'It is my duty to tell them about the brave soldiers who gave their lives for our land.' 'The free air of freedom that we breathe is because of men like them.'
Honorary Captain Bana Singh won the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest ranking gallantry award, for recapturing a Pakistani post on the Siachen Glacier. Living a retired life in a quiet village in Jammu and Kashmir, he makes you feel that his act of phenomenal courage was part of a soldier's day at work.
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.
The father of late Colonel Santosh Babu on Monday said he was 'not 100 per cent satisfied' with the Mahavir Chakra posthumously awarded to him for his acts of gallantry against the Chinese attack in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh in June 2020, and that he should have been honoured with the Param Vir Chakra.
Major Somnath Sharma was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously for his bravery in the Kashmir operations on November 3, 1947.
Former Indian Army Chief General Vishwa Nath Sharma, who led the Army from 1988 to 1990 and was a veteran of the 1965 Indo-Pak War, has passed away at the age of 96. He was a highly decorated officer, receiving the AVSM and PVSM, and came from a distinguished military family, being the younger brother of India's first PVC awardee, Major Som Nath Sharma.
'I was fortunate enough to be associated with two of the most important battles fought by the Indian Army, the Battle of Tololing and Battle of Tiger Hill.' 'Sometimes, I think how I survived those battles on Tololing and on Tiger Hill.'
The family of Param Vir Chakra awardee Abdul Hamid has expressed outrage after his name was removed from the main gate of a primary school in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, where he once studied. The school, which was renamed "PM Shri Composite School" after a recent painting work, previously bore the name "Shaheed Hamid Vidyalaya." Despite the family's complaints, the school authorities have yet to reinstate Hamid's name on the main entrance, leaving the family deeply hurt. Abdul Hamid was a war hero who displayed extraordinary bravery during the 1965 India-Pakistan war, destroying three Patton tanks and forcing the enemy to retreat.
The aggrieved family members said the hospital authorities did not conduct any COVID-19 test on Ali Hasan (61), the second son of Param Vir Chakra recipient Abdul Hamid.
Naib Subedar Chunni Lal is the only soldier awarded the Ashok Chakra, Vir Chakra and Sena Medal.
'Captain Haneef-ud-din, pulling his sinewy body forward, crawled, rifle in hand, in the snow on 6 June 1999. He died on this craggy mountainside exactly two years after he had passed out of the IMA...'
Bollywood stars always make for good pictures but catching them in their most unguarded, candid moments is what makes for great pictures.
Nearly three decades after the ambitious project was first conceived to decongest the existing airport in the financial capital, the greenfield Navi Mumbai International Airport became a reality on Thursday as an IndiGo Airbus A320 from Bengaluru landed on the tarmac at 8 am amid a traditional water cannon salute.
June-July 1999 saw some of the most bitterly fought battles in the Kargil War. Colonel Gaurav Chaturvedi looks back on those days -- and the extraordinary saga of the men he fought alongside.
The Indian Army has removed several colonial-era vestiges from its dress regulations, the mandatory carriage of swords by Reviewing Officers, and the use of pouch belts with certain mess dresses. It has also dropped the use of archaic terminology such as "Royal".
A look at the interesting movie releases lined up for November.
A bust of Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, the first Indian governor-general, has replaced a statue of British architect Edwin Lutyens at Rashtrapati Bhavan, symbolizing a move away from colonial influences and embracing Indian heritage.
Drama, dazzle, detectives, dhamaal, it's there on OTT this week. Take your pick from Sukanya Verma's eclectic menu.
'The war scenes in which Indian soldiers fight fearlessly and the powerful dialogues are meant to make the audience proud of the loyalty and valour of Indian soldiers,' observes Deepa Gahlot.
The school, located in Dhamupur village under Jakhanian tehsil, about 35 km from the district headquarters, was originally named after Param Vir Chakra awardee Abdul Hamid, who studied there during his childhood.
President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday hosted a high tea for 1965 war veterans in the Rashtrapati Bhavan complex as the country celebrated the golden jubilee of the war with Pakistan.
'The army and all the people we did spend time with, they emphasised the kind of impact Arun Khetarpal has had on one, the Indian Army and two, just the country as a whole.'
'A man dies and it's over for him. But we're right here, it isn't over for us,' she says cryptically. She talks about the "poverty" in which she had to raise her sons and daughter, the responsibility of today's youth to its country and how war widows should cope with their loss.
Discover the latest OTT releases, streaming between February 23 and March 1.
Family members of Dalit icons B R Ambedkar, Jagjivan Ram, Kanshi Ram and other 'prominent people' belonging to the scheduled castes are among those invited for the January 22 consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, according to sources.
The bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry disposed of the petition filed by the Sanyukt Ahir Regiment Morcha and others seeking a stay on the release of the movie, which is based on the 1962 Battle of Rezang La.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Centre to decide on a representation challenging the certification and release of the film '120 Bahadur'. The petitioners allege historical inaccuracies in the movie's portrayal of the Battle of Rezang La.
'When he was not shooting, he was telling us stories and anecdotes. And reciting poems.'
Glimpses of the solemn ceremony Shaurya Sandhya ahead of the 24th Kargil Vijay Diwas, which commemorates India's victory in the 1999 Kargil War at the Kargil War Memorial, Dras, in Kargil, Ladakh.
120 Bahadur is underwhelming, adding little fresh perspective and generally feeling like a standard war drama we have seen umpteen times before, notes Mayur Sanap.
He was awarded the distinguished Flying Cross in 1944. This honour is equivalent to today's Param Vir Chakra. The Arjan Singh Trust for needy air force personnel was set up out of the proceeds of his farm house in Delhi being sold. He was a charismatic leader of men and lived up to the fine traditions of soldiering, says Group Captain Murli Menon (retd).
'The Pakistanis knew there was only one route up and they could take direct aim at us as we climbed up.' 'They knew they could kill us.'
Decorated with a Vir Chakra for leading an attack that destroyed four tanks, Risaldar Ayub Khan shared a name with the Pakistani president who ordered the invasion of India in 1965. India's Ayub came from a family of soldiers and made his country proud.
'The failure to remember the martyrs on a grand scale is a national problem. As a nation-State, India time and again fails to honour its true heroes: The men in uniform.'
The Maa Bharati Ke Sapoot Web site (www.maabharatikesapoot.mod.gov.in) will enable citizens to contribute to the Armed Forces Battle Casualties Welfare Fund
Anshu Kumar, 21, son of government school teachers from a village in Bihar, won the President's Silver Medal at the NDA. He commanded the grand passing out parade and will go on to join the Indian Navy.
Is a martyred soldier just a statistic? Our nation, a great civilisation, a great culture has to learn to respect and feel oneness with its soldiers, says Tarun Vijay.
Captain Vikram Batra died fighting Pakistani forces during the Kargil war in 1999 at the age of 24. He was given the highest wartime gallantry award 'Param Vir Chakra' posthumously.
On the 25th anniversary of the battle that made his war cry 'Dil Maange More' part of national lore, we republish that feature to salute Captain Batra's ultimate sacrifice for the nation.
