Canada faces serious foreign interference issues, but these challenges must not be weaponized to unfairly target friendly and important allies like India.
In Episode 1544 of CutTheClutter, Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta looks at some top economists pointing to the pitfalls of ‘currency nationalism’ with data from 1991 to 2004.
Among 19 Indian firms sanctioned by US Treasury Dept was Lokesh Machines Ltd accused of coordinating with 'Russian defence procurement agent to import Italy-origin CNC machines'.
While we talk much about our military, we don’t put our national wallet where our mouth is. Nobody is saying we should double our defence spending, but current declining trend must be reversed.
There used to be a sniper section in each inf bn till 1965. After cease fire as an IO also in charge of this section I had deployed it. Our troops were itching for a kill as we had lost our CO Col NK Gupta on 16th of Sept 65 and the 2 IC 15 Dogra was killed at ichchogil while he walked flanked by the UN observers at Dograi at Ichchogil Canal on the main GT road to Lahore. 16 was deployed near Bhasin Village off GT Road then. Two of our snipers had attended the six weeks snipers course then run by the Inf School. The Balochis against used to abuse us daily. By the way we were really face to face with mines n wires in between us just 100 meters. That particular fateful day I accompanied the CO to bde HQ and as the CO thought that the conf is going to be a lengthy one asked to go back to the unit and be back by around lunch time. U all wont believe, we had 2nd WW 303 sniper rifles with that rounded back sight. Punjab cold at around 0830 I returned to the unit. My snipers stop trees signaled me that around 7 Balochis are sitting enjoying morning Sun and giving Galirs to us as usual. Now a IInd liteut in command was supposed to be the most dangerous man those day and I.just had few 10 months service. Not knowing the cease fire rules with 2IC 15th example and loss of our wonderful CO some days back made me to alert the sniper men. I just informed the CO sitting in conf and without getting his orders gave a go ahead to snipers. The Dogru sniper sec cdr a very very experienced person (to cut it short) ordered simultaneous fire with six snipers just a bullet each and to leave posns immediately as Pakies will immediately open up. Bullet each killed nine Balochies as 303 sniper at just 125 yards would go through 3 men with 2400 ft per sec per sec. I was observing from the front most foxhole bunker and counted 9 being carried in Jeeps n ambulances. Again while CO was away directly over the sets informed the Div HQ got the biggest billowcking of my life from GI int. Within mins the Pakies opened their guns of all caliber but we were safe in the bunkers. Well the NEW GOC 15 DIV asked the Div Arty to open up along with some of the Corps Arty at our disposal. The news was Pakies had lost nearly more than 100 that day by arty as were caught off guard. MOST UNFORTUNATELY THE INF BN LOST THE SNIPER SEC DURING THE RE ORG OF INF UNIT. BUT 16 HAD TAKEN ITS REVANGE.
What use is specialist sniper in this scenario where the battle shifts to a new location each day. This is not Stalingrad or Iraq (with vast sanitised areas with coalition ). Here each step is in hostile territory and its difficult to identify friend from foe.How will this specialist pair be inserted or extricated without loss of surprise, will they be positioned on rooftops or a vantage hill point for hours alone?
How will they identify the target as their location shifts each day unless the terrorist displays his weapons openly as he walks around in the target area…more often than not it will be hidden and he will be mingling in the crowd like an ordinary guy.
Even if they successfully engage , how will this pair be successfully extricated…will a large body of troops be ready at hand to enter a town or village ….can they themselves stay undetected…
Today , on contact, the officer on ground must be sending his Dragunov pair to vantage point to increase their chances of eliminating the threat…
Sniping …from ANEs existed always…specially when approaching or when inside a large village or a town or on routes where the movements are on near fixed regular timings like the administrative movements.
I am very very sorry to hear that, till now there is no proper sniper training facility in Indian Army. It is very sad to hear that till Dragunov sniper rifle is in service in Indian armed forces. There are lot of variety of sniper rifle are being uses world wide but till India is back ward in the same. How Sniper rifle is essential in battle fields has been proved in Iraq and Afghanistan. immediately India should take forward step to manufacture Sniper rifles because India did not manufacture any sniper rifle till now. If it’s not possible then India should import sniper rifles from foreign country. And should arrange sniper training with the presence of international sniper specialist instructors.
Again. There are lot of good sniper rifles are being used in British Army and US Army like: Barret M107, Barret M82 those are anti material sniper rifles .50 cal. Besides L115, Remington M200 are also world class sniper rifles. It’s not possible to stand against such kind of proxy war without proper battle gears.
This fact is known for years
….The author himself was aware while in service. God knows who needs to wake up…
The feeling is awful.
Just a few 100 crores is not much in perspective…
But we are a country of pricrasi ators of critical issues.
And thus destined to suffer more…
And a few hundred lives aren’t …
No one cares when the organisation it self is so careless and incompetent in mattars of procurement.
What about appropriate bulletproofs, shoes, and
So many essentials.
Sir, I take offence to your statement that the Infantry School does not provide quality training to snipers. As an officer who has always held the adherence to the the truth as the Highest Principal, this statement is “ way off the mark”. We have good snipers, we provide quality training but do agree that there is more to do in a few aspects. Please do not make Irresponsible, Unsubstantiated and Wild Statements. That is disservice! Regards from the Commandant Infantry School
Basically higher ranking people don’t want well trained people because they can’t be used for daily cores, more the people you churn out be it untrained more hands to work with.
All retired personel suggest N number of suggestions but dont insist when they belong to a system.Snipers or Marksmen were effectively used in Suvarn Mandir 2 nd time debacle.Lt.Gen.Panag is principally right in telling about Training.
Who &When?
He is right. We do not have snipers. Got to train abroad. Give them the best rifle. But , Alas ! Who will buy weapons for them ? Govt does not want to give Army a penny for modernisation. But for Rafele nothing else is going to come. Bif question on Rafele too. So …… keep getting killed … Cannon Fodder soldiers …. still enough volunteers to get into Army because of unemployment ….. and this being the only job with pension …
Defense planers and strategists must
see Hollywood movies like Jem’s bond
Spy moves or like that of Mission Impossible may be hit man and all
Other war movies in order to keep them up to date regarding the trends
of latest and also futuristic techniques
of Warcrafts.
Kudos to the General…….he has invoked a very important yet basic need of any fighting army anywhere in the world. Every section, platoon, or patrol unit of the Indian army must include a highly trained sniper team, which always has the advantage of not only nuetralising distant targets but also keeps the enemy pinned down and lets the rest of the unit advance in on the threat for further action. Another soldier with a M249 SAW or better yet the new LSAT light machine gun would be a added bonus. The LMG’s and other machine guns used by the Indian army foot units are very heavy and should be out phased, giving way to drum fed magazines.
Now people will call for patience, restraint, need to sit and discuss and not rush into counter measures, humanity, excessive force by armed forces and what not. These people, typical bureaucrats should serve at the line of Control and then allowed to open their mouths, better still, their children have to be inducted into the service to ensure that they understand the pain. Wakey wakey Indian politicians, learn to deal with a firm hand and ensure safety of our personnel.
As usual a reactive mindset. Paki change the dynamics and we react. After all our generals are busy sorting out their command on the behest of their babu masters!!!
Let me say that I know better about guns because dragunov is equal to vss which is a bad rifle and has a high bullet drop not for long combat and hence it was already used in 1963 meaning it is a antique piece which is I’ll give u an example u can’t compare a Maruti 800 with a Lamborghini the bad guys have good ammunition why can’t the government have.
Little knowledge is really dangerous dude … Dragunov is listed as a sniper rifle in the WE of the Infantry Battalions. Grant the Gen his due … he has commanded troops right from a platoon till an Army (to include 1971 war and numerous counter insurgency ops)
Mr Panag, as a former officer, should be aware that the SVD Dragunov is not a sniper rifle and never was intended to be one. It’s a designated marksman rifle and is intended to provide a standard infantry unit with a weapon that can shoot further than the usual soldier’s infantry rifle.
