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Shock And Anger In India After Worst Attack On China Border In Decades

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5 years ago

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Shock And Anger In India After Worst Attack On China Border In Decades

India has reacted with shock and caution to the worst loss of life on its border with China in 60 years, with senior leaders largely silent on the hand-to-hand clashes in the remote, inhospitable Himalayan territory in which at least 20 Indian soldiers died.

Beijing also offered little information about the violence, but state media appeared to acknowledge on Tuesday that it had also led to Chinese casualties.

A day after reports of the first killings in the disputed area emerged, Indian news outlets began naming some of the dead and a clearer picture started to build of what transpired on Monday night on the high, steep ridge lines above the fast-flowing Galwan River in the western Himalayas.

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The killings were sparked when a patrol of Indian soldiers unexpectedly encountered Chinese troops in a steep section of the mountainous region they believed the People’s Liberation Army had retreated from, in line with a 6 June disengagement agreement, sources in Delhi said.

The two armies jostled and hand-to-hand fighting broke out – neither side armed in line with decades of tradition supposed to ward off the possibility of escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

Then an Indian commanding officer was pushed, fell from the narrow ridge and plunged to his death in the gorge below.

Reinforcements from the Indian side were summoned from a post about 4km away and eventually about 600 men were fighting with stones, iron rods and other makeshift weapons in near-total darkness for up to six hours, Indian government sources said, with most deaths on both sides occurring from soldiers falling or being knocked from mountain terrain.

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The United Nations and US government have expressed concern over the outbreak of violence between Indian and Chinese soldiers on the disputed Himalayan border which saw at least 20 people killed.

UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres urged both sides to exercise “maximum restraint”.

“We are concerned about reports of violence and deaths at the Line of Actual Control between India and China and urge both sides to exercise maximum restraint,” his spokesman said. “We take positive note of reports that the two countries have engaged to de-escalate the situation.

The US state department offered its condolences to the families of the 20 Indian soldiers confirmed to have died, and said it was monitoring the situation closely.

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“Both India and China have expressed a desire to de-escalate and we support a peaceful resolution of the current situation,” it said.

Indian media has reported that talks between commanders have been held, and high-level Indian officials were meeting at the ministry of defense, India Today reported.

Indian Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has hit out at the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, who is yet to make a public statement. “Why is the PM silent?” he said.

“Enough is enough. We need to know what has happened. How dare China kill our soldiers? How dare they take our land.”

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Both countries’ militaries have blamed the other for the conflict.

Beijing has refused to confirm any deaths on its side, but accused India of crossing the border twice and “provoking and attacking Chinese personnel”.

The editor in chief of state-run the Global Times, said he understood there had been Chinese casualties, but the People’s Liberation Army wanted to avoid “stoking public mood” by comparing numbers.

An editorial in the same paper said: “China does not want to turn border issues with India into a confrontation”, before blaming India for “arrogance and recklessness”.

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Indian media is also now asking if there was an intelligence failure that led to the Indian patrol encountering the Chinese soldiers.

“Should there have been some kind of heads up or a warning?” said Shiv Aroor, senior editor at India Today.

“These are areas where decisions have to be taken on a dime. It’s a life-and-death situation … you’ve got to be extremely dynamic,” he said.

“I don’t find any reason to believe the Indian army slipped up in this way … a camp that had already been disengaged by the Chinese had already made its way back,” he said.

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Both parties have been working towards de-escalation in recent weeks but the loss of life makes the situation even more complicated and precarious.

Chinese state media has reported the PLA is conducting joint military exercises “aimed at the destruction of key hostile hubs in a high-elevation mountainous region”. The PLA Tibet Military Command conducted live-fire drills with heavy artillery on Tuesday, with reports linking the PLA’s preparedness for high elevation combat to the clashes with India.

News Source: TheGuardian

Also Read: A ‘500 Years Old’ Temple, Submerged In The Mahanadi In Odisha, Is 60 Feet In Height. 

