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The announcement of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on withdrawal of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 note demonetization has thrown life of every one out of gear. It is no different with the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.

In a Circular on December 14 on the subject of familiarization programme on the functioning and handling of E-Wallets for the Officers and Staff of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat by Vinoy Kumar Pathar, Welfare Officer said that it has been decided to organize a familiarization programme on the functioning and handling of E-Wallets and other forms of cashless transactions for the Officers and Staff of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat on the December 19, 2016.

The Chief Manager, State Bank of India made a presentation and resolve the queries of employees, if any, during the programme. 

All the Officers and Staff were asked to attend the programme and avail of the opportunity to familiarize themselves about the functioning of the various cashless devices.

About the author: PCI Babai is a Delhi based practicing hack, a cynic to core.”

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From a young community mobilization coordinator in 2008 who was sometimes chased away by the people from her own community in Saharanpur when she went to counsel them on the importance of polio drops, to a team leader in Ghaziabad who now talks about routine immunization (RI), Najma Nikhat has come a long way.

Najma Nikhat had joined as CMC under the Social Mobilisation Network (SMNet), a programme communication network that was established in Uttar Pradesh in 2001 for improving polio vaccination coverage. “”I faced such a tough time when I started working as the neighbours and community members started spreading tales about me saying that I had spent three days in a hotel (for training) which was not considered an honourable thing,’’ she said.

However, her father stood by her all the time encouraging her to go ahead with her work without bothering about the gossip. “”I would go from house to house telling people to administer polio drops to their children but they would not even listen to me and sometimes would chase me out from the house,’’ she said at a function to mark 70 years of UNICEF in India.

Posted in Block Puakra then, Najma recalls how all this would upset her mother and she was worried that no one would marry her. In one year, she could only manage 40% families. Then she started going to congregations and talk about vaccinations from Madrasas. However, the breakthrough came when during one such congregation, where quoted from the holy Koran and then spoke about health, one old woman was so convinced that she handed over her grand child to Najma and told her she was free to administer polio drops!

This was the turning point. After this episode women came out in large numbers with their children and the old woman, Jameela became a champion accompanying Najma during her visit. The result was by 2011 the coverage was cent percent.  Jameela is  no more now.

Since then, the SMNet has evolved into a team of more than 4,800 community level mobilisers, and has about 500 coordinators at the sub-district, district and regional level, A UNICEF initiative, the main task of SMNet is to ensure that all children in the areas of the deployed community mobilisers are vaccinated against polio in every round.

In 2011, she was promoted and sent to Ghaziabad under the Routine Immunisation Programme. Shaheed Nagar block is again a difficult block with lot of resistance from the community. It took her one year to find CMCs.

“”I then approached Jannat Nisha Madrasa and held meetings there where I told them about RI. It is here that I managed to get two girls Rashid and Anjum as CMCs. We had a meeting with fathers and frontline workers on the issue. This was followed by a survey of the households,’’ she said. This was followed by Mothers Meet and a health camp where a large number of people did turn up. She organized meetings and spoke about RI at religious meetings which resulted in zero refusal families for polio.

But she still has a challenge. There still are six families in her jurisdiction who do not bring their children for immunization. “”I am hopeful that three families will come in the next round but I will have to work on the remaining three,’’ Najma said. Once she completes her task on RI, Najma—who holds a Masters in Social Work – wants to work on breastfeeding and sanitation as well.”

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Liquor ban in Bihar may be a welcome move, but it has adversely impacted the Musahar community in Bihar– particularly the women.  This community earned its livelihood by manufacturing liquor at home and selling it in the market.

“Ever since the liquor ban, the women who used to make liquor at home have now started working as domestic helps which has become a little dangerous for them. These young girls are sexually exploited at times,’’ social activist Sudha Varghese told a gathering at a function organized to mark the 70 years of UNICEF in India.  

Musahars have very low literacy rate with only 0.01% women literate and only 2% men educated. The community is so backward and exploited that the girls did not even know rape was a crime, Sudha said.   

Sudha Varghese, also known as Sister Sudha, is a social worker from Bihar who has devoted herself to the upliftment of Musahars, the Dalit community of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Musahars are the last community of the caste ladder in India and are considered as `untouchables.’

While some improvement has been made in education and skilling of adolescents, child marriages are still prevalent as the community believes that girls should be married at a very young age. Several girls who wanted to study further but could not convince their parents have even ended their lives.

Sudha, addressed fondly as `didi’, lives and works in Jamsaut, a village in Patna district. Born in a prosperous family in Kottayam district of Kerala, Sudha moved to Bihar in 1965 to work for the poor with the Sisters of Notre Dame Academy after resigning from her job as a teacher in a convent. She moved to 1986 to live with the Musahar community to educate girls of this community.

In 2006, she established a residential school `Prerna’ (inspiration) on the outskirts of Danapur with financial help from the State government. It is an all-girls school designed to remove girls from farm labour to ensure they receive education. Varghese also teaches about the fundamental rights guaranteed to them by the Constitution. The Prerna Residential School for Mahadalit Girls was replicated in Gaya and at present there are 250 girl students in both the schools.

Sudha Varghese is working for the empowerment of women, providing leadership and livelihood training and also the training to fight against domestic violence to Dalit women at Panchayat level. She has organized 300 groups of youth, both Dalit boys and girls who have been provided training in sports in three blocks of Patna so as to instill in them a sense of self confidence and help them find a place in the community. She has been closely working with UNICEF for several years now.

In 2006, she was awarded the Padma Shree for her extraordinary contribution to social work.”

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Four days ago on December 19, in a historical judgment, the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Hyderabad awarded death sentence to Pakistan trained Indian Mujahideen (IM) leader Yasin Bhatkal and four others for taking part in twin blasts in Hyderabad in February 2013 in which 19 innocent persons were killed and more than 130 were injured. 

In this “rarest of the rare” case besides Yasin Bhatkal alias Mohammad Ahmed Siddibappa , Zia-ur-Rahman of Pakistan, Aizaz Shaik, Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi and Mohammad Tahseen Akhtar alias Monu, all from different states of India were also given capital punishment.

Nonetheless Riyaz Bhatkal alias Shah Riyaz Ahmad Mohammed Ismail Shahbandari the chief conspirator of the multiple terrorist activities in India including Hyderabad blasts is presently residing safely in Karachi under the patronage of nefarious Inter Services Intelligence (ISI). Sharad Kumar, Director General of NIA, rightly mentioned that “it was a wonderful investigation carried out by” NIA and it was “the first ever conviction of Indian Mujahideen cadres”. The IM operatives use improvised explosive devices (IED) in carrying out bomb blasts at sensitive places, as they were extensively trained by ISI in use of IED.

The police nabbed Bhatkal and Asadullah from India- Nepal borders while other culprits were arrested in India and were charged for several offences including criminal conspiracy, murder and waging war against India. It was a great success as sometimes back Abdul Karim Tunda an important Lashkar-e-Taiba operator, who is expert in using IED, was also caught from India Nepal borders.

Bhatkal went to Pakistan via Dubai in 2006 and was trained in handling of small arms and in preparation of bombs from locally available material.

IM carried out several terrorist activities in India including 2007 serial bomb blasts in Lucknow, Varanasi and Faizabad courts in which more than 18 persons were killed. In May 2008 IM carried out serial bomb blasts in Jaipur, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Delhi in which more than 166 persons lost their lives and several hundred were injured. Again in 2010 IM and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operatives carried out bomb blasts in German Bakery, Pune in which 17 persons were killed while in Jama Masjid in Delhi, two IM terrorists shot dead two Taiwanese nationals and again in bomb blast at Sheetla Ghat in Varanasi 2 persons were killed and 37 people were injured. The ISI trained IM cadres used IED in Mumbai on 13 July 2011 and killed 26 persons and more than 130 were injured.  Again in 2013 IM operatives planted bombs in Bodhgaya, to avenge the killings of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, in which several persons were injured. ISI instructs IM operatives to put the bombs in sensitive and crowded places so that more people are killed and communal harmony of the country is disturbed. 

Mohammed Ahmed Sidibapa alias Yasin Bhatkal and his brother Riaz Bhatkal constituted IM on behest of ISI, with the sinister plan to recruit young Indian Muslims to carry out terrorist activities in India. First of all as Indians it is easy for them to move in the country and secondly in case they are caught or killed it will be difficult for Indian security agencies to link them with ISI.  On the other hand Pakistanis and human right organisations of India and abroad will also project that Indian Muslims are involved in terrorist activities as they are discriminated by Hindus.

The ISI agents target Muslims of lower stratum and motivate them by telling fictitious stories of the atrocities committed on Muslims in the world including India hence they must revenge it by participating in Jihad. Young and less educated Muslims are shown fabricated videos in which Muslims are tormented by Hindus. The ISI agents also render financial assistance to new recruits as well as to their family members.

After brainwashing these young Muslims few of them are sent to Pakistan through Middle Eastern countries and Nepal. After receiving training these young persons return to India and train others for carrying out terrorist activities. The training camps are under the control of terrorist organisations like Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM); Lashkar-e-Taiba (L-e T) but the real trainers are Pakistan army personnel. The terrorists are trained in handling of small arms, use of IED, selection and reconnaissance of the targets.

The ideology of IM is to establish Islamic Caliphate in whole of South Asia including India. They do not believe in democracy and have no faith in Indian constitution and judiciary and want to bring down the lawfully elected government.

