Category Archives: South Asia

Warlords, opium, & core calculus

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Bharat Karnad

Amidst the expected wholesale turnovers in governments in South Asia, Pakistan has been first off the block, voting the opposition Muslim League (Nawaz) party to power. The ruling Congress-led coalition government here could topple next. But it is the future … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Asian geopolitics, Central Asia, China, Geopolitics, guerilla warfare, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, indian policy -- Israel, Iran and West Asia, Pakistan, Pakistan military, South Asia, Terrorism, United States, West Asia | 2 Comments

Strategic pincer & Trojan Horses

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Bharat Karnad

Consider the simplified timeline: on May 4, when the armed intrusion by Chinese People’s Liberation Army in the Depsang Bulge is on-going, the Indian government in an inspired fit announces the extension of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Japan … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, China, China military, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Japan, Military Acquisitions, Nuclear Weapons, South Asia, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Technology transfer | 12 Comments

Ripe for the picking by Li Keqiang?

Posted on May 18, 2013 by Bharat Karnad

One quails at the thought of the Indian government desperately angling for resolution of the border dispute as a “strategic objective”. This incomprehensible desperation — what is it about and WHY? Could it be that the Manmohan Singh-Sonia Gandhi’s Congress … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, China, China military, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Army, Indian Politics, South Asia | 4 Comments

VS Arunachalam. ex-boss DRDO, on “Zero for DRDO”; Karnad’s response

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Bharat Karnad

Former head of DRDO, Dr VS Arunachalam’s reaction to my article “Zero for DRDO” — “In Season of blame, a defence” published in the Asian Age, May 09, 2013, below: ———- This, I fear, is the season of bashing the … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, civil-military relations, Defence Industry, DRDO, Europe, Great Power imperatives, Indian Air Force, Military Acquisitions, South Asia, Technology transfer | 2 Comments

The price of inaction

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Bharat Karnad

The little Chinese misadventure is over but only because India agreed to raze the fortified observation post at Chumar well inside its territory. The restoration of status quo based on such surrender provides China with a ready excuse to march … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, China, China military, civil-military relations, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian para-military forces, Indian Politics, Pakistan, South Asia | 10 Comments

India tested, found wanting

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Bharat Karnad

A Chinese military move seriously to test India’s resolve has been on the cards for a long time now. But, this is only a gambit by Beijing to see what level of provocation will get the Indian government to act, … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, China, China military, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian para-military forces, South Asia | 13 Comments

Faultlines in Defence Production

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Bharat Karnad

The Indian Air Force has been clever over the years in a petty sort of way. Short-range or medium-range combat aircraft and so on are uniquely IAF nomenclature; no other Air Force has such categories. In the age of aerial … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, civil-military relations, Defence Industry, DRDO, Europe, Great Power imperatives, India's strategic thinking and policy, indian policy -- Israel, Iran and West Asia, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, South Asia, Technology transfer | 3 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

Scrap Rafale, Viva Tejas!

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Bharat Karnad

The credibility of WikiLeaks has never been questioned. The WikiLeaks documents that reveal Rajiv Gandhi’s role as a commission agent for the Swedish defence major Saab-Scania peddling its Viggen combat aircraft to the Indian Air Force in the mid- to … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, civil-military relations, Defence Industry, DRDO, Great Power imperatives, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, indian policy -- Israel, Iran and West Asia, Military Acquisitions, Pakistan, Pakistan military, South Asia, Strategic Relations with the US & West | 10 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