Category Archives: Indian democracy

Podcast (CPR) & Discussion on ‘Staggering’ at the Atlantic Council in Washington DC

Posted on September 26, 2018 by

A CPR podcast on my new book ‘Staggering Forward is available at ————- Taking off tonight for the US for an extended holiday coupled with a book event at the Atlantic Council, Washington DC, on Thursday Oct 4, 2018. The … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, China, China military, civil-military relations, Culture, Decision-making, Defence Industry, domestic politics, DRDO, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian democracy, Indian Navy, indian policy -- Israel, Iran and West Asia, Indian Politics, Intelligence, MEA/foreign policy, Military Acquisitions, Military/military advice, Missiles, nonproliferation, NRIs, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan military, Pakistan nuclear forces, Relations with Russia, Russia, SAARC, society, South Asia, Strategic Forces Command, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, Terrorism, Tibet, United States, US., Vietnam, Weapons | Leave a comment

Why the Rafale deal, as predicted, has blown up in Modi’s face

Posted on September 22, 2018 by

[For reasons unknown, an overjoyed Modi with Hollande at the Elysee Palace in Paris] Rajiv Gandhi “paid the political price…with regard to the Bofors gun. Modi will have to carry the can for this Rafale transaction—a boondoggle in the making … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, Australia, civil-military relations, corruption, Culture, Decision-making, Defence Industry, domestic politics, DRDO, Europe, Geopolitics, Indian Air Force, Indian democracy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Politics, MEA/foreign policy, Military Acquisitions, Military/military advice, Missiles, SAARC, society, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, Weapons | 10 Comments

A flurry of messy justifications

Posted on September 21, 2018 by

[Defence Minister Sitharaman in a meeting with CAS, ACM BS Dhanoa, and his principal staff officers at Air HQ] What qualities, other than her readiness to take direction from the PMO, commended  Nirmala Sitharaman to Narendra Modi are not known. But … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, Central Asia, China, China military, civil-military relations, corruption, Culture, Decision-making, Defence Industry, domestic politics, DRDO, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian democracy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Intelligence, MEA/foreign policy, Military Acquisitions, Military/military advice, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Relations with Russia, Russia, russian assistance, russian military, society, South Asia, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, Tibet, United States, US., Weapons | 8 Comments

India’s Modi gunning for Pakistan but subservient to China, the US — Ál-Arabiya review of ‘Staggering Forward’

Posted on September 18, 2018 by

[From right to left — Shivshankar Menon, Admiral Arun Prakash, Yashwant Sinha, Jairam Ramesh, Ajai Shukla (moderator) and Karnad, at the book launch] By S. N. M. Abdi, Special to Al Arabiya English, Monday, 17 September 2018 A new book by Bharat … Continue reading →

Posted in asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, China, China military, civil-military relations, corruption, Culture, Decision-making, domestic politics, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian democracy, Indian Politics, MEA/foreign policy, Military/military advice, Pakistan, Pakistan military, SAARC, society, South Asia, Strategic Relations with the US & West, United States, US. | 2 Comments

The Hindu’s review of ‘Staggering Forward’

Posted on September 9, 2018 by

‘Staggering Forward-Narendra Modi and India’s Global Ambition’ review: Foreign policy in a hurry Suhasini Haidar, The Hindu, SEPTEMBER 08, An examination of India’s diplomacy finds it wanting on many counts, from Pakistan to tackling ‘blind-spots’ like the U.S. and China Books … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, Australia, China, China military, Decision-making, Defence Industry, domestic politics, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian democracy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, indian policy -- Israel, Iran and West Asia, Indian Politics, MEA/foreign policy, Military Acquisitions, Military/military advice, NRIs, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Relations with Russia, Russia, russian assistance, SAARC, society, South Asia, South East Asia, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, Terrorism, United States, US., Vietnam, Weapons | 5 Comments

India-US 2+2 Talks

Posted on September 7, 2018 by

This is a heated discussion that took place today in the ‘India Eye’ program hosted by Bharat Bhushan on Blueticknews on the net. It pitted two establishment types against me. Whose position is more protective of the national interest is … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, arms exports, asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, China, China military, Decision-making, Defence Industry, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian democracy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, indian policy -- Israel, Iran and West Asia, Intelligence, Iran and West Asia, MEA/foreign policy, Military Acquisitions, Military/military advice, Northeast Asia, Relations with Russia, Russia, russian assistance, russian military, South Asia, Strategic Forces Command, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, Terrorism, United States, US., Weapons, Western militaries | 25 Comments

Toeing the American line

Posted on September 4, 2018 by

The Damocles’ sword of US sanctions will hereafter hang over India and compel New Delhi to toe Washington’s line on everything — Russia, Iran, non-proliferation, removal of tariffs on imports from the US, etc. Moneycontrol Contributor@moneycontrolcom Bharat Karnad The 2×2 talks between … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, Decision-making, domestic politics, Europe, Geopolitics, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian democracy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Indian Politics, Intelligence, MEA/foreign policy, Military Acquisitions, Military/military advice, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Russia, russian assistance, russian military, society, South Asia, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, Terrorism, United States, US., Weapons, Western militaries | 17 Comments