IM was banned in June 2010 in India and beside India it was also banned in several countries. IM has close relations with diverse terrorist organisations including L-e-T, Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), Jaish-e-Mohammed, Harakatul-Jihad-e-Islami (HUJI), Hizbut Tahrir (HT), al Qaeda etc.

Military controlled ISI has launched a low intensity war against India and Pakistan considers it as an important component of its foreign policy hence the changes in Chief of Pakistani army or chief of ISI would not make any substantial change in Pakistani policy towards India. Hence India must chalk out a long term strategy to deal its western neighbour.

First of all government must strengthen its security forces particularly the intelligence organisations. There are numerous intelligence agencies but there is acute shortage of actionable intelligence. Besides HUMINT (human intelligence) due emphasis should also be given in collection of electronic intelligence.

(Jai Kumar Verma is a Delhi-based security analyst. In his long career, he has served in Indian missions abroad in Dubai, Washington and Islamabad in various capacities. Views are personal.)”

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Major General B C Khanduri-led Standing Committee on Defence, in its 23rd report on `Proxy and Postal Voting by Defence Services Personnel in General Elections” presented during the Winter Session of Parliament has made a strong pitch for e-postal ballot to cut down on delays and enable an estimated three million service personnel and their family members to exercise their democratic right to cast their votes. 

The Committee expressed concern that defence services personnel were unable to cast their votes mainly due  to cumbersome procedure involved in Proxy & Postal voting on account of  postal  delays.  To address their problems in their native place  as well as problems related to services  and career, the Service  Voters are being shuttled  by the political representations  to and  from  their native place and at the place of posting. As a result they face lots of hardship.  

The Committee was of the opinion that amendments should be made  in the electoral laws to enable Service Voters to cast their vote in elections through e-postal ballot.

In order to deliberate comprehensively  for  arriving at a consensus and speed up the discussion, the Committee invited representatives of Ministry of Home Affairs and Law and Justice as well as   the Election Commission of India along with the representatives of Ministry of Defence at  their sittings. 

The Committee  held seven sittings and vigorously took up various issues related to e-postal ballot. The Committee, inter alia, were of the view that Election Commission needs to  take into consideration the difficulties faced by Service Voters in the matter of exercising their franchise. The Committee were briefed that the technical team of the Election Commission has developed a system whereby blank postal ballot could be electronically transmitted to the Service Voter, namely, e-postal ballot system. Voters entitled to postal ballot such as Service Voters, can download and take a print out of  the postal  ballot at the Unit. This would cut short the delay experienced in the present system in two-way transmission of ballot paper by the postal services. Two-way electronic transmission has not been recommended by the Election Commission  on account of reasons of security and secrecy.         

It made various important suggestions towards hastening the process and making necessary amendments in this regard so that the electoral reform does not remain a noble thought on paper but becomes a tangible reality at the earliest. In this connection, the Committee expressed satisfaction that the Government has issued  Gazette Notification on 21st October, 2016 amending Rule 23 of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961  thereby fulfilling a long standing demand for allowing the Service Voters  to have their ballot papers transmitted through electronic means instead of regular  post.  The E-Postal balloting was implemented in the  bye-election held in Nellithope  Assembly  (Puducherry) in November, marking a major breakthrough.

The Armed Forces and Para Military Forces personnel enrolled as electors in their native place have the option of appointing a Proxy of their   choice for voting on their behalf.  In such cases, the Proxy will vote at the local polling station. Others, who do not want to vote through Proxy, will be sent a  Postal Ballot by the Returning Officer of the constituency.

The Committee  have noted that the facility of appointing a Proxy for exercising the franchise on behalf of the Defence Personnel (Service Voters belonging to Armed Forces and Para Military Forces) was  introduced by way of amending of Section    60 of the Representation of People Act 1951, through the Election Laws and Other Related Laws (Amendment) Act, 2003. To be appointed as Proxy, a person has to be ordinarily resident in the constituency concerned and of not less than 18 years of age. While it is not necessary that the Proxy is also registered as an elector in the roll, at the same time, he must not be disqualified to be registered.

The Committee have further noted that the process of appointing a Proxy involves, inter-alia, filling an application in the statutorily prescribed format (Form 13F), which is appended to the 1961 Rules. Both the Service Voter appointing  the Proxy and the Proxy  so appointed have to put their signatures on the  Form and have it attested by the Commanding Officer/Notary public or First Class Magistrate. As per the procedure laid down, the Service Voter has to get his signature attested by the Commanding Officer of the Unit and send it to the Proxy being nominated by him.  The Proxy, on receipt of the form, can sign   and get the attestation from a Notary/First Class Magistrate. It is only after completing the process, as prescribed under the rules, that Form 13F can be delivered to the Returning Officer concerned.

