A war hero looks back at the men and the moments that forged India's greatest military victory.
'China is unwilling to restore the status quo ante of April 2020.' 'India will have to weigh its options based on this premise.'
'Jawans are not rich and their families need succour in their time of loss.'
Captain Manpreet Singh led his band of 130 men on Rajpath, perched on a ladder 10 feet high, rising precariously from the handle-bar of his motorcycle.
'Modi will not require the Ayodhya issue because he already has other emotive issues like Pakistan.' 'The BJP does not need the temple for political mobilisation anymore.'
'The Pangong Tso lake is frozen from September-October to February-March. The windchill factor is phenomenal. The night temperature goes to minus 40. The area is like a barren desert. You are out in the open with no trees or bushes to take cover.'
'He is a BJP man among Dalits, not a Dalit man in the BJP.'
By becoming the first woman ever to contest a Lok Sabha election in Mizoram, Lalthlamuani has already made history.
'If there is anyone who is a victim of vendetta politics, it is me.'
Wing Commander Sahil Gandhi was among the best fighter pilots of the Indian Air Force. He perished when the Hawk aircraft he was flying had a mid air collision in Bengaluru on February 19. Those who had flown with him tell Archana Masih/Rediff.com about the skilled flyer who had a fan following among young pilots.
'These ladies have sacrificed their husbands so that you can celebrate your birthday parties and anniversaries.' 'It is your moral duty to treat them right and with respect.' 'When they visit a bank or a hospital, they should not be made to stand in queue, but treated like Presidents or prime ministers.'
'The BJP would not have brought him into the party if they did not appreciate him.'
'Seven galleries range from the historical to the traditional, and from the contemporary to what constitutes the Diaspora -- the migrant labour that went on to create plantation colonies in far reaches of the world,' notes Kishore Singh.
Two years after a midday meal took the lives of 23 children in Gandaman, Archana Masih sits down to have lunch at the same government school and discovers that much has changed and much remains the same.
'Some people petitioned the adhikari (government official) and a electricity pole was unloaded here, but because we were not here at that time, some people from a neighbouring village took it to their village instead.' As Bihar goes to the polls, Rediff.com looks at the state through the stories of its people.
'The BJP is in no hurry because they have already won the battle.'
Major Khushboo Kanwar, the daughter of a Rajasthani bus conductor, made history on Rajpath on Republic Day.
'It's not about me - but about my jawans, my country,' says Lieutenant Bhavana Kasturi.
'Transformation of Ukraine into some kind of permanent strategic challenger, which Russia would have to contain and deter, spend a significant part of political and strategic resources on it.'
'These people are not concerned about Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian -- they are only concerned about being in power,' Akhilesh Yadav tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih in his first interview after the election results.
'People may think that because my father was in the film world and politics, things are easy for me.' 'It is not easy at all.'
'There is a strong possibility that the BJP's seats are going to be much higher compared to the JD-U and this would be the turning point for the BJP.'
'To deal with a bully, you have to deal from a position of strength, not a position of weakness.'
'Not everybody gets the opportunity of having a working desk inside a helicopter from where you can control torpedoes and weapons.'
'The safety regulations drastically reduce the chances of contracting the virus on a two-hour flight.'
'They are aware that they have been unable to bring about any change in the security situation in Kashmir and have failed to internationalise the Kashmir issue.'
Irom Sharmila, the woman who was on a hunger strike for 16 years, leads a quiet life, and recently became a mother of twin girls.
'The leverage created by the Indian military must not be lost.'
'When you look at the border -- from Ladakh to Arunachal -- which is called the Sino-Indian border, but in effect it is actually the Indo-Tibet border.' 'Since the borders are still not secure, it has resulted in transgressions in Galwan, Dokalam etc.'
V K Singh, who has turned around Telangana prisons, wants to improve the police force in his home state, Bihar. Is Nitish Kumar paying heed?
'The Afghans used to say that if there is any person whose name should be taken after Allah, it is Hindustani.'
'After days of waiting in uncertainty and anguish, I was finally going home.'
'When the Indian Army carries out anti-infiltration ops, the Pakistan army willy-nilly will get involved in some way. So, it is imperative for the Pakistan army to act against militant groups.'
'Galwan has turned everything.' 'The casualties on both sides alerted the Chinese to the fact that Indians are not going to take it lying down.'
'The party in the present form cannot pose a challenge to the BJP and Modi.'
'We may think that in our border quarrel, the Chinese can give up a bit of territory here or there to satisfy us, but that's not how they see it.' 'Arunachal Pradesh is 90,000 square kilometres and twice the size of Taiwan.' 'The Chinese can't be seen to be asserting their rights to Taiwan and on the other hand, cheaply giving up Arunachal Pradesh.'
'Even if the government does not implement an all-India NRC before 2024, it will be part of the party's long-term project.'
'... so that the hospitals do not get overwhelmed. We have to avoid it at all costs.'
'I don't think there is a wave in favour of the Samajwadi Party, or against the BJP.' 'This election is largely about which party is able to build a larger social and political coalition.'
'Unless the State is a welfare State, unless the State has more welfare measures, it will not be able to deal with these kind of sudden situations.'
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