u/Electronic_Cause_796

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I’ll be visiting Kedarnath next month in June, and as a huge fan of astrophysics and space, I’ve heard that Kedarnath and the surrounding areas have very dark, clear skies that are ideal for stargazing and photographing galaxies.

Usually, in metropolitan cities like Delhi or Mumbai, heavy pollution and light pollution make it difficult to even see stars properly, so I really don’t want to miss this opportunity while visiting the temple next month.

I would love some suggestions regarding the best spots near Kedarnath for stargazing, the ideal time during the night, and any tips for stargazing

Pls give some suggestions

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The Encounter

• Date – September 7, 1965

• Location – An offensive Indian Air Force raid on Sargodha, Pakistan

• The Pilot – A. B. Devayya of No. 1 Squadron, IAF

• The Action –

On September 7, 1965, Sqn Ldr Devayya was part of a formation of aircraft on a strike mission against Sargodha Airfield in Pakistan. He was the last aircraft in the mission to complete the attack, and as he turned away, he was intercepted by an enemy Lockheed F-104 Starfighter.

After Sqn Ldr Devayya successfully evaded the missiles launched by the enemy aircraft, the attacker flying the much faster Starfighter caught up with him and opened fire, damaging Devayya’s aircraft.

Displaying exceptional courage and fighting spirit, Sqn Ldr Devayya chose to engage the superior enemy aircraft in air combat and ultimately shot down the attacker.

• Combat in Detail –

Devayya successfully engaged the Starfighter flown by Amjad Hussain. He understood that he could neutralize the Starfighter’s performance advantage if he forced the fight into horizontal maneuvering, where the Dassault Mystère IV had a superior turning capability. After a couple of yo-yos, the Starfighter pilot made the mistake Devayya had been waiting for.

In an attempt to get behind the Mystère, the Starfighter pilot rapidly reduced speed and executed a horizontal turn to line up the Mystère for a gun solution. Seizing the opportunity, Devayya turned hard into his adversary and forced the Starfighter into horizontal scissors. Using the Mystère’s better low-speed handling and turning rate, Devayya steadily reduced the angle needed to bring the enemy aircraft into his sights.

With each passing scissor maneuver, the dogfight descended to lower altitudes, increasing the danger for both pilots. Devayya continued gaining on the Starfighter but still lacked a clean firing opportunity. He then decided to risk the last few knots of speed remaining in his aircraft.

As the Starfighter crossed once again, Devayya turned sharply into it, bleeding speed rapidly but managing to cut inside the enemy’s turn. When he reversed the maneuver, the Starfighter finally appeared directly in his gunsight. Devayya realized this was his only chance.

At point-blank range—around 250 yards from the Starfighter Devayya fired. The 30 mm HE shells from the DEFA cannon struck the Starfighter near the vertical stabilizer at the rear of the aircraft. The Starfighter was fatally hit.

A shocked Amjad Hussain found his controls jammed as the damaged Starfighter plunged toward the ground. Its rear stabilizer had been ripped apart by the Mystère’s cannon fire. Hussain eventually ejected from the doomed aircraft and survived the extremely dangerous low-level ejection.

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• The Encounter

• Date - December 12, 1971

• Location - Near Rann of Kutch, Okha, Gujarat, India

• The Pilot - Wing Commander Bharat Bhushan Soni of the 47th Squadron IAF

• The Action - During the operations against Pakistan in December 1971, Flight Lieutenant Bharat Bhushan Soni was serving with Fighter Squadron. During an enemy air raid on the airfield, he took off and engaged one F-104 aircraft after it had attacked the airfield. He flew his aircraft at almost supersonic speed at low level and shot down the enemy aircraft using his jet cannon.

• The Result - His combat skill was amply demonstrated in the Indo-Pak War of 1971 when he shot down a superior supersonic F-104 Starfighter aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force. For this act of conspicuous gallantry, he was awarded the Vir Chakra by the President.