There used to be a sniper section in each inf bn till 1965. After cease fire as an IO also in charge of this section I had deployed it. Our troops were itching for a kill as we had lost our CO Col NK Gupta on 16th of Sept 65 and the 2 IC 15 Dogra was killed at ichchogil while he walked flanked by the UN observers at Dograi at Ichchogil Canal on the main GT road to Lahore. 16 was deployed near Bhasin Village off GT Road then. Two of our snipers had attended the six weeks snipers course then run by the Inf School. The Balochis against used to abuse us daily. By the way we were really face to face with mines n wires in between us just 100 meters. That particular fateful day I accompanied the CO to bde HQ and as the CO thought that the conf is going to be a lengthy one asked to go back to the unit and be back by around lunch time. U all wont believe, we had 2nd WW 303 sniper rifles with that rounded back sight. Punjab cold at around 0830 I returned to the unit. My snipers stop trees signaled me that around 7 Balochis are sitting enjoying morning Sun and giving Galirs to us as usual. Now a IInd liteut in command was supposed to be the most dangerous man those day and I.just had few 10 months service. Not knowing the cease fire rules with 2IC 15th example and loss of our wonderful CO some days back made me to alert the sniper men. I just informed the CO sitting in conf and without getting his orders gave a go ahead to snipers. The Dogru sniper sec cdr a very very experienced person (to cut it short) ordered simultaneous fire with six snipers just a bullet each and to leave posns immediately as Pakies will immediately open up. Bullet each killed nine Balochies as 303 sniper at just 125 yards would go through 3 men with 2400 ft per sec per sec. I was observing from the front most foxhole bunker and counted 9 being carried in Jeeps n ambulances. Again while CO was away directly over the sets informed the Div HQ got the biggest billowcking of my life from GI int. Within mins the Pakies opened their guns of all caliber but we were safe in the bunkers. Well the NEW GOC 15 DIV asked the Div Arty to open up along with some of the Corps Arty at our disposal. The news was Pakies had lost nearly more than 100 that day by arty as were caught off guard. MOST UNFORTUNATELY THE INF BN LOST THE SNIPER SEC DURING THE RE ORG OF INF UNIT. BUT 16 HAD TAKEN ITS REVANGE.
What use is specialist sniper in this scenario where the battle shifts to a new location each day. This is not Stalingrad or Iraq (with vast sanitised areas with coalition ). Here each step is in hostile territory and its difficult to identify friend from foe.How will this specialist pair be inserted or extricated without loss of surprise, will they be positioned on rooftops or a vantage hill point for hours alone?
How will they identify the target as their location shifts each day unless the terrorist displays his weapons openly as he walks around in the target area…more often than not it will be hidden and he will be mingling in the crowd like an ordinary guy.
Even if they successfully engage , how will this pair be successfully extricated…will a large body of troops be ready at hand to enter a town or village ….can they themselves stay undetected…
Today , on contact, the officer on ground must be sending his Dragunov pair to vantage point to increase their chances of eliminating the threat…
Sniping …from ANEs existed always…specially when approaching or when inside a large village or a town or on routes where the movements are on near fixed regular timings like the administrative movements.
I am very very sorry to hear that, till now there is no proper sniper training facility in Indian Army. It is very sad to hear that till Dragunov sniper rifle is in service in Indian armed forces. There are lot of variety of sniper rifle are being uses world wide but till India is back ward in the same. How Sniper rifle is essential in battle fields has been proved in Iraq and Afghanistan. immediately India should take forward step to manufacture Sniper rifles because India did not manufacture any sniper rifle till now. If it’s not possible then India should import sniper rifles from foreign country. And should arrange sniper training with the presence of international sniper specialist instructors.
