India must seek a role to bring Iran and US closer.
In the foreign policy domain, the Obama administration has been focussed on a few countries and regions. Foremost among them is AfPak, closely followed by Iraq. But the other major country where the new President is trying to steer a new course in US foreign [...]
…is a clear declaration of the Indian intent to be the preeminent power between the Persian Gulf and the Malacca Strait.
During the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Qatar earlier this week, India and Qatar signed a defence cooperation pact. One of the top Indian officials there labelled the agreement on — Joint training exercises, [...]
…of US strategy in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The Obama Kashmir Thesis continues to ruffle feathers in India. It has now drawn a sharp rebuke from another renowned Indian commentator, K Subrahmanyam. He warns Obama to Lay off Kashmir, as the Obama theory allows Pakistan to get away with mischief on both the fronts — Afghanistan and [...]
…raise some serious questions for India (and the US).
The Chinese economic juggernaut in the last decade has been driven by a burgeoning manufacturing sector, questions about quality-control and copying overseas technology notwithstanding. If the displays at the Zhuhai airshow 2008 are an indicator, Beijing is trying to expand its manufacturing reach to cover the military [...]
Let us wait and watch before reacting to political rhetoric.
Barack Obama has won the race to be the next President of the United States of America. Congratulations are in order. However there is a little worry on the minds of many Indian commentators. This consternation has been caused by this statement from Obama, made only [...]
…with upgrading weapons of Soviet origin.
The Polish defence minister was on a three-day state visit to India to further “a long tradition of friendship and cooperation in various fields including Defence Production and Supplies”. Now Defense News [via Russian daily Kommersant] reports that—
India’s military authorities are interested in getting the assistance of Polish military to [...]
In an article for Dainik Jagran of Februaray 3, 2008, venerated defence analyst and head of the Kargil Review Committee, Krishnaswamy Subrahmanyam had asked for a Blue Ribbon Commission for the Indian armed forces .
While the politicians and the Government have been paying lip service to the armed forces in the last sixty years since [...]
…vis-à-vis the Chinese “string of pearls”.
During Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Japan, India and Japan signed the Joint declaration on Security Cooperation between India and Japan. The declaration — recognising their common commitment to democracy, open society, human rights and the rule of law — with specified elements and mechanisms of military cooperation, is [...]
A reaction or a catalyst?
The Chinese did an about-turn at the NSG meet to nearly scuttle the Indo-US Nuclear Deal. Now they are trying to replicate that with a Pak-China nuclear deal. And they have openly joined the Pakistani Coffee Club at the UN to oppose Indian bid for a permanent seat at the UN [...]
While President Zardari is seeking bundles of Chinese cash to tide over Pakistan’s grave economic crisis, the Bush administration is trying its level best to finance the furnishing of ageing F-16 aircrafts.
The US government has already accepted Pakistan’s request to upgrade the aircraft, equipping them with modern technology and weapon systems to make them compatible [...]
[Administrative Note: Due to heavy professional and personal commitments, this blogger was on a short hiatus. My apologies as I shall not be able to respond to the plethora of comments and emails in the intervening period immediately. I hope to respond to them progressively in the near future. And a special thanks to all [...]
It is not only the Indian Express that is adding the proverbial fuel to the fire on to the SCPC debate. Some other news outlets have also started weighing in with their contrarian opinions. Let us start with Rajdeep’s CNN-IBN:
It’s a battle that is turning uglier by the day. The Armed Forces continue to defy [...]
Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak, Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.
The Indian Express is at it again. It has published a front page story suggesting that the Army headquarters had also written a Signal message, similar to the one written by the Navy Chief. [...]
…as a basis for EU-India engagement (and in India’s national interest).
In the lead up to the EU-India summit that commenced in Marseille today, Richard Gowan, in an op-ed at the European Voice, makes a strong but unusual case for engagement between EU and India.
It may be better for the EU to base a partnership with [...]
There is no monument dedicated to the memory of a committee. ~Lester J. Pourciau
From one of the news reports today:
It [the government] has decided to form 3-member committee headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The committee will also have Defence Minister AK Anthony and Finance Minister P Chidambaram as its members.
The proposed committee will [...]
[BeeCee, who had penned a few guest posts earlier (here, here, here, here and here), is back with some fresh insights on how the SCPC has indulged in duplicitious behaviour. Regular readers of the blog are aware of BeeCee's credentials and his eye for detail. A slightly different version of this blogpost is at Navdeep's [...]
When things are bad, we take comfort in the thought that they could always be worse. And when they are, we find hope in the thought that things are so bad they have to get better.
The SCPC saga doesn’t stop. At least, this is what the mainstream media would like the general public to believe. [...]
Previous post on the subject – Stuck in a different age
This is the summary of another of Don Vandergriff’s forthcoming books – Manning the Future Legions of the United States: Finding and Developing Tomorrow’s Centurions. While his book primarily refers to the US army, there are huge parallels with the current day Indian military in [...]
The French President Nicolas Sarkozy in his talk with the reporters at New York:
We cannot wait any longer to turn the G8 into the G13 or G14, and to bring in China, India, South Africa, Mexico and Brazil.
And George Bush, in his final address to the UN General Assembly also spoke about reforming the UN. [...]
Although there are many versions of this joke (mainly between the Palestinians and the Israelis), the latest adaptation, received by email, is on Kashmir, India and Pakistan.
An ingenious example of speech and politics occurred recently in the United Nations Assembly that made the world community smile.
A representative from India began: ‘Before beginning my talk I [...]
Visitants annotate…