Lieutenant General Harbakhsh Singh, GOC, Western Command, disobeyed the then army chief and took on a superior Pakistani armoured column. The Indian Centurion tanks outgunned the more modern Pakistani Patton tanks in the battle at Khem Karan, that proved the turning point of the 1965 War. Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd) salutes the Soldiers' General.
After the denial of visa to the then Northern Army Commander Lt Gen B S Jaswal by China in 2010, New Delhi had frozen all bilateral defence exchanges with Beijing
'When there are two hostile armies operating in close proximity, moral ascendancy is very important -- and that is something, I think, we achieved.' 'What is important is the will and determination of a country.' 'That you are willing to do something about terror that is coming from across the border and that is the message that was sent out.'
'The scheduling of Imran Khan's visit to Beijing and its focus on the J&K situation underscores that Beijing shares the Pakistani concern that tensions with India are only going to escalate further in the period ahead,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Faced with an onslaught of unsavoury messages on social media, some purportedly written by retired and serving personnel, the army on Thursday turned to Facebook to caution them against accepting or forwarding messages without verifying facts.
The broad process to acquire around 7 lakh rifles, 44,000 LMGs and nearly 44,600 carbines has been finalised.
'Had they struck on the night of the 1st, there would have been hell to pay and had they been able to sneak further in, we would have had a greater problem,' says Lieutenant General H S Panag (retd), the former Northern Army Commander.
Former army commander P K Rath, who was given a clean chit by Armed Forces Tribunal in the Sukna land scam, on Saturday said that the verdict had vindicated his stand while ex-army chief V K Singh demanded that the government should go for appeal against the military panel's judgement.
'Since each chief single-mindedly pursues his service's interests in the competition for turf and in core matters such as budget share. The CDS, therefore, must act as an "honest broker" whose decisions serve the broader national purpose, rather than narrow service interests,' says Ajai Shukla.
Yet another case of indiscipline has hit the army, with a colonel of the National Cadet Corps being allegedly assaulted by jawans in Batala in Punjab, following which a court of inquiry has been ordered into the matter.
The incident took place in the 10 Sikh Light Infantry regiment during an inter-company boxing match there, sources said in New Delhi.
Seventy-seven years ago, 338,000 British soldiers were rescued from the beaches of Dunkirk, a stunning great escape which helped Britain avoid defeat in World War II.
An official said the attack appears to be a reprisal for killing of several Lashkar terrorists.
The army has launched a major anti-infiltration operation against militants and suspected Pakistan special troops holed up in an area in Keran sector along Line of Control in which five Indian soldiers have been injured.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Tuesday joined the ongoing controversy over Gen (retd) V K Singh's statement on Jammu and Kashmir politicians, saying if he discloses the former Army chief's advice to him years ago, it would be big embarrassment for everyone.
"The force is to maintain peace and tranquillity at the border but it will not shy away from flexing its muscles, if the need be," Gen Rawat said.
Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam lists the major operational takeaways from the 1971 War in his new book 'India's Wars, A Military History, 1947-1971'.
Ahead of the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, army on Monday said that the infiltration attempts along the Line of Control are on with the militants employing a "desperate" trend by pushing in IEDs and huge cache of weapons in the state.
'As far as Kashmir is concerned, a 'solution' was very much in play, and had brought endemic violence across the Jammu and Kashmir regions very much under control before the disruptive adventurism of the present regime resulted in a limited and localised escalation.'
'China refuses to talk to India on nuclear or ballistic missile issues and conclude any de-targeting agreement as Beijing did with Russia or a non-targeting agreement with the US.'
Virtually indicting former Army chief and Union Minister Gen V K Singh, the Armed Forces Tribunal on Friday quashed the court martial of Lt Gen P K Rath who was punished for his alleged role in a land dealing in West Bengal.
Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag, whose appointment as Army chief had kicked up a row, on Thursday took over as the next head of the 1.3 million strong force succeeding Gen Bikram Singh who is retiring.
'The thin line is a permanent dilemma with soldiers. You have to appreciate that in that dilemma and chaos there are officers who stand and lead their men.
Senior police officers were among 13 people killed on Monday when a Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up targeting them during a protest rally outside Pakistan's Punjab assembly in Lahore that also wounded 60 others.
The army said it was targeting 'criminals around Mugabe' who have sent the nation spinning into economic despair.
A 14-year-old youth, who escaped unhurt in the army firing in Budgam district on Monday believes it was a 'mojeza' (miracle) that he is still alive and debunks the army claim that they were signaled to stop at three check posts before their car was fired at.
'China would rather tie us down; and bleed us as much as it can so that we aren't able to lift our heads to face them.'
Some organisational changes are likely in some of the key army formations.
'Even if your soldiers are Sunny Deol and Vicky Kaushal, Pakistanis are no Johnny Walkers.' 'The one lot who never takes them lightly is India's professional soldiers.' 'That's why they keep winning the real wars,' says Shekhar Gupta.
On World Disability Day, in the presence of 150 differently abled soldiers, Lieutenant General P M Hariz, the Southern Army Commander, honoured the late Rediff.com columnist Flying Officer M P Anil Kumar.
For the first time, three civilians from Ladakh region, including a porter in Siachin, who saved two soldiers buried in an avalanche, have been honoured by Army with special award for their exemplary courage and devotion to duty.
Protesters demanding the resignation of Thailand's premier Yingluck Shinawatra on Tuesday claimed a "partial victory" after police allowed them to storm the government headquarters, easing tensions after three days of clashes that claimed at least four lives.
The military delegation will be in Delhi "shortly" and confer with top Indian Army officials as well as those in the ministry of external affairs to evolve a road map for a counter-insurgency strategy, reports Nitin Gokhale.
'Past experience shows us that cross-border strikes have not prevented Pakistan from continuing with further terror attacks.'
'From Doklam to Wuhan and the return of the India-China relationship to its previous equilibrium is indeed a major contribution of President Xi and PM Modi. Without any doubt they deserve the kudos for their sagacity and their wisdom,' says Ambassador Gautam Bambawale, India's envoy to China during the Wuhan summit.
The Army on Sunday said it had enough evidence to show that the six terrorists who carried out the attack on an Army camp in Uri belonged to the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and were supported by the Pakistani establishment.
'A stronger response on the border, some action needs to be taken against Pakistan from where the terrorists come, and finally what needs to be done is to calm Kashmir down,' Lieutenant General D S Hooda (retd) -- the Northern Army Commander under whose watch the Indian Army conducted the 2016 surgical strikes -- tells Rediff.com in an exclusive interview.
The video clips showed some terrorists being killed, besides destruction of bunkers and other military constructions.
Indian and American troops have been flexing muscles at Ranikhet and Chaubattia in Uttarakhand during the ongoing fourteen day-long joint exercise codenamed Yudh Abhyas.
