The newly-acquired C-130J aircraft of the Indian Air Force fleet, famously known as 'Super Hercules' made a maiden flight at the air force station at Jammu on September 27, a defence statement said.
A senior officer confirmed that the Indian soldiers fought valiantly and with tremendous grit "till the last", even to the extent that half of them died in battle, reveals David Devadas.
This is the first such incident along the border with China that Indian armed forces personnel have been killed after a gap of nearly 45 years.
Stars go for the loveliest holidays -- exotic locations with a lot of adventure thrown in. So we decided to bring you their travels with a special series.
Flight operations in New Delhi were disrupted for second consecutive day on Tuesday due to heavy fog with about 18 flights, including six international, being delayed and nine being cancelled. The general visibility at the Indira Gandhi International airport fell below 50 metres and runway visibility range (RVR) dipped to less than 100 metres, bringing a halt to flight operations, sources said.
Official sources have said that Chinese troops entered nearly 1.5 km into the Indian territory near Mount Gya, recognised as the international border by India and China, and painted the word 'China' in Cantonese on the boulders and rocks there with red spray paint.
Cold wave swept most parts of north India on Saturday, as mercury dipped to zero degree Celsius in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir's Leh district shivered at minus 19 degrees even as extreme cold conditions claimed two more lives in Uttar Pradesh.
'As for tricky relations with China, India needs less of summitry type event management and more anticipatory analysis and management of events,' says Ambassador Jaimini Bhagwati.
The work on a link-road in Demchok in South-eastern Ladakh region has been stopped after objections were raised by the Chinese Army, barely months after repeated incursions by it in that area.
Gurez constituency in the once terrorist-infested Bandipora district recorded the highest voting -- 74 per cent -- followed by Mendhar and Poonch (73), Surankote (68), Nobra (66) Leh, Kargil and Zanskar (all 60 per cent), Bandipora(57) and Sonawari (46)
As part of moves to speedily build communication infrastructure on the Chinese frontier, the Indian Air Force has finalised plans to set up an another airstrip in Ladakh.
The Jammu and Kashmir government on Saturday said that election material and poll officials have been dispatched to the far-flung polling stations in the ten assembly constituencies, campaigning for which ended today evening.Briefing newsmen, Director General of Police Kuldeep Khuda said that despite the heavy snowfall, polling staff, paramilitary forces and material including electronic voting machines have been dispatched to the 1,038 polling stations.
'The ideal thing that should be done in Kashmir is call for an election -- before the end of the year.'
'He is psychologically preparing the PLA and the Chinese public to avoid a loss of face.'
Close on the heels of over a dozen incursions since the face-off in Ladakh in April from across the Line of Actual Control, Chinese troops made a fresh attempt to violate the International Border at Chumar area in north-east of Leh on July 20, but were forced back by Indian troops.
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Two Border Security Force jawans were among four persons injured when Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire for the third time in less than 48 hours by firing with small arms, automatic weapons and mortar shells on 10 border out posts and civilian areas along the International Border in Jammu district.
Three public sector companies are planning to set up 60-80 megawatt solar plants with an investment of Rs 1,000-1,200 crore (Rs 10-12 billion). The projects will come up in Rajasthan, Punjab and the Leh region of Jammu and Kashmir.
'If the Chinese military gets hold of some western sectors on the India-China boundary, it will give them added military advantage.'
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Prime Minister Modi made a strategic blunder of Nehruvian proportions -- presuming no war can happen now, and the Chinese won't be a military threat and risk their economic interests, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Central security forces have taken positions well in advance in and around 1038 booths in Bandipora, Poonch, Leh and Kargil districts to instill confidence among the voters and foil the 'evil designs' of terrorists to disrupt the electoral process, officials said. Of the 1038 polling stations, more than half of them have been described as 'hyper sensitive' while the rest have been placed under 'sensitive' category.
'Delhi was not concerned.' 'It would continue sleeping for several more years, with the result that Indian territory is still occupied by China today,' says Claude Arpi.
As the Indian Army reported its first case of the infection with a 34-year-old soldier testing positive in Leh, the Army said it has taken a series of precautionary measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus among the forces such as checking flu symptoms among soldiers on their return from leave and cancelling non-essential travel, conferences and recruitment drives.
'It will be a repeated folly to ever think that China will not attack us.'
'The lay of the runway is not at all safe.' 'Even operating a 737 is dangerous there.' 'During the monsoon, they must ban landing on runway 10.'
Though the director and his team deserve the highest accolades for achieving a film of this level of beauty in severely extreme conditions, it is unlikely that this film will find a mass audience. Connoisseurs of high art however will probably find much to appreciate in this sparse and beautiful black and white world.
Only nine of the airline's 370 daily flights were making profits.
'All the government needs to do is to identify clear political and strategic objectives and to give the military planners a free hand,' asserts Ajai Shukla.
Experts said the tensions have added to a sense of apprehension in the United States, Europe and parts of Asia that China will engage in more aggressive behaviour in pursuit of its territorial interests, which in turn has raised the possibility of a serious and coordinated pushback by leading global players.
Cold wave conditions continued unabated in Kashmir Valley owing to the dry weather even as the weatherman predicted some respite next week with the possibility of isolated rains or snowfall.
The US has all along interfered in India-China issues. The objective is clear: Bring the Sino-Indian standoff to a flashpoint that would compel Modi government to take shelter under an American umbrella, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The use of military power to settle disputes is not always preferred and is the last preferred option, but it certainly remains an option.'
Commissioning the FM and satellite uplink station, Azad called for further improvement to cover the shadow areas in the region where television and radio signals were not received due to geographical constraints. He said that radio was an effective medium of communication and the inauguration of FM station was a boon for the young generation as it was a craze with the youth all over the country.
'The Chinese thought India would back off. 'They did not expect such a firm Indian response to their expansionist manoeuvre.'
'The logical step is to challenge the very legitimacy of the Chinese claim over Tibet,' recommends Inspector General Gurdip Singh Uban (retd).
Lal was serving as the 3 Infantry Division General Officer Commanding in Leh last year when the woman officer Capt Neha Rawat made a written complaint against the two-star General alleging sexual misconduct under the pretext of conducting meditation classes at his residence.
The Army has appointed Lt Gen NPS Hira as Deputy Chief of Army Staff with effect from March 14.
