AFTER ACTION REPORT VIJAY DIWAS AT BANGALORE ON THURSDAY, 16 DEC 2010 Please download attachment to view photographs EXPRESSION OF GRATITUDE 1. At the very outset, Military Veterans of Bangalore wish to th ank and express our gratitude to: (a) Justice N Santosh Hegde, the Hon ble Lokayukta of Karnataka for b eing kind to grace the Commemoration Ceremony on Vijay Diwas; and for graciously consenting to be the Chief Guest and presenting cheques to families of soldiers killed in fighting terrorists & insurgents. (b) Dr VS Acharya, Hon ble Minister for Higher Education & IT, Govt. o f Karnataka, Shri S Suresh Kumar, Hon ble Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affai rs, Prof Mumtaz Ali Khan, Hon ble Minister for Minorities Welfare, Wakf and Haj an d Shri Ramachandra Gowda, Hon ble Dy Chairman, Karnataka Planning Commission, for their kind presence at the Commemoration Ceremony on Vijay Diwas. (c) Capt Ganesh Karnik, Hon ble Member of Karnataka Legislative Counc il for his kind presence at the Commemoration Ceremony on Vijay Diwas; and, for organizing the hosting of Lunch and Cultural programme for Ex-Servicemen at the Banquet Hall, Vidhan Soudha, by the Govt. of Karnataka. (d) Air Mshl Dhiraj Kukreja, AVSM, VSM, AOC-in-C Trg Comd (IAF) for providing all help, assistance & support in organizing the Commemoration Ceremon y on the occasion of Vijay Diwas at Bangalore; and for sending 200 Serving AF pe rsonnel to participate in the Commemoration Ceremony. (e) Air Mshl Rajinder Singh, AVSM, VM, the SASO Trg Comd (IAF), Ban galore, for being kind to grace the Commemoration Ceremony. (f) Maj Gen AK Pradhan, SM, GOC Karnataka & Kerala Sub-Area for pr oviding all help, assistance & support in organizing the Commemoration Ceremony on the occasion of Vijay Diwas at Bangalore; and, for hosting the Musical Nite f or Officers & their families at RSI Bangalore. (g) Commandants of the following Trg Est for their help, assistance & support and for sending 500 serving soldiers to participate in the Commemorat ion Ceremony: (i) MEG & Centre. (ii) ASC Centre South. (iii) CMP Centre. (iv) Parachute Regtl Trg Centre. (v) Pioneer Corps Trg Centre. (h) Dy DG NCC of Karnataka for his support by way of sending 200 NCC Cadets to attend the Commemoration Ceremony. (i) Principals of the following schools for sending their student s to participate in the Commemoration Ceremony: (i) Army Public School, Bengaluru - 50. (ii) Bangalore Higher Secondary School, Bengaluru - 100. (iii) Vijaya High School, South End Circle, Bengaluru -100. (iii) St. Joseph High School, Chamarajapet - 75. (iv) St. Martin High School, Bengaluru - 75. (j) Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Hon ble Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), Founder & Chairman of Flags of Honour Foundation for his kindness & comp assion in providing succour & assistance to families of soldiers who laid down t heir lives in defence of the Country. (k) Shri Sanjay Prabhu, MD, Radio Indigo & his staff for all the he lp, assistance & support in organizing the Commemoration Ceremony on the occasi on of Vijay Diwas at Bangalore; and, for decorating the area, providing Tea & sn acks to all participants. (l) Veteran Brig B Chandrashekar, VSM, Director, Flags of Honour Foundation. (m) Last but not the least, Veteran Air Cmde MK Chandrasekhar, VM, VSM , the Managing Trustee of the Flags of Honour Foundation, for organizing the Com memoration Ceremony on the occasion of Vijay Diwas at Bangalore. COMMEMORATION CEREMONY

