Indian Defence Review

Five Fingers Dream of Mao Zedong

Chairman Mao Zedong, modern China’s most powerful ideologue, considered Tibet to be the right hand’s palm of China with Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and NEFA (Arunachal Pradesh) as its five fingers. It therefore was China’s responsibility to “liberate” these regions believed Mao. After annexation of Tibet it...

On Republic Day spare a thought for the Indian soldier

India gained independence from British rule on 15 August 1947. At that stage, the country was governed under the provisions of the Government of India Act, 1935. On 29 August 1947, a resolution was moved by the Constituent Assembly for the appointment of a committee to present the draft for a permanent Constitution. An...

Joe Biden’s America and India

The inaugural speech of the POTUS Joe Biden was heard world over. He spoke of democracy prevailing despite being fragile, most difficult times with the pandemic affecting the economy, and the need to unite and rebuild America in face of extremism and terrorism of many kinds. While the focus of his speech was the US,...

Five Fingers Dream of Mao Zedong

On Republic Day spare a thought for the Indian soldier

Joe Biden’s America and India

Challenges Before Theatre Commands

Will the year 2021 see the realisation of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat’s proposed road¬map for the restructuring of the Indian Armed Forces into five distinct ‘Theatre commands’? This is, indeed, a radical reform-proposal pertaining to our armed forces. And as has been the case with every...

Equipment Capability Gaps: Its Impact on Mission Outcomes

“In the 21st century, leaders who lack sufficient technical know – how, function at a marked disadvantage. An officer or a soldier who feels insecure about even a small portion of his weapon, will not be able to meet with the rapidly changing conditions of modern day combat. An Army that feels it possesses the...

Impact of 1965 War on Pakistan

Pakistan Army realised the vulnerability of East Pakistan, with its 4100 Km border with India and defended by a weak division with only two effective brigades – even though it was never attacked by India. At hindsight, the Indian decision not to activate the eastern front paid dividends in the 1971 War. Had India...

Kashmiri Pandits offered three choices by Radical Islamists

On Jan, 04, 1990, a local Urdu newspaper, Aftab, published a press release issued by Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, asking all Pandits to leave the Valley immediately. Al Safa, another local daily repeated the warning.These warnings were followed by Kalashnikov-wielding masked Jehadis carrying out military-type marches openly....

Indo-Pacific: An Emerging Outlook for the 21st Century

Strategically located in the Indian Ocean, India was a flourishing economic and cultural centre from the dawn of civilisation. As historian KM Panikkar in his seminal work ‘India and the Indian Ocean’, brought out, “Millenniums before Columbus sailed the Atlantic and Magellan crossed the Pacific, the Indian Ocean...

Harnessing Youth Power in Jammu & Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir has suffered tremendously in the shadow of the gun for the last almost three decades. Violence hit the youth of the region most of all. Their education and development suffered since families were engrossed in the day to day challenge of survival. As a result, they lost out on employment opportunities...

Data dominates as logistics and support answers the digital wake-up call

Events over the last 12 months have provided a catalyst for digital initiatives within military organisations and their in-service support partners. We can even see projected defence spending for 2021 either remaining in line with previous years or indeed on the rise in some geographies. Three initiatives in particular...

FDI in Defence Manufacturing-26-49-100 Percent

There are times when a nation is blessed with decisive leadership, which can take bold policy initiatives that would benefit future generations. In the budget of 2014, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in defence production was increased from the then 26 percent to 49 percent. There was noticeable excitement amongst the...

Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces awards Rosoboronexport with Certificate of Honor

In line with Order No. 1 of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin dated October 15, 2020, Rosoboronexport JSC (part of Rostec State Corporation) has been awarded the Certificate of Honor “For merit in strengthening the country’s defense capacity and developing...

Balochistan: Where Even the Dead are ‘Abducted’

The news of Pakistani authorities taking away mortal remains of a deceased Balochi lady dissident living in...

Theatre Commands – A Conceptual Approach

What should Theatre Commands essentially be? There is little information on the on-going deliberations regarding...

Kashmiri Pandits: The Longest Night

Here is an eye witness account of that night by Capt S.K. Tikoo (Retd), who along with his family experienced the orchestrated happenings, first hand.1 The Longest Night “January 19, 1990. Twenty two years have already passed since that dreadful day which turned into a never-ending night, when dawn that ends the darkness of the previous night so very naturally, seemed to be a distant...

Myanmar: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s Charm Offensive

The Chinese Foreign Minister made an official visit to Myanmar, Indonesia, Brunei and Philippines in the second week of January. Wang Yi’s first halt was in Myanmar. This was the first visit of any Foreign official after the landslide victory of Aung San Suu Kyi’s...

Producing a World-Class Helicopter: India needs to Develop a Strong Indigenous Industry

In a significant regional political initiative, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will engage with a conclave of defence ministers from the IOR (Indian Ocean Region) nations on the sidelines of Aero India 2021 to be held in Bengaluru on February 3. According to a senior...

Chinese Village in Arunachal: India Must Speak Up!

On August 28, 1959, the Indian Ambassador in Beijing sent a strong note to China’s Foreign Ministry, to protest the fact that Chinese troops had violated Indian territory; after mentioning other trespassing in the Tawang and Ladakh sectors, the note says: “Another serious...

Farce Behind Pakistan’s FATF Actions

Pakistan goes into sleep mode on actions against global terrorism immediately after Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meetings. As the next review appears, its courts and security agencies move on an overdrive sentencing terrorists and locating those which it has declared as missing. All these actions, just prior to any FATF meetings are aimed at hoodwinking the global agency. On the contrary, Pak foreign office spokespersons claim they are...