Olympic Series

Olympics – 1996 Atlanta

To celebrate the Centennial Games, something more than a show choreographed by Americans, for Americans – even a faultlessly organized show – was needed. However, this was anything but...

The selection of Atlanta to host the 1996 Games was met with scepticism and disapproval: the United States again, and barely twelve years after Los Angeles. There was logic in the choice: the American chain CBS alone provided US $ 456 million of the US $ 898 million dollars in rights revenues. Atlanta is also the seat of Coca – Cola, faithful partner of the Games. However, the logic of the decision was seen by many to be deeply flawed.

But there were other symbols at play. Atlanta is the native city of Martin Luther King, the Baptist pastor with a dream who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. And in this Southern city, it was a black man, Muhammad Ali, who lit the Olympic cauldron. He was crowned world champion in Rome, under the name of Cassius Clay, and then went on to win the world over with his talent and charisma. And it was two black athletes, Michael Johnson and Marie – Jose Peree, who pulled off the most magnificent feats of the fortnight.

Yet for all the jostling imagery, the Atlanta Games will be remembered for overcrowded and chaotic transport, a defective computer system, poorly – prepared and often incompetent on – site volunteers, a disturbingly biased crowd and an extremely mercenary attitude, especially around the Olympic Park. This was the site of a bomb explosion early on 27 July, which left one person dead and more than one hundred injured. It was as if Atlanta had to pay the price for its original sin: being chosen for the Centennial Games, ahead of Athens.

Michael Johnson: ‘I Wanted to Go Down in History’

Thanks to his incredible 19.32, Michael Johnson won the Olympic Gold and broke his own world record – all just three days after winning the 400 meters. Having been knocked out of the competition in the semi finals in Barcelona, owing to food poisoning, his Atlanta double represented revenge and relief. Michael had bettered his world record of 19.65 by .33 seconds, a huge improvement by any yardstick. The track was fast and he ran real fast after a less than ideal start, in fact he nearly fell over when he came off the blocks.  Michael, who idolised Jesse Owens, received a letter from his widow Ruth, after the American trials; and from the first round of the 400 meters to the final of the 200 meters that letter never left him. He was under enormous pressure and that is what brought the best from him. Winning the double of 200 and 400 meters in the Olympics and beating the world and Games record was deserving of a place in history.

Perec Becomes a Legend

Even before completing her fabulous 200 and 400 meters double, Marie – Jose became the first athlete to retain her 400 meter title. It all started in 1991, when she won the 400 meters in the World Championships in Tokyo. In Barcelona she was the favourite, a role which she assumed perfectly. The 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart gave her the opportunity to satisfy her appetite for challenge. She ran the 200 meters, but finished fourth. In 1994 she moved from Paris to Los Angeles and joined the stable of legendary sprint coach John Smith. With this champion maker, she learnt self management, discipline and relaxation. Normally so tense before each race, so anxious she made herself ill, Perec learned to control her nerves. With the help of John Smith’s relaxation techniques, Perec became a different woman. On 29 July, by retaining her Olympic title in a race she dominated, Marie Jose Perec became a legend. A legend of a little girl with long, thin legs, who became the best athlete in the world in her discipline.

The Legend of King Lewis

Carl Lewis at the age of thirty five, took home his fourth long jump Gold medal, and his ninth in all, making him truly the athlete of the century. If someone wrote a novel based on his life, it would have all the ingredients of a bestseller. A career inspiring hate and respect. Blood, sweat and tears, often of happiness, sometimes of despair. Nothing would be missing. He has even left posterity a stunning photographic record. Fredrick Carleton McKinley Lewis, born July 1 1961, Birmingham, Alabama gave the world a new image, one of almost childlike emotion, on the podium where he received his Ninth Gold Medal of his phenomenal career. After jumping 8.50 meters, he became the quadruple Olympic champion, a feat which only discus thrower Al Oerter had achieved.

Me Sacha – Not Tarzan

As he did in Barcelona, Aleksandr Popov completed the 50 and 100 meters double, a feat achieved before him only by Johnny Weismuller, Tarzan. Beating the Americans on their home turf became an obsession, which he did by taking on Gary Hall of USA and winning the 100 meters. If ever one day one wanted to convert somebody to swimming, he should have shown them Aleksandr ‘Sacha’ Popov in action. Popov has all the qualities of the perfect swimmer, from the physique, the formidable strength in his arms and legs, the giant arm span, and perfect technique, described by Mark Spitz as ‘the genius of action’. Popov has two further qualities without which even the most talented swimmer will never become a champion: intelligence, and the dogged determination that allowed him to push an excellent Gary Hall, his American rival, out of the way, just as he had Matt Biondi four years ago.

The End of a Mighty Reign

Miguel Indurain bowed out with Gold against the clock. Modern sport is fertile ground for icons and myth - making, and especially cycling – that gruelling, grinding, solitary effort that attracts the obsessed and the bloody minded. After Chris Boardman in the Barcelona Games, four years later, an even greater cycling icon was brought to the Atlanta Games, carefully packaged inside the ribcage of that Spanish colossus, Miguel Indurain. At rest, Indurain’s massive heart was said to beat 28 times per minute. At peak performance it multiplied its spasms by more than seven times to 210 beats per minute. This remarkable organ, fuelled by great, flotation - tank lungs with a capacity of eight litres, lay at the centre of one of the most extraordinary physiques in sporting history. As if this incredible engine was not enough, Indurain was impervious to stress. The voracious hunger that brought him five consecutive Tour de France wins between 1991 and 1995 was disguised beneath an exterior that was reminiscent of nothing so much as a huge, friendly whale. In the summer of 1996 he had relinquished his Tour de France crown and finished eleventh, exhausted. Only a personal appeal from his Spanish compatriot Juan Antonio Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) persuaded him to travel to Atlanta.