The Committee have found  that the procedure involved in voting through Proxy could  be daunting, both for the Service Voter appointing the Proxy as well as the Proxy. The process could  also be taxing for the Returning Officer (RO) as he is required to maintain a record of the Service Voters who have appointed Proxies.  The Proxies would  vote on behalf of the Service Voter as any other general voter in the polling station covering the place of residence of the Service Voter concerned. The RO is required to send a polling station wise list of Proxies appointed by Service Voters, based on which, the Presiding Officer will permit the Proxy to cast the vote.

As evident from the depositions made, the representatives of the Ministry of Defence and the Services too find the process of voting through Proxy cumbersome. The process involves adhering to a variety of formalities which include, verifying signatures of the individual and the Proxy through First Class Magistrate, Notary and the Commanding Officer of the Unit concerned. The elaborate procedures, coupled with inherent issues relating to ‘confidentiality of the choice of the Service Voter’ discourage the individual voters from casting their vote through Proxy. Therefore, the process is not popular among the Service voters.

The Committee have  noted that the intention behind introducing the facility of Proxy Voting was to help the Service Personnel in casting their vote.

Nevertheless, considering the stringent procedure the Serving Armed Forces Personnel have to follow in appointing the Proxy; the processes the Proxy has to, in turn, follow for voting; as well as the intrinsic nature of Proxy Voting – which can compromise aspects of confidentiality – the Committee are of the view that serious efforts need to be made towards developing an alternative to the system of Proxy Voting. A better method for enabling the Service Personnel to exercise their franchise is a necessity.

The Committee understood that conducting the General Elections is an onerous task for the Election Commission of India. To fulfil the task,  manpower is acquired from different Central and State Government departments.  The manpower so acquired is also to be trained for ensuring smooth conduct of elections.   The uniformed Service Personnel being a disciplined lot, the Committee feel that the Services of these personnel can be utilised to conduct the elections, in a fair and transparent manner for Service Voters, particularly in the difficult and forward areas.

India has made significant strides in terms of technological advancement. The Committee have felt that developing and implementing a foolproof and reliable system to help Service Voters in exercising their franchise should be an easy, and definitely not a difficult task.

The Committee have  found it surprising  that the Ministry of Defence and  Election Commission of  India   have not undertaken any exercise to learn about the practices prevalent in developed nations in particular, for enabling the soldiers, who are not at their usual place of residence, to exercise their franchise.

The Committee have desired that the Election Commission of India and the Ministry of Defence together should undertake a study of the electoral  practices prevalent in countries where ‘internet voting’ or chip based ‘identity card voting system’ exists viz.,Australia, Brazil, Canada, Estonia, France, Netherlands, UK, USA, Switzerland, Venezuela, etc., The best practices followed in this regard need to be identified and developed to suit the requirements of Indian election process.
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Using public toilets, maintained by Sulabh International, will now become cashless. This has been done in wake of demonetisation that has resulted in shortage of small change. A statement issued by low cost sanitation NGO Sulabh International said it has embarked on digital transaction for use of its public toilets, doing away with use of coins and low denomination currency notes.

The facility was launched formally by BJP President Amit Shah when he visited Sulabh Complex at Sulabh headquarters in West Delhi. Sulabh maintains around 8,500 public toilets across the country and the digital payment facility would be introduced at some of the places soon.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Shah said it was a matter of shame that even 70 years after Independence, there was still a need to launch a country-wide campaign to make people aware of the benefits of sanitation.

Sulabh Founder Dr Bindeshwar Pathak explained on the occasion that the digital payment could be done through ‘SBI Buddy’ – an e-wallet facility recently launched by state-owned State Bank of India (SBI) to promote digital payment system in the country.

To begin with, the facility has been introduced in the national capital and would be extended to other places in due course of time, Dr Pathak said. Sulabh charges a nominal fee of Rs 5 for using is lavatory and Rs 10 for taking bath. It is even free at some places.  

Taking a major step forward towards rural sanitation, Dr Pathak, who was made Brand Ambassador of “”Rail Swachch Mission””, recently launched an intensive campaign to ensure toilet for every household in the country by 2019. He said that nearly 12 crore toilets are required to be built by 2019 to realize the dream of Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi.

“This is a big task, but together we can do it and all Indians can play a pivotal role. This is a unique opportunity for Corporate houses and business groups to show their love for the country,” he said.”