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HT Rewind 2024: Teja Sajja says HanuMan kicking off the year in style is the moment he’d been ‘waiting for’ | Exclusive

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1 day ago

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December 21, 2024

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HT Rewind 2024: Teja Sajja says HanuMan kicking off the year in style is the moment he’d been ‘waiting for’ | Exclusive

In conversation with Hindustan Times, Teja Sajja decodes the success of HanuMan and other Telugu films, talks about his upcoming projects, and more.
When Prasanth Varma’s superhero film HanuMan, starring Teja Sajja, was announced to be released alongside big films like Mahesh Babu’s Guntur Kaaram, Venkatesh’s Saindhav and Nagarjuna’s Naa Saami Ranga in January this year, no one expected the underdog to emerge on top. And yet, the film, made on a budget of under ₹50 crore, managed to collect over ₹300 crore at the box office worldwide in 25 days, becoming one of the highest-grossing Indian films for the year. (Also Read: Ranveer Singh met HanuMan actor Teja Sajja, complimented him even after his Prasanth Varma film Rakshas got shelved)

Ask Teja about the moment he realised his film had not just fought against the tide but also risen to the top; he tells Hindustan Times in an exclusive conversation, “Since I returned to acting (as a lead actor after being a child artiste since 1998), this is the moment I’ve been waiting for. When everything from the HanuMan teaser to the songs was grabbing attention, we knew we had hit a gold mine. But I don’t think we imagined it would cross the ₹300 crore threshold. We were so satisfied with the opening numbers; everything else was a bonus.”

‘Success has given me fear of disappointing people’

Teja acted in Zombie Reddy, Ishq and Adbhutham before HanuMan, but they are what you would call ‘critical successes’, adding to his repertoire as an actor who can perform. But things have changed for him now, says Teja, who is being picky about the roles he says yes to. “Success either makes you overconfident or gives you the fear of disappointing people; I have the latter,” he explains.

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Teja admits he wants to chart out his career in Hrithik Roshan’s footsteps, but not in the way you think. “I have such a fondness for Hrithik due to Koi Mil Gaya and Krrish. No matter how well he performed after that, these left a lasting impression on me; I’m sure 90s kids will agree,” he says, adding, “Similarly, I’ve realised that I have an audience in children now. I want to be conscious of that when I pick roles. I want to make films families can enjoy together.”

But despite people in places like Mumbai or Delhi recognising him, Teja says he’s clear that he wants to cater to the Telugu audience first. “I am conscious that I am making films for my playground – the Telugu states. This is the sensibility I have grown up with, and I don’t know if I can cater to everyone else. Will I promote my films in other languages? Sure. But I also can’t be part of films that aren’t authentic to what I know or understand,” he explains.

‘Rootedness has put us on the world map’

And authenticity seems to be the need of the hour. Be it Baahubali and RRR or the recently released Pushpa 2: The Rule, Kalki 2898 AD and Devara: Part 1, certain kind of stories seem to be finding success. “Rootedness and going local is proving to be such a boon for us, be it in Devara or Pushpa or HanuMan. Kalki 2898 AD was our version of a Hollywood film (the sci-fi concept) with actors from across languages in predominant roles; it put us on the world map,” reflects Teja.

However, the actor admits Tollywood went through a phase of Bollywood-inspired rom-coms and family dramas that worked in their favour for a while. “That wasn’t easy to replicate either, but it’s just that these local stories are what the audience seems most interested in now. It can’t just be chalked up to religion, too. It’s about the morals these films are hinged on, the fighting for righteousness, and how an underdog can find their strength. Introducing Mahabharata or Ramayana to a new audience in a cool way is just a perk,” he says.

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And it’s this rootedness that Teja says his next films, Mirai and Jai Hanuman (the sequel to HanuMan), will also have ample of. “Mirai is also a superhero film that caters to kids, but it’s not an origin story like HanuMan. It has a pan-Asian and Buddhist touch because the story is based on King Ashoka’s ideologies. I hope that I will get to deliver something new to the audience again. I will only feel like I’ve arrived if Mirai is equally, if not more, successful,” says Teja.

Rishab Shetty will headline Jai Hanuman, but Teja also looks forward to shooting that. “I can’t wait to be on that set; it’ll be exciting. Now that we know India is ready to watch our films, I want to step it up. I want to shift gears and shoot for at least two films in 2025,” he says. As for what he will do next, Teja says he wants to up the ante. “When I got a SIIMA award for Zombie Reddy as a debutant, I remember telling Prasanth this would be the last award I get. But now that I won a Radio City Cine Award for Best Actor, I hope more awards will follow,” he signs off cheekily.

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