Amid heightened tensions with Pakistan, India on Thursday tested the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile for the first time from a
vertical launcher fitted on a moving warship in the Bay of Bengal.

The launch of the 290-km missile from the Rajput-class destroyer INS Ranvir “met all missions requirements” and was “100% successful”. The missile, which flies at a speed of 2.8 Mach (almost three times the speed of sound), has already been fitted “in an inclined configuration” on destroyer INS Rajput.

Moreover, the Army has also begun the progressive induction of its own BrahMos LACM (land-attack cruise missile) version, with the first battery being handed over to it in June 2007.

Army plans to progressively induct three batteries, each with four road-mobile autonomous launchers on 12×12 Tatra vehicles, to constitute its first BrahMos regiment shortly to use the missile as a “precision strike weapon”.

Sources said the Indo-Russian joint venture BrahMos Aerospace has already got orders for two Army regiments worth Rs 8,352 crore and 49 firing units worth Rs 711 crore for Navy.

The “universal vertical launcher” used on Thursday is significant since it is fitted under the warship’s deck, protecting it from the atmospheric conditions and imparting some stealth to the weapon system, and allows the missile to be fired in any direction.

“Eight missiles come in one such launcher module. Two such modules, with 16 missiles, will be fitted in each of the three Kolkata-class P-15A destroyers being built at Mazagon Docks (at a cost of Rs 11,662 crore),” said a source.

The three more Talwar-class “stealth” guided-missile frigates being built at Yantar shipyard in Kaliningrad (Russia), at a cost of Rs 5,514 crore, will also be armed with BrahMos missiles to give them more punch. “The same vertical launchers will be fitted on submarines,” said the source.

Incidentally, India and Russia have now begun preliminary work on a “hypersonic” BrahMos-2 missile capable of flying at a speed between 5 and 7 Mach.

But the work on the submarine and air-launched versions of BrahMos-1 is still quite some time away from successful completion. While the air-launched version will now be integrated with a naval TU-142 aircraft for tests, defence scientists say they are waiting for a suitable platform for testing the submarine-launched version.

Pakistan, incidentally, is going in for large-scale induction of its ‘Babur’ cruise missile, which is touted as being capable of carrying nuclear warheads to a distance of 500 km. It was tested for the first time in August 2005, with a clear Chinese imprint behind its development.

The long-term plan of the Indian armed forces is, of course, to have nuclear-tipped LACMs, with strike ranges in excess of 1,500 km. Unlike ballistic missiles, cruise missiles do not leave the atmosphere and are powered and guided throughout their flight path.

Cruise missiles, which can evade enemy radars and air defence systems since they fly at low-altitudes, are also much cheaper as well as more accurate and easier to operate.

Gujarat, which recently bagged the Tatas’ Nano car factory, remains the most preferred destination for the Indian entrepreneurs while Andhra Pradesh ranks highest in the confidence index among the states.

This is the conclusion of a perception survey released jointly by KPMG and TiE - “Entrepreneurial India” here today. The survey is based on responses of some 1,000 entrepreneurs across 15 Indian states.

According to the report, about 23 per cent entrepreneurs preferred Gujarat for their new venture followed by Maharashtra and Haryana which elicited 13 and 7.5 per cent response, respectively.

When asked to rate their confidence level in their respective states, the entrepreneurs from Andhra Pradesh gave the state highest ranking of 4.14, much above the national average of 3.31, the survey said.

Besides, Goa, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu (TN) and Punjab have scored higher than the national average of confidence levels while Chandigarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh (MP), Uttar Pradesh (UP), Haryana, Kerala, West Bengal (WB) and Delhi have been rated below the national average.

The survey had also pointed out that “despite a surge in the number of venture capitalists and private equity money available in India, there seems to be a gap in the demand for and supply of funds for entrepreneurial ventures”.

The entrepreneurs, according to the survey also find the new banking initiatives towards funding start-ups and small and medium enterprises (SME) as deficient.

Soon, personnel of Gujarat police will don designer uniforms.

Top brass of the state police have approved in principle new uniforms designed by the National Institute of Design (NID) for its personnel.

The NID-designed uniforms will be durable, wrinkle-free with anti-bacterial finish, having ultra-violet ray protection. Moreover, the uniforms integrate functionality and fashion suitably to make work more comfortable, according to a senior IPS officer.

The uniforms will have fragrance finish as it will emanate sweet smell of jasmine, rose and lemon to ease stress during work hours, said the officer, who is a member of internal committee formed for evaluating the designs.

He said the NID-designed uniforms have been highly appreciated by all the members of the committee.

