The jets took off from France on Monday and will arrive at the Ambala Air Force station after covering a distance of 7,000 kilometres.
File photo: Rafale fighter jets being refuelled mid-air on their way to Ambala from France. (ANI)
As the first batch of five Rafale aircraft is all set to arrive in Ambala on Wednesday from France to join the Indian Air Force (IAF) fleet, the Ambala Police have tightened the security and prohibited people from taking photos or videos of the jet planes. People have been asked not to go to their terraces for taking videos or photographs of the aircraft.
The violators will face an immediate arrest and an FIR against them, the police said. Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code, which prohibits congregation of four or more people in an area, has been imposed near the Ambala Air Force Station in Haryana and in adjoining areas like Dhulkot, Baldev Nagar, Garnala and Panjkhora.
The jets took off from France on Monday and will arrive at the Ambala Air Force station after covering a distance of 7,000 kilometres with air-to-air refuelling and a single stop in the United Arab Emirates. The fleet comprises three single-seater and two twin-seater aircraft, an IAF official said.
Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria would be visiting Ambala to receive the Rafale combat aircraft. The planes are expected to take off from Al Dhafra in UAE at around 11 am IST and reach Ambala by 2 pm, news agency ANI reported citing sources.
A team of pilots led by Group Captain Harkirat Singh would meet the Air Chief and brief him about their flying and training in France after which the formal induction ceremony of the aircraft would take place.
The agreement for the biggest-ever defence deal by India was signed in 2016 for acquiring 36 Rafale jets for over Rs 60,000 crore.
With Rafales’ induction, IAF will have an edge over neighbours. Here’s how
France has expedited the deliveries of Rafale fighters to India and five jets are coming to Ambala instead of four that were originally planned to be delivered in the first batch.
Rafale fighter jets being refuelled mid-air on their way to Ambala from France.(ANI)
Five Rafale fighter jets of the 36 ordered by the Indian Air Force (IAF) from France will land at their home base in Haryana’s Ambala on Wednesday.
The new aircraft will significantly enhance the offensive capabilities of IAF, which has for long-planned to update its fighter jet force. Defence experts have said the induction of the controversial Rafale fighter jets will be a “game-changer” for India in regional politics of South Asia.
France has expedited the deliveries of Rafale fighters to India and five jets are coming to Ambala instead of four that were originally planned to be delivered in the first batch.
Here’s how the Rafale fighter aircraft will add to IAF power:
* Rafale, categorised as a 4.5 generation aircraft for its radar-evading stealth profile, is important for IAF since most of the aircraft in its fleet, including the Mirage 2000 and the Su-30 MkI, are classified as either third or fourth-generation fighters.
* The Rafale is a twin-jet fighter aircraft able to operate from both an aircraft carrier and a shore base. The manufacturers describe it as a fully versatile aircraft which can carry out all combat aviation missions to achieve air superiority and air defence, in-depth strikes, reconnaissance, anti-ship strikes and nuclear deterrence.
* The first Rafale combat aircraft manufactured for India bears the tail number RB-01, the initials of IAF chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria. The IAF chief had played a crucial role in the signing of India’s biggest-ever defence deal worth about Rs 60,000 crore.
* India had ordered 36 Rafale fighter jets from France in a deal worth about Rs 60,000 crore in September 2016. Out of the 36 Rafale aircraft, 30 will be fighter jets and six will be trainers. The trainer jets will be twin-seater and they will have almost all the features of the fighter jets.
* The Rafale jets will be a crucial enhancement to India’s Medium Multi-role Combat Aircraft fleet.
* The Rafale fighter jets have been tailor-made for the Indian Air Force. India-specific enhancements include helmet-mounted sight, radar warning receivers, flight data recorders with enough storage for 10 hours of data, infrared search and track systems, jammers, cold engine start capability to operate from high-altitude bases and towed decoys to lure incoming missiles away.
* They will be the first imported fighter jet to be inducted into the IAF in 22 years after the Russian Sukhoi-30 fighters. The first Su-30 entered IAF service in June 1997.
* The Rafales will be a part of the IAF’s No 17 Squadron, which is also known as the “Golden Arrows”. The first squadron of the aircraft will be stationed at Ambala air force station, considered one of the most strategically located bases of the IAF. The second squadron of Rafale will be stationed at Hasimara base in West Bengal.
* The IAF spent around Rs 400 crore to develop infrastructure like shelters, hangars and maintenance facilities at the two bases.
* India will be the fourth country, after France, Egypt and Qatar, to fly the Rafale.
* The Rafale fighter jet, however, cannot be compared with the J-20, an indigenously developed fifth-generation aircraft of China. The J-20 is soon set to be inducted in large numbers into the People’s Liberation Army Air Force of China after it was successfully developed and displayed.
* The 2016 Rafale deal was an emergency purchase to arrest the worrying slide in the IAF’s combat capabilities. The count of the IAF’s fighter squadrons had been reduced to 31 compared to an optimum strength of 42-plus units required to fight a two-front war with China and Pakistan.
* The first 18 jets, including the four in the first batch, were to be delivered to the IAF by February 2021, with the rest expected by April-May 2022, according to the original delivery schedule.
Rafale is a game changer, Chinese J 20 does not even come close, says former air chief Dhanoa
Former air chief marshal B S Dhanoa despite facing flak from Opposition pushed the acquisition of Rafale Fighter from France.
Dhanoa, the chief architect of February 26, 2019 air strikes on Balakot, said that Rafale with its top of the line electronic warfare suite, Meteor beyond visual range missile SCALP air to ground weapon with terrain following capability outguns any threat that the Chinese Air Force produces.(HT Photos/PTI)
With the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) concentrated and on the offensive on a barren Tibetan Plateau, the Indian Air Force with Rafale fighter as its spearhead weapon will decide the outcome of the battle in case the red flag goes up, says former Air Chief Marshal B. S Dhanoa. Five Rafale fighters will land at Ambala air base today from France for induction into IAF today .
Talking to Hindustan Times, Dhanoa, the chief architect of February 26, 2019 air strikes on Balakot, said that Rafale with its top of the line electronic warfare suite, Meteor beyond visual range missile and SCALP air to ground weapon with its terrain following capability outguns any threat that the Chinese Air Force produces. Painting a wartime scenario, former top gun said : “ If the IAF is successful in destruction of enemy air defences and suppression of enemy air defences, then the Chinese fighters out in the open at Hotan air base and at Gonggar air base at Lhasa airport are fair targets. Some 70 Chinese aircraft are without protection at Hotan and some 26 aircraft may be parked inside a tunnel which the PLA were building at Lhasa air base,” the former air chief said.
While Air Chief Marshal (Retd) Dhanoa recognises the threat presented by Chinese J-20 fifth generation fighter, he is very confident that the IAF with its latest Rafale and Su-30 MKI will be able to counter the best the Chinese throw at India in the worst case scenario. “Chinese Air Threat is mainly from their Surface to Air Missile Systems.”
“ If Chinese equipment was so good, then why did the Pakistanis only use F-16 aircraft to attack Nangi Tekri brigade in Rajouri sector on February 27, 2019 with Chinese JF-17 merely giving air defence cover to Mirage 3/5 bombers. The Mirage 3/5 dropped the H 2/4 bombs from a safe distance with the JF 17 in a supportive role providing Air Defence to these aircraft! Why does Pakistan use Swedish early air warning platforms up north and keep Chinese AWACS in the south? Why is Pakistan mounting European radar (Selex Gallelio) and Turkish targeting pod on Chinese JF-17 ? The answer is quite evident,” the former Chief said.
However, the brilliant air tactician recognizes the Chinese threat in form of surface to air missile batteries and artillery guns, which the PLA has packed in occupied Aksai Chin. But he also makes it very clear that with no tree line cover available to the Chinese platforms, they would be sitting ducks if the air defence cover is blown over. “ The Rafale with its advanced terrain following weapons and level II of Digital Terrain Elevation Data available to the Indian pilot, the error probability of the weapon is reduced to mere 10 metres. As I have said in the past, Rafale is a game changer,” former Air Chief Dhanoa said.
