Interviews/Spotlights
Spineless staff officers are a letdown
By: Maj Gen Mrinal Suman | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 01 Apr , 2015
Spineless servility of the staff officers has been the bane of the Indian military. The case of Adarsh Housing Society proves it amply. The land in question was under army’s possession. It was...
Iran's Threat Perception
By: RSN Singh | Issue: Book Excerpt: Asian Strategy and Military Perspective | Date: 28 Mar , 2015
Enduring stability has eluded Iran ever since British Petroleum discovered oil at Majid Solemyan in the country in 1908. It completely transformed the society and polity in the country. The...
Redeeming the Standing of the Army
By: Maj Gen Mrinal Suman | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 18 Mar , 2015
Every survey carried out by different agencies shows the military at the top of peoples’ choice for probity, loyalty and selflessness. Indian army, unlike other organisations, is held in high...
India’s Defence Budget cast in the old mould
By: Col US Rathore | Issue: Courtesy: Uday India | Date: 16 Mar , 2015
Defence has got INR 2,46,727 crore (USD 40.07 billion), which is roughly 1.73 per cent of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 13.88 per cent of the total Central expenditure. If this is...
Iran’s Nuclear Programme makes many nations jittery
By: VBN Ram | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 13 Mar , 2015
During the past decades, the US had been unswervingly steadfast in its belief that Iran had been an “axis of evil” – one which had stubbornly resisted to honour its obligations under the...
Women in the Armed Forces: Misconceptions and Facts
By: Maj Gen Mrinal Suman | Issue: Vol 25.1 Jan-Mar 2010 | Date: 09 Mar , 2015
The recent debate about the entry of women officers in the armed forces has been highly ill- informed and subjective in nature. People have taken stands and expressed opinion without analysing...
Threat from Nepal's Instability
By: RSN Singh | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 06 Mar , 2015
Nepal shares a 1751 Km land boundary with India and 1414 Km with China (Tibet). Although landlocked and surrounded by these two Asian giants, Nepal’s geographic, economic and cultural...
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...
Need for Structural Changes in India’s Higher Defence Management
By: Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi | Issue: Vol. 30.1 Jan-Mar 2015 | Date: 02 Mar , 2015
The reality today is that India is facing the strategic environment of the 21st century with its higher defence structures largely as they were in the 1940s. This is a recipe for disaster. A...
The Battle Untold: Ukraine and the Old Socialist Republic
By: Anant Mishra | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 28 Feb , 2015
After a very long time, Europe is gripped in an armed conflict within its continent. From 2013 pro democracy protests in Kiev, to President Victor Yanukovych ousting, the situation rapidly...
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
By: Atul Razdan | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 24 Feb , 2015
The Islamic State for Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), otherwise known as the Islamic State for Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and most recently as the Islamic State (IS) is, strictly speaking, a Sunni...
Sri Lanka will maintain equidistance between neighbours
By: VBN Ram | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 23 Feb , 2015
Will Maitripala Srisena’s assumption of Office as the Sri Lankan president bring in a transformational ascendancy in bilateral ties? Though I am an optimist, I for one, would like to keep my...
Effects of Covert and Clandestine Operations on International Peace and Security
By: Anant Mishra | Date: 21 Feb , 2015
To understand the topic better, let us first understand few terminologies with respect to the topic. Covert Operation – A covert operation is defined as an operation conducted by armed...
Indian Aeronautics: Self reliance needs innovative action not platitudes
By: Air Marshal B D Jayal | Issue: Vol. 28.1 Jan-Mar 2013 | Date: 19 Feb , 2015
In June 2005, the US India–Defence Framework Relationship opened a new chapter. In an age where some say that the arms race has been replaced by a technology race, access to the US for defence...
IAI presents an Impressive Array of Technologies
By: Joseph Weiss | Issue: Vol. 30.1 Jan-Mar 2015 | Date: 18 Feb , 2015
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will display a variety of cutting-edge defense solutions at the Aero India air show, to be held in Bangalore, India. IAI, Israel’s largest aerospace company,...
Pakistan's Nuclear & Missile Weapons Programme
By: RSN Singh | Issue: Book Excerpt: Asian Strategy and Military Perspective | Date: 16 Feb , 2015
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, as Minister for Fuel, Power and Natural Resources (1958-1962) and Foreign Minister of Pakistan (1963-1966), was a leading advocate for attainment of nuclear weapons...
Col MN Rai at the Last Post…
By: Ashutosh Bhatia | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 04 Feb , 2015
“Listen to me…. Are you listening…. I am saying something to you…” As the mortal remains of Late Col Munindra Nath Rai were finally being lifted for performing last rites at the capital’s Brar...
Saudi Arabia's Threat Perception
By: RSN Singh | Issue: Book Excerpt: Asian Strategy and Military Perspective | Date: 02 Feb , 2015
The discovery of oil in 1938, in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia came just six years after the formation of the state. Post World War II, Saudi Arabia assumed great strategic significance as...
A Lesson in Ethics by an Army Officer
By: Maj Gen Dhruv C Katoch | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 30 Jan , 2015
It was the summer of 67. I was all of sixteen years old, had just finished my schooling from a prestigious boarding school and was on a sabbatical working out what to do with my life. My father...
Afghanistan's Strategic Culture and Threat Perception
By: RSN Singh | Issue: Book Excerpt: Asian Strategy and Military Perspective | Date: 27 Jan , 2015
Afghanistan has geographical interface with energy-rich West Asia and Central Asia as also with nuclear capable China and Pakistan. Its direct interface with India is precluded by Pakistan...