News for 'The Forgotten Army'

The nadir of governance and the destruction of institutions

The nadir of governance and the destruction of institutions

Rediff.com22 Oct 2013

The Indian Army seems to be the new target of attack. The news leaks, of origin unknown, have been attempting to target individuals inconvenient to the government. In the bargain, mutual trust between individuals and institutions has been severely strained, says Colonel (retd) Anil Athale.

Defence of India with Made in India

Defence of India with Made in India

Rediff.com23 Jan 2019

'No country can ever be free to make its choices and remain independent if it continues to wear borrowed plumes,' warn Lieutenant General Ashok Joshi (retd) and Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).

'I could only imagine Dev as David Copperfield'

'I could only imagine Dev as David Copperfield'

Rediff.com26 Aug 2020

'Dev for me embodied all that kind of charm, optimism, energy, vulnerability, awkwardness and yet strength.' 'He's in every scene for two hours.' 'He has to play drama, melodrama, romance, pathos, comedy.' 'It was a relief when he said yes.'

Why 2019 won't be like 2004 for the BJP

Why 2019 won't be like 2004 for the BJP

Rediff.com2 Sep 2018

'Vajpayee was predictable in his ways.' 'Modi is a schemer, possessed of a shrewdness that can be rewarding in the chaotic world of politics.' 'His political journey gives reason to believe that 2019 will be another milestone in his private project,' notes Vikram Johri.

Indira gets too much credit for the 1971 victory

Indira gets too much credit for the 1971 victory

Rediff.com21 Nov 2017

'Had Sam Bahadur not dictated the timing of India's military intervention, Bangladesh would not have been created without a prolonged battle.' 'Manekshaw's strategy won the war for India in just 13 days,' says Sudhir Bisht.

'With Pakistan, where is the question of trust?'

'With Pakistan, where is the question of trust?'

Rediff.com5 Jan 2016

'The message to India is (with attacks like Pathankot) basically what the Pakistani army is trying to test is how serious are you when it concerns the peace process with that country.'

Better ties with Pak depends on this Sharif, not the other one

Better ties with Pak depends on this Sharif, not the other one

Rediff.com10 Dec 2015

'We will have to wait till the snows melt in June/July 2016 before we can get a clearer idea of whether Pakistan intends to get serious about ending support for cross-border terrorism,' says G Parthasarathy, India's former high commissioner to Pakistan.

The only voices of 'India' Kashmir hears are on TV

The only voices of 'India' Kashmir hears are on TV

Rediff.com8 Jul 2017

'The bloodthirsty rhetoric of chicken-hawk TV anchors are the worst contributors to Kashmiri alienation.' 'If this implacable hatred is the authentic voice of India, Kashmiris argue, who can hope for peace?' asks Mihir S Sharma.

Trump calls for unity at opening concert as inaugural festivities begin

Trump calls for unity at opening concert as inaugural festivities begin

Rediff.com20 Jan 2017

Joined by his wife and incoming First Lady Melania Trump, daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, his sons and their families, Trump enjoyed the nearly two-and-a-half hour concert.

Oh, they are asking for jobs? Give them cow...

Oh, they are asking for jobs? Give them cow...

Rediff.com17 Jan 2019

The jobless armies of youthful India are getting angrier and desperate, warns Shekhar Gupta.

Why containment of Pakistan is better than war

Why containment of Pakistan is better than war

Rediff.com21 Sep 2016

'Terrorism is merely a symptom of a deeper disease in Pakistan's body politic,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).

Every Indian must salute these patriots

Every Indian must salute these patriots

Rediff.com9 Apr 2018

BharatShakti.in Founder Nitin A Gokhale pays homage to Mr E N Rammohan and Colonel M B Ravindranath, two genuine Indian heroes who sadly passed into the ages on Sunday

Why Uttarakhand's ex-faujis may not vote BJP

Why Uttarakhand's ex-faujis may not vote BJP

Rediff.com30 Jan 2017

'Political parties have appropriated our military victories -- the Kargil war is the BJP's and the Bangladesh war is the Congress's -- what is going on?' As Uttarakhand -- where faujis number nearly 40% of the state's population -- prepares to vote, Rediff.com's Archana Masih discovers what upsets retired soldiers in Uttarakhand the most is a forgotten protest in the heart of Delhi.

