LIAR RAJDEEP RAN PROPAGANDA TO HELP CONGRESS

‘Mea culpa’: Rajdeep Sardesai finally admits Modi wasn’t responsible for 2002 and that media sensationalised the riots

One is bound to wonder then that if Rajdeep agrees now that Modi had no role to play in the riots and that the media sensationalised the riots, was he deliberately fanning the sensationalism further since 2002 up until recently?

 OPINDIA STAFF

APRIL 26, 2019

In an interview with author-journalist Manu Joseph, Rajdeep Sardesai, the Michelangelo of Indian journalism, who made a career out of demonising Narendra Modi for Gujarat riots seems to have finally found some remorse for his relentless campaign against Prime Minister Modi for the unfortunate incidents that followed after the train burning at Godhra that left Hindus dead.

Responding to a question asking whether Narendra Modi the then Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2002 was in any way responsible for the incident, Rajdeep Sardesai admitted that he personally believed that Modi was not responsible for the 2002 riots that followed after Godhra massacre.

“It is unfair of us to say that Mr Modi or anyone was responsible for the riots. He did not ask or incite violence,” said Rajdeep Sardesai.

However, Rajdeep Sardesai claimed that Chief Minister Modi was somewhat complacent as he did not try stopping riots. He maintained that Modi was not in control of the state as he had just come to power in 2002 while VHP leader Praveen Thogadia had the real control.

According to Rajdeep Sardesai, Modi was not as powerful as people thought and he backed off during the 2002 riots by ceding space to Praveen Thogadia. However, Rajdeep went on to assume that there is always some political capital in violence, subtly hinting that Narendra Modi politically benefitted from the 2002 incident.

Expressing regret over the reporting of riots in the media, Rajdeep Sardesai confessed that Gujarat riots were sensationalised by the media. Rajdeep went on to add that there is a need for self-censorship while reporting sensitive incidents like riots. Rajdeep finally agreed to the fact that media was indeed “mea culpa” for magnifying the intensity of riots.

While this revelation by Rajdeep comes now, up until recently, Rajdeep has been saying that Modi and BJP have “blood on their hands” and has compared the 1984 Sikh Genocide where Congress leaders were directly involved and Rajiv Gandhi himself had incited violence by making the ‘when a big tree falls’ speech to 2002, where he now admits that Modi had no role and the courts have also given him a clean chit.

Soldier and Soldiering -1971 War Story

1971 STORY

From an officer....

During 1971 war my Bn (3 Grenadiers) fought the Battle of Jarpal. 3 Grenadiers captured Jarpal which was defended by 35 FF. In this battle 3 Grenadiers was awarded a PVC (to then Maj Hoshiyar Singh), a MVC (then CO, Lt Col V P Airy), 4 VrCs and host of other awards. Incidentally Kheterpal was also awarded PVC in the same battle.

35 FF launched seven counter attacks on 3 Grenadiers. The last one was led by their CO, Lt Col Mohd Akram Raza. During the counter attack he was hit by a MMG burst on the face and succumbed to his injuries. Lt Col Airy, CO 3 Grenadiers wrote his citation and the offr was posthumously awarded Hilal-e-Jurat (I think eqvt of our MVC).

Later when 3 Grenadiers was in Ethiopia one of the offrs of 35 FF was also in the msn. He was invited to all the functions to mark our battle honour day, in which his bn was decimated ( 8 offrs, incl CO and over 350 other rks KIA). I must say it was to the credit of the Pakistani offr that he attended all the functions, incl Mandir parade. Later the CO of the bn when he came on lve to India got a sari for the Pakistani offr's mother. The Pakistani offr in turn brought a portrait of Lt Col Akram Raza, which is prominently displayed in our mess.

I think that's what soldiering is all about.

Laptops to Stay in Bags as TSA Brings New Technology to Airports

Air passengers at a growing number of U.S. airports will no longer need to remove electronics, liquids, and other items from their carry-on luggage at security checkpoints as the Transportation Security Administration rolls out new technology.

The TSA took a major step in a broader plan to revamp its overall screening process with faster, more advanced technology when it signed a contract Thursday for hundreds of new carry-on baggage screening machines, Administrator David Pekoske said on a press call Friday. The agency has tested the new technology at more than a dozen airports since 2017, along with the relaxed protocols that allow passengers to leave items such as laptops and toiletries inside their luggage.

The rollout of the computed tomography, or CT, machines will begin this summer, Pekoske said. The $97 million contract will buy 300 machines, but the list of airports receiving them has yet to be made final, Pekoske said.

