1.
Hindi
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Hindi, or Modern Standard Hindi is a standardised and Sanskritised register of the Hindustani language. Along with the English language, Hindi written in the Devanagari script, is the language of the Government of India. It is also one of the 22 scheduled languages of the Republic of India, Hindi is the lingua franca of the so-called Hindi belt of India. Outside India, it is a language which is known as Fiji Hindi in Fiji, and is a recognised regional language in Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana. Hindi is the fourth most-spoken first language in the world, after Mandarin, apart from specialized vocabulary, Hindi is mutually intelligible with Standard Urdu, another recognized register of Hindustani. Part XVII of the Indian Constitution deals with Official Language, under Article 343, official language of the Union has been prescribed, which includes Hindi in Devanagari script and English. Gujarat High Court, in 2010, has observed that there was nothing on record to suggest that any provision has been made or order issued declaring Hindi as a language of India. Article 343 of the Indian constitution states The official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script, the form of numerals to be used for the official purposes of the Union shall be the international form of Indian numerals. It was envisioned that Hindi would become the working language of the Union Government by 1965. Each may also designate a co-official language, in Uttar Pradesh, for instance, depending on the formation in power. Similarly, Hindi is accorded the status of language in the following Union Territories, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu. National-language status for Hindi is a long-debated theme, an Indian court clarified that Hindi is not the national language of India because the constitution does not mention it as such. Outside Asia, Hindi is a language in Fiji as per the 1997 Constitution of Fiji. It is spoken by 380,000 people in Fiji, Hindi is also spoken by a large population of Madheshis of Nepal. Hindi is quite easy to understand for some Pakistanis, who speak Urdu, apart from this, Hindi is spoken by the large Indian diaspora which hails from, or has its origin from the Hindi Belt of India. Like other Indo-Aryan languages, Hindi is considered to be a descendant of an early form of Sanskrit, through Sauraseni Prakrit. It has been influenced by Dravidian languages, Turkic languages, Persian, Arabic, Portuguese, Hindi emerged as Apabhramsha, a degenerated form of Prakrit, in the 7th century A. D. By the 10th century A. D. it became stable, Braj Bhasha, Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Khari Boli etc. are the dialects of Hindi
2.
India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
3.
Ministry of Home Affairs (India)
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The Ministry of Home Affairs or Home Ministry is a ministry of the Government of India. An interior ministry, it is responsible for the maintenance of internal security. The Home Ministry is headed by Union Minister of Home Affairs, shri Rajnath Singh is the present Minister of Home Affairs. The Home Ministry is also the cadre controlling Authority for the Indian Police Service, DANIPS, the Home Secretary is the senior civil servant at the MHA. The current Home Secretary is Rajiv Mehrishi, Director of Intelligence Bureau Mr. Rajiv Jain Director of CBI-Mr. The Ministry of Home Affairs has the following constituent Departments, Department of Border Management Department of Border Management, dealing with management of borders, Department of Internal Security Department of Internal Security, dealing with police, law and order and rehabilitation. Department of States Dealing with Centre-State relations, Inter-State relations, Union Territories and these are organisational divisions of the Ministry itself, without the splitting into specialised departments. Disaster Management Division Responsible for response, relief and preparedness for natural calamities, the Division is also responsible for legislation, policy, capacity building, prevention, mitigation and long term rehabilitation. Finance Division The Division is responsible for formulating, operating and controlling the budget of the Ministry under the Integrated Finance Scheme, foreigners Division The Division deals with all matters relating to visa, immigration, citizenship, overseas citizenship of India, acceptance of foreign contribution and hospitality. It also handles work relating to Enemy Properties and residual work relating to Evacuee Properties, Human Rights Division The Division deals with matters relating to the Protection of Human Rights Act and also matters relating to national integration and communal harmony and Ayodhya. It is also responsible for implementation of the Prime Ministers Package for J&K, judicial Division Legislative aspects of the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and also the Commission of Inquiry Act. Left Wing Extremism Division Control of left wing extremism in India, Police Division-II This Division deals with the policy, personnel, operational and financial matters relating to all the Central Armed Police Forces including BSF Air Wing. It also deals with the matters relating to welfare of the serving and retired CAPF personnel, Union Territories Division The Division deals with all legislative and constitutional matters relating to Union territories, including National Capital Territory of Delhi. Besides, it is responsible for over-seeing the crime and law and order situation in UTs
4.
New Delhi
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New Delhi is the capital of India and one of Delhi citys 11 districts. The National Capital Region is a larger entity comprising the entire National Capital Territory along with adjoining districts. The foundation stone of the city was laid by George V and it was designed by British architects, Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker. The new capital was inaugurated on 13 February 1931, by Viceroy, New Delhi has been selected as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under Prime Minister of India Narendra Modis flagship Smart Cities Mission. Calcutta was the capital of India during the British Raj until December 1911, Delhi had served as the political and financial centre of several empires of ancient India and the Delhi Sultanate, most notably of the Mughal Empire from 1649 to 1857. During the early 1900s, a proposal was made to the British administration to shift the capital of the British Indian Empire, as India was officially named, from Calcutta on the east coast, to Delhi. The Government of British India felt that it would be easier to administer India from Delhi in the centre of northern India. The land for building the new city of Delhi was acquired under the Land Acquisition Act 1894. The foundation stone of New Delhi was laid by King George V and Queen Mary at the site of Delhi Durbar of 1911 at Kingsway Camp on 15 December 1911, during their imperial visit. Large parts of New Delhi were planned by Edwin Lutyens, who first visited Delhi in 1912, the contract was given to Sobha Singh. The original plan called for its construction in Tughlaqabad, inside the Tughlaqabad fort, construction really began after World War I and was completed by 1931. The city that was later dubbed Lutyens Delhi was inaugurated in ceremonies beginning on 10 February 1931 by Lord Irwin, Lutyens designed the central administrative area of the city as a testament to Britains imperial aspirations. Soon Lutyens started considering other places, however, it was rejected by the Viceroy when the cost of acquiring the necessary properties was found to be too high. The central axis of New Delhi, which faces east at India Gate, was previously meant to be a north-south axis linking the Viceroys House at one end with Paharganj at the other. During the projects early years, many believed it was a gate from Earth to Heaven itself. Eventually, owing to space constraints and the presence of a number of heritage sites in the North side. A site atop the Raisina Hill, formerly Raisina Village, a Meo village, was chosen for the Rashtrapati Bhawan, then known as the Viceroys House. The reason for this choice was that the hill lay directly opposite the Dinapanah citadel, which was considered the site of Indraprastha
5.
Rajnath Singh
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Rajnath Ram Badan Singh is an Indian politician belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party who currently serves as the Home Minister. He previously served as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and as a Cabinet Minister in the Vajpayee Government and he has also served as the President of the BJP twice,2005 to 2009 and 2013 to 2014. He began his career as a lecturer and used his long-term association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to become involved with the Janata Party. Singh was born in the village of puttur in Chandauli district. His father was Ram Badan Singh and his mother was Gujarati Devi and he was born into a family of farmers and went on to secure a masters degree in physics, acquiring first division results from the Gorakhpur University. In 1974, he was appointed secretary for the Mirzapur unit of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, in 1975, aged 24, Singh was appointed District President of the Jana Sangh. In 1977, he was elected Member of Legislative Assembly from the Mirzapur and he became the State President of the BJP youth wing in 1984, the National general secretary in 1986 and the National President in 1988. He was also elected into the Uttar Pradesh legislative council, in 1991, he became Education Minister in the first BJP government in the state of Uttar Pradesh. On 25 March 1997, he became the President of the BJPs unit in Uttar Pradesh, in 2000, he became Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and was twice elected as MLA from Haidergarh in 2001 and 2002. During this period he initiated a few epoch-making projects including the Kisan Call Centre and he brought down interest rates on Agriculture loans and also established Farmer Commission and initiated Farms Income Insurance Scheme. After the BJP lost power in the 2004 general elections, it was forced to sit in the Opposition. After the resignation of prominent figure Lal Krishna Advani, and the murder of strategist Pramod Mahajan and he also criticised the role of the English language in India, claiming that it caused erosion of cultural values. On 24 January 2013, following the resignation of Nitin Gadkari due to corruption charges and he contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Lucknow constituency and was subsequently elected as a Member of the Parliament. In 2014, Rajnath said that 75 per cent of the people in India either speak or know Hindi and he was appointed the Union Minister of Home Affairs in the Narendra Modi government and was sworn in on 26 May 2014. He triggered controversy amid the protests over the action at Jawaharlal Nehru University, on 14 Feb 2016. In May 2016, he claimed that infiltration from Pakistan declined by 52% in a period of two years, official website Detailed Profile, Shri Rajnath Singh
6.
Director General of the National Security Guard
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Director General is the head of the Indian National Security Guard, the federal contingency deployment force that was created to deal with terrorism in India. The DG is selected by the Home Minister, in the first thirty-one years since its creation in 1984, the NSG has had twenty-eight DGs, with an average tenure of one year and few months. Many DGs have served only a few months, while waiting for promotion to a more desirable post, none of the DGs have had experience in commanding NSG special actions groups, or any other special forces command experience. All the selected DGs have been officers from the Indian Police Service, R C Tayal of 1980 IPS Batch is the present Director General
7.
Indian Army
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The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India serves as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and it is commanded by the Chief of Army Staff, two officers have been conferred with the rank of field marshal, a five-star rank, which is a ceremonial position of great honour. It conducts humanitarian rescue operations during calamities and other disturbances, like Operation Surya Hope. It is a component of national power alongside the Indian Navy. The army has been involved in four wars with neighbouring Pakistan, other major operations undertaken by the army include Operation Vijay, Operation Meghdoot and Operation Cactus. The Indian Army has a system, but is operationally and geographically divided into seven commands. It is a force and comprises more than 80% of the countrys active defence personnel. It is the 2nd largest standing army in the world, with 1,200,255 active troops and 990,960 reserve troops, a Military Department was created within the Government of the East India Company at Kolkata in the year 1776. Its main function was to sift and record orders relating to the Army that were issued by various Departments of the East India Company for the territories under its control. With the Charter Act of 1833, the Secretariat of the Government of the East India Company was reorganised into four Departments, including a Military Department. The army in the Presidencies of Bengal, Bombay & Madras functioned as respective Presidency Army until April 1895, for administrative convenience, it was divided into four commands at that point of time, namely Punjab, Bengal, Madras and Bombay. The British Indian Army was a force for the primacy of the British Empire both in India and across the world. In the 20th century, the Indian Army was an adjunct to the British forces in both the world wars. 1.3 million Indian soldiers served in World War I for the Allies, in 1915 there was a mutiny by Indian soldiers in Singapore. After the United Kingdom made promises of self-governance to the Indian National Congress in return for its support, Britain reneged on its promises after the war, following which the Indian Independence movement gained strength. Indian officers given a Kings commission after passing out were posted to one of the eight selected for Indianisation. In World War II Indian soldiers fought for the Allies, in 1939, British officials had no plan for expansion and training of Indian forces, which comprised about 130,000 men. Their mission was internal security and defence against a possible Soviet threat through Afghanistan, as the war progressed, the size and role of the Indian Army expanded dramatically, and troops were sent to battle fronts as soon as possible
8.
