Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami met a hero's end battling Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorists in the jungles of Kashmir. His valour earned him the nation's highest gallantry award in peacetime this Republic Day. Archana Masih/Rediff.com travelled to Lal Kuan, Haldwani, to find out who this hero was.
Manish Kaushik has announced his arrival on the senior scene in grand fashion.
UAVs are an intrinsic part of today's technology driven battlefield. Indians don't seem to be taking the challenge with the degree of urgency that is required, says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
'He never believes in loose talk.' 'If he is done with you, then you go your way, he goes his way.'
'The sooner we understand and accept this current situation as the new normal, the better,' advises Major Mohammed Ali Shah (retd).
"Each soldier was my brother in arms.' 'We fought together and achieved glory for India.' 'We fought on with only one thing in the mind -- that that this is a national battle and we must not let the Pakistanis get the better of us,' says Major General Shamsher Singh, who was awarded the Mahavir Chakra for fighting in one of the bloodiest battles the Indian Army has ever waged.
The eighth edition of the India-Russia Joint Military Exercise 'INDRA-2016' -- with a focus on counter-terrorism operations in semi-mountainous and jungle terrain under United Nations Mandate -- is on in the Ussiriysk district in Vladivostok, Russia.
'The creation of Pakistan was integral to Britain's grand strategy.' 'If they were to ever leave India, Britain's military planners had made it clear that they needed to retain a foothold in the NWFP and Baluchistan because that would provide the means to retain control of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar.'
Arpi deserves to be complimented for the commitment and hard work that have gone into this production. The frustrations of seeking reliable documentation from the catacombs of the Indian bureaucracy did not deter him from going after the best information available, and the result is one that he can take much satisfaction in. Ambassador Prabhat P Shukla, Member Advisory Council, Vivekananda International Foundation, reviews Claude Arpi's The End of an Era: India Exits Tibet.
What should concern the Indian citizen is not the fact that the world's biggest assault rifle purchase was scrapped. What should is the fact that the tender was for a type of rifle that has never been produced, says Nitin Pai.
'Will it lead to a full-scale war? I doubt it.' 'But I do think there will be some kind of limited conflict.'
'The affection and love and blessings of the audience is all that matters.' 'That is most important for me, nothing else.'
'2,000 years later, we all want the same thing -- we want to live a healthy life, a life that has quality.' 'And Chanakya tells you exactly how to do that.'
'I realised what a great leader he was by the way he took decisions to undertake the most-risky of missions.'
Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com recalls the many ways in which he has been influenced by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
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.
"The Congress in a way is in the grip of urban Naxals. That is why its thought has become negative," Modi alleged in his 90-minute speech.
'It broke my heart when Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein did not work at the box office but little did I know that one day, it would become a cult film.'
Varun Chakravarthy, a mystery spinner, capped off what was a memorable day for him in the Indian Premier League by getting photographed with MS Dhoni.
'Absolute non-violence is not only sinful, but immoral.' 'This doctrine of non-violence benumbed the revolutionary fervor, softened the limbs and hearts of the Hindus, and stiffened the bones of enemies.' A revealing excerpt from Vikram Sampath's Savarkar (Part 2): A Contested Legacy, 1924-1966.
'They didn't speak Hindi or English, but love is a universal language.'
It is a timely reminder that when faced with twin threats, India has succeeded by wisely choosing allies, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Bug bounty hunters or independent ethical hackers are certified cybersecurity professionals or security researchers who crawl the web, scanning the systems for gaps through which hackers can sneak in and alert the companies, says Shivani Shinde.
She's not an Indian freestyle wrestler.
About 18 months after its entry in India, a Spotify listener spent an average of 97 minutes on the app, almost ten times more than any other streaming music brand.
'I joined Hrishida when I was 17.' 'He left me with a lifetime of memories.'
'According to me, her finest hour was in 1983-1984 when she neutralised a combined US-Pakistan-British conspiracy to Balkanise India by creating an independent Sikh State of Khalistan,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd). A special assessment of Indira Gandhi on her centenary.
'There is much to glean from such exercises. And make it known that we are ready to take them on together!', says Air Commodore Nition Sathe (retd).
In the fourth such incursion since March, two helicopters of the People's Liberation Army of China hovered for about five minutes in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district and "could have carried out aerial photography of Indian ground troops," according to official sources in the government.
'When there are two hostile armies operating in close proximity, moral ascendancy is very important -- and that is something, I think, we achieved.' 'What is important is the will and determination of a country.' 'That you are willing to do something about terror that is coming from across the border and that is the message that was sent out.'
'What can I do for my India except make films that showcase it's greatness to the world, which touch on national issues and arouse the feeling of patriotism?'
Get your low down on what's happening in the world of Bollywood, right here!
'If the museum in his memory inspires and instils among Brahminical British Indians an attitude of equality towards Dalits, the edifice would be worth it,' reports Ashis Ray.
'All the guys in this country were stuck in the 'alpha' for the longest time.' 'They were told not to cry, be the man in the house.' 'I wanted to touch upon that vulnerability and innocence that is still alive in men.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said his government has always taken care of the welfare of Sri Lankan Tamils and 'consistently' flagged the issue of their rights with the leaders in the island nation.
According to observers, with pro-China Rajapaksa winning the election, the result will have a bearing on India's presence in the Indian Ocean region where Beijing is increasingly making inroads.
'We have not seen even during Vajpayee's time what Modi and the BJP has adopted now.'
A portion of the Nanda Devi glacier broke off in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Sunday, triggering an avalanche and a deluge in the Alaknanda river system that washed away hydroelectric stations, leaving at least seven people dead and 125 missing who are feared dead.
'We need to retell this history from many different perspectives.'
Fencing the border between Myanmar and Nagaland is expected to adversely affect the Naga tribals. Gautam Sen, an expert on Nagaland, explains why the Indian government needs a more comprehensive and long-term perspective on this issue and why it must take local tribal sensitivities and customs into account.