“Though most of the designs have been approved in principle by the committee, the final decision will come from the government, which we hope will be soon,” the official added.

An NID official also said the evaluation committee has approved the designer uniforms.

“At a meeting last week, they (evaluation committee members) have in principle approved the designs for general police and traffic police, with some minor suggestions,” coordinator, apparel design and merchandising of NID, Somesh Singh, who designed the new attire for the police, said.

The new uniforms offer better functionality, protection and comfort, besides making the personnel look smarter, pleasant and fashionable, Singh said.

The uniforms are made out of cotton-blend fabric which is ideal for extreme climatic conditions in Gujarat, he added.

“Besides the functional aspects of the uniform, we have tried to make it look more presentable and pleasant. For example, the shirts for women have collars with blunt edges giving it a feminine finish,” Singh said.

“The police department had approached NID last year and asked us to design uniforms for the traffic and general police in the state.

“The new outfits have been designed after conducting extensive survey, where we interacted with cops and got to know the difficulties they faced with the present uniform and its design.

“We found that due to huge variation in body type in urban and rural police fit was a major issue, which demanded high level of customisation,” Singh said.

“The new uniform will come with fits for people of different sizes. The cotton-blend fabric combined with uber-cool finish will make provide a cooling effect in summers. Moreover, the fabric is treated using nano-technology to give protection against ultra-violet rays. Use of plasma technology increases the durability of the fabric,” he said.

The traffic police uniform, for both men and women, will have an off-white shirt and dark grey pants. While the general police will wear the same khaki colour, but with new details and seams to divide weight distribution to the entire body.

For the traffic cops photo-chromatic and thermostatic printed badges have been used to increase visibility during the night. These are complemented by reflective prints and fibre-optic technology which will glow in the dark.

Anti-bacterial finish used for the uniform gives protection against bacteria and dust in more polluted areas, especially in urban centres, Singh said.

For women in general police, they will have a choice of three different uniforms – one with simple trousers and shirt that will be tucked in, the second with trousers and shirt not tucked in and the third as saree for a more conservative look.

All uniforms come with a belt having multiple utility having space to hang hand-held items like baton, torch, chalan book, pen and wireless set among others.

Singh also said incorporation of technologies and facilities would not increase the production costs of the uniform. “At the most, the department has to shell out about Rs 80 to Rs 100 more than what they are spending on each uniform,” he said.

Singh further said they would be providing the police department with a set of measurements for different fits which can be used by tailors to stitch the uniforms.

“There will be less variation in cuts and patterns of the uniform by providing the fits,” he adde

The Portuguese refusal to transfer her Indian settlements of Goa, Daman, Diu and Anjidiv Islands to the Indian Republic, led to Operation Vijay in 1961. They had ruthlessly suppressed a peaceful Satyagraha launched to liberate these territories in 1955. In 1961, they even fired on some Indian coastal steamers and fishing boats near Anjidiv Island. India, therefore, decided to use force to liberate the Portuguese pockets on her soil.

On 11 December 1961, 17 Inf Div and attached troops were ordered to advance into Goa to capture Panjim and Marmagao. The main thrust on Panjim was to be made by 50 Ind Para Bde Group from the north. Another thrust was to be carried by 63 Inf. Bde from the east. A deceptive thrust, in company strength, was to be made from the south along the Majali-Canacona-Margao axis.

On December 18th, the 50 Para Bde Group moved into Goa in three columns. The western column (the 2 Sikh LI Group) marched on the Dodamarg-Tivim-Betim-Panjim axis, the central column (1 Para Punjab) on the Benastarim-Panjim axis and the eastern column (2 Para Maratha) on the Dodamarg-Usgao-Ponda axis. The first 2 competed in the race for Panjim. The western column led by armour moved out at 0630 hrs. The armour reached Betim shortly after 1700 hrs without encountering any opposition. The 2 Sikh LI joined it by 2100 hrs, crossing over mines and demolished bridges en-route. Panjim now lay only 549 metres away. But in the absence of orders from above, the unit stayed at Betim for the night. The same night Major Sidhu of the 7 Cavalry was killed when Portuguese guards fired on an unsuspecting Indian rescue party at Aguada Fort.

