Category Archives: Internal Security

America’s trump card in the subcontinent

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Bharat Karnad

The Four-man “Abottabad Commission” to inquire into reasons why the US Special Forces could hunt down Osama bin Laden, swoop down all the way from Jalalabad on his safe-house just outside the gates of the Pakistan Military Academy, kill him, … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Asian geopolitics, civil-military relations, Indian Politics, Internal Security, Pakistan, Pakistan military, South Asia, Special Forces, United States, US., Western militaries | Leave a comment

Muddle of succession politics

Posted on June 14, 2013 by Bharat Karnad

Contextualizing L.K. Advani’s truculence and sulk-sodden antics that have prevented a smooth transfer of power to a new generation of leaders in the Bharatiya Janata Party is the perennial problem afflicting all politics in the subcontinent – the absence of … Continue reading →

Posted in Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Politics, Internal Security | 4 Comments

Can a caged parrot sing?

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Bharat Karnad

Ranjit Sinha, director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), is going around town good-naturedly telling people that he is called a “parrot” (apropos the Supreme Court’s cruel but apt observation that his agency is a “caged parrot” that “speaks … Continue reading →

Posted in Indian Politics, Internal Security | 2 Comments

Abusing secularism

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Bharat Karnad

Without getting into the philosophical antecedents of secularism, at its core is the separation of religion and state. In democracies, however, the religious affiliation of voters creates problems if a vocal minority defines its political identity in religious terms, as … Continue reading →

Posted in Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Politics, Internal Security, South Asia | 4 Comments

Messing with Sri Lanka

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Bharat Karnad

It was the early 1980s when, as I recall, Anton Balasingham, “foreign minister” of the “Tamil Eelam” walked into my office, and vehemently protested a piece I had written warning of the dangers of being sucked into the Sri Lankan … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, China, China military, civil-military relations, Geopolitics, guerilla warfare, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Indian Politics, Internal Security, South Asia, Terrorism | 3 Comments

Narendra Bhai vs. Rahul Baba

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Bharat Karnad

Democracies are renowned for hoisting kooks and incompetents into power. The Indian democratic system is additionally notorious for electing musclemen, criminals, and worse. So if the choice in the 2014 general elections is between Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi, it … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, India's Pakistan Policy, Indian para-military forces, Indian Politics, Internal Security, Pakistan, Pakistan military, South Asia | 28 Comments

A can-do helmsman

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Bharat Karnad

Nations on the march, or those in the dumps, have sometimes found great leaders to lift their spirits, offer a guiding vision, fuel ambition and help them leap forward. A down and out China found Deng Xiaoping, a fast-declining Britain … Continue reading →

Posted in China, China military, Europe, Indian Army, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Politics, Internal Security, Military Acquisitions, South Asia, Technology transfer, United States, US. | 8 Comments

Pelf & procurement politics

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Bharat Karnad

Treasury-milking schemes are of two kinds. Those where national assets and natural resources are sold or contracted out, resulting in monies that should rightfully fill the state coffers being diverted instead into private bank accounts of, and property purchases by, … Continue reading →

Posted in civil-military relations, Europe, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Politics, Internal Security, Military Acquisitions | 4 Comments

Root of trouble: Article 370

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Bharat Karnad

Dipping political fortunes amidst an economic downturn in the run-up to the 2014 general election and the fear of Narendra Modi galvanising the majority community with charges against the Congress Party coalition government of softness towards terrorists led to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, Central Asia, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's Pakistan Policy, Indian Politics, Internal Security, Pakistan, Pakistan military, South Asia, Terrorism | 13 Comments

U.S. Wrong on India’s Iran Policy

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Bharat Karnad

[This is almost a year old, but may still be of interest. The piece reproduced here was published in ‘The Diplomat’ out of Washington on March 19, 2012.] India has been criticized for not doing enough to pressure Iran. But … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Asian geopolitics, Central Asia, China, China military, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, indian policy -- Israel, Iran and West Asia, Indian Politics, Internal Security, nonproliferation, Pakistan, Relations with Russia, Russia, South Asia, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Terrorism, United States, US. | 4 Comments