Karelin Saves Russia’s Pride

Even in front of his home crowd, Siamek ‘Matt’ Ghaffari, USA was powerless to stop Aleksandr Karelin, undefeated since 1989. Karelin lived up to his reputation, bringing back his third Olympic Gold medal in a row. Nothing less was expected of him, although a lot more was expected his Russian team – mates, far less dominant than envisaged. On the last day of the Greco – Roman wrestling, Matt Ghaffari the American born in Teheran, Iran, faced the Russian ogre Karelin. Ghaffari entered the mat to the strains of the theme from ‘Rocky’. Karelin walked undaunted by the wildly pro – Ghaffari crowd. Neither 130 kg super – heavyweight held back, and colossal blow followed colossal blow. ‘To beat Karelin, you’d have to be King – Kong’, explained Ghaffari after his defeat, with humour and respect in equal measure.  

The Games In Brief

Opening Date                                                19 July 1996

Closing Date                                                   4 August 1996

Host Nation                                                    USA

Nations Represented                                    197

Athletes                                                           10,320 (3,523 women, 6,797 men)

Sports                                                               27 (21 open to women)

Events                                                               271 (108 open to women)

Games Opened By                                          Bill Clinton, President USA

Olympic Flame Lit By                                      Muhammad Ali (boxing)

Olympic Oath Read By                                   Teresa Edwards (basketball)

IOC President                                                   Juan Antonio Samaranch (Esp)

Yachtsman Hubert Raudaschi of Austria became the first athlete to compete in nine Olympics, having first taken part in the Tokyo Games in 1964.

PS -: Matter researched from the archives of the Olympic Games museum in Lausanne.

Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal

Extraordinary situations demand extraordinary actions.

LET THE VETERANS GIVE A VOICE TO THE CONCERNS OF THE FORCES – AKIN TO THE CIVIL SOCIETY MOVEMENT AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT

The series of scams which have been put forth in the public domain;  courtesy the active and alert media, is an encouraging indicator of democracy maturing in the country and the growing middle class influencing and shaping  public opinion, like never before. While, social activism is and activists are, relentless in their single point pursuit of battling the nuisance and bane of corruption in public life, the NGO India against Corruption, under the stewardship of the soldier and veteran Anna Hazare, has brought this issue under acute focus. Notwithstanding the adamantine and obdurate polity, which continues to duck, obfuscate and sidetrack the subject, as it obtains in the people’s perception: Anna Hazare and his band of selfless followers continue to engage and badger the government, on the matter of passing a worthy and potent Lok Pal Bill and enact it as law. Moreover, the democratic process which goes into action every five years, to elect the people’s representatives, weighs on the minds of the political parties to carry out midcourse corrections to their policies, with the intent to respond to public demands for better governance. Thus, with the continuous apprehension of losing power, the government is slowly arm twisted into obedience and dutiful action to address the concerned issues. Even with the thought that the situation is not ideal and leaves a lot of room for improvement, there is hope for the future, because the burgeoning middle class stimulated by a resurgent and stable economy, is likely to enlarge its base and make a significant impact on the outcome of the elections – hopefully for the better.

While that is so, there is a need of something on very similar lines to be done with regard to the armed forces in general and the army in particular. The armed forces being a hierarchical and an autocratic organization enjoy absolute authority and power for good reason, which is unfortunately identified with rank alone; but when the same is overstepped and misused, it goes into a virtual Ferris wheel like trajectory – without a beginning and an end, impossible to stop, lest the power is cut/switched off. This analogy applies to the forces, because herein authority flows from top downwards, and while there are rules and regulations to cite and uphold by the subordinates, in the face of any untoward/unlawful/venal/immoral happening, the prudence and courage to abide by the same is generally absent. As it will tantamount to a virtual ‘hara-kiri’ for one’s career growth and professional prosperity. Let this be explained at greater length for easy understanding. When the senior leadership of the forces becomes bereft of rectitude and probity in their professional and private life and yet remain in authority over the subordinates; whom they assess and judge for potential growth within the organization and the ubiquitous system: who will then bite the bullet to stand up against the wrong doers who shape and promote careers and fulfil ill gotten ambition. There was a time when I was told and believed that, to cleanse and purge the system, one will necessarily have to do it from within, but today I stand corrected on my belief, in the wake of shameful wrong doing happening unabated, despite any amount of clarion calls by the authorities to stand up against what is morally and ethically undermining. This is not going to happen, for the simple reason that the system is hierarchical and rank identifies with it. Wrong survives better than right, in a material environment, which is governed by the ends, than the means.  The noticeable acts of corruption and embezzlement are committed where authority is reposed and the threshold for this is the rank of the commanding officer and its equivalent. The power to initiate an annual confidential report also rests with the same authority and the beginnings of most mischief starts from here.

Ever since I wrote on my URL passionforcourage.blogspot.com about the NDA job scam, I have received many mails and telephone calls, urging me to write more on similar inside stories to which I may be privy to; with the purpose of getting into the seam of the matter and exposing the issue without fear or favour. It is times that, we who are on the outside, by the power of our honesty and intellectual integrity, mobilize public opinion and help it to proliferate up to a critical level from where it cannot be ignored and the organization is coerced into initiating systemic changes. The social activists are replicated, albeit in a different profile, to shake up and jostle the powers that be by engaging these through the veterans, politicians, bureaucrats and civil society – with the one point aim of making repairs to the institution which is getting hollow from within. Let the sunshine disinfect all that is putrid and moth eaten within the system, without a strain of hypocrisy to deny and justify all that is wrong and finger point at others, for the problems which are our own creation than anybody else. The demand of the time is to come out without any hesitation or else self effacing reasoning to keep away from doing so, because the situation is unlikely to improve, should we not support the junior leadership of the forces and the army in particular, who have not as yet been bitten by the bug of corruption and have not transited into becoming spineless noodles , to stand up against wrong in the firm belief and full faith that, COURAGE, CHARACTER and COMPETENCE are virtues, which adorn men of substance. Let the young leader of today; be emblazoned with the passion, to live out a life in the forces and the army in particular with dignity, gumption and honour than becoming a general or its equivalent, who is mired in shame and disgrace. Let the guilty generals or their equivalents be made public specimens of, and we may be on the road of putting a stop to the spate of scams, which have besieged the brotherhood in recent times. Extra ordinary situations demand extraordinary actions. The various acts which are enshrined in the statute should be re examined, to calibrate the degree of the punishment according to the rank and public ignominy for the generals and their equivalents must be introduced.

Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal

+919410900051

Olympic series

Olympics – 1992 Barcelona

President Samaranch spoke of the best Olympic Games’, referring to the welcome received by the athletes and media and the conditions in which they worked. These Games were the first to be held under the new geopolitical order; Games organized by professionals for professionals.

Everyone was there, or nearly: post apartheid South Africa, after a long absence from the Games; the Baltic states Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, alongside another fifteen nations emerging from the disintegration of the Soviet Union, reassembled in the Commonwealth of Independent States, although their national anthems and flags were used as a matter of protocol. The Germans competed under one nation after the absorption of East Germany in 1990. North and South Yemen had merged. Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia came separately, as war still raged in Yugoslavia. Their enemies from Serbia and Montenegro were also present.

Only the Palestinians were missing: they would not be represented at the Olympics for another four years. Everyone was there, then, or nearly: amateurs, of course, but professionals, too – admitted for the first time. This meant that even more of the greatest athletes in the world could be seen in action: Luis Enrique or Guardiola in football, Chris Boardman in cycling, and above all the inspirational American basketball players of the NBA, together in an unbeatable Dream Team.

Everyone was there, then, or nearly, and Juan Antonio Samaranch, the Catalan president of the IOC, was proud of these first Catalan Games and the enthusiasm they provoked. The organization was impeccable. Not even the extraordinary security measures could chill the atmosphere.

Dream of Dreams ….

Displaying their inspirational skills, the United States took back what they considered their birthright: the Olympic basketball title. The Dream team was tucked in bed early for the first time of their Spanish vacation, for the day ahead – the finals. They had played their last training match against members of the Spanish police to thank them for taking care of security. Now they were ready. The Croatians were ready too. The half time score of 56 – 42 meant the Americans still had to play carefully. Croatia made a game of it, after a fashion: the result was never in doubt, but there was at least a game to watch, which was a sort of moral victory. The contest ended 117 – 85.

Magic Johnson’s happiness illuminated the Olympic tournament. Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson, a natural leader, steered the Dream Team towards Olympic glory, while keeping his childlike spirit, the spirit of a child delighted to be living in a land of giants. ‘Magic’, basketball demi - god touched by the demons of Aids, once more defied logic. He not only declared himself HIV + to the entire world, he was quite simply a kid, 6 feet 8 inches tall and strong (218 lbs) for his age … You forgot he’s 32 and has his torments. All you noticed were his mischievous eyes, spontaneous laugh and his simple shared happiness. ‘I really enjoyed myself’, he said leaving the court. ‘I experienced an extraordinary feeling and when the national anthem was played, I felt really emotional on the podium!’ At the final whistle, the US team gathered round their emblematic star.

A Triumph of Humility over Technology

Chris Boardman’s athleticism was overshadowed by his equipment. The relation between sport and technology is double – edged: sometimes athletes and coaches drive technological progress. Sometimes, the technologists themselves revolutionize sport. Whatever way it happens, technology is invariably easier to understand than the vagaries of the human machine. The bike designed for Chris Boardman by Mike Burrows and built by Lotus, the Formula 1 car designers, was a carbon composite monocoque with low drag aerodynamic cross sections, formed with unidirectional and stitched high strength carbon fiber in an epoxy resin matrix; it was something the press could really get its teeth into. In the preliminary rounds of the men’s 4,000 meters individual pursuit, Boardman rode the new machine to world records, demoralizing the other contenders. In the final, he lapped world champion Jens Lehmann. It was unprecedented. For much of the media it was a triumph for technology over muscle power, despite Lehmann’s insistence: ‘I was beaten by the rider, not the bike’.

Outrunning His Demons

Always placed, Linford Christie, the British athlete born in Jamaica, had become the oldest 100 meters champion in history. Linford capped the best season of his life with the Olympic 100 meters title. Aged 32, he was the oldest 100meters champion in Olympic history, by four years. His second place in the semi final behind former world record holder Leroy Burrell (USA) was his first defeat of the year. In the final, Burrell was blamed for a false start, and, with his nerves in tatters, never threatened. He had won his first major title, the 200 meters in the 1986 European indoor Championships, aged almost twenty six. ‘People have always said that I’m too old. But it’s never too late. If the mind is willing, the body will follow.’ He was second in the final in Seoul, after Ben Johnson’s disqualification. Christie had maintained his competitive edge at an age when most sprinters had long given up.

The Exemplary Hassiba Boulmerka

She was the symbolic figure of the woman who gave Algeria its first Olympic title. Her victory in the 1500 meters, confirmed the world title she achieved a year ago in Tokyo. With her country’s national flag tied around her neck, she took the traditional lap of honor. Since the start of the year, this woman from Constantine had been on the move and in training. Even if she did not say so, life as a role model for women cannot be easy in a country of rampant religious fundamentalism. Her first words to the press were surprising for a young woman proud of her independence and determined to live her own life. ‘I do not get involved in politics. I am just an ordinary woman defending my country. I have run for the martyrs of my country and I offer this Olympic title to the father of our country, President Mohammed Boudiat, a true democrat, assassinated at Annaba. I run for a peaceful, free and tolerant Algeria.’