2. The Commemoration Ceremony began at 9.30 AM with two Army bug lers sounding the last post , followed by two minutes silence by the gathering of o ver 1500, comprising serving and retired Defence Services personnel & their fami lies, NCC cadets and school children. 3. Air Mshl Rajinder Singh, AVSM, VM, the SASO Trg Comd (IAF), B angalore, was the first to pay homage by laying a wreath at the Statue of the Un known Soldier, as a mark of respect to the brave Soldiers, Sailors & Air Warrior s who had laid down their lives in the finest traditions of Tyaag, Balidaan & Ku rbaani in safeguarding the Safety, Honour & Integrity of the Nation; followed by : (a) Maj Gen AK Pradhan, SM, GOC Karnataka & Kerala Sub-Area. (b) Dr VS Acharya, Shri S Suresh Kumar, Prof Mumtaz Ali Khan and Shr i Ramachandra Gowda, all Hon ble Ministers in the Govt. of Karnataka; and, Capt Ga nesh Karnik, Hon ble Member of Karnataka Legislative Council (c) Justice Santosh Hegde, the Hon ble Lok Ayukta of Karnataka. (d) Veterans Lt Gen NS Narahari, PVSM, Maj Gen MC Nanjappa, AVSM, YS M**, Brig HR Gopal, Brig JS Narasimhan, AVSM, Brig DK Gunjal, Rear Adml SK Gupta , MVC, Cmde Sam Daniel, Air Mshl Douglas King Lee, PVSM, AVSM, Air Mshl EPR Nair , PVSM, AVSM, VSM and Air Mshl BU Chengapa, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, Air Mshl Narayanan Menon, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, Air Vice Mshl Vittal, AVSM, VM, Air Vice Mshl N Thusu, A VSM, VM, Air Cmde Dr SP Deshmukh, VSM, Wg Cdr Dr Sabhaney (e) Serving Officers, JCOs, NCOs & OR. (f) Retired Officers, JCOs, NCOs & OR and families. (g) NCC Cadets. (h) School children. CHEQUE PRESENTATION CEREMONY 4. Immediately after the Commemoration Ceremony, a solemn functi on was held in the precincts of the National War Memorial, whereat, on behalf of the Flags of Honour Foundation, Justice N Santosh Hegde, the Hon ble Lokayukta, K arnataka, presented cheques of Rs. One lakh each to Smt. S Sharada (revered moth er of Rifleman KS Ravindra of 3 MADRAS who laid down his life on 6 Sep, 2010, ba ttling militants in Kashmir) and Smt. Shreedevi (revered mother of Constable Bhe ema Shankar of 200 Bn BSF, who laid down his life on 29 Aug 2010, fighting naxal s in Chattisgarh). In addition, Smt. Bakya Mary, wife of late Sapper Philomina R aj of MEG was presented a commercial Idly maker & accessories. The Presentation Ceremony was attended by Dr VS Acharya, Shri S Suresh Kumar, Prof Mumtaz Ali Kha n, all Hon ble Ministers in the Govt. of Karnataka & Shri Ramachandra Gowda, Hon ble Dy Chairman, Karnataka Planning Commission; and, Capt Ganesh Karnik, Hon ble Memb er of Karnataka Legislative Council. 5. Hony Capt Rama Murthy, who had taken part in all the operatio ns since independence, including the 1971 War, said: "While appreciating the conduct of Vijay Diwas function, remembering and paying homage to the Martyrs; while the families of martyrs in urban areas are getting prominence, we should not forget the poor widows and families of Ex-Servicemen l iving in remote villages. We, Soldiers, serve the country in remote, inhospitabl e snowbound and desert areas, leaving behind our kith and kin at far off homes a nd the only words that come out of our mouth at the time of laying down our liv es at the borders of our great Nation, is "Bharath Matha Ki Jai " and said India n Armed forces are second to none. He urged the Govt to improve the living condi tions of the serving soldiers, Ex-Servicemen and their families. He stressed the need for more and more young men & women to join the Armed Forces". HOSTING OF LUNCH FOR EX-SERVICEMEN ON VIJAY DIWAS AT BANQUET HALL, VIDHAN SOUDHA BY THE CHIEF MINISTER OF KARNATAKA 6. All Ex-Servicemen then assembled at the Banquet Hall, Vidhan Soudha, where they were welcomed by Capt Ganesh Karnik, Hon ble MLC, on behalf of Shri BS Yeddyurappa, the Hon ble Chief Minister of Karnataka. Capt Ganesh Karnik i n his address to the large gathering of Ex-Servicemen, first introduced himself as an Ex-Short Service Commissioned Officer; and said that the Govt. of Karnatak a would do its best for the amelioration of problems pertaining to Ex-Servicemen and Defence Family Pensioners. He exhorted Ex-Servicemen to stay united and dis

