View of women soldiers on battlefield at border is inspiring: PM Modi in Ladakh

Leh (Ladakh) [India], July 3 (ANI): Lauding the participation of women in the Indian Army, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the view of women soldiers on the battlefield at the border is inspiring.
"I am looking at women soldiers in front of me. On the battlefield at the border, this view is inspiring....Today I speak of your glory and commend you," the Prime Minister said addressing soldiers in Ladakh's Nimmoo.
Accompanied by Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane, the Prime Minister paid a surprise visit to Ladakh today and was briefed by senior officers at Nimmoo amid ongoing tension with China.
Speaking at Nimmoo, the Prime Minister lauded the soldiers and said that the bravery displayed by them and their compatriots have conveyed a message to the world about India's strength.
"The bravery that you and your compatriots showed, a message has gone to the world about India's strength... Your courage is higher than the heights where you are posted today," Modi said.
The remark comes amidst the ongoing tension between India and China at Line of Actual Control in the eastern Ladakh. In a violent face-off, 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the Galwan valley on June 15-16 when Chinese troops attempted to unilaterally change the status quo during the de-escalation.
Taking an apparent dig at the neighbouring country, the Prime Minister also said the age of expansionism is over and added that the new age of development is here.
"The age of expansionism is over. The world has moved on the path of development. The expansionist forces have ruined the world in the last century. But they have either been defeated or forgotten in the history," he added. (ANI)