Again. There are lot of good sniper rifles are being used in British Army and US Army like: Barret M107, Barret M82 those are anti material sniper rifles .50 cal. Besides L115, Remington M200 are also world class sniper rifles. It’s not possible to stand against such kind of proxy war without proper battle gears.
This fact is known for years
….The author himself was aware while in service. God knows who needs to wake up…
The feeling is awful.
Just a few 100 crores is not much in perspective…
But we are a country of pricrasi ators of critical issues.
And thus destined to suffer more…
And a few hundred lives aren’t …
No one cares when the organisation it self is so careless and incompetent in mattars of procurement.
What about appropriate bulletproofs, shoes, and
So many essentials.
There is no doubt that Indian soldiers are fighting with obsolete weapons.
Sir, I take offence to your statement that the Infantry School does not provide quality training to snipers. As an officer who has always held the adherence to the the truth as the Highest Principal, this statement is “ way off the mark”. We have good snipers, we provide quality training but do agree that there is more to do in a few aspects. Please do not make Irresponsible, Unsubstantiated and Wild Statements. That is disservice! Regards from the Commandant Infantry School
Basically higher ranking people don’t want well trained people because they can’t be used for daily cores, more the people you churn out be it untrained more hands to work with.
All retired personel suggest N number of suggestions but dont insist when they belong to a system.Snipers or Marksmen were effectively used in Suvarn Mandir 2 nd time debacle.Lt.Gen.Panag is principally right in telling about Training.
Who &When?
pay heed. else will keep getting casualties. Train abroad. Get better sniper rifles .
He is right. We do not have snipers. Got to train abroad. Give them the best rifle. But , Alas ! Who will buy weapons for them ? Govt does not want to give Army a penny for modernisation. But for Rafele nothing else is going to come. Bif question on Rafele too. So …… keep getting killed … Cannon Fodder soldiers …. still enough volunteers to get into Army because of unemployment ….. and this being the only job with pension …
Defense planers and strategists must
see Hollywood movies like Jem’s bond
Spy moves or like that of Mission Impossible may be hit man and all
Other war movies in order to keep them up to date regarding the trends
of latest and also futuristic techniques
of Warcrafts.
Kudos to the General…….he has invoked a very important yet basic need of any fighting army anywhere in the world. Every section, platoon, or patrol unit of the Indian army must include a highly trained sniper team, which always has the advantage of not only nuetralising distant targets but also keeps the enemy pinned down and lets the rest of the unit advance in on the threat for further action. Another soldier with a M249 SAW or better yet the new LSAT light machine gun would be a added bonus. The LMG’s and other machine guns used by the Indian army foot units are very heavy and should be out phased, giving way to drum fed magazines.
Now people will call for patience, restraint, need to sit and discuss and not rush into counter measures, humanity, excessive force by armed forces and what not. These people, typical bureaucrats should serve at the line of Control and then allowed to open their mouths, better still, their children have to be inducted into the service to ensure that they understand the pain. Wakey wakey Indian politicians, learn to deal with a firm hand and ensure safety of our personnel.
As usual a reactive mindset. Paki change the dynamics and we react. After all our generals are busy sorting out their command on the behest of their babu masters!!!
Let me say that I know better about guns because dragunov is equal to vss which is a bad rifle and has a high bullet drop not for long combat and hence it was already used in 1963 meaning it is a antique piece which is I’ll give u an example u can’t compare a Maruti 800 with a Lamborghini the bad guys have good ammunition why can’t the government have.
Little knowledge is really dangerous dude … Dragunov is listed as a sniper rifle in the WE of the Infantry Battalions. Grant the Gen his due … he has commanded troops right from a platoon till an Army (to include 1971 war and numerous counter insurgency ops)
So what did you do about it when you were eating the army’s rations
A serious issue which needs immediate redressal.
Mr Panag, as a former officer, should be aware that the SVD Dragunov is not a sniper rifle and never was intended to be one. It’s a designated marksman rifle and is intended to provide a standard infantry unit with a weapon that can shoot further than the usual soldier’s infantry rifle.