'Under National Security Advisor Ajit Kumar Doval and now Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, India began to actively work on Pakistani internal faultlines with a possibility of the break-up of Pakistan as the only solution,' observes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The tunnel, bypassing snow-bound upper reaches, will reduce the journey time by two hours and provide a safe, all-weather route to commuters travelling from Jammu and Udhampur to Ramban, Banihal and Srinagar.
Violent clashes broke out between a group of youths and security forces in parts of the city on Saturday, leaving a youth and a policeman injured in stone pelting as separatist groups called a strike in Srinagar condemning the police action on Jamia Masjid on Friday.
The re-opening of the state government offices in Srinagar after the annual Darbar Move was marked by citywide shutdown and protests.
"India's decision on Article 370 has troubled some people, who can't handle their country, who support terrorism," the prime minister said.
Jammu and Kashmir's mainstream political parties, including the National Conference and the PDP, formed the Gupkar alliance on October 15 for restoration of special status of the erstwhile state and also to initiate a dialogue between all the stakeholders on the issue.
December 3, 2021 marks 50 years since the beginning of the 1971 War which ended in a decisive military victory for India and the liberation of Bangladesh. Most analysts of the 1971 War agree that the IV Corps dash across the mighty Meghna river led by the brilliant General Sagat Singh was the turning point in the war, recalls military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'The war of 1962 exposed the hollow intellectual foundations of Nehruvian foreign policy, especially vis-a-vis China and that is why it was such a shock.'
Will stand for rights of Kashmiris: Imran Khan in PoK
AFSPA can be safely lifted from almost 90 per cent of Nagaland, argues Shekhar Gupta.
Learning perhaps from the Kargil debacle, Musharraf tried hard to evolve as a statesman in his dealings with India, recalls Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
Director General of Police S P Vaid said that Burhan Wani's successor Sabzar Ahmad Bhat is among the two terrorists killed in the encounter in Soimoh area of Tral on Saturday morning.
'Anglo-Indians have played a significant role at the forefront, meeting every challenge to the security of the motherland.' A fascinating excerpt from Barry O'Brien's The Anglo-Indians: A Portrait of a Community.
'The 1971 War was our greatest military victory.' 'It had so many stories of exceptional valour and leadership.'
The Howdy Modi put a dagger into the heart of the 'bipartisan consensus' in the US regarding the relations with (Modi's) India, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
This year, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been conferred Padma Vibhushan for his achievement in the field of public affairs.
The sources said that the Indian Army maintains a stock of 60,000 of these extreme cold weather clothing sets for troops deployed in entire Ladakh including both western fronts in Siachen and Eastern Ladakh sector.
The process to authorise new battalions for the ITBP, guarding the LAC between India and China, is in the last stage and the government is determined to provide transport and logistical support to all security forces, Union Minister Nityanand Rai said on Sunday.
As the Congress vehemently opposed the scrapping of the Constitutional provision that accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir, some party leaders raised voices of dissent and supported the government move.
Gen Naravane said that the Indian Army did not hide casualties during Galwan clash in eastern Ladakh as the Chinse have done.
'India should be more confident and let Pakistanis meet Hurriyat leaders. India's main concern is terrorism, and India should talk terrorism. If that means talking Kashmir, so be it. India can't answer terror with terror because we don't have terror factories. India can't answer terrorism with war because we both have nuclear weapons. That leaves talks as the only option,' says Shivam Vij.
Did the ISI choose the Rajasthan border to smuggle narcotics after striking deals with Indian smugglers, who would send the money to various terrorist groups in Kashmir?
Zahid Rasool Bhat, 19, a truck assistant had received 74 per cent burn injuries with another person on October 9 when a Kashmir-bound truck was attacked by a mob protesting against the beef party hosted by an independent MLA in the summer capital of Srinagar.
'Bukhari's case falls into that rare category where the precise determination of the killer as well as the motive can only be guessed vaguely, not determined with certainty,' says Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished doyen of the Kashmiri media.
'The one thing India has over these two States, whose toughness awes us, is our ability to embrace diversity with ease. 'The way ahead lies in learning from Vajpayee's method, not in Xi Jinping's,' says Shekhar Gupta.
The deputy superintendent of police's arrest has raised questions about the role of collaborators in terror attacks.
'By causing military humiliation of India it intends to send a signal to other Asian countries to toe the Chinese line,' argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The Moplah rebellion, also known as the Mappila riots, of 1921 was one of the first manifestations of the Taliban mindset in India and the Left government in Kerala was allegedly trying to whitewash it by celebrating it as a communist revolution, Rashtriya Swayasevak Sangh leader Ram Madhav claimed on Thursday.
The recent decision of the Union government asking United Nations Military Observer Group on Kashmir to vacate a government-provided bungalow in New Delhi, is garnering mixed reactions in Kashmir. While many feel there would be no real impact if the UNMOGIP was to close its main offices in Srinagar, there are others who believe that the UN would continue to have a critical role till the Kashmir issue is resolved.
There are laws that are as out of time and place today as the Rowlatt Act was a century ago, explains Aakar Patel.
Ignoring the boycott call by separatist groups and braving cold weather, nearly 70 per cent polling was on Tuesday, in most of the 15 constituencies going to polls in first of the five-phased polls in Jammu and Kashmir.
One priority for Delhi (for the new foreign secretary in particular) is to have an in-depth discussion with Dharamsala as soon as possible, suggests Claude Arpi.
'For a man who had just received news of his daughter's kidnapping, he showed no sign of anxiety or agitation.' 'Here is a cool customer, I thought to myself.' 'The only thing he said was, 'I would not have been so anxious had they kidnapped my son'.' 'He told me that his daughter Rubaiya, who was a medical intern, was returning home from the hospital in a minibus when it was stopped close to the Mufti's house.' 'She was taken by four armed militants.' A gripping excerpt from Moosa Raza's Kashmir: Land Of Regrets.
Twenty personnel of the India-China LAC guarding Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) force have been awarded gallantry medals for displaying bravery during standoff and clashes between militaries of the two countries in the eastern Ladakh region last year.
Interestingly, the choice of August 5 as the day of the bhoomi pujan coincides with the abolition of Kashmir's special status on the same day a year ago. Perhaps the RSS-BJP wants August 5 to be remembered as the date on which the foundation stone of their cherished Hindu rashtra was laid, notes Amulya Ganguli.
The start of Indian lobbying in the US can be traced back to Pakistan's anti-India lobbying. Policy wonk Ashok Sharma documents this journey and its catalytic role in transforming the US-India relationship.
A u-turn by the BJP will be an apocalyptic occurrence in Indian politics and society, argues Amulya Ganguli.
'Whatever comes in the minds of the Pakistani generals and Pakistan military, they just go for it.' 'They do not care about the consequences for their country or the consequences to the people of Pakistan.'
'The MEA, hopefully, made it clear that the Indian PM can't be seen in Xi Jinping's company when China has, for all intents and purposes, annexed over 1,000 sq kms of Indian territory in eastern Ladakh, and essentially that the Wuhan spirit and the Mamallapuram spirit have turned into vinegar.'
'No amount of economic measures or prosperity in Kashmir will make any dent in the situation there. The average Kashmiri understands the Pakistani game and is unlikely to prefer Pakistan over India. But the Pakistanis have made clever use of religious symbols and slogans to force religious-minded Kashmiris to support them. India has failed to counter this posturing by the separatists,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