India must use airpower to eliminate terrorists

India must use airpower to eliminate terrorists

Rediff.com7 Mar 2019

'It is time India thought big not only about its global clout politically and diplomatically, but also act its size against pin-pricking by anti national elements,' says Group Captain Murli Menon (retd).

A wasted year

A wasted year

Rediff.com12 May 2015

The National Democratic Alliance government has adopted half measures instead of moving decisively on defence.

Exclusive! An excerpt from Suketu Mehta's latest novella

Exclusive! An excerpt from Suketu Mehta's latest novella

Rediff.com7 Sep 2016

'It was the first document he had seen that asked him about his past in such detail; it was the only interest this country (America) had shown in his origins, and it was most inconvenient. To get ahead, he had to find out where he had come from.'

How artillery helped India win the Kargil war

How artillery helped India win the Kargil war

Rediff.com26 Jul 2015

Accurate and sustained firepower against Pakistan during the Kargil War helped Indian soldiers to reduce the enemy to rubble.

'The Kargil war was my classroom'

'The Kargil war was my classroom'

Rediff.com7 Dec 2015

'I like to see myself as a troll-slayer and I have realised the best way to do that is to ignore them. Nothing bothers them more,' Barkha Dutt tells Rashme Sehgal.

For the thuggish Naxalites, revolution is a pretence

For the thuggish Naxalites, revolution is a pretence

Rediff.com25 Apr 2017

'The Naxalite strategy is to periodically attack police forces to provoke a reaction.' 'Once the security forces over-react and cause suffering to innocents by high-handed actions, the people will be alienated and support the revolution.' 'This appears to be the Naxalites' strategy and hence, their recent brutal killings of policemen,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).

Zahida Amin: The new face of Kashmir

Zahida Amin: The new face of Kashmir

Rediff.com19 Sep 2017

'Zahida Amin and her group of village women have gained a better understanding of India.'

'Nobody believes Nehru was beyond mistakes'

'Nobody believes Nehru was beyond mistakes'

Rediff.com21 May 2018

'Much of the Socialism that we attribute to him actually came during Indira Gandhi's time,' says M J Akbar who believes that Nehru's convictions helped shape modern India.

Nagaland: One political compromise after another

Nagaland: One political compromise after another

Rediff.com10 Aug 2015

'The Naga Hills region, Nagaland and Manipur, have had the most uncaring and corrupt state governments with little to show on the ground despite the nation's highest per capita development expenditure,' says Mohan Guruswamy.

Time to return to Krishna's ways

Time to return to Krishna's ways

Rediff.com3 Jun 2016

'The Gita was propounded on a battlefield and regards the use of force to establish Dharma or righteousness, as not only legitimate but one's highest duty,' says Colonel Anil Athale (retd).

'I coped with the tragedy like all the others do'

'I coped with the tragedy like all the others do'

Rediff.com25 Aug 2015

Eight years ago Subhashini's husband Colonel Vasanth was martyred fighting militants in Kashmir. Today, she offers hope to widows of army jawans who lost their lives in the line of duty.

Why Bajirao is India's greatest cavalry general

Why Bajirao is India's greatest cavalry general

Rediff.com23 Dec 2015

Bajirao, an unorthodox leader, faced much opposition during his lifetime from the Brahmins of Pune. In the last hundred years or so, he has been ignored due to caste politics in Maharashtra where he has become a 'non person' for having been born a Brahmin, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).

