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.

Ditching Rafale

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

Like an able pilot with his wits about him in an out-of-control warplane, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar may be preparing to ditch Rafale touted as the medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) answer, which the Indian Air Force has set its … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, civil-military relations, Defence Industry, DRDO, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian ecobomic situation, Military Acquisitions, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Relations with Russia, Russia, russian assistance, russian military, South Asia, Strategic Forces Command, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, United States, US., Weapons, Western militaries | 14 Comments

diesel smugglers?

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

Over the weekend several military commentators, among them surprisingly RADM K.R. “Raja” Menon (Retd), were featured on TV news shows. If I heard them right, they ventured that the boat ex-Pakistani port that had been tracked from the start and … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, civil-military relations, India's Pakistan Policy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Internal Security, Pakistan, Pakistan military, society, South Asia, Terrorism | 3 Comments

Arihant, bigger, more powerful

Posted on December 27, 2014 by Bharat Karnad

Compare photographs/videos of a Kilo-class SSK steaming out of harbour and the Arihant SSBN getting out of Vizag base and what do experts notice? In the main that the Arihant-class boat, not surprisingly, is a third longer and bulkier — … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, China, China military, Defence Industry, DRDO, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, nuclear power, Nuclear Weapons, South Asia, Strategic Forces Command, Weapons | 8 Comments

Getting Pakistan Wrong

Posted on December 26, 2014 by Bharat Karnad

Every major terrorist incident in Pakistan begets the same old Indian response. At such times analysts and media commentators are either clucking in despair at yet more evidence of a supposedly “failing state” or, barely suppressing their satisfaction at seeing … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, China, China military, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, guerilla warfare, India's Pakistan Policy, Indian democracy, Internal Security, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Pakistan nuclear forces, society, South Asia, Terrorism, United States, US., Weapons | Leave a comment

Underway Arihant SSBN

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Bharat Karnad

My usually reliable source was misinformed about the dateline of the Arihant going out on sea trials, but by about only three-quarters of a day! — whence this blog was originally posted late morning yesterday (Dec 15). It turned out … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, Defence Industry, DRDO, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Navy, Military Acquisitions, nuclear industry, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, South Asia, Strategic Forces Command | 11 Comments

Russian Ties at Inflection Point

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Bharat Karnad

India’s relations with Russia are at a point where they could soar, or plummet. Minus the celebratory pomp and circumstance likely attending on the January jaunt by US president Barack Obama, president Vladimir Putin’s seemingly perfunctory visit may actually turn … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, China, civil-military relations, Defence Industry, DRDO, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Missiles, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Relations with Russia, Russia, russian assistance, South Asia, Technology transfer, United States, US., Weapons | 3 Comments

Modi, US and Indian Interests

Posted on November 30, 2014 by Bharat Karnad

Banner headlines and over-the-top television anchors gushing about US president Barack Obama accepting prime minister Narendra Modi’s invitation to be chief guest at the 2015 Republic Day celebrations and frenzied prognostications of what this means for bilateral relations, etc. reveals … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, Australia, Central Asia, Defence Industry, DRDO, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian democracy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Indian Politics, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Russia, society, South Asia, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, United States, US., Weapons, Western militaries | 2 Comments

Investigate Air Cmde Khokhar’s death

Posted on November 25, 2014 by Bharat Karnad

Air Cmde Pervez Hamilton Khokhar’s gruesome death in a gated community in Bangalore is not some off-way crime, but may be something lot more sinister. This stalwart of the Tejas LCA programme — its former director — was still helping … Continue reading →

Posted in civil-military relations, Defence Industry, DRDO, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian democracy, Internal Security, Military Acquisitions, society, South Asia | 2 Comments

Parrikar’s Priority

Posted on November 15, 2014 by Bharat Karnad

Defence minister Manohar Parrikar has three things going for him. First, he has prime minister Narendra Modi’s confidence. Two, he is an IIT engineer and able to digest the technical aspects and imperatives of national security better than the generalist … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, civil-military relations, Defence Industry, DRDO, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian democracy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Indian Politics, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, Relations with Russia, Russia, russian assistance, russian military, South Asia, Technology transfer, Weapons, Western militaries | 12 Comments

Crisis of State — External Security

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Bharat Karnad

I was invited to deliver the 6th PA Ramakrishnan Lecture at the Bhatiya Vidya Bhavan in Mylapore, Chennai, Oct 5, 2014. For those who are interested, the talk and the interaction following was videographed and uploaded to Youtube and may … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Asian geopolitics, Central Asia, China, China military, civil-military relations, Defence Industry, disarmament, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian democracy, Indian Politics, Internal Security, Maldives, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, nonproliferation, Northeast Asia, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Pakistan nuclear forces, Relations with Russia, Russia, society, South Asia, South East Asia, Sri Lanka, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, Terrorism, Tibet, United States, US., Weapons | 4 Comments