The Chanakya Dialogues
The Chanakya Dialogues Watch The Sessions
Threats as commonly understood in India have usually been those arising from China, Pakistan, and terrorism as the main ones. But there is another threat that has been brewing nearly…
In the modern contactless hi-tech warfare, do assault rifles really make that difference? This is a question stuck on the minds of many. In an era of battlefield dominance by…
In the Part 1 of this article, we analysed the hurdles India faced due to the onset of insurgency and terrorism, as well as how coalition politics kept successive governments…
The Chinese premier Xi Jinping’s meeting with the Russian President Putin few days ago, created a pandemonium across the globe. They have both been pillars of support for each other…
Swarms of robots with the ability to kill humans are no longer only the stuff of science fiction movies like the Terminator but an ‘in your face’ reality today. Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems…
History, as Karl Marx said, “repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce”. What we witnessed in the 1980s was a tragedy when, as has been rightly said, there was…
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) released its Annual Report 2021-22 on March 13. The report notes: "Since April-May 2020, the Chinese side undertook several attempts to unilaterally alter the…
When the Chinese decided to plan a ‘counterattack’ against India in 1962, the biggest hurdle faced by the PLA was the problem of mobilisation for a “People’s war”. Accustomed to…
“It is not a matter of what is true that counts, but a matter of what is perceived to be true.” ― Henry Kissinger The sense of justice, equality…
“As we meet together in India at the end of 1983, representing a quarter of the world’s people from every continent and many regions, we have shared both our concerns…
International Affairs
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The Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting- Key Takeaways
By Commodore Abhay Kumar Singh (Retd)
One Year Into The Russia-Ukraine Conflict: Many Questions And Few Lessons
By Air Marshal Anil Khosla (Retd)
The General’s Desk
Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (R) 
Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (R)
By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)
By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)
By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)
By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)
By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)
By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)
By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)
By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)
By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)
By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)
OP-ED
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President Biden, Please Transit from the 20th to the 21st Century
By Prof Madhav Das Nalapat
-
India is Only Aligned to its National Interest
By Kanwal Sibal
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Amar Jawan Jyoti – Needless Controversy
By Kanwal Sibal
Cockpit Conversation
Cdr Sandeep Dhawan
Cdr Sandeep Dhawan
By Cdr Sandeep Dhawan (Retd)
By Cdr Sandeep Dhawan (Retd)
By Cdr Sandeep Dhawan (Retd)
By Cdr Sandeep Dhawan (Retd)
By Cdr Sandeep Dhawan (Retd)
By Cdr Sandeep Dhawan (Retd)
By Cdr Sandeep Dhawan (Retd)
By Cdr Sandeep Dhawan (Retd)
By Cdr Sandeep Dhawan (Retd)
By Cdr Sandeep Dhawan (Retd)
Policy & governance
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India’s Lithium Resource: A Perspective
Global economy has been dealt tandem blows by the Pandemic and Ukraine crisis. The world is now in the grip of a major fuel, food and fertilizer crisis, rising interest rates, high inflation and subdued growth. Manufacturing industries across the world are struggling wi
By Lt Gen CA Krishnan (Retd)
Punjab: On The Boil Again
Punjab—the land of saints and seers, the granary of India, nursery of the nation’s exceptionally gallant soldiers and outstanding sportspersons--- appears to be once again, sliding to the brink of militancy largely attributed to religion-based secessionist motivatio
By Lt Gen Kamal Davar (Retd)
Aero India 2023: Runway To A Billion Opportunities
The 14th Edition of five-day Aero India 2023, the biggest biennial air show and aviation expo in Asia, is scheduled from February 13, 2023 to February17, 2023at “Yelahanka Air Force Station” in Bengaluru, India's information technology capital. Yelahanka has success
By Prof (Dr) DK Pandey
Defence Budget 2023-24: Staying The Course Of Strength and Self-Sufficiency
The run-up to the budget unveiling is invariably an open season for speculation and ‘requests’ by all the stakeholders of the economy for favourable treatment. This year was no different. The dialogue was even more animated, given the severity of the country’s lea
By Maj Gen Neeraj Bali (Retd)
Weapons platform
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Jet Pack Suits: Indian Army Soldier Goes Hi-Tech
The futuristic Indian Infantry soldiers wearing Jet-Suits could soon be seen patrolling along the borders with China and Pakistan. The Special Forces troopers with strapped-on gas turbine jet packs would soon be zooming at more than 50 mph toward the target in the not-s
By Col Danvir Singh (Retd)
Distributed Acoustic Sensing: Detection Of Adversary Fires Through Battlefield Fog!