Central Armed Police Forces
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The Central Armed Police Forces refers to uniform nomenclature of five security forces in India under the authority of Ministry of Home Affairs. They are the Border Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, the CAPFs have their own cadre of officers, but they are headed by officers of the Indian Police Service. They have, for years, demanded improved promotional prospects. They were allocated a total of ₹52,443 crore for the fiscal year 2017-2018, recruitment is conducted mainly in three modes. Officers in CAPFs are recruited through Central Armed Police Forces Examination conducted by UPSC and they are appointed as Assistant Commandants and are Gazetted Officers generally referred as DAGOs. DEGOs are who have been promoted through departmental exams conducted internally for Subordinate Officers, Sub Inspectors are recruited through competitive examination conducted by Staff Selection Commission and they are referred as DASOs. DESOs are who have been promoted through departmental exams conducted internally for Constables, Head Constables, Constables are recruited through competitive examination conducted by Staff Selection Commission. The recruitment of the candidates in the CAPF is done by the public service commission as well the Sashastra Seema Bal for the various posts according to the qualification of the candidates. For the higher posts, it is done via army The Central Reserve Police Force is the largest of the Central Armed Police Forces units with 325,000 personnel in 245 battalions. The Central Reserve Police includes, The Rapid Action Force, a 10 battalion anti-riot force trained to respond to sectarian violence, the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action, a 10 battalion strong anti-Naxalite/COIN force. The primary role of the Border Security Force is to guard the border of the India with Pakistan and Bangladesh, the BSF also has active roles during times of war. It has 245,000 personnel in 186 battalions, and is headed by an Indian Police Service Officer. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police is deployed for guarding duties on the border with China from Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Diphu La in Arunachal Pradesh covering a distance of 2488 km. It has 77,000 personnel in 56 fighting and 4 reserve battalions and it has a total strength of about 165,000 personnel in 132 battalions. The objective of the Sashastra Seema Bal is to guard the Indo-Nepal and it has 82,000 personnel and 73 battalions, as well as some reserved battalions. State Armed Police Forces Paramilitary forces of India Law enforcement in India Indian Armed Forces
9.
Operation Black Thunder
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The first Operation Black Thunder took place on 30 April 1986. About 300 National Security Guards commandos stormed the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine of the Sikhs, along with 700 Border Security Force troops, the operation, which lasted eight hours, was approved by then Chief minister of Punjab Surjit Singh Barnala of Shiromani Akali Dal. Operation Black Thunder II began on 9 May 1988 in Amritsar, the operation was commanded by Kanwar Pal Singh Gill who was the DGP of Punjab Police. Snipers were used in this operation, compared to Operation Blue Star, little damage was inflicted on the Golden Temple. In what was reported as an operation, around 200 millitants surrendered,41 were killed. Gill stated that he did not want to repeat the mistakes made by the Indian army during Operation Blue Star and this operation was described as a severe setback to the Anandpur Resolution implementation movement. In contrast to prior operations, minimum force was used under full public scrutiny and it is remembered for the free access the news media was provided unlike during Operation Blue Star. The day after the militants surrendered, nine reporters were allowed into the Temple complex, kirtan was resumed at the Golden Temple on 23 May 1988 after a two-week break during this operation. In 2002 Sarabjit Singh who was the Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar at the time published a book Operation Black Thunder, the account was criticised by Kanwar Pal Singh Gill who claimed that the operation was initially called Operation Gill before being renamed Operation Black Thunder
10.
Jammu and Kashmir
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Jammu and Kashmir is a state in northern India, often denoted by the acronym J&K. It is located mostly in the Himalayan mountains, and shares borders with the states of Himachal Pradesh, the state has special autonomy under Article 370 of the Constitution of India. A part of the erstwhile Princely State of Kashmir and Jammu, the western districts of the former princely state known as Azad Kashmir and the northern territories known as Gilgit-Baltistan have been under Pakistani control since 1947. The Aksai Chin region in the east, bordering Tibet, has been under Chinese control since 1962, Jammu and Kashmir consists of three regions, Jammu, the Kashmir Valley and Ladakh. Srinagar is the capital, and Jammu is the winter capital. Jammu and Kashmir is the state in India with a Muslim-majority population. The Kashmir valley is famous for its mountainous landscape. Ladakh, also known as Little Tibet, is renowned for its remote mountain beauty, Maharaja Hari Singh became the ruler of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in 1925, and he was the reigning monarch at the conclusion of the British rule in the subcontinent in 1947. Jammu and Kashmir had a Muslim majority, following the logic of Partition, many people in Pakistan expected that Kashmir would join Pakistan. However, the predominant political movement in the Valley of Kashmir was secular, so many in India too had expectations that Kashmir would join India. The Maharaja was faced with indecision, on 22 October 1947, rebellious citizens from the western districts of the State and Pushtoon tribesmen from the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan invaded the State, backed by Pakistan. The Maharaja initially fought back but appealed for assistance to the India, Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession on 26 October 1947 in return for military aid and assistance, which was accepted by the Governor General the next day. Once the Instrument of Accession was signed, Indian soldiers entered Kashmir with orders to evict the raiders, the resulting Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 lasted till the end of 1948. At the beginning of 1948, India took the matter to the United Nations Security Council, a ceasefire was agreed on 1 January 1949, supervised by UN observers. A special United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan was set up to negotiate the arrangements as per the Security Council resolution. The UNCIP made three visits to the subcontinent between 1948 and 1949, trying to find a solution agreeable to both India and Pakistan and it passed a resolution in August 1948 proposing a three-part process. It was accepted by India but effectively rejected by Pakistan, in the end, no withdrawal was ever carried out, India insisting that Pakistan had to withdraw first, and Pakistan contending that there was no guarantee that India would withdraw afterwards. No agreement could be reached between the two countries on the process of demilitarisation, India and Pakistan fought two further wars in 1965 and 1971
11.
Akshardham Temple attack
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The Akshardham Temple attack was a terror attack at the Akshardham Temple in Gandhinagar, Gujarat on 24 September 2002 conducted by Murtuza Hafiz Yasin and Ashraf Ali Mohammed Farooq. They killed 33 people and wounded 80 others by using automatic weapons, National Security Guards intervened and ended the siege by killing both attackers the same night. Six accused were arrested by Gujarat Police. In May 2014, a Supreme Court of India bench acquitted all the six prisoners of all charges, when the two attempted to enter the Akshardham Temple Complex, the volunteers stopped the armed terrorists for a security screening. Bypassing the screening, the terrorists jumped over the 7-foot high fence, a priest recalled a mother begging for the lives of her children-later identified as Priya and Bhailu Chauhan, aged three and four. The woman, Sumitra, had been running with her little boy, the killer nodded to her pleas, then turned his gun towards the children and, to the horror of the mother, mowed them down. As the Akshardham staff, including the temple supervisor, Khodsinh Jadhav witnessed the killings, they rushed across the 200-foot walkway, as a result, the terrorists were unable to infiltrate the main temple where 35 people were offering prayers. At 4,48 pm, three minutes after the attack began, Vishwavihari Swami, at the Akshardham Temple Complex, made an SOS call to Chief Minister Narendra Modis office, within minutes, Gandhinagars district police chief R. R. Brahmbhatt was dispatched to the scene. Additionally, the State Commando force was instructed to arrive at the Akshardham Temple Complex. Meanwhile, outside of the Akshardham Temple Complex, local individuals mobilised into volunteers, chirag Patel helped bring out the injured individuals, while Pravin Shah supplied free water to worried relatives. Thereafter, the terrorists, unable to infiltrate the main monument, the volunteers had locked all the doors of the exhibition halls, however, the terrorists entered Exhibition Hall 1, which contained the multimedia show, by prying open the exit door. Upon entering the hall, they fired shots at the audience, Mihir, Moulik and Mrunal had gone to watch the multimedia show at Akshardham with their grandparents, Pundrikbhai and Harshidaben Hathi. As the terrorists fired shots, Mihir and Mrunal lost their brother Moulik, by 5,15 pm, Chief Minister of Gujurat Narendra Modi called the Deputy Prime Minister L. K. Advani in Delhi and asked for the National Security Guards, commonly referred to as Black Cat Commandos, the terrorists left Exhibition Hall 1, as they entered, through the exit door, and climbed onto and hid in the parikrama, the outer perimeter of the temple. Within 10–15 minutes of the attack, police security guards and commandos had reached the premises, the police and commandos escorted the visitors from around the complex to safety, while volunteers helped transport the injured victims to nearby hospitals. The police and commandos searched for the two terrorists, who were focused on retreating to a hiding spot. During this temporary halt, the police and commandos also guided the remaining 100 visitors in Exhibition Hall 1 to a location outside of the complex. During this attack, no one was hurt, since the commandos had surrounded the area and continued the crossfire, the terrorist found it difficult to escape
12.
2008 Mumbai attacks
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The attacks, which drew widespread global condemnation, began on Wednesday,26 November and lasted until Saturday,29 November 2008, killing 164 people and wounding at least 308. There was also an explosion at Mazagaon, in Mumbais port area, by the early morning of 28 November, all sites except for the Taj Hotel had been secured by Mumbai Police and security forces. Ajmal Kasab disclosed that the attackers were members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, among others, the Government of India said that the attackers came from Pakistan, and their controllers were in Pakistan. On 7 January 2009, Pakistan confirmed the sole surviving perpetrator of the attacks was a Pakistani citizen, on 9 April 2015, the foremost ringleader of the attacks, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, was granted bail against surety bonds of ₨200,000 in Pakistan. There have been many attacks in Mumbai since the 13 coordinated bomb explosions that killed 257 people. The 1993 attacks are believed to have been in retaliation for the Babri Mosque demolition, on 6 December 2002, a blast in a BEST bus near Ghatkopar station killed two people and injured 28. The bombing occurred on the 10th anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya. On 13 March 2003, a day after the 10th anniversary of the 1993 Bombay bombings, on 28 July 2003, a blast in a BEST bus in Ghatkopar killed 4 people and injured 32. On 25 August 2003, two exploded in South Mumbai, one near the Gateway of India and the other at Zaveri Bazaar in Kalbadevi. At least 44 people were killed and 150 injured, on 11 July 2006, seven bombs exploded within 11 minutes on the Suburban Railway in Mumbai, killing 209 people, including 22 foreigners and more than 700 injured. According to the Mumbai Police, the bombings were carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba, a group of men, sometimes stated as 24, at other times 26, received training in marine warfare at a remote camp in mountainous Muzaffarabad. Part of the training was reported to have taken place on the Mangla Dam reservoir, basic Combat, Lashkars basic combat training and methodology course, the Daura Aam. Advanced Training, Selected to undergo advanced training at a camp near Mansehra. Commando Training, Finally, a smaller group selected for specialised commando tactics training. From the students,10 were handpicked for the Mumbai mission and they also received training in swimming and sailing, besides the use of high-end weapons and explosives under the supervision of LeT commanders. They were given blueprints of all the four targets – Taj Palace & Tower, Oberoi Trident, Nariman House, the first events were detailed around 20,00 Indian Standard Time on 26 November, when 10 men in inflatable speedboats came ashore at two locations in Colaba. They reportedly told local Marathi-speaking fishermen who asked them who they were to mind their own business before they split up, the fishermens subsequent report to police received little response and local police were helpless. The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus was attacked by two gunmen, Ismail Khan and Ajmal Kasab, Kasab was later caught alive by the police and identified by eyewitnesses
13.
