One India & One China

The strong economic relations between India and China and their co-operation in multilateral for a such as the recent Copenhagen summit on climate change should not blind one to the fact that the trust and comfort level between the two Governments and their people remains unsatisfactory. Read More »

“Scrap the Army!”

The following story, reported by General A.A. Rudra in his memoirs[1] gives an insight on the way the Indian Prime Minister considered India’s defence shortly after Independence. General Sir Robert Lokhart, the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army had drafted a first paper on the threats to India’s security. The paper contained recommendations for dealing with the newly independent nation’s security and defence policy. Read More »

Trajectory to regional and global power

Many observers have commented that the 21st century belongs to India (and China). Since economics is increasingly becoming the currency of power, this statement acknowledges the changing balance of power in the world and is a tribute to the growing economic muscle of India. Read More »

Pakistan’s offensive against the Taliban

The Pakistan Army itself hardly fights. Instead, it directs others to do its bidding! The Pakistani generals consider the Taliban and other terrorist groups as the vanguard of the nation’s defense and their “strategic assets”. Read More »

Maritime Rapid Reaction Force

Addressing the combined conference of Indian Military Commanders on October 26, 1999 Former Defence Minister George Fernandes had noted that the Indian Armed Forces should set up a Rapid Reaction Force (RRF) that would be “able to reach any corner if a threat arises”. He qualified this need to add that such a force would have to be a “tri-service” one. Read More »

When General Rathore ticked off Prime Minister Nehru!

After getting freedom, a meeting was organized to select the first General of Indian Army. Jawahar Lal Nehru was heading that meeting. Leaders and Army officers were discussing to whom this responsibility should be given. Read More »

China’s Threat Perception

In its early years, the Chinese communist leadership was apprehensive of a counter-revolution. China’s bitter history beginning in the 19th century and extending up to World War II, wherein it was humiliated by Russia, Japan, Britain, Portugal and France, had left an indelible scar on the national psyche. Read More »

Ignorance of military matters in modern India

I Love the Indian Army – but I must leave Now!

I stumbled into the Indian Army in the late seventies. The School which admitted us mid-session, when we returned from Singapore, where my father had a brief teaching stint at the Singapore University, was The Army Public School, Dhaula Kuan. With teenage sons of Army officers as friends, it was natural to apply to join the National Defence Academy. A friend filled my form and even paid the application fee. I wasn’t serious at all of pursuing a career in the military – much like Hrithik Roshan in Lakshya. I saw a movie with my friends, after each of the four NDA entrance papers, and argued with my father when he questioned me on my lack of commitment to the exam. Read More »

Revolution in Indian Mindset?

The annual conclave of Army Commanders slated for end-October at New Delhi will adopt a new war-fighting doctrine called “Cold Start”. It calls for rapid deployment of Integrated Battle Groups to conduct high-intensity offensive operations. Entirely dependent on Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) to achieve limited political objectives against an adversary, the doctrine fails to answer how the generals propose to overcome the inherent weakness in our politico-military decision making apparatus that is riddled with defensive and timid mindset. It is incapable of such audacious employment of military power. Read More »

Attacks on Shias in Pakistan, A Message to Iran too

The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the anti-Shia Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LEJ), which is an affiliate of Al Qaeda, have both claimed responsibility for the murderous attacks through suicide bombers on Shia processions during the holy fasting period at Lahore on September 1, 2010, and Quetta on September 3, 2010. The Shia procession in Lahore was a normal one with no political significance. Read More »

Self-employed Soldier!

I was at the College of Combat, Mhow, when the India-China war of 1962 started. The course was terminated and all were instructed to forthwith rejoin their units. Army Headquarters required me to stay put at Mhow and await my posting order. Two days later my posting order to J and K was received which required of me to immediately join duty. Read More »

‘One Rank, One Pension’ denial makes M.P. refuse pay hike

Independent Member of Parliament Rajeev Chandrashekhar,  recently became the only Member of Parliament to decline the proposed salary hike for MPs, protesting the Government of India’s inaction on the One Rank, One Pension issue for former members of the Indian defence services. Read More »

Real faces of the enemies of India

Two incidents have exposed some real faces of the enemies of India, masquerading as respectable citizens – first being the killing of the Maoist leader Azad and the latest, abduction of security personnel in Bihar. Read More »

Musharraf’s dictatorship marked killings of Balochis

When the time comes for writing an epitaph for Pakistan’s President- General Pervez Musharraf, two critical blunders committed by him in 2007 would be mentioned without fail. First would be the unwarranted suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary in March. The reasons were flimsy and Musharraf had a clear division among his advisors on the issue. The fact that he chose to go ahead and drop the hammer on his toes proved that the General had acquired the fatal disease of all dictators to delude themselves with the notion of immortality. Read More »

Sino-Indian Border Dispute

China launched full scale invasion on India in 1962. In fact, Chinese invasion had commenced way back in 1906 when it maneuvered and succeeded in concluding the 1906 Convention in Calcutta.

In this Convention, China was recognized as the suzerain of Tibet. By doing so, Britain virtually handed over Tibet to China .Thus China was no foreign power to Tibet; she was her suzerain instead. This heralded the foundation of Sinkiang Province with Tibet’s South Eastern and Eastern boundaries overrun by Manchus Army. Read More »

War and Oil: The Pipeline Politics

One has heard of the great depression that has struck the world on at least two occasions, once in the early 20th century, and the other one we are going through, currently. While the current crisis took everyone by surprise and unprepared, countries world over, are anticipating and bracing for the ‘Great Oil Shortage’ that is going to hit the world, sometime in the middle of the century. Read More »

The Chinese are coming!

The Dragon has emerged from its lair with a vengeance.

A senior Indian army officer was denied an official Chinese visa on the grounds that he was commanding in Jammu and Kashmir, a disputed territory according to the Chinese. Read More »

A Chinese Call for Naval Trust-Building in Asia

At a time when there is already concern over the increasing assertiveness of the Chinese Navy in the South and East China Seas, the first port call by two ships of the Chinese Navy in Myanmar while on their way back from anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf has aroused considerable interest and some concern in the neighbouring countries. Read More »

Does India have National Security?

Pakistan has been a volatile and turbulent neighbor to India. Since partition, India has had to resort to war on three occasions – 1947, 1965, 1971 plus two sizeable conflicts in Rann of Katchh in 1965 and Kargil in 1999, apart from series of skirmishes in Siachen Glacier area in 1985, 1987 and 1995. In between it has been bedeviled by unremitting depredation of various kinds, ranging from infiltrations to hijacking to instigating of insurgencies in Kashmir and Punjab, attacks on Indian parliament and Indian embassy in Kabul. Read More »

China’s Emerging Cyberwar Doctrine

“The Chinese call their pursuit of information warfare and other hi-tech means to counter the overwhelmingly superior conventional military capabilities of the Western Alliance “acupuncture warfare”, a term that first surfaced in a 1997 PLA National Defence University publication.” Read More »