• Drones to Decisions: Why the Tactical Sky Must Belong to the Soldier

    When India’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) recently warned of a “third revolution” in warfare — the age of drones and counter-drone systems — it was not a metaphor. From Ukraine to Gaza, the decisive fights today unfold not at 30,000 feet but barely 300 metres above the ground. The soldier’s sky — the 0–3,000-metre…

  • Systemic Paralysis in India’s Defence Procurement: A Machine Without Ownership

    Delays and cost overruns in India’s defence procurement are not isolated bureaucratic mishaps. They reveal a deeper flaw in the structure of the country’s acquisition machinery — the absence of clear, enforceable accountability. For all the rhetoric of Make in India, Atmanirbhar Bharat, and Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), India’s procurement ecosystem continues to be…

  • From Prachand to Apache: How the Indian Army’s Own Air Wings Are Redefining the Battlefield

    When the first batch of Light Combat Helicopters (LCH) Prachand entered service with the Indian Army at Missamari in Assam in 2022, it was a quiet but decisive step toward rewriting India’s land warfare doctrine. Now, with the upcoming induction of six AH-64E Apache attack helicopters — the first three arriving in July 2025 —…

  • India’s Defence Procurement System Suffers From a Lack of Accountability Over Quality

    Delays and cost overruns in India’s defence projects are not just bureaucratic setbacks. They point to a structural flaw in the country’s acquisition architecture — the near-total absence of accountability across the chain of command. Despite the policy push under Make in India, Atmanirbhar Bharat, and Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), the defence procurement process…

  • Part V — Lessons for the Future: From Trust to Vigilance

    The story of India’s relationship with China is one of endurance — of misplaced faith, painful awakenings, and gradual adaptation. From the betrayal of Panchsheel in 1962 to the violence at Galwan in 2020, the pattern has been unbroken. Beijing speaks the language of peace while preparing for coercion; it signs agreements as instruments of…

  • Part IV — Galwan 2020: The Return of Deception

    In June 2020, amid a global pandemic and economic paralysis, Indian and Chinese troops clashed violently in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley. The confrontation — the deadliest between the two sides in more than half a century — was not an accident of patrol routes or miscommunication. It was the culmination of a strategic continuum that began…

  • Part III — The Habit of Breaking Promises: From Panchsheel to the Border Pacts

    For much of the twentieth century, China presented itself as a champion of peace and anti-imperialism, yet its conduct toward India tells a different story — one of convenience, opportunism, and selective fidelity to international commitments. From the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in 1954 to the confidence-building agreements of the post-Cold War period, Beijing’s…

  • Part II — Mao’s Moment: How the Cuban Missile Crisis Enabled China’s 1962 Offensive

    On October 20, 1962, Chinese troops surged across the Himalayan frontier, attacking Indian positions in Ladakh and the North-East Frontier Agency. To many in New Delhi, the timing seemed inexplicable. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had just reaffirmed his commitment to peaceful coexistence; the Chinese government had continued to issue conciliatory statements. Yet, even as diplomatic…

  • Part I — The Betrayal of Peace: China’s 1962 Invasion and the Violation of the UN Charter

    In October 1962, while the world’s attention was fixed on the nuclear brinkmanship between Washington and Moscow, another crisis was unfolding in the Himalayas. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) launched a surprise assault across India’s northern frontier, turning a festering border dispute into a full-scale war. For India,…

  • Unequal Pay on the Front Line: India’s Soldiers Still Await Parity With Paramilitary Forces

    The question of dignity and fairness for India’s armed forces has resurfaced, this time centred on a seemingly technical issue — the Risk and Hardship (RH) Factor Allowance. It was meant to ensure equal compensation for all who serve in hazardous and inhospitable conditions. Instead, it has deepened the divide between soldiers of the armed…