Queen Krisztina

Hungary’s triple champion, Krisztina Egerszegi, was the star of the Olympic pool. If the Danube was ever as blue as Krisztina’s blue eyes, then all the music written in its honor was well worth it. With her perfect figure, long legs, brown locks of hair and beaming smile, she had lit up every corner of the pool during the six – day Olympic swimming programme. Since winning her first Olympic title at Seoul for the 200 meters backstroke, when she was fourteen, this child prodigy had grown three inches and now weighed 121 pounds. She won the 100, 200 meters backstroke and the 400 meters individual medley, and in Hungary was called the mouse – the literal translation of ‘Eger’.

Scherbo Has Every Right to Be Proud

Belorussian gymnast Vitaly Scherbo took six Gold medals. In Olympics history, only Mark Spitz had won more at a single Game. Vitaly Scherbo had always been a player. A showman, even, to quote his national coach Aleksandr Arkeyev, and one with a particular penchant for the Olympic Games. He came to Spain hoping to come away with the Gold medal in the All – Around competition, but left with six Gold medals.

Lady Rambo

There are two halves to Jackie Joyner Kersee. There’s her brother Al Joyner, Olympic triple jump champion at Los Angeles and husband of Florence Griffith Joyner ( Flo Jo). Then there is Kersee, as in Bob, Jackie’s husband and coach to the glittering world of athletes. Talking about Jackie, Bob had said, ‘if there’s a female version of Rambo, it must be her’. She won the Heptathlon in both Seoul and Barcelona and significantly exceeded 7000 points, thus becoming the only one to have done so. Born on 3^rd March 1962, her parents named her Jacqueline after President Kennedy’s wife. Her grandmother once said ‘one day, this girl will be First Lady of something’. At 30, Jackie Joyner – Kersee had proved her right.

For Cecilia

The deeply religious Mexican – American boxer Oscar De La Hoya won for his mother, who died of cancer. In the ring the 19 year old, 5 feet 5 inches, knelt and, with a light touch of his glove, blew a kiss to the one he had lost. Oscar was the Olympic lightweight champion for her. After the contest, De La Hoya held the Stars and Stripes aloft in one hand, and a Mexican flag in the other; and the people loved it.

The Games In Brief

Opening Date                                          25 July 1992

Closing Date                                            9 August 1992

Host Nation                                              Spain

Nations Represented                               169

Athletes                                                    9,344 (2,708 women, 6636 men)

Sports                                                       25 (17 open to women)

Events                                                       257 (101 open to women)

Games Officially Opened By                    King Juan Carlos of Spain

Olympic Oath Read By                             Luis Doreste Blanco (sailing)

Olympic Flame Lit By                               Antonio Rebello (archery, paraolympian)

IOC President                                           Juan Antonio Samaranch (ESP)

PS -: matter researched from the Olympics Games Museum in Lausanne.

Brigadier (retd) S  D Dangwal

+919410900051             

These acts are no aberrations. But a habit.

The NDA Job Scam – When The Fence Eats Into The Garden

The Times of India edition of 5^th July 2012 published a story on the civilian employees recruitment scam, in the premier pre commission training establishment for defence services, National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla. The matter related to moneys taken from the prospective candidates for 40 vacancies in the group ‘C’ posts of cooks, waiters, cadet orderlies, gardeners, attendants, library assistants  etc, and ensuring their employment by tweaking the process and blatantly cheating at the level of the Board of Officers (BOO), constituted for guaranteeing a fair and merit based selection. The case, which is presently being investigated by the CBI, involves two army colonels, civilian officers and employees, touts and local civilian contractors, who schemed and connived to cheat and profit from the opportunity. The Ministry of Defence, in a bid to ensure a fair and proper investigation into the matter has removed the Commandant, NDA who has come under suspicion, owing to the fact that his staff officer, one Kulbir Singh, is one of the main accomplices in this scam. So far, so good. My story, is about the other accused colonel and who is Anil Kumar Singh, the Physical Training Officer, NDA and  is the Presiding Officer of the BOO.

This officer, like many others transferred from the Mechanised Infantry into the Army Physical Training Corps (APTC) and has served under me, while I was in service. While I was his superior and the Head of Service of the APTC, A K Singh was always and ever on the lookout for any opportunity which came his way to ingratiate himself to me as also others, who mattered. The officer, an ex NDA himself and from India Squadron, is of an average calibre but ambitious to the extent of going to any distance, for self seeking positional and promotional gains. On an occasion, when I was the Deputy Director General (DDG) in the Integrated Head Quarters of Defence (Army), he wrote to me an unsigned demi official letter, requesting for an undue favour regarding his posting, which was most unbecoming in the circumstances, keeping in mind the turnover of officers in the interest of the Corps and the Organization. This was seen by me in a very adverse and poor manner, and I recommended suitable administrative action against him, to his superior officer and the commandant. The commandant doled out an innocuous warning to the officer, as a matter of routine compliance to my observation, probably because of his closeness to the officer for whatever good reason or otherwise. Given the unbecoming alliance between some senior officers in the Army institute of Physical Training (AIPT) and the Directorate General of Military Training, A K Singh managed to get his way with regard to his posting, with tacit support from the then Director General of Military Training, who also happens to be the ex officio Colonel Commandant of the APTC and who prevailed upon the parent Military Secretary’s branch, to do the needful. By the time I learnt about this, The DGMT and the Colonel Commandant was on his way on promotion to command a Corps in the Northern Sector. I, then wrote to the Deputy Military Secretary (Dy MS) about the grave wrong which was about to get done, should the officer’s request be upheld with regard to his posting, notwithstanding the favourable recommendation of the erstwhile DGMT and Colonel Commandant, who, was by now comfortably ensconced in his new appointment, on promotion. My letter was also forward to the ex DGMT, apprising him about my request to the Dy MS, to ignore the former’s directions on AK Singh’s request about his posting. The Dy MS saw good reason in my recommendations to undo what had been done and posted out the officer from where he wanted to remain for another year or so.

