Topic: Indian military
He had everything, but Modi missed a brilliant chance to fix the messy Indian military
Modi government had a rare chance to reform and modernise India’s military. But it blew the chance and settled instead for tinkering.
Our military history is politicised to suit Generals, that’s why Modi’s facts are mixed up
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.
India must evolve its own model of integrated military theatre and not copy-paste from global examples
India may need to adopt a model that keeps the individual components in a theater under some form of dual control.
The intellectual origin of India’s Cold Start doctrine lies in General K. Sundarji
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.
Maldives is a test case for India’s strategic economic quest, and for Trump’s Indo-Pacific idea
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.
Arun Jaitley’s Budget proposal to fund Se La tunnels likely to face Chinese objection
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.
The government must part with more details on Rafale pricing to end the debate
For far too long, successive governments have used the veil of secrecy to block information on defence spending and acquisition.
An informed debate on defence acquisitions is essential, but it should not lead to delays
Lack of expertise, research and interest among parliamentarians, existence of lobbies, political opportunism have led to the current impasse in defence deals.
Half-baked allegations about defence procurements are detrimental to national security
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.
Industrialisation only hope to eliminate poverty in Africa
African development is key to a stable world. For if it remains underdeveloped, Africa, with its exploding impoverished population, will fall prey to climate disasters and wars.
Sri Lanka terror attack: Did the world let its guard down on ISIS?
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the serial suicide bombings in Sri Lanka, which have killed more than 300 people till last count.
Defence
Indian Coast Guard increases maritime surveillance following Sri Lanka blasts
More ships and aircraft have been deployed to ensure India faces no security threat after a series of blasts killed 290 in Colombo, a Coast Guard official said.
Modi & Shah have turned India into ‘Jingostan’ & are out to conquer the paranoid country
The Modi-Shah BJP has resurrected dangers & the enemy from the past, and built a scary jingoism. It’s a great diversionary tactic, but it never ends well.