Special forces
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Special forces and special operations forces are military or police units trained to conduct special operations. The term special forces in the United States refers to the U. S. Armys forces, in Russian-speaking countries special forces are typically called spetsnaz, an acronym for special purpose. Likewise, Russian speakers refer to special forces of nations as spetsnaz, for example. Special Forces would be referred to as amerikanski spetsnaz in Russian, other significant roles lay in reconnaissance, providing essential intelligence from near or among the enemy and increasingly in combating irregular forces, their infrastructure and activities. Hamilcar Barca in Sicily had specialized troops trained to launch several offensives per day, in the late Roman or early Byzantine period, Roman fleets used small, fast, camouflaged ships crewed by selected men for scouting and commando missions. In Japan, ninjas were used for reconnaissance, espionage and as assassins, bodyguards or fortress guards, during the Napoleonic wars, rifle and sapper units were formed that held specialised roles in reconnaissance and skirmishing and were not committed to the formal battle lines. The British Indian Army deployed two special forces during their wars, the Corps of Guides formed in 1846 and the Gurkha Scouts. During the Second Boer War the British Army felt the need for specialised units became most apparent. This unit was formed in 1900 by Lord Lovat and early on reported to an American, Major Frederick Russell Burnham, after the war, Lovats Scouts went on to formally become the British Armys first sniper unit. Additionally, the Bushveldt Carbineers, formed in 1901, can be seen as an unconventional warfare unit. Modern special forces emerged during the Second World War, in 1940, the British Commandos were formed following Winston Churchills call for specially trained troops of the hunter class, who can develop a reign of terror down the enemy coast. A staff officer, Lieutenant Colonel Dudley Clarke, had already submitted such a proposal to General Sir John Dill, Dill, aware of Churchills intentions, approved Clarkes proposal and on 23 June 1940, the first Commando raid took place. The Special Service Brigade was quickly expanded to 12 units which became known as Commandos, each Commando had a lieutenant colonel as the commanding officer and numbered around 450 men. In December 1940 a Middle East Commando depot was formed with the responsibility of training and supplying reinforcements for the Commando units in that theatre, in February 1942 the Commando training depot at Achnacarry in the Scottish Highlands was established by Brigadier Charles Haydon. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Vaughan, the Commando depot was responsible for training complete units, the training regime was for the time innovative and physically demanding, and far in advance of normal British Army training. The depot staff were all hand picked, with the ability to any of the volunteers. Training and assessment started immediately on arrival, with the volunteers having to complete an 8-mile march with all their equipment from the Spean Bridge railway station to the commando depot, exercises were conducted using live ammunition and explosives to make training as realistic as possible. Physical fitness was a prerequisite, with cross country runs and boxing matches to improve fitness, speed and endurance marches were conducted up and down the nearby mountain ranges and over assault courses that included a zip-line over Loch Arkaig, all while carrying arms and full equipment
14.
Operation Blue Star
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The operation had two components—Operation Metal, confined to the Harmandir Sahib complex, and Operation Shop, which raided the Punjabi countryside to capture possible suspects. Following it, Operation Woodrose was launched in the Punjab countryside where Sikhs, specifically those carrying a kirpan, the operation was carried out by Indian Army troops with tanks, artillery, helicopters, armoured vehicles and tear gas. Casualty figures of Operation Blue Star given by Kuldip Singh Brar put the number of deaths among the Indian army at 83 dead and 249 injured, in addition, there were allegations that the CBI seized historical artefacts and manuscripts in the Sikh Reference Library, before burning it down. The military action led to an uproar amongst Sikhs worldwide and the increased tension following the action, many Sikh soldiers in the Indian army mutinied, many Sikhs resigned from armed and civil administrative office and several returned awards and honours they had received from the Indian government. Four months after the operation, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by Satwant Singh, subsequently, more than 8,000 Sikhs were killed in the ensuing anti-Sikh riots in 1984. The main political aim for Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and the followers he was associated with during June 1984 was to pass the Anandpur Resolution, throughout his career Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale remained in contact with Indira Gandhi. Bhindranwale had earlier taken residence in Harmandir Sahib and made it his headquarters later on, nirankaris Baba Gurbachan is alleged to have ridiculed 10th Guru Gobind Singh in a Nirankari Convention held in Amritsar. This prompted Akhand Kirtani Jatha to protest against Baba Gurbachan, in 1982, Bhindranwale and approximately 200 armed followers moved into a guest-house called the Guru Nanak Niwas, in the precinct of Harmandir Sahib. From here he met and was interviewed by television crews. By 1983, Harmandir Sahib became a fort for a number of rebels. On 23 April 1983, the Punjab Police Deputy Inspector General A. S. Atwal was shot dead as he left the Harmandir Sahib compound, the following day, after the murder, Harchand Singh Longowal. Harmandir Sahib compound and some of the houses were fortified. The Statesman reported on 4 July that light machine guns and semi-automatic rifles were known to have brought into the compound. Faced with imminent army action and with the foremost Sikh political organisation, Shiromani Akali Dal, abandoning him, there are many hunters after it. Time magazine described Amritsar in November 1983, These days it more resembles a city of death. Inside the temple compound, violent Sikh fanatics wield sub-machine guns, outside, the security men keep a nervous vigil, all too aware that the bodies of murdered comrades often turn up in the warren of tiny streets around the shrine. On 15 December 1983, Bhindranwale was asked to move out of Guru Nanak Niwas house by members of the Babbar Khalsa who acted with Harcharan Singh Longowals support. According to the Indian government, Operation Blue Star was launched to eliminate Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the armed Sikhs within the Harmandir Sahib were led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and former Maj. Gen. Shabeg Singh
15.
Assassination of Indira Gandhi
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Indira Gandhi, the 3rd Prime Minister of India, was assassinated at 9,20 a. m. on 31 October 1984, at her Safdarjung Road, New Delhi residence. At about 9,20 a. m. on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was on her way to be interviewed by British actor Peter Ustinov and she was walking through the garden of the Prime Ministers Residence at No. 1, Safdarjung Road in New Delhi towards the neighbouring 1 Akbar Road office, as she passed a wicket gate guarded by Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, the two opened fire. Sub-inspector Beant Singh fired three rounds into her abdomen from his sidearm, Satwant Singh then fired 30 rounds from his Sten into her after she had fallen to the ground. After the shooting, both threw their weapons down and Beant Singh said I have done what I had to do and you do what you want to do. In the next six minutes Tarsem Singh Jamwal and Ram Saran, soldiers in the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Satwant Singh was arrested by Gandhis other bodyguards along with an accomplice trying to escape, and was seriously wounded in the attack initiated by Beant Singh. Satwant Singh was hanged in 1989 with accomplice Kehar Singh, salma Sultan gave the first news of the assassination of Indira Gandhi on Doordarshans evening news on 31 October 1984, more than 10 hours after she was shot. Beant Singh was one of Gandhis favourite guards, whom she had known for ten years, the other assassin, Satwant Singh, was 22 years old when the assassination occurred and had been assigned to Gandhis guard just five months before the assassination. Indira Gandhi was brought at 9,30 a. m. to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and she was declared dead at 2,20 p. m. The postmortem examination was conducted by a team of doctors headed by Tirath Das Dogra and he stated that as many as 30 bullets struck Gandhi, from two sources, a Sten and a revolver. The assailants had fired 33 bullets at her, of which 30 had hit,23 had passed through her body while seven were trapped inside, Dogra extricated bullets to establish the identity of the weapons and to correlate each weapon with the bullets recovered by ballistic examination. The bullets were matched with respective weapons at CFSL Delhi, subsequently, Dogra appeared in the court of Shri Mahesh Chandra as an expert witness. The cross-examination was conducted by Pran Nath Lekhi, the defence counsel and her body was brought in a gun carriage through Delhi roads on the morning of 1 November to Teen Murti Bhavan where her father stayed, and where she lay in state. She was cremated on 3 November, near Raj Ghat, a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi and her elder son and successor, Rajiv Gandhi, lit the pyre. Over the next four days, thousands of Sikhs were killed in retaliatory violence, the Justice Thakkar Commission of Inquiry set up to probe Indira Gandhis assassination recommended a separate probe for the conspiracy angle behind the assassination. The Thakkar Report stated that the needle of suspicion pointed at R. K. Dhawan for complicity in the conspiracy, Satwant Singh and alleged conspirator Kehar Singh were sentenced to death. The sentence was carried out on 6 January 1989, a Punjabi movie titled Kaum De Heere highlighting the role/lives of two guards that assassinated Gandhi was set to be released on 22 August 2014, but was banned by the Indian government. 1984 anti-Sikh riots Operation Blue Star Indian National Congress Indira Gandhi Memorial Indira Gandhi assassination books in Tamil in two volumes by Mrs. Z. Y, himsagar and S. Padmavathi, M. A. M. L
16.
Indian Police Service
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The Indian Police Service or IPS, is one of the three All India Services of the Government of India. It has replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India gained independence from Britain, the service is not a force itself but provides leaders and commanders to staff the state police and all-India Central Armed Police Forces. Its members are the officers of the police. The Bureau of Police Research and Development is responsible for research, in 1861, the British Government introduced the Indian Councils Act of 1861. The act created the foundation of a modern and professionalised police bureaucracy in India and it introduced, a new cadre of police, called Superior Police Services, later known as the Indian Imperial Police. The highest rank in the service was the Inspector General, in 1902-03, a Police Commission was established for the Police reforms under Sir Andrew Frazer and Lord Curzon. It recommended the appointment of Indians at officer level in the police, Indians could rise only to the ranks of Inspector of Police, the senior N. C. O. However they were not part of Indian Imperial Police, from 1920, Indian Imperial Police was open to Indians and the entrance examination for the service was conducted both in India and England. Prior to Independence, senior police officers belonging to the Imperial Police were appointed by the Secretary of State on the basis of a competitive examination. The first open civil service examination for admission to the service was held in England in June 1893 and it is not possible to pinpoint an exact date on which the Indian Police came formally into being. In this sense,1907 could be regarded as the starting point, in 1948, a year after India gained independence, the Imperial Police was replaced by IPS. In 1972, Kiran Bedi joined the IPS, becoming the first woman police officer, as per media reports in 2016, there is massive shortfall of IPS officers in India, which is nearly 19% to 22% of total strength. Historically, few officers have been awarded United Nations Medal and have participated in Indian Army United Nations peacekeeping missions, the Indian Police Service is not a force itself but a service providing leaders and commanders to staff the state police and all-India Central Armed Police Forces. Its members are the officers of the police. Leading and commanding the Indian Intelligence Agencies like Research and Analysis Wing, Intelligence Bureau, Central Bureau of Investigation, Indian Federal Law Enforcement Agencies, Civil and Armed Police Forces in all the states and union territories. To interact and coordinate closely with the members of other All India Services and with the Indian Revenue Service, to lead and command the force with courage, uprightness, dedication and a strong sense of service to the people. Endeavor to inculcate in the forces under their command such values. IPS officers are recruited from Civil Services Examination and they are also promoted from State Police Services and DANIPS
17.
GSG 9
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Grenzschutzgruppe 9 der Bundespolizei, commonly abbreviated GSG9, is a counter-terrorism, hostage rescue and special operations police unit of the German federal police. The incident culminated when German police, neither trained or equipped for counter-terrorism operations, Police did not have a specialized tactical sniper team at that time. The army had snipers, but the German Constitution did not allow the use of German Armed Forces on German soil during peacetime, the police rescue failed and the operation led to the deaths of one policeman, five of the eight kidnappers and all of the remaining nine hostages. Apart from the tragedy, Germanys law enforcement found itself severely compromised, in part due to Germanys historic relationship to Jews. Many German politicians opposed its formation, fearing GSG9 would rekindle memories of the Nazi Partys Schutzstaffel, the decision was taken to form the unit from police forces on the ground that German federal law expressly forbids the use of the military forces against the civilian population. Composing the special force from police personnel would avoid this difficulty, the unit was officially established on April 17,1973 as a part of Germanys federal police agency, the Bundesgrenzschutz. The name GSG9 stood for Grenzschutzgruppe 9 and was simply because the BGS had eight regular border guard groups at the time. After the 2005 renaming, the abbreviation GSG9 was kept due to the fame of the unit and is now the way to refer to the unit. Its formation was based on the expertise of the British SAS Counter Terrorist Units, GSG9 is deployed in cases of hostage-taking, kidnapping, terrorism and extortion. The group may also be used to secure locations, neutralize targets, the unit is very active in developing and testing methods and tactics for these missions. The group may provide advice to the different Länder, ministries, the group assists the Bundespolizei and other federal and local agencies on request. At the time of the 1977 Mogadishu mission, the Commander of the Israeli Border Police Tzvi War described GSG9 as The best anti-terrorist group in the world, from 1972 to 2003 they reportedly completed over 1,500 missions, discharging their weapons on only five occasions. At the SWAT World Challenge in 2005, GSG9 won eight out of eight events, GSG9 defended its championship the following year, and placed fifth in 2007. Germany offered to render assistance to India in the wake of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, GSG9 helped train and upgrade the National Security Guards, the primary Indian counter-terrorism unit. Further help was provided to the Mumbai Police so that they could raise a SWAT team and its first mission, Operation Feuerzauber, immediately established the GSG 9s reputation as an elite unit. The aircraft was flown to several destinations throughout the Middle East. During this time, the Lufthansa captain Jürgen Schumann was murdered by the leader of the hijackers in Aden, in the night between October 17 and October 18, Somalian ranger units created a distraction, while members of the GSG9 stormed the plane. The operation lasted seven minutes and was successful with all of the hostages rescued, Three hijackers died, the fourth was seriously injured
18.