Besides the above, the officer is so obsessed with the thought and desire to somehow succeed, that he can stoop to a level of cringing subservience – just for the sake of that annual report which could well become his gateway to the next rank. And, this is exactly what his undoing became in the instant matter of getting detailed for and provided with an opportunity to ingratiate him to some superior authority, who had a vested interest in the murky BOO, since known as the ‘Job Scam’, to become a camp follower of the commandant NDA. AK Singh came to the NDA as a PTO, in very controversial circumstances from the AIPT, Pune, following an equally embarrassing inquiry involving the commandant of the AIPT and some other officers, wherein he was the complainant against his own commandant and others on frivolous matters. The case was closed, without anything substantially wrong getting established and the officer posted out from the institution.  AK Singh’s report from his Initiating Officer, against whom he had in a spell of Dutch courage and false bravado made a report against; was rendered lukewarm because of his suspect integrity. This, made him into an ideal bait to be exploited and used, to further the perverse interests of whosoever is at the fount of this scam; in a probable quid pro quo - of unethically acquired lucre for someone, in return for a thumping and outstanding report, to compensate and undo the damage suffered at the hands of his previous commandant in the AIPT. A K Singh smelled the opportunity, ingratiated himself through the staff officer to the commandant NDA, and emerged as the prime candidate to be assigned the responsibility to become the Presiding Officer of the now infamous BOO.  All else apart, I had not known A K Singh to be a corrupt officer who looted public and regimental funds/property like many others from the APTC, but yes his propensity to somehow or the other, attain his next rank and look after his self interests at the cost of his organizational obligations, was always a dangerous tendency, which was hardwired into his psyche.  And, it is this, which probably made him succumb to do something as stupid and venal as what he has, by taking the signatures of the shortlisted candidates, on the basis of the money paid beforehand, and then subsequently filling up the answer sheet with the correct answers; to make the selection look genuine and proper.

What gets my goat in the entire episode of this sordid happening is the use to which senior and corrupt officers put their subordinates through, for their own vested and murky interests. And, the subordinates willing to sell their soul to the devil, for a puny gain of some additional adulterated metal on their shoulders. Where are we headed for? This has been the story with many others too, where the subordinate either encouraged his wife to befriend his superior and encouraged her to have an illicit relationship with him, for the sake of a better grading or a report; the subordinate officer became the handmaiden of the superior to acquire ill gotten money or else indulge in various low down and grotesque acts by proxy – for the ultimate benefits to accrue to the faceless superior. But, with a motive to ingratiate oneself to ones superior, for a better report – the gateway to becoming a free loader and a wimp. The top leadership is thus in a win - win situation, of pocketing the ill gotten wealth as also being away from the scene of the act, only because there are enough subordinate officers who are willing to be inveigled into committing theft, larceny, loot et al for the superior, who wields the pen.  Is this the type of leadership that, the Army is aspiring for? It’s a shame, by any measure or yardstick. And, for this to have happened in a pre training establishment, is all the more reprehensible; where young minds start their day by everyday reciting the non sectarian prayer, wherein they invoke the grace of the almighty GOD to help them to practice the ‘harder right than the easier wrong’. Could there be a greater travesty being enacted and accomplished in the CRADLE FOR LEADERSHIP. Major General (retd) Gagan Deep Bakshi, I am not willing to believe you when you defend the corrupt and the arrogant in the Army, by always finding an escape route for yourself from a vulnerable situation, during a debate on the sliding standards of probity and rectitude in the Armed Forces, by becoming patronising towards the anchor and sermonising him on how the day starts for a cadet in the NDA, by reciting the PRAYER of, truth, courage and values.

When the guardians and custodians start eroding the value system themselves, just akin to the fence which grows and eats into the lawn, what will be the credibility of an officer and a  leader, who commands and leads, not by example but by the positional authority vested in him by the Rashtrapati. The making of a revolt or else a mutiny in the rank and files of the Army, is not a distant possibility. Beware!

Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal

+919410900051     

The Enigma of V K Singh

General (retd)Vijay Kumar Singh, ex COAS – A Chimera And a Disgrace to The Army

It was on a rainy afternoon in Dehra Dun, while I was just about lazing and getting up from my afternoon siesta, a veteran’s luxury and a privilege that, the ringer of my Nokia cell phone brought me awake, sooner than I would have. It was from an unknown caller, who after checking with me my credentials introduced himself as Lt Col Arun Jha. After the exchange of the usual pleasantries, Arun spoke about my blogs which he had read on my URL passionforcourage.blogspot.com on various subjects in general and the V K Singh episode and controversy in particular, which occupied copious media space in the past year or so, quite uselessly. The one specific blog he chose to talk about was the one in which, I had written about the late Major Dharam Pal Kukreti incident that, involved him as his officiating Commanding Officer and V K Singh in 2^nd Rajput regiment, while the unit was deployed on the International Border in Poonch, J&K. Major Dharam Pal was cashiered from service, for displaying exemplary courage of his convictions in standing up for eternal military values and in a most bizarre turn of events unfortunately faced the unjust might of the monolith System – the Army, while V K Singh manipulated and maneuvered his way to become the Chief of the  very same Army, with political intervention and by tempting providence.

Arun has come out with a revealing and no holds barred book, titled ‘General Salute’, by Manas Publications, Ansari Road, Darya Ganj, Delhi comprising 200 pages; which brings to light the unbecoming and immoral shenanigans of the officer who rose to become the Chief of the 13 million strong Army. The author who was the adjutant of V K Singh when he was the Commanding Officer of 2^nd Rajput, in the rank of a colonel, had the opportunity to see him at very close quarters practicing what he was best at, double standards in his official conduct. Arun had taken premature retirement from the Army in 2009 and has now dedicated himself with a single point agenda of bringing to public notice the hypocrisy, deceit, Machiavellian scheming and lack of morals and ethics which adorned the personality of the retired General.

