INDIA
The 1990 Ayodhya karsevak firing: Confrontation that altered the temple movement
The October-November 1990 clashes in Ayodhya—marked by repeated karsevak attempts to storm the disputed structure, heavy police action, and Mulayam Singh Yadav’s uncompromising stand—became the moment that reshaped the movement and laid the political and emotional foundations for the events of December 1992.
INDIA
The 1990 Rath Yatra: How Advani’s Ayodhya march turned a political dispute into a mass street movement across India
Advani’s 1990 rath yatra, launched from Somnath to Ayodhya, did more than demand a temple. It stitched together scattered campaigns into a nationwide street mobilisation, triggered clashes and arrests, toppled a government, and pushed the Ayodhya dispute to the very centre of Indian politics.
INDIA
Rise of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement 1980s: How temple mobilisation and yatras turned Ayodhya into a national political campaign
How religious mobilisation, organisational campaigns and mass political participation during the 1980s transformed the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute from a regional legal battle into a nationwide movement that reshaped Indian politics and elevated the BJP as a major national force.
INDIA
Opening of the Babri Masjid site for Hindu worship (1986): How the court-ordered unlocking transformed the Ayodhya dispute
A factual account of the 1986 district court order that unlocked the gates of the disputed Babri Masjid–Ram Janmabhoomi site for Hindu worshippers after more than three decades, and how this administrative and legal decision altered the trajectory of the Ayodhya dispute by intensifying political, religious and communal mobilisation across India.
INDIA
Opening of Babri Masjid site for Hindu worship in 1986: How court-ordered unlocking transformed Ayodhya dispute
A factual account of the 1986 district court order that unlocked the gates of the disputed Babri Masjid–Ram Janmabhoomi site for Hindu worshippers after more than three decades, and how this administrative and legal decision altered the trajectory of the Ayodhya dispute by intensifying political, religious and communal mobilisation across India.
INDIA
Siege and fall of Skardu in 1947-48: The lonely garrison that held out for months and paid the ultimate price
How a cut-off outpost in Baltistan endured isolation, starvation and relentless assault before finally falling in one of the most tragic episodes of the Kashmir war. For months, Skardu’s tiny garrison held on with dwindling ammunition and no hope of relief, turning a remote fort into a symbol of endurance and sacrifice that still haunts the conflict’s memory.
INDIA
Operation Trident: India’s audacious naval strike on Karachi (December 4, 1971)
A bold night attack by the Indian Navy that shattered Pakistan’s western fleet and changed the course of the 1971 war.
INDIA
Idols inside the Masjid (1949): How the appearance of Ram Lalla inside Babri Masjid reshaped control of the disputed site
A factual recounting of how idols of Ram Lalla appeared inside the Babri Masjid on the night of 22-23 December 1949, how authorities responded, and how the episode intensified the legal and political dispute that followed.
INDIA
Origins of Ram Janmabhoomi dispute in 19th century: How colonial records first formalised the temple-mosque contest
In the 19th century, Ayodhya’s temple–mosque contest shifted from local belief to written record. Colonial surveys, clashes and bureaucratic decisions turned a shared sacred space into a documented dispute that would later shape courtrooms, politics and the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
INDIA
Babri Masjid construction and historical origins of dispute explained
The Babri Masjid–Ram Janmabhoomi dispute draws on centuries of overlapping claims, archaeological findings, colonial records and court judgments. Here is a factual account of how the mosque was built and how the contestation around the site emerged.
INDIA
Defence of Poonch (1947-48): A year-long siege, air-supply lifeline, and the final breakout under Operation Easy
How a remote frontier town held out for twelve desperate months, survived on a fragile airbridge and relentless local mobilisation, and finally broke free in one of the war’s most daring operations — a risky, hard-fought breakout that turned a starving, encircled Poonch from a besieged outpost into a symbol of endurance, unity and strategic recovery.
INDIA
Battle of Pattan and the advance to Uri: Securing the Srinagar-Baramulla-Uri axis
In the crucial days after Shalateng, Indian troops fought a sharp engagement at Pattan to break the last organised tribal resistance on the road west. Securing the town opened the axis toward Baramulla, enabling a steady advance to Uri. These operations cleared the Valley’s lifeline, stabilised the front, and restored control over the vital corridor to the LoC.
INDIA
Airlanding at Srinagar (October 27, 1947): India’s first wartime airlift and the race to save the Valley
In a few tense hours on 27 October 1947, unarmed Dakotas flew into an almost undefended Srinagar, landing under the shadow of an advancing lashkar. The troops they carried seized the airfield, created a fragile perimeter, and turned a collapsing princely state into a defensible bridgehead that saved the Valley.
INDIA
Capture of Shalateng: The decisive counter-offensive where Indian troops broke the back of the tribal advance in 1947
The victory at Shalateng shattered the tribal advance and removed the immediate threat to Srinagar. This decisive counterattack allowed India to seize the initiative, secure the Valley, and shape the outcome of the 1947-48 war.
INDIA
Defence of Baramulla (1947): How delaying actions in Baramulla bought India crucial hours to airlift troops into Srinagar
Baramulla was neither fortified nor prepared for a major battle. The Dogra State Forces had suffered heavy losses in earlier engagements, leaving only scattered detachments to defend the town.
INDIA
1947 Battle of Badgam: The stand that saved Srinagar
A small platoon of Kumaon troops held their ground against overwhelming odds, buying the precious hours that allowed India to secure Srinagar and stop the tribal advance.
INDIA
The final advance to Dhaka: Inside India’s lightning campaign in 1971
A decisive thrust by India’s Eastern Command in December 1971 that turned a regional crisis into a stunning military victory and the birth of Bangladesh.
INDIA
From Garibpur to Dhaka: The opening move of India’s 1971 campaign
Garibpur was a microcosm of what was to follow in the eastern campaign; there, the Indian Army had complete tactical superiority, better coordination with air support, and higher morale.
INDIA
Battle of Sylhet: The airborne bridgehead that held the east
In December 1971, Sylhet became the stage for India’s first large-scale heliborne lodgement, as a lean assault force leapfrogged by Mi-4s into the Surma valley to ring-fence a Pakistani garrison and sever its road lifelines. What followed was a week of siege craft, ambush and calculated bluff that fixed a stronger enemy in place, unhinged the north-eastern defence, and opened the corridor toward Dacca.
INDIA
Battle of Hilli: The northern hinge that refused to break
The Battle of Hilli, December 1971, was the Eastern front’s hardest knot: a fortified Pakistani bridgehead astride the Bogra corridor that India had to break. Over brutal nights of attrition, Hilli’s capture unlocked Bogra and hastened Bangladesh’s liberation for good.
INDIA
Battle of Srinagar (Defence of Kashmir): The valley that refused to fall
Srinagar was the heart of the Valley: the political centre, the only major airfield, and the hinge connecting Baramulla to the Jhelum-Uri axis on one end and the routes to Gulmarg, Ganderbal, Pampore and Anantnag on the other.
INDIA
Battle of Shakargarh bulge: India’s armoured thrust that bent, boxed and blunted Pakistan’s western plan
The Shakargarh bulge was a wedge of Pakistani territory enclosed by the Chenab and Ravi rivers, pointing east toward Pathankot and the Jammu–Samba corridor.
INDIA
Poonch 1971: India’s defence that blunted Pakistan’s push
How Indian forces held key heights around Poonch and denied Pakistan a tactical victory in one of the most hard-fought western-front battles of 1971
INDIA
Battle of Chhamb: The valley that tested India’s western defences in 1971
Chhamb forms the junction where the plains of Punjab rise into the foothills of Jammu. It was the same place that was attacked by Pakistan in 1965 in a bid to cut off the vital Akhnur bridge.