Source-microflown-avisa.com Sound ranging (SR) systems have been the traditional bulwark for locating enemy artillery since World War I. Modern SR systems are also capable of extending such locating capability to the adversary’s small arms (SA) fire and also to the d
By Brig Arvind Dhananjayan (Retd)
Shipborne Unmanned Aerial Systems: Extending India’s Maritime Reach
In keeping with the requirement to enhance the Indian Navy’s (IN) maritime intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) capabilities, the Indian Armed Forces’ Technology Perspective & Capability Roadmap, a vision document for capabil
By Brig Arvind Dhananjayan (Retd)
Logistics Drones For The Indian Army
“Mountains are the acid test of logistics- the ability of Armies to provide sustenance and maintain warfighting potential is nowhere more tenuous”
By Brig Arvind Dhananjayan (Retd)
Defence & Strategy
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Strategic Communication And Media: Powerful Instruments To Shape Future War Outcomes
The prosecution of war in recent times has undergone a paradigm change. Conflicts today are fought over various domains in cognitive as well as noncognitive dimensions. We also see an emergence of grey zone warfare with a cyber and space dimension, making the war wagi
By Maj Gen (Dr) Rajan Kochhar (Retd)
India – China LAC: Will The Dynamics Change
Countries react to their environment and to their neighbours much like their people do; these reactions span the spectrum from sloth and passivity to hyper-individualism, and are influenced by the historical and cultural values latent in the respective societies. The ch
By Brigadier Sanal Kumar (Retd)
Drawing Down The Army In J&K – Right But Risky
The ethno-nationalist conflict of Northern Ireland, although in existence for long, began in its last avatar in the late Sixties and ended with the Good Friday Agreement in 1997. It was an internal conflict with some external linkages. When I visited the region in 2006
By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)
Hub of Aviation Industry Manufacturing: India Needs Whole of Nation Approach
Atmanirbharta is clearly the flavour of the season. India is already the fifth largest economy of the world, and slated to be the third by 2027. It is the fourth most powerful military power, and growing. India’s civil aviation sector is the fastest growing in the wor
By Air Marshal Anil Chopra (Retd)
SIACHEN 1987 : A Story Forgotten
Siachen is one of those battlefields from where very little information flows rearwards. Great feats of valour remain buried there, forgotten with nary a memory. Over time a ceasefire has become effective and casualties are primarily by weather and terrain. It's peacefu
By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)
Role Of Indian Defence Forces During Freedom Struggle
As India Celebrates 75 years of Independence and commemorates the freedom struggle by the Indian citizens against the British Empire, the role of British Indian forces to preserve the British Raj in India viz-a-viz its contributions towards freedom movement always remai
By Col Deepak Kumar
Shahed-136: Challenging the Air Defence Systems
Iran has denied selling drones to Russia, but images making the rounds on social media confirm that Russian forces have attacked Ukrainian cities using Shahed-136 suicide drones made in Iran. The Shahed-136 delta-wing Kamikaze drones can be operational in less than 10 m
By Prof (Dr) DK Pandey
Chinese Port In Myanmar – Threat To India
China has found the shortest possible entry into Indian Ocean to circumvent the traps laid by QUAD. India’s eastern belligerent neighbour China has expedited its work in the Kyaukpyu dual purpose port. This port may soon bear the footprint of Chinese Navy which could
By Levina
Why the Victory of 1971 Must Remain a Psychological Landmark
In India the mention of ‘1971’, in a gathering or individually, evokes elative sentiments of victory. Having defeated Pakistan comprehensively on the battlefield, attained both the political and military objectives in 14 days and created a new nation (Bangladesh), I
By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)
The Yangtse Standoff : With or Against the Run of Play
One of the highlights of the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Qatar are some of the results against the run of play. A perfectly balanced game suddenly goes in favour of a side willing to show a brief spurt of energy and activity. The situation at the Line of Actual Control (L
By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)
India Beware Of Copycat Chinese Air Force
In China, ‘Shanzhai’ today means imitation products that originally meant mountain stronghold. This word was originally associated with pirate factories producing duplicate products. Who knew one day, China would be copying and stealing just about everything and be
By Cdr Sandeep Dhawan (Retd)
Russia-Ukraine Conflict: Using Winter as A Weapon of War