On December 19th, the 2nd Sikh LI received permission to cross over to Panjim and the two rifle companies landed there at 0735 hrs. The race to Panjim was won. The central column of 1 Para Punjab crossed the border at 0600 hrs. Up to Bicholim it moved as the eastern column but from there it turned on the Banastarim-Panjim axis. It reached Banastarim at 1730 hrs but was held up there on account of the broken bridge. On December 18th, the water obstacle was negotiated and the column reached Panjim by 0830 hrs, 55 minutes after the Sikhs. The eastern most column (2 Para Maratha) moved on the northern route on the Sanquelim-Usgao-Ponda axis. It reached Ponda at 1345 hours and brought order to the town. The eastern column conducted patrolling in the Ponda-Banastarim sector and established contact with the rear elements of 1 Para on December 19th.

The 63 Indian Inf. Bde. moved into Goa from Anmond in two columns. The right column (2 Bihar) moved through a track whereas the left column (3 Sikh) moved down the existing road. Both columns linked up at Mollem and then moved on to Ponda taking separate routes. 3 Sikh could not go beyond Darbandora on December 18th. 2 Bihar went further to settle at Candeapar for the night. Meanwhile the 4 Sikh, the rear battalion, reached Candeapar river crossing at midnight. At 0600 hrs on December 19th, 4 Sikh crossed Candeapar by wading through chest high water and by mid-day rolled into Margao. It then marched on to Dabolim through Verna where a number of Portuguese surrendered at 1530 hrs. Finally it moved to Vasco Da Gama where the Portuguese formally surrendered at 2030 hrs. With the 4 Sikh in the lead, 2 Bihar also pressed on in the direction of Margao. But finding the Sikhs well set on the outskirts of the town it advanced on Verna. The enemy stronghold was attacked on both flanks and their resistance collapsed.

The swift action of 2 Bihar at Verna enabled the 4 Sikh to press on to Dabolim and Marmagao unhindered. The 3 Sikh was put on reserve on December 19th. From here it marched on to Margao and beyond in two columns. Some 400 Portuguese soldiers surrendered before it on December 20th. A diversionary move was made from south along the Majali-Canacon-Margao axis, in company (4 Rajput) strength. It was meant to mislead the Portuguese about the direction of the main Indian thrust. The southern column marched up to Margao overcoming road blocks, mines & broken bridges and helped in restoring order there. The 17 Division ended more than four centuries of Portuguese rule over Goa in just 40 hours. The IAF also played a useful role as its Canberra aircraft, twice bombed the Dabolim airfield whereas Hunters bombed Bombolim Wireless Station.

Operations in Daman were conducted by the 1 Maratha LI. It launched an attack on Nani Daman from the north after neutralising the Flying Control Tower and Post-175 in a pre-dawn sweep. By 1700 hrs, the two companies had reached the Garden area south of the airfield. The battalion settled in this area for the night. At 1100 hrs on December 19th, the Portuguese made a surrender in Daman without giving any fight. In this push forward, artillery and air support played an effective role. The Army captured 600 soldiers and some guns & mortars in Daman. The Army suffered 1 JCO and 3 ORs killed and 1 JCO and 13 ORs wounded in the Daman operations. Portuguese suffered 10 killed and 2 wounded.

Diu was the smallest Portuguese possession in India. A two-pronged attack was made on Diu-one from the north-west and the other from the north-east. The north-western thrust on Kob-Forte-Do Passo-De Covo axis was made by two companies of 20 Rajput, to establish a bridge-head and to capture the airfield. But the Rajput effort was frustrated by the well sited MMG and LMG fire across the creek. The Rajputs (B Coy) where, however, successful in their thrust on the Ahmdepur-Gogal axis. They replaced the 4 Madras and successfully attacked Gogla at 1600 hours. The enemy resistance was overcome with heavy pounding of guns. Portuguese garrison showed a white flag and surrendered. In Diu operations the IAF gave very useful support to the Rajputs. Toofani aircraft gave much needed support by bombarding the citadel and the control tower at the airfield on December 18th. On December 19th, the 4 Madras (C Coy) occupied the Island of Panikota and captured 13 Portuguese soldiers.

Anjidiv lies to the south of Goa. The task of capturing this Island was entrusted to the INS Mysore and the INS Trishul. While the INS Mysore was to provide covering fire, the INS Trishul was to land a party on the Island. The assault party called ‘Rustum’ landed there successfully at 0715 hrs on December 18th. Another party followed at 0746 hrs. At this stage, the Portuguese hoisted a white flag near beach Lima. But this was a deceptive move and the Portuguese soon started firing on the second Indian party nearing the beach. The Army suffered some casualties in this treacherous attack. INS Trishul and the INS Mysore thoroughly shelled the enemy strong points to break the resistance. As a result of this pressure, many Portuguese surrendered on December 18th. More prisoners were taken over on December 19th. At 1425 hrs on December 19th, the Indian Flag was hoisted at Anjidiv.

