'I told my commander that they were not militants, but full-fledged soldiers with machine guns.'
'In the 1971 War my battalion suffered 4 casualties after fighting for 14 days.' 'In Operation Blue Star, I lost 19 men in just one hour.'
'I told them I am a Muslim, you are Sikh, you are Hindu, but we have one country to save.'
Brigadier Usman Khalid also persuaded the doctor to conduct a fake polio campaign, which led to the terrorist's assassination.
'The tank battle was fought at ranges of 300-700 metres.' 'It was a rare example of the complete destruction of a squadron by another squadron.'
'I was exhausted, hungry, unshaven and despondent.' 'My mouth was full of sores due to dehydration.' 'My clothes were in tatters due to walking through bushes and sliding down thorny slopes,' Brigadier John Parshuram Dalvi wrote of his capture during the 1962 War.
'He was a sentimental man, but his commitment to the Olive Green always came before anything else, including his family.' A fascinating excerpt from Rachna Bisht Rawat's Bipin: The Man Behind The Uniform.
At this time, sixty years ago, Brigadier John Parshuram Dalvi and a majority of his men were captured as prisoners of war by the Chinese during the 1962 war. His son Michael Dalvi, 77, has preserved his father's memory and the story of the gallant men of the 7th Infantry Brigade with honour.
With the athletes bidding goodbye to Paris after another bone-tingling edition of the Olympics, Norma Astrid Godinho/Rediff.com, shares some interesting nuggets that made the Paris Olympics an event to remember!
'I'm now living under threat, but life has to go on because as a soldier, you can't run away from it.'
The Chinese admitted that they had suffered the maximum casualties fighting in the first battle on October 20, 1962, and these casualties had been inflicted mostly by 2 Rajput. Claude Arpi salutes Major B K Pant and his fighting force of 112 men, 82 of whom lost their lives in the Battle of Namkha Chu, and whose courage must never ever be forgotten by a grateful country for who they laid down their lives.
'Khalistan would have been in existence today, but for the army.'
'Political parties have appropriated our military victories -- the Kargil war is the BJP's and the Bangladesh war is the Congress's -- what is going on?' As Uttarakhand -- where faujis number nearly 40% of the state's population -- prepares to vote, Rediff.com's Archana Masih discovers what upsets retired soldiers in Uttarakhand the most is a forgotten protest in the heart of Delhi.
The last word may not have been said on the churnings within the Pakistan army or the extent to which army chief General Asim Munir is in control, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RAW, India's external intelligence agency.
India is also likely to sign a deal to buy MQ-9B Predator armed drones from US manufacturer General Atomics.
'Rezang La was a unique battle.' 'It was not a large scale battle like the Battle of Kohima which involved a large number of troops.' 'Here there was just a company that fought it out till the last man.'
However, the IDF strongly criticised the Hamas terror group for continuing to hold approximately 200 other hostages.
Of late, war films -- particularly those that tell stories of the 1971 War and Kargil -- have been produced.
'Imagine for a soldier -- first you conquer territory after fighting a fierce battle, suffer casualties and then you are ordered to come back to your side of the International Border in India.'
''I heard from the Pakistani brigadier that Flying Officer Pradeep Apte had been killed after he ejected safely and tried to escape. This news sent a chill up my spine. I had been lucky so far...'
Brigadier M P Bajwa (retd), commander of the troops that captured Tiger Hill, tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih how a band of young soldiers won the Kargil War's most famous battle with their blood and grit.
Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri was awarded the Mahavir Chakra, the second highest medal for gallantry for leading a small company of men against a massive Pakistani attack.
Dhaka emerged as the free capital of independent Bangladesh on December 16, 1971 after the war between India and Pakistan broke out on December 3 when the Indian troops directly stood beside the Mukti Bahini soldiers.
'...they were shocked to learn that just 352 Indian soldiers had made 3 brigadiers, 2 colonels, 170 officers, 290 JCOs and 8,000 troops surrender to the Indian Army.'
'Anglo-Indians have played a significant role at the forefront, meeting every challenge to the security of the motherland.' A fascinating excerpt from Barry O'Brien's The Anglo-Indians: A Portrait of a Community.
General Asim Munir becomes Pakistan's 17th Chief of the Army Staff.
'The moment the Army approved the script, they told us that they will give their full support and asked us for our full dedication.'
Gen Pande, who was serving as the vice chief, became the first officer from the Corps of Engineers to helm the force.
'We are ready to surrender,' Lieutenant General A A K Niazi said over the phone from Dhaka.
India is solely responsible for prompting Pakistan to pursue a nuclear weapons capability, says Retired Pakistani Brigadier General Feroz Khan, erstwhile insider in Islamabad's nuclear weapons establishment. Aziz Haniffa reports.
'The next war will be fought by China-Pakistan against India and we have to fully be prepared. We must read the writing on the wall.'
as journalists active in Pakistani media have been quick to point out, with Ghafoor at the helm in Balochistan, no one will take seriously any claims by the civilian leadership to use the velvet glove to work for peace there, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.He did not hesitate to pejorate developments in India at the slightest opportunity, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
'There have been equal or more casualties on the Chinese side.' 'Our soldiers are hardy and strong and far superior than the Chinese.'
Arunachal Pradesh Governor Brigadier B D Mishra (retired) conveyed his best wishes to the woman and her newborn baby.
He was focussed on his career and determined to join the prestigious National Defence Academy, located at Khadakwasla near Pune in Maharashtra, said some of his classmates from the Class 11 batch of St Vincent School.
The CDS has the option to focus on key areas of capability development to fight new generation wars or get bogged down in trying to bring cosmetic changes to humour the political leadership, asserts Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd).
'100 Fayazs will bring a change in Kashmir, that's why they don't want a Fayaz.'
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday chose Lt Gen Asim Munir as the new Army chief to replace incumbent General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
The funeral of Sathe, 58, who was a resident of suburban Chandivali in Mumbai, will take place on Tuesday, said a senior Air India official.
'My brave JCO managed to get to the gun, sit on top of the dead man and fired away at the attacking aircraft till they melted away into the darkness.'
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