Evolution of Military Law in America

To start with, the new state adopted the British codes for the US armed force. The US army now adopted what is known as the Articles of War 1775. These were derived from the British law and consisted of 69 sections. the American military code  is credited to John Adams , who was a lawyer at that time. Later he became the President of the United States.  The Articles of War found wide acceptance and at the Conference of the Continental Army they were ratified.

The Articles of War which were an copy of the British law, underwent a change and some amendments were incorporated in 1806. A team of military experts and lawyers studied codes of many nations including the French and raised the sections from 69 to 101. The code provided for summary execution and in some cases the Commanding Officer of Unit at the time of battle if  convinced, could  order execution of a combatant.  There was no appeal. The code was effective and it instilled discipline in the US army. it was widely used in the US civil war from 1861-65.

The beauty of this code was that it continued for almost 150 years, without any questions being raised. The first time the code was questioned was in the period of the First World War when 13 black soldiers were summarily hanged for " mutiny". Later it came to notice that the punishment was excessive and as there was no appeal the sentence was carried out immediately. It was also mentioned that the bigger crime of the soldiers was that they were black.

To avoid a dip in morale the Secretary of defence  Newton D Barker intervened. He ordered that henceforth no executions could be  carried out without referring the matter to Washington. Thus a major change was effected in the military code.

After the end of the Second World War, the 3 Chiefs of Staff appointed a committee to stream line US military law. The committee came up with the Unified Military Code which became law from 1951. One significant change was that a series of checks and balances was introduced and the code made more humane. Death was  made an exception and not a rule. This code is now in vogue in the USA. I

Act of Showing his Wife to Allauddin. What was it? Bravery or Cowardice

The Raja, Rani Padmavati, and Allauddin

Image Source - Ranveer Singh Twitter Account

• DECEMBER 16, 2017
• CATEGORY :OPINION

Legend tells us that the Raja of Chittor showed his wife's reflection in a mirror to Allauddin. Was it appeasement or a sign of weakness. It was certainly not bravery and many feel it was an act of cowardice.

The film" Padmavati" is due for release.It has generated a lot of controversies and peoples passions are inflamed in Rajasthan and Gujerat. I will focus on one aspect of this tale and wonder how Sanjay Leela Bhansali is going to show it on the screen. Allauddin was the Sultan of Delhi, about a thousand miles from Chittor. He was a great soldier and had subdued most of North India. He was rumored to be gay and loved a slave, who later became emperor and launched the Slave Dynasty. The Delhi Sultan also was fond of women and had a harem with many lovely women, both Hindus and Muslims. 
 
The long and short is, that he coveted the Rani Padmavati for his harem and for this reason marched against Chittor.

The tale relates that when Allauddin reached the gates of Chittor fort, he offered to go away in case the Raja showed his wife to him. He grandly passed the message, that he just wanted to see the queen and then would march back with his army. Was the Raja petrified of Allauddin? Yes, he had a fearful reputation but no historian has said why the Raja agreed to show his wife Rani Padmavati to Allauddin? There is no explanation for it and now we can only make conjectures. Needless to say, that was the period of Purdah and seclusion for women, yet the Raja did the unthinkable and showed his wife's reflection in a mirror to Allauddin.

This act on the face of it is cowardice and in case it took place, one has to sadly conclude that the Raja was dictated by something.Was it fear or dread?. It was not an act of bravery and there is no record of any such incident elsewhere in World history. This will remain a million dollar question. I have raised this point, as many just treat this incident as routine. In the 13th century, it was not routine and one wonders what were the motives of the Raja. He certainly didn't cover himself with glory

Pakistani Muslim Girl wins Beauty Contest and poses in a Bikini

This contest generated tremendous interest in Pakistan as well as India.Ramina won the Miss Earth Pakistan title and posed in a bikini. 

Ramina and the Sharia

Ramina the Sindhi girl has done wonders. This the least we can say about the girl because she broke out of the cloistered world of the Pakistan women.This would not have been possible in case Ms. Sonia Ahmed had not got the idea to give an exposure to Pakistan women to the world of beauty. The contests are now held every year. Ramina has won the Miss Earth Pakistan title and represented Pakistan at the world title in October 2017.

Pakstan has to get out of its death wish. The only news coming out of Pakistan is of terror attacks and last week over 150 have been killed. It's a wonder the Pak government has not seen the light. All credit to the organizers of the Miss Pakistan contest. One hopes despite the noise by the Shiv Sena, Ramina could get a break in Bollywood. After all, Mahira Khan starred in "Raees".

Last Word

Much water has flown down the river since Ramina won the title. India- Pak relations have nose-dived and political parties like the Shiv Sen are enforcing a ban on Muslim actresses from Pakistan acting in Bollywood. So there is little chance of getting a break in Mumbai.In addition, Pakistan is increasingly being dominated by Islamists and Ramina cant do much in Pak as well.