play the same sense of Duty, Honour, Discipline & Sacrifice while in service and be a role model to the civil populace. 7. Col SS Rajan, the Convenor of Karnataka Ex-Servicemen Movemen t requested Capt Ganesh Karnik, the Hon ble MLC to please take up with the Hon ble C hief Minister and MLAs & MLCs for passing a resolution on the floor of the House , as done by the Govt. of Punjab, exhorting the Hon ble Prime Minister of India to grant ONE RANK ONE PENSION to Ex-Servicemen, which is an emotive issue and a lo ng pending demand; one which has been strongly recommended over the years, by su ccessive Standing Parliamentary Committees for Defence. 8. Veteran Lt Cdr Mayil Vahanan who came from Tanjavur (along wi th three JCOs & NCOs) greatly appreciated the kind & noble gesture by the Chief Minister of Karnataka in honouring Ex-Servicemen & Defence Family Pensioners by hosting a lunch and cultural programme for them. He wished that more & more Stat es of the Indian Union would emulate Karnataka in honouring Ex-Servicemen & Defe nce Family Pensioners. 9. Veteran Air Cmde MK Chandrasekhar, VM, VSM on behalf of all M ilitary Veterans of Karnataka thanked Capt Ganesh Karnik, Hon ble Member of Karnat aka Legislative Council for his kind presence and requested him to convey the de ep appreciation & gratitude of all Ex-Servicemen to the Hon ble Chief Minister of Karnataka for his kind support and for honouring the Ex-Servicemen & Defence Fam ily Pensioners. HOSTING OF CULTURAL PROGRAMME FOR EX-SERVICEMEN ON VIJAY DIWAS AT BANQUET HALL, VIDHAN SOUDHA BY THE CHIEF MINISTER OF KARNATAKA 10. Kind courtesy, the Govt. of Karnataka, a grand cultural programme lasting over two hours was hosted in honour of Ex-Servicemen & their families i n the evening of 16 Dec, at Banquet Hall, Vidhan Soudha, as part of Vijay Diwas celebrations. 11. Miss Superrna Sankaran sang soul stirring patriotic songs and Gaz als at the Banquet Hall, Vidhan Soudha, greatly appreciated by the Ex-Servicemen & their families. Capt Ganesh Karnik, Hon ble Member of Karnataka Legislative Cou ncil (MLC) & Deputy Chairman of the NRI Forum, Karnataka and Shri NL Narendra Ba bu, Hon ble Member of Karnataka Legislative Assembly (MLA) graced the function and they complimented & thanked Miss Superrna Sankaran for having taken the pains to come from Chennai for entertaining the Military Veterans of Karnataka. 12. Veteran Hav Shanthaseelan of the Madras Sappers enthralled the au dience and kept them spell bound with his Magic Show, appreciated by all Ex-Serv icemen & their families; and, was complimented by Capt Ganesh Karnik, Hon ble MLC. 13. Shri Mruthyunjay Doddawad, eminent Singer & Music Director Sangee tha Dhama along with his team captivated the audience with sugam sangeeth compri sing carnatic music & patriotic songs in Kannada; and, they too were complimente d by Capt Ganesh Karnik, Hon ble MLC. MUSICAL NITE AT RSI BANGALORE ON VIJAY DIWAS 14. Miss Superrna Sankaran, daughter of Mr R Sankaran & Nirmala Sanka ran and grand daughter of IC-3800 Col GS Vishwanath of the Bombay Sappers gave a scintillating performance at the Vijay Diwas Musical Nite organized at the Raje ndra Sinhji Institute (RSI) Bangalore. She was introduced to the audience by Air Cmde VS Govindarajan,VM. Her soul stirring patriotic songs followed by fast pac ed dance numbers were a hit, enthralling the audience of serving & retired Defen ce Service Officers & their families. Maj Gen AK Pradhan, SM, the GOC of Kerala & Karnataka Sub-Area, graced the function; at the end of which the GOC thanked & complimented Miss Superrna Sankaran for her excellent performance and for being kind to come from Chennai and entertain the Defence personnel on the occasion o f Vijay Diwas. Regards, Col Rajan Convenor Karnataka Ex-Servicemen Movement. Vijay Divas celebrations Greater Kailash II New Delhi