The partition of the Indian Subcontinent in 1947 created two independent countries: India and Pakistan. India, which became independent on 15 August 1947, stood for a secular, equitable polity based on the universally accepted idea that all men are created equal and should be treated as such. Pakistan, which officially came into existence a day earlier, was based on the premise that Hindus and Muslims of the Subcontinent constitute two different nationalities and cannot co-exist. The Partition created two different countries with most Muslim majority areas of undivided India going to the newly created nation, Pakistan (Land of the Pure). Pakistan was originally made up of two distinct and geographically unconnected parts termed West and East Pakistan. West Pakistan was made up of a number of races including the Punjabis (the most numerous), Sindhis, Pathans, Balochis, Mohajirs (Muslim refugees from India) and others. East Pakistan, on the other hand, was much more homogeneous and had an overwhelming Bengali-speaking population.

Although the Eastern wing of Pakistan was more populous than than the Western one, political power since independence rested with the Western elite. This caused considerable resentment in East Pakistan and a charismatic Bengali leader called, Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, most forcefully articulated that resentment by forming an opposition political party called the Awami League and demanding more autonomy for East Pakistan within the Pakistani Federation. In the Pakistani general elections held in 1970, the Sheikh’s party won the majority of seats, securing a complete majority in East Pakistan. In all fairness, the Sheikh should have been Prime Minister of Pakistan, or at least the ruler of his province. But West Pakistan’s ruling elite were so dismayed by the turn of events and by the Sheikh’s demands for autonomy that instead of allowing him to rule East Pakistan, they put him in jail.

The Pakistani Army conducted several crackdowns in different parts of Bangladesh, leading to massive loss of civilian life. The details of those horrific massacres, in which defenceless people were trapped and machine-gunned, is part of Bangladeshi history. Survivors compare it to the Nazi extermination of Jews. At the same time, the Pakistani Administration in Dhaka thought it could pacify the Bengali peasantry by appropriating the land of the Hindu population and gifting it to Muslims. While this did not impress the peasantry, it led to the exodus of more than 8 million refugees (more than half of them Hindus) to neighbouring India. West Bengal was the worst affected by the refugee problem and the Indian government was left holding the enormous burden. Repeated appeals by the Indian government failed to elicit any response from the international community and by April 1971, the then Indian Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, decided that the only solution lay in helping Bengali freedom fighters, especially the Mukti Bahini, to liberate East Pakistan, which had already been re-christened Bangladesh by its people.

Pakistan felt it could dissuade India from helping the Mukti Bahini by being provocative. The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) in East Pakistan took to attacking suspected Mukti Bahini camps located inside Indian territory in the state of West Bengal. In the Western and Northern sectors too occasional clashes, some of them quite bloody, took place. Pakistan was suggesting that should India continue with its plans it should expect total war as in 1965. Only this time, the Pakistanis would concentrate their forces in the West and thereby aim at capturing as much as Indian territory as possible. The Indians, on the other hand, would be fighting a war on two fronts (while at the same time keeping a fearful eye on the Chinese borders). Given this scenario, the Pakistanis felt that India at best would be able to capture some territory in East Pakistan and lose quite a bit in the West. In the end, the Pakistanis knew that the Western powers would intervene to stop the war and what would matter is who had the most of the other’s territory.

The Indo-Pakistani conflict was sparked by the Bangladesh Liberation war, a conflict between the traditionally dominant West Pakistanis and the majority East Pakistanis. The Bangladesh Liberation war ignited after the 1970 Pakistani election, in which the East Pakistani Awami League won 167 of 169 seats in East Pakistan and secured a simple majority in the 313-seat lower house of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament of Pakistan). Awami League leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, presented the Six Points to the President of Pakistan and claimed the right to form the government. After the leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, refused to yield the premiership of Pakistan to Mujibur, President Yahya Khan called out the military, which was made up largely of West Pakistanis.

Mass arrests of dissidents began, and attempts were made to disarm East Pakistani soldiers and police. After several days of strikes and non-cooperation movements, the Pakistani military cracked down on Dhaka on the night of March 25, 1971. The Awami League was banished, and many members fled into exile in India. Mujib was arrested and taken to West Pakistan.

On 27 March 1971, Ziaur Rahman, a rebellious major in the Pakistani army, declared the independence of Bangladesh on behalf of Mujibur. In April, exiled Awami League leaders formed a government-in-exile in Baidyanathtala of Meherpur. The East Pakistan Rifles, an elite paramilitary force, defected to the rebellion. A guerrilla troop of civilians, the Mukti Bahini, was formed to help the Bangladesh Army.