Royal Navy Dismisses 9 Sailors And 2 Officers For Drugs And Sex On Board

The Stars and Stripes News Paper has reported that when the nuclear-powered submarine HMS Vigilant docked in the US to replenish its stock of Trident nuclear missiles, the crew held rave parties at which drugs flowed freely. A mandatory drug test revealed that nine sailors were positive and these nine have been dismissed. Considering that the submarine has a complement of 11 officers and 121 sailors, dismissing 9 sailors is perhaps the tip of the iceberg. It is inconceivable that only 9 sailors took part in the "rave parties".

This was not all and two officers a Commander and Lieutenant Commander have been removed from command for bedding two junior female officers while the warship was on the high seas. These sexual liaisons seriously undermined the discipline and efficacy of the crew and the submarine.In turn, the defense of the UK was in jeopardy. Both the officers have been removed from command though no action is taken against the female crew who slept with the officers. perhaps this is understandable as it is the man who is invariably the dominant partner.

The Defence Minister Micheal Fallon is seriously perturbed at this moral turpitude which has seriously undermined the security of the UK and he has ordered a detailed investigation into the state of affairs aboard all warships of the Royal Navy.

Racial Divide America from the time 13 Black Soldiers hanged

In 1917, the US entered the First World War on the side of the Allies against the Central Powers led by Kaiser Wilhelm’s Germany. In the same year, a platoon of black soldiers was sent to guard a depot in the deep south. To the White Supremacists, seeing black soldiers strutting about carrying rifles and guns was like a red rag to a bull. They were incensed and the police began to take it out on the local blacks. One of the soldiers who was witness to the beating of a black woman intervened and was beaten-up and arrested. This enraged the black soldiers, who came in a group with the specific intent of killing the policemen responsible. It led to a fire-fight and 15 whites and four blacks were killed.

The incident was treated as a mutiny and 63 blacks were court-martialed. After a trial lasting 22 days, where the laws of evidence were studiously ignored and 63 defendants were represented by just one lawyer, 13 were sentenced to be hanged. 

Charlottesville is a symptom and part of a disease in the USA. There are reports, that even now many whites move away if blacks or coloreds come and settle in their neighborhood and many will not send their children to schools where black children also study. The events in Charlottesville, have brought to the fore the simmering problems among the white supremacists and the blacks

General Sisi of Egypt is sitting on a Volcano

General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is the ruler of Egypt. He ousted the elected president of the Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood and brought in military rule again. Unfortunately, it not smooth going for him and though he has Morsi behind bars, the Egyptian state is threatened by a spate of terror attacks by the ISIS and some new splinter groups.  The latest attack is chilling as two German female tourists were stabbed to death. In addition, four other tourists have been wounded.  The attack took place on Friday at the Red Sea resort of Hurghada. All Jazeera News Channel has reported this news.

The rule of General Sisi is under threat. He was one of the first world leaders who was invited by Donald Trump to Washington. Sisi hit along well with the president and despite opposition Trump endorsed his rule. The General is on a sticky wicket as just a week earlier 23 Egyptian soldiers were killed by ISIS in the deserts of Sinai.

No group has claimed the killing of the policemen but a new terror group called Hasm, could have been behind the killings. The attack took place on the weekly holiday when traffic is less but there appears to have been little or no resistance from the policemen. The terrorist looted their weapons and set the vehicle o fire. Considering the attack took place close to Cairo is cause for alarm.

The killing of the German tourists is a pointer as well. The man who reportedly swam across the sea from an island attacked the tourists with a knife. He was young, just about 20 plus but he targeted only the foreigners and nobody else.

Egypt has been rocked by deadly suicide bombings and other attacks since 2013 when Sisi ousted Morsi. Sisi is on a sticky wicket and he may well wonder what happens to him in the future as examples of Nassar, Sadat, and Mubarak are not very encouraging.

North Korea has the H-Bomb ** 75

Many people are wondering what it means for North Korea to have a Hydrogen Bomb. What is a hydrogen bomb? It is a bomb that is more lethal by at least a 100 times than a conventional Atomic bomb and includes breaking of the Hydrogen molecule and release of mass energy.

The North Koreans have claimed they have this weapon and the world is up in condemnation of this act of supposed terror. Is it so? what if Kim Jong-Un had no weapons of mass destruction, then what would have happened? How many can answer this question?

The fact is in case Kim had no deterrence, then by now he would have been sodomised with a baynot like Gaddafi and hanged like a common criminal like Saddam. The Americans are adept in attacking weak opponenst and this is borne out by history. Can any one answer where was American rhetoric when China went nuclear and exploded A and H-Bombs? They kept quiet and now see than prancing about like a tiger. Kim has held them at bay, and I am sure he will never give up his nuclear arsenal. America will have to live with it.