India, not Taiwan, is the first line of defence against an expansionist China — South Asia is often called the second most unstable region in the world, after West Asia. Although this overlooks the many insurgencies and tumult on the African continent, the stakes in South Asia are high. Three nuclear armed neighbours share thousands of kilometres of unsettled borders across deserts, mountains, high…

Why did India’s first linguistic state also become the first non-Hindi state to be bifurcated? — 1| A Gandhian Fasts An emaciated and frail Gandhian breathed his last on 15 December 1952 in Madras. He hadn’t eaten for 58 days. It was not Potti Sreeramulu’s first fast, but it would be his last and most significant one. …

Where does German security policy go now? — For decades, it has been easy to paint Berlin as a NATO free-rider, as naïve mercantilist Putinversteher, proponents of Ostpolitik — shorthand for normalising ties with the erstwhile Soviet Union, and overall disinterested in geopolitics, security and assuming their rightful place in the global pecking order. All of these have…

In an Army which recruits, trains, and fights in battalions organised along regional-caste lines — is creating an Ahir Regiment a bridge too far? — The National Identity XXXV: The Three Indian Armies and XXVIII: The Minority Army detail the creation of the modern Indian Army — especially focusing on their caste and regional composition. The infantry within the Indian Army is still overwhelmingly constituted along those lines. Think of the infantry regiments of the…

Coaxing India into the US’ arms is a multi-decade project — I am often asked why India, as the world’s largest democracy isn’t more closely aligned with the US and UK. India’s abstention from yet another UN vote to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has only raised the decibel levels further. US commentators and lawmakers are questioning how reliable an ally…

… However, is this the best we can do for Ukraine? — Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his troops into Ukraine, along three axes, in the small hours of Thursday. Europe’s largest conflict since World War II is afoot. Despite public protestations, every global leader has stopped short of committing their own troops to fight Russia. …

Do we have a SOP for conferring civilian awards on uniformed personnel and why delay appointing a new CDS? — The National Identity talks often, some might say too often, about succession planning within the Armed Forces. National Identities XI, XII, XXV, XXXIII, XLI, XLV over five years. One reason I do it often is that it offers an intoxicating mix of personalities, circumstances, and petty rivalries that a good…

The rise and rise of India’s Bollygarchs — This was originally earmarked as National Identity XXVI. Nineteen editions and three years later talking about India’s Gilded Age, her robber barons, her moguls is even more relevant. In that time, the concentration of wealth at the top has only become more pronounced despite India suffering the sharpest contraction on…

Mainly because it doesn’t want to — Vladimir Putin’s twice-a-decade sabre-rattling leads to a flurry of responses and op-eds from people who were in the know but they make no difference to the ground reality. Putin does as Putin wants in Eastern Europe. Of course, there is a historical reason for this which pre-dates the Soviet Union…