In Kashmir, some 25 armed Moslem separatists attacked the heavily guarded house of a Moslem politician who had participated in Kashmiri politics (the separatists do no). Two security guards were killed, two women wounded and the politician (Mohammed Anwar) and two other security guards were missing.
November 27; Three attacks by Moslem separatists left two policemen dead and twenty injured. Moreover, despite earlier Pakistani announcements that they were pulling troops back from the Indian border, few have done so.
November 25; In two incidents in Kashmir, three soldiers and eight Moslem separatists were killed. India insists that Pakistan stops supporting the Kashmiri Moslem separatist bases in Pakistan controlled territory. The new Pakistani military government, preoccupied with its anti-corruption drive, is not about to cut back it's support of the separatists.
November 24; Terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden has declared an Islamic holy war against India. While this is primarily focused on the situation in Kashmir, bin Laden has not limited his call for attacks to that area, but instead has called for attacks all across India and on Indian facilities around the world. This may further indicate the unusually close relationship between bin Laden and Pakistani military intelligence.--Stephen V Cole
November 22; India has increased air patrols in Kashmir to stem the increasing number raids by Pakistan based separatists. At the same time, India has replied positively to Pakistan's offer of high level peace talks.
November 21; Shelling across the line of control killed three people and injured two on the Pakistani side.
November 21; India has abandoned plans to cut its military by 20% and has doubled the budget for new infantry equipment to $1 billion. Some of the equipment already procured includes 20,000 bullet-proof jackets, 5,000 modern rifles, 5,000 hand-held thermal viewers, 2,000 battlefield radars, 3,000 night firing sights for key weapons, and 8,000 night vision goggles. The Indian government is seeking new grenade launchers (from Bulgaria), C90 disposable rocket launchers, sniper rifles, flamethrowers, and other weapons to battle the insurgencies in Kashmir, the east, and Andar Pradesh.--Stephen V Cole
November 21; India has set firm plans for the production of three new tactical combat missiles.
NAG (or Cobra) is an all-weather fire-and-forget anti-tank missile. It can penetrate reactive armor. The Army wants launchers for 500 armored vehicles and 100 helicopters. TRISHUL is a short-range all-weather surface-to-air missile. It has a range of 9km and carries a 5.5kg warhead. It has been tested against sea-skimming targets. It uses radar in the hard-to-jam 20-40 gigahertz band. The Army wants 200 of these missiles while the Navy wants 300. AKASH is a medium-range all-weather surface-to-air missile. While its reaction time is slow (15 seconds from detection to launch) it carries a massive 60kg warhead, providing a relatively huge zone of fragments to engage missiles or aircraft. It has a range of 27km and a ceiling of 15km. The Army and Air Force each want 200 of these missiles. Production of Trishul and Akash will begin at 25 per year.--Stephen V Cole