While Dhanoa appreciates the enemy threat, his serving IAF officers make it very clear that the Chinese equipment is not only inferior to the US equipment but also the Russian equipment. “ Why does Chinese Air Force use Russian Su-30 and Su-35 fighters while facing the US threat in South China Sea? The fact is that the Chinese fighters are no match for the American equipment Majority of Chinese equipment is reverse engineering of Russian equipment and fighters have designs of either Su-27 or Su 30 platform. They are even powered by Russian AL 31 F (Su-30) and RD 33 (MiG-29) engines,” a serving air commander told Hindustan Times.
Missile systems, cold-engine start make multi-role Rafales all the more deadly
The jet is capable of carrying out a variety of missions — ground and sea attack, air defence and air superiority, reconnaissance and nuclear strike deterrence.
These Rafale jets will be armed with Meteor beyond visual range air-to-air missiles, MICA multi-mission air-to-air missiles and Scalp deep-strike cruise missiles(PTI)
The new Rafale fighters jets will significantly enhance the offensive capabilities of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and prove to be a game-changer with their advanced weaponry, defence experts have said.
The jet is capable of carrying out a variety of missions — ground and sea attack, air defence and air superiority, reconnaissance and nuclear strike deterrence.
Specially tailored for the IAF, the Rafale jets have cold engine start capability to operate from high-altitude bases including Leh, radar warning receivers, flight data recorders with storage for 10 hours of data, infrared search and track systems, low-band jammers, Israeli helmet-mounted displays and towed decoys to ward off incoming missiles.
These Rafale jets will be armed with Meteor beyond visual range air-to-air missiles, MICA multi-mission air-to-air missiles and Scalp deep-strike cruise missiles — weapons that will allow fighter pilots to attack air and ground targets from standoff ranges and fill a significant capability gap.
The Meteor’s no-escape zone is touted to be three times greater than that of current medium-range air-to-air missiles. The Meteor, with a range estimated to be well above 120 kilometres, outranges any other missile in aerial combat.
The Meteor is the next generation of BVR air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) designed to revolutionise air-to-air combat. The weapon has been developed by MBDA to combat common threats facing the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Sweden.
It is powered by a unique rocket-ramjet motor that gives it far more engine power for much longer than any other missile, said an official.
The Scalp is a deep-strike cruise missile known for having pinpoint terminal accuracy through its highly accurate seeker and target recognition system.
The twin-engine fighter jet’s ‘payload fraction’ or its maximum take-off weight vis-a-vis its overall empty weight is unmatched in aircraft of the same class. It can carry almost 10 tonnes of weapons and five tonnes of fuel.
Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha (retd), a former IAF chief, said the active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar on the Rafale and its weapons package make it a formidable platform.
India is also looking at arming the Rafale fighter jets with an all-weather smart weapon of French origin that will allow combat pilots to engage ground targets from a standoff range of up to 60km.
The IAF is likely to initiate the purchase of HAMMER (Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range) using the emergency financial powers granted to the military by the government at a time of border tensions with China.
HAMMER is a precision-guided missile developed by French defence major Safran.
PUNJAB CM ANNOUNCES EX-GRATIA & JOB FOR KIN OF SEPOYS SATWINDER SINGH & LAKHVEER SINGH
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday announced ex-gratia of Rs. 50 lakh, along with a government job each to a family member of Sepoy Satwinder Singh and Sepoy Lakhveer Singh of 4 Sikh Light Infantry unit. The two soldiers who laid down their lives in the line of duty on July 22, 2020.
The Chief Minister paid homage to the sacrifice of the fallen soldiers and extended his sympathies to their families.
The soldiers were part of a patrol in area near Line of Actual Control with China in Arunachal Pradesh on July 22. While crossing a log bridge on a fast flowing Nala in High Altitude area, they fell down and were swept away while trying to save each other. Search and rescue operations are in progress to trace the body of Sep Satwinder Singh. , The body of Sep. Lakhveer Singh was recovered today.
Sepoy Lakhveer Singh hailed from Village Demru Khurd in tehsil Bagha Purana of Moga district and is survived by his wife Namdeep Kaur. Sep. Satwinder Singh, a native of village Kutna in Barnala District, is survived by his parents.
Why no memorial built so far, ask angry Sangrur villagers
Around 6,500 residents of Kargil martyr Naik Bahadur Singh’s native village Banbhaura today expressed resentment against government’s failure to construct a memorial to him. Residents have written several times to the authorities concerned, but to no avail.
