For some inexplicable reason, the army prefers to use Russian armour; Arjun is deployed in only two of its 63 armoured regiments.
The recent breach of ceasefire by Pakistan was aimed at infiltrating Lashkar-e-Tayiba cadres into Jammu and Kashmir ahead of the polls and to bring Kashmir issue back into limelight, as the neighbouring country was feeling isolated with the growing clout of India in the international forum, according to security experts.
Why does the army remain embroiled in counter-insurgency, denying itself a peace dividend even after expending blood and treasure in imposing calm?
'Perhaps the biggest indication was its striking decision in November to delink LeT from its aid certification process.' 'The administration decided that the US, in order to send military aid to Pakistan, would not need to certify that Pakistan is cracking down on LeT.' 'Perhaps the administration was trying to offer a carrot -- in effect, we're backing off on LeT, but in return we expect you (Pakistan) to go after the Haqqanis.' 'Either way, the optics were dreadful for the US given that Hafiz Saeed was released from house arrest a few days after the US move.' 'The US reacted angrily, but eventually it moved on, and refocused on its core concern: The Afghan-focused terror groups.'
With cruise missile and air strikes being India's most likely response to a hypothetical Pakistani terrorist outrage in the future, retaliation from the Pakistan air force is inevitable. That is where the S-400 will come into play, says Ajai Shukla.
The artillery pounds targets and keeps the enemy's head down, preventing them from firing at attacking troops.
Hitting back at Union minister and former Army chief General VK Singh's 'jobless' jibe, former information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari on Monday said that by God's grace, he had much more work to do than a minister of state.
From the dust and dirt of a warzone to the gleaming uniforms of an army parade -- these are the images that show the reality of life for British servicemen and women. The revealing series of photographs are some of the winning entries in this year's Army Photographic Competition.
'Why has the rhetoric gone down on the Indian side, Durrani wondered aloud.' 'I said because almost total normalcy and peace had returned on the ground in Kashmir,' recalls Shekhar Gupta. 'The general gave me that career spook's laser look. And he said: "That situation on the ground can change in no time".' 'This was precisely when the Pakistanis began their first incursions into Kargil.' 'Durrani had been retired for five years.' 'But once the ISI boss, you are always in the know.'
Internal simmering in the army has come to a boil after the government tries to retain a discriminatory promotions policy.
In the Middle East, which is already coping with the Qatar-Saudi Arabia tensions, comes another pressure point.
Meet Anjana Bhaduria, who was accepted into the first ever batch of women cadets in the Indian Army in 1992.
We would like that people come directly to us rather than resorting to the social media or other means, Gen Rawat said.
Incoming US President Donald Trump has assembled a core team that is -- not surprisingly -- overwhelmingly white and male.
'Offensive operations to capture objectives across the LoC to eliminate terrorist launch pads and deny the use of the most dangerous routes of infiltration, are likely to be limited to brigade-level attacks.' 'These limited operations are unlikely to escalate to war across the international boundary,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
So far, the Central Sector has never seen active hostilities, remaining peaceful even through the 1962 war. A reason for the Central Sector having remained peaceful is the towering Himalayan watershed that defines the border.
'We owe our existence to the men in uniform, and we owe it to them to cleanse the armed forces by driving away every bit of corruption that eats into it,' argues Sudhir Bisht.
Chinese astronauts Jing Haipeng, 50, and Chen Dong, 37, were blasted off into space by Shenzhou-11 (heavenly vessel) spacecraft.
The PM's vision of a lean, agile, mobile and technology driven force requires more than 1.7 percent of GDP that it now gets.
'There are thousand ways to pressure Pakistan to make it behave.' 'Going to the ICJ was the worst possible option,' says Colonel Anil A Athale.
'A Russia-Iran-China-Pakistan geopolitical grouping is evolving at this point of time.' 'Given that the grouping is in its nascent stages, will this week's terrorist attack in Mirjaveh affect it?' asks Aveek Sen.
Given all the turbulence created by Pakistan Foreign Minister Qureshi's unexpected tirade against Saudi Arabia, it is likely to be business as usual between the two countries, albeit with a bit of caution on the part of both, observes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
'The scope of cordon and search operations has changed drastically.' 'Operations are now more focused, intelligence driven and involve very small cordons with minimum inconvenience to the people.' 'This has been the humanisation of conflict.' 'It has come to be institutionalised in the army's concept.' 'General Rawat has been schooled in this thinking and when he makes a statement it is with full consciousness of the institutionalised concept,' says Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd), the former GOC 15 Corps in Srinagar and the officer acclaimed as the 'People's General'.
The finance minister hiked the total defence expenditure from Rs 203,672 crore in FY 2013-2014 to Rs 229,000 crore for FY 2014-2015. Though the increase appears substantial, it is insufficient to undertake the military modernisation necessary to meet the emerging threats, feels Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
Niranjan's lungs got punctured due to the impact of the blast of a grenade that was kept in the pocket of a slain terrorist and the officer died before being taken to hospital.
The majestic Rajpath saw a scintillating display of India's military might as the country celebrated its 69th Republic Day on Friday, with the leaders of all the 10 countries of the ASEAN attending the parade. Take a look here.
The NSG, aided by the Garuds and the Army, conducted a chain of surgical 'step by step' operations to eliminate the six terrorists.
Intermittent blasts and exchange of fire to neutralise two more terrorists continued on Sunday night at Air Force Station in Pathankot, Punjab where four terrorists were killed, seven security men lost their lives and 17 persons were injured in the over 40-hour-long operation.
The new army chief's highest priority must be to address the critical hollowness in the Indian Army's operational preparedness, says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'Inept handling by the National Security Advisor transformed what should have been a short counter-terrorist operation in Pathankot into an apparent debacle.'
Lt Col Raja "Grinder" Chari, 39 is in the batch of 2017.
'It is the government's most important duty to ensure that when war breaks out, the armed forces are absolutely ready to face the adversary -- well equipped, well trained and in high spirits,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'A couple of Pulwamas will bring the two nations to war and it will be limited to J&K itself.'
'The government must make clear once and for all that promotions in the Indian Army are not the right of individuals, but a privilege given in accordance with role and function.'
"Each soldier was my brother in arms.' 'We fought together and achieved glory for India.' 'We fought on with only one thing in the mind -- that that this is a national battle and we must not let the Pakistanis get the better of us,' says Major General Shamsher Singh, who was awarded the Mahavir Chakra for fighting in one of the bloodiest battles the Indian Army has ever waged.
'The strategy has to be restoring order in one part and countering the very effective propaganda through a very nimble monitoring and response system,' says Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain, who retired as the General Officer Commanding of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps.
The allocation in the defence budget is inadequate to meet India's long-term threats, especially from China and Pakistan, says Gurmeet Kanwal.
'Political parties have appropriated our military victories -- the Kargil war is the BJP's and the Bangladesh war is the Congress's -- what is going on?' As Uttarakhand -- where faujis number nearly 40% of the state's population -- prepares to vote, Rediff.com's Archana Masih discovers what upsets retired soldiers in Uttarakhand the most is a forgotten protest in the heart of Delhi.
While it took the Congress nearly a half century to earn the hatred of other political outfits, the BJP appears set to reach there in around six years, says Arun Bhatnagar, former secretary to the GoI.
