'They know that India is no pushover.' 'We have to be extremely vigilant, remain ready and keep strengthening our positions.' 'We have to be militarily strong, whatever be the cost.'
'Neither will China -- at least for now -- because its troops are deployed in equal strength.' 'We are negotiating at equal terms right now and it's a game of patience.'
He said there were no signs of an "overt collusion" between China and Pakistan during the Ladakh standoff but India also caters to a long term strategy for not a two, but a two-and-half front war. With the half front, he was referring to the internal security.
Landslides blocked roads, many villages went without electricity and the death toll climbed to 52 as authorities on Wednesday faced the aftermath of the rains that had battered Uttarakhand for over two days.
The border guarding force has the maximum confirmed cases of the disease among the Central Armed Police Forces, also known as paramilitary forces.
In the second ceasefire violation in as many days, Pakistani troops on Monday fired at a forward outpost along the International Border in Jammu where the Border Security Force foiled an infiltration bid by militants.
Only he, with his tremendous political capital and personal stature, can pull it off, observes B S Raghavan, the veteran civil servant.
The Border Security Force troops shot dead a Pakistani infiltrator along the International Border in R S Pura sub-sector of Jammu district on Sunday.
Border Security Force personnel on Wednesday foiled two infiltration bids after a brief encounter with militants along the India-Pakistan border in Akhnoor sector of Jammu division, the seventh such attempt by ultras from across the border in January. A group of five militants entered Indian territory around midnight and their movement was picked up by the patrolling party of BSF at the Tent Border Out Post in Akhnoor sector, a senior BSF official said.
Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria asked the air warriors to maintain a very high-level of alertness considering the evolving situation in Pangong lake region in eastern Ladakh following China's unsuccessful attempts to occupy certain strategic points in the area, the officials said on Thursday.
Pakistan on Friday handed over to India a BSF jawan who was captured by Pakistan Rangers after he was swept away into their territory by strong currents of Chenab river.
The Chinese have only created limited defences for protection of their posts which are located well in depth and much away from the Line of Actual Control, notes Colonel S Dinny (retd).
'Does the Indian army's new assertiveness risk a clash escalating into shooting and possibly skirmishes?' asks Ajai Shukla.
'Modi has not taken India into confidence over what is happening and what has happened.' 'We have not even officially been told what the position is with respect to the land lost between Fingers 4 to 8,' observes Aakar Patel.
The Army has also further bolstered overall surveillance mechanisms in all areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh after foiling China's fresh attempt to occupy an area on the southern bank of Pangong lake, they said.
The Border Security Force,on Monday, foiled two infiltration bids by terrorists along the Indo-Pak border near Jammu, officials said.A group of at least 5 terrorists entered the Indian territory and came close to border fencing in Suchetgarh forward defence location along the International Border in R S Pura sub-sector of the district.
This is the first such incident along the border with China that Indian armed forces personnel have been killed after a gap of nearly 45 years.
The Border Security Force foiled the first infiltration bid of 2010 by armed militants along the India-Pakistan border in Samba sector of Jammu and Kashmir in the wee hours of Monday.During the patrolling of the area, the BSF troops noticed some suspicious movement along the international border near Narianpur border out post in Samba district at approximately 1.15 am on Monday, said a senior BSF official. Troops fired on the infiltrating militants, forcing them back.
Shots were fired at an Observation Post of the Border Security Force in Akhnoor sub-sector of Jammu district by Pakistani snipers on Sunday, prompting Indian troops to retaliate.
Today, the Ladakhis and Tibetans have been joined by the Sikhs, the Madrassis, the Garhwalis, the Rajputs, who are well trained psychologically and otherwise, to defend the nation, observes Claude Arpi.
In the past, 'shallow infiltration' has been carried out by terror groups, in which either some army men were killed or damage was caused to an army installation, the officials said.
The guidelines listed several services including government and private offices that will be out of bounds during the period, while exempting establishments such as hospitals, ration shops, dairies, banks, insurance offices, and print and electronic media. Delivery of all essential goods including food, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment through e-commerce has also been exempted from the purview of the lockdown.
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.
The Taliban's main challenge comes on the financial and economic front and there Pakistan doesn't have the capacity to be of any meaningful help, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Did Xi deliver a message to Modi at Mamallapuram, which though couched in a velvet glove was time-bound? What was that message? It is clear Indian/Israeli/US spy satellites would not have missed detecting Chinese troop movements towards the Ladakh-Tibet frontier. Then why did some important functionaries in the Government of India choose to only ask the Russians about this in April 2020? Was Russian reassurance of Chinese troop movements being part of a routine exercise the reason that the Leh-based XIV Corps did not mobilise itself for its annual summer exercises near the LAC? A fascinating excerpt from Iqbal Chand Malhotra's new book Red Fear: The China Threat.
'Throughout the nearly 20-year US-led war, State sponsorship from Pakistan has been a constant.'
'Rezang La was a unique battle.' 'It was not a large scale battle like the Battle of Kohima which involved a large number of troops.' 'Here there was just a company that fought it out till the last man.'
Doval, who is said to have been closely involved in planning Tuesday's operation along the India-Myanmar border, will undertake the visit
The skirmish took place around noon in a dense forest near Mahla village in Kanker district
A jawan of the Border Security Force was injured when Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire again, resorting to unprovoked and heavy firing and rocket attacks on three Indian forward posts along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, prompting Indian troops to retaliate effectively.
The field intelligence units of the Army coupled with inputs comprising HUMINT (human intelligence) and TECHINT (technical intelligence) indicate that around 300 terrorists, mainly of the banned Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT), are waiting across the border to sneak in, officials said, citing reports from Srinagar collated in the national capital.
'I am ashamed we are dealing with such adversaries.'
The BDCA is yet another dose of insidious placebos administered on the people of India by their own government that has been in perpetual denial over the steady incremental loss of strategic Indian territory, says R N Ravi
Four troopers of the Border Security Force were injured on Saturday morning in a powerful blast near the international border in Samba sector of Jammu region.Police sources said the pre-planted explosive device went off while a party of the BSF was busy patrolling the Manguchak area near the international border today morning."Four BSF troopers were wounded in the explosion and they were taken to the hospital for treatment," a police officer said.
What dos and don'ts should people in Maharashtra follow with the state government notifying The Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 lockdown orders?
Police said the accused, identified as Raju Lakshman, was arrested on Wednesday from Rakhi Gaj area of Dera Ghazi Khan district, some 400-km from Lahore.
Dhoni's two-week stint with his unit was approved by the Army headquarters last week on his request.
A Pakistani boat, which had intruded into Indian waters near Sir Creek area of Kutch, was seized by the Border Security Force on Friday, but its occupants managed to escape."During patrolling, a BSF team spotted a boat about 1.5 km from the Sir Creek area. On seeing the BSF patrol team, the occupants of the boat dived into the sea," BSF officials said. They said the team "seized the boat and started to track down the occupants."
The elephant in the room will permeate the conversations, predicts Rup Narayan Das.