In the wreath laying ceremony for the slain Colonel Santosh Mahadik in Srinagar, all the officers and the jawans of the 41 RR paid their tributes to him.
'We know what we are signing up for. There is nothing greater than that.' What Archana Masih/Rediff.com learnt from a chance encounter with an Indian Army officer.
'A tiger knows his territory in and out.' 'A tiger demarcates his terrain and never lets anyone enter.' 'Similarly, Ashu knew the trees, houses, rivers and rocks of the Rajwar jungles.' 'He didn't allow any militant to come into his territory.'
He added that there was a proper mechanism in place for grievance redressal, and if they were not satisfied, they could even contact him directly, instead of turning to social media.
'I have never seen such a large parade being commanded with such precision just by a vocal word of command.' 'I would like to import this technology to England.' Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd), then a final year cadet at the National Defence Academy remembers Queen Elizabeth II's visit to NDA in November 1983.
September 12 marked the 122th anniversary of one of the most incredible battles in Indian history.
The spectator size too has been reduced to 25,000, officials said.
In his first engagement outside the national capital, the President confers a rare honour on a brave, young, regiment.
'If you put colour-coded internal security maps of India in May 2014 and now, the picture won't be flattering to Modi.' 'Failures on internal security are now piling up and can break Modi's momentum,' says Shekhar Gupta.
'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.'
The manifesto, on the lines of the party's promise in Delhi in 2015, also says the AAP government will set up Aam Aadmi canteens at sub-division and district levels where one time meal will be available for Rs 5, and reduce the power tariff to half for usages up to 400 unit.
'He was an embodiment of old school courtesy and grace. It was embarrassing when he would insist on receiving and seeing off guests at the gate of his house! A trait he shared with another of great soldiers of India, Sam Manekshaw!' remembers Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Singh, who was decorated with President Police Medal about four months ago, continued to be grilled by a team of police and intelligence investigators.
Captain Pradeep Shoury Arya is an Income-Tax officer whose mission against terrorists in J&K won him the Shaurya Chakra.
'Local support is very important, without it the terror attack couldn't have taken place.' 'Explosives were secured, the IED was manufactured, the boy was brainwashed and converted into a suicide bomber... it takes a lot of planning and hard work.'
"This Diwali, we thought of his comrades in arms, who suffer harsh climes and the enemy from across the border, as well as some within. We thought this would be a nice gesture for soldiers, who spend Diwali away from their families," said one of Santosh Mahadik's friends.
'The UPA was never soft on Pakistan, terrorists and even China, but Sonia Gandhi's Congress rightly earned a "soft" image on issues of hard national interest, leaving the field open for Modi to take it and wrap it around with his implicit Hindutva,' says Shekhar Gupta.
'Many enter the civil services with the desire to do good work but get beaten by the system, step back or become part of it.' 'Ten fantastic officers out of 100 can completely change the game.'
'I realised what a great leader he was by the way he took decisions to undertake the most-risky of missions.'
Twenty one years ago, the Indian Army and Indian Air Force fought a bloody and bitter war to evict Pakistani intruders from the icy heights in Kargil. Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd) salutes the lesser known heroes of the Kargil War.
In a first such step for a central armed police force, the Central Reserve Police Force has decided to honour its jawans and officers killed in action with the prefix 'Shaheed' in their names.
'And Indians are loving it,' says Shekhar Gupta.
Repealing the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and passing an anti-torture bill consonant with the Convention against Torture would have a more durable impact on malicious prosecutions than providing 'legal aid' or setting up special courts, according to rights groups, says Vicky Nanjappa
The Army, which has about 1,200 Labradors and German Shepherds, has selected 36 canines to march down the Rajpath with their handlers.
When Meenakshi Arvind and Mookambika Rathinam took an epic car journey from Coimbatore to London, they encountered a world that was more good than bad. In the cry for freedom in a dark corner of the globe, they discovered that The Mahatma remained India's greatest icon.
A bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud rejected the Centre's argument of physiological limitations and social norms for denying them permanent commission and command postings, saying it is disturbing and against the concept of equality.
The two terrorists who attacked a Border Security Force convoy on the Jammu-Srinagar Highway, killing two jawans, belong to Pakistan, the government said in Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
'I will join the armed forces like my father,' says Arna Kumar, 6, whose father CRPF Commandant Pramod Kumar was killed by terrorists last Independence Day.
Lt Gen Bakshi announced 'full support' to the new chief and made it clear that he won't resign.
Why did Pakistan sign a cease-fire without acquiring Kashmir, which was the sole purpose of the 1965 War, asks Ahmad Faruqui.
Defence ministry says the focus was on suitability and merit for the selection of the new Army chief.
Though dubbed as the 'war hero', the role of Rajapaksa in ending the conflict with the LTTE with the death of its supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran in 2009 is quite divisive as he stands accused of violating human rights, a charge he vehemently denies.
Sukanya Verma makes her predictions for the top awards at the 90th Academy Awards.
Kumar was promoted as CO of the battalion on July 12, a day before his daughter's seventh birthday.
'The awareness of how big my father's sacrifice came to me when we went for the Republic Day parade and my mother received the Ashok Chakra,' Rukmini Vasanth, whose father Colonel Vasanth Venugopal was killed in action fighting terrorists, tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih.
He will be cremated with full military honours including a 21-gun salute in his village, Pogarwadi.
Highly decorated police officer and former Intelligence Bureau chief Ajit Doval, considered one of the finest operational brains, was on Friday appointed as the national security adviser.
'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.
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.
