A spiced up, hyper-nationalist version of military history has been built: that politicians wronged the generals. No wonder PM Modi got his facts all mixed up.
A Cold Start doctrine would only have been possible if the given equipment and thinking was already available, and that is where Gen K Sundarji must be credited.
Between India, Japan, the US and EU, it should not be difficult to provide a collective economic counterweight to China in a small but strategically significant country like the Maldives.
The lack of all-weather connectivity to Tawang has always put India at a disadvantage to China in the region; the tunnels are thus very important to the Army.
Lack of expertise, research and interest among parliamentarians, existence of lobbies, political opportunism have led to the current impasse in defence deals.
In all high-ticket defence deals, it may be prudent for the government to brief a compressed Parliamentary Committee for Defence, regarding the nuances of the contract.
A theme has not yet emerged for BJP & people see lack of a contest, which makes it unexciting. For all these reasons, 2024 is turning out to be an unexpectedly theme-less election.
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