• Combat in detail -

• Jamnagar Air Base: 12 December 1971, 1402 hours: Two MiG-21FLs at the ORP (Operational Readiness Platform) were scrambled to set up a CAP (Combat Air Patrol) at 3 km (10,000 feet) over the airfield. Minutes earlier, Mobile Observation Posts along the Saurashtra sea coast had reported two bandits flying low and crossing the coastline in the general direction of Jamnagar, home to a vital Indian air base. Shortly afterwards, the airfield came under attack, with the bandits — now identified as F-104A Starfighters — carrying out a front gun attack on aircraft parked near the runway 24/06 dumbbell, which were actually decoys. Spotting the MiG-21s, the second F-104 immediately turned north, while the lead F-104 continued at high speed along the runway. As it exited the airfield area, one of the MiG-21s dived down and positioned itself behind, but still slightly above, the F-104, allowing Indian air defence guns to continue firing safely.

• The F-104 cleared land and sped out over the sea at extremely low altitude and high speed, maintaining a heading of 240°. The pursuing MiG-21 descended to nearly 100 feet and accelerated to around 1200 km/hr with full afterburner engaged. The MiG pilot launched a K-13 air-to-air missile, but the F-104 pilot executed evasive manoeuvres and released flares, successfully diverting the heat-seeking missile away from its target. The MiG-21 pilot then switched to guns mode and continued closing the distance. In a desperate attempt to evade, the F-104 suddenly broke sharply to the right, perhaps expecting another missile attack. However, this manoeuvre allowed the MiG-21 to rapidly close in. From a distance of approximately 300 metres, the MiG-21 fired three sharp bursts from its GSh-23 cannon. The F-104 was immediately hit, bursting into flames and pulling upward briefly before the pilot ejected.

• The MiG-21 roared past at tremendous speed before climbing and turning around. Its pilot watched as the parachute deployed and the F-104 pilot descended slowly beneath a bright orange canopy into the shark-infested waters of the Gulf of Kutch. The MiG-21 pilot then circled the area, radioed the base with the exact location for a rescue launch, and finally returned safely to base.

• The MiG-21FL pilot was Flt. Lt. Bharat Bhushan Soni of No. 47 Squadron, IAF, based at Jamnagar. The F-104A pilot was Wg. Cdr. Mervyn Middlecoat of No. 9 Squadron, PAF, based at Masroor Air Force Base, Karachi, and a veteran of the 1965 operations. Despite an extensive search operation, neither Wg. Cdr. Middlecoat nor the wreckage of the Starfighter was ever found. Nearly 15 years later, unidentified aircraft parts recovered from the seabed near Jamnagar port by Indian naval divers were believed to belong to the lost F-104.

The horror begins in the pre dawn mist. Three fedayeens of the Laskar/Jaish Suicide Squad disguised in Indian Army fatigues to mask their lethal intent, board a Jammu bound Himachal Roadways bus at Vijaypur. The passengers, mostly civilians and families, had no idea they were sharing a ride with death.

As the bus reaches the Kaluchak area, the killers reveal themselves. They open fire indiscriminately, turning the vehicle into a metal trap of glass and lead. Seven people are executed in their seats, including the driver. A grenade is lobbed into the bus to ensure maximum carnage before the attackers move toward their true target i.e the army camp

Later the terrorists storm the main gate of the 196 Artillery Unit. A lone guard stands his ground but is martyred by a grenade blast as the militants breach the perimeter. Their objective wasn't just a military installation, it was the vulnerable heart of the soldier- their families.

Then they entered the Army family quarters. Not to fight soldiers, but to butcher unarmed women, elders and children in their sleep

These children weren’t caught in crossfire, they were the target. Shot in the head. Blown apart by grenades. Burned and Mutilated.

The aftermath captured images tells the story words cannot: the rows of coffins, the inconsolable grief of survivors, and the small bodies of children caught in a conflict they never chose. By 9:15 AM, the Indian Army completed its retaliatory strike, eliminating all three terrorists, but the soul of the nation was already scarred.

indiscriminately spraying bullets that felled 24 people, mainly women and children, apart from injuring 43 others. Among the dead were Kuldeep Kaur and her newly born daughter who was to be named only after her father Subedar Manjit Singh, deployed at the border, returned in a week’s time.

The geopolitical fallout was seismic. Coming months after the 2001 Parliament attack, Kaluchak triggered Operation Parakram’s most intense phase. India mobilized 500,000 troops to the border. For weeks, the world watched with bated breath as two nuclear powers stood at the brink, all sparked by the blood spilled in a small military colony.