Indian Revenue Service
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The Indian Revenue Service, abbreviated as IRS, is the administrative revenue service of the Central Civil Services of the Government of India. It is the largest Group A Central Service amongst the civil services in the Government of India. IRS comprises two branches - IRS and IRS, which are controlled by two separate bodies, viz. Central Board of Direct Taxes and Central Board of Excise and Customs respectively, IRS serves the nation through discharging one of the most important sovereign functions i. e. collection of revenue for development, security and governance. There are two streams of recruitment to the Indian Revenue Service - Direct Recruits and Promoted Officers, Direct Recruits are selected from the Civil Services Examination conducted by Union Public Service Commission and based on preferences opted by them. Promoted Officers like Income Tax Service, Group ‘B’ are promoted gradually over several years of service, the current ratio of two streams at entry level is kept at 1,1. Initial posting would be Assistant Commissioners up to rank of Principal Chief Commissioners, Member/Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes or Central Board of Excise. NADT has signed an MOU with NALSAR University in Hyderabad to award masters degree in Business laws and these include the Advanced Mid Career Training which is conducted in 3 phases. Phase I is for Joint/Additional Commissioners, Phase-II is for Commissioners/Principal Commissioners, IRS officers administer the Direct Taxes laws through the Income Tax Department whose logo is kosh mulo dandah. They also play a role in advising on tax policy matters by playing a significant role in framing or amending of statutes and frames regulations in relation to taxes, Indian Revenue Service officers work in the unearthing of many scams in the country. Their tax assessment orders are taken as starting points for all fraud, Investigation conducted by the Revenue Service officers is used by other enforcement agencies in cases of corruption too. IRS through the Income Tax Criminal Investigation Unit, Investigation Wing, efforts of the Members of the Service also led to the recovery of black money worth ₹10,000 crore in last year alone in India. IRS officers man all important border postings and protect the country from smuggling and they undertake patrolling missions in high seas and also takes preventive operations against piracy and smuggling. Around 565 crore worth black money is brought into taxation from France alone and these awards are announced on the eve of Republic Day. This year 35 officers have been selected for grant of Presidential Award of Appreciation Certificate for ‘Specially distinguished record of service’ and these officers have exhibited exceptional commitment and devotion to duty on a sustained basis, while achieving the goals set for their organizations. Newly created Directorate of Criminal Investigation under the Central Board of Direct Taxes collects and coordinates the intelligence gathering actions of the department, in 2015, it was reported that as many as 108 IRS officers were under probe by the CBI for their alleged involvement in corruption. From May 2009 to May 2010, the CBI had sought sanction for prosecution of 102 IRS officials posted in different parts of the country in connection with corruption cases. In 2016, the Ministry of Finance for the first time, dismissed 72 and prematurely retired another 33 Indian Revenue Service officers for non-performance, the IRS officials top the Central Bureau of Investigation’s list of most corrupt bureaucrats
19.
Manesar
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Manesar is a fast-growing industrial town in Gurgaon district of the State of Haryana in India, and is a part of the National Capital Region of Delhi. It has transformed from a village to one of the fastest-growing townships in India. It is an area of NCR. More than 100,000 people go to work in Manesar from adjoining places, the Gurgaon-Manesar Master Plan projects the population of 37,00,000 by 2021. It has many factories, offices, hotels and educational institutes, there are several sightseeing spots around the area, some overlapping with Gurgaon. Manesar is 32 km from IGI Airport and has some of the best urban infrastructure in northern India, located on NH8, the area is well connected with Delhi, Rewari, Dharuhera, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Mumbai, air connectivity is equally good. Its growth has been helped by governments drive to move out factories from Delhi as well as booming of Gurgaon city and proximity to Delhis Indira Gandhi International Airport. The original Manesar village had people from different communities but 80% of the residents are Yaduvanshi Ahirs also called Yadav, however, today it is swamped by people from all across the globe, indulging in almost every profession one can think of in the modern India. Farmers have become millionaire or multi-millionaires by selling their lands, a majority of them are living upscale lives. The culture and popular arts are Saangs, dramas, ballads, loor, Gugga, Jhumar, Gangore Puja, Chhatti dance, Teej dance are some of the famous local dances here. The handicrafts of Manesar include wooden handicrafts such as boxes, gift boxes, wooden utensils, wooden toys. Haryana government wants to acquire 1,800 acres of land near IMT to form IMT-2, over the period of time agricultural production in the greater Manesar area has dipped substantially. The report suggests that industrial habitation should be allowed only on land which does not produce more than one crop, the soil in Manesar is very fertile and quite suitable for agriculture as it is very loose, said a representative of FLPM. Beside the loss of grain, very sizable losses in the production of fruits. The land produces around 9,000 tonnes of vegetables, farmers of Manesar fear it will be lost. Industrialists say that when Present IMT is in bad shape. HSIIDC sent notices on 4 Aug 27,2004 for acquiring Manesars agricultural lands for public needs. Scared farmers sold their lands to the builders but the HSIIDC withdrew the notices after the private players purchased the land, private builders started buying the land at the rate of Rs.25 lakh per acre
20.
Gurgaon
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Gurugram, is a city in the Indian state of Haryana and is located near the National Capital Region of India. It is 32 kilometres southwest of New Delhi and 268 kilometres southwest of Chandigarh, as of 2011, Gurugram had a population of 876,824. Witnessing rapid urbanisation, Gurugram has become a financial and industrial hub with the third highest per capita income in India. The citys economic growth story started when the leading Indian automobile manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India Limited established a plant in Gurugram in the 1970s. Today, Gurugram has local offices for more than 250 Fortune 500 companies, the land came to be known as Gurugram which over time became changed to Gurgaon. The village still exists within the modern day city, on 12 April 2016, Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar announced a proposal to officially rename the city Gurugram, subject to the approval of the Haryana cabinet and the Union Government. He argued that the new name would help to preserve the heritage of the city by emphasising its history. On 27 September 2016, Manohar Lal Khattar officially announced that the Union Government had approved the name change, Gurugram was historically inhabited by the Hindu people and in early times, it formed a part of an extensive kingdom ruled over by Rajputs of Yaduvansi or Yadav clan. The Yadav were defeated by Muhammad of Ghor in 1196, under the rule of Feroz Shah Tughlaq, several were converted to Islam. This was followed by the invasion of Timur and the land was ruled by Khanzadas and it was then annexed by Babur. During Akbars reign, Gurugram fell within the regions of Delhi. As the Mughal Empire started to decline, the place was torn between contending powers, by 1803 most of it came under the British rule through the treaty of Surji Arjungaon with Sindhia. The town was first occupied by the cavalry unit posted to watch the army of Begum Samru of Sirdhana and it became a part of the district, which was divided into units called parganas. These units were given to petty chiefs for the service rendered by them. Eventually these units came under control of the British, with the last major administrative change in 1836. After the Revolt of 1857, it was transferred from the North-Western Provinces to Punjab Province, in 1947, Gurgaon became a part of independent India and fell under the Indian state of Punjab. In 1966, the city came under the administration of Haryana with the creation of the new state, Gurugram is located in Gurugram district in the Indian state of Haryana and is situated in the south eastern part of the state, and northern part of the country. The city is located on the border with Delhi with New Delhi to its north east, the city has a total area of 738.8 square kilometres The average land elevation is 217 metres above sea level
21.
Indian Army Corps of Signals
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Indian Army Corps of Signals is a corps and an arm of the Indian Army, which handles its military communications. It was formed on 15 February 1911 as an entity under Lieutenant Colonel S H Powell. The corps celebrated its 100-year anniversary of its raising on 15 February 2011, Lieutenant Colonel SH Powell, Royal Engineers, was the founder and first head of the Indian Signal Service, which later became the Indian Signal Corps. Until then, the Sappers which were part of the Indian Army Corps of Engineers that was established in 1777, were in charge of passing battlefield messages. Subsequently, the 33rd and 34th Divisional Signal Companies were raised at Ahmednagar, after India gained its independence in 1947, Brigadier CHI Acehurst became the first head of the Corps of Signals, after the 1965 and 1971 wars, the corps underwent important expansions. The corps formally received its colours on 20 February 1965. In the mid-1980s, an organisation to test communication systems was formed. The Indian Army became the first agency to use technology for both switching and transmission. The Military College of Telecommunication Engineering, Mhow is a training institute of the Corps of Signals, while its war museum is situated at Jabalpur. Stamp issued by India Post Corps of Signals at Indian Army website Corps of Signals at Bharat Rakshak website Corps of Signals at Global Security website
22.
Ilyushin Il-76
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The Ilyushin Il-76 is a multi-purpose four-engine turbofan strategic airlifter designed by the Soviet Unions Ilyushin design bureau. It was first planned as a freighter in 1967, as a replacement for the Antonov An-12. It was designed to deliver heavy machinery to remote, poorly served areas, Military versions of the Il-76 have been widely used in Europe, Asia and Africa, including use as an aerial refueling tanker or command center. The Il-76 has seen service as a commercial freighter for ramp-delivered cargo. It has also used as an emergency response transport for civilian evacuations as well as for humanitarian aid. Because of its ability to operate from unpaved runways, it has been useful in undeveloped areas, specialized models have also been produced for aerial firefighting and zero-G training. It was intended to replace the An-12, another intended version was a double-decked 250-passenger airliner but that project was cancelled. The Il-76 first flew on March 1971, Production of Il-76s was allocated to the Tashkent Aviation Production Association in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, then a republic of the Soviet Union. Some 860 of the basic transport variants were manufactured, the prototype of the Il-76MF, conducted its first flight on 1 August 1995. All production operations ceased during the late 1990s, in 2005, the Peoples Republic of China placed an order for 34 new Il-76MDs and four Il-78 tankers. In June 2013, Russian military export agency Rosoboronexport announced an order by China for 12 Il-76MD aircraft, the Il-76 has also been modified into an airborne refuelling tanker, designated the Il-78, around 50 aircraft having been produced. A variant of the Il-76 also serves as a firefighting waterbomber and its airframe was used as a base for the Beriev A-50 Mainstay AEW&C aircraft, around 25 aircraft were made. Another application for the type was found in Antarctic support flights, Beriev and NPO Almaz also developed an airborne laser flying laboratory designated A-60, of which two were built, much of this projects details remaining classified. At that point, the construction of two Il-76MD-90A prototypes had begun at the Ulyanovsk facility, the 1st serial production Il-76MD-90A was rolled out at Aviastars Ulyanovsk plant on 16 June 2014. On 29 April 2015, it was reported that the Russian Air Force received the first Il-76MD-90A built at the Ulyanovsk plant Aviastar-SP from the 2012 contract for 39 aircraft, first aircraft were delivered to the Soviet Air Force in June 1974. Next it became the main Soviet strategic transport aircraft, from 1976 it was operated by Aeroflot. Between 1979 and 1991, the Soviet Air Force Il-76s made 14,700 flights into Afghanistan, transporting 786,200 servicemen, the Il-76 carried 89% of Soviet troops and 74% of the freight that was airlifted. As Afghan rebels were unable to shoot down high-flying Il-76s, their tactics were to try, building on that experience, the bulk of the Canadian Forces equipment into Afghanistan was flown in using civilian Il-76
23.
