'India cannot allow Beijing's policy of stabilising and destabilising the border at will to perpetuate its own ends.' A riveting excerpt from Manish Tiwari's 10 Flashpoints; 20 Years National Security Situations That Impacted India.
The upper reaches of Kashmir valley witnessed the first snowfall of the season. The weather department has predicted bad weather for a few days. Snowfall at hill stations like Gulmarg and Pahalgam also brings the hope of revival of tourism in the area which has been severely hit for most of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In his address, the PM also hit out at those making repeated attempts to "unnecessarily" bring bilateral issues to the SCO in violation of the grouping's foundational principles, in an oblique reference to Pakistan.
The talks between the two sides near Galwan Valley ended in a stalemate on Tuesday as well as Wednesday, the sources said.
In the review meeting, Singh told the top military brass to continue to deal with the situation in eastern Ladakh and other areas with "firmness".
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.
"Nari shakti" and women empowerment dominated the theme of tableaux of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Tripura at the Republic Day parade here on Thursday.
This spell is most likely to give good snow/rain in the Pirpanjal area Gulmarg, Ramban-Banihal, Shopian, Poonch-Rajouri and Zojila especially during November 24-25 and decrease thereafter significantly.
'Everyone is entitled to their opinion because we live in a country like India and not a place where Shalini is taken, where forget having an opinion, women can't even talk to their family on the phone.'
It is learnt that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has conveyed to top military brass that there was no need for reviewing the implementation of any of the key projects along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand or in Arunachal Pradesh in view of the aggressive behaviour by Chinese troops in several sensitive areas.
Manmohan Singh and Musharraf felt that what they were embarking upon, if successful, could lead to a future of boundless potential for the two countries and for the relationship that was hard to foresee from the prism of the existing situation and the historical position and orthodox ideas on both sides.
The Indian Army has shown it can face down the PLA, but is too often held back by a political leadership that lacks boldness, asserts Ajai Shukla.
Gilgit Baltistan's large frontage with Kashmir and Ladakh across Kargil and the Siachen Glacier gives Pakistan and China the perceived scope for conduct of collusive operations against India and wrest control of the major course of the Indus and Shyok, observes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
'All the government needs to do is to identify clear political and strategic objectives and to give the military planners a free hand,' asserts Ajai Shukla.
Indian Army officers, serving and retired, will tell you that the one thing that makes the Indian soldier singularly unique is his josh and jazba.
Keeping the contents of the BBC documentary aside, Rishi Sunak's response needs to be viewed in the backdrop of Britain's historically close relations with Pakistan, argues Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
The Indian Army's Northern Command would be stretched if all three of the corps under it -- based in Leh, Srinagar, and Nagrota (near Jammu) -- were to face hostilities, notes David Devadas.
Indian troops were maintaining their "posture" along the border with China while infrastructure development in the frontier areas was on track, Army Chief Gen M M Naravane said on Thursday, days after personnel of the two countries were locked in two separate incidents of violent face-offs. Gen Naravane said the incidents in Eastern Ladakh and North Sikkim involved aggressive behaviour by Chinese and Indian troops resulting in minor injuries to personnel from both the sides.
Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria was at the Leh IAF base on Wednesday where he reviewed operational preparedness of the force in effectively guarding the sensitive border areas in eastern Ladakh where Indian and Chinese armies have been on a nearly six-week standoff.
'Unless India ups the ante, Beijing will continue to believe its transgressions are cost free and will feel encouraged to do more of the same.'
Sources said the Indian delegation was warmly greeted by senior officials of the Chinese Army before the talks began.
In his Independence Day speech, Modi said recently, import of more than 100 military equipment has been stopped.
'China is mindful of the fact that it is not confronting the Indian Army of 1962. But the sabre rattling will continue.'
Indian forces are doing what they have to do to protect the country, whether it is in terms of deployment, action or counter-action, Modi told political leaders.
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.
Para, perhaps, has become the first person to benefit from the Supreme Court putting on hold trial of cases under section 124 A (sedition).
Replying to a discussion on the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, he also slammed some Opposition members for their claim that the proposed law negates the hopes of the region getting back its erstwhile statehood.
"Numerous rounds of talks have taken place with the Chinese counterparts to deescalate the situation without compromising on India's stand of 'complete disengagement and immediate restoration of status quo ante'," the defence ministry said.
The Indian side is expected to present specific proposals at the talks to deescalate tension in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley and Demchok -- the three areas in eastern Ladakh where the two sides have been on a bitter standoff for last one month, the sources said.
'Our boys are very patriotic.' 'They say Bharat Mata Ki Jai and Jai Hind in front of the Chinese.' 'We have never accepted their claims, we are Indians and proud to be Indians.'
Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla terms India's relationship with China as "complex".
He made a reference to the clash between Indian and Chinese troops in Ladakh's Galwan Valley in June this year. "What our jawans can do, what the country can do, the world has seen in Ladakh," he said.
What is being exposed is we have no real doctrine and no idea how to deal with the world, asserts Aakar Patel.
'Given the way in which the PLA operates today, I don't believe local commanders were necessarily acting without approval of higher levels.' 'They were acting in a way which they believed they were carrying out the intent of the higher levels.'
Singhvi said for this government it seems national security is not important.
Gujarat and Karnataka have been ranked as the best performers in developing startup ecosystem for budding entrepreneurs, according to the ranking of states and Union territories by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). Among smaller states having population of less than one crore, Meghalaya has been adjudged as the best performer. The rankings are based on the initiatives taken to develop the startup ecosystem for promoting budding entrepreneurs.
'The Mount Everest Base Camp is at a height of 5,364 metres and no child with Down Syndrome has trekked till there at such a young age; Avnish is only seven years old.'
The last time the Chinese military had taken Indian soldiers captive was in July 1962 after a clash in Galwan Valley.
India has realised that one can only deal with China from a position of strength and that is not palatable to Beijing, observes Dr Rup Narayan Das.
High-speed mobile internet services had been restored in two districts -- Ganderbal in Kashmir region and Udhampur in Jammu region -- in August last year.