Col. Rajendra Kumar, President Senior Citizens welfare society GK II New Delhi o rganized celebration of this year s Vijay Divas at Senior Citizens Recreation cent er Lawn Greater Kailash II New Delhi. After brief welcome speech by Col Kumar, A ir Mshl. RD Sahni (Retd) addressed the gathering. The emphasis of talk was impor tance of well equipped and trained Armed forces as they are the ultimate savior of nation against foreign aggression, natural calamities and internal disturbanc es. Strategic alliances with other countries is absolute necessity and lamented we have not cultivated our relation with our neighboring countries Col. BL Ver ma (Retd) was also seen discussing how they had activated Comila air field in Ba ngladesh. About 95 retired defence and civilians attended the function and was joined by S hri Rakesh Gullaiya our Local MCD councilor. This was followed by recital of melodious Gazals and Quwalis Shri Prabhakar of M allick Gharana and high tea. REPORT ON VIJAY DAY CELEBERATIONS DEHRADUN EX-SERVICES LEAGUE CELEBERATES BY HONOURING 1971 WAR HEROES VIJAY DIWAS Uttar Joshi, an Swaro of ho YSM,

A grand function was held at Rangers College Hall where chief Minister of akhand Dar. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank was the chief guest and shri Ganesh Ex Servicemen and local MLA, was one of the Guest of Honour. Lt Gen Anand op, PVSM,MVC and Maj Gen Shamsher Singh MVC were the distinguished guests nour. Maj Gen O.P. Sabarwal SM, Maj Gen P. Dutt and Brig A.N.Bahuguna, KC, VSM were special guests.

The function was presided over by the President of Dehradun Ex services League, Brig K.G.Behl. The function started with placing of wreaths on a rostram specially erected wi th some of the photographs of 1971 War Warriors from Dehradun which numbered 42. placing a big photograph Field Marshal SHFJ Manekshaw MC , the architect of th e victory, in the centre. Wreath were placed by all the dignitaries on the dais lead by the Chief Minister. Brig K.G.Behl, welcomed all dignitaries on the dais, all officers, JCOs, NCOs a nd Jawans, Veer Naaries and families of the Warriors and those warriors who were actively involved in 1971 war and came there. And the members of the media. The strength was more than 700. As President of DESL, Brig Behl touched upon the b urning issues before Ex Servicemen and reminded all about the One Rank One Pensi on issue where, it is pity, that in Delhi, our colleagues are returning their pr ecious Medals and signing letters with blood but still it is falling on the deaf ears. We fail to understand why Govt. wants to bring such situation where even Defence Personnel are forced to come to streets. On one side they bestow all the praise but when it comes to welfare they forget even their dues. Our Chief Minster who is very kind and is doing lot of welfare activities for E x Servicemen and has recently allowed concessions in purchase of vehicles from C SD for which we are very thankful to him. Of course it needs some corrections which he has promised to get corrected. He a llotted one Crore for State War Memorial for which we would like that a delegat ion should broach the subject of land with the Chief Of the Army Staff, Chir Bag h being a defence land and it under reference for a long time. The matter of Ho use Tax is under consideration, should support our cause of OROP, by passing a resolution in State Assembly, as is being done by other States, that it be given

to them immediately. He said that even 6th CPC dues have not been disbursed to many in full, especially war widows for which we are still taking up cases. Maj Gen Shamsher Singh in his talk pointed out how the war was bravely fought a nd victory was achieved. Lt Gen Anand Swaroop said that this victory in not only for servicemen but for all the country and all should celebrate it collectively . He was happy that the CM is present today. Brig A.N.Bahuguna got released from the CM, a book on the welfare activities of State Sainik Board giving details of increase in various allowances and how ma ny persons won different gallantry awards etc. The CM and all dignitaries the came down to the place where the war heroes and t heir families were seated and honoured them one by one with garland ,momento and a shawl. The CM listened to their points coolly and promised to do whatever pos sible. Mr. Ganesh Joshi, MLA, supported the idea of passing a resolution by the State L egislatures in support of One Rank One Pension and requested the CM to consider it during theensuing session. He praised the CM for his vision and looking after welfare activities especially of Ex Servicemen and under his guidance he is eve r ready to solve their problems. Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal, the CM congratulated all on this auspicious day and apprec iated the victory in this war which was unique and has become a history which is unparalleled. He thanked all concerned who organized this Vijay Day function. He appreciated the idea that this Victory is not only for the defence Forces but is for all and all must celebrate it collectively. His announcement that hence forth it will be a State Function was received with full applause. He said that he will even write to the Prime Minister that this day be celebrated all over th e country by Govt. The CM drew attention to various concession given by the Govt . to ex Servicemen at different places bo allotting land for rehabilitation etc . He also cited the raise made by the Govt. In various gallantry awards and rais ed the minimum pension . He wanted that copies of the book released be given to all present. Dr. B.K.Nautial retired from Navy, compered the show. And capt.A.S Gosain, prese nted vote of thanks. FRI provided premises and all the facilities free. All joined for Barakhana. 6TH Garhwal band was in attendance and entertained all Brig K.G.BEHL, President Dehradun Ex-Services League VIJAY DIWAS CELEBRATIONS - MANGALORE My dear Veterans, 1. Vijay Diwas was celebrated on 16 Dec 2010, at the War Memorial on Kadri Hills, Mangalore,( Karnataka ) with solemnity and grace, for the First Time in M angalore. 2. The war memorial , though inaugurated on 29 Jan 1992, by Sri Khurshid Alam Khan, Governor Of Karnataka, was neglected and lying in a disused condition, al l these years. This year, we, the ESM, were able to goad the Municipal Corporati on, to repair the Fountains, Lights, and Paint / Polish the granite structure, l ay the lawns / Garden.

