Breaking their silence after four days of a shoot-out in which 13 of their village youth died in firing by Para commandos, the Oting Citizens Office, representing Oting village in Nagaland's remote Mon district on Wednesday rubbished official claims and asserted security forces had tried to hide the dead bodies and dress them in fatigues in a bid to pass them off as militants after a botched up ambush.
A crack team of about 70 commandos from 21 Para of the Indian Army carried out the surgical strike inside Myanmar territory in the thick of the night that killed 38 insurgents belonging to NSCN(K) and KYKL militant groups on Tuesday.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa on Tuesday said that the Centre is likely to sign a peace accord with militant organisations from the state's Adivasi communities within September.
It is 25 years since Captain Sanjit Bhattacharjee went missing during a patrol on the India Pakistan border. Pakistan has never acknowledged his captivity.
The projectile, fired by some unidentified people, hit the Saanjh Kendra adjoining the Sarhali police station on the Amritsar-Bathinda highway on Friday night.
The incident came to light when two members from the group of youths, who went hunting in the jungle, returned home and informed the families of the five that they were whisked away by the Chinese troops from Sera-7, an Army patrol zone located about 12 km further north of Nacho.
The five youths had gone missing on Friday from the Sino-Indian border in the Upper Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh.
Gen Rawat carried out an aerial recce of certain areas and was briefed about key aspects of the security matrix in the region by senior military commanders.
Protests at this time when efforts are underway to strengthen the PLA and keep morale high would be worrying for the military leadership, observes Jayadeva Ranade, the retired senior RA&W officer and distinguished China expert.
Exploiting the killings to ratchet up the tension in the region and harden negotiating positions with the central government serves nobody, least of all the people of Nagaland. The peace process must not be stalled because of this incident or distracted by calls to repeal the AFSPA, argues Vivek Gumaste.
The military is mobilising to play a central role in holding patients exposed to the coronavirus.
Palli panchayat, 17 km from Jammu city, was virtually sealed with local police and paramilitary personnel including Border Security Force and Central Reserve Police Force deployed in strength to keep a strict vigil.
'In AAP, those who are in charge of a particular state provide information to Arvind Kejriwal. 'In the BJP, several organisations convey what is happening on the ground to the top leadership.' 'There are so many channels through which issues are being understood.'
Should India engage Pakistan's generals directly, bypassing Imran? Ambassador G Parthasarathy, India's former high commissioner to Pakistan, ponders Delhi's diplomatic dilemma.
The stringent and rare action against Commandant Rajesh Kumar Tomar was confirmed by the ITBP director general after a general force court trial was held against him under the ITBP Force Act of 1992.
To threaten China and Pakistan, and then to sharply cut back on military funding, bespeaks a remarkable trust in Beijing and Islamabad that is not borne out by anything they say or do, notes Ajai Shukla.
The Congress released a booklet 'Nau saal, Nau sawaal', asking nine questions from Modi. The BJP rejected the Congress' criticism as a 'bundle of lies and mountain of deception' and said the questions are born out of 'pathological hatred' of the PM.
Trains were set afire and blocked, and public vehicles attacked as protests over 'Agnipath' swept across several places in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Jammu on Thursday amid partisan political voices in favour and against the new recruitment scheme for the defence forces that has set off a firestorm.
Last week, two BSF troopers from Rajasthan, members of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Congo, were killed by protestors. Do we need to lose lives fighting in a country not ours, in a war that is not ours and for a cause that is not ours, asks Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd), who served in the UNPKF in Congo.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said India is a peace-loving nation that never resorts to any kind of aggression but is always prepared to give a befitting reply if provoked or threatened.
Like the Shourya and Prahar missiles, the Pralay is powered by conventional solid fuel, and its payload is designed to carry only a conventional warhead.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) reached Mumbai on Saturday, a day after the agency transferred investigation in six cases, including the controversial cruise drugs case in which Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan was arrested, to it.
On the title page of the Top Secret Report, Henderson-Brooks quotes the Chinese tactician Sun Tzu: 'Know yourself, know your enemy: A hundred battles, a hundred victories', says Claude Arpi, highlighting where the Indian Army and government failed to counter the Chinese attack in 1962.
'As a course mate who has followed closely this star on the Bombay Sappers firmament, my heart swells with pride to see his extraordinary brilliance and focus; his commitment and his dedication; his hard work; and his technical as well as tactical knowledge,' says Colonel K Thammayya Udupa (retd) of his batchmate General Manoj Pande who will take over as chief of the army staff on May 1.
India should remember that Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relations will remain special due, not least, to bonds of all Muslims with The Holy Land. They would also be strategic enough, irrespective of whether the ambassador is a military man or a career civilian appointee., notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
The CDS will have a significant role in higher defence planning and operational aspects of India's nuclear arsenal.
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), which guards the Line of Actual Control with China, has posted its first officer to head the newly-created Guwahati-based eastern command that oversees deployment of border battalions in that region.
It is learnt that defence minister Rajnath Singh did not attend office as part of a precautionary measure.
With the flood situation in Assam remaining critical on Monday and affecting a population of nearly 43 lakh in 33 of its 35 districts, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma directed air dropping of food and other relief materials in areas where there is heavy inundation, officials said.
The Shiromani Akali Dal-Sanyukt will contest on 17 seats.
The arrested terrorist was identified as Sajjad Ahmed, 22, from Muzaffargarh in south-west Pakistan, the army said.
And, in turn, help 1,000 artisans earn Rs 5,000 at a time when they are struggling to cope with financial hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Chinese authorities have been rapidly building defence infrastructure along the Line of Actual Control, indicating that they are preparing for a long period of tension with India, points out Jayadeva Ranade, the former senior RA&W officer and China expert.
"The proposal for the appointment of the three joint secretaries of the DMA including Major General Narayanan, Rear Admiral RK Dhir and Air Vice Marshal SK Jha has been sent to the government for final approval," defence ministry sources told ANI. Sources said the DMA has also sent a proposal for the appointment of lieutenant general rank officers for appointment as additional secretaries in the ministry.
For the first time, the government on Wednesday delegated financial powers for capital procurement projects worth up to Rs 200 crore to armed forces officials below the level of vice chiefs to help them meet emerging security challenges, officials said.
'It could have moved from the use of small arms to artillery fire.' 'Anything could have happened like what happens on the LoC.'
Floral tributes were paid on Friday to the martyrs who laid down their lives while fighting terrorists who attacked Mumbai on November 26, 2008.
'I will give the evidence when the Indian Army constitutes an inquiry. I have given you my statement. Has the army initiated any inquiry?'
'Their sacrifice will never be erased from the memory of time and history'
