The paramilitary and police forces in the country have lost 31,895 personnel in the last 53 years in the line of duty but they are still fighting for the "martyr" status for the dead officers and men like in the armed forces.
Iraq beat Iran 7-6 on penalties to reach the semi-finals of the Asian Cup on Friday after the two Middle Eastern rivals played out one of the most extraordinary matches in the tournament's history.
We bring you a collection of some of the best photographs taken this week by Reuters photographers.
Here's a glimpse of all that happened around the world last week, in 14 images.
The high hills of Himachal Pradesh received snowfall leaving tourists delighted.
A round-up of our favourite photographs from the week gone by
Intense cold wave coupled with dense fog led to the death of 12 persons -- nine in Uttar Pradesh and three in Punjab.
'India could help in Afghanistan, but if it does too much, it will stoke Pakistan's paranoia and risk making the situation worse,' Michael O'Hanlon, one of America's leading experts on international security, tells Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa.
The terror attack on Parliament 12 years ago, on this very day, had evoked nation-wide outrage and botched India's fragile ties with Pakistan further.
'The resignation has been more like a statement. Like an alarm bell that "Look, something is wrong".' 'I am saying that "Look, I rang the bell, but I am also going to provide solutions".'
'When incidents of stone pelting at the aircraft occurred, the boys were careful that they continued with the rescue because finally we had to save lives.' A senior Indian Air Force officer, who is a veteran of flood rescue ops in Uttarakhand, Bihar, Gujarat and the Bombay deluge, tells Archana Masih/Rediff.com about the rescue operations in Kashmir, one of the first such efforts in a densely populated and urban area.
Even as the electioneering heats up for the third and the last phase polling in Assam, main opponents the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party have drawn up electioneering strategies to outsmart each other.
He was the army commander who planned Operation Bluestar. As army chief he planned Operation Brasstacks which rattled the Pakistan army. General K Sundarji was brilliant, ambitious and controversial, remembers Rahul Bedi.
The RSS chief's comment that if war broke out, the military would not be ready for at least six to seven months is correct as it faces a shortfall in training and alertness and an even greater lack of funds for defence preparedness, notes Ajai Shukla.
The Al-Ummah operatives who were arrested on Saturday after a major encounter on the Andhra Pradesh border on Saturday are providing the police with a mine of information regarding their plans. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
Pakistan on Tuesday said a meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh would be useful to revive composite dialogue and fast track bilateral issues but made it clear that it is not expecting any major breakthrough.
'Jaffrey played all his roles with a characteristic elan and amiability: He looked like a clever, all-knowing, winking Super Mario, gloriously grey around the edges. Irresistible, really.'
Even as his 79-year-old father is counting his days in active politics after a very long innings, Gaurav Gogoi, son of Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is now all set to take a plunge in electoral politics. Gaurav has been nominated by the Congress party to contest Lok Sabha election from Kaliabor constituency in Assam.
Tim Pigott-Smith hated the natives in The Jewel in the Crown, but went back a lover of India at the end of the four-month shoot. India not only gave him a career-defining role but touched him in many different ways. Documentary filmmaker Siddharth Kak -- who acted with the classy actor in the beloved television series -- shares his memories with Rediff.com's Archana Masih.
'I would say it is not going to be days and weeks. It is going to be months and years, over which we would make an assessment on the decisions taken by the Parliament at this point of time. 'We are in for a long haul is what I would say.' It was a very diverse India, which was coming together, politically, in a very cohesive, democratically-resilient way." Professor Navnita Behera examines the wisdom of the exit of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
Israel bombed the Gaza Strip for the fourth day on Friday, killing eight Palestinians and tensions heightened after militants fired rockets towards the Jewish state from Lebanon for the first time since the beginning of a confrontation with Hamas.
The indirect tax reform Goods and Services Tax is stuck in the Rajya Sabha.