Indira Gandhi International Airport
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Indira Gandhi International Airport serves as the primary civilian aviation hub for the National Capital Region of Delhi, India. The airport, spread over an area of 5,106 acres, is situated in Palam,15 km south-west of the New Delhi railway station and 16 km from New Delhi city centre. Named after Indira Gandhi, a former Prime Minister of India and it is busiest airport in the country in terms of cargo traffic in the recent year overtaking Mumbai during late 2015. With the commencement of operations at Terminal 3 in 2010, it became Indias and South Asias largest aviation hub, the planned expansion program will increase the airports capacity to handle 100 million passengers by 2030. The airport handled over 48 million passengers in the fiscal year 2015–16, in calendar year 2016, the airport was the 21st busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic and 10th busiest airport in Asia handling over 55 million passengers. The airport was operated by the Indian Air Force before its management was transferred to the Airports Authority of India, in May 2006, the management of the airport was passed over to Delhi International Airport Limited, a consortium led by the GMR Group. In September 2008, the airport inaugurated a 4,430 m runway, the Terminal 3 building, which commenced operations in 2010, has a capacity to handle 34 million passengers annually. Terminal 3 is the worlds 8th largest passenger terminal, the airport uses an advanced system called Airport Collaborative Decision Making to help keep takeoffs and landings timely and predictable. In 2010, IGIA was conferred the fourth best airport award in the world in the 15–25 million category, the airport was rated as the Best airport in the world in the 25–40 million passengers category in 2015, by Airports Council International. Delhi Airport was awarded The Best Airport in Central Asia and Best Airport Staff in Central Asia at the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2015, IGI also stood first in the new rankings for 2015 Airport Service Quality Awards. Safdarjung Airport was built in 1930 and was the airport for Delhi until 1962. Due to increasing passenger traffic at Safdarjung, civilian operations were moved to Palam Airport in 1962, Palam Airport had been built during World War II as RAF Station Palam and after the British left, it served as an Air Force Station for the Indian Air Force. Palam Airport had a capacity of around 1,300 passengers per hour. Owing to an increase in air traffic in the 1970s, a terminal with nearly four times the area of the old Palam terminal was constructed. With the inauguration of a new terminal, on 2 May 1986. On 2 May 2006, the management of Delhi and Mumbai airports were handed over to the private consortia, Delhi International Airport Limited is a consortium of the GMR Group, Fraport and Malaysia Airports, and the Airports Authority of India retains a 26% stake. Nine years later, in May 2015, Malaysia Airports chose it exit from DIAL venture, following this GMR Groups stake at DIAL increased to 64%. Earlier GMR indicated that it was interested in buying out the 10% stake of Fraport, the old domestic airport is known as Terminal 1 and handles domestic flights for all budget airlines
24.
Indian Army Corps of Engineers
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The Indian Army Corps of Engineers has a long history dating back to the mid-18th century. The earliest existing subunit of the Corps dates back to 1777 while the Corps officially recognises its birth as 1780 when the senior most group of the Corps, the Corps consists of three groups of combat engineers, namely the Madras Sappers, the Bengal Sappers and the Bombay Sappers. A group is analogous to a regiment of Indian infantry. The engineer regiment is the combat engineer unit, analogous to an infantry battalion. The Corps of Engineers is one of the oldest arms of the Indian Army, the origin of the Corps dates back to 1780 when the two regular pioneer companies were raised in the Madras Presidency Army. Subsequently, the Group of Madras, Bengal and Bombay Sappers were formed in their respective presidencies and these Groups came together when the British Indian Army was formed after 1857 and were later merged on 18 November 1932 to form the Corps of Indian Engineers. Engineer Groups initially consisted of field companies, till 1911, the Sappers also had the duty of passing battlefield messages. Between 1911 and 1920, they handed this task to a batch of their own kinsmen who then formed the Corps of Signals, the Sappers also contributed the first batch of airmen when the Indian Air Force was raised in 1932. From 1942-1945 officers of the Indian Railways were recruited into this Corps to participate in Britains Burma Campaign, the need for accurate survey arose before combat engineering. Vast holdings had to be delineated and mapped out, to plan the correct form of commercial extraction. By 1780, serious attention began to be given to the art of sapping and mining, forts abound in the subcontinent, and to the forts the main defences withdrew for a protracted stand. On being invested, the siege artillery including trench mortars or bombards went at it, the real work, not for the faint-hearted, went to the sappers who had to do the sapping or mining. Sapping is the technique of digging trenches, usually covered or zigzag. Corps of Engineers played a very important Role on OP Vijay the Kargil war, the action areas and the commanding officers of these Engineer Regiments are appended below, -1. Commanded by Col. Rohit Kumar, and the Regt, operated in Drass sector under 08 Mtn. The unit was awarded theatre Honour 2, commanded by Col. Krishnan, and operated initially in Drass sector than Chor Batala and Siachin sector under 03 Mtn. The unit was awarded theatre honour 3, ahuja and operated in Drass & Kargil sector under 16 Corps HQ. The unit was awarded COAS UNit citation of war 4, commanded by Col. N. B. Saxena and operated in Daha & Ganasak sector under 92 Mtn
25.
Mumbai
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Mumbai is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India and the ninth most populous agglomeration in the world, Mumbai lies on the west coast of India and has a deep natural harbour. In 2008, Mumbai was named a world city. It is also the wealthiest city in India, and has the highest GDP of any city in South, West, Mumbai has the highest number of billionaires and millionaires among all cities in India. The seven islands that came to constitute Mumbai were home to communities of fishing colonies, during the mid-18th century, Bombay was reshaped by the Hornby Vellard project, which undertook reclamation of the area between the seven islands from the sea. Along with construction of roads and railways, the reclamation project, completed in 1845. Bombay in the 19th century was characterised by economic and educational development, during the early 20th century it became a strong base for the Indian independence movement. Upon Indias independence in 1947 the city was incorporated into Bombay State, in 1960, following the Samyukta Maharashtra movement, a new state of Maharashtra was created with Bombay as the capital. Mumbai is the financial, commercial and entertainment capital of India and it is also home to some of Indias premier scientific and nuclear institutes like BARC, NPCL, IREL, TIFR, AERB, AECI, and the Department of Atomic Energy. The city also houses Indias Hindi and Marathi film and television industry, Mumbais business opportunities, as well as its potential to offer a higher standard of living, attract migrants from all over India, making the city a melting pot of many communities and cultures. The oldest known names for the city are Kakamuchee and Galajunkja, in 1508, Portuguese writer Gaspar Correia used the name Bombaim, in his Lendas da Índia. This name possibly originated as the Old Portuguese phrase bom baim, meaning good little bay, in 1516, Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa used the name Tana-Maiambu, Tana appears to refer to the adjoining town of Thane and Maiambu to Mumbadevi. Other variations recorded in the 16th and the 17th centuries include, Mombayn, Bombay, Bombain, Bombaym, Monbaym, Mombaim, Mombaym, Bambaye, Bombaiim, Bombeye, Boon Bay, and Bon Bahia. After the English gained possession of the city in the 17th century, Ali Muhammad Khan, imperial diwan or revenue minister of the Gujarat province, in the Mirat-i-Ahmedi referred to the city as Manbai. By the late 20th century, the city was referred to as Mumbai or Mambai in the Indian statewise official languages of Marathi, Konkani, Gujarati, Kannada and Sindhi, the Government of India officially changed the English name to Mumbai in November 1995. According to Slate magazine, they argued that Bombay was a corrupted English version of Mumbai, Slate also said The push to rename Bombay was part of a larger movement to strengthen Marathi identity in the Maharashtra region. A resident of Mumbai is called mumbaikar in the Marathi language, the term has been in use for quite some time but it gained popularity after the official name change to Mumbai. Mumbai is built on what was once an archipelago of seven islands, Bombay Island, Parel, Mazagaon, Mahim, Colaba, Worli and it is not exactly known when these islands were first inhabited
26.
Kolkata
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Kolkata /koʊlˈkɑːtɑː/ is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. In 2011, the city had a population of 4.5 million, while the population of the city and its suburbs was 14.1 million, making it the third-most populous metropolitan area in India. Recent estimates of Kolkata Metropolitan Areas economy have ranged from $60 to $150 billion making it third most-productive metropolitan area in India, after Mumbai, in the late 17th century, the three villages that predated Calcutta were ruled by the Nawab of Bengal under Mughal suzerainty. After the Nawab granted the East India Company a trading licence in 1690, Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah occupied Calcutta in 1756, and the East India Company retook it the following year. In 1793 the East India company was enough to abolish Nizamat. Calcutta was the centre for the Indian independence movement, it remains a hotbed of contemporary state politics, following Indian independence in 1947, Kolkata, which was once the centre of modern Indian education, science, culture, and politics, suffered several decades of economic stagnation. Many people from Kolkata—among them several Nobel laureates—have contributed to the arts, the sciences, Kolkata culture features idiosyncrasies that include distinctively close-knit neighbourhoods and freestyle intellectual exchanges. Though home to major cricketing venues and franchises, Kolkata differs from other Indian cities by giving importance to association football, there are several explanations about the etymology of this name, The term Kolikata is thought to be a variation of Kalikkhetrô, meaning Field of Kali. Similarly, it can be a variation of Kalikshetra, alternatively, the name may have been derived from the Bengali term kilkila, or flat area. The name may have its origin in the words khal meaning canal, followed by kaṭa, according to another theory, the area specialised in the production of quicklime or koli chun and coir or kata, hence, it was called Kolikata. The discovery and archaeological study of Chandraketugarh,35 kilometres north of Kolkata, Kolkatas recorded history began in 1690 with the arrival of the English East India Company, which was consolidating its trade business in Bengal. The area occupied by the city encompassed three villages, Kalikata, Gobindapur, and Sutanuti. Kalikata was a village, Sutanuti was a riverside weavers village. They were part of an estate belonging to the Mughal emperor and these rights were transferred to the East India Company in 1698. In 1712, the British completed the construction of Fort William, facing frequent skirmishes with French forces, the British began to upgrade their fortifications in 1756. The Nawab of Bengal, Siraj ud-Daulah, condemned the militarisation and his warning went unheeded, and the Nawab attacked, he captured Fort William which led to the killings of several East India company officials in the Black Hole of Calcutta. A force of Company soldiers and British troops led by Robert Clive recaptured the city the following year, declared a presidency city, Calcutta became the headquarters of the East India Company by 1772. In 1793, ruling power of the Nawabs were abolished and East India company took control of the city
27.
