War, Peace, and Everything in Between

  Patriotism in a Nationalist Paradigm   It is no secret that Indian society, over the past half-decade, has become very overtly nationalist in its outlook, primarily because of the nature of the Indian polity today, and the narrative that it has so intricately woven. Since the Narendra Modi government came to power in 2014, the regime has indisputably brought about a major paradigm shift in Indian politics and society, which has led to ramifications, both good and bad.  Foreign Policy The present government has established a much more assertive foreign policy, especially with regard to India’s two main problem areas in international relations: Pakistan and China. Where the UPA had failed miserably in portraying India as a significant force in the psyche of these two antagonists, the NDA has made sure to send a clear message to both, that aggression or humiliation in any form will not be tolerated by India. While UPA sat back and did nothing in the wake of the Pak...

The Privatisation of War: PMC Wagner When talking of Privatisation of warfare, usually American groups come to mind, most prominently the Blackwater group. For those unaware about Blackwater (now called ‘Academi’), it is a(n) (in)famous Private Military Company (PMC), which is believed to operate in countries like Yemen and Iraq, at the behest of US and its regional allies. It gained notoriety in 2007, for the Nissour Square Massacre , where Blackwater personnel reportedly killed 14 Iraqi civilians and injured 20 others. However, this article addresses a relatively lesser-known private military group, Russia’s Wagner Group. Wagner PMC first rose to prominence in 2014, when Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, after a hotly disputed rebellion and referendum in favour of Russia by the local population. The controversial element of this event was the presence of the ‘Little Green Men’, i.e., masked soldiers, in green uniform with no identifying insignia, who a...

Coronavirus and the Great Game Independence of India, 15/08/1947 US Capture of Japanese Island of Iwo Jima, 23/02/1945 Nuclear bombing of Nagasaki, 9/08/1945 Final Lowering of the Soviet Flag, 26/12/1991 nCoV-19 The above set of images all reference landmark moments in world history, with the Coronavirus being the latest one to inevitably go down in history, seeing the scope of the devastation it has caused. However, what is common among these images other than them being historical? Indian Independence —Signifies the loss of Britain’s most important colony, marking the beginning of the sunset of the British Empire. Taking of Iwo Jima —One of many landmark events revolving around the USA in World War II, which finally led to it becoming the global superpower we know today. Nuclear Bombing of Nagasaki —One of the two most devastating man-made disasters in history, causing the Japanese Empire to finally capitulate,...

Israel's Self-Sufficiency in Defence, and Lessons for India Today, Israel is on the brink of achieving a state of near-total self-sufficiency in its defence sector. This comes as little surprise, as Israel has been one of the largest exporters of arms globally, and itself has an impressive arsenal of domestically produced defence equipment. However, what is often surprising to many, is how a tiny country like Israel--with an equally tiny population--reached this level of competence, given its exiguous natural resources unlike most of its Arab neighbours, while also lacking a large and powerful economy like Germany or the UK. The reasons for this will be discussed later below.  The primary point of interest would obviously be the lessons India can learn from Israel's astounding success. India is a much larger and far more powerful country than Israel, and boasts a workforce and an economy exponentially larger than that of Israel. Yet, we remain almost entirely depend...