest novel comes in this category.

The Plot

The novel written in a racy style relates the tale of the French explorer and adventurer Gabriel Benevalot who along with Prince Henrie d’Orleans risked everything including their life to enter Tibet and meet the Dalai Lama. History tells us that this duo was the first to enter Tibet and reach Lhasa and meet the Dalai Lama. This makes a thrilling tale as the writer creates a fantastic picture of the time where instructions had been passed to kill all foreigners who entered Tibet. The novel brings out the character of Gabriel who was a French peasant and has the distinction of travelling to the forbidden lands of Central Asia.

The novel is well written and a great tale of adventure and Romance. Any man who loves historical fiction will find this novel not only thrilling but also add to his or her’s knowledge. Not much is known about this particular adventure of Gabriel Bonvalot and all credit to Sophie for having introduced us to this historical episode in the form of a thrilling tale.

Sophie Schiller

Sophie Schiller has written many other books also, but this is I feel her best work to date and sure to fascinate readers. The book is extremely well written in a lucid and racy style and engrosses the reader. There is no flagging of interest till the last page.

Sophie was born in Paterson, NJ but grew up in the West Indies. This probably has had an effect as she has a wider horizon. She lives in Brooklyn and is herself a lovely woman. Her earlier novel’ Transfer Day” was set in the Dutch West Indies. This novel “Race to Tibet” brings out the fluent command of Sophie over the English language and her portrayal of the characters in the book very realistic. The book is one of the good books in the field of historical fiction. All credit to Sophie to have penned this novel. Three cheers for her.

Goa the Bikini and Girls * 79

By M G Singh, 

Goa has ample sun-kissed beaches and thousands of tourists from west, particularly Slav nations flock here. The bikini has become a part of politics.

Goa and the bikini

Indian in bikini

Goa brims with foreign tourists around the year and no other spot except Goa deals with such astronomical tourist-influx. Goa is indeed in oddity with all other tourist zones of India. And what that fixates one’s eyeballs upon and also heats up a debate among ministers of Goa is ‘bikini’.

Why is it that biknis still continue to be a matter of squeamishness among the ministries of Goa? Very recently, Goa PWD minister Sudin Dhavalika reportedly said that he would oppose a free bikini wear in Goa. He is reported to have said that if tourists come to Goa wearing bikinis, then I am against it. He added that “culture” was against wearing the two-piece bathing garment. In contrast the Tourism minister Parulekar had commented that as a tourism minister, he had never said no to bikinis.

The tourism minister, however, added that bikinis could be worn on beaches as well as swimming pools but not in supermarkets or temples. One gets a feeling that politics is needlessly injected into a mundane topic. Maybe to hog the limelight, but it could also be playing to the gallery for votes and popularity. Many people love moral policing.


“

Live and let live

Goa Beach

My stance in favor of bikinis beyond the beach

With no intention of inflicting my views on any body who is reading, I put forward my stand on the ‘bikini-issue’. Well, in my eyes, I don’t see any need for a ban on bikinis on the beach, that is, in swimming pools, markets, kiosks or any open-to-public section. One should not forget that the ancient Indian dresses as seen from paintings and sculptures are far more revealing.

Most tourists who come to Goa do it to relax and let their hair down. Many come from extremely cold countries and Goa is heaven for them, with its sunshine and all weather beaches.

Donning a bikini is one’s self choice and there should be no talk of culture and heritage etc. These can be self-defeating. I think bringing politics into wearing a bikini is not the right approach. In real terms many Indian girls also wear bikinis. Goa on the Arabian Sea is a blessed place, let's keep it that way.

The Bedding of the Queen of Sheba by Solomon the conqueror

How King Solomon Seduced the Queen of Sheba

By M G Singh, 

This is one of the great loves of mythology and reading about it even now thrills young and old

A great seduction

ancient wall mural

The Tale of Solomon and Sheba and their love affair is mentioned in the Bible. This is not the only source and we have other corroborative tales as well. One tale from Ethiopia recounts how Solomon seduced the Queen of Sheba. When the queen reached the kingdom of Solomon, she agreed to stay in his palace, provided he did not touch her. Solomon readily agreed, but as he was a very intelligent man he added a condition. He said that his oath not to touch her would stand, but would not be valid in case the queen used any personal item or thing of his. there are many versions of this tale, but the central theme is the same, attraction and sex between the Queen of Sheba and the great king Solomon. In a way, it is a tale that has been replicated millions of times and each one of us has lived through a similar episode.

