Though dubbed as the 'war hero', the role of Rajapaksa in ending the conflict with the LTTE with the death of its supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran in 2009 is quite divisive as he stands accused of violating human rights, a charge he vehemently denies.
The two sides signed a maritime security agreement after extensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth.
Do the students who chanted pro-separatist slogans and their teachers/supporters want the army to withdraw from Kashmir or not fight the terrorists?
We salute the Mi-8 today on the occasion of the 32nd anniversary of Operation Cactus. Through its glorious service career, the Mi-8 left an indelible mark on the future by providing the IAF with a lineage of professional helicopter aircrew, says Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd).
'Whichever option India chooses, it should be clear to the government that the China-Pakistan nexus poses a clear and present danger to national security,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'Cracking the exam is 99 per cent hard work and persistence and maybe 1 per cent luck.'
How will the Modi Sarkar's likely return affect other nations?
There is going to be no defence of freedom of thought from this government.
Hemant Shivsaran lists the number of projects the Modi government has announced since August to woo Gujarat voters.
Mukherjee's family and relatives paid their last respects clad in PPE kits while conforming to COVID-19 safeguards.
'India has ramped up infrastructure on its side, so the Chinese military is finding Indian soldiers in locations where they are not used to seeing an Indian footprint,' points out Harsh V Pant.
'I chose the army over glamour,' says Major Sheena, who feels no other profession elicits the kind of respect like the army does.
Major Somnath Sharma was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously for his bravery in the Kashmir operations on November 3, 1947.
Tharoor suffered head injuries while performing a ritual at a temple in Thiruvananthapuram.
APJ Abdul Kalam was passionate about everything he did. He was perfect, says Aditi Phadnis
'Not only in Kashmir, but in the rest of the country.'
Nepal raised objection to India's newly-inaugurated road linking Lipulekh Pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand.
A soldier cannot justifiably demand faster, easier promotions based on frequent field tenures
His demise marks an end of a glorious era of the Indian Air Force.
'Defence, development and democracy is the formula to defeat Naxalism.'
AMU has once again been pulled into a crossfire of crass political opportunism. In these post-truth times, that the university also had political stirrings not subscribing to the Muslim League is chosen to be forgotten, says Mohammad Sajjad.
Neetu Chopra, who travelled solo across India on a scooter covering 7,600 km in 42 days, tells Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar why girls should not be scared to dream.
Campaigning came to an end on Saturday for the single-day election in Uttarakhand and Goa, two states known for political volatility where the Bharatiya Janata Party is attempting to retain power, and for the second phase of assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh on February 14.
'For around five hours the storm, reportedly the strongest one ever recorded in the Bay of Bengal, that mother of many a deathly vortex, shook Kolkata like a toddler playing with a rattling toy,' observes Debashish Chatterjee.
'As the IAF kicks off another round of myth-making -- launching a year-long commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the 1965 India-Pakistan war -- it is worth remembering how little there was to celebrate in those September days when the underdog PAF got the better of the IAF in raid after raid, dogfight after dogfight.'
A total of 37 deaths were reported since Thursday evening of which 14 fatalities were reported from Maharashtra, nine from Gujarat, three from Uttar Pradesh, two each from Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh,Tamil Nadu and Telengana and one from Karnataka, ministry data stated.
It is unlikely Brigadier Raja Rizwan was working for RA&W, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
Describing Rana as a flight risk, the US government opposed his release on bail, arguing that if he were to flee to Canada, he may escape the possibility of a death sentence in India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India and the United Kingdom are economically made for each other.
The BJP stalwart's body was later brought to his residence at Kailash Colony.
A special National Investigative Agency court, which convicted 13 people in the sensational hand chopping case of a college professor in Kerala in 2010, will pronounce the quantum of punishment on May 8.
'The immune protection may well wane somewhat, and that's what we have to monitor.' 'Should it wane to the point where vaccinated individuals are getting severe disease, then we really will need to give them booster shots and that'll apply regardless of what vaccine they've got the first time.'
All international passengers will henceforth be screened at airports, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said at a press conference. Earlier, travellers from only 12 countries were screened at airports for the disease that has claimed over 3,000 lives and infected more than 90,000 worldwide.
General Asad Durrani's disclosures could leave considerable egg on the face of those currently wielding the stick in Pakistan, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
As the news of Kalam broke, condolences and tributes poured in from all corners of the country, reflecting the huge popularity he enjoyed both in and out of the highest office of the country that earned him the sobriquet of the "people's President."
Speculation over Justice Gogoi's appointment as the next CJI arose after the court's four most senior judges, including Justice Gogoi, called a press conference in January and criticised Justice Misra on various issues.
'Attempts at long-term rapprochement have been rather feeble from both sides. The primary cause of the lack of progress is that these efforts do not appear to have the support of the Pakistan army,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'There are around 400 Lok Sabha constituencies where Dalits and Muslims combined constitute 30% of the electorate.' 'Also, 90% to 95% of Dalits and Muslims go out and vote.' 'So, if they are come together, they become significant electorally.'
Expressing dismay over reports of Indian Coast Guard participating in naval exercises with Sri Lankan Navy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Saturday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to recall the two ships and Coast Guard personnel participating in the event in the island nation.
If the government had paid enough to begin with, or if it had made serious advance purchase commitments that allowed the vaccine producers to mobilise necessary investment, then it is possible to imagine more free or subsidised vaccines such as are available in developed economies, asserts Mihir S Sharma.
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