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...
Lieutenant General Harbakhsh Singh, GOC, Western Command, disobeyed the then army chief and took on a superior Pakistani armoured column. The Indian Centurion tanks outgunned the more modern Pakistani Patton tanks in the battle at Khem Karan, that proved the turning point of the 1965 War. Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd) salutes the Soldiers' General.
'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.'
Official sources said withdrawal of tanks and other armoured elements from certain friction points is nearing completion while pulling back of troops from the North bank areas is being undertaken.
Major Khushboo Kanwar, the daughter of a Rajasthani bus conductor, made history on Rajpath on Republic Day.
The authorities urged the people to maintain peace and tranquility and do not allow the miscreants to create any trouble in their respective areas.
What happens when a Delhi professor is given the rare opportunity to travel with the Pakistan army along the LoC? Find out in this fascinating excerpt from Happymon Jacob's book, The Line of Control: Travelling With The Indian And Pakistani Armies.
It will be the third road link to Ladakh after the other two roads: the Manali-Leh road and Srinagar-Leh highway. The work on reopening an alternative road to Ladakh from Himachal Pradesh has been expedited as it is a strategically key road, said an official on condition of anonymity, adding the project is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.
'As Indians, we should be claiming and celebrating 'Bhartiyata' rather than seeking commitment to beliefs which are divisive and exclusionary.'
'Women were not allowed in the Territorial Army before January 5, 2018. Presently girls are not allowed in Sainik Schools and Rashtriya Military schools. Women are not allowed in the army education corps, in the engineering services (as permanent commission), they can't be religious preachers in the army. There's a need to change with the times.'
Did Vinod Sehgal die in Tsangdgar or was he taken PoW to Tibet or China? Why has the IAF kept so quiet for all these years, asks Claude Arpi.
India displayed its military might and vibrant cultural heritage on Rajpath on Wednesday with the grandest flypast with 75 aircraft to mark the 'Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav' celebrations being the highlight of the 73rd Republic Day Parade, which was drastically scaled down in view of the Covid pandemic.
Addressing a symposium on the international situation and China's foreign relations in 2022, Wang said both countries have maintained communication through diplomatic and military-to-military channels.
Chinese military has also deployed a sizeable number of its troops in Galwan Valley, the site of the violent clashes on June 15 that left 20 Indian soldiers dead.
The Indian Army, the Border Security Force, Hindu temples and the people of India, all have been targetted by fidayeen from Pakistan.
The intrusions into India were likely carried out by the PLA's better trained and equipped 'mobile operational units'.
Nawaz Sharif's appointment of a new army chief will influence India-Pakistan relations
'Being a serving officer or wearing a uniform does not make an officer more competent than one who has retired.'
'To deal with a bully, you have to deal from a position of strength, not a position of weakness.'
This is the first deal for artillery guns since the Bofors scandal in 1980s.
'That the terrorists could still kill three security personnel, including men of the Defence Service Corps, indicates highly trained men are being sent across the border,' says national security expert Nitin A Gokhale, founder, BharatShakti.in
'We hope the Indian side will work with China to follow through the important consensus of our two state leaders, abide by relevant agreements and treaties to de-escalate the tension at the border'
'They also agreed that for the overall development of bilateral relations it was essential to maintain enduring peace and tranquillity in the border areas,' the MEA said in a statement.
Here's a recap of moments captured in India in the past 48 hours.
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.
'India cannot allow Beijing's policy of stabilising and destabilising the border at will to perpetuate its own ends.' A riveting excerpt from Manish Tiwari's 10 Flashpoints; 20 Years National Security Situations That Impacted India.
Captain Manpreet Singh led his band of 130 men on Rajpath, perched on a ladder 10 feet high, rising precariously from the handle-bar of his motorcycle.
Pliot error is understood to have been found as the reason behind the crash of Indian Air Force's C-130J Super Hercules aircraft in March in which five service personnel, including four officers, were killed near Gwalior.
If the government of the day would like to set in place a smooth and well-planned changeover and facilitate the incoming chief to chalk out his action plan well in advance, the announcement of a successor needs to be done early, observes Colonel K Thammayya Udupa (retd).
He said there has been a spurt in infiltration attempts from across the LoC, but the army foiled most of these bids as is evident from the encounters taking place near the LoC.
The fighter jet conducted Eklavya formation by flying at a height of around 300 meter along with two Jagaur and two MIG-29 aircraft. The five jets resembled a V shape with Rafale leading the pack.
The encounter took place in Hajin area of north Kashmir's Bandipora district on Wednesday.
The army rejected Jawan Sindhav Jogidas's allegations that he was forced to be a Sahayak as a punishment.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a media briefing in Beijing that "at the moment the situation in the boundary region between China and India is overall stable and controllable".
Internal security columns of the army, which were deployed in the curfew-bound areas, were seen staging flag marches, while dozens of persons were taken into preventive custody to maintain law and order.
An influential group of Indian American doctors has campaigned at the Capitol Hill for Dr Vivek Murthy, who has been nominated by President Barack Obama for the post of surgeon general of the United States.
When corruption eats into the vitals of a nation, the State structures decompose and collapse. And when the leadership loses respect of the people, the war is lost, asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar, who played a stellar role in beginning India's systemic dealings in Afghanistan in 1994.
After the Ladakh fiasco where Xi Jinping did not expect the Indian Army to resist his land-grabbing tactics, he has to save face before his colleagues in the Communist party.' To bring the threat of a mega-dam to the northern Indian border is a clever move, observes Claude Arpi.
Chiefs of Army Staff in India have not been tactful about politicians. But they have stayed clear of politics, reports Aditi Phadnis.
Boosting the army's war fighting capabilities along the Line of Actual Control, the government on Wednesday given a go ahead to the creation of a corps including deployment of 50,000 additional troops along the China border at a cost of around Rs 65,000 crore.