Hyderabad
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Hyderabad is the capital of the southern Indian state of Telangana and de jure capital of Andhra Pradesh. At an average altitude of 542 metres, much of Hyderabad is situated on hilly terrain around artificial lakes, established in 1591 by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, Hyderabad remained under the rule of the Qutb Shahi dynasty for nearly a century before the Mughals captured the region. In 1724, Mughal viceroy Asif Jah I declared his sovereignty and created his own dynasty, the Nizams dominions became a princely state during the British Raj, and remained so for 150 years, with the city serving as its capital. The city continued as the capital of Hyderabad State after it was brought into the Indian Union in 1948, since 1956, Rashtrapati Nilayam in the city has been the winter office of the President of India. In 2014, the formed state of Telangana split from Andhra Pradesh. Relics of Qutb Shahi and Nizam rule remain visible today, the Charminar—commissioned by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah—has come to symbolise Hyderabad, Golconda fort is another major landmark. The influence of Mughlai culture is evident in the regions distinctive cuisine. The Qutb Shahis and Nizams established Hyderabad as a cultural hub, the Telugu film industry based in the city is the countrys second-largest producer of motion pictures. Hyderabad was historically known as a pearl and diamond trading centre, many of the citys traditional bazaars remain open, including Laad Bazaar, Begum Bazaar and Sultan Bazaar. Special economic zones dedicated to technology have encouraged companies from India. The emergence of pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries in the 1990s led to the naming as Indias Genome Valley. With an output of US$74 billion, Hyderabad is the fifth-largest contributor to Indias overall gross domestic product, according to John Everett-Heath, the author of Oxford Concise Dictionary of World Place Names, Hyderabad means Haydars city or lion city, from haydar and ābād. It was named to honour the Caliph Ali Ibn Abi Talib, andrew Petersen, a scholar of Islamic architecture, says the city was originally called Baghnagar. One popular theory suggests that Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, the founder of the city, named it Bhagyanagar or Bhāgnagar after Bhagmati and she converted to Islam and adopted the title Hyder Mahal. The city was renamed Hyderabad in her honour, French traveller Jean de Thévenot visited the Deccan region in 1666–1667 refers to the city in his book Travels in India as Bagnagar and Aiderabad. Archaeologists excavating near the city have unearthed Iron Age sites that may date from 500 BCE, the region comprising modern Hyderabad and its surroundings was known as Golkonda, and was ruled by the Chalukya dynasty from 624 CE to 1075 CE. The Kakatiya dynasty was reduced to a vassal of the Khilji dynasty in 1310 after its defeat by Sultan Alauddin Khilji of the Delhi Sultanate and this lasted until 1321, when the Kakatiya dynasty was annexed by Malik Kafur, Allaudin Khiljis general. During this period, Alauddin Khilji took the Koh-i-Noor diamond, which is said to have mined from the Kollur Mines of Golkonda
28.
Chennai
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Chennai /ˈtʃɛnnaɪ/, formerly known as Madras /məˈdrɑːs/ or /-ˈdræs/) is the capital of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal, it is one of the biggest cultural, economic, according to the 2011 Indian census, it is the sixth-largest city and fourth-most populous urban agglomeration in India. The city together with the adjoining regions constitute the Chennai Metropolitan Area, Chennai is among the most visited Indian cities by foreign tourists. It was ranked 43rd most visited city in the world for year 2015, the Quality of Living Survey rated Chennai as the safest city in India. Chennai attracts 45 percent of tourists visiting India, and 30 to 40 percent of domestic health tourists. As such, it is termed Indias health capital, as a growing metropolitan city in a developing country, Chennai confronts substantial pollution and other logistical and socio-economic problems. Chennai has the third-largest expatriate population in India at 35,000 in 2009,82,790 in 2011, tourism guide publisher Lonely Planet named Chennai as one of the top ten cities in the world to visit in 2015. Chennai is ranked as a city in the Global Cities Index and was ranked the best city in India by India Today in the 2014 annual Indian city survey. In 2015 Chennai was named the hottest city by the BBC, National Geographic ranked Chennais food as second best in the world, it was the only Indian city to feature in the list. Chennai was also named the ninth-best cosmopolitan city in the world by Lonely Planet, the Chennai Metropolitan Area is one of the largest city economies of India. Chennai is nicknamed The Detroit of India, with more than one-third of Indias automobile industry being based in the city, in January 2015, it was ranked third in terms of per capita GDP. Chennai has been selected as one of the 100 Indian cities to be developed as a city under PM Narendra Modis flagship Smart Cities Mission. The name Madras originated even before the British presence was established in India, the name Madras is said to have originated from a Portuguese phrase mae de Deus which means mother of god, due to Portuguese influence on the port city. According to some sources, Madras was derived from Madraspattinam, a north of Fort St George. However, it is whether the name was in use before the arrival of Europeans. The British military mapmakers believed Madras was originally Mundir-raj or Mundiraj, Madras might have also been derived from the word Madhuras meaning juice of honey or sugarcane in Sanskrit. The nativity of name Chennai, being of Telugu origin is clearly proved by the historians. The first official use of the name Chennai is said to be in a deed, dated 8 August 1639
29.
Harmandir Sahib
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Sri Harmandir Sahib, also Sri Darbar Sahib and informally referred to as the Golden Temple, is the holiest Gurdwara of Sikhism, located in the city of Amritsar, Punjab, India. Amritsar was founded in 1577 by the fourth Sikh guru, Guru Ram Das, the Harmandir Sahib complex is also home to the Akal Takht. While the Harmandir Sahib is regarded as the abode of Gods spiritual attribute, the construction of Harmandir Sahib was intended to build a place of worship for men and women from all walks of life and all religions to come and worship God equally. Accordingly, as a gesture of this non-sectarian universalness of Sikhism, Guru Arjan had specially invited Muslim Sufi saint, the four entrances to get into the Harmandir Sahib also symbolise the openness of the Sikhs towards all people and religions. The present-day gurdwara was renovated in 1764 by Jassa Singh Ahluwalia with the help of other Sikh Misls, the Harmandir Sahib literally means the Temple of God. Guru Amar Das had ordered Guru Ram Das to create a tank as a place for worship for the Sikh religion. Guru Ram Das instructed all his Sikhs to join in the work, under Bhai Budhas superintendence and he said that the tank of nectar should be Gods home, and whoever bathed in it shall obtain all spiritual and temporal advantages. During the progress of the work, the hut in which the Guru first sheltered himself was expanded for his residence, it is now known as the Gurus Mahal, or palace. In 1578 CE Guru Ram Das excavated a tank, which became known as Amritsar. In due course, the Harmandir Sahib, was built in the middle of this tank and its sanctum came to house the Adi Granth comprising compositions of Sikh Gurus and other saints considered to have Sikh values and philosophies, e. g. Baba Farid, and Kabir. The compilation of the Adi Granth was started by the guru of Sikhism. Guru Arjan conceived the idea of creating a place of worship for the Sikhs. Earlier the planning to excavate the holy tank was chalked out by Guru Amar Das, the Third Sikh Guru, the land for the site was acquired by the earlier Guru Sahibs on payment or free of cost from the Zamindars of native villages. The plan to establish a settlement was also made and the construction work on the Sarovar. The work on both projects was completed in 1577, in December 1588, Guru Arjan initiated the construction of the gurdwara and the foundation stone was laid by Hazrat Mian Mir on 28 December 1588. The gurdwara was completed in 1604, Guru Arjan installed the Guru Granth Sahib in it and appointed Baba Buddha as the first Granthi of it in August 1604. In the mid-18th century it was attacked by the Afghans, by one of Ahmed Shah Abdalis generals, Jahan Khan, however, in response a Sikh Army was sent to hunt down the Afghan force. The forces met five miles outside Amritsar and Jahan Khans army was destroyed, blue Star was a military operation undertaken between 3 and 6 June 1984
30.
Punjab, India
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Punjab is a state in North India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state capital is located in Chandigarh, a Union Territory, after the partition of India in 1947, the Punjab province of British India was divided between India and Pakistan. The Indian Punjab was divided on the basis of language in 1966 and it was divided into 3 parts. Haryanvi speaking areas were carved out as Haryana, Hilly regions, Punjab is the only Sikh majority state in India with Sikhs being 57. 69% of the population. Agriculture is the largest industry in Punjab, Punjab has the largest number of steel rolling mill plants in India, which are located in Steel Town—Mandi Gobindgarh in the Fatehgarh Sahib district. The word Punjab is a compound of the Persian words panj, thus Panjāb roughly means the land of five rivers. The five rivers are the Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Chenab, traditionally, in English, there used to be a definite article before the name, i. e. The name is sometimes spelled as Panjab. During the period when the epic Mahabharata was written, around 800–400 BCE, Punjab was known as Trigarta, the Indus Valley Civilization spanned much of the Punjab region with cities such as Rupar. The Vedic Civilization spread along the length of the Sarasvati River to cover most of northern India including Punjab and this civilisation shaped subsequent cultures in the Indian subcontinent. The Punjab region was conquered by many ancient empires including the Gandhara, Nandas, Mauryas, Shungas, Kushans, Guptas, Palas, Gurjara-Pratiharas, the furthest eastern extent of Alexander the Greats exploration was along the Indus River. Agriculture flourished and trading cities such as Jalandhar, Sangrur and Ludhiana grew in wealth, due to its location, the Punjab region came under constant attack and influence from both west and east. Punjab faced invasions by the Achaemenids, Greeks, Scythians, Turks and this resulted in the Punjab witnessing centuries of bitter bloodshed. Its culture combines Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, Sikh and British influences, the regions of Azad Kashmir and Jammu have also been historically associated with the Punjab. The Punjab is the Sapta Sindhu region mentioned in the Rig Veda, among the classic books that were wholly or partly composed in this region are the following. The Brahmins of this region are called Saraswata after the legendary Saraswati river region, Hinduism has been prevalent in Punjab since historical times before the arrival of Islam and birth of Sikhism in Punjab. Some of the influential Sikh figures such as Guru Nanak, Banda Singh Bahadur, Bhai Mati Das, many of Punjabs Hindus converted to Sikhism. Punjabi Hindus can trace their roots from the time of the Vedas, many modern day cities in Indian Punjab and Pakistani Punjab are still named from that period like Lahore, Jalandhar, Chandigarh and so on
31.
Border Security Force
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The Border Security Force is the primary Border guarding force of India. It is a Central Armed Police Force charged with guarding Indias land border during peacetime and it is a Union Government Agency under the administrative control of Ministry of Home Affairs. The BSF has its own cadre of officers but its head, designated as a Director-General and it is an Armed Force of the Union of India tasked with various assignments from time to time. It currently stands as the worlds largest border guarding force, BSF has been termed as the First Line of Defence of Indian Territories. From independence in 1947 to 1965, the protection of Indias international boundaries was the responsibility of local police belonging to each border state, BSF is a Central Armed Police force charged with guarding Indias land border during peacetime and preventing transnational crime. It is a Union Government Agency under the control of Ministry of Home Affairs. It is one of law enforcement agency of India. It currently stands as the worlds largest border guarding force, the KF Rustamji, from the Indian police service, was the first Director General of BSF. Till 1965 India’s borders with Pakistan were manned by the State Armed Police Battalion, Pakistan attacked Sardar Post, Chhar Bet and Beria Bet on 9 April 1965 in Kutch. As a result of the recommendations of the Committee of Secretaries, in fact, for BSF the war on eastern front had started well before the war actually broke out in Dec 71. BSF had trained, supported and formed part of Mukti Bahini and had entered erstwhile East Pakistan before the hostilities broke out. BSF had played an important role in Liberation of Bangladesh which Indira Gandhi. Over 100 women have been deployed on the highly volatile Indo-Pak border, in total,595 women constables will be deployed on the border in different phases. Mr K F Rustamji IPS was the first Director General of Border Security Force from 21 July 1965 to 30 September 1974 & current Director General is Mr K K Sharma IPS since 29 February 2016. This attracts a number of spectators from both countries, as well as international tourists. Similar parades are being organised at Mahavir/Sadqi border near Fazilka and Hussainiwala/Gandasinghwala border near Firozpur, BSF contribution in reducing militancy in J&K is widely acknowledged. The BSF killed Ghazi Baba—chief of Jaish-e-Mohammed and the mastermind of the 2001 Indian Parliament attack—in August 2003 along with his deputy commander, the BSF raided Babas hideout in Srinagar and he was killed in the ensuing gun battle along with his deputy chief. In 2006 the Indian government has decided to implement recommendations to each security agency to its mandate
32.
