The Congress on Thursday came out with a list of six anti-terror surgical strikes carried out during the United Progressive Alliance rule.
The billions India invested in dams, schools, etc in Afghanistan will be gone. The Hindu and Sikh population of Afghanistan has already shrunk from some 200,000 to about 500, points out Rajeev Srinivasan.
India has much to be proud of and celebrate. But there is also much that is wrong, much that looks dangerous. Employment, current account deficit, rural distress, agricultural productivity are all in deep crisis, points out Shekhar Gupta.
China remains in firm control of an estimated 600-800 square kilometres of Indian territory.
In the Kashmir Valley, we need to begin to make a distinction between an insurgent who fights the security forces and a terrorist who murders unarmed civilians, suggests Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
There was no comment from the Indian side on the statement made by the Chinese defence ministry spokesperson Colonel Wu Qian, and carried by China's official media.
Sri Lanka on Tuesday claimed to have found slain Tamil Tiger chief Vellupilai Prabhakaran's personal gun and body armour, seven months after overrunning the last Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam bastion in the decisive battle at Nanthaikadal lagoon off the northern coast.The arms used by Prabhakaran were found buried 15 feet under the ground at Vellamulliwaikkal area in Mulaittivu along with scores of suicide kits and several anti-aircraft guns.
Sources said the Indian delegation was warmly greeted by senior officials of the Chinese Army before the talks began.
With the Indian Army having blocked the PLA several kilometres inside India, hundreds of soldiers from both sides remain in a tense face-off.
'Due to change in the weather, the challenges are increasing.' 'The morale of the air fighters is high and the availability of advanced equipment empowers them to face any enemy.'
The Chinese military, on the last day of its largest-ever military exercises to vent out its anger over United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, carried out island saturation attack drills in the Taiwan Straits, amid global concerns of a full-scale attack to annex the breakaway island which Beijing claims is part of its territory.
"Whatever we are doing is in close coordination and synergy with the army and the Indian Air Force to produce desired results," he said.
Singh paid tributes to soldiers killed in the Kargil War at a memorial in Dras sector.
Once Mazar-i-Sharif falls, some isolate pockets of resistance may remain, which the Taliban would tackle through political work or coercion, asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
A new Border Personnel Meeting point was on Saturday operationalised at Daulat Beg Oldie along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh sector, which would serve as the northern-most meeting point between armies of India and China.
Jeremy stamps class on CWG debut, India climb to sixth in medal table
'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).
India is apprehensive about the Taliban's return as it would mean loss of access to Baluch rebels and help to the restive tribals of Waziristan. This would be a setback to the Indian strategy of returning the compliments of death by a thousand cuts to Pakistan, notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The sources said withdrawal of armoured elements from the south bank of Pangong Tso is almost complete and temporary structures erected by both sides will be demolished in the next few days.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had hoisted the national flag and addressed the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort. He said that it was an occasion to remember freedom fighters who laid down their lives for the freedom of the country.
'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.
Official sources said withdrawal of tanks and other armoured elements from certain friction points is nearing completion while pulling back of troops from the North bank areas is being undertaken.
'We should not treat each other as rivals. We should make cooperation the mainstream, China said.
'A stronger response on the border, some action needs to be taken against Pakistan from where the terrorists come, and finally what needs to be done is to calm Kashmir down,' Lieutenant General D S Hooda (retd) -- the Northern Army Commander under whose watch the Indian Army conducted the 2016 surgical strikes -- tells Rediff.com in an exclusive interview.
'We will not accept these misadventures by the Chinese.'
China has not limited the 'battle' to the diplomatic field alone; the People's Liberation Army has become aggressive on the ground too. The recent 'fights' in Northern Sikkim and Ladakh are part of the pattern, asserts Claude Arpi.
The US needs to do three things to help the newly elected Nawaz Sharif government in Pakistan, says Stanley A Weiss
However, the government rejected the army's demand to implement the scheme with retrospective effect from June last year, when the Doklam face-off between Indian and Chinese armies had begun, official sources said.
'Had they struck on the night of the 1st, there would have been hell to pay and had they been able to sneak further in, we would have had a greater problem,' says Lieutenant General H S Panag (retd), the former Northern Army Commander.
The step has been taken to boost tourism in Ladakh and give people a window to appreciate the tough work done by Army jawans and engineers in extreme weather and inhospitable terrains, he said.
Keeping trusted men in key positions at Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar has become vital for Bajwa, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
The sources said the Indian Army has been on a very high level of alert and is ready to deal with any eventuality in the area.
'This is what we train for: That one chance to deliver a blow so lethal that the enemy will constantly think about it when planning any misadventure.'
Photographs of Prince Harry wrestling a monster crocodile in the Northern Territory from the water have emerged
Thousands of defence personnel are working overtime to rescue lakhs of people still stranded in the floods in Jammu and Kashmir.
'Guarding the borders in extreme weather conditions is not easy and most people don't realize it is a very tough job.'
'The government is doing away with crucial laws such as the Forest Conservation Act and the Environment Protection Act which had helped safeguard our forests.' 'The President has to show that she will stand in favour of tribal rights.'
The armed forces have been pushing for adequate allocation of funds so that they are well prepared to deal with the possibility of a "two-front" war on both northern and western borders.
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