In the confrontation in Doklam, where Indian and Chinese soldiers were lined up eyeball-to-eyeball, senior Indian commanders recount they could sense the uncertainty in the Chinese. While Indian soldiers had to be restrained from pushing the Chinese troops back, our chief interpreter heard the Chinese officers threatening to open fire on PLA soldiers who wavered or withdrew, reveals Ajai Shukla.
Wing Commander Raveendran and flight steward Sargeant Iyer, though shaken and injured, managed to open the rear door of the aircraft and shouted for Prime Minister Morarji Desai and the passengers in the forward cabin to exit in haste since they suspected that fire would engulf the aircraft.
At least 24 people were arrested by the security forces for defying the ban on celebrations, officials said.
Following the capture in eastern Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated the assault teams of the Wagner private military and Russian troops.
Colonel Santosh Babu who hailed from Suryapet district in Telangana, was serving in the 16 Bihar regiment as Commanding Officer.
At least two previously unknown incidents of skirmishes between the Indian and Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) have come to light with citations for gallantry awards conferred on Indian Army personnel mentioning them.
Deployed at 15,632 feet, Captain Shiva Chauhan, 25, highlights the calibre of the Indian Army's women officers.
The main focus will be on the situation in eastern Ladakh where Indian and Chinese troops are locked in an eyeball-to-eyeball face-off in sensitive areas like Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie
Lance Naik Albert Ekka, Param Vir Chakra, was only 28 when he made the supreme sacrifice for the Motherland.
'We failed as a country because those who should have been there to say goodbye did not show up.'
The commanders will also deliberate on the overall situation in Jammu and Kashmir besides delving into issues having national security implications, they said. However, the main focus will be on the situation in eastern Ladakh where Indian and Chinese troops are locked in an eyeball-to-eyeball face-off in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie, the sources said.
With General Naravane taking charge, all three services chiefs, including navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh and the Indian Air Force's Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria, are now from the 56th course of the National Defence Academy.
On the night of July 5, the Tigers launched their first kamikaze operation. Miller took the wheels of the explosive-packed truck, smiled at everyone as he turned the ignition key and drove it slowly towards the Sri Lankan military camp. A few moments later all of Jaffna heard a thunderous explosion that brought the complex crashing down in clouds of dust. Miller had given birth to a deadly tactic that Prabhakaran would employ time and again with devastating consequences to Sri Lanka -- and India. A fascinating excerpt from M R Narayan Swamy's must read new book, The Rout Of Prabhakaran.
The use of firearms along the LAC marks a serious escalation in border tensions as the previous instance of shots being fired at the de-facto border was in 1975.
Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag, whose appointment as Army chief had kicked up a row, on Thursday took over as the next head of the 1.3 million strong force succeeding Gen Bikram Singh who is retiring.
Amid heightened military activities by the Chinese military opposite eastern Ladakh on its side on the Line of Actual Control, top Indian Army leadership would be briefed about the force's operational preparedness at a high-level meeting to be held here next week.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday defended the Agnipath scheme underlining that the future of youths joining as Agniveers would not be impacted, even as he said the government was 'open' to bring any change in it 'if required'.
The Indian Army said the soldier, a Corporal in the Chinese People's Liberation Army(PLA), has been identified as Wang Ya Long and he will be returned to the Chinese military at the Chushul-Moldo border point after completion of formalities.
The commanders will also deliberate on a slew of long-pending reform measures like cutting down on ceremonial practices and non-military activities to ensure a rational distribution of resources, they said.
Former Military Secretary Lieutenant General Avadesh Prakash, indicted in the Sukna land scam, was attached to the Kolkata-based Eastern Command on Wednesday and asked to report there on February 25.
'The military advantage the Indian Army had gained by the Special Frontier Force occupying the heights of the Rezang La-Rechin La ridge on the Kailash Range is lost without the PLA withdrawing to east of the Khurnak Fort line.'
Former vice chief of Indian Air Force Air Marshal P K Barbora (retd), known to be an outstanding air warrior who was instrumental in reactivation of the Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) air strip in eastern Ladakh, passed away at a military hospital in New Delhi on Monday. He was 72.
'In the interim, India will be confronted with anti-India feeling because Sheikh Hasina had India's support.' 'We will have to deal with it, but it will not be a permanent phenomenon.' 'There is substantial goodwill towards India which will stand us in good stead.'
Army chief General Naravane said the ongoing dialogue will sort out all the perceived differences between the two countries.
Top organisations of the Konyak tribe in Nagaland have announced a set of regulations, including 'strict non-cooperation' with the army, saying the people will follow them until justice is served in the killing of 14 civilians by security forces in a botched up operation and its aftermath in the North-eastern state earlier this month.
Around 75 drones of the Indian Army carried multiple mock operations, including kamikaze attacks, first-aid delivery and parachute payload delivery exercises, at the event.
On the first day of his two-day visit to Ladakh, Gen Naravane held a series of meetings with top commanders about the evolving situation in the region as well as on India's overall combat readiness to deal with any eventualities, military sources said.
Several Bangladeshis, who have come to Kolkata either for medical treatment or education or other purposes, are now stranded in the city and concerned about the ongoing violence and abrupt change of regime in their country.
India is witnessing trailers of future conflicts and its adversaries will continue with efforts to achieve their strategic aims, Army Chief Gen MM Naravane said on Thursday delving into national security challenges emanating from China and Pakistan.
....a long-term boundary agreement is reached between the two countries.
No one is in a critical condition as of now, all are stable, said Indian Army sources.
India's tactical and operational response demonstrated its ability to prosecute tri-service operations, even without a formal tri-service doctrine or the higher command structure needed to coordinate it, points out Ajai Shukla.
Disengagement from the LAC will remain a chimera because China has given enough indications that the PLA will not move back any more. China has even deployed drones to monitor and deny any patrolling by Indian troops even in the buffer zones which are all in Indian Territory, explains Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
After having successfully disengaged with China in the Pangong lake area, Armies of India and China are likely to hold talks again this week to discuss further disengagement from Gogra heights and Depsang plains, said sources.
'In Eastern Ladakh the Chinese attempted salami slicing.' 'Our response has been superb. Our military has responded magnificently.'
Naravane's appointment has been cleared at the highest level, adding the government has followed the principle of seniority in the appointment.
DRDO's latest tank will face trial in Rajasthan's summer which will be followed by 'user trials' ahead of facing battle in high-altitude deserts of eastern Ladakh and Sikkim, reports Ajai Shukla.
The sources said the situation in eastern Ladakh remained 'tense' and that around 30-40 soldiers of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) are holding up at a position close to an Indian post in the Rezang-La ridgeline in eastern Ladakh.
The officials said Pakistani intelligence operatives have adopted the modus operandi of investing in illegal call exchanges that switch Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls to normal Indian mobile calls.
A village built by China along the Line of Actual Control in the Arunachal Pradesh sector and mentioned in a recent Pentagon report, is in territory controlled by that country, sources in the security establishment in New Delhi said on Tuesday.
