Dhoni backs Kohli, says team needs preparation time for tough tours

We play so much cricket that we do not get much preparation time when we go overseas: Dhoni

Senior India player Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Sunday backed captain Virat Kohlion the issue of cramped scheduling and said that the team needs time to get used to the conditions in tours like South Africa.

Dhoni, who is not in the Test side but will be in the ODI team in the upcoming South Africa tour, however, said that as an international cricketer it was a challenge one has to face.

"It is absolutely right, because we play so much cricket that we do not get much preparation time when we go overseas to play. But as an international cricketer, this is also a challenge," Dhoni said here.

"It takes some time to get used to, but if you see this team, there are many cricketers who have played overseas and it helps a lot. If they get six to eight or 10 days, it is good, but whatever time they get, I think they will do well," he said in response to a question about Kohli's statement.

The former India captain was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a match played at Kunzer cricket ground, 35km from Srinagar, in north Kashmir's Baramulla district.

Dhoni was the chief guest at the finals of Chinar Cricket Premier League, organised by Srinagar-based Chinar Corps of the Army.

"This time when the (Test) team leaves for South Africa, they will only get some time to prepare before playing the matches. The ODI team after that will also want to try to get seven to eight days because the conditions are different there, there is more bounce," he said.

Asked whether there should be a bilateral series between India and Pakistan, Dhoni said it should be best left to the government.

He said when it comes to a cricket match between the arch-rivals, it becomes much more than sports. (more)

Doklam standoff ends: MEA says troops begin 'disengaging'

A press statement by the Ministry of External Affairs on Monday announced the development

Troops involved in the border standoff between India and China at Doklam have begun disengaging, a press statement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Monday.

Shortly after the MEA statement, China’s Foreign Ministry said that Indian troops had withdrawn to the Indian side of the disputed border at Doklam, where the two countries’ soldiers had been locked in a standoff for more than two months, news agency Reuters reported.

Speaking at a daily news briefing, ministry spokes woman Hua Chunying said Chinese troops would continue to patrol the disputed Doklam region, the report added.

New Delhi and Beijing have reached an understanding for disengaging troops involved in the Doklam standoff, the MEA press statement said.

According to the statement, "expeditious disengagement" of border personnel at the face-off site has been agreed to and "is ongoing".

The MEA statement said that during bilateral communications, "we were able to express our views and convey our concerns and interests". It was on the basis of these communications, according to the statement, that the agreement to disengage was reached.

The People's Daily has also tweeted that India has withdrawn its troops.

The decision to disengage troops comes ahead of a crucial BRICS summit being hosted by China in September, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend.

Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a standoff since June at Doklam, located at the Sikkim section of the Bhutan-China border.

This is the longest standoff between the two armies since 1987 when they faced a similar situation at Somordong Chu Valley in Arunachal Pradesh. Read more

Surgical strikes achieve tactical closure, not strategic detente: Former NATGRID CEO

Surgical strikes achieve tactical closure, not strategic detente: Former NATGRID CEO

Military power is never about the number of troops, tanks, ships or aircrafts. If military power was all a country needed to establish superiority, America would not have been beaten by Vietnam, the Soviet Union would not have been routed by Afghan tribes and the juggernaut that is the Indian Army would not have been held at bay by a few thousand Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka.

A country’s military power is actually determined by a combination of economic realities, governance frameworks, national will and strategic thinking – which work together to deliver a punch worthy of its weight.

Surgical strikes : Comparing India’s military power to Pakistan’s from this perspective actually yields a startling conclusion.

In 1999, Pakistan’s army chief at the time was mid-air when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif decided to sack him. Denied permission to land in Pakistan and faced with the option of making an emergency landing on Indian soil, the sacked general decided to land in Karachi anyway. He communicated his orders to his military subordinates through the civilian aviation channel and by the time his plane landed, Pervez Musharraf was firmly back in the saddle while Sharif had been toppled off his. That is the power of the Pakistani military.