A Transportation Security Administration worker screens luggage at LaGuardia Airport in New York City.

The technology creates 3-D images of bags’ contents and will eventually be able to detect items automatically that the TSA now asks passengers to remove, he said.

“It’s not a little bit better, it’s a lot better,” Pekoske said of the technology.

In total, the agency expects to replace its more than 2,000 X-ray machines with the CT equipment over the next eight years, he said. The five-year contract was awarded to Edgewood, Maryland-based Smiths Detection, but the next phase of procurement may include multiple vendors, he said.

While the CT pilot program didn’t show reduced wait times at participating airports, the agency is expecting the technology will speed up lines as passengers and staffers get used to the new processes. Pekoske said he expected more staff to be needed initially as the new machines are put in place.

President Donald Trump called for another 300 CT machines to be funded in his fiscal 2020 budget request released earlier this month.

Col Rajendra Shukla(Retd)

MD,Daksh Consultants

Airport Biometrics Trials Expand on Three Continents

Trials of new biometric systems are launching and continuing at several airports around the world, as airports and airlines seek to increase automation to speed up identification processes.

SITA Smart Path has been deployed for a trial of using facial recognition instead of a boarding pass for security processing at Athens International Airport, the company announced. The airport, Greece’s largest, is the first in Europe to use biometric identity at security, according to the announcement.

“Passengers really appreciate the ease of using SITA’s Smart Path trial,” says Alexandros Ziomas, acting director of Athens International Airport’s IT&T Business Unit. “It has reduced the time taken to check in and verify passenger identity at security to only a few seconds. It will solve a key challenge for us by ensuring a steady flow of passengers to the security area. This is a service we would like to extend to other steps in the journey over time.”

The biometric service is being offered to Aegean Airlines passengers, and because Smart Path can be tailored to specific airport or airline requirements, could also be extended to other airlines operating out of Athens in the future.

“As most airports around the world already have self-service infrastructure in place, installing Smart Path is cost-effective and easy to implement,” comments SITA President for Europe Sergio Colella. “Yet, the improvement to security and the passenger experience is tremendously positive. It explains the growing interest in this solution from both airlines and airports in Europe and around the world.”

Palm vein biometrics deployed to 14 Korean airports

The Korea Airports Corporation has deployed Fujitsu’s biometric palm vein authentication system to all 14 domestic airports under its jurisdiction. The system began operation on December 28, 2018, and has been used more than a million times by 160,000 individuals with registered palm vein patterns.

Passenger identity is confirmed with biometrics instead of the citizen ID card which was previously required. The automated process both improves the accuracy of identification and significantly shortens the time taken for the process, according to the announcement.

Facial recognition-powered customer service kiosks reach Chinese airports

Chinese technology expert Matthew Brennan has filmed a kiosk as it identified him with facial biometrics, provided flight plan information, and offered him directions to his gate, Fast Companyreports.

Fast Company suggests that the system represents a warning about the potential of facial recognition and collection of personal data for abuse, and says the Chinese government can clearly identify citizens anywhere with the technology.

Panasonic recently demonstrated similar technology as part of its One ID biometric airport solution.

JFK facial recognition trial to expand

The facial recognition technology deployed to a boarding gate at JFK’s terminal 5 for JetBlue passengers in partnership with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is reducing the amount of time necessary for passengers to move through the airport while increasing security, according to Collins Aerospace VP of Global Airport Systems Christopher Forrest.

The trial was launched in November, and may soon be expanded to include either self-service baggage drop or an end-to-end system powered by facial biometrics, based on previous comments by Forrest.

Collins Aerospace says in the trial announcement that its SelfPass system is uniquely scalable and hardware-independent, enabling airports and airlines to add biometric capabilities to various touchpoints.

“The innovative use of biometrics for customer processing is driving the aviation industry forward and aligns with IATA’s One ID concept,” said Ian Deason, senior vice president of customer experience for JetBlue. “By working together with Collins Aerospace, we’re bringing JetBlue customers a personal, helpful and simple experience each time they fly.”

SelfPass trials at Bristol and Dublin airports

Collins Aerospace also announced today that its SelfPass airport biometric solution is now being trialed at Bristol Airport and Dublin Airport, enabling passengers to use a single biometric enrollment in multiple countries.

Bristol Airport offers passengers multiple biometric checkpoints, making the process easy from check-in to boarding. When SelfPass rolls out in Dublin next month, passengers will be the first to be able to take advantage of the multi-country solution.

