Terrorism & National Security – Learning From The Mumbai Assault

  IN the aftermath of the horrific terrorist attack in Mumbai, it is only to be expected that a raging debate has erupted about national security and possible lapses. However, little light has been shed … Read more

Break Military Ties With Israel

Last week, the All India Peace and Solidarity Organisation and Committee for Independent Foreign Policy issued a call for India to break its military ties with Israel, a call which was endorsed by Prakash Karat, … Read more

Shooting down Satellites

With much fanfare and media hype surrounding the event, the US shot down a dying spy satellite on 20th February 2008. US spokespersons stated that the shoot-down was necessary because the satellite, at the end … Read more

New Policy on defence contracts offsets:

 India’s policies on defence-related acquisitions from abroad and production within India are believed to have been directed not only at ensuring India’s security interests but also at promoting self-reliance and indigenous capability in this vital … Read more

West Asia: The New US Backyard

The National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) released by the US two weeks back on Iran has knocked the bottom out of the Bush administration’s campaign on Iran’s clandestine nuclear weapons program. The NIE, jointly prepared by … Read more

India Goes Russian: Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft

  INDIA and Russia finally signed an agreement last week for “co-development” of a fifth-generation fighter, a truly contemporary air-superiority aircraft that should be inducted around 2012-15 and serve the Indian Air Force through the … Read more

“123 = 126?”

LAST week India finally put out its long-awaited global tender for 126 multi-role combat aircraft in an order expected to be worth as much as 10 billion US dollars (Rs 42,000 crore). The progress of … Read more

Discovering Nuclear Energy For Justifying A Bad Deal

WE are having a discussion in the country on the importance of nuclear energy to our energy basket only in the context of the India-US nuclear deal. The government and the prime minister have gone … Read more

Axis of Evil — New Nukes for US & UK

EVEN as the world watches while the US threatens, bullies and blackmails North Korea into giving up its nuclear weapons, and does the same with Iran over its alleged nuclear weapons programme, the leaders of … Read more

Time To Walk Away From The Nuclear Deal

THE two Houses of the US Congress have now passed the Hyde Act, which is going to be the basis for the final version of the Indo-US Nuclear Deal. We now need to specifically evaluate … Read more

SENATE CLEARANCE FOR INDO-US NUCLEAR DEAL, Little To Cheer About

THE passing in the Senate of the Indo-US Nuclear Deal has been hailed by the Indian media as a “big victory”, without even a cursory mention that it is the identical Bill that Manmohan Singh … Read more

Defence Scams Stink Spreads

Defence Scams Stink Spreads THE stench of sizeable scams in military purchases, arising from the Tehelka expose during the NDA regime and the inquiry into spurious dealings during the Kargil conflict, has come back with … Read more