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.
'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.'
Major Khushboo Kanwar, the daughter of a Rajasthani bus conductor, made history on Rajpath on Republic Day.
'Congress leaders don't believe in themselves and in the potential of the party.' 'Unless they have faith in themselves, only then will the public have faith in them.'
'It's not about me - but about my jawans, my country,' says Lieutenant Bhavana Kasturi.
'The BJP would not have brought him into the party if they did not appreciate him.'
'If there is anyone who is a victim of vendetta politics, it is me.'
'China is unwilling to restore the status quo ante of April 2020.' 'India will have to weigh its options based on this premise.'
'As long as we have such partners, Russia cannot be isolated.'
'No one in Sri Lanka could afford to stay at home, everyone came onto the street.'
'India has to prepare for future warfare where kinetic use of force at the border will be limited. War will take place in the realms beyond the border.'
'The BJP is in no hurry because they have already won the battle.'
'Modi's campaign has been strikingly devoid of anti-Muslim rhetoric. After the kutta pilla incident, it has been several months since he said something horrible about the Muslims of India. It is the result of democratic constraints. He has to make compromises... He's trying to reinvent himself. He will politically hurt himself if 2002 becomes the definition of Mr Modi again', says political scientist Ashutosh Varshney.
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?
'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.'
'To deal with a bully, you have to deal from a position of strength, not a position of weakness.'
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.
'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.'
Kerala Congress President V M Sudheeran on why the state needs to get sober.
'The safety regulations drastically reduce the chances of contracting the virus on a two-hour flight.'
'We don't know about our own treasures because we are a colonised people. We are unable to break away from that mindset because it is designed as a mouse trap - and colonised people become pigmies/mice on their own soil. We have lost the eyes to appreciate ourselves.'
'Not everybody gets the opportunity of having a working desk inside a helicopter from where you can control torpedoes and weapons.'
'Imran Khan might actually get some initial leeway from the generals to pursue better ties with India -- but not beyond a point.'
'After days of waiting in uncertainty and anguish, I was finally going home.'
'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 leverage created by the Indian military must not be lost.'
'Rezang La was a unique battle.' 'It was not a large scale battle like the Battle of Kohima which involved a large number of troops.' 'Here there was just a company that fought it out till the last man.'
'... so that the hospitals do not get overwhelmed. We have to avoid it at all costs.'
'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.'
'The party in the present form cannot pose a challenge to the BJP and Modi.'
'One big leader said you might get 3 lakh votes and still lose.' 'I said if I do I will make sure you are sleepless because it will be me and three lakh people.'
Mission Shakti 'shows the development within India's military space programme, its desire to be seen as a global space power and its recognition of the potential dangers of China's counterspace programme.'
'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.'
'It has also underestimated the striking force of the Opposition. It has been complacent and paralysed. That may be due to the compulsions of coalition politics and the arrogance of a party which looked at itself as entitled to rule,' says political scientist Christophe Jaffrelot.
'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.'
'You can only see it when you look for it. Seek and you shall find.'
'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.'