The Russian-Ukraine Conflict (RUC) has completed nine months and heads into its tenth month. The Ukrainian Army is on the offensive, but Ukraine still has a long way to go to regain lost regions. Moscow's forces do control about one-fifth of its territory, and the comin
By Prof (Dr) DK Pandey
Protests in China – Xi Under Pressure
It’s all quite unheard of. Well, nearly. Protests spread across China into 14 provinces, lit by the governments ‘Zero Covid’ policy. At least so it seems. There’s a lot to anger the Chinese people these days, and it could be that the pandemic restrictions were t
By Dr Tara Kartha
India Needs A Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Revolution
It is Balakot 2.0 kind of night, with a different target and different platform. It would be remembered as Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) night. A swarm of decoy UAVs took off from a secret location in north India and crossed to Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK). Following
By Cdr Sandeep Dhawan (Retd)
An Internal Security Challenge Brewing in the Northeast
A class 12 student from Manipur needed money for an outing with his friends, so he decided to approach a woman who had offered him Rs 1000 per “soap case” if he smuggled it successfully from Myanmar. With his Myanmarese acquaintance he managed to smuggle about 50 su
By Levina
A New Pakistan Army Chief : The World and India Remain Wary
Apprehension about a change in command of the Pakistan Army has been rife for fairly long. Although everything about Pakistan remains unpredictable, the announcement of the appointment of Lt Gen Asim Munir as the next Pakistan Army Chief to succeed General Qamar Bajwa
By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)
How the Practice of Illegal Terror Financial Networks Functions in a Proxy War Zone?
Three fascinating events relating to counter terrorism took place in quick succession over the last eight weeks. First was the meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) which took Pakistan off the grey list and classified it white. The world’s response to this
By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)
Is “Nuclear-Attack Threat” an Effective Weapon?
Vladimir Putin and many other Russian officials, politicians, and pro-Russia analysts have repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war. Particularly following the commencement of the Russia-Ukraine Conflict on February 24,
By Prof (Dr) DK Pandey
New Pakistan Army Chief – Mystery Deepens
Pakistan and whole world are waiting for nomination of the next Army Chief. General Qamar Javed Bajwa is due to retire after his extended tenure of six years on 28 November 2022. Pakistan PM, Shahbaz Sharif rushed to London with his Defence Minister, Khwaja Muhammad Asi
By Lt Gen K J Singh (Retd)
Chinese Navy’s Advancements: Challenge Or Opportunity For India
The Chinese digital news outlet ‘The Paper’, recently published details of China State Shipbuilding Corporation’s display of a large number of unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), unmanned surface vessels (USVs), and underwater gliders at the Zhuhai air show. Thes
By Cdr Sandeep Dhawan (Retd)
The Strategic Ladakh Range
Something extraordinary happened south of Pangong Tso (lake) in the night of August 29, 2020; the ‘Special Frontier Force’ (SFF), also known as Establishment 22 or Vikas Regiment occupied the heights of the Kailash Range. Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia, a former Director Ge
By Claude Arpi
Rising Rivalry in the Indian Ocean
As two major emerging powers, India and China are maritime-oriented nation-states. New Delhi and Beijing have a unique set of vested interests in the Indian Ocean region (IOR). Geostrategic supremacy in this area is deemed to be a highly profitable national venture on t
By Jay Maniyar
Deciphering Military Signals Emanating from China’s 20th Party Congress
There has been the usual high symbolism and loaded political rhetoric of Chinese leadership that was witnessed during the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. Comrade Xi Jinping’s thoughts on socialism with Chinese character in new era to make China
By Lt Gen Rameshwar Yadav (Retd)
Minimizing Casualties on Indo-Bangladesh Borders
India shares over 15000 Km of borders with its seven neighbours. The circumstances leading upto independence and partition gave rise to many new borders and ever since then India has been facing serious security challenges from many of its neighbours viz China in the No
By Sanjiv Krishan Sood
Teenage Terrorists of PLA in Manipur and the China Angle
Teenagers in Manipur are on the edge of a precipice ready to be pushed into a very frightening abyss. The proscribed terrorist groups like PLA are now following a strategy very similar to the one executed by ISI backed terrorist groups in Kashmir. Reports suggest tha
By Levina
Where is the Henderson-Brooks-Bhagat Report?
