कहते है प्रेम कहानियाँ वहीं अमर होती है जो अधूरी रह जाती है लेकिन इतिहास में एक ऐसी प्रेम कहानी भी है जो पूरी होने के बाद भी उतनी ही खूबसूरत और लोकप्रिय है। यह प्रेम कहानी है शाहजहां और मुमताज़ की।

एक था राजा, एक थी रानी, रानी मर गई पर खत्म नहीं हुई कहानी

During the 1980s India was engaged in the most challenging standoff against LTTE – the Tamil extremist group operating out of Sri Lanka wanting to carve a separate Tamil homeland. Read more about the military catastrophe that cost over 1200 Indian soldiers.

In the Tigers Den

Three nations with a history of conflict mourned together for Neerja Bhanot, an ordinary woman with extraordinary courage who not only met eye to eye with terrorists but also did not bow to death.

An Angel Down Below

Be it ‘Utterly-Butterly Delicious’ or the ‘Taste of India’, Amul has not only found its way, not only into our refrigerators but also our hearts. The ads that made our childhood more interesting are indeed the brand that only connected us as Indians but also held us together with the farmers of the country and this was perhaps the biggest achievement of Verghese.

The Knight In White Armour

Navratri, is among the most important festivities of Hindu religion. People follow and expand the rituals they had been following from day one of the celebrations to the fifth day of the celebration, also known as Panchami. While the Northern half of India fasts, the Eastern section of India indulges in diverse delights.

A Festival Celebrating Goddess Skandamata

Outer space and the entire universe continues to amaze us. The unexplored nooks and corners invite us to search for more. This curiosity has landed the humans on the Moon, starting with an odyssey to space. Naturally, every country, including India, once started from nothing. That is when the Soviet Union extended its hand for help inviting India to embark on this thrilling journey.

Rakesh Sharma and India-Russia joint space program

The Historical Indo-Soviet Space Journey

Koneru Humpy, the youngest Woman Chess Grandmaster, was born today in 1987. Her numerous victories in various events have led her to claim the top spot in world rankings at some points.

The Youngest Grand Master

Amar Singh Chamkila, legendary Punjabi Akhada singer and internationally-acclaimed icon of music, was assassinated today in 1988.

The Assassination of Chamkila 

Anjali Mendes was a Bombay-born model – the first dark-skinned model to walk the ramp of designer Pierre Cardin in Paris. Born on January 29, 1946, Anjali’s long legs were what made her stand out – quite literally!

Ruling the Ramp – How Anjali Mendes Revolutionised the Modelling Industry

It was the summer of '99. The peaks of the Himalayas were rocky and barren. There were constant noises that disturbed the peace of the mountains. The battering and beating sounds filled the air as the two enemies opened the attack on each other. The storm of fire skirled and sizzled through the basalt-black sky. India and Pakistan were at war in Kargil. 

As the troops on the ground managed on the battlefield, Indian Airplanes dotted the sky. Operation *Safed Sagar* was a joint mission by the army and airforce; to flush out the Pakistani troops from their motherland in Kargil along the LOC. 

One of the planes was under the command of Kambampati Nachiketa, an officer of the IAF. As a Flight Lieutenant and pilot, he was swirling his plane above the Batalik Sector on 26 May. 

> When he got into the right position, he launched an attack at one of the army camps. However, the operation went south and the engine of the aircraft suffered a flameout.

The plane went swooshing down. Nachiketa had to eject himself out of his MiG-27L. He escaped the crashing point immediately and circled around for two to three hours, trying to find his way back. Until he came across a patrol team, led by Captain Rao Tahseen Ali. 

The Lieutenant did not give up immediately. He took out his fire pistol and attacked the enemy, but before long, ran out of bullets. 

> By the next day, he was captured and imprisoned by Pakistanis and became the first Indian to be held as a Prisoner of War of the Kargil.

For eight days he remained in their captivity and went through indescribable torture. Captain Kaider Tufail, the Director of Operations at the Pakistani Air Force Group interrogated Nachiketa, an interrogation described as "very civil" by Tufail himself. He only wanted to know what forced Lieutenant Nachiketa to eject himself from his aircraft. What was his real mission?

On the other hand, pressures from national and international governments and organisations were forcing the Pakistan government to return the war hero to his motherland. 

Finally, on June 3rd, his custody was given to the International Committee of Red Cross in Pakistan which finally repatriated him to India. He came to his motherland from the Attari check-post on the road that connects Amritsar to Lahore, cut by a border that has turned hearts into stone.

> Tortured and bruised, broken and torn, he was sent on his way back home, but they could never demoralize him or defeat his spirit.

For Nachiketa, the experience of this captivity was something he could never describe. The Lieutenant felt that death would have been a much better thing than being the prisoner of a country we were at war with.

But this was not the end for our war hero. Despite the injuries and emotional upheaval he sustained; he joined back the army as the Group captain and flew a mid-air refuelling transport aircraft. He suffered from a consistent backache due to an injury that he suffered during the parachute landing and was thus transferred to transports.

The war veteran won the gallantry Vayusena Medal for his bravery and in honour of all that he suffered. Today, he lives in Hyderabad as a retired IAF officer. But still, he hasn't stopped working. He continues his love for flying as a commercial pilot now, refusing to retire from the sky.

Kargil hero with former Prime Minister of India; Source- DNA India

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Laws

Military

A broken aeroplane crashed behind the enemy lines. The Lieutenant eluded the accident scene only to be captured by the enemy. Would he return to the country or his remaining days would be spent in the enemy cells?

Vaishnavi Sharma

When the Home Was Long Away...

Vaishnavi Sharma

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एक था राजा, एक थी रानी, रानी मर गई पर खत्म नहीं हुई कहानी

In the Tigers Den

An Angel Down Below

The Knight In White Armour