The condition of Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad, the Siachen braveheart who defied death for six days buried under snow, has deteriorated, the army said on Wednesday as a team of experts from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences joined in the efforts save his life.
Foot-tapping melodies and the majestic backdrop of a setting sun over Raisina Hills mesmerised the audience at Vijay Chowk on Wednesday during the Beating Retreat ceremony, marking the culmination of the 76th Republic Day celebrations.
Major Surinder Singh seeks help from the defence minister, claiming that the trial against him is neither independent nor fair
According to official date, the total volume of waste generated at the glacier is 236 tonnes.
Six Indian soldiers were killed and one went missing in an avalanche in the Siachen Glacier area on Sunday. The avalanche struck an army post at Hanief sector in Turtuk, Siachen on Sunday at 6.15 am.
The Pakistan army's Bahawalpur Corps has always had a special significance for India as it keeps an eye on the Jaish e Mohammed, explains Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
The defence minister conducted an aerial survey of northern glacier Siachen and interacted with troops at the base camp.
At the glacier, Rajnath Singh would be briefed about the operations being conducted by the army, along with the support of air efforts by the Indian Air Force.
Terrorism and insurgency in J&K had subsided when India demolished East Pakistan -- for the simple reason that Pakistan understands power. We need to follow Chanakya's dictum of Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed for strategising against Pakistan, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd). The ground truth is that unless we are prepared to acknowledge our shortcomings, including massive intelligence failures, punish those responsible and take corrective actions, we will continue in the same vein, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd).
A resident of village Betadur in Dharwad district of Karnataka, the Madras regiment soldier was pulled out alive from under 30 ft of ice-and-snow debris where he lay buried for six days on the unforgiving Siachen glacier.
India will not vacate the Siachen glaciers as Pakistan cannot be trusted and it may occupy the strategic location once it is vacated, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said today.
'Their failure to take Siachen is an embarrassment to the Pakistan army -- and let them live with it. Our army's shoulders are broad enough to endure the challenge.'
"I mentioned to sir (Ratan Tata) that the son of a fellow army officer was handicapped below the waist and needed a job," he told PTI from Pune where he now lives. "Vijay Bisht, son of my then colleague in M&G area HQ Lt Col B S Bisht, had sustained severe leg injuries after falling from a horse and I came to know he was looking for a job," he added. Tata said the needful would be done. And it was.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri has said opening the Siachen glacier for tourist trekking can affect the composite dialogue process between India and Pakistan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi may soon visit Indian army's forward posts in the Siachen glacier, the highest battlefield in the world, during his tour of Ladakh.
Dhruv and LUH helicopters must supply provisions to, and evacuate casualties from Siachen Glacier posts like Sonam, which, at 20,997 feet, is the highest inhabited spot on the planet.
India and Pakistan on Tuesday inched forward in their talks on Siachen saying it has enhanced understanding of each other's position and agreed to continue the discussions in a meaningful and result-oriented manner.
India and Pakistan on Monday discussed demilitarisation of Siachen, a mountainous region where borderline is not demarcated, in a "constructive framework", picking up the threads of the issue after a gap of three years.
There can be forward movement on the Siachen issue if Pakistan is willing to authenticate current troop positions on the glacier, Defence Minister A K Antony said
The chopper has been validated for high-altitude, low temperature flying, required to maintain the supply lines for the Siachen region
The pilots, identified as Squadron Leader S Basu and Flight Lieutenant A Sharma, are missing.
But Pakistan might not authenticate India's troop positions in the glacier.
China's Defence Ministry says the militaries of China and India are making "great progress" in implementing the disengagement agreement to end over four-year-long standoff in eastern Ladakh. Spokesman Sr Col Wu Qian said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart Admiral Dong Jun had a positive meeting in Vientiane, Laos, last week, and the two sides are implementing the settlement reached between the two counties. The two ministers agreed to implement the important consensus reached between the top leaders and promote stable relations between the two countries, the spokesman said.
Amidst alarmist rumours that track-two parleys between India and Pakistan are urging India to 'give up Siachen', Myra MacDonald tells Shivam Vij in an e-mail interview why resolving Siachen without resolving the Jammu and Kashmir dispute may not be easy.
During the visit, she reviewed the security situation in the border region and inaugurated a bridge that will link Leh to Karakoram, providing connectivity on the strategically important Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Olde axis for military transport.
The Nation quoted Kasuri as saying in Islamabad that Pakistan welcomed the statement by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to make Siachen 'a mountain of peace'.
On April 13, 1984 the Indian Army launched a daring operation at Siachen, the world's highest battlefield, to gain control over the glacier in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas. In the days to follow, Operation Meghdoot -- named after Kalidas's Sanskrit masterpiece -- secured the glacier and adjoining heights from Pakistani aggression. This operation has continued over the last 30 years with Pakistan making numerous failed attempts to dislodge the Indians from the Saltoro ridge along the western periphery of the glacier. Nitin Gokhale's book, Beyond NJ 9842: The Siachen Saga is the first of its kind, narrating the history of Operation Meghdoot. Rediff.com presents exclusive excerpts from the book.
Havildar Amit Kumar has overcome a career-threatening shoulder injury, an unforgiving two years in the Line of Control at Siachen Glacier and a terrible train robbery to represent India at the Asian Games.
Naib Subedar Chunni Lal is the only soldier awarded the Ashok Chakra, Vir Chakra and Sena Medal.
India and Pakistan have agreed to hold meaningful and result-oriented discussion to demilitarise the Siachen glacier region where 26 soldiers died during deployment last year, the government told the Lok Sabha on Monday.
The strategic advantage accruing to India in Siachen should not be given up for apparent short-term political gains. Giving up Siachen as a gesture of friendship would also mean that its recapture would be extremely expensive to India in men and material, says Vikram Sood.
Dr Singh announced that two home theatres and a CT scan facility will soon be provided in Siachen.
The atmosphere at the funeral was highly emotional with friends, relatives and locals bidding tearful farewell.
Notwithstanding Pakistan's vociferous protests, the Indian army on Wednesday launched a civilian mountaineering and trekking expedition to the forbidding Siachen Glacier for the second year in a row.The 21-day expedition is meant to show to the international community that Indian troops hold the 72-km-long Siachen Glacier in the Saltoro Ridge region of Jammu and Kashmir, and Pakistan was nowhere near it.
Ahead of its key talks with India on the Siachen issue, Pakistan has claimed that the biggest hurdle in resolving the military standoff on the world's highest battlefield are the armies of the two countries.
An army pilot was killed and another injured on Wednesday when the Cheetah helicopter they were flying crashed on the Siachen glacier, the world's highest battlefield. The crash occurred at 11.45 am near Bhim post of the army in Siachen glacier, in which one of the pilots died and another was injured, an army spokesperson said.
In view of the heightening tension with Pakistan, the central government on Tuesday rushed Army chief General Deepak Kapoor to Siachen Glacier and forward areas of Jammu and Kashmir to check the operational preparedness of the troops. He will be there for a day to interact with unit commanders and senior officers before returning to New Delhi after taking stock of the situation.
