India has several Special Forces (SF) units, with the branches of the Indian Armed Forces having their own separate special forces units. The Para SF of the Indian Army, MARCOS of the Indian Navy and Garud Commando Force of the Indian Air Force. There are other special forces which are not controlled by the military, but operate under civilian organisations, such as the National Security Guard under Home Ministry and Special Group under RAW. Small groups from the military SF units are deputed in the Armed Forces Special Operations Division, a unified command and control structure.
Operation Blue Star was an Indian Armed Forces operation between 1 and 10 June 1984 to remove Sikh militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and other Sikh militants from the buildings of the Golden Temple, a holy site of Sikhism.
The National Security Guard (NSG), commonly known as Black Cats, is a counter-terrorism unit of India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It was founded on 16 October 1984, following Operation Blue Star against Sikh militants, to combat terrorist activities and protect states against internal disturbances. Formalised in the Parliament of India under the National Security Guard Act, 1986. NSG are recruited from both India Army and Central Armed Police Forces, it is not strictly classified as a traditional paramilitary force. It operates as a specialized federal contingency unit.
On 24 September 2002, multiple Pakistani terrorists attacked the Akshardham Temple Complex in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India, killing 33 and injuring more than 80. India's National Security Guard intervened and ended the siege the next day, killing the terrorists. Six accused were later arrested by Gujarat Police. The Supreme Court acquitted all six persons in 2014.
Parachute Regiment (Special Forces), Informally referred to As Para-Commandos, is a group of special forces battalions of the Parachute Regiment in the Indian Army. These units specialize in various roles including counter-insurgency, counter-terrorism, direct action, hostage rescue, special reconnaissance and unconventional warfare.
The Garud Commando Force is the special forces unit of the Indian Air Force. It was formed in February 2004 and has a current strength of over 1500 personnel. The unit derives its name from Garuda, a Hindu deity.
Keerthi Chakra is a 2006 Indian Malayalam-language war film written and directed by Major Ravi, in his directorial debut. Starring Mohanlal in lead role as Major Mahadevan and also features Jiiva, Biju Menon, Gopika, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy and Nawab Shah in major supporting roles. This film marks the debut of Jiiva in Malayalam cinema. The film is based on true events related to incidents that took place in Jammu and Kashmir. The film is the first in the Major Mahadevan film series. The title is derived from the Indian gallantry award, Kirti Chakra.
The 2008 Mumbai attacks were a series of terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a militant Islamist organisation from Pakistan, carried out 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks lasting four days across Mumbai. The attacks, which drew widespread global condemnation, began on Wednesday 26 November and lasted until Saturday 29 November 2008. A total of 175 people died, including nine of the attackers, with more than 300 injured.
Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, AC was an Indian Army officer, who was serving in the 51 Special Action Group of the National Security Guard on deputation. He was killed during the November 2008 Mumbai attacks and was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peacetime gallantry award, on 26 January 2009.
Gajender Singh Bisht was an NSG commando and Havildar (Sergeant) who was killed during the 2008 Mumbai attacks. His act of bravery was honored with the Ashoka Chakra award by the President of India on India's 60th Republic Day on 26 January 2009.
The 51 Special Action Group is a special response unit of the National Security Guards (NSG) of India. It was raised by the Cabinet Secretariat under the National Security Guard Act of 1985.
On January 2 2016, 4 militants belonging to Islamic terrorist United Jihad Council attacked the Indian Air Force's Pathankot Airbase, part of its Western Air Command.
There have been several attacks on Indian Armed Forces by militants in 2016.
Indian Armed Forces in Jammu and Kashmir encompass the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force, tri-service units such as the Armed Forces Special Operations Division (AFSOD), and paramilitary organisations of the Central Armed Police Forces such as the Border Security Force, the Central Reserve Police Force, the Sashastra Seema Bal and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. Each three wings of India's military have their special forces deployed in the region including Indian Army's Para SF, the Indian Navy MARCOS and the Indian Air Force's Garud Commando Force. Apart from this, there is the elite police anti-insurgency force in the region, the Special Operations Group, of the Jammu and Kashmir Police.
Major General Dalvir Singh AVSM, VrC, VSM is a retired Indian Special Forces officer, a former General Officer of the Indian Army and the recipient of Vir Chakra, India's third-highest War-time gallantry award. He has commanded the 10th Battalion Special Forces, the elite 52 Special Action Group of the NSG, Kilo Force of the Rashtriya Rifles and the Territorial Army (India), with distinction. After retirement from active military service, he has been serving as the Director Training of Rajasthan Police Training Center Jodhpur.
State of Siege: 26/11 is an Indian Hindi-language action thriller web series on ZEE5, directed by Matthew Leutwyler and Prashant Singh and produced by Abhimanyu Singh and Roopali Singh. The series is based on journalist Sandip Unnithan's book Black Tornado: The Three Sieges of Mumbai 26/11 about the military's Operation Black Tornado during the 26/11 terrorist attacks. The series features Arjan Bajwa, Arjun Bijlani, Jyoti Gauba, Vivek Dahiya, Tara Alisha Berry Mukul Dev and Naren Kumar in prominent roles. The series was launched on 20 March 2020 on ZEE5.
State of Siege: Temple Attack is a 2021 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Ken Ghosh, starring Akshaye Khanna in the lead role. It was made as a direct-to-video film for ZEE5. It is loosely based on the 2002 Akshardham Temple attack and the subsequent operation to kill the perpetrators. It is a standalone sequel to State of Siege: 26/11.
Laxman Lucky Bisht, also known as Lucky Bisht, is a NSG commando and intelligence operative. He served as a personal bodyguard to politicians such as L. K. Advani, Chandrababu Naidu, Rajnath Singh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In 2009, Bisht earned the title of India's Best NSG Commando. In 2011, he faced allegations in connection with the twin murders of Raju Pargai and Amit Arya and was subsequently jailed. He was acquitted of all charges in 2018 due to insufficient evidence. Following this, he left the special forces to pursue a career in the Hindi film industry.
Subedar Suresh Chand Yadav, AC, was a Junior commissioned officer of the Indian Army's Mahar Regiment who was killed in the line of duty during the Akshardham Temple attack while on deputation to the 51 Special Action Group of the National Security Guard (NSG), India's federal counterterrorism force. He was posthumously awarded India's highest peacetime military decoration, the Ashoka Chakra, for his gallant action during the NSG's response to the attack.