24 years later, we remember the 31 lives lost at Kaluchak. They weren't just statistics; they were families who paid the ultimate price for their country. We honor the fallen jawans, their brave families, and the resilience of those who continue to serve in the face of such darkness.

https://x.com/i/status/2054785464310157617

Cc- link of the thread

https://x.com/i/status/2054502949280252252

https://x.com/i/status/2054584558482563322

Cc - PTI and News Arena

According to RUMINT, members of Jaish-e-Mohammed are furious and are directly blaming Lashkar-e-Taiba cadre Ubaid Jahangir, son of Muhammad Jahangir Shahid from Koyian, Khai Gala, Rawalakot, PoJK. They blame that he provided the location details and GPS coordinates of Jaish-e-Mohammed’s Syedna Bilal terrorist camps to an Indian agencies ahead of Op Sindoor.

Ubaid Jahangir was arrested by Pak law enforcement agencies on charges of espionage. He is closely linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba. His uncle, Shaukat S/O Samandar, is considered a key LeT figure and serves as the custodian of the Jama-ud-Dawa mosque in Khai Gala, PoJK.

Jaish cadres are furious and are blaming the ISI for shielding Lashkar-e-Taiba

The ULPGM is a family of autonomous, fire-and-forget, precision guided air-to-surface missiles, which can be launched from an unmanned aerial vehicle. This project is a collaboration between the Defence Research and Development Organization, and Bengaluru-based private company Newspace Research & Technologies.

Under the Development cum Production Partner programme, Adani Defence & Aerospace, and Bharat Dynamics Limited have been assigned to manufacture the weapon system.

It is a component of India's rising focus around precision strikes without necessitating human intervention. With its multi-platform compatibility, lightweight design, and extreme accuracy, ULPGM is intended to give the Indian Armed Forces strategic flexibility on the battlefield

Sameer, an A++ category militant, came from a very humble background. His father Mohammad Maqbool Bhat is a manual worker and his younger brother works as a mechanic. While several families in the village are affluent and own apple orchards, Bhat’s family has only a few acres of land.

A chronic stonepelter, Sameer was a Class VIII dropout. He reportedly got the “honorific” Tiger as he would remain at the forefront of angry demonstrators who would clash with the security forces and pelt them with stones during pro-freedom protests.

Sameer, according to local police, was arrested in 2016 on charges of stonepelting, only to be released a few days later. He was then counselled by police for nearly two weeks and let off with a condition that he would continue with his studies.

Instead, one day, not very long after, his parents approached the Drabgam police station and registered a missing report about their son, officials recounted. He had fled into the jungles of adjoining Tral and joined the Hizbul Mujahideen militant group besides extending help to other terror outfits.

According to senior police officials, he persuaded about 80 people to join the militancy movement in South Kashmir and repeatedly managed to escape the police dragnet -- until now.

Sameer in fact had become the face of the militant outfit after the death of Burhan Wani. He largely remained active in two districts of Southern Kashmir—Shopian and Pulwama. After Burhan Wani's death, videos of a bearded, long-haired Sameer appeared on various social networking sites in a bid to entice Kashmiri youths to join militancy.

Allegedly, he carried out several political and civilian killings besides he is also accused of abducting small time political workers and police informers, torturing them and recording their agony.

Sameer would frequently post his videos and photographs on the social networking sites. In one of the videos released in 2017, he can be seen interrogating a few local youths allegedly masquerading as militants. Subsequently, one of Sameer’s photographs, which showed him fiercely staring into camera with an American M-4 carbine placed on right shoulder, had gone viral on the social media. It raised hackles among security forces over militants possessing sophisticated American weapons in Kashmir Valley.

“We were left dumbfounded to see such sophisticated weapons falling in the hands of militants. Even our men fighting insurgency are not armed with this kind of weaponry” said a police officer on the conditions of anonymity.

About a month ago, a video emerged on the Facebook that showed Sameer imparting arms-training to the new recruits. A few days later, he was blamed by security forces for the killing of senior political leader Ghulam Nabi Patel.