The Chetak series of helicopters, part of several historic operations, has completed 60 years of induction in the Indian Air Force. A function was held in Hyderabad today to mark the occasion and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari were among those present.
The writer is an author.
CERTAIN events in a nation’s history (however traumatic) need to be retrieved from the cupboard of memory. One such occasion occurred 50 years ago, when, following the surrender at Dhaka on Dec 16, 1971, 93,000 Pakistanis were herded into trains and transported across India to over a dozen jails and 50 detention camps.
It took Indian Railways three weeks to carry 79,676 Pakistani combatants deemed Prisoners of War and 13,324 non-combatant Civilians under Protective Custody to their destinations. The International Red Cross knew the difference. Treatment of the POWs was governed by the Geneva Convention; the CUPCs were left to the mercy of Mrs Indira Gandhi.
Modern Diplomacy
It has been a few months since the Himalayan state of Nepal, landlocked between northern India and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, has been witnessing an internal power tussle within the ruling Nepal Communist Party.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, on December 20, managed to get the President’s nod to dissolve the 275-member lower house of the Parliament, triggering spontaneous protests in all major cities, including capital Kathmandu. The move has also invited strong criticism from the Opposition and constituents of the ruling coalition.
The lower house, or the Pratinidhi Sabha as it is called, was expected to serve for a term of five years. With its dissolution, the President has called for fresh elections in a two-phased manner to be held next year in April-May.