On putting people first; on fixing drains; and on expanding geopolitical horizons
For reflection on Republic Day—why territory is not a big deal; why fixing drains will help counter terrorism and on the need to see beyond the subcontinent.
Also, don’t miss the brilliant editorial at Mint—that points out that “while we have protected the process of [...]
The costly refusal to see beyond itself and the subcontinent
An extract from Sardar K M Panikkar’s Annual Day address to the Indian School of International Studies on 13 February 1961:
The study of international relations is fundamentally a study of power relationships. This, of course, has to be interpreted in terms not only of military power [...]
The dangers of elevating humans to superhuman status
Over on his blog, Manoj Joshi posts his Mail Today article on how the legend of APJ Abdul Kalam resulted in poor technological choices and ultimately, as sub-standard missile arsenal. Excerpts:
Whatever may have been his successes as SLV-3 project manager, his tenure as DRDO chief has been something [...]
We call for a well-considered, national response to the war that has been thrust on India
The most important national response at this time is to support and strengthen the government and the state’s security apparatus to enable it to finish the job. Pragmatic Euphony recommends:
Support the Indian state in the immediate near future irrespective of [...]
India needs to rethink its defence decisionmaking system
It is usual to conduct navel gazing after failures and fiascos. But it is good to do so after little successes. Even as the Indian Navy demonstrated the utility of its deployment in anti-piracy operations far from Indian shores, it is opportune to examine a debate that has [...]
Contents
PERSPECTIVE
Don’t abandon the Tiger
A Sinhala-dominated Sri Lanka is not in India’s interests
T S Gopi Rethinaraj
The moment of truth on the LTTE
The decimation of the Tamil Tigers is a good thing
Subramanian Swamy
Tuning a new balance
China’s military transformation and the implications for India
Arun Sahgal
Looking back at Amarnath
India must seize the opportunity that has come [...]
…and making avoidable mistakes
The worst type of errors are the unforced ones. And the BJP’s leaders are making them. Sushma Swaraj’s ill-considered accusations gave pause to anyone who thought that the BJP might take internal security a little more seriously than the UPA. And it was followed by Manvendra Singh’s op-ed, of all places in [...]
Issue Contents
PERSPECTIVE
Making a leader
Excerpts from a lecture on leadership and discipline
Sam HFJ Manekshaw
Our voice in our history
Academic freedom, private funding and historical research
Jayakrishnan Nair
Letters
On whether or not India has a coherent foreign policy
FILTER
A survey of think-tanks
On China policy; Fixing the FATA; An Indo-Israeli alliance?
Vijay Vikram
IN DEPTH
Hold steady in Afghanistan
India is on the right track and [...]
Making India’s defence policy consistent with its emergence as a significant global player.
Here’s a version of my essay that appeared in Pakistan’s The Friday Times July 11-17, 2008 | (Vol. XX, No. 21):
India’s armed forces, according to K Subrahmanyam, have “not modernised their decision-making process ever since Lord Ismay prescribed it in 1947. Command and [...]
Patience is immoral
Your essay (via Streetcar) arguing that India will not, and should not attempt to become a superpower is simply too long. It does deserve to be read, though, though at leisure. For now let’s examine your concluding paragraph.
To follow the Naxalites is to plunge India into decades of civil war; to follow the [...]
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