Operation Meghdoot was launched on April 13, 1984, when the Indian Army and IAF advanced to the Siachen Glacier to secure the heights dominating the northern Ladakh region
What was the aim of Operation Sindoor? Why was the operation halted so soon? asks Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Naik Mukesh Singh Manhas, a 29-year-old soldier from Jammu and Kashmir's Samba, was killed in an IED blast carried out by terrorists near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu's Akhnoor sector. Manhas, who was supposed to get married in April, had returned to his Army unit on January 28 after his engagement and giving final touches to his new house. He was killed along with Captain Karamjit Singh Bakshi from Jharkhand's Ranchi. Manhas's family and friends mourned his death, remembering him as an enthusiastic cricketer and a kind-hearted individual.
Captain Geetika Koul etched her name in Indian military history history by becoming the first women medical officer from the Indian Army to be deployed at the world's highest battlefield, the Siachen glacier.
This is how the residents of Jamnagar danced the Garba.
For India, it is a symbol of will and a successful feat of arms.
'Unlike the surgical strikes and the Balakot air strikes across the LoC, we have gone further inside Pakistan and raised the bar of escalation.'
Leh District Magistrate Santosh Sukhadeve posted this photo on his X account thanking the Indian Army's Fire and Fury Corps for successfully destroying 175 landmines in the villages of Phobrang, Yourgo and Lukung in Leh on Thursday, October 12, 2023.
The officials said helicopters and drones were pressed into the service to help the forces, who are also using human and technical intelligence inputs to aid the search operation which has been launched to trace and neutralise the terrorists behind the attack.
'Indian Army officers always lead their men into battle or combat. Pakistani officers are seldom seen at the front.'
India's tactical and operational response demonstrated its ability to prosecute tri-service operations, even without a formal tri-service doctrine or the higher command structure needed to coordinate it, points out Ajai Shukla.
Terrorism and insurgency in J&K had subsided when India demolished East Pakistan -- for the simple reason that Pakistan understands power. We need to follow Chanakya's dictum of Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed for strategising against Pakistan, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd). The ground truth is that unless we are prepared to acknowledge our shortcomings, including massive intelligence failures, punish those responsible and take corrective actions, we will continue in the same vein, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd).
Captain Anshuman Singh sacrificed his life saving the men entrusted to his medical care in the highest traditions of doctors that serve in the military.
Trekkers can now go up the icy heights of the second largest glacier in the mighty Karakoram range in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, a dreaded place till four years ago because of continuous shelling from Pakistan.
Naib Subedar Chunni Lal is the only soldier awarded the Ashok Chakra, Vir Chakra and Sena Medal.
We need to equip the Indian Armed Forces, not 'commercial' as Trump wants, but 'operationally' looking at growing Chinese military capabilities, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Indian Army personnel in Leh, August 17, 2022, carry the mortal remains of Lance Naik Chandrashekhar Harbola, who died during Operation Meghdoot on the Siachen Glacier in 1984.
India should encourage the second coming of SAARC with climate change as an urgent agenda and keeping Indian security concerns in mind as the subtext, suggest Lieutenant General Ashok Joshi (retd) and Colonel Anil Athale (retd).
An army patrol operating at an altitude of approximately 18,000 feet in Southern Siachen Glacier was hit by an avalanche during the early hours of Saturday, Srinagar-based defence spokesperson Col Rajesh Kalia said in a statement.
The Siachen Glacier at the height of around 20,000 ft in the Karakoram range is known as the highest militarised zone in the world where the soldiers have to battle frostbite and high winds.
The Supreme Court of India has ordered the Union government to grant a permanent commission to a woman officer in the Army Dental Corps who was denied benefits given to similarly placed officers. The court ruled that the woman officer was wrongly excluded from consideration and that the principle of "what is sauce for the goose ought to be sauce for the gander" applies in this case. The court directed the government to implement the order within four weeks and to extend all consequential benefits, including seniority, promotion, and monetary benefits, to the officer.
Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande and all ranks of the force condoled the death of Agniveer, Gawate Akshay Laxman, who hailed from Maharashtra.
'Our politicians solely depend on bureaucrats who are unaccountable and follow their own agenda.' 'Our politicians would dare not dream of establishing a DOGE,' argues Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Based mainly on his reconnaissance reports, the Indian Army went ahead with the mission to occupy the Siachen heights under the Operation Meghdoot.
'The visit of the honourable PM with the workable strategy towards conflict resolution will help greatly.' 'But visiting the state without concrete proposals may not bring the desired outcome at this stage.'
Meet these Inspiring Lady Soldiers who made history this year.
At the glacier, Rajnath Singh would be briefed about the operations being conducted by the army, along with the support of air efforts by the Indian Air Force.
China does not have to give up what it took in 2020, it will never give up its claim to Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh and other areas, and it has all the time now to plan its next surprise, points out Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
The report came a day after the Indian Army announced that it launched "punitive fire assaults" on Pak posts.
Of the 156 choppers, 66 would be inducted by the Indian Air Force while the rest 90 would be acquired by the Indian Army.
Through the past 18-month period, peace has prevailed in the disputed border regions, which was immensely helpful in the difficult situation that the country was passing through, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
"I salute your spirit, your valour from the bottom of my heart. Jawans and officers in the Armed Forces have a sense of pride, that is the strongest sentiment in the heart of any human," Singh said while addressing personnel at the Siachen Base Camp.
India will not vacate the Siachen glaciers as Pakistan cannot be trusted and it may occupy the strategic location once it is vacated, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said today.
Disengagement from the LAC will remain a chimera because China has given enough indications that the PLA will not move back any more. China has even deployed drones to monitor and deny any patrolling by Indian troops even in the buffer zones which are all in Indian Territory, explains Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Pakistan may want to undertake a 'false flag' operation in J&K to divert attention from the situation in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but infiltrating one SSG battalion into J&K and having two SSG battalions waiting to follow suit means war, which Pakistan cannot afford in its current economic crisis, notes Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
India has about 15 CH-47 Chinook helicopters.
Six Indian soldiers were killed and one went missing in an avalanche in the Siachen Glacier area on Sunday. The avalanche struck an army post at Hanief sector in Turtuk, Siachen on Sunday at 6.15 am.
India and Pakistan have agreed to hold meaningful and result-oriented discussion to demilitarise the Siachen glacier region where 26 soldiers died during deployment last year, the government told the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Indian Army personnel on Wednesday conducted yoga sessions at more than 100 locations along the country's land and maritime borders, forming a 'Bharatmala' on the occasion of the International Day of Yoga.
'It is in the interest of China and Pakistan to give a bad name to the Indian Army and remove AFSPA 'completely' from the north east.' 'Hopefully, better sense will prevail and the ground realities of the army countering insurgency in the north east acknowledged,' asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
