Aguad has many reminders of the price of freedom, such as the wall of plaques commemorating fallen fighters and the solitary cell of TB Cunha, the ‘Father of Goan Nationalism’.
Operation Vijay to liberate Goa was all over in two days. However, great publicity was given to this ‘feat of arms’ with high-pitch political rhetoric and public adulation.
The narrations linked to ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’ sit far outside authenticated Hadith literature, yet modern amplification has turned a weak report into a slogan with political afterlife.
Once acquired by IAF, the medium transport aircraft (MTA) will replace both AN-32s and IL-76s, it is learnt. The idea behind the revamp is to meet modern operational needs.
It is a brilliant, reasonably priced, and mostly homemade aircraft with a stellar safety record; only two crashes in 24 years since its first flight. But its crash is a moment of introspection.
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