“Dublin and Bristol Airports are changing the way passengers travel and making the process easier and more efficient,” explains Forrest. “For example, it takes less than one second to capture and process a passenger’s facial image and eliminates the need to repeatedly present travel documents. We see this as another leap forward for our biometric technology to play a key role in making the connected aviation ecosystem a reality.”

At Bristol, the new trial will biometrically enable multiple touchpoints, including: check-in, self-bag drop, security and boarding gates and the initial trial will be extended to include website and mobile enrollment, and lounge access.

“The passenger growth at Bristol Airport is increasing, and we are looking at using technology like the Collins Aerospace biometric solution set to help make our airport a high-quality experience for our customers,” said Graeme Gamble, chief operating officer for Bristol Airport. “The cooperation of Collins and the Bristol Airport team is making Bristol a leader in Airport innovation and customer service.”

“We are really pleased to be an early adopter of this new technology designed to further enhance the experience for both our passengers and our airline customers at Dublin Airport,” added Frances O’Brien, vice president of PMO for daa. “We are delighted with the progress of the trial so far and look forward to extending the offering to a wider audience, including those travelling to the U.S. in the coming months.”

Early results of LAX trial

The facial recognition system from Gemalto deployed for a trial of American Airlines passengers’ CBP checks at Los Angeles Airporthas been largely successful through its first 90 days, airport-technology.com reports.

Gemalto VP of Mobile Financial Solutions Amol Deshmukh says the exceptions to the trial’s success involve specific cases such as toddlers, who may not match even relatively recent passport images.

In a recent Department of Homeland Services biometric testing rally, Gemalto’s system successfully acquired images in less than five seconds for 99 percent of subjects, compared to an average of 65 percent, according to the report.

Col Rajendra Shukla(retd)

MD  Daksh Consultants

RAFALE DHAMAKA

राफेल का धमाका :

राफेल सौदे से कांग्रेस को जितना कमीशन मिलने वाला था, उससे भी अधिक रकम चीन से कांग्रेस ने राफेल नहीं खरीदने के नाम पर डकार ली, और ऐ.के.ऐन्टोनी से बयान दिलवा दिया कि भारत के पास फंड नहीं है, खरीद नहीं सकते।
अब मोदी जी के शासन में सौदा हो गया है, तब चीन ने मियां राहुल को तलब किया।
राहुल ने भारत में चीनी दूतावास में जाकर राफेल के बारे में सफ़ाई दी। मगर चीनी अधिकारी संतुष्ट नहीं हुए, और वे बोले "राहुल बाबा, राफेल के मामलों में तुम चीन जाकर बात कर लो, अन्यथा खाया माल वापस कर दो!"
अब राहुल दूतावास से बाहर आकर बोला कि "हम डोकलाम के विषय पर बात करने गए थे!" इस मूर्ख पप्पू ने भारत के लोगों को पप्पू बना दिया।
अब चीन के बुलावे पर चीन जाये तो जाये कैसे? तब युक्ति निकाली गई कि राहुल बाबा मानसरोवर यात्रा चीन के रास्ते जाएगा। मगर सिर्फ चीन जाकर राफेल नहीं खरीदने का कमीशन जो पप्पू ने खाया था, उसके सामने चीन ने दो शर्तें रखीं:
एक, मोदी के शासन में खरीदा सौदा जैसे भी हो, कैंसल करवाओ, या उसमें क्या-क्या उपकरण लगवाए जा रहे हैं, हमें बताओ।
दूसरा, अगर ये नहीं कर सकते तो, खाया हुआ कमीशन वापस करना होगा।
अब पप्पू भारत आकर मोदी विरोधी पार्टियों को प्रलोभन देकर, "चौकीदार चोर-चौकीदार चोर" पागल की तरह चिल्लाने लगा।
जब भाजपा ने पूरी तरह से झाड़ दिया, तब सुर्पीम कोर्ट गया! वहां भी नाकाम रहा!
इधर पप्पू से लोग पूछ रहे थे: मानसरोवर जा कर कैसा लगा? अब वह लोगों को क्या उत्तर दे? दिमाग तो पप्पू का संट था! अगर राफेल मोदी जी से कैंसल न कर सके, तो चीन से खाया माल वापस करना पड़ेगा। तो मानसरोवर वाले मामले में राहुल सटीक वर्णन नहीं कर सका था! शायद वो व्हीडियो (मानसरोवर के विषय में पूछे सवाल पर) वाइरल भी हुआ था।
पप्पू सही उत्तर नहीं दे सका था, और हकलाने लगा था।
इधर, चीन से फिर निर्देश मिला: JPC कराकर, उसमें लगने वाले उपकरण के बारे में हमें जानकारी दे दो, तभी हम तुम्हें बक्ष देंगे!
तब से पप्पू ने जेपीसी की रट लगाई है!
इधर, मोदीजी को सब अनुभव था, चीन की डिमांड के बारे में पता चल गया! तब मोदीजी ने जेपीसी के लिए मना कर दिया, क्यों कि सारी जानकारी चीन तक आसानीसे चली जाती, और पप्पू चीन से खाया माल वापस करने से बच जाता।
इसलिए राफेल मुद्दा चुनाव तक रखकर, चीन का माल वापस करने से बचने के लिए, चुनाव में ये पगला जी-जान लगायेगा! और अन्य पार्टियों को भी खाये माल में प्रलोभन दिया है।
पप्पू ने सोच रखा है: अगर चुनाव के नतीजे मोदी पक्ष में नहीं आए, तब हम चीन के र्निदेशके हिसाब से काम कर देंगे, और राफेल को कैंसल कर देंगे!
मेरा विचार है कि पिछली कांग्रेस सरकार ने "राफेल क्यों नहीं खरीदा?" इस पर मोदी सरकार जांच बिठा दे, तो सारी अकड़ पप्पू की निकल जायेगी।
।। जय भारत ।।
पूर्ण बहुमत की सरकार क्या कर सकती है, पिछले पांच साल में देख लिया। अब प्रचंड बहुमत की क्या कर सकती है, अगले पांच साल में देखेंगे।