“The arrest of the former Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi on December 16 casts a shadow on the armed forces in general and in particular the IAF. This arm of the three armed forces urgently needs to replace squadrons with modern fighter aircraft to keep pace with modern times. This is the first instance of a serving or retired military chief being arrested on charges of corruption. The CBI arrested ACM Tyagi, his cousin Sanjeev Tyagi and lawyer Gautam Khaitan in connection with the purchase order for VVIP helicopters in 2010.  The country’s premier investigative agency said in an official statement that those arrested were in connection with alleged irregularities in the procurement of a dozen AW101 VVIP helicopters from the UK based Agusta Westland, part of the Italian consortium Finmeccanica. The CBI claims that ACM Tyagi entered into a “”criminal conspiracy with other accused persons in 2005″” to change the service ceiling of the VVIP helicopters from 6000 M to 4500 M to make Agusta Westland eligible to participate in the tender. Twelve per cent of the total deal of Rs 3,767 crores is alleged to have been the commission involved. After the allegations first emerged in Italy, an embattled Congress led UPA government had moved swiftly to order an investigation in February 2013. The Congress led UPA government rescinded the contract in January 2014 in the wake of the bribery allegations. The case was handed over to the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate which in turn have relied substantially on the evidence from Italian courts. What has raised eyebrows is the appointment of Rakesh Asthana, a senior Indian Police Service officer of the Gujarat cadre, as the new interim chief of the CBI and the quick fire arrest thereafter of ACM Tyagi.ACM Tyagi’s arrest has serious ramifications for the IAF’s modernisation programme which may get delayed further which this combat arm of the country cannot afford. Already bureaucrats in the Defence ministry have shown a penchant for dragging their feet and delaying fresh acquisition for the armed forces as they do not want to be enmeshed in a controversy.In the VVIP choppers controversy the matter encompasses the Prime Minister’s office since the time of Atal Behari Vajpayee. Needless to say the CBI has an onerous task on its hands and any messing up can adversely affect defence purchases. The case in Italy had its own twists and turns with a lower court acquitting ACM Tyagi in October 2014, Finmeccanica CEO Giuseppe Orsi and others of corruption charges.Earlier this year on April 8, the Milan Court of Appeal overturned the order and sentenced Mr Orsi to about four years in jail. This is not the first time the name of a retired military chief has come up in a defence scandal. Admiral S M Nanda was accused of being a middle man in the sale of German-made HDW submarines to India in the early 1980s. Two decades later the case was formally closed by the CBI as it had found no concrete evidence.In 2006 the CBI filed an FIR alleging kickbacks in the purchase of the Barrack missile system from Israel, naming among others Admiral Sushil Kumar, the former Chief of the Naval Staff. He contested the charge using the RTI. Seven years later the CBI told a Delhi court it couldn’t find any evidence. It might, therefore, be premature to blame ACM Tyagi of wrongdoing as the truth needs to come out to set the record straight. Defence deals invariably get complicated due to the difficulties in securing the evidence required for convictions. It remains to be seen how this case pans out. The question that has arisen after ACM Tyagi’s arrest pertains to the IAF’s consistent stand that 6000 M ceiling of VVIP helicopters was an inescapable operational necessity, then who reduced it to 4500 M and why. The helicopter was for use by VVIPs and not the IAF. The user representatives were the Prime Minister’s office (PMO) and the Special Protection Group (SPG). The technical paramaters (TPs) such as ceiling heights, endurance, load carrying capacity, number of engines that the helicopter needs to possess are worked out based on the qualitative requirements (QRs). Additionally air safety requirements are factored in to match the QRs while scripting the TPs which do not emerge out of the blue.Senior officials believe available evidence does not support the allegation that ACM Tyagi himself had conceded to change the operational requirements. There were many others involved in the decision making process. The arrest of the former Air Chief seems like an orchestrated attempt to make him a scape goat. The Defence Procurement Procedures have been modified a number of times. At the same time no questions have been raised why non-technical bureaucrats meant to implement political decisions are involved in the procurement of high technology weapons and equipment for the three Servies. It is perplexing that there is no independent body for this purpose. It is argued if ACM Tyagi is guilty then punish him but the country cannot have a situation where the politicians and the bureaucrats who appear to be the bigger fish guilty of corruption are allowed to go scot free while a former chief of a major combat service is punished. At present the IAF has only 32 squadrons, the lowest in a decade to guard the skies. Raksha mantri Manohar Parrikar had expressed concern in this regard to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the difficulties faced by the IAF because of the depletion of fighter aircraft. The country needs at least 42 squadrons to protect its western borders with Pakistan and China. The IAF presently depends on Su 30MKI and MiG 29, the British made Jaguar and the French made Mirage 2000s. An upgrade of Jaguar fighters is being carried out by the public sector HAL which has got delayed. The next Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal B S Dhanoa had acknowledged earlier this year that the current strength of aircraft squadrons is not enough to fight a war on two fronts. “”Our numbers are not enough to fight a war on two fronts,”” the Vice Chief observed. He had said the government was seized of the problem and that is why India went for a government-to-government deal in respect of 36 French Rafale aircraft because of the urgency. In a first of its kind, the veteran community of the armed forces and majority of the Indian populace is petitioning President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi being incensed with the treatment meted out to ACM Tyagi. The petition observed the distinguished fighter pilot who has fought two wars for this country and led the IAF is being condemned to prison without a conclusive inquiry or fair trial. This is a disrespectful way of dealing with the case and smacks of an attempt to demean and destroy the honour of the Armed Forces.  ACM Tyagi has already spent more than 300 hours answering questions. They appealed to the government to undo this damage caused to the morale of the armed forces with the immediate release of Ex ACM Tyagi, the petition added. (T R Ramachandran is a senior journalist and commentator. Views are personal.)”

