Author Archives: Bharat Karnad

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About Bharat Karnad

Senior Fellow in National Security Studies at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, he was Member of the (1st) National Security Advisory Board and the Nuclear Doctrine-drafting Group, and author, among other books of, 'Nuclear Weapons and Indian Security: The Realist Foundations of Strategy', 'India's Nuclear Policy' and most recently, 'Why India is Not a Great Power (Yet)'. Educated at the University of California (undergrad and grad), he was Visiting Scholar at Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, the Shanghai Institutes of International Studies, and Henry L. Stimson Center, Washington, DC.

Timing a pre-emptive strike

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

In January 1988, I published a piece in the Sunday Observer entitled “Knocking out Kahuta” which gained some notoriety. Pakistan was, at that time, still short of crossing the nuclear weapons threshold and the “window of opportunity”, I argued, would … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Power imperatives, India's Pakistan Policy, Indian Air Force, indian policy -- Israel, Iran and West Asia, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Special Forces, Strategic Relations with the US & West | Leave a comment

LSE report: platform for Ramachandra Guha’s whole-hearted nonsense

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

These are dispiriting times. So soon after the release of that “India as punching bag” foreign policy agenda contained in the quasi-official ‘Nonalignment 2.0’ (NA 2.0) comes an even more enervating collection of opinion-pieces put together by the London Scool of Economics … Continue reading →

Posted in civil-military relations, Great Power imperatives, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Politics, Internal Security | 2 Comments

Roadmap for Second-rate Power Status for India: Response to Quasi-official foreign policy document– ‘Nonalignment 2.0’

Posted on March 4, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

The title, the membership of the group comprising persons with Nehru-vian liberal/neo-liberal bent of mind (Nandan Nilekani, Shyam Saran; four academics – Sunil Khilnani, Pratap Mehta, Rajiv Kumar, Srinath Raghvan; a newspaper editor, S Varadarajan; and a token military-man, retired … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Indian Politics, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West | 7 Comments

To tackle piracy, go on offensive

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

Large navies with great deal of capital invested in them these days prepare not for great fleet battles but for the infinitely less taxing anti-piracy operations. When this role is devolved by governments to shipping Companies who, in turn, pass … Continue reading →

Posted in civil-military relations, Great Power imperatives, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Special Forces | 3 Comments

Air Marshal on joyride or after flying bounty

Posted on February 25, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

A frontline Mirage 2000 combat aircraft piloted by Air Marshal Anil Chopra,  head of   Personnel  at Air HQrs and Commodore Commandant,  of the oldest, most pampered, unit of IAF — No. 1 Squadron, Gwalior, went down yesterday.  “Snag in the engine”was … Continue reading →

Posted in Indian Air Force | 2 Comments

Smugglers funding Jaitapur N-protest?

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

The Kudankulam nuclear complex is stuck at the pre-commissioning stage because of the protest around those parts organized by NGOs whom Manmohan Singh has identified as being funded by cash-rich American NGOs with the agenda of torpedoing the PM’s ambitious … Continue reading →

Posted in India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Politics, Internal Security, Nuclear Policy & Strategy | 1 Comment

Fighting terror the Babu-way

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

It is an unequal fight. On one side are the terrorists of various ideological hues from the small numbers of raging Islamist extremists stalking the cities to the equally angry and committed Maoists controlling parts of the countryside. They are … Continue reading →

Posted in Internal Security | Leave a comment

Dominoes falling to China

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

Does India ever do anything on its 0wn initiative, proactively to protect its interests? Apparently not. Because almost every time you see India doing something in the extended neighborhood, it is in response to counteract what China has done. Take … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Ocean | Leave a comment

Steep Challenge

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

Bharat Karnad That the Iran-Israel fight has been brought to India’s shores by whosoever wanted to spring a surprise on the Israelis  is a tragedy. The open attack on the Israeli embassy official in highly-policed Lutyens Delhi may be the … Continue reading →

Posted in India's strategic thinking and policy, indian policy -- Israel, Iran and West Asia, Internal Security | 1 Comment

Iranian Nuclear TV imagery and meaning

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

Indian TV channels are carrying television coverage of Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inspecting certain nuclear installations publicly revealed for the first time. But the careful coverage was limited to showing uranium centrifuges — which the Iranian TV commentator claimed were “4th generation”, and … Continue reading →

Posted in indian policy -- Israel, Iran and West Asia | 2 Comments