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100 lives and my last operational flight

Indian Parliament was attacked by gunmen in December 2001 .. The pak sponsored terror angle was deeply being investigated and the government of the day warned the armed forces to be ready for any eventuality . 1/n

 This was the period when my release from service had come through and I was getting ready for civilian life , with no idea where to go and what to do . I was in Sena bhavan trying to register with DGR for jobs having done a course in industrial security . 2/n
I was within 2 kms of parliament when it was attacked and still remember the news being played out on the radio of the shop where I stopped to grab a sandwich after all the running around , which many ex servicemen will easily relate to 3/n
In a few months , I would be an ex serviceman . The thought would often cross my mind but the decision was made and I was on my way out ! The heart therefore was heavy while I was busy conducting my last few heading a two helicopter dett . In Srinagar 4/n
Flights in my favorite bird the Mi-171vs was heavy I was trying to soak as much of Kashmir where I spent 6 long years navigating the mountains would soon fade into a memory. I would be out in the rough and tumble of the civilian world of which I had no idea at that point 5/n
The future was uncertain . I was saying my good byes at Srinagar. Few friends had organized weekend brunch . We all sat and chatted at Srinagar officers mess . Some of the conversation was of a unit move to a forward location . Having spent most of my career 6/n
In J&K , the young officers had few questions about the route to take towards poonch, Rajauri area . They had been told to mobilize at short notice a radar unit of more than 100 odd men . We all went our separate ways . I finished my last task in the valley and was eager 7/n
To go back to my home base which was Jammu . The afternoon as we were getting ready to depart for Jammu , a message was received from Srinagar ATC to return to our parking spot as the AOC (Air Officer Commanding ) is coming to meet me . A moment of quiet anticipation passed 8/n
When a senior officer wants to meet you , .. I quickly ran through the events of the past few days . Hope I had not made any mistakes .! We shutdown and waited for AOC . Who arrived and looked in significant worry ! He called me to his gypsy spread out a quarter inch map 9/n
He drew a circle that was easily about 15-20 kms. He said he had lost contact with the unit that moved to the forward area and the unit set course to a cordinate very near to the LOC near Poonch sector . It was almost 100 men . He feared for the worst 10/n
As the last message received from the unit was that the school compound they set up camp and radar had suspicious movements through the night . Some AirForce guards spotted armed militants circling near the camp at night with weapons .The area he showed me was a treacherous 11/n
With no army unit in the vicinity . In the hurry to deploy the unit was not carrying enough weapons to even decently defend themselves to survive a second night . Most probably the previous night was a reccee carried out by militants in all probability planning to strike 12/n
As me and the AOC spoke , a large truck full of weapons mostly assault rifles , grenades and basically whatever Srinagar airbase could spare . It was all loaded on the helicopter. We quickly refueled . I asked the captain of the second helicopter to join me in the mission 13/n
I wanted someone with good map reading skills and trusted him as I had trained him before . A quick assessment was carried out . The AOC jumped in with us into the helicopter stating he wanted o meet his boys out in the field 14/n
My mind was where to look for this minuscule radar unit that would be camouflaged in any case deployed near the LOC . Almost like looking for a needle in a haystack as the probably area given to me was about 10 nm radius .15/n
There was no time to really think and plan . All weapons loaded we started the helicopter and were airborne from Srinagar . Me and Rags kept playing all the probable routes these men would’ve taken .i suddenly remembered telling the young officers to route via Riasi 16/n
Just on an absolute hunch , I decided to follow the road from banihal to punch .The likely route they must’ve taken . I told the co pilot and the AOC not to leave sight of the road as it waxed , waned and weaved through the mountain . My eyes was scanning the skyline 17/n
Frantically , for any military structure . Back of kind I knew that we were in deep militant infested terrain and could get a few bullets coming at us anytime . There was no army unit to be seen . As my heart started to sink as we were approaching fuel minimums to get back 18/n
As I did a turn , I caught a glimpse of what looked like a radar antenna . We headed that way for a closer look and when we did the low pass tree top level , I saw some men on IAF fatigues run out waving 19/n
The joy of spoiling our men soon evaporated on me at the thought that there was no landing spot to fit in a 12 ton helicopter in the vicinty as it was full of trees . I looked at the AOC and Co pilot . I found a spot next to the road where the main part of the helicopter 20/n
Could fit in .Most of the helicopter would hang out onto the road .With the tail rotor spinning over the road . Managed to land . I saw smile on the officers and men .Not sure ,if I spotted a grateful tear , for we had given those men a chance to defend themselves that night 21/n
We flew back . As we passed Vaishnodevi on the way back to Srinagar , I bowed my head in silent prayer for those 100+ men as they should get through that night till re enforcements arrived . Shared this story today as it is birthday of the lead officer of that contingent . 22/n
My witness to that landing from the ground .. HAPPY BIRTHDAY @Navanalyst1 !!! Love you brother . Wish you a long and healthy life . Jai Hind 🇮🇳🙏😊

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Rudrapatnam Shamashastry – The #Mahamahopadyaya who discovered Chanakya’s Arthashastra.
On his Jayanti a tribute to the legendary #Kannadiga who proved Bharatiya Civilization had robust Ancient Political & Economic policy & not copied from Greek as Europeans claimed.
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begin His-tory whose Literary Works gives Goosebumps to every Bharatiya.
R Shamashastry’s modern translation of Arthashastra is a prescribed text at Harvard, Yale and Oxford for students of Political Science, International Relations and Economics today.
Until this discovery, the

the Arthashastra was known only through references to it in works, including those by Dandin, Bana, Vishnusarma, Mallinathasuri, Megasthenes, as well as others. This discovery was "an epoch-making event in the history of the study of ancient Indian polity".