When the Queen came visiting Solomon she was given a bedroom adjacent to the great king. Solomon had seen the queen and he longed for her. Can we call it love at first sight? He made a devious plan to bed the queen and he resolved to possess her.

Keeping his promise to the queen in mind, Solomon got a large ornamental glass filled with water and took a big sip from it. He later placed the glass by the bedside of the queen. At night the queen felt thirsty and got up and drank from the glass. Solomon who was waiting in an adjoining chamber with an artificial partition was able to watch the Queen not only undress but reinforced his plan to enforce his part of the promise. Solomon entered at once and claimed that as the queen had drunk from his glass she was his. The queen who was in a state of undress had no choice but to acquiesce and she gave herself to Solomon. Perhaps she secretly desired him. It is reported that Solomon made ferocious love to her and soon teh Queen after this bout became his consort. Solomon shifted to her bedroom. All the same, it’s an interesting tale and the union bore fruit as the queen conceived a child from Solomon.

This tale from the bible is wonderful to read and was very well presented on celluloid with Yul Brynner and Gina Lolobrigida in the movie " Solomon and Sheba".

Suicide by army Veteran for OROP shows the apathy of the Government of Modi

Veteran Subedar Ram Kishan Grewal, aged 70 years, unhappy at government not providing OROP (One Rank One Pension) to Veterans, committed suicide in Delhi on November 2, 2016, by consuming poison.

OROP

OROP has been the focus of intense agitation over many months at Jantar Mantar in 2015, and the government has prevaricated and dodged the core issue, with PM Narendra Modi, RM Manohar Parrikar and FM Arun Jaitley making different, often conflicting, always confusing statements on OROP.

The false promise and back slapping

It all began with BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's promise of OROP during with his election speech to Veterans at Rewari on September 15, 2013, with recently retired army chief General V.K.Singh by his side.

PM Modi is quoted as saying in one of his speeches in Punjab, “Humne kissanon ka pet kaat kar, Ex-Servicemen ko OROP diya”,something that could only divide the Jawan from the Kissan, undoing PM Lal Bahadur Shastri's rousing slogan “Jai Jawan! Jai Kissan!”.

A few days ago, on Diwali this year, a TV program showed PM Modi talking to ITBP and army personnel in Sumdo, Himachal Pradesh, saying that he had fulfilled the OROP promise made to ex-servicemen on the issue that had not been resolved for 40 years, and the first instalment of nearly Rs.5,500 crore had been paid for implementing the OROP scheme. He said implementing OROP was his “dream” which has “been fulfilled”.

The real truth

It is extremely surprising that he did not know that what had been “granted” as OROP was actually a sham and not the real thing, which had been objected to by Veterans who had taken the matter to Court.

Starting with OROP, multiple issues like 6CPC (Central Pay Commission) and 7CPC anomalies, keeping the military out of successive CPCs and outside the purview of the Anomalies Committee, pay parity with IAS/IPS, NFU, down gradation of military ranks vis a vis civilian officials, reducing disability pension, and lower hazard allowance than IAS/IPS, have agitated, angered and dismayed serving and retired officers and men alike.

It is true that earlier Congress and UPA governments, and one full-term NDA government, had not granted OROP, but it must be seen that the present NDA government granting OR5P was after a prolonged veterans' countrywide agitations with its core at Jantar Mantar under the aegis of Indian Ex-Servicemen's Movement (IESM). The Delhi Police (under the Union Home Minister) lathi charge attack on peacefully agitating veterans at Jantar Mantar on August 14, 2015 did much to disenchant Veterans with the ruling BJP-led NDA dispensation.

The crocodile tears and the future

Late Veteran Subedar Grewal would not know that the reason for his suicide (OROP) has been smothered by the politicization of his suicide because crucial elections are on the horizon. It is possible that the mourning family of a person who has died gets some solace when important personages call to express condolences and offer help, and it has long been “standard practice” for politicians of all hues to call on bereaved families. It is also true that such personages mix their genuine personal concern with their political agendas.

Politicians of all hues could teach a thing or two to Aesop's crocodile on shedding tears. After the current political dust settles, it remains to be seen whether Veteran Grewal's suicide in demand of OROP was in vain.