Redefining Horizons

  Ferocity, in battles on the land and duels in the air, was the hallmark of the second Indo-Pakistan war of 1965. Many books have been written, on both sides of the border, about the war and its battles, both in the air and on the land. Carefully researched facts, figures, and diagrams outlining the progress of operations lend an essence of authority to the work. Each story, replete with grit and valour, with all the attendant ghastly details finely woven in, makes compelling narratives that deify domestic military heroes and demonise the adversary. Straying from the truth while writing about battles is an honourable compulsion, soaked in nationalism. After all, war has never been about absolute truth, and history, the narrative of the victor.  But what happens when both parties declare themselves victors? Deja Vu? This article, like the previous three on India’s unparalleled wars, will not take us through individual battles. We will navigate mostly through the causes to...

Defining India-China Relationship  India’s War with China started on 20 October 1962, when China launched simultaneous attacks in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh, then called NEFA. The war ended on 21 November 1962, when China unilaterally declared a ceasefire. China withdrew from all areas it had captured, but not from the Aksai Chin area. Official details of the month-long conflict remain largely opaque to this day in India, locked away in classified documents. However, we often come across bits and pieces, carefully curated for political returns.  The shroud over bilateral relations between India and China notwithstanding, the two most populous neighbours remain locked in distrust and domestic denials, despite growing trade between them. The occasional glimmers of hope in the relationship often end up being extinguished by disappointments, and every photo opportunity, from the “ Hindi-Chini, bhai-bha i” days to the contemporary “riverside spectacle,” eventually turned out to b...

  PART 2: First War of Kashmir 1947 Change in Mind When I first sat down to write the article, I believed I could finish it in three parts. After all, I had studied these military operations, and all it needed was putting things in an easily readable form. Once I started reading up on the material I collected, I realised, my knowledge had been confined purely to the military perspective. The canvas on which each of the military operations was conducted stretched far beyond matters of arms. Their beginnings rested in complex geopolitical vortices, and the battlefields stretched far back and far ahead. To my horror, I also realised that we find ourselves repeatedly in a state of déjà Vu, moving forward linearly but in circles. This aspect shall be discussed in the concluding part of the article, dealing with “what lies ahead for us.”   Each operation India has undertaken demands deference. It is that deep respect and admiration for those involved in the operations that compelle...

  The Many Roads to Rome   Operation Sindoor continues to be a popular topic of discussion among military thinkers, policymakers, arms manufacturers, and the self-proclaimed vocal strategic affairs experts proliferating over the equally expanding audio-visual modes of communication. Every aspect of the operation continues to be flogged emotionally with  intentional or inherent bias, but with louder claims of being bias less. The common refrain in all these discussions and analyses is that Operation Sindoor was a multidomain operation combining military precision with diplomatic and strategic messaging, unparalleled in the history of independent India.  Let us first be on even keel on ‘multi-domain’ that experts now endlessly talk about. According to me, ‘multi domain’ typically includes the well-known conflict domains of land, maritime, air, and the recently evolved realms of cyber, information, space, electromagnetic spectrum, intelligence, and now the all-pervas...