This book is a must read for all those who were swayed by the moral grandstanding of V K Singh during his date of birth controversy and other issues which followed, only because they will then realize the extent to which this man worked in a Goebellian fashion to swing public opinion in his favor and emerged as a maverick who had the gall and gumption to take on the Government he served and dragged it to court, an unprecedented act in the history of Armies across the globe.  He played to the galleries and came out with all guns blazing, to court public appreciation and applause.’ General Salute’ traces and brings forth the officer’s growth from a young, middle rung and to a general officer and brings out in open gaze all the various acts of venality and indiscipline he indulged in and yet got away with, to reach the pinnacle of the Organization, whose hierarchy is perversely pyramidical in construct and design. An impossible task to achieve, given the various filters an officer’s career growth is subjected to.

It will be well worth one’s money spent to procure this book to read and know in details the reality behind the persona of the man; who made a virtue out of his failings and fooled the people of the country and lead them to believe that, he was indeed a crusader whose single point agenda was to cleanse and purge the Army of corruption, muck and lack of probity in its officer ship. The author has made himself vulnerable to any defamatory proceedings against him in the courts of the land or else charges of libel and criminal proceedings that can be initiated against him. The work is a narration of facts as seen, understood, implied and conjectured by the author and to which he remains committed, irrespective of what V K Singh can do to him, should any of it be disproved and disallowed.  Truth cannot and must not be made a casualty and law must not make any exceptions for military rank. It is only a matter of time, when the dirty linen which was often spoken and talked about in the recent past, will truly spill out into the public domain and ‘The Chief’ who had come into South Block to cleanse the Augean Stables will probably go down in history as a chimera, who not only disgraced the institution which he represented but also brought it to great disrepute.

After my conversation with Arun Jha, the author of ‘General Salute’, I think all those who had similarly put their honor and credibility at stake to side with and stand up for V K Singh; must introspect and shake their conscience to reconsider and realign their position on the matter of defending the indefensible, which is General (retd) Vijay Kumar Singh, ex COAS. He has been a disaster who should have been thrown out, as suggested by the ex National Security Advisor, Brajesh Misra in his interview with one of the TV channels.

All through the past year that, I was writing on various aspects of V K Singh’s doings and their fallouts, it was my gut feeling that a person who had failed on a Ranger Course at Fort Benning, USA and not only managed to do it again, but was awarded the coveted ‘dagger’ for excelling in it, had filled up his IMA dossier in his own hand with the year of birth as 1950; overstayed leave granted to him and used political patronage to escape punishment, was commanding 2^nd  Rajput when his troops went into a hockey stick wielding fracas with another unit, 7 Kumaon in Ferozepur during a sports event, and many more misdemeanors; could become the Chief – then he could not be what he was projecting himself to be – a man of honor and integrity. In my estimate and understanding such people are categorized as frauds, who are able to understand the failings of an organization and then exploit it to the hilt by practicing situational ethics, an anathema by any stretch of imagination, which an officer and a leader should condemn and shun. We do hope that the civil society movement which is spear headed by the Gandhian Anna Hazare, a veteran and a soldier, is seized of the truth in so far as General (retd) V K Singh is concerned, and wouldn’t touch him with a barge pole. Because, otherwise, it will seriously impinge upon the credibility of the movement, which India Against Corruption is committed to.

Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal

+919410900051

Olympic Series

Olympics – 1988 Seoul

The Seoul Games were marked by a long – awaited reunion of athletes from the West (who had not competed at Moscow) and the East (who were absent from Los Angeles). However, they were perhaps made more famous by the drugs scandals that marred the events.

The 1988 Olympics took place in a strangely symbolic location - Korea, a nation divided by the Bamboo Curtain along the 38 th parallel since the 1953 armistice. The DMZ or de – militarized zone, fifty kilometers from Seoul, is a place of incomprehension, distrust and even contempt. The hut at Panmunjom – engaged in negotiations since 1952 – is the most explicit and distressing illustration of this sentiment.

When the international Olympic Committee chose Seoul to host the twenty – fourth Olympic Games on 30 September 1981, they were bombarded with criticism and disapproval. Boycott threats soon followed. The death of 269 passengers on a Korean Airlines Boeing, suspected of spying and struck down by a Soviet Sukhoi in 1983, did not help.

The future began to look brighter when Mikhail Gorbachev was appointed General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in March 1985. Somewhere between glasnost and perestroika, the Olympics were saved. Apart from some countries that remained hopelessly devoted to North Korea, the entire world was flocking to the Land of Morning Calm. Sadly, this geopolitical rapprochement is not how the Seoul Olympics will be remembered. They will go down in history as Games of scandal and doping. Ben Johnson and his steroids – and the disgraced sprinter’s disqualification – was just one of a long string of weightlifters, judoka, pentathletes, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Spaniard, Australians, Britons -------

Ben Johnson The Time Bomb

Rumours had been circulating for twenty – four hours. The word was that the third champion of the Games was to be disqualified. Two Bulgarian Gold medalist weightlifters had already been disqualified, along with other weightlifters and a pentathlete. Late on Monday 26 July in Seoul, a Korean newspaper was already printing the headlines that would hit the news stands in the early hours; ‘Olympic champion and world record holder Ben Johnson tests positive’. John Holt, General Secretary of the IAAF was visibly shaken on Tuesday and said “It may just be a rumour, but we are prepared for the worst”. Holt’s statement, made in a discreet British manner was indicative of, there still being some hope that the scandal would subside without harming the reputation of world athletics in general. But the IOC Medical Commission had no intention of keeping quiet. If the worst came true, the implication was clear: sport at its highest level was the subject of systemic manipulation.

