Published in The Washington Quarterly (Vol. 42, No. 1, 2019)

India Friday said malfunction in the ‘course of routine maintenance’ had caused missile to be launched into Pakistan Wednesday. Govt has ordered high-level court of enquiry.

Sources said Delhi is insisting on simultaneous withdrawal of forces from the Pangong north bank — where Chinese troops have crossed the point which India says marks the LAC — and advanced Indian...

In the last Cold War, India had a US, USSR and China card. That has changed now – it can no longer afford to be a prized ally standing aloof.

That India’s strategic autonomy requires high levels of defence relations with Russia is stupid. It's time to reduce arms dependence.

The fall of Kabul may have widened the rift between New Delhi and Moscow.

The Modi-Biden joint statement is long but the Quad makes its appearance in the 4th paragraph. A new Cold War can't be avoided unless one or the other side collapses.

Countries in the region are speaking against China’s aggressiveness. President of Philippines Rodrigo Duterte criticised its actions against Vietnam.

Joining a China-led trade arrangement because the US is unwilling to provide an alternative is a strategic equivalent of cutting your nose to spite your face.

Delhi may have evened the scale with China just a bit with its advocacy of the concerns of the emerging economies. But what happens when G20 presidency ends?

Global South is the idea that India, or its leader, could be the leader of the rest. Narendra Modi has emerged as its most prominent and powerful global brand ambassador.

On February 28, the day of his retirement after 39 years in service, Air Marshal Kumar was the target of a smear campaigns on the internet that he had been removed from service.

In fact, the specific words, “clash” and “fight” (takrav, ladai) have cropped up in discussions in the top leadership on the ongoing standoff with Chinese forces along the Line of Actual Control in...

India is not China’s equal. And overconfidence is dangerous in power politics — another lesson that New Delhi refuses to learn.

India’s defence planners need to ask themselves what the purpose of the Army is — to fight internal battles or external?

It is not in India’s interest for the US to remain in Afghanistan. India has a Pakistan problem, rather than a Taliban one.

India’s threat to China is simple: show aggression at LAC and pay a cost in worsening ties. But the value of the threat, and hence its credibility, is questionable.

Emperor Xi reinvents Chinese Checkers: Only CPC Wins

New Delhi’s exaggeration of rotational G20 presidency shows its limitations are not being understood. If India’s leaders believe all the rhetoric they are mouthing, it could be dangerous.

One strike isn’t enough to establish deterrence

China’s behavior towards India and many others is a clear indication that the country will employ its enormous power entirely to dominate the region.

Intensifying power conflicts over Covid-19 will manifest themselves in new forms. It will become difficult for New Delhi to sidestep them without suffering some costs.

We need Jaishankar’s frank appraisal. But it should go even further, which suggests that the dogmas of Delhi are not that easy to shake.

Published in The Washington Quarterly (Vol. 42, No. 1, 2019)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to travel to the US to meet President Joe Biden and participate in the Quad Summit-level meeting on September 24.

Indians are saying they ‘will not forget’ US delay. Will it matter? Not in the slightest.

Delhi might be giving an opportunity to an otherwise divided world, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, to agree in their disapproval of India’s domestic politics.

Like all international partnerships, including the India-Russia relations, the China-Russia partnership is one of convenience.

There are alternatives to a purely defense response to asymmetric attacks. China values its international narrative, and India should hit where it hurts.

The Australia-UK-US trilateral is beneficial to India, because its central purpose is to add one more lever in building a balance against China’s power.

Given the enormous power differential, China is expanding its influence. But India’s behaviour is difficult to explain.

In its decision, Sweden minced no words about either the ban or the threat posed by China.

Celebrating Rafale, rethinking India’s national security

India had the power to take away Pakistan’s 'location' card but it didn't have the determination and guts with which Rawalpindi has played that card.

Why America and China will be enduring rivals.

India and the West began saying that the BRI was leading to debt trap among developing countries. This narrative became a success and undermined the Beijing discourse about China being an honest,...

The real challenge for Delhi in managing its expansive territorial dispute with Beijing, then, is to redress the growing power imbalance with China.