Pathankot attack: India has given fresh evidence in case, says Pak PM

Pathankot attack: India has given fresh evidence in case, says Pak PM

Rediff.com25 Jan 2016

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that Pakistan is verifying the facts to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The Fake News Epidemic

The Fake News Epidemic

Rediff.com10 Feb 2017

'So potent is the menace of false news that scientists have now devised a psychological vaccine to target it,' says Veena Sandhu.

The courage of Captain Haneef, Vir Chakra, martyr at 25

The courage of Captain Haneef, Vir Chakra, martyr at 25

Rediff.com23 Jul 2019

'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...'

'If Nehru had declared his intention to attack, then the Chinese were not going to wait'

'If Nehru had declared his intention to attack, then the Chinese were not going to wait'

Rediff.com18 Mar 2014

No account of the 1962 war could be complete without Maxwell's authoritative analysis. Which is why we are reprinting this article which was run on Rediff.com in June 2001.

JNU protestors need a debate, not the police

JNU protestors need a debate, not the police

Rediff.com15 Feb 2016

'If JNU students are anti-national, why do we send in the police? Why not send in intellectuals like M V Kamath to have a debate and discussion?'

Modi in Pakistan: A risky political gamble

Modi in Pakistan: A risky political gamble

Rediff.com26 Dec 2015

'Will Prime Minister Narendra Modi be able to continue political engagement with Pakistan against the inevitable upsurge of negative and hostile public sentiment?'

Why UP's new CM must improve life in the east

Why UP's new CM must improve life in the east

Rediff.com11 Mar 2017

There is nothing the young Purvanchali wants more desperately than to escape to a place with less hopelessness, and some opportunity, discovers Shekhar Gupta.

Pakistani Punjab must pay the price for terror

Pakistani Punjab must pay the price for terror

Rediff.com3 Aug 2015

'The target for all our counter-terror operations ought to be Pakistani Punjab's population,' argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).

Sharif to Modi: Can't fight poverty by driving tanks on farmlands'

Sharif to Modi: Can't fight poverty by driving tanks on farmlands'

Rediff.com5 Oct 2016

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday hit back at his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, saying poverty cannot be eradicated by "driving tanks on farmlands" and once again needled India by calling Hizbul commander Burhan Wani the "valiant son of Kashmir".

Is BJP serious about Bharat Ratna for Savarkar?

Is BJP serious about Bharat Ratna for Savarkar?

Rediff.com21 Oct 2019

'If they were really serious (about conferring the Bharat Ratna on Savarkar) what were they doing for the last five years?' 'Why do they have to take so long?' 'Gandhi himself never got the Bharat Ratna so it does not really matter.'

The National Highway: The Kashmir Valley's death trap

The National Highway: The Kashmir Valley's death trap

Rediff.com29 Jun 2016

The Pampore attack 'has the stamp of LeT written all over it.'
'They are exactly like the so-called fidayeen of the 1999-2003 phase, when J&K witnessed a surge in suicide attacks on various important garrisons,' says Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd), who served as the General Officer Commanding 15 Corps in Kashmir.

What's the point talking to Pakistan?

What's the point talking to Pakistan?

Rediff.com20 Aug 2014

'India had nothing to gain by the talks except for some brownie points from the US for being reasonable. Pakistan desperately needed the talks to get arms and money from the Americans,' says T P Sreenivasan.

'She was like an elder sister to us'

'She was like an elder sister to us'

Rediff.com3 Mar 2018

'It feels like a part of me is going away with her death.'

Why Sheila Dikshit was 'saddened' by CWG probe

Why Sheila Dikshit was 'saddened' by CWG probe

Rediff.com17 Feb 2018

'An event that should have made India proud was being perceived entirely as a money-making enterprise, resting on malpractices and without any benefits whatsoever for the Capital and its people.'

Remembering R K Studios before it becomes history

Remembering R K Studios before it becomes history

Rediff.com3 Oct 2018

R K Studios is not just another piece of real estate; it is part of India's movie history.