Articles By Brig Amar Cheema
Lessons from the 1962 Sino-Indian War in Ladakh
By: Brig Amar Cheema | Issue: Book Excerpts: The Crimson Chinar | Date: 14 May , 2022
This is the third and concluding part of the Sino-Indian war, and although, it covers the wider canvas of the war, it focuses on Ladakh. The previous parts of the extracts from the book: The...
Decision Making in War: Recalling India’s Military History
By: Brig Amar Cheema | Issue: Vol. 31.3 Jul-Sep 2016 | Date: 05 Dec , 2021
War is a costly proposition and the currency of war is life and limb. Leaders at all levels are required to attain the results with minimum effort and risk to own forces. Unfortunately, Indian...
Operation ‘Polo’ and Impact & Ramifications on India’s First Kashmir War
By: Brig Amar Cheema | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 27 Nov , 2021
Objectively speaking, the 108 hours campaign undertaken to liberate the Princely State of Hyderabad, codenamed Operation (Op) Polo stands out as India’s ‘first’ military success. Having said...
Between Wars 1965 to 1971
By: Brig Amar Cheema | Issue: Book Excerpts: The Crimson Chinar | Date: 23 Nov , 2021
The years between the two wars were turbulent times for both Pakistan and India. Having lost her indomitable Prime Minister at Tashkent, the Indian polity threw up the relatively unknown Mrs...
1962: The Sino-Indian War: Reflections of the Past
By: Brig Amar Cheema | Issue: Book Excerpts: The Crimson Chinar | Date: 18 Nov , 2021
The 1962, Sino-Indian war is (rightly) remembered by Indians by its ignominy. While, this is justified, it needs to be heighted that the roots of the debacle lay squarely with the leadership; the...
Kashmir - The Pivot of Geopolitical Dynamics in South Asia
By: Brig Amar Cheema | Issue: Book Excerpts: The Crimson Chinar | Date: 31 Aug , 2018
Adorning the head of the Indian sub-continent, the borders of the Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) jutted northwards, connecting with the gnarled heights of the Pamirs in the north-west...
‘Op TOPAC’: Confronting Strategic Asymmetry
By: Brig Amar Cheema | Issue: Book Excerpts: The Crimson Chinar | Date: 19 Aug , 2018
“The Proxy War between India and Pakistan has no fronts, no rules of the Game and is not time bound.”[1] The seeds for disintegrating India were planted by General Zia as early as 1982-83,...
The War in the Valley, Baltistan and Ladakh
By: Brig Amar Cheema | Date: 14 Nov , 2017
Operations of 161 Brigade After the link up with Punch, Brigadier Sen firmed in the defences of his brigade around Uri. He deployed 1 SIKH and 4 KUMAON at Uri while 2 DOGRA was deployed for the...
Revisiting India’s Geo-Strategic Challenge of Siachen
By: Brig Amar Cheema | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 13 Apr , 2016
For Indians 13 April translates as a day of celebrations due to the festivities of Baisakhi. However, the day also marks the beginning of the longest operation in the annals of the Indian...
Wanted a full Spectrum Military Doctrine
By: Brig Amar Cheema | Issue: Vol. 30.3 Jul-Sep 2015 | Date: 02 Dec , 2015
The military, which is a major component of the nation’s CNP, needs to be contribute meaningfully to this future, for which it needs to be given direction and enabled in terms of capabilities....
1962 Sino-Indian War: The Occupation of Tibet by China and the American...
By: Brig Amar Cheema | Issue: Book Excerpts: The Crimson Chinar | Date: 12 Nov , 2015
This is the second of the series and is aimed to present details of the occupation of Tibet by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), followed by the American Secret War in Tibet, both events...
27 October 1947: The Spectacular Rescue of Kashmir
By: Brig Amar Cheema | Issue: Book Excerpts: The Crimson Chinar | Date: 27 Oct , 2015
Celebrated as the Infantry Day by the Indian Army, 27th October, 1947, was truly spectacular in the annals of Indian History – Not only did the Post-Independence Indian Army come into its own,...
Syria: The End of GWOT or a case for Renewed Crusade?
By: Brig Amar Cheema | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 25 Oct , 2015
If history was to define a moment when the modern world changed before our eyes, it would be that fateful day when ‘Islamic Jihadis’(sic),in true kamikaze style, rammed commercial airliners...
Syria in the Crosswire of Great Power Rivalry
By: Brig Amar Cheema | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 15 Oct , 2015
The relationship between war and plunder is axiomatic; behind sermons of national interests and morality lie material gains. Such has been the story of mankind and such is the conundrum ‘in’...
The Indecent Exposure - Lessons from the OROP Imbroglio
By: Brig Amar Cheema | Date: 09 Sep , 2015
“Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure” – George Edward Woodberry Rejoice my friends – my countrymen, we have collectively achieved the impossible;...
Games Nations Play: The Middle East Conflict — A Game of Gas Pipelines
By: Brig Amar Cheema | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 01 Aug , 2015
A decade may appear to be a microcosm compared to the infinity of time, however, when measured on the scale of geo-politics, a decade can often become an eternity. Viewed in the context of the...
India’s Vijay at Kargil: Lessons that Remain Unlearnt from the Past
By: Brig Amar Cheema | Issue: Book Excerpts: The Crimson Chinar | Date: 13 Jul , 2015
“The Kargil Operation was an audacious attempt to seize an opportunity of historic proportions.”[1] The 1999 military confrontation on the heights of Kargil was a perilous episode in the...
The First Kashmir War and Lessons for India
By: Brig Amar Cheema | Issue: Book Excerpts: The Crimson Chinar | Date: 03 Apr , 2015
Mr C Dasgupta’s acerbic comment that the first Kashmir War was ‘moderated’ and ‘finessed’ is an unsettling truth and a reflection on how the longest war Independent India has ever...
Kashmir’s Historic Moment: Giving Peace a Chance
By: Brig Amar Cheema | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 04 Mar , 2015
Despite its splendour and idyllic environs, Kashmir continues to evoke images of conflict, dissent and discord- the conflict which has been raging for decades, both ‘for’ and ‘within’ the...
Kashmir: India-China-Pakistan Triangular Conflict
By: Brig Amar Cheema | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 14 Sep , 2014
“Poor Kashmir, it lies in the Himalayan ramparts where the borders of India, Pakistan and China rub together. Reality mocks its beauty. There is no escaping the permeating meloncholy of a land...