'Many sepoys fought with distinction, winning some of the first Victoria Crosses to be awarded to Indians; and indeed, as in any army fighting under such inhumane conditions -- standing in the freezing sludge, with shrapnel tearing through bodies and being subjected to gas attacks -- some buckled under pressure.'
A day after Dhaka was liberated on December 16, 1971, then US President Richard Nixon was told by his strategic advisor Henry Kissinger that he had 'saved West Pakistan,' according to confidential papers since declassified by the US department of state.
In March last year, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court by Rajat Sharma and Dr Neh Srivastava who demanded that a former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister be booked under the sedition law, claiming he had sought China's help to restore the erstwhile state's special status.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com recounts the history of the Indian flag and how it has evolved over the years.
During the World War, Singh fought alongside the Allied Forces in North West Frontier province, Eritrea, Abyssinia (now Ethiopia), Libya, Egypt and Italy.
'The Arunachal border is not demarcated in that way, so there can be differing perceptions (between two sides)'
Amiya Bose, freedom icon Subhas Bose's nephew, was tasked by his uncle to carry a secret letter seeking Soviet help in India's liberation, which was to be delivered to agents in Britain in October 1939, barely a month into the Second World War.
Buried in a Kolkata cemetery is an Englishman who served India well during her struggle for freedom. Charles Freer Andrews was a benevolent force that neither the Indians, nor the British could ignore.
Jaishankar, who met Guterres at the UN headquarters in New York, also discussed other issues, including India's presidency of the G20 and the Ukraine conflict, with the UN chief.
'The vocal pacifists who monopolise the media in India need to answer a simple question: Would they have the Taliban or ISIS take over Kashmir or the rest of the country or let the army do its duty so that we are safe in our beds and free to demonise the soldiers in our cozy drawing rooms and television studios,' asks Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
A number of supporters said on Twitter they had been targeted by racist abuse from other fans at the Birmingham
Amidst media investigations alleging that peacekeepers from Indian Army were embroiled in gold and ivory smuggling and giving arms to militias in Congo, Defence Minister A K Antony said, "Anyone found guilty will not be spared". The allegations, Antony said, were being probed by United Nations investigators.
Did the human drama provoked by the Japanese invasion of Burma and the Indian exodus from Rangoon inspire director Vishal Bhardwaj's forthcoming epic?
The average Indian soldier remains as hardy as before but he is certainly confused with the pace of change occurring all around him. It is here that the leaders -- the officers -- will have to adapt themselves to the new reality, says Nikhil Gokhale
'As soon as the violence broke out, they should have stepped in and sent a message that the state is there to stop this violence.' 'Had they done it right there, the situation would not have gone out of control.'
Situated at a height of 15,200 feet above sea level, the pass sits on the top of a craggily formed Himalayan range that separates the Tibetan plateau from the Indian sub-continent.
The dinner Jill Biden and her husband US President Joe Biden hosted for Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, June 22, at the White House brought together, Indians and Americans from so many firmaments.
Shivaji made sure that his soldiers respected the sanctity of mosques and the Quran Sharif to ensure that his fight against the Mughals did not become fight against Islam, explains Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Claude Arpi salutes Lieutenant General Zorawar Chand Bakshi, India's most decorated general, who passed into the ages recently.
'China would want to take a tougher stance against India forming those strategic partnerships and prevent Quad from becoming a military alliance.'
'Everybody knows that any solution would upstage and expose official bungling.' 'That is something Mrs Sitharaman's masters will not allow.' 'No matter how high the cost in human misery, they will squander a fortune on the unnecessary Central Vista extravaganza,' notes Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
Bhangra Paa Le has a fairly ambitious if unoriginal premise let down by staid vision, spiritless writing, middling choreography and music, feels Sukanya Verma.
Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi wrote a personal letter to her British counterpart Margaret Thatcher soon after the 1984 Operation Bluestar in an attempt to justify her decision to send army to flush out militants from the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh shrine.
The billions India invested in dams, schools, etc in Afghanistan will be gone. The Hindu and Sikh population of Afghanistan has already shrunk from some 200,000 to about 500, points out Rajeev Srinivasan.
ACN Nambiar's life was extraordinary and intricately linked to momentous turns in history. Having lived in Europe for five decades, he was witness to and entangled with what we today -- with the benefit of hindsight -- call recent history.
The manifesto also commits Labour to constitute a judge-led inquiry into Britain's "injustices of the past", including a public review of the country's role in Operation Blue Star -- referred to as the "Amritsar massacre".
General K S Thimayya served as chief of the army staff from 1957 to 1961.
How does blatantly claiming Indian territory help to maintain 'peace in border regions', is a mystery that only China can explain, notes Claude Arpi.
The man with the golden arm could surpass some, if not all, top cricketers -- the demigods who stand well above athletes from other disciplines in India
In a letter to the Minister, Amit Panghal, who became India's first male boxer to win a world championship silver last year, said that athletes should not have to plead their case for an award by nominating themselves.
Pushing its probe into alleged irregularities in securing the contract for supply of rifles to Indian Army by South African firm Denel, the Central Bureau of Investigation has sent letters rogatory to South Africa, the United Kingdom and Hong Kong.
Recently declassified documents reveal that the Indian government wanted to invade the sacred precincts of the Golden Temple even if it hurt national interest, says senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley.
The defence minister has to correct a major asymmetry. Will his discipline come in the way?
Raag Desh is one of the best films of the year, Sreehari Nair raves.
Condolences over the demise of chief of defence staff Gen Bipin Rawat poured in on Wednesday from various countries, including the US, Russia and Pakistan.
By clinging to the past misdeeds of some Islamic rulers, present day Muslims are making reconciliation of communities an impossibility, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Modi's brilliance seems to be in combining Indira Gandhi's 'feel' for the Indian pulse and Narasimha Rao's cynicism.' 'By the time the Opposition leaders caught up with Modi over the 'surgical strikes', he had already moved on,' says M K Bhadrakumar.
'They were certainly not practising Hinduism in the Harappan culture (which includes Mohenjo Daro and other sites).' 'There was no notion of Hinduism then.'
Two women candidates; Lok Sabha Speakers; Chief Justices; A Chief Election Commissioner; drafters of the Constitution; the RBI's first Indian governor; a farm leader who unsuccessfully contested four times; an iconic Bharata Natyam dancer...
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