It altered the


perception of Ancient Bharath and changed the course of history studies, notably the false belief of European scholars at the time that Indians learnt the art of administration from the Greeks.
Shamasastry received a Ph.D Citation from Oriental University of Washington in 1919

and the Campbell Memorial Gold Medal from the Royal Asiatic Society, Mumbai Chapter, in 1921. Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV conferred on him the title “Arthashastra Visharada” in 1926 while the Viceroy and the Governor General of India conferred the title “Mahamahopadyaya” in 1930.
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Presenting you the 1st Phase Opinion Poll of West Bengal Vidhan Sabha Election 2021 by Bongo Prokash. It's a joint venture by me & @ThePaulSaheb, 2 more such polls will be out in March. Please give your feedback. Constructive criticism will be appreciated trolls will be blocked.


In Coochbehar, BJP is sweeping all the seats except Sitai. Udayan Guha losing, so is Rabindranath. Rajbongshis stay with BJP.


In Alipurduar it's a BJP landslide. BJP maintains it's Lok Sabha strength & adds with recent defection by good organization leaders from TMC.


In Jalpaiguri too BJP sweeps, TMC draws a blank.


In Darjeeling the game becomes interesting. GJM is a divided house now in alliance with TMC. Tamang & Gurung factions heavily divided. GNLF backs BJP. BJP+GNLF ahead in Siliguri, Phansidewa, Naxalbari while GJM marginally ahead in Kalimpong, Kurseong & at the moment in Darjeeling
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Sharing one incident... After Modi's Trichy youth conference, the very next morning when police were clearing up their mini-control room, they found 5 strange boys who were roaming there with bags. When police enquired them "Sir, we are from Subramaniapuram in Trichy.

Whatever political meeting or conference is held in this ground, we come here on the same night or morning hours to collect the Liquor bottles to sell in the scrap shop for 50 paisa to 1 rupee per bottle and we used to earn Rs 200 to Rs 400 on each such event.

Even in the last DMK meeting the very next day we collected around 1500 bottles. But for Modi's BJP meeting, we could not find even a single bottle in the whole ground. We are coming around and around and not a single bottle in any corner of the G Corner ground in Trichy,

we are much disappointed, sir!". Police seem were stunned and pleasantly surprised. This is what Modi magic does in this nation. Modi is the one who can lead our nation and make everyone prosper with hardwork in right direction and proper approach.

This funny but interesting anecdote was published by a statewide local daily Dinamalar. I have just translated and posting it here for rest of the nation;
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Most elite Indians (primarily savarna white collar urban english medium educated folks like me) land on Western shores convinced that we are just as advanced and developed as these countries as a people. It's just "corruption" in India holding us back. Then reality hits. /1

We see that the West works better on a daily level, but not because of some mythical genetic or societal immunity to this mythical "corruption" villain. Cos there is corruption in Western politics too. They seem to have institutions and systems built over ages to minimize it.

But most Indians who reach these shores are engineer/mba/doctor types. Trained in secondary vocational type disciplines. So our default approach is to find a quick engineering type solution. We have almost zero exposure to sociology, psychology, economics, anthropology, etc.

I remember being like that. Engineer-MBA who thought that because my vocabulary and exposition skills were above average and my quant skills were above average, I deserve a seat at the table on any discussion. Be it climate change, public health, efficacy of vaccines, etc.

For anything, I thought I knew the best. Why was this Obama fellow not trying my absolutely brilliant healthcare reform plan that I have posted on a blog with nice tables and graphs and references to IIT and IIM slang? Does he not know I'm from an IIM? <1% acceptance rate!
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We have 2 options – one, rant & rail against the ‘system’ and lament how it has let us down; second, do whatever we can to avoid getting infected & if infected, minimize adverse consequences to ourselves & others. If you belong to the first, you can stop reading now

How can we avoid getting infected? There’s no magic bullet, I’m afraid. This is primarily a “stick to the basics” approach. More difficult than it sounds.

First, maintain all precautions that we know help. These include masks (whenever you are not at home and not alone), physical distancing to the extent possible, and washing hands frequently. The 3 Ws – Wear a mask, Watch your distance, Wash your hands.

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Bahcesehir Uni, BAU has an official website https://t.co/ztzX6uj34V which links to their social media, leading to their Twitter account @Bahcesehir

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