Category Archives: Indian Politics

Scorpene — Leaked DCNS Documents & ‘The Australian’ news report

Posted on August 25, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

What’s simply astounding about GOI’s (Parrikar’s) and the Indian Navy’s reaction to this massive leak at the DCNS end is their (1) complacent attitude (compare this to the alarm generated in Australia, which is buying another version of the Scorpene), … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, Australia, civil-military relations, corruption, Defence Industry, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Navy, Indian Politics, society, South Asia, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, Weapons, Western militaries | 13 Comments

Modi’s LEMOA will make targets of Indian bases

Posted on August 24, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

Indian defence minister Manohar Parrikar is set to visit the US Aug 29-Sept 1. News reports suggest he will travel thither expressly to sign the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), a suitably worded derivative of the standard Logistics Support … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, Australia, China, China military, civil-military relations, Culture, domestic politics, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, indian policy -- Israel, Iran and West Asia, Indian Politics, Iran and West Asia, Relations with Russia, Russia, russian assistance, society, South Asia, South East Asia, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, United States, US., Weapons, West Asia, Western militaries | 13 Comments

Boeing C-17s, Shashikant Sharma, & accountability

Posted on August 19, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

It is curious that the mainstream Indian press and media that raise hell when it comes to anything going wrong with ex-Russian military hardware are strangely silent and fail even to report the findings of the Comptroller and Accountant General … Continue reading →

Posted in civil-military relations, corruption, Culture, Defence Industry, domestic politics, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian democracy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Politics, Military Acquisitions, Russia, russian assistance, society, South Asia, Special Forces, Strategic Relations with the US & West, United States, US., Weapons | 11 Comments

Sinking feeling — Modi’s I-Day speech

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

India is going to advance despite its government, not because of it. It is BJP today, some Congress coalition tomorrow, or a third front regime the next day, the dispensation in New Delhi of the moment will talk big, flaff … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, China, China military, corruption, Culture, domestic politics, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, guerilla warfare, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian democracy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Politics, Internal Security, Pakistan, Pakistan military, society, South Asia, Strategic Relations with the US & West, United States, US., Western militaries | 20 Comments

Ditching the Excalibur and every other indigenous armament project

Posted on August 10, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

The army brass in 2012 decided they wanted a multi-purpose infantry weapon with interchangeable barrels — 5.56x39mm for conventional warfare and the 7.62x51mm for distant kills. Foreign weapons — CM 901 from Colt (US), VZ 58 from Ceska (Czech Republic), … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, civil-military relations, corruption, Culture, Defence Industry, domestic politics, 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 Politics, Israel, Military Acquisitions, Russia, SAARC, society, South Asia, United States, US., Vietnam, Weapons, Western militaries | 22 Comments

Time to revive a “Kuka” Parrey-type Group in Kashmir

Posted on August 7, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

One of the reasons, other than fatigue of the people absorbing the costs of insurgency, that the intifada-style uprising in the Srinagar Valley that had gained momentum following the 1989 state elections in Jammu & Kashmir, which New Delhi tried … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Asian geopolitics, civil-military relations, domestic politics, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, guerilla warfare, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Army, Indian Politics, Internal Security, Pakistan, Pakistan military, SAARC, society, South Asia | 25 Comments

Why Donald Trump is Good for India

Posted on August 2, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

NOTHING IS MORE dreaded by liberal America than the potential presidency of Donald J Trump. He means to blow up the foundations of the existing global order along with the current set of US foreign and military policies. Notionally ‘Republican’ … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, China, China military, civil-military relations, disarmament, 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 Politics, Iran and West Asia, Japan, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, nonproliferation, Northeast Asia, nuclear industry, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Pakistan military, SAARC, society, South Asia, South East Asia, Strategic Forces Command, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West, United States, Vietnam, Weapons, West Asia | 11 Comments

Arundhati G, RIP

Posted on July 28, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

India was lucky to have Ambassador Arundhati Ghose, as the Indian Representative at the UN Conference on Disarmament (CD), Geneva, in 1995-96 negotiating the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Her diligence in keeping abreast of the often secret meetings and machinations … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, China, disarmament, domestic politics, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Politics, nonproliferation, nuclear industry, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, nuclear power, Nuclear Weapons, society, South Asia, Strategic Forces Command, Strategic Relations with the US & West, United States, Weapons | 23 Comments

Rid India of salafi-wahabbism — do it before it is too late

Posted on July 19, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

Can one think of India without Muslims and Islam? Honestly, no. A sentiment reflected in Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s statement in the Parliamentary debate on developments in Kashmir today that Indian Islam is peaceful. It is if one conflates sufi … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, Bangladesh, Culture, domestic politics, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, Indian democracy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Ocean, indian policy -- Israel, Iran and West Asia, Indian Politics, Internal Security, Iran and West Asia, Pakistan, SAARC, society, South Asia, Terrorism, United States, US., West Asia | 34 Comments

Limits of Modi’s personalised diplomacy

Posted on July 16, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

THE DEFINING CHARACTERISTIC of Narendra Modi’s tenure as Prime Minister are the foreign trips he has racked up—16 in his first year, followed by another 10 in his second year in office. It seems he likes nothing better than jaw-jawing … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, Central Asia, China, China military, 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 Army, Indian democracy, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Indian Politics, Latin America, Military Acquisitions, nonproliferation, nuclear industry, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, nuclear power, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Relations with Russia, Russia, russian assistance, South Asia, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, United States, US., Weapons | 27 Comments