Defence minister with vision needed

Defence minister with vision needed

The recent bizarre defence of the MoD against denial of Non-Functional Upgradation to the armed forces on the pretext of palatial houses,
army schools and other facilities including Military Service Pay has enhanced the divide
between the MoD and the armed forces expected to operate under them.

Harsha Kakar | New Delhi | March 26, 2019 12:10 am

    

Ministry of Defence, Government of India. (Image: Facebook/@DefenceMinIndia)

In his eulogy to Manohar Parrikar, Nitin Gokhale writes of a conversation with him soon after he took over as the defence minister. Parrikar stated, “In these two-three months that I have been here (MoD), the most striking aspect I noticed is the all-pervasive atmosphere of suspicion. Everyone is looking over his or her own shoulder. There is very little coordination; the overwhelming tendency is to first say ‘no’ to everything.” It was this that he had tried to overcome. These words are the closest to the truth concerning the errant MoD that any politician has made.

His words were echoed by the MoS defence, Subhash Bhamre in a presentation to the PMO in December 2017, when he stated, “Of the total of 144 schemes contracted during the last three financial years, only 8-10 per cent fructified within the stipulated time period. The average time taken by these schemes was 52 months, which is more than twice the laid down duration of 16-25 months stipulated in the defence procurement policy.”

He added, “There is the evident lack of synergy between the stakeholders that is amongst various departments of the MoD. The departments appear to be working in independent silos driven by policy/procedures.” It is the silo approach which has led to the MoD being not only distrusted but also a failure in many ways.

For over seven decades, while the world has moved forward, integrated the armed forces with the ministry responsible for them, India hesitates. The reason is the illogical fear of a coup. Consecutive Indian governments have failed to trust their own armed forces on which the nation has complete faith, despite it never letting them down. This distrust has been fuelled by a bureaucracy which is hesitant to dilute its control.

The MoD is a bureaucratic ministry responsible for all aspects of the military. No one who is posted to the ministry has ever had a day’s military service, remains unaware of what he must deal with and yet desires control over the services. In such an atmosphere the ministry will remain a stumbling block.

Demands for equipment projected by the armed forces take years to fructify. There is never any rush or a desire to push cases. They remain under process for ages. As a policy every case file must be returned multiple times with queries which could be handled in minutes. The reason – delay, deny and avoid decision-making so as not to become a part of a controversy.

The cases are only processed once the armed forces raise hue and cry. The impact on national security is of no concern to the bureaucracy as they remain unanswerable for lack of capabilities. Criticism by every single parliamentary committee on shortfalls in defence preparedness are ignored. Such inaction only adds to distrust.

The recent bizarre defence of the MoD against denial of Non-Functional Upgradation to the armed forces on the pretext of palatial houses, army schools and other facilities including Military Service Pay has enhanced the divide between the MoD and the armed forces expected to operate under them. None of the reasons bear logic as has been projected on multiple social media platforms.

The misuse of canteen profits to fund civil services facilities including schools specifically created for their wards, their medical treatment and availability of five-star civil services clubs with everything subsidised has been ignored. These bizarre claims only highlight the venom existing within the MoD against the armed forces they are duty bound to serve. A recent example of existing hatred was the tweet by the MoD spokesperson targeting a decorated ex-Naval Chief. In such an environment there can only be dislike.

The Home Minister upgraded the risk factor for the CAPFs operating under them from R1H2 to R1H1 post Pulwama, which implied an enhancement in monetary terms. The bureaucracy is already at a much higher grade. A simple comparison indicates that while an army officer receives Rs 16,900, the CAPFs obtain Rs 25,000 and the bureaucracy is granted Rs 50,000 for the same risk factor. The MoD has yet to resolve the anomaly, despite the defence minister claiming she micro-manages the ministry. Such actions imply the armed forces are treated as second class citizens by their own ministry.

The MoD put forth an illogical proposal to equate the Armed Forces HQ Civil Cadre with the armed forces, while ignoring similar equivalence with the IAS. It led to the service chiefs creating a hue and cry, compelling the MoD to back down. Similar has been the case with the bureaucracy attempting to grab armed forces establishments including the Canteen Services Department. Such actions lead to service chiefs devoting more time battling internal enemies than external. In such an environment, can there be unity in approach?

Within the nation and especially amongst the military community there is a growing feeling that the armed forces are a political tool to garner votes but dumped thereafter. No defence minister has had the foresight to consider reorganisation of the MoD to cater for modern threats and enhancing joint operations. This, despite recommendations of every committee formed by every government in independent India’s history. Clearly, lack of foresight is a feature of our political leadership.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley admitting post the budget and prior to elections, that the defence budget is low and should be enhanced, is another vote garnering gimmick. He had been defence minister twice in this government, was aware of every shortcoming, yet failed to act. Stating the same after the chicken has flown the coop is a poor reflection of the understanding of his government.

Can the armed forces, deployed in the worst of conditions, battling threats everyday trust any government and the MoD to provide them even essentials? The answer is an emphatic no. This distrust will remain unless some government, in the coming days appoints a defence minister with vision, capability and a desire to reform the MoD by taking the bull by its horns. Does India possess someone with such a capability? A point to consider.

(The writer is a retired Major-General of the Indian Army)

There is more to Balakot than the numbers

Iqbal Chand Malhotra

Iqbal Chand Malhotra is an award-winning TV producer

There is more to Balakot than the numbers

THE BJP PRESIDENT Amit Shah may not have been far-off the mark when he claimed that 250 terrorists were killed during the Indian Air Force’s air strike on Balakot at around 3:30 am local time on February 26th, 2019. However, Shah would never be able to provide the evidence to back his claim. Revealing the evidence would violate the charter of ‘The MOU on Geosynchronous Earth Orbit and Low Earth Orbit Optical Link’ signed between Prime Ministers Modi and Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on July 5th, 2017 in New Delhi. This MoU permits Indian and Israeli satellites to ‘talk to each other’.

Let me explain further. EL/M-2070 Tec SAR, also known as Tech SAR, Polaris and Ofek-8, is an Israeli Reconnaissance Satellite equipped with synthetic aperture radar developed by Elta Systems. It was successfully launched on January 21st, 2008, by PSLV C-10, Launch Vehicle, from Sriharikota in India. This satellite is perhaps the world’s only satellite that is an indispensable system for military operations in the mountainous terrains of Central Asia that includes the Hindu Kush, Karakoram and Himalayan ranges. It is capable of imaging with a resolution of up to 10 centimeters, through an X-band radar system. The satellite’s maximum resolution is believed to be around 1 metre. Tec SAR’s was the first Israeli satellite to feature Synthetic Aperture Radar, or SAR, which provides images in day or night and under all-weather conditions.

Now, RISAT-2, or Radar Imaging Satellite 2, is an Indian Radar Reconnaissance Satellite that was built by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and successfully launched aboard a PSLV-CA rocket at 01:15 GMT on April 20th, 2009 from the second launchpad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. RISAT-2’s main sensor is also an X-band synthetic aperture radar from IAI. It is designed to monitor India’s borders and is a part of anti-infiltration and anti-terrorist operations.