“We have written letters, met officials and requested for a memorial. We want a memorial so that the village remembers him forever,” said Balbir Singh, elder brother of the martyr. Bahadur Singh had joined the Army in 1988.
Sarpanch Kamaljit Kaur said the village had demarcated a piece of land for a statue, but the authorities had done nothing in that regard.
Block Development and Panchayat Officer, Malerkotla, Amandeep Kaur said an application had been received and that she would look into the matter.
Martyr’s village to get memorial Capt sends team to prepare estimates
Twentyone years after he attained martyrdom during the Kargil war, Naik Bahadur Singh’s native village Banbhaura will get a memorial to honour him.
After The Tribune highlighted the delay in the construction of the memorial on Monday, the Chief Minister’s office issued directions and the Sangrur Deputy Commissioner (DC) sent a team to the village to prepare the estimates for the project.
“I had sent a team of officials of the Panchayat and Rural Development Department after I got calls from the CM’s office and Education Minister Vijay Inder Singla. We will try our best for the construction of memorial at the earliest,” said Ramvir, DC.
Since the end of the Kargil war in 1999, villagers have written many letters to the authorities for the construction of a memorial so that the coming generations come to know about the supreme sacrifice of Naik Bahadur Singh, but to no avail.
After passing Class X in 1987, Bahadur Singh had joined the Army in 1988. He attained martyrdom in 1999.
“Today a team of officials visited the local stadium, where we have demarcated the land for the construction of a memorial. We request Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to get it done at the earliest,” said Sukhdeep Singh Goldy, president of the village youth club.
Block Development and Panchayat Officer, Malerkotla-I, Amandeep Kaur confirmed that they were preparing estimates for the memorial.
Women Army officers say too little, too late as govt finally sanctions permanent commission
Women Army Officers outside the Supreme Court in New Delhi on 17 February (for representation only) | Photo: Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint
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New Delhi: Five months after the Supreme Court granted permanent commission to women Army officers, the Ministry of Defence has issued the formal Government Sanction Letter (GSL) to Short Service Commissioned (SSC) women officers in all 10 streams of the Army.
This includes the Army Air Defence, Signals, Engineers, Army Aviation, Electronics and Mechanical Engineers, Army Service Corps, Army Ordnance Corps, and Intelligence Corps, in addition to Judge and Advocate General and the Army Educational Corps, where women officers already had permanent commission.
The Supreme Court, in a landmark judgment on 17 February, had granted permanent commission to women officers in the Army irrespective of their number of years of service. The women officer-litigants had been fighting the case for 14 years.
A statement issued Thursday stated that the Army Headquarters had set in motion a series of preparatory actions for conduct of the Permanent Commission Selection Board for affected women officers.
“The selection board will be scheduled as soon as all affected SSC women officers exercise their option and complete requisite documentation,” the statement read, adding that the Indian Army is “committed to provide equal opportunities to all personnel including women officers to serve the nation”.
However, women officers whom ThePrint spoke to said on the condition of anonymity that the GSL, for which the Army had sought six additional months in the Supreme Court citing Covid-19 pandemic, is a “delayed response” that came after the Army initiated four major policy changes.
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This includes the central government’s move to make the Battle Physical Efficiency Test (BPET) mandatory for all women officers, including those commissioned before 2009 and above 35 years of age, who were earlier exempt from it.
The BPET is a series of tests meant to test the physical fitness of an officer or a jawan to perform military tasks.
A senior woman officer said many of them have been asked to do junior command courses, which are for officers with 5-13 years of service, to train them for junior command appointments in the Army.
“This course was made compulsory 1998 onwards, but women officers of the 1994 batch have now been detailed for that, despite the fact that male officers of the same batch have not done it,” the officer said.
The officer added that the grant of permanent commission is dependent on the annual confidential report (ACR) in the first 10 years of service, a ‘Shape 1’ medical category and discipline and vigilance clearance.
“But out of the 620 women officers awaiting a board, 100 women with downgraded medical categories have been detailed for the JC course. With lifestyle diseases common after the age of 45, is it not harassment to them?” she asked.
‘Late by 16 years’
The officer also pointed out that women officers have been asked to go for another ‘adequately exercised (AE) tenure’, despite many of them having completed it in their years of service.
