India's doctrinal policy shift in combating terror by carrying out the Balakot air strikes inside Pakistan, appointment of a Chief of Defence Staff and hastening work on military modernisation marked a new beginning in 2019 in dealing with complex security challenges.
'In our media and general population the idea of 'strong posture' was successfully sold by Modi. This is now a liability for him, as he has discovered,' says Aakar Patel.
2016 saw the worst unrest in the Kashmir valley in 26 years.
These missiles have a range of two to five km and they are capable of bringing down low flying helicopters and aircraft, they added.
Tawang wears its history -- and also its present -- with ease. The flourishing town, with restaurants selling everything from noodles to dosas and locals returning home to new business prospects, shows little sign of the tension building up at the border about 40 km away to the north.
The creation of a CDS has got the head right. Issues that were not talked about for years are now being discussed, points out Ajai Shukla.
This is the first deal for artillery guns since the Bofors scandal in 1980s.
The political-electoral calculus favours spending thousands of crores on vanity projects like Sardar Patel's statue and the Central Vista over building up our military to handle the confrontations and conflicts that loom large, points out Ajai Shukla.
Army Chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag on Wednesday visited the Nagrota-based 16 Corps headquarters and was briefed about Tuesday's terror attack in which seven officers and jawans were killed, even as combing operation to flush out any remaining militant continued.
Why did Pakistan sign a cease-fire without acquiring Kashmir, which was the sole purpose of the 1965 War, asks Ahmad Faruqui.
Flexible, maneuverable, mobile and swift, the M-777A2 Ultra-Light Howitzers are just what India needed to replace its aging battle-tested Bofors guns, says Debalina Ghoshal.
Guterres, who opened an emergency meeting of the 15-nation Security Council on Ukraine late Wednesday, in his brief off-the-cuff remarks said 'if indeed an operation is being prepared, I have only one thing to say from the bottom of my heart: President Putin, stop your troops from attacking Ukraine. Give peace a chance. Too many people have already died'.
'The incidents have remained confined to the paramilitary forces on both sides with both the armies scrupulously avoiding getting involved. While this incident has been going on, the LOC has been reasonably quiet. Cross border firing achieves no tactical or strategic aims and is more a symptom of hostility. Unfortunately, India has to learn to live with this. Like Israel, we must construct shelters for the border populations and be ready to retaliate in kind,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Through the past 18-month period, peace has prevailed in the disputed border regions, which was immensely helpful in the difficult situation that the country was passing through, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Senior officers recounted extreme Chinese brutality to the Indian prisoners, with some of them being pushed over cliffs and soldiers' bodies being recovered from the Galwan River.
'The Chinese can't be trusted hence the need to verify and re-verify.'
Responding to a question on the meeting between Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and United States President Donald Trump in the US, Rawat said that Pakistan can do anything to get money.
The brigade that conducted the drills was from the PLA's Tibet Military Command and is one of China's two plateau mountain brigades.
The Chinese military has already completed moving back its troops from the face-off sites in Galwan Valley, Gogra and Hot Springs in line with the first phase of the disengagement process from the friction points on the LAC in eastern Ladakh, sources said. The main focus now shifts to Pangong Tso. India has been insisting that China must withdraw its forces from areas between Finger Four and Eight.
The UPA's failure to reach out to Kashmiris and the NDA's 'anti-Muslim' stance has fuelled anger in the Kashmir valley.
'Intrusions by PLA troops in the Ladakh sector are more in number than elsewhere and this region is now likely to remain an area of enhanced Chinese interest,' warns China expert Jayadeva Ranade.
They justified the strikes, saying the forces had entered into Indian territory occupied by Pakistan.
'The defence minister needs to focus on human resources-related issues at the same pace in 2017 as he did on acquisitions in 2016,' says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
'It could have moved from the use of small arms to artillery fire.' 'Anything could have happened like what happens on the LoC.'
'He consulted widely, both formally and informally and acted quickly on pragmatic suggestions.' 'To his credit, Parrikar took the initiative to reduce excessive litigation against armed forces veterans and widow over small sums of pensionary and disability benefits,' points out says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
"The morale of the Army has gone up. Army wants to teach lesson to our enemy. They are just waiting for permission from the government... We gave them permission two-three times," Parrikar said during BJP's campaign meeting in Vasco on Sunday.
The government must figure out what the Chinese game plan is and thwart the endgame before it is upon us, possibly in early winter, advises David Devadas.
'India's military posture has become significantly stronger than China's on the 3,500-kilometre Line of Actual Control.' 'This is enhancing confrontation between the two sides,' points out Ajai Shukla.
Senior commanders of the two armies held intense negotiations for nearly 11 hours on Sunday at a designated meeting point in Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control.
'By beheading an Indian soldier, the Pakistan army has demonstrated its proclivity for barbaric medievalism.' 'The strategies adopted and the punishment inflicted by India must be made progressively more stringent with every new act of terrorism till the cost becomes prohibitive for Pakistan,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'The Chinese forces in the narrow Chumbi Valley are currently in the line of sight and fire of Indian forces poised on the ridges along the Sikkim-Tibet border.' 'Aware of this vulnerability, the Chinese have been eyeing the Doklam plateau,' explains national security expert Nitin A Gokhale.
A model of Rafale jet will be showcased as part of the IAF's tableau. Models of LCA Tejas, Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), surface-to-air guided weapon Aakash missile and Astra missiles will also be part of the tableau.
Here's a collection of some of the best photos, taken last week, from around the globe.
'China's latest defence White Paper has been issued against the backdrop of the upgraded Sino-Pakistan strategic relationship which has impinged on India's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and Beijing's continuing intransigence on tackling the issue of the disputed border or intrusion by PLA troops,' says Jayadeva Ranade.
It is baffling how the PM chose the LCH as an indigenous product to celebrate on Rashtriya Raksha Samarpan Parv, even while his Cabinet holds up manufacturing clearance for 15 LCHs on the grounds that they are not Indian enough.
'Kargil was Pakistan's strategic blunder. India must remain on guard against such sinister operations being launched in future by Pakistan's vengeful and devious military leadership that continues to have a hate-India mindset and the mentality of primitive warlords,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
The new army chief's highest priority must be to address the critical hollowness in the Indian Army's operational preparedness, says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'NSA Doval and the PM are known to admire Israel's tough response to cross-border terrorism.' 'However, New Delhi's situation is far more complex than Tel Aviv's, which enjoys military superiority over all its neighbours,' says Ajai Shukla.
The first priority for the new Tibetan administration in Dharamsala should be to look at Tibetan recruitment in the PLA, suggests Claude Arpi.
'We should not flatter ourselves that China is fixated on encircling India. She has greater goals, becoming the pre-eminent power in the world, and India as a major power is dealt with as part of that strategy.'
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances