'We don't know what the reasons were that we gave back the Haji Pir Pass which was strategically very important. Today the entire infiltration into Kashmir takes place from that area. If we had retained that post that we had captured, things could have been different.' 'A lesson we need to learn is if you start losing the gains of war at the negotiating table, they become a disincentive for future wars,' says Lieutenant General D B Shekatkar (retd), reviewing the lessons from the 1965 War.
The reasons for China's negative response are located in its territorial dispute with India but also to its grand designs of dominating the region from its previous position of being merely a "balancer" between India and Pakistan, points out Srikanth Kondapalli, Professor in Chinese Studies at JNU.
'We should give azaadi to Jammu and Ladakh from the domination of Kashmir valley politics,' suggests Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The Madhav Godbole task force recommendations on border management are being implemented in phases. While some action has been taken, clearly much more needs to be done. It is time the report is de-classified and put in the public domain, says Gurmeet Kanwal.
'If India employed a strategy of a 'thousand cuts', Pakistan will wither away.'
It is time to throw an outer ring around India's national security by proactively engaging in areas immediately outside our neighbourhood. Such a ring will not only insulate India from emerging threats, but also create new leverage in securing our own neighbourhood, says Nitin Pai.
"They support terror operations in India with terrorist organisations. They support the Haqqani network and the Taliban in conducting operations against the United States and NATO and Afghanistan. They've got blood all over their hands with the casualties," General (Retd) Jack Keane said.
'China is likely to help Pakistan in keeping the fire burning in J&K to bleed India for its own interests.' A fascinating excerpt from Lieutenant General K Himalay Singh's Making of a General: A Himalayan Echo.
The name plates of Lieutenant Colonel Dhan Singh Thapa, Colonel N J Nair, Havildar Hangpan Dada and Subedar Joginder Singh were unveiled at a ceremony in Kolkata.
'The Kashmiri identity and its unique blend of Sufi Islam, its culture and language can best survive in a plural and secular India.' 'Neither independence nor merger with Pakistan can achieve that objective.' 'Peace will return to Kashmir only when Kashmiris realise this, else they will be part of the 1,000- year war,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'The Bodos and the Assamese were at each other's throats, the Assamese Muslims and the Bengali Muslims were at each other's throats, the Bengali speaking Muslims and Hindus were coming together against the Assamese speaking caste Hindus and the plains tribes and vice versa.'
'In the short to medium term, the Myanmar raid will impose caution on Pakistan in planning another 26/11-like adventure. As a result of this caution, even if the proxy war ebbs, it will reduce the danger of escalation to a nuclear stand-off,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday extended the suspension of operation agreement with the Dima Halam Daogah-D faction, an Assam-based insurgent outfit, for another three months till September 30.
Tripura should be taken as a case study on how misuse of the AFSPA can be avoided even while transforming public opinion and controlling insurgency, says Sanjib Deb.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday held talks with Myanmar President Thein Sein as India suggested the two countries should work out a joint strategy to tackle terrorism and insurgency along their border and enhance security cooperation.
The Indian police is governed by the archaic, colonial-era Police Act of 1861, which has no place in a democracy. It was created to make the police subservient to its masters and, consequently, antagonistic to the masses, states Veenu Sandhu.
India is deploying cutting-edge technology to defeat a simple insurgent weapon that J&K militants and Naxals are using to lethal effect: the Improvised Explosive Device, or IED. Swedish company Saab has offered to partner India's Defence Research and Development Organisation in fitting Saab's CARABAS radar on India's Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), which would allow the scanning of wide swathes of territory to detect IEDs well before they can be exploded.
Two bombs went of in Imphal on Sunday ahead of the Republic Day celebrations.
To many who remember the politics of the late 1980s, this is a worryingly familiar moment for India. The two periods have several common features: a rudderless government, an insurgent anti-corruption movement, and weakness on the external economic front.
'The government must provide more funds to enable the armed forces to fight and win tomorrow's wars,' states Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
Rediff.com's Surajit Talukdar got in touch with author Frans Welman, secretary of the Amsterdam-based Naga International Support Centre, who is considered to be close to the leadership of the NSCN (I-M). Here are excerpts from the exclusive e-mail interview.
In a turnaround, Pakistan asked for "more evidence and information" from India on the Mumbai attack case and asserted that talks cannot take place without Kashmir being on the agenda, barely three days after the two countries agreed to re-engage.
'Our defence services are in a position to checkmate any Chinese adventurism.'
'It is visible everywhere that people are against violence and want to live in a peaceful, prosperous and secure India,' the President said.
The intelligence wing will have 650 field and staff agents to gather actionable information.
'How do we explain that on the economic, internal security and strategic fronts, India's unstable coalitions have acted more decisively and boldly than all our full-majority governments yet?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
Three decades after it was imposed in Manipur to deal with insurgents, the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) is still an issue used by parties during electioneering for the January 28 assembly poll in the state.
Kashmir was indeed in need of a messiah that summer; 70 per cent of its population aged below 31 were up in arms against the Indian State. Every nook and corner of the land brought forth stories of youngsters with crushed bodies and an unfaltering spirit.
Director of US National Intelligence said that Islamabad's failure to curb terrorists and the rise in number of cross-firing incidents was the cause for increasing tensions.
Among other things, she told the court that she did not even know the meaning of 'insurgency', claiming that her English language skills were not very good.
Delhi was just one riot. Add Bengal, Assam, Uttar Pradesh and you can count a few scores dead. It could, regrettably, be just the beginning of a very long, dark phase for India, notes Shekhar Gupta.
Strongly reacting to All India Congress Committee vice president Rahul Gandhi's purported remarks that Asom Gana Parishad was in power for a term allegedly with the backing of insurgents, the Asom Gana Parishad on Friday said it would initiate legal action him.
Jaitley said the Indian Army and the Border Security Force are "dominating" the Line of Control irrespective of where the troubles are being created by foreign insurgents or domestic terrorists.
The Rashtriya Rifles' contribution to peace and stability in Jammu and Kashmir is immeasurable. The force has been able to create a situation conducive for civil governance.
Rajeev Srinivasan on how insurgents and terrorists seem to have more human rights than the average citizen in India.
An American photojournalist, who ventured into strife-torn tribal areas of Jharkhand while the Maoist insurgency was in full swing, has documented how irresponsible mining is usurping the lives of our tribal people.
The United Liberation Front of Asom, led by self styled commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah, has reportedly established close operational links with Naxal elements to carry out destructive activities in different parts of the country. Highly placed sources told this correspondent that apart from the Inter-Services Intelligence wing of Pakistan, some Chinese elements are also guiding these anti-Indian insurgent outfits in a bid to intensify their 'destabilise India' campaign.
Some believe she should no longer be the face of the struggle to free Myanmar from the new military dictatorship, observes Prakash Bhandari.
'The COVID-19 pandemic must push the military into a long-term reconsideration of its primary challenges.' 'There must be greater emphasis on humanitarian aid and disaster relief including the management of contagious illnesses and impending crises caused by climate change,' notes Ajai Shukla.
India was U Thaung Tun's first port of call after his appointment, which should intrigue China and Pakistan, says Rajeev Sharma.
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