India–US Relations: future trajectory

The confidence of the Indian establishment that India–US relations were set on a steep upward trajectory has eroded noticeably with President Obama replacing President Bush. Even though personalities can make a difference, it is a mistake to give exaggerated importance to their role in forging longer-term relationships between countries.

India Must Counter China’s Imperial Ambitions

New Delhi cannot afford to sit around while others plot its destruction.
Surrounded with sullied strategic environment and the spreading fire that engulfs the region, New Delhi can either continue to live in fear as it has in the past, or fight back.

Pakistan: dialogue process will end only in frustration

A continuous pressure emanates from a segment of the Indian elite for maintaining a dialogue process with Pakistan, directly or indirectly, for a solution to Indo–Pak problems.

Defence Purchases: time India asserts itself

Press reports have been highlighting Russian refusal to deliver aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov at the contracted price and within the agreed delivery period. It is demanding more money on the plea that the Russian technicians had underestimated the quantum of work required to restore the fire-ravaged ship.

Arihant: the annihilator

The launching of the Arihant by the Prime Minister (PM) on 26th July 2009 has hopefully, at last, partially lifted the top security veil over the Advance Technology Vessel (ATV) Project. In that light, to the extent feasible,

“Is war around the corner?”

A few month’s back, Bharat Verma, Editor of the Indian Defence Review, in an article, had predicted that China may attack India by 2012. Frankly, at that time, I did not agree with this prophecy, because in my opinion China would not want a war till it becomes a true super power by 2050,and in [...]

Bows, Arrows and Nuclear Weapons

Just few years before India got its independence an unhealthy collision took place between the worlds of physics and politics. In 1945 the Americans nuked Japan. Since then in some parts of the world national security has become synonymous with nuclear weapons. Subsequently, during the Cold War era these weapons did succeed in bringing stability. [...]

Incursions, Now and Then

Chinese incursions have been making headlines in the Indian media. Unfortunately, the Indian leadership prefers to mitigate the facts, to not “hurt feelings of the Chinese” or “make things worse”. After all, they say, that China is our neighbour for a long time to come and we have to learn to live with it!

Maoists and the Armed Forces

Armed forces personnel hailing from the Red Corridor are being subjected to intimidation and extortion by the Maoists for at least two decades now. The families of the servicemen residing in their native places are being forced to part with their hard earned money to fill the coffers of the Maoists.

The Fragile Af-Pak Policy

With each passing day, it is becoming increasingly obvious that the Obama administration’s so-called Af-Pak policy is simply not working. The fraudulent Presidential elections in Afghanistan, coupled by the rampant corruption in all walks of life in that hapless country, have not made the NATO-propped Karzai government in Kabul either stable or popular.

India’s Foreign Policy : A Muddle for Sixty Two Years

Introduction
The India-Pakistan joint statement at Sharm-al-Sheikh during the NAM conference in which Balochistan was mentioned for no rational reasons has once again brought into sharp focus, lack of direction, absence of any strategic thought and a shocking unawareness of our national interest on part of our foreign policy establishment. Those who have been carefully following [...]

Prospects for Democratization in Myanmar: Impact on India

According to the military junta that rules Myanmar,1 the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) is on the cusp of the completion in 2010 of its self-ordained “roadmap” to a form of “democracy” in the country – an election, the inauguration of a bicameral representative national legislature, local legislatures, and the operational stage of the [...]

Defence PSUs : The Great Betrayl

Introduction
When the saras crashed, killing its crew, the deafening silence in the media, as also from those who know about flight testing, design and manufacture of aeroplanes, and the unforeseen dangers in this activity, was rudely apparent. What is the Saras for? Who would use it? What kind of pilots would fly such a piece [...]

The Big Picture

New Delhi cannot afford to sit around while others plot its destruction.
Surrounded with sullied strategic environment and the spreading fire that engulfs the region, New Delhi can either continue to live in fear as it has in the past, or fight back.

Defence & Aerospace Digest

Indian Air Force
Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA)
Flight evaluation of the six contenders in the race for the $11 billion (Rs 52,508 crore) MMRCA contract commenced at Bangalore in mid-August 2009,

Kargil Controversy: Sorry State of Higher Defence Management

During the Second World War the British Army’s operations in Greece ran into near disaster and to save the army, its immediate evacuation by sea became imperative. During this phase of the war, the Atlantic was dominated by the German U boats and the naval commanders

Myanmar Going Nuclear

There has been an unmistakable spurt in the development and acquisition of nuclear weapon capabilities by the Military Junta regime in Myanmar. Given the level of progress in this regard, it is reckoned by various agencies that this would be realized by the year 2014.