Sixty years ago, traumatic events took place on the Northern borders of India; undoubtedly, the Sino-Indian conflict in October/November 1962 is an episode which marked the Indian psyche. Though many facets of what happened in October 1962 have already been discussed
By Claude Arpi
Are Paradigms of Indo-US Relations Changing?
Little did the world expect that the war in Ukraine would become such a spoiler of global geopolitics that many emerging and well-established international relationships would get challenged. The conflict’s geostrategic location, players, links, economic impact and sc
By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)
A Reminder for India : 13 October was International Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Day
CHANAKYA FORUM IS COMMITTED TO EXECUTE REQUISITE RESPONSIBILITIES FOR REDUCTION OF DISASTER RISK AND ENHANCEMENT OF DISASTER MANAGEMENT CULTURE, FOR THE SAKE OF HUMANITY. Headlines in the media inform us every day of the new phenomenon of October rains in North India a
By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)
American Deep State Out to Sabotage India-USA Relationship?
Recently the US embassy in Islamabad went on a social media overdrive. In a series of tweets over three days, they highlighted the US ambassador to Pakistan, Donald Blome’s 2-4 October visit to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). This was the second high-profile visit by
By Cdr Sandeep Dhawan (Retd)
A Guerilla Victory At Umberkhind!
Screenshot Portraying The Battle of Umberkhind: Source-inmarathi.com “The conventional army loses if it does not win. The guerrilla wins if he does not lose”.
By Brig Arvind Dhananjayan (Retd)
Intricacies of Military Aircraft Maintenance Repair and Overhaul: Challenges and Opportunities for Industry
Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) is a major activity in the life span of an aircraft and its cost as well as time for overhaul is significant for the operations of aircraft. The activity is complex, equally important, but substantially different than manufacturing.
By Air Vice Marshal Samir Borade, VSM (Retd)
Coronation Of Emperor Xi and The World Thereafter
A few days ago, news about Chinese President Xi Jinping's arrest took social media by storm. The rumour was that Xi, who is the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), on return from the Shangha
By Cdr Sandeep Dhawan (Retd)
Emerging Challenges on Western Front
Western Command, the pivotal command on Western front celebrated, platinum jubilee, on 15 September. It is opportune time to look beyond nostalgia and ceremonials, to take stock of operational dynamics and emerging challenges, on the Western Front. The review is also
By Lt Gen K J Singh (Retd)
China is Coming For Your Land: Farmland
Drought has plunged water levels to the lowest in China in decades. The temperatures have also soared to record levels, and hydropower plants failed to meet the sharp rise in power demand. However, this is just a glimpse of the worst things to come. Floods, droughts, an
By Cdr Sandeep Dhawan (Retd)
The General’s Desk
Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (R)
Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (R)
By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)
By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)
By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)
By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)
By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)
By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)
By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)
By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)
By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)
By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)
OP-ED
-
President Biden, Please Transit from the 20th to the 21st Century
By Prof Madhav Das Nalapat
-
India is Only Aligned to its National Interest
By Kanwal Sibal
-
Amar Jawan Jyoti – Needless Controversy
By Kanwal Sibal
Weapons Platform
By Col Danvir Singh (Retd)
By Col Danvir Singh (Retd)
By Brig Arvind Dhananjayan (Retd)
By Brig Arvind Dhananjayan (Retd)
By Brig Arvind Dhananjayan (Retd)
Cockpit Conversation
Cdr Sandeep Dhawan
Cdr Sandeep Dhawan
By Cdr Sandeep Dhawan (Retd)
By Cdr Sandeep Dhawan (Retd)
By Cdr Sandeep Dhawan (Retd)
By Cdr Sandeep Dhawan (Retd)
By Cdr Sandeep Dhawan (Retd)
By Cdr Sandeep Dhawan (Retd)
By Cdr Sandeep Dhawan (Retd)
By Cdr Sandeep Dhawan (Retd)
By Cdr Sandeep Dhawan (Retd)
By Cdr Sandeep Dhawan (Retd)