Sandeep Unnikrishnan
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Sandeep Unnikrishnan was an officer in the Indian Army serving in the elite Special Action Group of the National Security Guards. He was killed in action during the November 2008 Mumbai attacks and he was consequently awarded the Ashoka Chakra, Indias highest peace time gallantry award, on 26 January 2009. Sandeep Unnikrishnan came from a Nair family residing in Bangalore, where they had moved from Cheruvannur, Kozhikode District and he was the only son of retired ISRO officer K. Unnikrishnan and Dhanalakshmi Unnikrishnan. Unnikrishnan spent 14 years at the Frank Anthony Public School in Bangalore before graduating in 1995 in the ISC Science stream and he wanted to join the Army, even attending school in a crew cut. His peers and teachers recalled him as being an athlete who was active in school activities. He was also a member of the choir and enjoyed watching movies. Unnikrishnan joined the National Defence Academy, Pune, Maharashtra in 1995 and he was a part of the Oscar Squadron and a graduate of the 94th Course of NDA. He graduated as a Bachelor of Arts and his NDA friends remember him as selfless, generous and calm and composed. He was commissioned as a lieutenant to the 7th Battalion of the Bihar Regiment on 12 July 1999, after serving the Indian Army in different locations in Jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan during counter insurgencies for two terms, he was selected to join the National Security Guards. On completion of training, he was assigned to the Special Action Group of NSG on January 2007, during the Ghatak course, the most difficult course of the Army, Unnikrishnan topped the course, earning an Instructor Grading and commendation. He opted for the NSG commando service which he joined on deputation in 2006, during Operation Vijay in July 1999, he was regarded positively at the forward posts in the face of heavy artillery firing and small arms fire by Pakistan troops. On the evening of 31 December 1999, Unnikrishnan led a team of six soldiers and managed to establish a post 200 metres from the side and under direct observation. On the night of 26 November 2008, several buildings in South Mumbai were attacked. One of the buildings where hostage were held was the 100-year-old Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Unnikrishnan was the team commander of 51 Special Action Group deployed in the operation at the hotel to rescue the hostages. He entered the hotel in a group of 10 commandos and reached the floor through the staircase. As the team descended the stairs, they suspected perpetrators on the third floor, a few women were held as hostages in a room which was locked from the inside. After breaking open the door, the round of fire by the perpetrators hit Commando Sunil Yadav, unnikrishan engaged the perpetrators in a firefight. He arranged for Yadavs evacuation and gave chase to those he had engaged in the firefight who, meanwhile, in the encounter that followed, he was shot from the back before later succumbing to his injuries
33.
Havaldar Gajender Singh
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Gajender Singh Bisht was an NSG commando and havildar who died during the 2008 Mumbai attacks. His act of bravery was honoured with the Ashoka Chakra award by the President of India on 26 January 2009, hailing from Ganeshpur in Uttarakhand, young Gajender Singh studied at the Janata Inter College in Naya Gaon. He was remembered by his teachers as a student who participated in every event organised in the school. He had a particular interest in boxing, Gajender Singh was a member of the National Security Guard’s 51 Special Action Group. Gajender Singh was part of the team of NSG commandos who were fast-roped on the roof of Nariman House in an operation to neutralize the terrorists inside who were holding at least six hostages. According to Jyoti Krishna Dutt, Director General of the NSG, the team came under intense fire from the terrorists and returned fire, while trying to dominate the situation. The terrorists also hurled a few grenades at the commandos, at this point, Singh had the option of retreating with his team. However, he realized that they had to seize this opportunity to dominate and he didnt turn his back to the militants and created a way for the other commandos despite a grenade thrown at him. Despite sustaining multiple injuries while doing so, he moved forward and ultimately succumbed to his injuries. This selfless and brave gesture of his ensured that his team secured a position in the encounter. While securing the Nariman House during Operation Black Tornado, Singh, the official citation for the Ashoka Chakra Award reads, Hemant Karkare Sandeep Unnikrishnan Vijay Salaskar Ashok Kamte Tukaram Omble Vishnu Dattaram Zende
34.
2013 Hyderabad blasts
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On 21 February 2013, at around 19,00 IST, two blasts occurred in the city of Hyderabad, India. The bombs exploded in Dilsukhnagar, a shopping area, within 100 metres of each other. The first bomb went off at Anand Tiffins, located opposite Konark Theatre at around 19,02 IST, the second bomb went off at 19,06 IST between Venkatadri Theatre and Dilsukhnagar Bus Stand. According to the Hyderabad Police, the bombs were placed on bicycles, Andhra Pradeshs Director General of Police noted that Improvised Explosive Devices had been used in the two blasts to cause maximum damage. The blasts killed 17 people, which included at least three students and at least 119 injured. A team of experts from the National Investigation Agency and the National Security Guard arrived in Hyderabad on a plane provided by the Border Security Force for further investigation. Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde claimed that the Indian government had intelligence about possible blasts, Shinde also said that authorities had received intelligence about possible attacks in the country but no specific information as to where or when they might occur. CNN-IBN reported that an Indian Mujahideen operative named Maqbool confessed to carrying out reconnaissance of Dilsukhnagar in 2012 during interrogation by Delhi Police, initial reports also suggested the involvement of Indian Mujahideen in the blasts. On 22 February, two First Information Reports were lodged probing the attack, one FIR was lodged at Cyberabads Saroor police station, while the second was lodged in Hyderabad. As the Hyderabad Police continued investigating in the serial blasts case, the NIA conducted raids at various places in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra, looking for alleged terror modules. Forensic investigation revealed that the two bombs used were packed with huge amounts of iron nails and bolts and ammonium nitrate, closed-circuit television footage collected from the traffic signal near the blast site revealed movements of five men who allegedly had planted explosives at the blast sites. However, the faces of the suspects were not clearly seen, Police sources later said that a Sai Baba temple in the area was the initial target of the criminal activity. However, a visit by Hyderabad police commissioner Anurag Sharma eluded them, the Andhra Pradesh government claimed that it had obtained vital clues regarding the crime and would crack the case soon. Chief minister Reddy sent out 15 special teams of Andhra Pradesh police, people lodged in the Chanchalguda Central Jail were also questioned regarding the blasts. Major cities in India like Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore, Gujarat, Maharashtra, the police of Andhra Pradesh were confronted with massive traffic jams when they tried to implement relief and rescue operations. Home secretary R. K. Singh stated that officials from the National Investigation Agency were shifted from Delhi to Hyderabad, president Pranab Mukherjee offered condolences to the bereaved families and condemned the blasts as acts of cowardice. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh consoled the next of kin of those killed, home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde visited the blast site on the morning of 22 February and said that an investigation had been launched by a probe team appointed by the Andhra Pradesh government. The nation needs to be united, the parties need to get united
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Bangalore
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Bangalore /bæŋɡəˈlɔːr/, officially known as Bengaluru, is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of about 8.42 million and a population of about 8.52 million, making it the third most populous city. It is located in southern India on the Deccan Plateau and its elevation is over 900 m above sea level, the highest of Indias major cities. In 1638, the Marāthās conquered and ruled Bangalore for almost 50 years, after which the Mughals captured and it was captured by the British after victory in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, who returned administrative control of the city to the Maharaja of Mysore. The old city developed in the dominions of the Maharaja of Mysore and was capital of the Princely State of Mysore. In 1809, the British shifted their cantonment to Bangalore, outside the old city, and a grew up around it. Following Indias independence in 1947, Bangalore became the capital of Mysore State, the two urban settlements of Bangalore – city and cantonment – which had developed as independent entities merged into a single urban centre in 1949. The existing Kannada name, Bengalūru, was declared the name of the city in 2006. Bangalore is sometimes referred to as the Silicon Valley of India because of its role as the leading information technology exporter. Indian technological organisations ISRO, Infosys, Wipro and HAL are headquartered in the city, a demographically diverse city, Bangalore is the second fastest-growing major metropolis in India. Numerous state-owned aerospace and defence organisations, such as Bharat Electronics, Hindustan Aeronautics, the city also houses the Kannada film industry. The name Bangalore represents a version of the Kannada language name. It is the name of a village near kodegehalli and was copied by Kempegowda to the city of Bangalore, Bangalore was built on a venue earlier called as Shivanasamudram in the 16th century. The earliest reference to the name Bengalūru was found in a ninth-century Western Ganga Dynasty stone inscription on a vīra gallu, in this inscription found in Begur, Bengalūrū is referred to as a place in which a battle was fought in 890 CE. It states that the place was part of the Ganga Kingdom until 1004 and was known as Bengaval-uru, an apocryphal story recounts that the 12th century Hoysala king Veera Ballala II, while on a hunting expedition, lost his way in the forest. Tired and hungry, he came across an old woman who served him boiled beans. The grateful king named the place benda-kaal-uru, which evolved into Bengalūru. On 11 December 2005, the Government of Karnataka announced that it had accepted a proposal by Jnanpith Award winner U. R. Ananthamurthy to rename Bangalore to Bengalūru, on 27 September 2006, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike passed a resolution to implement the proposed name change
36.
2013 Patna bombings
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On 27 October 2013, a series of bomb blasts rocked the Indian city of Patna, Bihar at a massive election rally for BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. Of the estimated 300,000 participants at the Hunkar rally, no one has claimed responsibility for the explosions, however, investigations suggest Indian Mujahideen were culpable. On the morning of 27 October 2013, the first bomb exploded at Patna Junction railway station at around 10,00, while two unexploded bombs were recovered by bomb disposal personnel. There were five other blasts from which three bombs exploded in and out of the Gandhi Maidan area, one exploded near a cinema hall,17,15 inside Gandhi Maidan A crude bomb exploded on an isolated place on platform 10 of Patna Junction railway station. One person who sustained injuries in this blast died, according to Railway Protection Force, the explosion took place at a paid toilet within the station. Two more homemade bombs were defused, according to Union ministry, one of the two crude bombs placed had a timer attached to it. Later that day, five low intensity blasts took place in Gandhi Maidan. Several people were injured in these blasts, one more blast took place in Elphinstine cinema hall near the Gandhi Maidan, injuring six people. One more unexploded bomb was found below the dais where Narendra Modi had spoken in the rally, the eighth bomb exploded around 5 PM on the same day, which was believed to be hidden under garbage. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the blasts and spoke to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar asking him to hasten a probe into the incidents, the Home Ministry sent NIA and NSG teams to the blast sites for investigate. Union Minister of State for Home R. P. N. Singh assured the Bihar government that the government would provide all assistance in investigating the blast incident. For his part, Kumar condemned the blasts and said that his government had provided security for the rally. He also revealed that a suitcase was found in Gandhi Maidan two days previously and henceforth security would be beefed up. He also cancelled his trip of Munger and convened a meeting on the law. Narendra Modi expressed his condolences for the bomb blast victims online, a week after the blast, Modi returned to Bihar to offer condolences and Rs.500,000 to the families of the six people killed in the attack. Dense fog allowed him to only three families while the other three were contacted over the phone. An Indian National Congress leader, Shakeel Ahmad, wrote, Blasts during Modi Ji’s 1st visit as PM hopeful to Bihar should be condemned by one, State govt and NIA should unearth the conspiracy. General Secretary Digvijaya Singh said, What a coincidence blast at Patna Railway on the day of Modi’s Rally, challenge to Nitish Govt to find the culprit
37.
Defence Security Corps
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The Defence Security Corps, previously known as Defence Department Constabulary Centre, was founded on 25 February,1947 at Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. The Defence Security Corps, with 31,000 personnel, provides security at Defence Ministry sites, the role of Defence Security Corps is to ensure the protection and security of designated Defence Installations against sabotage and pilferage. On 3 May 1947, the moved to Delhi. The DSC was formed in the form of a force with police titles and badges of ranks. In 1948, these were replaced with titles and badges of ranks. In August 1958, the Corps was re-organised and brought under the control of Indian Army Headquarters, the DSC and Records moved from Delhi to Chakrata in Uttar Pradesh in April 1959 and then to Kannur on 21 November 1961. Today, the DSC Centre, DSC Records and PAO is located in the city of Kannur, Kerala, the area is a part of the Cannanore Cantonment and is well-maintained by the Cantonment Board. The DSC centre at Kannur is the depot to all platoons in the country. Five soldiers of this unit died in action during the 2016 Pathankot attack, pay accounts office DSC Re-Employment For Ex-Servicemen - Ministry of Defence India Intro from Official Government of India website Defence Security Corps celebrates 65th Raising Day
38.