“Every officer has to undergo ‘AE tenure’ of minimum 24 months to prove that he/she is fit for handling command appointments, and the weightage of AE tenure in ACR is 50 marks,” the woman officer explained.
“Women officers have tenanted 48 to 60 months of AE appointments against 24 months, which has not been endorsed in their ACRs and now when they are due for promotion they are being asked to undergo a new AE to delay their board by another two years,” she said.
“Most women officers are late by 16 years for permanent commission. If we are to do that tenure now, we will hardly be left with any residual service for command appointments before we retire,” the officer said.
A second woman officer pointed out that the study was ordered by the Army to assess employability of women officers in select positions and also induction of women in the Army below the rank of jawans.
“But the panel has no representation of women,” this officer said. “The GSL is too little, too late,” she added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during his visit to Nimu forward post in Ladakh | PTI
New Delhi: The aura of success and positive changes around the Narendra Modi government has been shown the mirror by two leading intellectuals — Business Standard Chairman T.N. Ninan and prominent author Francis Fukuyama, ThePrint’s Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta said in episode 532 of ‘Cut The Clutter’.
Gupta drew on Ninan’s latest column and Fukuyama’s comments on ThePrint’s ‘Off the Cuff’ to take an overall “broad-brush look” at the political situation in India.
In his column, Ninan wrote that “Narendra Modi was too smart for propaganda around him”.
Anything that Modi does, the entire cabinet endorses it in a style that is sycophantic, and the friendly media also endorses it.
However, according to Ninan, while Modi is too sharp for this and should know what the reality is — leaders begin to get delusional, particularly, when the media is extremely friendly and institutions are weakened.
Furthermore, he wrote, “Modi obviously can see that the positive change narrative around him is untenable” because it is evident, with everything that is happening, that India is not going through “a big positive change and resurgence”.
On the other hand, Fukuyama, in a conversation with Gupta on ‘Off the Cuff‘, noted that India gave China the space to move in and exploit it when India looked weak.
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He highlighted three primary points: First, India’s economy and military are not as strong as they should have been and they cannot match China; second, India is not so cohesive and united internally; and third, India’s non-alignment policy is not going to work.
According to Fukuyama, Modi’s priority should be to restore India’s social cohesion and unity. Secondly, India needs to reposition itself strategically and third, it has to strengthen its economy and military power.
Ninan focuses on what is good about the Modi government. He noted that it had ambition in 2014 and wanted to bring India to double digit growth and keep it there, but that has not happened in six years, Gupta said.
He wrote that while ambition is good, each of the agendas that the government put out for itself are running into trouble because they go contrary to BJP’s own political and ideological DNA.
The government’s DNA implies that it must never admits its failure — a global phenomenon among strongmen leaders like US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin among others.
If they admit something is wrong, it confuses their base and they would rather allow their base to defend them, Gupta said.
For instance, in the Covid situation in India, there is no introspection by the Modi government on where they went wrong.
Ninan added that even when the numbers look bad, these governments still play with them. Despite the GDP declining, the government found a new criteria to dismiss critics, to please its base.
Another instance is the situation with China. Several reports suggest that Chinese have caused a fair bit of mischief in Ladakh but the government has not admitted it. Instead, it is attacking people who are trying to reveal the reality in Ladakh.
Similarly, demonetisation was a disaster and GST is bringing even less tax compared to the past.
Therefore, if Modi wishes to reverse the situation then he has to accept that China exposed India’s internal weakness. It is time for him to stop this tendency of fudging the truth on the border, accept reality and deal with it, said Gupta.
Secondly, he needs to understand the limitations of personalised diplomacy, particularly if our neighbourhood is so widely alienated with us. Third, don’t neglect the defence. Fourth, accept the fact that the economy is going into decline and it needs to be fixed, and fifth, restore national cohesion, Gupta added.
As Ninan wrote, PM Modi is too smart to buy into this propaganda but he should give himself a reality check, even if he and his system don’t like critics.
Brigadier (retd) Vivek Sohal has in a letter to ThePrint said a part in Cut The Clutter episode 456 has left Mahar Regiment fraternity ‘in deep anguish’. Read excerpts.