Here is a possible scenario of what happened over Balakot on the night of Feb 26th, 2019. The Israeli satellite Tec SAR was tasked to directly send images of heat signatures of the number of terrorists sleeping in their dormitories in the Balakot Camp to RISAT-2. This exchange took place in outer space. Mind you, the dormitories were located in two separate buildings that flanked the main structure. The main structure was of no strategic or tactical interest. Having confirmed that whatever number of terrorists were in the land of nod, RISAT-2 transmitted this information to the designated IAF Phalcon AWACS that was controlling this attack. All of this would have happened in under 15 minutes. The Phalcon then transmitted the go-ahead to the Flight Leader of the Mirage 2000s to launch their ordnance. While this was in progress, it is presumed because of the sensitivity involved in this virgin exercise, Site IV of the US National Command Authorities (NCA) Ground Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance System (GEODSS) at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean was also patched in. Diego Garcia in turn would be directly connected to the USAF Space Command Space Defence Centre (SPADOC) at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex. This in turn would have patched in the Pentagon.

THE QUESTION IS: were the Mirage 2000s using the Israeli SPICE 2000? While undoubtedly, the SPICE 2000 ‘operates on pre-recorded GPS coordinates’, and the weapon’s ‘advanced identification and processing abilities can reportedly help overcome jamming efforts’, the public announcement of its usage may have been a decoy. My guess is that the Mirage 2000 which fired the ordnance was armed with the Israeli Delilah Cruise Missile. Delilah is a cruise missile capable of deceiving even the much-vaunted Trumpf S-400 Russian air defence system and can loiter over a contested area before hitting the target. Delilah has a range of 250 km and can penetrate any air defence system. This is why the Pakistani air defences were clueless as to what was hurtling through the skies towards Balakot. SPICE 2000 is nowhere in the league of Delilah. The use of Delilah would have also rattled the Chinese as they use the S-400 system. We seem to have the weapon capable of overriding even the Chinese Air Defence shield at present, if we really do have Delilah?

But this is by no means the end of the story. A confused and perplexed Pakistani leadership was floored. Their reaction was knee -jerk. The very next day, on February 27th, 2019 an assorted flight of PAF aircraft attempted to invade Indian air space and launch ordnance against targets in Jammu & Kashmir. Why did they flee and why did their ordnance not reach the designated targets?

The PAF used H4 Stand Off Weapon (SOW) in this attack. It has a terminal guidance system based on an infrared homing seeker, which identifies the target during the final stage of flight. Designed to hit targets till 120 km, the bomb may have the capability to evade radar. This is based on technology copied from the South African T-Darter BVR missile and in this particular case was susceptible to being jammed by the IAF’s IR Jammers which disabled the H4, confusing the infrared seekers placed in the cone of the H4. Furthermore, it is my guess that the IAF Phalcon controlling this dogfight was armed with the Rafael Sky Shield EW pod which can protect an entire fighter formation. All the AMRAAM’s fired by the PAF F16s and similar Chinese missiles fired by the PAF JF-17s, were disabled and flew harmlessly by. The entire battle will have to be broken down and diagnosed to decipher how the missile that downed Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s MiG- 21 Bison was able to penetrate the Sky Shield. Thereafter, heavy pressure from all of its benefactors, excepting China, compelled Pakistan to return Varthaman.

Undoubtedly, India owes a debt to Israel. The Tec SAR, RISAT, Phalcon, SPICE, Delilah, Sky Shield and MiG 21 Bison are all Israeli products. Pakistan for the first time realised both the limitations of its own ability to ‘steal and copy’ and the effectiveness of Chinese technology, and so did their Chinese overlords. The US, Israel and India jointly collaborated for the first time in a real-time encounter against Chinese technology and these two encounters will provide a lot of data for all the participants to analyse and study. This may open up such cooperation with Japan as well.

For the Chinese, from their point of view, this was an unfair fight and they desperately needed to prop up the demoralised Pakistani morale. Both the Chinese and the Pakistanis have got to know how India feels as they are pitted against us in choreographed synchronicity. For the first time after 1971 when the Soviets helped us with satellite imagery, another country, namely Israel, has helped us unconditionally in our time of need. The Chinese action in blocking the UN Resolution on Masood Azhar has to be seen in this light. Can Pakistan still prove to be a potent Chinese frontline weapon against India, now that India has crossed the Rubicon in terms of retaliation?

Incidentally, all of the information in this article is available on the internet and only requires the skill to join the dots.