Thru’ the Desk of the Editor
The first issue of your journal was released on October 2017 in Goa by none other than the Chief of Naval Staff Adm. Sunil Lanba. On that occasion there were very senior veterans from defense forces, diplomats and representatives of twenty two countries present. The first issue covered a very vast arena in the field of diplomacy and strategy and was very well received by the audience. The issue is available on https:// journal.finsindia.org Read More
Kautilya and Grand Strategic Perspective
Conduct and strategy of war has always been shaped by technological advancement. As the Technology advances, wars seem to resemble less and less with previous ones and yet other factors such as leadership, human factors, political compulsions alliances and diplomacy remains the same. It is therefore eminent that the modern strategists draw lessons from the classical works on war. Traditionally, long term strategy is associated exclusively to military strategy. The father of modern strategic studies – Gen Carl von Clauzwitz defines strategy as use of combat for the purpose of war. Moltae , Associates strategy to the ability to adapt to the resources made available to the General for the achievement of the good. Sun Tzu wrote – Art of war about 2500 years ago says – The Art of war is of vital importance to the states. It is matter of life and death, a road, either to safety or ruin. Hence it is subject of enquiry which can on no account be neglected. While the work of Sun Tzu, Machilvelli, Clauzwitz are amongst the most studied by the strategic studies expert of the world, Kautilya‟s Arthatshastra, wrote in 4 th Century BC, and seems to be the most relevant even today. This Article purports to analyses the above stated work and its relevance. Read More
Belt and Road Initiative: A Civilizational Perspective (part 1)
China and India are two ancient, continuous civilizations. They survived the onslaughts of invaders through the last millennium and although imperialism ravaged and impoverished them, they „stood up‟ again in the 1940s. They experimented with imported economic models of Marxism and Fabian socialism respectively for a considerable period, but have emerged as important economic powers in the 21st century, after unleashing the entrepreneurial genius of their people. China got a head start over India as she adopted „reform and opening up‟ policy in 1978, while India pursued liberalization only from 1991. In 2018, China is the second largest economy in the world with more than 11 trillion dollar Gross Domestic Product (GDP), far ahead of India at approx. 2.25 trillion dollar. The new wealth provides China with an opportunity, before India catches up, to establish the predominance of her civilization in Asia. Another divergence between the two countries is that China adopted a totalitarian system of Communist Party-state in 1949 and India became a parliamentary democracy in 1947. As a result, China has been brutally efficient in implementation of her policies and in crisis management, while India takes more time in building a political consensus on any policy or crisis, accommodating diverse points of views. Read More
NON PARTICIPATION IN OBOR – REASONING & OPTIONS
China seems to be having diplomatic problems all over. It is true that three sided growth of Chinese economy, military strength and political standing was perfectly in harmony in the late 1980‟s and 1990‟s (after 1989 interval), but that was only because China was not yet strong then. As China grew in strength, it rubbed a lot of countries on wrong side be it nine dash line or border disputes. Today besides Laos, Cambodia and rogue states like Pakistan & North Korea, China has no friends. Read More
Prescriptive Measures - Urban Maoism
India has witness remarkable growth and dynamism in the recent past and while it continues to develop numerous challenges to its internal security have hindered such development and plagued the nation to say the least. Amongst these hindrances the biggest threat is posed by Naxalism, a Maoist insurrection that, in the past decade, has grown in scope, breath and violence in, what is popularly known as the Red Corridor, stretching from Nepal to Tamil Nadu. Despite this insurgency being declared by India‟s former Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh as the greatest threat to internal security that the country has ever faced, it is the most overlooked and analytically neglected movement. Given India‟s history with separatist and communal violence, such a pronouncement is truly startling and if not swiftly and effectively countered it will prove extremely disruptive of India‟s further growth and development. Read More
PAKISTAN’S TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPONS: INDIA’S DILEMMA
“People are concerned more with the psychological construction of the world rather than the perception of the actual world”1. Read More
National Security and Principles of War
Security across the borders with the neighbouring countries is a matter of great importance for any nation and its government. A nation may have certain disputes about the borders with its neighbours. In case of a nation that is surrounded by one or more nations that are hostile towards it, the security at the borders is of paramount importance. Insurgency across the borders and possibility of any hostile action is a matter of continuous concern for such a nation and therefore warrants a state of high degree of preparedness; considering any possibility of war at any time. In the event a nation is required to respond to any hostile action, it must possess the ability to quickly and effectively execute its Defence mechanism; and quickly mobilise its forces to neutralise such hostile action, lest it suffer defeat, humiliation and disgrace at the hands of its enemy. It is therefore imperative that a nation is constantly aware of the ever evolving situation across its borders. Read More
Book Review : Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the illusion of Peace
The book has been co-authored by A.S. Dulat who was a former secretary of the RAW (1999-2000), Asad Durrani – the former Director General of ISI (1990-91) and Aditya Sinha who is a writer and a journalist by profession. A.S Dulat is well known in the Indian academic and policy making circles for his extensive experience in Kashmir. In his first book Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years (with Aditya Sinha) (HarperCollins, 2015) Dulat has propounded his path-breaking approach of engaging in constant dialogue with Kashmiris on the issues that concern them the most. Between the two of them, Dulat is the idealist and has a very humane approach toward politics. His heart beats for the Kashmiri people. On the other hand, there is Mr. Durrani - a seemingly heartless realist and a shrewd military veteran. But his arguments in this book are exceedingly pro-peace. Read More
