India must break out of this strategic triangulation between China and Pakistan. We need to settle our issues with one of the two, notes Shekhar Gupta.
The Taliban is highly pragmatic and would regard it wasteful to resume military offensive to capture Panjshir. The Taliban's preference, historically, has been to keep the military option as the last resort, explains Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
Heavy rains pounded south and central Kerala on Saturday wreaking havoc in many parts with some people feared missing in the landslides that occurred in hilly areas bordering Kottayam and Idukki districts prompting the state government to seek the assistance of the Army and Air Force for rescue operations.
We do not know, because there has been no discussion, no transparency and most likely no real thinking on this matter at our end, observes Aakar Patel.
'China has forcibly occupied territory it had never occupied before, blocked Indian patrols' access to areas they had patrolled for decades and, most provocatively, killed 20 Indian soldiers.' 'Most countries would regard these as acts of war.' 'New Delhi has apparently taken off the table the option of evicting the PLA with force,' observes Ajai Shukla.
A war hero looks back at the men and the moments that forged India's greatest military victory.
'The one aspect which no Indian military thinker would wish to see emerge is a LoC type of posture at the LAC.' 'The LoC is manned for 750 km and terrorist infiltration has led to the creation of a virtual fortress along its entire length.' 'Something mirroring this at the LAC is going to be expensive although deployment everywhere is not warranted there.' 'However, given the complete trust deficit, there appear few alternatives,' notes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
'The leverage created by the Indian military must not be lost.'
Claude Arpi salutes Lieutenant General Zorawar Chand Bakshi, India's most decorated general, who passed into the ages recently.
'What has changed is the desperation of Pakistan proxies and the separatists in their failure to foment violence and civilian casualties in Kashmir.'
It was decided that the senior-most Army officer in a state would get in touch with the chief minister to understand the requirement and take forward the process, including offering to treat civilians wherever possible
Brigadier M P Bajwa (retd), commander of the troops that captured Tiger Hill, tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih how a band of young soldiers won the Kargil War's most famous battle with their blood and grit.
Under the India-China agreement on the disengagement process in eastern Ladakh, the Chinese army will pull back its troops to east of Finger 8 areas in the northern bank of Pangong lake, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in Parliament on Thursday, in what is seen as a significant step to dial down tensions in the key face-off site.
The use of the strategic road by the Indian security forces from Leh has helped in reducing the travel time between Leh and DBO to six hours.
For the first time in the last 26 years, a shutter of the Cheruthoni Dam was opened on Thursday.
'If you behave like a nail, the adversary will behave like a hammer.'
'It is pure luck that we did not have any body bags, otherwise things could have been nasty.'
"Whatever we are doing is in close coordination and synergy with the army and the Indian Air Force to produce desired results," he said.
The 30-member committee, chaired by senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Union minister Jual Oram and of which Rahul Gandhi is also a member,wishes to visit the eastern Ladakh region in the last week of May or in June.
Twenty years ago, over 50 days in the summer of 1999, the Indian Army fought some of the toughest battles in the annals of military history to evict the Pakistan army from Kargil. The battle to recapture Tiger Hill was a major turning point in the Operation Vijay campaign, points out Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'War is won by team work. War is won by sacrifices,' says Subedar Sanjay Kumar, Param Vir Chakra.
There was no breakthrough on the disengagement of troops from the friction points in eastern Ladakh during the seventh round of military talks on October 12. "The eighth round of military talks is likely to take place this week," said a source on Tuesday.
'Not a single bullet was fired, but we were warning the enemy not to continue with their antics!' IAF Veteran Air Commodore Nitin Sathe finds out how the Light Combat Helicopter, which will be inducted into the IAF on October 3, was designed, developed and flown.
The IAF commanders held detailed deliberations on the border row with China in eastern Ladakh, key short-term and long-term security challenges facing the nation and on the complex geo-political power play in India's neighbourhood.
Army, paramilitary and police forces continue going into harm's way with outdated bulletproof jackets (BPJs), and helmets designed for motorcycle riding, not for the impact of a nine-millimetre bullet.
India's blunt message followed a series of ceasefire violations along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan which resorted to mortar shelling of Indian areas.
'We hope this round of meeting, on the basis of previous meetings, can move forward, further enlarge consensus, narrow differences and work for a solution that is acceptable to both parties,' the spokesperson said in updated comments posted on the ministry's website.
In any conflict with China, the unmanned BrahMos could be advantageously used in the opening stages for pinpoint strikes on heavily defended targets -- such as air bases, headquarters, key roads and railways or logistics dumps -- which are too dangerous for manned fighter aircraft to attack.
Under the provision of Section 92 of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution, governor's rule is imposed for six months.
The first priority for the new Tibetan administration in Dharamsala should be to look at Tibetan recruitment in the PLA, suggests Claude Arpi.
Lifting the AFSPA can certainly be attempted but the provisions of the AFSPA, as an emergency law that empowers the army -- the nation's instrument of last resort -- must continue to remain on the statute books given the increasingly violent and uncertain times that the subcontinent is likely to face in coming years, says Nitin A Gokhale.
Pakistan perceives that if it had declared Gilgit-Baltistan, PoK or both, which are only a part of the territories of J&K, as legitimate provinces of Pakistan it would weaken its case for the entire J&K and lead to legal complications, observes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
China and India have agreed to work to maintain peace along the Line of Actual Control and resolve the border standoff through talks while implementing the consensus reached between the two countries' leadership that 'differences' do not escalate into 'disputes', a top Chinese official said.
The new ISI chief Lt Gen Mukhtar possesses a vast experience in the field of intelligence and has headed the counter-terrorism wing of the spy agency in Islamabad. He was commissioned in the Armoured Corps regiment in 1983.
Why does the army remain embroiled in counter-insurgency, denying itself a peace dividend even after expending blood and treasure in imposing calm?
'Given the present force levels, India cannot fight and win.' 'India can't hope to terminate the conflict on India's terms and impose the nation's will upon the adversaries,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'If one puts the context of what Xi Jinping said at the UN about not wanting a 'hot or cold war with any country', one realises that his speech was quite bizarre.' 'The world does not expect such statements from China, a nation aspiring to be a superpower.
'China wants to change the status quo of India's Northern Border and proves that it can do whatever it wants in what it perceives as its own territory,' states Claude Arpi.
The IMD has also issued a red-coded warning alert to the Odisha and West Bengal coasts.
Vice Admiral Raman P Suthan and the commanding officers of INS Rana and INS Ranjit met Chinese North Sea Fleet Commander Rear Admiral Su Shiliang and Qingdao Vice Mayor Zeng Aimin.
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