'Unlike the Chinese army that has been largely a peace time force, the Indian Army is a battle hardened force,' explains Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Like millions of people across the world, the year 2020 had dealt me irreplaceable losses and the lowest of blows. Like I have always done at such junctures, I had sought the refuge of the mountains. I wanted to end the year on a high, to show the finger to life, says Sumit Bhattacharya after a memorable journey to North Sikkim.
'There will be much for President Trump and Prime Minister Modi to discuss including growing Chinese military cooperation with Pakistan, which heralds a new attempt by China and Pakistan to neutralise India's influence in its Indian Ocean neighbourhood,' notes Ambassador G Parthasarathy.
Amid assertions by the Indian army that infiltration in Keran sector was backed by Pakistani troops, Islamabad on Tuesday said blame game is not the solution to any issue and insisted it too wants a ceasefire along the Line of Control.
Pakistan army again violated bilateral ceasefire in the Mendhar sector of the Line of Control in Jammu region on Sunday.
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.
Major General Sujan Singh Uban, a legendary veteran of the Second World War, was a natural choice to raise, train and command the Special Frontier Force and mould them into a well oiled fighting machine, recalls his son Inspector General Gurdip Singh Uban (retd), who led SFF troops during the Kargil War.
'It is nobody's contention that uncomfortable questions regarding national security should not be raised. But that is a topic for another day and another time when the immediate threat has faded,' argues Vivek Gumaste.
Army Chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag on Wednesday said the forces would continue to work through "day and night" to render relief to the affected people in Kashmir.
Asserting that India wants peaceful relations with all countries but it should not be treated as its weakness, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said security forces have been directed to give a "befitting" reply to ceasefire violations by Pakistan.
The Trump administration announced this major reward on the 10th anniversary of the terror attack in which 10 Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorists went on a shooting rampage in India's financial hub killing 166 people, including six Americans.
A 30-second spot during the final to be broadcast by Rupert Murdoch's Star Sports is expected to cost nearly 10 million rupees ($155,267), far higher than the 1 million rupees that advertisers pay on average for most Indian shows, said a person involved in buying ads.
Amid snow-capped mountains and on board warships, India's armed forces demonstrated their impressive yoga skills. Let's take a bow!
'The intentions are clear as day! Let India build the infrastructure, then they will claim the land and use the infrastructure to their benefit.' Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd) speaks to IAF veterans who have flown in the Galwan Valley long before it became today's headlines.
'For a country that has successfully maintained its democracy for more than seventy years now, this sudden storm of hate is highly surprising.' 'My worry is that if the debate continues like that for some more time you will have an entire generation of Indians permanently inoculated with this germ of hatred.'
Violating the ceasefire again, Pakistani troops targeted several Indian positions in the Naushera sector of Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir.
M I Khan speaks to the bereaved families of soldiers killed along the Line of Control. They demand India though action against the neighbours and NOT compensation.
'Breaking down silos and ensuring a more integrated governance process is just as important to performance.' 'It has been a major priority in the last six years, especially in national security,' External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar points out when delivering the Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture-2020: India and the Post-Covid World.
The attack left two Indian soldiers dead while one BAT member was killed in retaliatory action by Indian troops.
General Zhao Zongqi is well known in India for having commanded the Chinese troops during the Dokalam episode. Zhao knows every inch and corner of the Indian border, at least the Eastern and Central sectors, including the Naku La area which witnessed fist-fights between Indian and Chinese troops in April/May. Claude Arpi introduces us to the PLA generals masterminding the Chinese aggression in Ladakh.
These photographs show India in various colours and moods in 2015.
During the two-week intense and exacting military training, the two countries' contingents conducted focused training to understand the functioning of each other.
.jpg)
In major escalation in border skirmishes, Pakistani troops violated ceasefire for the third time in 21 hours along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, forcing Army to retaliate.
A round-up of our favourite photographs from the week gone by
When calamity strikes, it does not discriminate. This was on ample display when floods ravaged Kashmir.
Traumatised by a four-day long ordeal in a submerged indoor stadium in Srinagar, over 200 students now rescued by the army cursed state government for false assurances but give credit of their survival to the teachers.
'General Rawat's unambiguous stand has acted as a much needed confidence booster to the troops -- young officers and soldiers at the cutting edge -- who were often left wondering if they were doing the right and necessary thing in combating the terrorists, many times paying with their own lives,' says Nitin A Gokhale.
'The best course for India is to wait out the implosion that is bound to take place in Pakistan sooner than later.' 'We have to ensure that the fallings debris from a collapsing State does not damage us,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'The Pakistani denial was the greatest triumph of this strategy.' 'From now onwards Pakistan will always have to factor in the Indian reaction when it decides to back non-State actors like LeT,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Pakistan must understand that boundaries with India cannot be redrawn as Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of this country, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Wednesday.
'A couple of Pulwamas will bring the two nations to war and it will be limited to J&K itself.'
"Our house is gone, household goods have perished and all our animals killed. We did not have anything to eat," said Chamail Singh of Rajouri district while showering praise on Indian Air Force for air-dropping food items and other relief material.
'Whichever way you look at it, it is a blow to the JeM and to the Pakistani army in general; the attack has taken place in mainland Pakistan and not in PoK.'
Widening 'Operation Maitri', the Indian Army on Monday moved its rescue mission outside Nepal's capital into the epicentre of the devastating earthquake.
'Those of us who have seen the Indian military from close quarters for decades now are outraged at Admiral Sushil Kumar's irresponsible and in my view flippant remark,' says Nitin A Gokhale. 'What makes people like Julio Riberio and Admiral Sushil Kumar, who rose to the highest positions in their respective professions, play the victim? Especially when it is not clear if all the attacks on Christians and Christian establishments had their roots in religious intolerance.'
'India has both the wherewithal and the will to fight the enemy, but is living in a make believe world of its own since it is yet to accept that it is indeed at war,' says military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
A round-up of our favourite photographs from the week gone by.
What happens when a Delhi professor is given the rare opportunity to travel with the Pakistan army along the LoC? Find out in this fascinating excerpt from Happymon Jacob's book, The Line of Control: Travelling With The Indian And Pakistani Armies.
Pakistan has the second-largest stockpile of anti-personnel landmines in the world, a report said.
Sounding an alert in the state, Parkash Singh Badal said it was time that the Centre dealt with terrorism with an iron hand.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances