Caught in the Crossfire: Capt. Ajay Pant The prosecution of Indian Master Capt. Ajay Pant, following Britain’s seizure of the tanker SMYRTOS, deserves closer international scrutiny. Calling it simply a campaign against Russia’s so-called shadow fleet is highly misleading. Britain itself has, and continues to, benefit from Russian oil trade. According to an investigation by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), between the beginning of Britain’s Russian oil b

Violence and retaliatory blockades on the Assam–Meghalaya corridor show how quickly local grievances can become a regional economic crisis The equilibrium of Northeast India is frequently tested along its inter-state boundaries, but flashpoints that erupt on the streets of Shillong resonate far beyond mere physical lines on a map. When public demonstrations organized by local pressure groups deteriorate into targeted vandalism against out-of-state commercial vehicles, a local

Whatever is happening in India ever since Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014, was actually in the works much before February 2002, it is a Toolkit that is a combination of Conspiracies, Strategies, Toolkit's, Cookbooks, Reports, Mind Control Games, and Weaponising nonviolence and Regime Degradation operations. What is happening now in India is a deadly combination of all these. The first tool kit of regime change is derived from the 1823 US President James Monore

Rotating detonation engines could redefine propulsion in the near future, and India cannot afford to be a bystander For more than a century, the basic architecture of the jet and rocket engine has remained remarkably resilient. Fuel is burned, gases expand and turbines, compressors or other components turn that energy into thrust. Now, a different idea is beginning to move from laboratories towards operational propulsion: the rotating detonation engine (RDE). It replaces conv

Hydrogen-powered turbines could help India decarbonise electricity, industry and eventually aviation but formidable challenges remain. Hydrogen has acquired the status of energy’s favourite future tense. It promises clean industrial heat, low-carbon electricity and, eventually, cleaner aviation. Yet hydrogen is not simply natural gas with a greener label. It behaves differently in a turbine, burns faster, ignites more readily and creates its own engineering hazards. That make

As drones and electronic warfare reshape the battlefield, high-power microwaves offer India an unconventional weapon. Wars are becoming increasingly dependent on something that cannot be seen, heard or easily defended against: electromagnetic energy. Drones need electronics to fly while missiles need them to navigate. Disable the circuitry and an expensive weapon can become an expensive piece of inert metal. That is the promise of the high-power microwave array (HPMA), one of

Following my piece last week wherein I had written on President Donald Trump’s claim that American forces allegedly used a mysterious weapon dubbed the ‘Discombobulator’ during its operation in Venezuela to depose Maduro, some readers have asked me that if such a weapon was indeed so effective, why did it not work in Iran? The short answer is that wars are rarely decided by weapons alone. A technological advantage can destroy an installation, disrupt communications or incapac

The U.S. President’s latest military buzzword may be political theatre. Even so, it captures a profound shift towards wars fought by perceptions and paralysing systems. When Donald Trump spoke of a mysterious “Discombobulator” after the dramatic American operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January this year, reactions oscillated between scepticism and intrigue. Operation Absolute Resolve was extraordinary by any measure, involving more than 150 airc

India’s emergency response system has entered a decisive phase. In May 2026, the Supreme Court directed every State and Union Territory to integrate multiple emergency helplines into 112 within three months, while recognising trauma care as an integral part of the right to life under Article 21. At one level, the judgment appears administrative; it asks governments to consolidate numbers such as 100, 101, 102, 108, 1033 and 1091 into a single platform. But its larger signific

The NEET protests at Jantar Mantar highlighted a democratic paradox: the right to protest is fundamental, but so is the state’s duty to restore order when violence erupts. The resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan marked an unusually swift act of political accountability. It acknowledged the gravity of the NEET examination fiasco, a scandal that had shaken the confidence of millions of aspirants and their families. The government cancelled the tainted ex

Bangladesh’s growing embrace of Chinese infrastructure and strategic capital confronts India with a geopolitical challenge that extends far beyond the Teesta. For more than five decades, India and Bangladesh have built one of South Asia’s most stable bilateral relationships. Bound by geography, culture and the shared memory of Bangladesh’s liberation in 1971, New Delhi viewed Dhaka as an indispensable partner in securing India's eastern frontier and integrating its northeaste

A Bengaluru startup’s breakthrough in magnet-free electric motors is a strategic step towards freeing India’s industrial future from China’s rare-earth dominance. For years, the global transition to electric mobility has rested on an uncomfortable paradox. The technologies powering a cleaner future have themselves depended on a supply chain controlled overwhelmingly by one country. Permanent magnets used in high-performance electric motors require rare-earth minerals, and Chi

Pakistan’s Hangor-class submarines expose not just a shifting naval balance in the Indian Ocean, but also the cost of India’s chronic delays in defence procurement. The balance of power in the Indian Ocean is increasingly being shaped by vessels that are designed never to be seen. Pakistan’s induction of the Hangor-class submarine represents a calculated shift in Islamabad’s maritime strategy, backed by China, and poses uncomfortable questions about India’s own submarine mode

Amid intensifying strategic rivalry across the Indian Ocean, India’s partnership with Seychelles shows how patient diplomacy and practical cooperation can yield enduring influence. India’s foreign policy has often been often criticised in the past for paying insufficient attention to its maritime neighbourhood. That perception has changed markedly over the past decade. As the geopolitical centre of gravity shifts towards the Indo-Pacific, India has rediscovered the truth that

The Japanese Prime Minister’s decision to skip Assam is a setback for the Northeast, but not for the larger India-Japan partnership. India and Japan share one of Asia’s most understated yet enduring partnerships. Long before the relationship acquired strategic significance, it rested on the quiet foundations of culture and civilisation. Buddhism travelled from the Indian subcontinent to Japan over many centuries, leaving an imprint that still shapes Japanese society. In the m

By dropping “Indo” from its Pacific command, Washington has reignited questions about India’s place in American strategy. The Pentagon’s decision to restore the historic title of the US Pacific Command (USPACOM) by replacing the US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM), may appear at first glance to be little more than bureaucratic housekeeping. Officially, Washington insists that the command’s responsibilities, operational boundaries and strategic priorities remain unchanged. B

A decade ago, India was one of the world's largest arms importers; today, it exports defence equipment to more than 100 countries. India now exports defence equipment to more than 100 countries, including the United States, France, and Armenia. A decade ago, however, the sector presented a very different picture. The country remained heavily dependent on imports to meet domestic requirements and support economic needs. Before this shift, India’s economy relied heavily on impo

Ethnic violence in India’s troubled frontier is not just a law-and-order problem but the culmination of history and political failure. For more than three years, Manipur has remained trapped in a cycle of violence that has scarred communities, displaced tens of thousands and exposed the limits of the Indian state’s ability to manage ethnic conflict. The turmoil is the product of historical grievances and competing identities that have gradually transformed social tensions int

India's solved cases are proving that surveillance can accelerate justice, while unresolved cases are demonstrating the devastating cost of its absence. Crimes are continuing to occur in shadows on deserted roads at midnight, inside locked rooms, and in spaces where victims are crying for help but no witness is stepping forward. Investigations are stalling, perpetrators are escaping, and thousands of criminal cases across India are remaining under trial for years because of i

Last month saw three major indigenous defence breakthroughs in three days, underscoring India’s growing ability to build strategic technologies at home. AI generated image For most of its post-independence history, India’s strategic establishment has had a peculiar relationship with military power. Major acquisitions were announced in press conferences. Sophisticated platforms were purchased abroad. The long years of design work, testing and technological development often oc