Resonance

After more than 60 hours of battle with the terrorists, the men armored with courage saved many lives of hostages, defended our nation and restored pride in our nation’s armed forces. The National Security Guards (NSG) were hailed as heroes of the country. People congratulated NSG men for their valiant service during the hours of crisis.
26/11 attack brought to light the lapses in the internal security of the country and the need for proactive measures to thwart terrorist activities. The attack necessitated to increase the swiftness in the response mechanism to terrorist threats and attacks. One of the measures is to initially set up NSG hubs in four cities; Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai.
The National Security Guards has evolved to be one of the eminent counter terrorist units in Asia and was formed by the Cabinet Secretariat under the National Security Guard Act of the Parliament in 1986. Overseen by the Ministry of Home Affairs and headed by the Director General of Indian Police Service, NSG is confined to the Indian Armed Forces structure.
Headquartered at Mehramnagar, Palam, the NSG training centre and the National Data Centre which holds international conferences are based at Manesar in Haryana. Comprising of two groups in NSG; Special Action Group (SAG) that operates on anti–terrorists and anti–hijack situations with the support of Special Ranger Group (SRG), which provides high security to VVIPs of India.
NSG draws its members for SAG from the Indian Armed Forces and the members for SRG from other paramilitary forces like Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Rapid Action Force and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
It was in 1985, the NSG commandos began their first operations to combat the insurgency movement in Punjab. Their functions include handling hijack situations, bomb disposal, neutralization of terrorist threats, engaging and neutralizing terrorists in specific situations and rescuing hostages. The NSG commandos are primarily involved to counter terrorist activities and continue its operations in Jammu & Kashmir.
The aspirants to join NSG, go through an extensive, vigourous training, in order to be inducted into NSG. The recruits who complete the basic course for 90 days are taken for specialised training. There are more than 7000 NSG commandos.
In the wake of Mumbai terror attacks, the law on the National Investigative Agency Bill and Unlawful Activities Prevention Amendment Bill was passed. As a central agency, the National Investigative Agency (NIA) was set up, to investigate terror related cases that spanned across the country.
NSG defends the nation when faced with terrorization, strives to safeguard our territory from the terrorists outfits, with an endless grit and determination. Salute to our real life heroes!

Angelene Monica V.

Though crippled by communal riots, economic recession and wounded by Mumbai terror attack, Incredible India shone throughout the year 2008. Last year we also witnessed prideful events which makes our heads high and also gifted us with some amazing personalities whom we as young Indians can emulate.
The great Indian success stories of 2008 were ushered in on January 10th by Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata as he unveiled ‘Nano’, the world’s cheapest car. In March, his company also acquired Britain’s most famous names in automobile manufacturing, Jaguar and Land Rover. Taking charge as Commonwealth Secretary General, Kamalesh Sharma added a golden feather to India’s cap.
Media
France conferred the Order of Arts et Lettres on Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan. The Malaysian State of Malacca presented ‘Datuk’ title to him, making him the first foreign actor to get the honour. Soumitra Chatterjee and Priyamani bagged Best Actor and Actress award respectively at the 54th National Film Awards. Malayalam film Pulijanmam was adjudged Best Feature Film and Lage Raho Munnabhai the best popular film. Bollywood filmmaker Yash Chopra was conferred the Officer of The Legion of Honour by the French Government. Veteran Bengali film director Tapan Sinha was selected for the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Ranbir kapoor, Deepika Padukone bagged the best male and female debut of the year award at IIFA awards in Bangkok.
Arts and Literature
Eminent Hindustani vocalist, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and Kashmiri poet Abdul Rahman Rahi were presented with Bharat Ratna and Jnanpith Awards respectively. Historian Romila Thapar was chosen for the 2008 Kluge Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Study of Humanity. India-born British author Salman Rushdie was knighted for his services to literature and also won Best of Booker prize for his path breaking novel Midnight’s Children. Arvind Adiga, the Chennai-born author won the Man Booker Prize for his debut novel The White Tiger. Indian doctor couple Prakash Amte and Mandakini Amte was conferred 2008 Magsaysay award. Tamilnadu couple Krishanmmal Jagannathan and Sankaralingam Jagannathan share the Right Livelihood Award or ‘alternative Nobel’.
Sports
Indian shooter, Abhinav Bindra bagged for independent India its first individual Olympic gold. Boxer Vijender Singh and wrestler Sushil Kumar also won bronze medals each in Olympic Games. Vishwanathan Anand won both the world rapid chess championship in Mainz and world chess championship at Bonn. Sachin Tendulkar went past Brian Lara’s mark—11953 runs—to become the highest run getter in Tests. 2008 was a good year for Indian badminton players such as Saina Nehwal who brought home world junior badminton title. Other eminent players like Chetan Anand and Anand Pawar also proved their prowess in the international arena. Indian golfers, Arjun Atwal and Jeev Milkha Singh made India proud by winning various vital international events. Team India, both Women’s cricket and Junior Hockey became Asian Champions.
Technology and Defence
In an historic event, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C10 (PSLV) puts Israeli satellite Tecsar into orbit. An indigenously developed pilotless target aircraft ‘Lakshya’ was successfully flight-tested. India joined a select club in underwater missile capability by successfully test firing Sagarika, a tactical, submarine-to-surface missile. The PSLV-C9 again created history by putting 10 satellites in orbit in a precisely timed sequence. India successfully test fired Agni 3 ballistic missile, capable of striking targets 3,500 km away. On October 22nd, India’s first space craft to the Moon, Chandrayaan 1 liftoff from Sriharikota. Indian Navy too joined the bandwagon by becoming the first Indian team to ski to the North Pole.
Good-will Gestures
Our first Centre for Climate Change and Adaptation Research was inaugurated at Anna University, Chennai. The Union Cabinet gave nod for foreign news magazines to come out with Indian editions. Resuming the service after 43 years, ‘Maitree Express’ to Dhaka, Bangladesh was flagged off from the Kolkata station. Trailing Germany and France, India too imposed a nationwide ban on smoking in public places on October 2nd. The much awaited cross-LoC trade, the first since 1947 began with the flagging off of 13 trucks carrying goods on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road.
Let’s hope and wish India will achieve much more in the current year. May the success stories quoted above inspire us to attain our personal goals in coming years and as the father our nation, Mahatmaji said, you must be the change you wish to see in the world. All the best for all!

Justin Raj K.