Logo of the Mahar Regiment of Indian army | Facebook
New Delhi: In ThePrint’s Cut The Clutter episode 456 aired on 28 April 2020, Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta had mentioned a Mahar Regiment story while paying tribute to late General K. Sundarji, the former Chief of Army Staff, on his birth anniversary.
Quoting Sundarji, he narrated an incident from the first war of Kashmir in 1947-48 when one platoon of the Army regiment “ran away” after the raiders attacked, while another valiantly faced the enemy — with the General making a point that “fear is infectious, and so is courage”.
In response to the episode, Brigadier (retd) Vivek Sohal, on behalf of veterans from the Mahar Regiment, has written to ThePrint, saying the part from “this otherwise well conceptualised, researched and delivered programme has left the Mahar Regiment Fraternity in deep anguish”.
The letter said the episode picked up “an unsuitable parallel with an unfortunate narrative that is short on facts” on the history of the Mahar Regiment.
Here are relevant excerpts from the letter:
“The programme (Cut The Clutter episode 456) deals mainly with the topic ‘Why Oxford team breaks ahead of the pack in COVID vaccine race, its science & prospects’. A logical, comprehensive and much needed exposition on the subject, and suffice it to say, your talk has been very well received for it brings hope to humanity.
“However, towards the end of the programme, while paying tribute to Late Gen K Sundarji, PVSM you had, in the manner of motivating your viewership to shed fear for courage to face COVID 19, ended up picking an unsuitable parallel with an unfortunate narrative that is short on facts on the subject history of the Mahar Regiment. This narrative has caused a great deal of mortification and consternation amongst the Mahar fraternity that needs earnest correction.”
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We got talking about fear and courage…Gen Sundarji said that all the talks of the fighting abilities of martial races, certain nationalities or religions over others were not true…it all depended on the environment…he gave example of his Mahar Regiment…in 1947-48, in Poonch area, one platoon of the regiment deployed on a hill feature ran away once attacked by the raiders…another platoon of the same battalion on an adjoining feature faced the enemy because their JCO stood up and charged at the raiders…he was beheaded by the raiders with a sword…a legend was built amongst the troops that the JCO kept fighting even headless and that’s what gave them courage… Gen Sundarji made a pertinent point that “fear is infectious, and so is courage”.
In 1947-48, Mahar battalions were Machine Gun (MG) battalions. The Machine Guns, by virtue of their Long Range, Automatic and Rapid Rate of Fire, were deployed with Infantry troops to engage enemy at distances beyond the short range of weapons authorised to individual soldiers. The MGs were deployed along with regular Infantry Battalions in support role(s) for Offensive, Defensive and Withdrawal operations in war. Owing to their being an effective long range automatic weapon, the said MGs were deployed in detachments in support of Infantry. Hence they were never deployed in Platoons.
In no eventuality would a platoon of MG battalion be deployed together and compactly; leave alone two platoons being deployed on neighbouring hills.
Most of the battles in the first six months of the said war took place in Jhangar, Naushehra, Rajauri and Thana Mandi. Poonch Garrison, then occupied by state forces, were in a state of siege until regular army troops got inducted with effect from April 1948.
There is no instance recorded or recollected by the veterans where a JCO was beheaded while he was motivating his troops to repulse the attack by raiders. But there is definitely an instance of a sub-section commander, Hav Rawoo Kamble, who manned the MG after all his team members had got killed while Jhangar feature was under fierce attack from the raiders, and who continued firing till such time he was himself beheaded. His finger was found inside the trigger guard… The rigour mortis that had set in had ensured that they couldn’t remove his finger from the trigger. This was at the battle of Jhangar located amidst Naushehra and Mirpur.
It is grossly incorrect to quote or aver that any Mahar troops ever ‘ran away’ leaving their post. There had been instances, both in 1947-48 and in 1962, when the infantry troops, with whom the MGs were affiliated, withdrew either on the orders from top or of their own volition. “The MG detachments of the Mahar battalions had on all such occasions continued to, first, cover the withdrawal of infantry, and secondly, to fire at the enemy till the last man, last round or till they attained martyrdom”.
It is a well-known fact of history that the units and troops of the Mahar Regiment have never had any operational debacle nor had committed a disgraceful act of ‘running away from a post’ upon being attacked. As a matter of fact, the battalions of the Mahar Regiment have emerged to be the last ones standing in many an operation in all the wars.
