The Indian Buff

What does 3300 meters and world's second coldest inhabited place bring to your  mind? Mountains, thin oxygen levels and extreme weather conditions right?   Even a trek in such a region would be physically and mentally challenging then how would an uncalled war in the same region sound like?  Drass Region and the peaks where the war was fought In case your wondering, Drass, India's coldest place is ranked world's second coldest inhabitable place and while it is a popular tourist destination for bikers and travelers going to Ladakh it is also the land of martyrdom. A land that lives to tell the tale of several young officers who in their early 20's decided to give their all, including their lives for the nation in the 1999 war of Kargil.   There is something about the forces that drives the spirit and soul of the soldier even in the most unprecedented times and although a single post does not suffice to commemorate this spirit, this is a humble attempt at glimpsin...

 Ever wondered how the soldiers serving at Siachen or the line of actual control manage to sustain under uninhabitable conditions?  How do they get their medical-aid, food, ammunition and artillery supplies at such immense heights?                              If yes, then the answer to the questions above and to every soldier serving at Siachen is none other than the ‘Army Aviation Corps’ - one of the youngest Corps in the Indian Army, but did you know that it was in fact a subsidiary of   the IAF before transferring its complete jurisdiction over to the army? Though playing a major role in Siachen, this unit of the army has an exposure to all kinds of terrain, from deserts, plains, forests and high mountains to perpetually frozen battlefields.   Army aviators in short are the driving force multiplier who provide rapid movement of men and material at short notice A quick time travel to ...

"Chalo Dilli !" ever heard this call?   Well its safe to say that this was India's first ever Army war-cry said by Netaji in Singapore that set the tone for  India's first army- Azad Hind Fauj  to march up to Delhi and fight against the British. Astonishingly it took 71 years for the independent India to actually fulfill this pledge and formally bestow on four veterans of the fauj, the honour of being escorted in a procession to the ramparts of Delhi’s Red Fort during Republic Day in 2019. “Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Sikhs, we were all one, he made us realize what it means to be Indian.” -I.Poonampalan a veteran of the Indian National Army who fondly reminisces Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose as the pioneer of not just military foundation of India but also as an extremely progressive visionary of his times. Today marks the 125 th  birth anniversary of the most beloved and influential leaders of India whose popularity tower...

            I know you're out there safeguarding your huge family! These sluggish days  Which just don't pass  No matter how much I try! I grapple each day  To get my head off you  Which just can't seem to be true! The sight of slight drizzles meeting the water in the lake, We've enjoyed this together with our hearts wide open and our eyes wide awake! My hands in yours and yours in mine  Is all we've wanted since our eyes met for the first time! Our love for dogs brought us together, Who would've thought  It would be such a wonder! I won't say I miss you when you're not around,  Coz I know, you're out there safeguarding your huge family! I'd like to say though, That someday when you're here  We'll be just as we were when you left  Coz the distances don't attenuate our love  It just amplifies! The drizzles and dogs are waiting for you  Your little family is waiting for you! Faces smiling and eyes sparkli...

  “You surrender or We wipe you out” was the message given by Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw to Pakistan on 13th December 1971 and 3 days later the world witnessed an unprecedented and a public surrender of more than 93000 Pakistani soldiers. Celebrating the ‘Swarnim Vijay Varsh’ on the occasion of India’s victory over Pakistan in 1971 war that also liberated Bangladesh , 16 th December 1971 is a day to be reminisced with immense pride but did you know how exactly did the surrender from Pakistan become a reality? Well the harbinger of the final twisted moments of the fall of the Pakistani forces in Dhaka was brought about by Lieutenant General Jack Farj Rafael Jacob, PVSM and the entire episode could might as well beat the climax of any Hollywood movie! Tracing back 2 days before the great surrender, on 14 th of December the civil government of East Pakistan ceased to exist. Desperate Pakistani officials were looking for a ceasefire , a way to quietly end the war without loosing out...