Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi visited Kashmir to review the security situation following the Pahalgam attack earlier this week that left 26 people dead, mostly tourists. The visit comes less than 24 hours after Pakistan resorted to small arms firing along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.
President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday approved a total of 112 gallantry awards for defence and paramilitary personnel for their sacrifices to the nation, the defence ministry said.
'Captain Vikram Batra, PVC and his unit 13 Jak Rif did stand out because of the sheer magnitude of the task allotted to them but also the exceptional professionalism with which it was executed and completed,' recalls Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
At a height of 17,200 feet, his handwriting mangled by the cold, Captain Vikram Batra wrote this letter to his twin brother.
Brigadier Lidder's wife Geetika was in tears as she knelt by the head of her husband's coffin, which was draped with the national flag and decked with flowers. Daughter Aashana was by her mother's side, fighting back tears of her own while paying her homage to her father.
'In times to come this will be considered a watershed event, but only if the establishment can see the flag which is up and the straws in the wind which are flying,' says Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
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