Honorary Captain Bana Singh won the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest ranking gallantry award, for recapturing a Pakistani post on the Siachen Glacier. Living a retired life in a quiet village in Jammu and Kashmir, he makes you feel that his act of phenomenal courage was part of a soldier's day at work.
'Both Abdul Hamid and the enemy tank place each other in their sights and shoot. Both shells hit their targets. There is a loud blast, fire and smoke.' 'Hamid doesn't get time to jump off. A deafening blast follows and then there is complete silence.' 'Abdul Hamid is dead. He has destroyed a total of seven enemy tanks, many more than what an armoured formation could take on.'
In spite of being wounded in battle, Lieutenant Colonel A B Tarapore fought for six days before meeting a hero's death on the battlefield in the 1965 war. A legend in the Indian Army, he is the highest ranking officer to be awarded the Param Vir Chakra.
Major Somnath Sharma was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously for his bravery in the Kashmir operations on November 3, 1947.
10 Heroes of the 1965 War which ended on September 23 60 years ago.
'That child is determined to forge his own path. Like me, he won't follow the herd.'
The soil mingled with the blood of 114 soldiers, gathered from the battlefield, has been preserved in a glass bottle in Rezang La. When the frozen bodies of the were recovered, they had their rifles in hand, fingers on the trigger, pointed towards the enemy. The mountains they defended will never forget them. Neither should we.
'Captain Haneef-ud-din, pulling his sinewy body forward, crawled, rifle in hand, in the snow on 6 June 1999. He died on this craggy mountainside exactly two years after he had passed out of the IMA...'
Naib Subedar Chunni Lal is the only soldier awarded the Ashok Chakra, Vir Chakra and Sena Medal.
As the country paid tributes to the 1965 war heroes on Friday, a special comic book chronicling the life, valour and sacrifice of 21 awardees of the Param Vir Chakra, the nation's highest military decoration, was released.
Bollywood stars always make for good pictures but catching them in their most unguarded, candid moments is what makes for great pictures.
Sriram Raghavan's Ikkis tells the story of India's youngest Param Vir Chakra awardee, Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal, who was just 21 at the time of the 1971 War.
The Oscar fever kickstarts with this week's OTT menu. Take your pick from Sukanya Verma's eclectic menu.
At a time when nationalism is a much-debated topic and the Armed forces' sacrifices are being ignored, a 'Wall of Heroes' at schools and colleges across the country to inspire the youth is a must, says Tarun Vijay.
'It is an absolute privilege to bring you the story of Major Shaitan Singh Bhati PVC and the soldiers of Charlie Company, 13 Kumaon regiment.'
President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday hosted a high tea for 1965 war veterans in the Rashtrapati Bhavan complex as the country celebrated the golden jubilee of the war with Pakistan.
'The war scenes in which Indian soldiers fight fearlessly and the powerful dialogues are meant to make the audience proud of the loyalty and valour of Indian soldiers,' observes Deepa Gahlot.
Drama, dazzle, detectives, dhamaal, it's there on OTT this week. Take your pick from Sukanya Verma's eclectic menu.
Ahead of India's 69th Independence Day, a special comic book is all set to be released this week chronicling the life, valour and sacrifice of 21 awardees of the Param Vir Chakra, the nation's highest military decoration.
'The amount of respect we have for people who guard our borders and put the country first.' 'Why do they do this?' 'The chances of not coming back are so high. Still, they take that risk.' 'It's for the love of the country.'
'The hunt is on to gather the names and achievements of other soldiers, war heroes and freedom fighters.'
'This isn't just the story of Shaitan Singh. It's the story of the 120 soldiers who stood with him.' 'Their bravery and their sacrifice it deserves to be known.'
Sidharth Malhotra chose to celebrate his birthday on January 16 by showing the world the first look of his new film, Shershaah.
'The army and all the people we did spend time with, they emphasised the kind of impact Arun Khetarpal has had on one, the Indian Army and two, just the country as a whole.'
Where Dhurandhar leaned into aggressive bloodlust through its acerbic storytelling, Ikkis moves in the opposite direction, asking us to see people beyond uniforms, slogans, or sides, observes Mayur Sanap.
'When he was not shooting, he was telling us stories and anecdotes. And reciting poems.'
Discover the latest OTT releases, streaming between February 23 and March 1.
The reason is because there aren't any screens for a large mass of Indians.
120 Bahadur is underwhelming, adding little fresh perspective and generally feeling like a standard war drama we have seen umpteen times before, notes Mayur Sanap.
On November 18, 1962, 114 soldiers of the 13th Kumaon fought till the last man, and last bullet, in sub-zero temperatures, to beat back the huge Chinese army. We salute the Heroes of Rezang La.
'News is rife that Pakistan will attack the next day. They have no idea that this is where they will take on the might of 1 Armoured Division of Pakistan in a three-day bloody battle that will be remembered in military history as the Battle of Asal Uttar.' Rachna Bisht Rawat salutes the brave men turned the tide of the '65 war.
'A man dies and it's over for him. But we're right here, it isn't over for us,' she says cryptically. She talks about the "poverty" in which she had to raise her sons and daughter, the responsibility of today's youth to its country and how war widows should cope with their loss.
Anshu Kumar, 21, son of government school teachers from a village in Bihar, won the President's Silver Medal at the NDA. He commanded the grand passing out parade and will go on to join the Indian Navy.
Here's a recap of events that occurred in India in the past 24 hours.
Many big Bollywood's big movies have been pushed forward to 2021, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. Among them are quite a few bio-pics.
It's time to awaken the patriot in you!
'It was not surprising that joining the armed forces was one of the priority professions that the students strived for. Probably, the training in school helped adjusting to the regimentalised life of the fauj.'
Captain Vikram Batra died fighting Pakistani forces during the Kargil war in 1999 at the age of 24. He was given the highest wartime gallantry award 'Param Vir Chakra' posthumously.