3. Programme started with Wreath Laying / Floral Tributes at 1030 hrs, with Police Band in attendance with Bugler.This was followed by a short event of talk s by ESMs and the dignitaries, on stage. A sumptous lunch was provided for 300 ESMs. 4. City Commissioner Of Police, Deputy Commissioner Of District, Commissioner Of Municipal Corporation, LIONS District Governor, alongwith leading citizens, were in attendance. 5. TV and Print Media were in full strenghth, as a result of the formal Press Conference, we organised, a day before, in the Press Club. 6. Entire expenses were covered by involving sponsors. State Bank Of India, HDFC Bank, LIONS club, Kadri Hills and Western Institute Of Technology, were the sponsors who paid the bills. With good wishes and warm regards, Your's sincerely, Col Nitteguthu Sharath Bhandary

Dear Veterans, Further to my mail on the subject, I am glad to inform that the VijayDiwas was o bserved at the War Memorial in Chennai. Around 50 ESM took part, mainly from the districts of Thiruvallur, Kanchipuram, Tambaram & Manali. The Veterans function was preceded by the Official Function of the HQ ATNK&K Area, in which 24 Vetera ns, including me took part. We thank the GOC & Staff Officers of the establishme nt for rendering all assistance to the Veterans to conduct their function at the same venue with all the administrative back up. Many of the Veteran Officers, JCOs & OR were thrilled to lay the Wreaths with C eremonial backing of 5 JAK Rif, with their Band. Our heart felt appreciation to the Commanding Officer of the Battalion. The Veterans, especially the JCOs & NC Os, told that it was the first time they had been given such an honour. Our event started at 9.30 AM sharp and ended 10.30 AM with tea & refreshments as intimated. Lt Gen C Sundara Rao, PVSM, the octogenarian member of IESM & also t he Patron of AFVOA was present through out, along with Col A Krishnaswami, Vr C, VSM **, & Brig NB Subramanian, who had also attended the Official function whi ch commenced at 8 AM. Only 12 Veteran Officers could make it to the function. The Officers strength co uld have been better. Now, this event has become a permanent feature in the Vete rans' calender of Chennai. My thanks to Col N Viswanathan & Col A Krishnaswami for their excellent support in organising the event. Lt Col Arunagiri for his coordiantion with the ESM. Col KS Chakravathy for his photo coverage. Col (Retd) TN Raman Convener IESM Tamilnadu & Memebr of the Governing Body HOMAGE TO VETERANS - KARGIL VIJAY DIVAS Dear All,

On the occasion of Kargil Day, a wreath was laid by Brig R K S Gulia, President, Indian Ex-Services League at Amar Jawan Jyoti, India Gate on behalf of Ex-Servi cemen of all the three Services of the Country. The ceremony was attended by a l arge number of Defence Veterans from various States. Attried with turbans, and t heir medals displayed with pride on their chests, they presented a picture of el egance and epitomised a disciplined force. The solemn ceremony was greatly appri ciated by the spectators, especially the foreigners present. Similar functions h ave been conducted by our State and UT Leagues at the State Capitals, and in man y cases at districts/ block levels. IESL has always championed the cause of Defe nce Veterans, Widows and their dependents, and have been articulating their conc erns to the Power Corridors. State/ UT Presidents Only - You are requested to forward details of the function conducted in your State, including districts and lower levels alongwith photogr aphs taken on the occasion. Please accord priority to enable us to publish it in the fourthcoming issue of the Indian Ex-Servicemen. Regards Col Akhil Sharma General Secretary IESL