Now compare the Pakistani army’s swiftness to India’s handling of the Kandahar hijacking in 1999. When the Indian Airlines flight was taken over by terrorists and parked in Amritsar over the course of its long journey, the Indian establishment could not decide between blocking the aircraft’s departure or letting it go. That ambivalence cost India the advantage it had in being able to control events happening on its own turf.Read more.

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• Rahul attacks PM Modi over surgical strikes

India strikes back as Army conducts surgical strikes across LoC in Pakistan

Significant casualties inflicted on terrorists; Pakistani DGMO informed of strikes post operation

The Indian Army conducted surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) on Wednesday night on launchpads where terrorists had amassed and positioned themselves to infiltrate into India, Director General Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Ranbir Singh informed the gathered members of the press at the joint briefing following the Cabinet Committee on Security meeting held on Thursday.

According to Times Now, a total of eight surgical strikes were conducted by the Indian Army. There were no Indian casualties during the operation.

Singh said that the strikes were based on credible information and that the terrorists were poised to conduct attacks in Jammu and Kashmir and other major metros in the country. Singh revealed that significant casualties were inflicted on the terrorists in the operation.

The DGMO added that he had contacted his Pakistani counterpart to inform him of the operation conducted by the Indian armed forces on Wednesday night.

"It has been a serious matter of concern that there has been continuing and increasing infiltrations by terrorists across the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir. This is reflected in the terrorist attacks at Poonch and Uri on September 11 and 18, respectively. Almost 20 infiltrations attempts have been foiled by the Indian Army successfully this year. During these attacks and infiltration attempts, we have recovered items, including global positioning systems and stores which have had Pakistani markings," the DGMO added.Read more.

Also About:

• India strikes across LoC; What are Pakistan's options?
• Indian Army's cross-LoC raid: Reading the fine print
• India's claim of surgical strikes 'fabrication of truth': Pakistan

Uri attack: 4 stories that highlight the human cost of terror

Uri attack: 4 stories that highlight the human cost of terror

Sepoy KV Janardhan on Monday succumbed to injuries sustained during Sunday morning's attack on an Indian Army camp near the border town of Uri in Jammu & Kashmir by suspected Pakistan-based terrorists, taking the number of martyrs to 18.

The attack has left the nation reeling, and the kin of the martyrs have called upon the government to avenge the loss of the 18 soldiers.

Across the country, families spread across states, from Maharashtra to Bihar, are just beginning to deal with the personal cost imposed by terrorism in the region.

The human cost

Uri Attack :Janardhan, who joined the army in 2008, had got married just two years ago, reports the Indian Express. The report adds that he is survived by his 23-year-old wife, Sneha, a four-month-old daughter, his parents and a younger brother.

According to the report, Janardhan, who hailed from the Yavatmal district in Maharashtra, had been transferred to the Uri Camp just six months ago.

Lance Naik Rajesh Kumar Yadav's family lives in the Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh. Rajesh was among the original 17 martyrs who gave their lives for the country in the pre-dawn Sunday attack.

The national daily reports that people from Rajesh's village and his family members took measures to ensure that the news of his demise did not reach Parvati Devi, his eight months pregnant wife, and his ailing mother, who suffers from a heart condition.

Rajesh's youngest brother, Vikesh Yadav, told the daily that despite all their attempts, some journalists were able to contact Parvati and tell her the grim news.

Rajesh, who had served in the army for 18 years and had just returned to duty from a two-month visit home, is survived by his wife, mother, three brothers, eight-year-old daughter Radhika, and two-year-old daughter Preeti, the report added.Read more

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• NIA takes over Uri terror attack case
• Ready to suspend trade with Pakistan if asked: Tea association
• Relations will Pakistan will never be same: Ravi Shankar Prasad post Uri attack
• India needs retribution, says Kashmiri activist on Uri attack

Air force, DRDO, pleased with Tejas performance at Bahrain

In a milestone for India’s Tejas light-combat aircraft (LCA), two Tejas fighters travelled from India to performed aerobatics at the Bahrain International Air Show (BIAS-2016) from January 21-23.

This official account comes from the Indian Air Force (IAF), which is overseeing the flight test programme of the Tejas; and from the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), the defence research & development (R&D) organisation responsible for the Tejas programme.