top of page


Crossing The Khalubar Ridge: A Humbling Recollection
Each one of us knew instantly, every time a martyr passed us, that it could have been any one of us instead. It was early July 1999. In the harsh mountains of Ladakh, the Indian Army had already fought many battles to evict enemy intrusions across the Line of Control. After initial setbacks due to underestimating the enemy’s preparedness for a prolonged campaign, our units were making steady progress, securing one ridge at a time and pushing the enemy back toward the LC. On

Brigadier AS Ranade, VSM (Retired)
Oct 14, 20253 min read


Washington’s Risky Tango with Pakistan
America’s renewed embrace of Pakistan may be aimed at countering China, but it risks reviving ghosts that may return to haunt the US....

Commodore S.L. Deshmukh
Oct 6, 20254 min read


Guns of Independence
While India has made big strides in defence self-reliance, a truly ‘Atmanirbhar’ military machine remains elusive. India likes to see...

Commodore S.L. Deshmukh
Sep 29, 20254 min read


Six Maoists surrender
Gadchiroli: In a major development, six hardcore senior Maoists, including three women, carrying a combined bounty of Rs 62-lakhs, laid...
Quaid Najmi
Sep 25, 20253 min read


Atmanirbhar Bharat: An Imperative for Defence
When Indian policymakers talk of an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliant India), the phrase generally conjures images of solar panels,...

Commodore S.L. Deshmukh
Sep 22, 20254 min read


Anchoring Nicobar: India’s Bid to Guard Asia’s Busiest Sea Lane
At the mouth of the Malacca Strait, India is trying to turn an isolated outpost into a maritime gamechanger. India’s southernmost tip is...
Capt. Naveen S. Singhal and Capt. M. M. Saggi
Sep 20, 20254 min read


Married to the Army First!
Over the years, she realised we had sworn allegiance to the Olive Greens well before we married our soulmates. It was the third week of...

Brigadier AS Ranade, VSM (Retired)
Sep 17, 20253 min read


Dominoes of Discontent
From Dhaka to Kathmandu, the rising shadow of foreign meddling in South Asia is compelling India to face new tests of resilience. When...

Commodore S.L. Deshmukh
Sep 15, 20254 min read


Why Maoism is a failed idea in a rising Bharat
Once a potent force, the Maoists are now a relic of an obsolete ideology, unable to adapt to a confident and rapidly modernising India....
Janamejaya
Sep 9, 20255 min read


Breaking the Sound Barrier: India’s Race for Hypersonic Supremacy
As great-power rivalry intensifies by the day, India’s foray into hypersonic missiles reflects its ambition to secure strategic autonomy...

Commodore S.L. Deshmukh
Sep 8, 20254 min read


The Brahmaputra in balance: Between promise and peril
China’s dams on the Brahmaputra threaten India’s water security, but they also open the door to fragile cooperation. After the Pahalgam...

Amey Chitale
Aug 20, 20254 min read


Myanmar’s Perils for India
The Burmese dha, a long, straight sword used in the martial art of banshay, is said to possess a peculiar virtue: it can strike even when...

Commodore S.L. Deshmukh
Aug 18, 20254 min read


Tariffs, Terrorism and Treachery: How friends, foes and opportunists test India’s resolve
As our country turns 79, it faces an abrasive America and a perfidious Pakistan, and must balance external provocation with domestic...

Kiran D. Tare
Aug 14, 20255 min read


The Maoist Echo in India’s Cities
Maharashtra’s new ‘Urban Naxal’ law revives an old debate of how to fight insurgency without eroding dissent. Maharashtra’s politicians...

Uday K. Chakraborty
Aug 12, 20255 min read


Whirring Blades, Warring Neighbours
India’s Apaches and Pakistan’s Z-10MEs are signposts in an accelerating South Asian arms race. In South Asia, where the map is still...

Commodore S.L. Deshmukh
Aug 11, 20254 min read


Heavy Lies the Box: The Hidden Perils of Misdeclared Cargo
The humble shipping container is being undermined by a toxic mix of deception, negligence and regulatory blind spots. In 2004, Efthymios...
Capt. Naveen S. Singhal and Capt. M. M. Saggi
Aug 9, 20254 min read


A Meal Without Their Commander: Tribute to Major Satish Dahiya, Shaurya Chakra (Posthumous)
When passion meets courage, there’s no looking back. Major Satish Dahiya embodied both. His supreme sacrifice on 14 February 2017...

Brigadier AS Ranade, VSM (Retired)
Aug 6, 20254 min read


Damn the Chinese Dam
China’s mammoth hydropower project on the Brahmaputra is rattling its southern neighbours and the river itself. China has long sought to...

Commodore S.L. Deshmukh
Aug 4, 20254 min read


Manufactured Menace: Why the Congress cannot stop fearing the RSS
Unable to counter the RSS’s grassroots reach, the Congress has chosen to criminalise it by transforming ideological rivalry into...

Kiran D. Tare
Aug 3, 20255 min read


A Deep Dive into Sovereignty
With the commissioning of INS Nistar, India marks a leap in underwater military autonomy and signals its rising ambitions beneath the...

Commodore S.L. Deshmukh
Jul 28, 20254 min read
bottom of page
