'They asked me if I was a devout Muslim and if I could recite the Kalma.' Flying Officer Jawahar Lal Bhargava knew his game was up. 'They threatened me with dire consequences if I didn't tell the truth.'
According to reports, the MHA is worried about a stampede-like situation at the event as there is 'no evacuation plan' in case of an emergency.
'I don't let it affect my life because otherwise, we will go mad.'
''I heard from the Pakistani brigadier that Flying Officer Pradeep Apte had been killed after he ejected safely and tried to escape. This news sent a chill up my spine. I had been lucky so far...'
Monica Sindhwani left Rangoon for India at 20. Married to a retired Indian Army officer, she relives her memories of the pagodas, greenery and the home she left nearly 40 years ago.
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.
Exercise Tiger Triumph -- a full-scale, tri-service beach landing operation -- is a capability India is seeking to build.
The ISRO is strengthening 'eye in the sky', which helped the Indian army carry out surgical strikes last year, with the launch.
'The Indian Army can easily initiate retaliation.' 'But escalation would be both inevitable and unpredictable.'
When Shaan Ibraahim realised that his wife Sruthy was losing her hair to cancer, he shaved off his own to support her in the journey.
As the curtains come down at the Tokyo Olympics, here's a glance at the medallists and those who came within touching distance of glory.
'I was seven years old in 1983. I never heard about that historic win because we did not have a radio set in our village.'
'Will never support anything anti-India'
The retreating Pakistani troops were heading towards Dacca and they had to be stopped at all costs. The Eastern Army Commander, in his orders to General Sagat Singh, had reiterated that he did not want the troops of 4 Corps to cross the Meghna river. But General Sagat had other plans to threaten Dacca and ensure that the pressure would make the Pakistani commanders capitulate. This is where the IAF helicopters came in.
Having known Vice Admiral Hari Kumar personally and professionally, Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd) wishedshim a fantastic tenure as Chief of the Naval Staff. Under his command may the Indian Navy grow in all dimensions as the nation strive to establish itself as a credible sea power in future.
Joginder Tuteja lists the biggest projects announced during the lockdown.
Complaints to NCM fall down sharply...4,000 Indian women deserted by NRI husbands since 2016...79 districts in India still don't have blood banks...
The Narendra Modi government has refused to move the International Court of Justice against Pakistan in the death of Army Captain Saurabh Kalia.
Sam Manekshaw led the Indian Army to its greatest military victory this month 46 years ago. Lieutenant Colonel A K Shinde (retd), the field marshal's doctor for 35 years, tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih about the charming man behind the soldier's uniform.
The draw, Goa's sixth on the trot, helped the Gaurs climb to the third spot on the table.
A committee tasked by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to assess the situation on the China border is understood to have reported that Indian troops are not being allowed to patrol up to the perceived Line of Actual Control by Chinese army.
'My dream was to see them qualify for the T20 World Cup in Australia. This is like icing on the cake'
President Ram Nath Kovind will arrive in Dhaka on Wednesday on a maiden three-day State visit during which he will hold talks with his counterpart and attend the golden jubilee celebrations of Bangladesh's 1971 independence from Pakistan.
Dad had sneaked into East Pakistan (present day Bangladesh) well before the war had started for reconnaissance of the terrain on the other side. He had disguised himself as a driver of a truck laden with goods and traveled into East Pakistan to be received by the underground fighters of the Mukti Bahini.
'Since the rotors of a helicopter rotate at very high RPMs, if they hit an obstacle -- for example a tree, wire or pole, the result is catastrophic.'
Sitharaman visited forward army posts in remote Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh bordering China on Sunday to take stock of the defence preparedness.
Dr Seema Rao has trained over 20,000 Indian soldiers. And has never been paid for it. Here's her super-inspirational story.
Honorary Captain Bana Singh won the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest ranking gallantry award, for recapturing a Pakistani post on the Siachen Glacier. Living a retired life in a quiet village in Jammu and Kashmir, he makes you feel that his act of phenomenal courage was part of a soldier's day at work.
'The Himmatsinghji Report is still 'missing'.' 'It is a great loss for the knowledge of India's borders.' 'It would have an immense value at a time China is bound to shift its attention to other border fronts in the Himalayas,' notes Claude Arpi.
'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.'
Air Commodore Nitin Sathe discovers how the IAF trained Pakistani air force pilots, during the 1971 War, which led to the birth of the Bangladesh air force.
Is it a divine, sacrosanct university, a holy cow, prohibiting human intervention?
'The much-awaited decision could be a welcome change at a time when the Indian armed forces are crying for self-reliance and the defence industry is looking forward to more indigenisation,' notes Nitin A Gokhale.
The cover features India's only woman Lieutenant General Madhuri Kanitkar, champion racing driver Alisha Abdullah and Harmanpreet Kaur, captain of India's ODI/T20 women's cricket teams.
Twenty two years before Kabir Khan's The Forgotten Army streams on Amazon Prime on January 24, 2020, his documentary of the same name was telecast on Doordarshan. On that occasion, Kabir Khan spoke to Amberish K Diwanji/Rediff.com about Netaji's Azad Hind Fauj and its many battles for India's freedom.
'Another friend told me that the Russians had come to their homes, killed their neighbours and raped his neighbour's wife, and they killed even children in Bucha.'
'He destroyed many of our tanks, and finally, it was just the two of us left facing each other with our tanks just 200 m apart.' A tale of valour excerpted from Rachna Bisht Rawat's 1971: Charge Of The Gorkhas And Other Stories.
Indians will enter the upcoming Olympics with heightened expectations
'It is only when Beijing sees a country with an infirm political will such as India that it acts up as the PLA has done in eastern Ladakh.'
The remarkable story of Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian in space, will be seen in a film featuring Aamir Khan.