Garud Commando Force
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The Garud Commando Force is the special forces unit of the Indian Air Force. It was formed in September 2004 and has a current strength of approximately 1080 personnel, the unit derives its name from Garuda, a divine bird-like creature of Hindu Mythology. Garud is tasked with the protection of critical Air Force bases and installations, search and rescue during peace and hostilities, presently, Garuds are deployed in Congo as part of the UN peace keeping operations. While the Army might have provided some Special forces units to the Air Force and it was felt that the specialized training the air force would have provided such units would have to be repeated again and again for the replacement units. The initial plans mooted in October 2002 called for a force with 2000 commandos. The group was originally called Tiger Force, but was renamed as Garud Force. Soon after, the first batch of 100 volunteers from the IAF No.1 Airmen Training Center at Belgaum, the Garuds were first unveiled on 6 February 2004, when the first batch of 62 Air Commandos passed out of training in New Delhi. The Garuds were first seen publicly during the Air Force Day celebrations at New Delhi on 8 October 2004, note, that the security of IAF installations like radars, airfields and other establishments in border areas is generally performed by the Air Force Police and the Defence Security Corps. It has been suggested that they undertake an offensive role including raids on enemy air bases etc. during times of war. Apart from protecting air bases from sabotage and attacks by commando raids, they are tasked to seal off weapons systems, fighter hangars and other major systems during intrusions. As in the case of the attack on Awantipur AFS in October 2001. Garud personnel are enlisted as Airmen within the Indian Air Force rank structure, the entire force is currently under the command of a Wing Commander rank officer. The Garud force is organized into fifteen Flights - a flight is roughly the equivalent of a company in an infantry battalion, each flight is based at various Air Force stations, where they train and provide security. The Garud Commando Force has a total present strength of approximately 1080 airmen, unlike its counterparts in the Army and Navy, candidates for Garud Commandos are not selected from volunteers of other branches. Recruitment to the Garuds is done directly through airmen selection centers via advertisements, candidates found eligible for the force are put through a process of rigorous physical training. Candidates have only one chance to become a Garud trainee, once a recruit completes training and meets required standards, he is absorbed into the Commando force and is retained in this stream throughout his career. Wherever he is posted in the IAF, he will be part of a Garud Unit and this approach ensures that the Commando Force retains its highly trained men all through their career with the IAF. The first batch of Officers for the Garuds were volunteers from the Cadets of the Ground Duty Officers course being trained at the Air Force Academy, Dundigal, Andhra Pradesh
39.
Glock knife
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The Glock knife is a military field knife product line designed and produced by Glock Ges. m. b. H. It can also be used as a bayonet, by engaging a socket in the pommel into an adapter that can be fitted to the Steyr AUG rifle. The knives were developed in cooperation with the special forces Jagdkommando of the Austrian Army and are suitable for throwing. Both knives have clip point blades made of SAE1095 spring steel with a hardness of 55 HRC and are phosphate-treated, spring steel offers a high yield strength for good impact resistance and flexibility but low corrosion resistance. The grips and sheaths are made of Glock-polymer and are available in the olive, sand. The upper crossguard is bent forward and can be used as a bottle opener, the polymer sheath features a retention clip that secures the knife against loss, a belt clip for attaching the knife to a belt and a drainage opening at the bottom. Glock currently manufactures two models of knives, The Field Knife 78, which is a field knife, with a 165-millimetre blade, 290-millimetre overall length. The Survival Knife 81, which has the overall dimensions as the Field Knife 78 with the addition of saw-teeth on the back of the blade
40.
Glock
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It entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was the top performer on an exhaustive series of reliability and safety tests. Glocks are also popular firearms among civilians for recreational and competition shooting, home and self-defense, the companys founder, engineer Gaston Glock, had no experience with firearms design or manufacture at the time their first pistol, the Glock 17, was being prototyped. Glock introduced ferritic nitrocarburizing into the industry as an anticorrosion surface treatment for metal gun parts. In 1980, the Austrian military announced that it would seek tenders for a new, the Austrian Ministry of Defence formulated a list of 17 criteria for the new generation service pistol, The design was to be self loading. The pistol was to fire the NATO-standard 9×19 mm Parabellum round, the magazines were not to require any means of assistance for loading. The magazines were to have a capacity of eight rounds. It was to be possible to all actions one handed which are necessary to prepare the pistol for firing. The pistol was to be secure against accidental discharge from shock, strike. Disassembly of the parts for maintenance and reassembling was to be possible without the use of any tools. Maintenance and cleaning of the pistol was to be accomplished without the use of tools, the pistols construction was not to exceed 58 individual parts. Gauges, measurement tools, and precise testing devices were not to be necessary for the maintenance of the pistol. The manufacturer was to be required to provide the ministry of defence with a set of engineering drawings. These were to be supplied all the relevant details for the production of the pistol. All components were to be interchangeable between pistols. No more than 20 malfunctions were to be permitted during the first 10,000 rounds fired, after firing 15, 000-rounds of standard ammunition, the pistol was to be inspected for wear. The pistol was to then be used to fire an overpressure test cartridge generating 5,000 bar, the critical components were to continue to function properly and be up to specifications, otherwise the pistol was to be disqualified. When handled properly, under no circumstances was the user to be endangered by case ejection, the muzzle energy was to be at least 441.5 J when firing a 9×19 mm S-round/P-08 by Hirtenberger AG. Pistols scoring less than 70% of the available points were not to be considered for military use
41.
Heckler & Koch MP5
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The Heckler & Koch MP5 is a 9mm submachine gun of German design, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH of Oberndorf am Neckar. There are over 100 variants of the MP5, including some semi-automatic versions, the MP5 is one of the most widely used submachine guns in the world, having been adopted by 40 nations and numerous military, law enforcement, intelligence, and security organizations. It is widely used by SWAT teams in North America, in 1999, Heckler & Koch developed the Heckler & Koch UMP, the MP5s successor, both are available as of 2017. The MP5 was created within the group of firearms and was initially known as the HK54. Work on the MP5 began in 1964 and two later it was adopted by the German Federal Police, border guard and army special forces. The MP5 became a mainstay of SWAT units of law enforcement agencies in the United States since then, however, in the late 1990s, as a result of the North Hollywood shootout, police special response teams have supplanted some MP5s with AR-15-based assault rifles. The MP5 is manufactured under license in several nations including Greece, Iran, Mexico, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The primary version of the MP5 family is the MP5A2, which is a lightweight, air-cooled and it fires from a closed bolt position. The fixed, free floating, cold hammer-forged barrel has 6 right-hand grooves with a 1 in 250 mm rifling twist rate and is pressed and pinned into the receiver. The first MP5 models used a straight box magazine, but since 1977, slightly curved. The adjustable iron sights consist of a rotating rear diopter drum, the MP5 has a hammer firing mechanism. The trigger group is housed inside a polymer trigger module. The S or Sicher position in white denotes weapon safe, E or Einzelfeuer in red represents single fire, the SEF symbols appear on both sides of the plastic trigger group. The selector lever is actuated with the thumb of the hand and is located only on the left side of the original SEF trigger group or on both sides of the ambidextrous trigger groups. The safety/selector is rotated into the various firing settings or safety position by depressing the tail end of the lever, tactile clicks are present at each position to provide a positive stop and prevent inadvertent rotation. The safe setting disables the trigger by blocking the release with a solid section of the safety axle located inside the trigger housing. The non-reciprocating cocking handle is located above the handguard and protrudes from the cocking handle tube at approximately a 45° angle. This rigid control is attached to a piece within the cocking lever housing called the cocking lever support
42.
SIG SG 550
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The SG550 is an assault rifle manufactured by Swiss Arms AG of Neuhausen, Switzerland. SG is an abbreviation for Sturmgewehr, or assault rifle, the rifle is based on the earlier 5. 56mm SG540 and is also known as the Fass 90 in French/Italian or Stgw 90 in German. In 1978, the Swiss Army formulated requirements for a successor to the Stgw 57 battle rifle using the 7. 5×55mm Schmidt–Rubin cartridge, another aim was to reduce the overall weight of the rifle while retaining comparable or improved accuracy out to 300 m. The solicitation was narrowed down to two designs, the W+F C42 and the SG541. In 1981, the experimental 6. 45mm GP80 cartridge was rejected in favor of the more conventional 5. 6×45mm GP90 round that is the Swiss equivalent to NATOs standard 5. 56×45mm cartridge. In February 1983, the decision to adopt the SG541 was publicly announced, production began in 1986 and four years later the rifle was officially accepted into service in 1990, hence the military designation Stgw 90. Over 600,000 rifles have been delivered since then and production for the military has now ceased, the SG550 is a selective-fire 5. 56×45mm NATO assault rifle firing from a closed bolt. Once inside the gas cylinder, propellant gases pass through an L-shaped channel machined in the head and are directed forward towards the gas valve. The pressure build-up in front of the piston pushes the piston. As the piston is driven back, the gas port and the L-shaped channel move out of alignment, surplus gas and powder residues are evacuated through an exhaust port in the gas cylinder. This system ensures that only the volume of gas required to overcome the mass. The manually adjustable gas valve has two settings, one for normal operation, and the setting for use in the presence of heavy fouling or icing. The rotary bolt locking mechanism consists of two locking lugs that engage locking recesses in the breech, and is identical to that used in the SG540. A spring-loaded extractor is incorporated into the bolt while a fixed protrusion on one of the receivers internal guide rails ejects the spent cartridge casings. The rifle is hammer-fired and has a mechanism with an ambidextrous safety and fire selector switch that has 4 settings, S—safe, 1—single fire, 3—3-round burst. The 3-round burst mode 3 and the fully automatic 20 position can be disabled by a safety guard to avert accidentally activating the continuous fire mode. The trigger is enclosed in a trigger guard which can be folded down to the left or right side allowing for unhindered operation with winter gloves. The trigger pull is approximately 35 N The firearm is fed by lightweight 20-round box magazines, 30-, 10-, the magazines are molded from a translucent polymer and can be locked together using studs in order to facilitate quicker reloading, Jungle style
43.
Beretta AR70/90
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The Beretta AR70/90 is a gas operated self-loading assault rifle chambered for the 5. 56×45mm NATO cartridge, and is the standard issue service rifle of the Italian Armed Forces. The weapon is designed to be fitted with a rifle grenade. The AR series comes in variants such as the AR90, with a wire folding stock. The Beretta AR70/90 assault rifle was developed in the 1980s when the Italian Government decided that its military, there is a semi-auto version of the AR-70/90 called the AR 70/90S which lacks a flash hider and bayonet mount. The AR-70/90 is manufactured according to 1980s standards, i. e. with limited use of plastic parts. It weighs approximately 4 kg in standard configuration and it has three firing positions and a safe, and has a carrying handle not unlike the Vietnam-era M16, a long, bulky barrel, and a hollow stock. It is usually fitted with an ACOG or a red dot optic, burkina Faso Police Colombia Police Egypt, Used by Police forces Honduras, Delivered 1,000 in 2006. Those models are going to be decommissioned in favor of ARX-160, jordan SC70/223 Lesotho Malaysia Mexico Morocco Nigeria Paraguay Zimbabwe FARA83 SIG530 List of assault rifles Beretta Defence company website Beretta Defence catalog Modern Firearms
Republic of India
