India has several special forces (SF) units. The three branches of the Indian Armed Forces have separate special forces units, viz. the Para SF of the Indian Army, the MARCOS of the Indian Navy and the 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 Home Ministry’s National Security Guard and Research and Analysis Wing's Special Group (India). Small groups from the military SF units are deputed in the Armed Forces Special Operations Division, which has a unified command and control structure.
Operation Blue Star was the codename of a military-operation carried out by Indian security forces between 1 and 10 June 1984 in order to remove Damdami Taksal, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and their followers from the buildings of the Golden Temple, the holiest site for Sikhs located in Amritsar, Punjab, India. The decision to launch the operation rested with the Prime Minister of India, then Indira Gandhi, who had already authorized military preparation for a confrontation at the temple complex 18 months prior according to the then-Vice Chief of the Army Staff, S. K. Sinha. In July 1982, Harchand Singh Longowal, the president of the Sikh political party Shiromani Akali Dal, had invited Bhindranwale to take up residence in the Golden Temple to evade arrest by government authorities.
The National Security Guard (NSG), commonly known as Black Cats, is an elite counter-terrorism unit of India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It was founded on 16 October 1984 under the National Security Guard Act, 1986, following Operation Blue Star, the Golden Temple attack and the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, "for combating terrorist activities and protect states against internal disturbances." It is one of the seven Central Armed police forces of India.
The Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) is a militant Khalistani organisation operating in the state of Punjab with prominent members based in Canada, the United Kingdom and Pakistan. Its objective is the creation of a Sikh independent state of Khalistan through armed struggle. According to the US State Department, and the Assistant Inspector General of the Punjab Police Intelligence Division, the KCF was responsible for many assassinations in India, including the 1995 assassination of Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh. India has declared and banned KCF as a terrorist organisation.
On 24 September 2002, two terrorists attacked the Akshardham 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 both terrorists. Six accused were later arrested by Gujarat Police. The Supreme Court acquitted all six persons in 2014.
Para , also known as Para SF, are a group of special forces battalions of the Parachute Regiment in the Indian Army. These units specialize in various roles including hostage rescue, counter-terrorism, unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance, foreign internal defence, counter-proliferation, counter-insurgency, seek and destroy and personnel recovery.
The Garud Commando Force is the special forces unit of the Indian Air Force. It was formed in September 2004 and has a current strength of over 1500 personnel. The unit derives its name from Garuda, a divine bird-like creature in Hindu culture.
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. 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, an Islamist terrorist 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 attackers, and more than 300 were wounded.
Sandeep Unnikrishnan, AC was an Indian Army officer, who was serving in the 51 Special Action Group of the National Security Guards on deputation. He sacrificed his life in an action during the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. He was consequently 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 martyred during the 2008 Mumbai attacks. His act of bravery was honoured with the Ashoka Chakra award by the President of India on 26 January 2009, India's Republic Day.
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.
The 2016 Pathankot attack was a terroist attack committed on 2 January 2016 by a heavily armed group of Islamic militants which attacked the Pathankot Air Force Station, part of the Western Air Command of the Indian Air Force.
There have been several attacks on Indian Armed Forces by militants in 2016.
The Armed Forces Special Operations Division (AFSOD) is a tri-service command of the Indian Armed Forces. The division is tasked to carry out special operations. The AFSOD draws personnel from all three special warfare branches of the Armed Forces.
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 and Rashtriya Rifles, 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 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 based on the 2002 Akshardham Temple attack and the subsequent operation to kill the perpetrators. It is a standalone sequel to the State of Siege: 26/11.
Lucky Bisht is an Indian Screenwriter,former Indian Spy, NSG Commando, body guard of Narendra Modi & other notable Indian political leaders including former Home Minister of India Rajnath Singh, former Chief Minister of Punjab Parkash Singh Badal, former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu, former Chief Minister of Assam Tarun Gogoi, and senior BJP leader L. K. Advani.