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An experimental Ebola vaccine is proving to be highly protective against the deadly virus in a major trial being carried out in Guinea, according to results published in the latest edition of The Lancet. The vaccine is the first to prevent infection from one of the most lethal known pathogens, and the findings add weight to early trial results published last year, according to the WHO.

The vaccine, called rVSV-ZEBOV, was studied in a trial involving 11,841 people in Guinea during 2015. Among the 5,837 people who received the vaccine, no Ebola cases were recorded 10 days or more after vaccination. In comparison, there were 23 cases 10 days or more after vaccination among those who did not receive the vaccine.

The trial was led by the World Health Organization, together with Guinea’s Ministry of Health, Medecins sans Frontieres and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, in collaboration with other international partners.

“While these compelling results come too late for those who lost their lives during West Africa’s Ebola epidemic, they show that when the next Ebola outbreak hits, we will not be defenceless,” said Dr Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO’s Assistant Director-General for Health Systems and Innovation, and the study’s lead author.

The vaccine’s manufacturer, Merck, Sharpe & Dohme, this year received Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the United States Food and Drug Administration and PRIME status from the European Medicines Agency, enabling faster regulatory review of the vaccine once it is submitted.

Since Ebola virus was first identified in 1976, sporadic outbreaks have been reported in Africa. But the 2013-2016 West African Ebola outbreak, which resulted in more than 11,300 deaths, highlighting the need for a vaccine.

The trial took place in the coastal region of Basse-Guinée, the area of Guinea still experiencing new Ebola cases when the trial started in 2015. The trial used an innovative design, a so-called “ring vaccination” approach – the same method used to eradicate small pox.

When a new Ebola case was diagnosed, the research team traced all people who may have been in contact with that case within the previous 3 weeks, such as people who lived in the same household, were visited by the patient, or were in close contact with the patient, their clothes or linen, as well as certain “contacts of contacts”. A total of 117 clusters (or “rings”) were identified, each made up of an average of 80 people, a WHO statement said.

Initially, rings were randomised to receive the vaccine either immediately or after a 3-week delay, and only adults over 18 years were offered the vaccine. After interim results were published showing the vaccine’s efficacy, all rings were offered the vaccine immediately and the trial was also opened to children older than 6 years.

In addition to showing high efficacy among those vaccinated, the trial also shows that unvaccinated people in the rings were indirectly protected from Ebola virus through the ring vaccination approach (so called “herd immunity”). However, the authors note that the trial was not designed to measure this effect, so more research will be needed. 

“Ebola left a devastating legacy in our country. We are proud that we have been able to contribute to developing a vaccine that will prevent other nations from enduring what we endured” said Dr KeÏta Sakoba, Coordinator of the Ebola Response and Director of the National Agency for Health Security in Guinea.

To assess safety, people who received the vaccine were observed for 30 minutes after vaccination, and at repeated home visits up to 12 weeks later. Approximately half reported mild symptoms soon after vaccination, including headache, fatigue and muscle pain but recovered within days without long-term effects. Two serious adverse events were judged to be related to vaccination (a febrile reaction and one anaphylaxis) and one was judged to be possibly related (influenza-like illness). All three recovered without any long term effects.

It was not possible to collect biological samples from people who received the vaccine in order to analyse their immune response. Other studies are looking at the immune response to the vaccine including one conducted in parallel to the ring trial among frontline Ebola workers in Guinea, the statement added.

Additional studies are ongoing to provide more data on the safety of the vaccine in children and other vulnerable populations such as people with HIV. In case of Ebola flare-ups prior to approval, access to the vaccine is being made available through a procedure called “compassionate use” that enables use of the vaccine after informed consent. Merck and WHO’s partners are working to compile data to support license applications.

The rapid development of rVSV-ZEBOV contributed to the development of WHO’s R&D Blueprint, a global strategy to fast-track the development of effective tests, vaccines and medicines during epidemics.

The rVSV-ZEBOV trial is funded by WHO, with support from the Wellcome Trust; the United Kingdom Department for International Development; the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Norwegian Institute of Public Health through the Research Council of Norway; the Canadian Government through the Public Health Agency of Canada, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the International Development Research Centre and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development; and Médecins Sans Frontières.

The trial team includes experts from The University of Bern, the University of Florida, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Public Health England, the European Mobile Laboratories among others. The trial was designed by a group of experts including the late Professor Donald A. Henderson of John Hopkins University, who led the WHO smallpox eradication effort by using the ring vaccination strategy.”

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Appointing the Chief of Army Staff is indeed the prerogative of the Centre. At the same time senior officers who have since retired from the Army are of the considered opinion that the process of selecting the COAS should be above politics. 

The BJP led NDA at the Centre must have had compelling reasons for side stepping the seniority criteria in the present instance of Lt Gen Bipin Rawat being named the next chief of Army Staff. 

Perhaps the Narendra Modi government should have cleared the air by explaining the rational or criteria for zeroing in on Lt Gen Rawat to head the world’s fourth largest Army. 

At the same time the opposition Congress which has held sway in ruling at the Centre for an extended spell since independence has taken exception to the supersession of two officers.  

Be that as it may, a section of supperannuated officers believe the Modi government should evolve a new criteria for appointing the COAS which does not cast any shadow about the process which is both satisfactory and beyond reproach. The selection process should not only be fair and must also seem to be fair. 

There are enough bureaucratic arguments to adhere to the principle of seniority. This amounts to denial of merit which should be the sole criteria for becoming the Chief of any one of the three armed forces. 

In the present instance the appointment of Lt Gen Rawat as next COAS is not unprecedented. Yet an avoidable controversy has been whipped up because of taking an interminably long time to make the announcement of the new COAS. This is essentially because there is no stated policy on the appointment of the three chiefs except that it is at the discretion of the union government. 

Without doubt all those who reach the level of Lt General are of great merit in every which way including leadership. It is extremely difficult to reach the top of the pyramid unless the officer is found to be exceptional. 

Overseeing any of the commands in the Indian Army requires special attributes as each of them has its special characteristics. The Southern Command based in Pune has to oversee the security of about 43 per cent of the country’s area. 

It is no secret that the government is sometimes prone to appoint Generals who are “”yes men””. There should not be any ‘favouritism”” in the appointment of the chief of the armed forces. Consequently it has become necessary for the Modi government to clear the air why it chose Lt Gen Rawat over others as the next chief of Army Staff. 

The Centre needs to maintain a delicate balance between the civilian leadership and the military in a democratic system. The challenge for the new chief on the national security front is enormous.

There is worry on the China front not to speak about the “”blow hot, blow cold”” relationship with Pakistan despite the various initiatives taken by Modi himself to normalise bilateral ties which have been nullified by the powerful military establishment in the neighbouring country. 

The BJP-led NDA government’s ambivalence in announcing the name of the new COAS well in advance has led to tongues wagging. Experts emphasise that institutions like the army should not be fiddled with because of political considerations. 

An apolitical army will continue to perform with competence and pride whoever leads it. Irrespective of the good, bad or indifferent leaders that the country has, the army must be credited with weathering all storms.

(T R Ramachandran is a senior journalist and commentator. Views are personal.)”

