'Violence is the human abuse of power and rape is one of its worst manifestations.' 'Especially, the R G Kar kind, which allegedly involves not just brutal rape and murder but also destruction of evidence, complicity of authorities, suppression of protests, people willing to defend the indefensible and a shameful persistence of all involved to hold on to their seats of power,' asserts Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
This is the first time that a retired officer has been appointed at this position for which a gazette notification was issued to announce the change in rules for the appointment.
'Beyond the 'sir' and the 'salute', there was a man who cared about his soldiers and that's what made him a great leader.' Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw's grandson Jehan remembers the man who was the soldier's soldier.
In another feat, Lt Jamyang Tsewang, the first commissioned naval officer from Ladakh, also successfully graduated as a qualified helicopter pilot, according to the Indian Navy.
Military affairs experts said his key challenge will be to build consensus among the three services for the theaterisation plan as the Indian Air Force has some apprehensions about its roll-out.
The Chinese military on Thursday said the situation along the India-China border 'at present' is 'generally stable' and both sides have maintained 'effective' communication to resolve the military standoff in eastern Ladakh.
It is learnt that the Indian delegation insisted on a time-bound implementation of the agreement finalised during the extensive talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow on September 10 on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO) meet.
'The Galwan clash in 2020 resulted in a large number of troops being moved from J&K to Eastern Ladakh which caused a thinning of deployment in the Jammu area.'
India and China have held several rounds of talks at the diplomatic and military-level to resolve the standoff that erupted in early May.
Asked about the reports of the troops on both sides disengaging and moving back to their previous positions, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing in Beijing that both sides are taking steps to ease the situation along the borders.
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.
'The Indian gung-ho leadership may like to think about it, there should never ever be a doubt in anyone's mind, friend or foe, that Pakistan's operationally ready nuclear capability enables every Pakistani leader the liberty, the dignity and the courage to look straight into the Indian eye and never blink.'
President A P J Abdul Kalam Monday presented colours to the eastern naval fleet at an impressive ceremony in Vishakhapatnam.
The National Security Strategy document should flag all major issues concerning security strategy and provide guidelines to concerned departments to work out suitable action plans. Since the global and regional geopolitical canvas is dynamic, the NSS document should be deliberated at length before formulation and should be reviewed periodically, recommends Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
India and China held two days of military talks in an "open and constructive manner" for an early and mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh and agreed to maintain peace on the ground.
The meeting started at around 11.30 am at Moldo on the Chinese side of Line of Actual Control (LAC) opposite Chushul to defuse the tensions in Eastern Ladakh sector due to Chinese military build-up, the sources said. This is the second meeting between the two corps commanders.
In underlining the role of border villages as custodians of India's frontiers, New Delhi is following China's example in Tibet.
The virtual talks took place under the framework of Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met the Indian Army's senior-most generals before he addressed the Army Commanders' Conference at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi on Wednesday, October 18, 2023.
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.
Two pilots on board a Cheetah helicopter of the Army were killed when it crashed near Mandala in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday morning, a defence spokesperson said.
'While my generation carries with it the memory of the Chinese perfidy of 1962, this generation will carry the memory of Chinese perfidy in Galwan.'
This meeting is taking place after a gap of around four months.
Before migrating into the theatre command concept, it would be worthwhile to study the shortfalls experienced by the Tri Services Command in the Andaman and Nicobar islands and make good the deficiencies, suggests Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
There is a definite attempt to put the landslides on the backburner because news of them and climate change worry Wayanad's tourism and real estate businesses greatly. Whatever I experienced of Wayanad's 2024 by-elections; the July landslides were not a burning issue, observes Shyam G Menon.
Tomy has now been shifted to INHS Kalyani, the naval hospital of Eastern Naval Command, for observation and medical assistance as required.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday saluted the courage and invaluable service of the soldiers and officers, including the veterans on the Army Day. PM Modi said the army and its brave soldiers have made the nation proud by their sacrifices
If Meena resigns, it is likely to put pressure on other ministers whose areas also saw poor performance in the general elections.
Lt Gen P K Rath, who is facing court martial in the Sukna land scam case, has alleged in the Delhi high court that there was mala fide intention as the Eastern Command had initiated action against him only after he was designated the Deputy Chief of Army.
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).
China does not have to give up what it took in 2020, it will never give up its claim to Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh and other areas, and it has all the time now to plan its next surprise, points out Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
The marathon fourth round of Lt Gen-level talks also focussed on steps for pulling back large number of troops and weapons from rear bases along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh.
Pakistan may want to undertake a 'false flag' operation in J&K to divert attention from the situation in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but infiltrating one SSG battalion into J&K and having two SSG battalions waiting to follow suit means war, which Pakistan cannot afford in its current economic crisis, notes Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
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.
'Days ago, India witnessed the horror of the brutal rape and murder of a woman doctor on night duty at the R G Kar hospital in Kolkata.' 'The crime was so outrageous that any self-respecting chief minister should have resigned, bearing moral responsibility.' 'But then the terms 'self-respect' and 'moral responsibility' do not exist in the modern Indian political lexicon,' argues Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
'Tensions and dialogue are likely to go hand-in-hand with China.' 'The goal should be to cultivate power so that one can negotiate from a position of strength.'
The talks are following up the outcome of the 19th round of Corps Commander-level talks held between the two sides on August 13-14 at the Chushul Moldo border meeting point.
Indian and Japanese ships engaged in advanced level exercises in all three domains of maritime warfare -- surface, sub surface and air.
Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi, the general officer commanding-in-chief of the Northern Command, said five of the seven friction points in eastern Ladakh, where the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA are locked in a standoff since May 2020, have been resolved and talks are underway for the remaining areas.
'With continued focus on votes, upcoming by-polls and purchasing politicians, the political hierarchy has little time for national defence.' 'They would do well to heed a veteran scholar, who says, "There will be war with China in the next few years. The next full scale war will have the involvement of Pakistan and terror elements, insurgents and intelligence assets operating inside India",' warns Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
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