Ben Johnson had been seeing an endocrinologist for several months, supposedly being treated for a thigh injury. It would seem astonishing if his coaching team which had highly sophisticated methods at its disposal, including gene therapy, would be imprudent enough to prescribe the world record holder a product easily detectable by the IOC laboratories, and specifically the Seoul laboratory, which was known to be extremely diligent. However, traces of anabolic steroids remain detectable six or seven months after their use, since this type of doping product is subject to qualitative, not quantitative analysis – unlike testosterone or caffeine – infinitesimal residues are enough to convict athletes treated with these products long before testing. On Tuesday 27 July, 10.30 am: Ben Johnson had been disqualified: Carl Lewis was declared the winner.

A Strange Angel  

After his 100 meters setback, Carl Lewis staged a comeback in the long jump and yet remained as distant as ever. He was detached and unconventional, with an air of self importance. Carl Lewis showed a physical beauty, perhaps never seen before on a running track. In the finals, a glimmer of gold reflected in his eyes, which expressed an anxious charm. By jumping 8.72 meters, he added to an incomparable series of jumps that had made him a sprinter and a long jumper; that amazing contradiction: who had often won but had never set any records.

Serhei Bubka Against Himself

Not yet twenty five, the world record holder in the pole vault had finally become an Olympic champion. Four hours into the competition, trouble was brewing as four vaulters still had hopes of a medal; three Soviets and an American. Serhei Bubka the world champion and the world record holder at 6.06 meters, was to clear 5.70 meters, which would have been a sideshow. But in the Olympics final, he had never been in a competition like this before. The pressure was tremendous. When Serhei cleared 5.90 meters in his third and final attempt, he let out an ecstatic cry. After five years of domination of the pole vault, he truly deserved this title.

The Incredible Flo – Jo

The easy victor in the 100 meters performed even better in the 200 meters, smashing the previous world record. A young woman of 28, who had been chasing glory for a decade, had taken a little over twenty seconds to become the very carnation of speed. It was strange to note that the incredible Flo – Jo belonged to a generation of athletes that had either retired or were ageing. She was a candidate for the 1980 US Olympic team, but the boycott meant she had to wait eight years, take second best several times and win a World Championship Gold medal as a member of the 4 x 100 meters relay team before her metamorphosis.

 The transformation took place in the off season, which she had previously spent writing poetry and children’s stories in which the fairy’s magic wand turned pumpkin into princesses, and eating fattening snacks. Ben Johnson’s training programme and Carl Lewis’ performances on the track were her two inspirations. What was seen on the track in Seoul proved that Florence Griffith – Joyner had taken on these two identities. Her power oozed from every pore in her thighs, the hypertrophy of which contrasted with the relative slenderness of her torso. As for her gait, it reproduced Lewis’ perfect equilibrium and harmonious, linear movements. The spectacle was captivating and intriguing, and turned the tables on athletes who had always beaten Flo – Jo.

The biography of this Californian athlete teaches us that she read the Bible every day, prayed before meals and phoned her mother twice a day. It is also mentioned that she trained hard all winter and did squat – lifts of 320 pounds/145 kgs. She passed away on 21 September 1998 during her sleep from an epileptic seizure. She was 38.

The Kenyans Clean Sweep the Distance Events

The poor East African nations dominated the 800, 1500, 3000 meters steeplechase and 5000 meters. Paul Ereng won the 800 meters; Peter Rono, the 1500 meters; John Ngugi, the 5000 meters; and Julius Karuki, the 3000 meters steeplechase.

Swimming and Diving

Kirstin Otto won six Gold medals, four of these individual in three different strokes; the great East German was a true champion. Matts Biondi the best men’s swimmer of the Seoul Games equaled Mark Spitz’s number of seven medals. In the spring board diving, Greg Louganis, of Samoan and North European ancestry, who was given up for adoption by his 15 year old parents, overcame a childhood blighted by racism and dyslexia and won the springboard Gold, despite being injured in the head in the qualifying rounds. He retained both his titles; springboard and platform, which he had won in Los Angeles in 1984, an unprecedented achievement.

Suleymanoglu, as Strong as an Ox

By taking the 60 kg weight category title, Naim, of Turkish origin and ancestry had broken thirty third world records and the sixth of the evening. Stefan Topurov of Bulgaria, who was challenging Suleymanoglu, was beaten by 15 kgs in the snatch. In the clean and jerk, Stefan who was drunk with exhaustion, was eliminated after the next increase of weight after 175 kgs. Though the competition was over, Suleymanoglu now turned on his style and lifted 177.5 kgs, 185 kgs, 187.5 kgs, 188.5 kgs and then finally 190 kgs. The crowd had gone wild and Turkish flags were waving frantically. Bulgarian flags were at half mast.

Steffi Graf: Real Gold

Germany’s Steffi Graf added a Gold medal to her Grand Slam. An unprecedented achievement in women’s tennis. Graf’s achievement was unequalled in the annals of tennis, which had been absent from the Olympic Games from 1924. Her ‘Gold Grand Slam’ was an incredible performance – a performance comparable to Bob Beamon’s 8.90 long jump in Mexico, or Ben Johnson’s 9.79 seconds in the 100 meters, if the timing was allowed. The five historic finals that Steffi had won were – Australian Open, Melbourne, 6 to 24 January 1988, French Open, Paris, 23 May to 5 June 1988, Wimbledon, 20 June to 3 July 1988, US Open, New York, 29 August to 11 September 1988 and Olympic Games, Seoul, 19 September to 1 October 1988.

The Games in Brief

Opening Date                             17 September 1988

Closing Date                                2 October 1988

Host Nation                                 South Korea

Nations Represented                  159

Athletes                                       8,465 (2,186 women)

Sports                                           23 (17 open to women)

Events                                           237 (86 open to women)

Games Opened By                        Roh Tae – woo, President

Olympic Flame Lit By                   Chong Sun-man, Kim Won-tak and Sohn Mi- chung (athletics)

Olympic Oath By                           Ms Hug-jae (basketball)

IOC President                                Juan Antonio Samaranch (ESP)

For the first time ever, all three Golds in the equestrian dressage were won by women. Swedish fencer Kerstin Palm competed in her seventh Olympic Games, a new women’s record. Table tennis was introduced for the first time and tennis returned after a 64 year absence.

