Indian Defence Review

The Sirens Must Wail Again

The sound of sirens last heard in 1971 have been conspicuous by their silence. Thank God! But then again, was it not the sound of sirens which sent everyone scrambling, running to shelters, switching lights off for black outs and alerts! A practice tried and tested in the Country but not heard for long. Emergencies &...

On Conspiracists, Curses, Charlatan’s and COVID-19

e, Trump did a volte face and told reporters that “This is a pandemic. I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.” So, now that even the world’s most illustrious epitome of unbridled conceit and obduracy has accepted the reality, it’s time for us lesser mortals do likewise. But, doing so...

Maoists Raise Stakes

Starting with the then Union Home Minister in 2010 stating that the Maoists insurgency will be over in next 3-4 years, which his successors too echoed, it appears that we continue to deliberately ignore ground realities instead of recognizing the signals and evolving effective responses conforming to the changing...

On Conspiracists, Curses, Charlatan’s and COVID-19

Balochistan: Pakistan’s Hidden Shame

Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province in terms of area though it has a population of just around 12 million. If we put this in numbers Balochistan is approximately 44% of the country’s total land mass and home to less than 5% of the country’s population. It’s very thinly populated and terrain is mostly barren...

COVID-19 Notwithstanding: 'Free Lunches' are Out!

It may have stood the test of time for more than two centuries, but seeing how things are panning out in the wake of COVID-19, the old saying about ‘adversity making strange bedfellows’ no longer seems to hold good. Resultantly, even though various international bodies and health organisations are calling upon the...

Your Lordships should Trust the Wisdom of Armed Forces

In a recent judgement, Your Lordships have directed the government to extend permanent commissions and command postings to women in the Indian Navy. Your asseveration is that by not doing so, ‘level playing field’ is being denied to the women personnel. At the outset, it is submitted that the very word ‘level’...

Mobile Phones: A Disruptive Military Communications Change

Cellular phones aka mobile phones have been one of the biggest disruptive technology changes in human lives in recent times. They have developed rather quickly – from bulky, half-kilogramme, expensive devices to billions of ubiquitous devices in multiple designs and price points. They are light, packed with features and...

Synthetic Reality - The Sixth Wave of Innovation threat to National Security

“Everyone is a potential murderer. In everyone there arises from time to time the wish to kill – though not the will to kill”. – Hercule Poirot, in Agatha Christie’s, Curtain – Poirot’s Last Case. Between Hercule Poirot of Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes of Arthur Conon-Doyle, the two fictitious...

The Sirens Must Wail Again

Maoists Raise Stakes

Kashmir Summer 2020

The nation waits with bated breath the summer of 2020 in Kashmir. This summer is going to be different from the past summers in many ways. It would be the first summer after the epoch making decision of the Modi government on 05 August, 2019 to abrogate Articles 370 and 35A and subsequent reorganisation of the state. It...

India-US Space Cooperation Envisaged on Trump visit

The United States and India, both major space powers, have long worked together on civil space efforts but have not done much with regards to security-space-cooperation. According to Victoria Samson, Washington Office Director, Secure World Foundation, “This is a real missed opportunity, as each country has a lot to...

Marginal Increase in Defence Budget Could Mar Modernisation

The disappointing part is that there has been a very marginal increase in the capital outlay for defence for 2020-21 as compared to the budget estimates and revised estimates of 2019-20, which will affect several big-ticket projects of the defence forces that are being done for building capabilities against our two...

Drones: A Game Changer in Future Conflict

Drones have been called “the ultimate military growth industry”. Air, naval and land forces everywhere are striving to acquire these platforms. Herein lies the danger; thanks to advanced armed drones, aggression is becoming pain-free. Practically every military that has inducted UCAVs has sought to purchase even...

Beijing’s Bio Bomb

If China’s conscience was clear, it would not have blocked discussion on COVID-19 in the United Nations. Even its...

Indian Army's quiet, efficient, disciplined response to Corona Virus sets an...

COVID-19, more popularly known as Corona Virus has posed the biggest challenge in centuries upon the human...

21-day Lockdown is the Last Hope

At the risk of being labelled an alarmist, I would like to standby each and every word spoken by the Prime Minister during his nationwide 8pm address on Tuesday, March 24. It is very unusual for the PM of a nation to address the nation twice within 96 hours unless there is a grave emergency. With a very low literacy rate in our country, we are used to live with “Chaltahai” (Couldn’t care...

Remembrance at the War-Memorial: Ideation and Emergence

“Remembrance at the War-Memorial” is sculpted to be a “visual experience” to share some common human emotions rising upon encountering tremendous personal grief and loss, and the consequent struggle to overcome with hope for a better future. It began to take shape from a...

Defining Moments for Mankind: Combating the Outbreak of Coronavirus

These are difficult times for mankind, the outbreak of Coronavirus that started in December 2019 can turn into such a pernicious pandemic in a matter of just 3 months is a matter of grave concern. What began as an outbreak in Wuhan, China, has now become a worldwide...

Jammu and Kashmir: Things are moving smoothly but the danger is far from over

This time of the year, in 2019, witnessed great tension between India and Pakistan. The immoral terrorist attack on a CRPF convoy at Pulwama, Kashmir, on 14, February, elicited a strong riposte from India. Indian Air Force carried out a very successful air strike on a terrorist...

Understanding the Political Perspectives of the Jammu and Kashmir War (1947-48)

“On 12th and 13th December 1948, the Indian Air Force bombed a Pakistani military stores and ammunition dump at Palak, situated between Kotli and Mirpur. These activities appeared to have added a new dimension of reality to the already existing Pakistani fears of a major Indian offensive…… A counter-offensive to disrupt the Indian line if communication had now become an active option. Operation Venus was conceived and designed to...