Category Archives: Indian Politics

Army’s “succession plan”?

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

In his letter to the Supreme Court opposing the Army Chief, General V.K. Singh’s case for relevant official records to show his correct date of birth, Attorney General Goolam Vahnavati referred to a mysterious “succession plan” that he said the … Continue reading →

Posted in civil-military relations, Indian Army, Indian Politics | 6 Comments

Talk in Princeton by Bharat Karnad on strategic security issues -video

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

Complete Video (in 10 segments) of my talk on India’s strategic security issues at what was billed as a “Jirga” in Princeton on November 13, 2011, arranged by Bharat-rakshak Forum habitues residing in the NY/NJ area may be accessed at http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL31BA8C2D60DA2052 . For some reason various URLs … Continue reading →

Posted in Defence Industry, 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 policy -- Israel, Iran and West Asia, Indian Politics, Internal Security, Military Acquisitions, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Relations with Russia, Special Forces, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West | 3 Comments

Bharat Karnad at CNAS/GWU Conference on ‘Rising Powers’ in Washington, DC, January 23-24, 2012

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

Bharat Karnad’s Brief Responses to Questions posed Indian panelists (in the lead-up to the) Center for New American Security/Sigur Center for Asian Studies, George Washington University conference on “India as a Global Power: Contending Views from India,” Elliott School, Washington, D.C., January … Continue reading →

Posted in Defence Industry, 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 policy -- Israel, Iran and West Asia, Indian Politics, Military Acquisitions, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Rethinking Indian Policies Towards Pakistan

Posted on January 22, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

For a transcript of a talk by me at an event jointly hosted by the Institute of National Strategic Studies, US National Defense University, and the Atlantic Council, and the Q & A session that followed, in Washington DC on Nov 14, … Continue reading →

Posted in India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Politics, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons | 5 Comments

A general mess

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

Bharat Karnad The negatives of replacing the selection system will be strongly resisted by military and politicians as both will perceive it as disruptive While the colonial-era tradition of Indian Army officers not discussing women or politics — issues with … Continue reading →

Posted in India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Politics | Leave a comment

India must learn to assert

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

What’s with us as cricket team, as people, as government, as country? An objective take would be that we are a bunch of losers. Passivity, defensive-mindedness, meekness, and timidity are qualities that historically have characterised India and Indians, with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Politics | 2 Comments

Looking West, as far as Israel

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

The Indian Minister for External Affairs, S. M. Krishna, is visiting Israel starting January 9. The good thing is that such visits these days occasion no public teeth-gnashing by leaders of political parties that promote themselves as protectors of Indian … Continue reading →

Posted in Defence Industry, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy, indian policy -- Israel, Iran and West Asia, Indian Politics, Military Acquisitions, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons | 4 Comments

Padma Awards Farce

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Bharat Karnad

The late P.K. Iyengar, former chairman of the atomic energy commission, head of the theoretical group at BARC and father of the implosion-triggered fission device tested in May 1974 — incidentally, still the only proven weapon in the country’s nuclear … Continue reading →

Posted in Indian Politics | 4 Comments

A few fatal flaws

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Bharat Karnad

When does a flawed system of government become a threat to the security of the state and the wellbeing of the people? This is a question that must now concern all citizens witnessing the country’s dangerous decline in certain salient … Continue reading →

Posted in Indian Politics, Internal Security | 1 Comment

Nuclear reactor politics

Posted on November 5, 2011 by Bharat Karnad

What’s with the stir over the Koodankulam nuclear power plant? Over the years, India has constructed 20 nuclear power plants — four units in Kaiga, Karnataka, two in Kakrapar, Gujarat, two in Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, two in Narora, Uttar Pradesh, … Continue reading →

Posted in Indian Politics, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Relations with Russia, Strategic Relations with the US & West | 2 Comments