When Captain Divya Ajith leads the first all-women contingent of the Army this Republic Day, she will carry on her shoulders the hopes and aspirations of women officers to soon serve the nation in combat roles.
'India's challenge is status quo ante. China's challenge is a face-saving exit'
Glimpses from the preparations and rehearsal for Independence Day.
Modi will unfurl the national flag and deliver the customary address to the nation from the ramparts of the historic monument.
He said the situation was made difficult for the terrorist organisations as a result Jaish chief Maulana Masood Azhar sent his nephews to carry out terror activities.
Pakistan's new Army Chief has begun setting the stage to act against groups like LeT and JeM
An Army Major, who was injured in the terror strike in Kabul, died at a hospital in New Delhi on Wednesday, taking to seven the number of Indians killed in the attack.Major Ritesh Roy of the Army Education Corps died in the Army Hospital Research and Referral. Two other Major-rank army officers have also been killed in the attack.Commissioned in the Army in 2001, Major Roy had been posted in Kabul since March last year. His wife Captain Seema Mishra is also an AEC officer.
"As regards reports about a bridge being made by the Chinese side on Pangong Lake, the government has been monitoring this activity closely," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
It is time the political leaderships in this country arrived at a common ground over issues of foreign and security policy concerns. There has to be a greater communication between the government and the Opposition leaderships for the nation to present a unified face against the rest of the world, advises N Sathiya Moorthy.
The officer had denied the charges against him levelled by the Captain-rank woman officer.
The Union defence ministry after plenty of deliberations has finally decided to hand over control and operation of attack helicopters to the army, notwithstanding the stiff opposition from the Indian Air Force. This would mean that all future attack helicopters would be with the army and its aviation corps would operate, pilot and also maintain the attack choppers.
Yeh Hai India series: Capturing the events and moods across our incredible country.
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.
The fifth edition of the joint exercise between Indian and China, codenamed 'Hand-in-Hand 2015', commenced at the Kunming Military Academy at Yunnan Province in China on October 12.
The decision to disengage the forces, locked in a bitter standoff for the last six weeks in eastern Ladakh, was taken at a nearly 11-hour-long meeting between senior Indian and Chinese commanders in Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on Monday.
The Army has also further bolstered overall surveillance mechanisms in all areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh after foiling China's fresh attempt to occupy an area on the southern bank of Pangong lake, they said.
'After General Raheel Sharif took on the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, some sections of the military establishment may have felt unease as to whether the crackdown could be extended against friendlier 'non-State' actors like the Lashkar-e-Tayiba.'
Lieutenant General Harinder Singh, who commands the 'Fire and Fury' 14 Corps, has the experience and talent to face down the Chinese challenge. The general is a rare combination of thinker and tough-minded doer, observes David Devadas.
'When armies start attacking with clubs and batons, then at some point this can take an escalatory spiral and spin out of control.'
The Chinese military on Friday confirmed that the troops of China and India have begun the process of disengagement from the Patrolling Point 15 in the Gogra-Hotsprings area of eastern Ladakh in a 'coordinated and planned way'.
The Punjab Assembly on Thursday passed a resolution against the Centre's Agnipath defence recruitment scheme.
Cricket icon Mahendra Singh Dhoni and industrialist Anand Mahindra were on Thursday named in a 15-member panel constituted by the defence ministry to carry out a comprehensive review of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) in order to make it more relevant.
In an army that favours officers who have spent the bulk of their service years doing counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir, General Anil Chauhan is that rarity: A China specialist who has logged plenty of service years along the Line of Actual Control and the McMahon Line with China.
Sources indicated that during Saturday's talks, India will insist on a faster disengagement process in remaining areas to bring down tension in the region, which has witnessed a tense standoff between the two militaries for over nine months.
'They will try more rounds of military level talks and move it to the diplomatic and political domain to see if there is a possibility of a solution -- and like the CDS said if that does not happen, we are prepared.'
The CSG is one of the topmost bodies in the government which provides directions to the military and diplomats on the stand to be taken during talks with the Chinese and also take a stand on the points and demands raised by the Chinese side.
'Landmark developments herald the end of two decades of stagnation in the army's modernisation plans,' notes Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'The decision has been taken in view of the regional security environment.'
'The Indian government wakes up after the fact when it can do nothing, or rather lacks the will to prosecute military actions to reverse these adverse PLA-driven developments.'
'The 1971 War was our greatest military victory.' 'It had so many stories of exceptional valour and leadership.'
'This is what we train for: That one chance to deliver a blow so lethal that the enemy will constantly think about it when planning any misadventure.'
'China is unwilling to restore the status quo ante of April 2020.' 'India will have to weigh its options based on this premise.'
'By not even acknowledging China's occupation of Indian territory Modi signalled to Beijing that he was not prepared to used forceful means to vacate the Chinese occupation, and that his government was reconciled to this loss of territory and accepted the fait accompli engineered by the PLA.'
It is learnt that the face-off took place after a Chinese patrol tried to enter Indian territory and the troops of China's People's Liberation Army were forced back.
India and China to hold the 11th round of corps commander-level talks at Chushul in eastern Ladakh at 10.30 am on Friday that is expected to focus on disengagement of troops in remaining friction points, sources within the Indian Army said.
The Indian side is expected to seek disengagement as soon as possible in the remaining friction points besides pressing for resolution of issues in Depsang Bulge and Demchok.
Indian Army Chief General M M Naravane had said on Wednesday that India was hopeful of resolving issues related to disengagement at Patrolling Point 15 (Hot Springs) in eastern Ladakh in the 14th round of talks.
The sources said the mutual disengagement of troops at the two friction points is likely to be completed within two days, and that there has been 'substantial' withdrawal of forces by Chinese military from the areas.
When asked for an update on Tuesday's military-level talks, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing in Beijing that both sides reached progress for promoting further disengagement of the border troops at the Western Sector.