“

rsz_9780143425373_1_min-1e608″” alt=””rsz 9780143425373 1 min 1e608″” />The book “”1965 – Stories from the Second Indo-Pak War”” by Rachna Bisht Rawat recalls the five major battles fought by the Indian Army. The sheer grittiness, intense hand-to-hand combat and unflinching valour of the officers and men of the Army refreshes one’s memory of the grittiest battles fought at Haji Pir, Asal Uttar, Barki, Dograi and Phillora where the Pakistani’s were beaten fair and square. Understandably there was a lot of unhappiness that hard won territories had to be returned and the sacrifice of the Indian soldier had been in vain. It is believed that Pakistan was running out of ammunition and had the war continued for a few more days, it would have broken their back.In Pakistan too there was lot of disgruntlement as public opinion had been created giving the impression that they were winning the war. As the wife of an Army officer, Rachna’s narrative is simple, matter of fact and poignant. After 21 days when the ceasefire was imposed during the conflict in which India’s victory was never in doubt, it is widely believed New Delhi lost in Tashkent what it had gained during the war. The peace agreement signed on 10 January 1966 between then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and the then Pakistan President Gen Ayub Khan was aimed at normalising relations between the two countries. 
On the contrary the third Indo-Pak war of 1971 was round the corner. At 1.30 AM on 11 January 1966 Shastri died of a heart attack in Tashkent. He was one of those rare Indian Prime Ministers who had boldly told the Indian Army that it could cross the border and attack Pakistan at a place of its own choosing. It was agreed that both sides will pull back their armies to the pre-August position. On the first of September 1965 Pakistan invaded Chamb district of Jammu and Kashmir believing that a peace oriented India would never declare all out war. They were proved wrong. The deliberate invasion intended to annexe J and K triggered a bloody conflict that witnessed one of the biggest tank battles since the Second World War and infantry attacks where 100 per cent casualty was considered acceptable. Ultimately the cold courage of the Indian soldier prevailed over the superior U S weapons that Pakistan had banked on.The pitched battles were fought from Kashmir’s Haji Pir pass to the paddy and sugar cane fields of Punjab. Having unprecedented access to Army records and war diaries coupled with extensive interviews with the survivors some of whom were in their eightees five decades after the conflict lends authenticity to the author’s painstaking efforts of providing a first hand account of the conflict in five different and diverse theatres of war.  On September 20, 1965 the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution calling upon India and Pakistan to implement the ceasefire on 22 September at 7 AM GMT (12 PM IST). The resolution did not satisfy either country. India had set two conditions to the ceasefire:  that Pakistan would be declared the aggressor and give an assurance that it would not interfere in Kashmir thereafter. Neither conditions were agreed to. Pakistan too had hoped to defeat India with Chinese support and force plebiscite in Kashmir. This did not happen either. Ceasefire was finally declared between the two countries on 23 September at 3.30 AM (IST) after international pressure intensified. However, skirmishes still went on. In his foreword Union Defence minister Manohar Parrikar said the endeavour was to commemorate the 1965 Indo-Pakistan conflict. “”I hope the book will make you pause and think about the courage and sacrifice of our soldiers who defend our borders and ensure our freedom,”” he emphasised. Rachna is candid that mistakes are made even in wars and “”I have not tried to hide that. In many cases the bravery of the enemy has been applauded by our own soldiers.”” There are incidents where Pakistani Company Commanders have informed India about the bravery of an Indian soldier and vice versa. The author said “”she was touched to the core. Soldiers respect bravery, even in the enemy.””  Around 2 PM on 27 August 1965 Maj Ranjit Singh Dyal gets orders to launch the attack on Haji Pir. What had been planned as a brigade level attack is now being taken on by a single company. This suddenness of the daring assault he leads flusters the enemy and they flee in confusion. By 10 AM on 28 August Haji Pir pass is taken. Maj Dyal’s stories of courage are legendary.  He had the strength of character to stand by what he believed in.  2nd Lt Dyal was headed for big things in life. He would go on to command his unit, become the Army Commander, then General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, and later the Governor of both Puducherry and Andaman and Nicobar. He was one of the country’s first Maha Vir Chakra awardees of the 1965 war when India was still smarting from the reverses of the 1962 Chinese aggression.  The Indo-Pak war witnessed the largest tank battle in military history between WWII and 1965. Moe than a 1000 tanks on both sides took part in the deadly offensives. One of the most fascinating war trophies of the Battle of Sal Uttar. Battered and abandoned enemy tanks were lined up by the victorious Indian Army. In three days of the war 75 Pakistani tanks were destroyed or abandoned. These included the entire tank fleet of Pakistan’s 4 Cavalry, whose commanding officer, twelve officers and several soldiers of other ranks surrendered on the morning of 11 September. Lt Col H R Janu of 4 Grenadiers says he had counted as may as 103 tanks after the battle. This area was referred to as the Patton Tank graveyard. Subsequently named Patton Nagar it served as a unique memorial to all those who fought and fell at Asal Uttar or survived the ordeal of that battlefield. Then there are others whose individual acts of valour coupled with leadership on the battlefield unmindful of the injuries suffered by them inspired others to bash on regardless and silence the enemy. Being just out of school in 1964-65 one was overawed by the Army and the raw courage of these soldiers. Newspapers were flooded with the narration of their heroism despite their life hanging by a thread. Their supreme sacrifice coupled with the prestige of their regiments soared to new heights. It encompassed the valour of so many including Company Quarter Master, Havidar Abdul Hamid, awarded the PVC posthumously. During the capture of Phillora a splinter cut through Lt Col Ardeshir Burzorji Tarapore’s arm leaving a gaping wound. He refused to be evacuated insisting its just a scratch. Besides he still has to oversee the attack on Chawinda. In this battle his tank was hit several times. Inspired by his leadership his regiment fiercely attacked and destroyed as many as 60 tanks. He was also awarded the PVC posthumously.The furious action at Dograi had its own moments of anxiousness before achieving victory. There were several heroes including Lt Col Desmond Eugene Hayes who only made two demands from his men who were the Jats. The First is “”Ek Bhi aadmi peche nahi hatega”” and the second was “”Zinda ya murda Dograi mein milna hai.”” A compelling book which also underlines the need to remember the simple women who lost their husband on the battlefield thereby “”losing their today for our tomorrow.””

TR

(T R Ramachandran is a senior journalist and commentator.)
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