PS -: Matter researched from the archives of the Olympics Games museum in Laussane.

Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal

+919410900051 

Tilt at the windmills

A Coup Is Not A Politically Incorrect Word In The Present Times In India

The National Defense Academy calendar comprises published routine, special training and administrative events, during each of the spring and autumn terms, into which the year is divided. The days are numbered on a D Day basis, with the month and weekday also mentioned alongside. With a view to broaden the horizons of the young and inquisitive minds of cadets, Wednesday evenings in the calendar contain listings of such events as are mostly organized for a gamut of information/knowledge imbibing activities, including talks/ presentations given by eminent civil/ military personalities, on a wide range of subjects and issues which have a contemporary relevance to the need of the society/nation/region and the world, at large or else in particular. Today, after many years having passed from the time that, I too was a cadet in this premier institution, my memory enables me to recollect one such evening, wherein in a talk given by an eminent military leader  on ‘Democratic India and the Future of Democracy in the Nation’, springs up to my mind. The speaker was an accomplished military thinker who adorned soldierly values on his sleeves and had on matters of principles bucked the system on many occasions, without a moment’s hesitation for the consequences which could derail his brilliant career. However, his merit and competence to reach the top of the organizational hierarchy was singularly marginalized by the first executive of the country, who felt threatened by his forthrightness and daring to stand up to the government, when it so demanded, on professional and governance matters. Democracy, an evolved form of government, which is lucidly explained by the towering political leader Abraham Lincoln in his memorable and famous quote, has endured the people’s choice and has grown deep roots in the public, administrative and social fabric of India.  Unfortunately, with the passage of time and institutionalization of corruption in public life and unethical practices in business, the process of choosing the elected representatives by the people has been manipulated to an extent of perversion, where money and muscle power decide the outcome of who gets past the  post and becomes the people’s elected representative. Unethical market and material forces form a nexus with the people’s representatives to, marginalize the essence and spirit of democracy and substitute it with a poor reality, which sucks. It was in such an environment that the speaker reached out to the audience with the popular and public demand of having a Military Rule to govern India.

The general officer prefaced his talk with the preamble to the constitution and unequivocally stated its lofty ideals and enduring commitment to the principles of being a sovereign democratic republic, which is not only an instrument of legitimacy but also unflinching faith. The pillars of this dispensation are the constitutional institutions, which enshrine and adorn the pages of this comprehensive document, carved from the experience of the social reality which obtained in India during the years of colonial rule. While the speaker revealed that there was a friendly suggestion by some civilians for the Army to take over, he condemned it with all his force and authority in the same breath, as only a pipe dream which was impossible to happen in our country. His argument was premised on unassailable factors – size, population, deep rooted democratic culture, character and fealty of the armed forces, plurality of religion, diversity of language, lack of cohesiveness among the forces in the absence of a Chief of Staff to give a direction and purpose to such a venture et al. And, we who were under training then, continued to remain far removed from harboring any thoughts of some day subscribing to such a suggestion as that of participating in a coup, which would overthrow the democratically elected government and establish military Rule in the country. But today, the thought is perseveringly making an attempt to engage my mind with such a suggestion, only because the quality of polity in our country has stooped to such levels of venality that, a Military Rule could well be the only choice to resurrect governance and bring about discipline and accountability in public life. But, this comes with a rider, because the state of affairs which has engulfed the leadership in the biggest arm of the Military and which will necessarily remain the dominant force to bring about a coup, is itself under moral and ethical suspicion and therefore does not inspire the required confidence to deliver the people from the quagmire of a sham democratic republic, from which the people seek relief. As such the remedy may well be worse than the ailment. Anna Hazare, a veteran and a soldier has unambiguously made a bugle call against corruption and non governance and is heralding a democratic movement to prevail upon the elected representatives to bring a law which proceeds against all offenders, irrespective of their position and status. The mood of the public is rife with anger and wrath against an insensitive and corrupt government, which claims legitimacy under the provisos of the Constitution, but the very same parliamentarians and legislators who constitute the government are steeped in venality, crime and exploitation. It is a remote possibility that the fight for rectitude and probity in public life through social activism, will ever succeed in bringing about the desired changes to purge and cleanse the System.

The political masters have literally handed over governance to the bureaucrats in most states of the federation and in numerous ministries in the centre, and who in turn have arrogated unconstitutional authority to themselves in the subterfuge of civilian supremacy and made the System a handmaiden to their greed and growth. The politicians and the bureaucrats are today working hand in glove in wrongly and illegitimately acquiring wealth, which belongs to the public and continue to milk the Nation of its resources and assets. We all stand as mute spectators to this rapacious plunder of the Nation State and find ourselves helpless to the point of becoming wet noodles, spineless and directionless.  

Therefore, in an attempt to side with the patriots who are willing to martyr themselves for the cause of the Nation and its people, the Military could well do a great service to India by wresting the reins of authority from the civilian government and put it back on rails, to bring the impossible relief which the people are looking for through the civil society movements, which seem to be heading towards disaster. This suggestion is replete with many imponderables and will require a deliberate and determined effort by the three arms of the services, keeping in mind the security issues which engulf the country now and in the near future. The soldiers, who owe allegiance to the constitution of the country and the government, must rededicate themselves to the country and its martyrs, who made India into a Nation State.

PS – Some may consider this to be a tilt at the windmills, but the desperateness of the situation demands an equally desperate solution to a festering problem the country is burdened with. It’s a price which will not go waste, to bring about an enduring change. But the Military needs to watch out for similar untoward tendencies amidst its rank and file, lest the people rue Military Rule in a democratic republic of India.

Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal

+9410900051