Stone pelting is weapon used by Pakistan to invade India: Advani

New Delhi, Aug 27 (UNI) Recalling the history of India when it was divided into two nations, senior BJP leader L K Advani today said the present situation in Kashmir is another tactic used by Pakistan to invade it. ''

The neighbouring nation has just changed its strategy to conquer this integral part of India. Initially it was through wars on borders, then proxy war and now civil war among people,'' Mr Advani said.

He was speaking during a discussion on 'Resolving the Kashmir Issue', organised by a Conclave of Defence Services Veterans here.

Referring to stone pelting incidents in the Valley, Mr Advani said it was not a deliberate act of innocent youths in the Valley but militants and some politically-motivated people formed a part of them.

''The people there are provoked to get into such an act,'' he said. In the august gathering of defence officers, the BJP leader also mentioned about calling back the Army from the Valley and said, ''It is a conscious effort to demonise the Army and if the government will accept it, the consequences will be terrible.'' He added that it was due to the efforts of the Indian Army that the state was still with India.

Mr Advani also elaborated the history of enforcement of Article 370 in the state and cited the sequence of events of how it was done. He categorically said if during the process of integration applied by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Kashmir would have been involved, then such a turmoil would have never occurred. He asserted that a measure of firmness was needed to resolve the issue in Kashmir.

However, ending his address by quoting BJP's Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, he said, ''The slogan still remains the same -- Ek desh mein do Vidhan, do Pradhan aur do Nishan nahin chalega (Two legislatures, two presidents and two symbols can not exist in one nation).''

Lieutenant General S K Sinha, Air Chief Marshal S Krishnamurthy, BJP leader Smriti Irani and many other dignitaries from Defence were also present on the occasion.

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High-tech 'Eye in the Sky' that can locate Maoists

New Delhi, Jun 29 (UNI) While the issue of using armed forces for anti-Maoist operations remains undecided, the Indian Army is already working to develop innovative methods to better its combat potential.

A Major in the Army has come up with a concept called 'Eye in the Sky', a model aircraft, which can be used to spot insurgents' hideouts and movements from a height of more than 350 m. ''The concept can be used at a height of at least 350 m above the ground and even people walking on the land can be spotted,'' the creator of the model, Maj Ashish Talwar, told UNI.

Detailing about the concept, he said the model aircraft has been modified as an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) with a camera and Global Positioning Navigation System (GPS) fitted.

''The specialty of this concept is that it can send back geographically referenced video imagery in real-time mode,'' the creator of the model, Maj Ashish Talwar, told UNI.

Pointing out one of the most significant utilities of the model, he said the video feed can be utilised to track any changes in the area like encroachments, damages to fences by comparing with the earlier video records, among others. ''It can also be used by Quick Response Teams (QRT) for aerial search,'' Maj Talwar, who is from Army Air Defence College in Gopalpur in Orissa, said.

Other salient features of the concept include quick launch, recovery capability, position reporting on secured frequency, low cost, ideal for field conditions, conceptual training and awareness of battlefield damage assessment, programmable both in Indian Army Grid Reference and Longitude/Latitude Format.

The Major is showcasing his invention during a two-day-long seminar-cum-exposition on ''Innovation - Marking a difference to the combat potential of Indian Army'' that started today at Headquarters Technical Group, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (EME).

The seminar was inaugurated by Chief of Army Staff Gen V K Singh in presence of senior officers from the Army and civil sector with participation from Defence Public Sector Undertakings, National Innovation Foundation (NIF) and Innovators
from the field Army.

External agencies like Foundation of Innovation and Technology, Transfer (FITT), Department of Science and Technology, SINE IIT, Mumbai, AIMA and Institutions of Engineers also participated in the seminar.

Army Chief ensures innovation in Army to get due recognition

New Delhi, Jun 29 (UNI) Realising that innovations done by the Armed forces remain unnoticed outside the sphere of uniform, Chief of Army Staff Gen V K Singh today ensured that the ideas would be given due recognition and passed on to the outside world.

''We will ensure that various innovative ideas are harnessed to their full potential and given due recognition so as to make sure that the transition from one generation to another is able to maintain the equipment in that prime condition,'' Gen Singh said.

He was addressing the gathering during the inaugural ceremony of a two-day-long seminar-cum-exposition on ''Innovation - Marking a difference to the combat potential of Indian Army'' held at Headquarters Technical Group, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (EME).

Gen Singh noted that 15 regional technical centres, affiliated to the Army Technical Group, are existing which ensure that the latest thing in the technology is passed to the environment. These regional centres also act as a type of repository of all
the innovations that came up in that particular region, he added.

Padmashri Prof Anil K Gupta, Dr S K Mittal from Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, W Selvamurthy, Chief Controller (Life Sciences and Human Resource), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), were also present on the occasion.

The seminar was attended by various senior officers from the Army and civil with participation from Defence Public Sector Undertakings, National Innovation Foundation (NIF) and Innovators from the field Army. External agencies like Foundation of Innovation and Technology, Transfer (FITT), Department of Science and Technology, SINE IIT, Mumbai, AIMA and Institutions of Engineers also participated in the seminar.

Terrorists do realise their mistakes : Lt Gen Sabharwal

New Delhi, Jan 25 (UNI) Although terrorism is an act of violence that spreads threat and fear among citizens, terrorists are human beings and they do realise their mistakes, Lt General Mukesh Sabharwal, Adjutant General of Indian Army, has stated.

''Today, there are cases when the arrested terrorists approach us requesting to admit their children in schools for general studies and development inclusively in the mainstream of the society,'' he said.

''This is because they had realised their mistake,'' he added.

Delivering the third Silver Jubilee Lecture at Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) here recently, Lt Gen Sabharwal also emphasised on the importance of internal security and said strengthening of local responders was necessary for it.

''Local responders, who involve capacity-building of the state police, para-military and civil forces, inclusive education and effort to change hearts, played a major role in maintaining the internal security of a State,'' he said.

He stressed that presence of mainstream media was also significant.

''The local media people have many kinds of slants and favours, and their reports are not conducive enough to ensure inclusive growth of the society,'' Lt Gen Sabharwal said.

Asked if the Army was doing anything to establish the country’s mainstream media houses in the State and protect them enough to function freely, a brigadier who accompanied the Lt Gen said such possibilities might be realised in gradual process.

Peace is possible through development measures and the Indian Army has taken a number of steps to empower the unemployed youth, women, ensure justice in the civil administration, he asserted.

''The Army believes that the fulcrum of all operations being the populace, all operations must aim at isolating the terrorists from the populace through people-friendly operations,'' he said.

Referring to the two bus services started between India and Pakistan from Uri to Muzaffarabad and Poonch to Rawalkote, he claimed that the feedback received from the passengers revealed that the grass was definitely greener at the India side.

Giving certain facts, he said the statistics between 1985 and 2005 spoke for themselves. ''The per capita income in Kashmir has increased by six times from Rs 2,874 to Rs 17,174. The people below poverty line (BPL) in the state have lessened by eight to 12 times. The imports and industry have increased in the state several times with taxable export value improved from Rs 89,000 lakh to Rs
6,33,000 lakh.''