Mercenaries and the state: Why private military firms won’t disappear despite Wagner fiasco Firstpost 30 Jun 2023 The short-lived revolt by Russia’s Wagner group, owned by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close Putin aide, on 24th Jun, reignited the debate on Private Military Companies (PMCs) employed by a state. The Wagner group has, apart from Ukraine, also been involved in operations […]
India and Pakistan post Modi’s US visit Amar Ujala 29 Jun 2023 भारत की पाकिस्तान पर फिर हुई कूटनीतिक जीत, पड़ोस में बुरा दौर खत्म होने की उम्मीदें भी कम प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी और अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति जो बाइडन की औपचारिक बातचीत के बाद जारी संयुक्त बयान से पाकिस्तान की बेचैनी खत्म होने का नाम ही नहीं ले रही है। […]
Moving forward with theatre commands The Excelsior 29 Jun 2023 In recent days there have been inputs indicating that the armed forces are moving forward in their endeavour to finally create theatre commands. The steps being undertaken convey closing of few differences between the services or possibly bypassing objections from some quarters to push through reforms under political pressure. […]
Three perspectives of a relationship The Statesman 27 Jun 2023 PM Modi’s recent visit to the US was amongst the most keenly observed events globally. The attention to detail given by the White House as also multiple visits to Delhi by high-ranking US diplomats displayed efforts by the Biden administration to make it a success. While the visit hogged […]
Will US visit signal the end of non-alignment The Statesman 20 Jun 2023 PM Modi’s visit this week to the US will be historic. The interest it has generated within the US as also the pomp and show being accorded, including a state dinner, culminating with an address to the Congress, indicates that the US administration views the visit […]
The downfall of Imran The Excelsior 19 Jun 2023 Shah Mahmood Qureshi, on release from prison, met Imran Khan with a message from the generals, who had thus far refused to talk to him, despite his pleading. Pakistan’s Friday Times stated that the message was unambiguous and that if Imran did not accept the ‘option’ being presented to him, […]
Ukraine and peace The Excelsior 17 Jun 2023 Addressing the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, post the induction of Finland into NATO, Anthony Blinken, the US secretary of State, mentioned that the US had warned Moscow of the costs of invading Ukraine. Blinken stated, ‘if Russia chose war, we would do three things: support Ukraine, impose severe costs on […]
Why a resurgent India needs to be wooed The Statesman 13 Jun 2023 India has been dubbed by anti-India groups as an ‘electoral autocracy.’ This is because they assume that the current Indian leadership restricts free speech, censor’s media, oppresses civil society organizations and cracks down on political opponents. The expelling of Rahul Gandhi from parliament, after his conviction, […]
Nine years of management of defence The Excelsior 07 Jun 2023 Assessment of the Modi government’s performance in the past nine years under various heads continues under discussion. In the defence sector, at the outset, the government came as a breath of fresh air, as Anthony, the UPA defence minister from 2006 to 2014, hesitated to sign procurements, fearing […]
Virtual SCO Summit plan sends the right signals The Statesman 06 Jun 2023 In a surprise move the government announced holding of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit on 04 Jul in a virtual mode, chaired by PM Modi. No justification was given for the same by the MEA. It was assumed that the summit this year would be […]