The Cartography of Mind and Power
We inhabit an epoch of unprecedented intellectual abundance. This moment represents both the greatest liberation and the most profound crisis in strategic thought history.
Random Jottings
Kautilya, Clausewitz, and The Eternal Calculus of Power
Clausewitz’s On War, remains the cornerstone of Western military thought. Kautilya’s Arthashastra, older by centuries, offers a broader, more intricate vision. Where Clausewitz dissects war, Kautilya architects power.
Stay Behind Party – The Hunter And Hunted
Small teams operating as stay-behind parties in counter terrorism play a crucial role in maintaining pressure on terrorists.
These are some of the most difficult operations, as to stay undetected among hostile populations itself is a major challenge..
Small Team Art: Counter-Terrorist Operations
Small team operations, as depicted in popular cinema, often show heavily armed commandos with night vision goggles, hands-free communication, flash grenades, and even small robots that can enter and detect hidden terrorists with minimal risk.
For Indian troops at the turn of the century, this was a fairy tale. They relied on overwhelming manpower, lights, & generators bought from regimental funds, rocket launchers, & even IEDs to bring down entire structures. But there were a few artists, who relied on instincts and the visualisation of their own troops & terrorist actions to achieve their aims, often with minimal collateral damage.
Surabhi’s Big Fat Mallu Wedding
Surabhi’s nuptials, a union that sparked joy and celebration amongst friends and family alike. Surabhi Santosh, the beautiful and accomplished daughter of Col Santosh, a dear friend and mentor, had embarked on a journey to find her match amidst the complexities of her dual career as an actor and lawyer.
Avi’s Wedding – Return to the Naga Hills
Visited my friend Kikru in Kohima. The trip was steeped in Naga culture, from the Sekrenyi festival’s rice beer to wildlife conservation tales at Dzuleke. I learned about the significant reconciliation in Khonoma village, with a strategic takeaway reflecting a stronger Indian-Naga identity and regional ethnic concerns.
Indian Privacy Rights – A Long Wait For Godot
The long wait of the Indian citizen for a law to protect the right to privacy is a wait for Godot. This has come with increasing costs. In this unfolding theatre of the absurd. WhatsApp, the messaging service owned by Facebook (infamous for breaching privacy ) has filed a case against the GoI to protect the privacy … Read moreIndian Privacy Rights – A Long Wait For Godot
Celebrating Independence 2020 Under Digital Slavery!!!
August 15, 2020, marked the 74th Independence Day for India. For a civilisational nation with a 5000-year history, 73 years marks just a blip in time. The year 2020; annus horribilis has unique challenges, the ritualistic celebration of Independence, gives a semblance of normality in challenging and difficult times. A global pandemic, disrupted economy and … Read moreCelebrating Independence 2020 Under Digital Slavery!!!
Anything With Nothing
“We, the willing, led by the ambitious, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, for so long, with so little, we are now qualified to do anything with nothing.” Anonymous Spoofs like the above on the original quote by Konstantin Josef Jireček were common in the Rashtriya Rifle units employed … Read moreAnything With Nothing
Interesting Times
‘May you live in interesting times’ is an ancient Chinese curse. The elegance and subtlety of that particular curse are very evident this week as the world slips into interesting times. The Coronavirus and the Russian and Saudi actions on drastically cutting the price of oil while increasing production has delivered twin shocks to the … Read moreInteresting Times
L’Affaire Gen Soleimani
The matter of General Soleimani, when examined jus ad bellum is a unilateral action that violates the rules-based international order that India supports. That said, it won’t be the first time in history that a nation has assassinated an official of another country, nor is it likely to be the last. But as far as the laws that regulate … Read moreL’Affaire Gen Soleimani
Tech Diplomacy Needs Tech Entreprenuers
The trade and tech wars unleashed by the US President Trump relentlessly pursuing America First has two underpinnings. The trade wars have to do with the impact of globalisation on the domestic political front wherein, rising unemployment and economic disparity has given rise to a populist President. President Trump represents a political shift that has … Read moreTech Diplomacy Needs Tech Entreprenuers
On Matters of Data Sovereignty
The discourse on matters strategic and national security in India has always been a matter of what-ifs and missed opportunities. A lack of coherence in protecting our national interests and half baked initiatives that mostly play to the gallery is the only common thread in our brief seven decades since Independence. In the information age … Read moreOn Matters of Data Sovereignty
OF Fashionable Discourses And Simplistic Narratives
Surgical strikes a fashionable phrase that has entered Indian public discourse has interesting origins. The Collins English dictionary defines it as ‘a military action designed to destroy a particular target without harming other people or damaging other buildings near it‘. The term was first used during the first Gulf War. The use of precision guided missiles to take out military targets avoiding civilian casualties. It … Read moreOF Fashionable Discourses And Simplistic Narratives
A Need For A Civil Discourse
The Rule Of The Road by Alfred George Gardiner is easily one of the most delightful essays I have read during my teens. Gardiner captures the essence of our social contract in the following paragraph that has resonated in my mind over decades. ‘I shall not permit any authority to say that my child must … Read moreA Need For A Civil Discourse
URI – Using Bollywood For Building A Bold New Narrative
The national narrative of the modern Indian republic has been a mixed bag mostly. On one hand is my childhood memory of watching Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi an epic historical drama of India’s freedom struggle in my home town of Thiruvananthapuram in the early eighties. The mood in the theatre was sombre and a heavy sense of tragedy and … Read moreURI – Using Bollywood For Building A Bold New Narrative
Consensus Finally In ARTECH 19 Delhi
My journey into the world of national policy making on information security coincided with the Snowden revelations. It was wholly by accident and never planned as these things go, a series of accidents and initiatives by wholly disconnected and eminent personalities who I was fortunate to bump into and joined in a common journey. But … Read moreConsensus Finally In ARTECH 19 Delhi
The Coming Election Wars – Mayhem in 2019
For the Information Warrior especially those that openly practice cynicism and question the scriptures of information security dogma, predictions and prophesy can be a high-risk past time. In spite of all this after sufficiently stirring the tea leaves this particular prophecy is tempting to make. The elections of 2019 in India are easily going to … Read moreThe Coming Election Wars – Mayhem in 2019
Power Flows From The Smartphones
The Chinese Communist leader Chairman Mao Zedong famously coined this phrase “Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” This phrase is a limited explanation in the framework of the origins of political power as espoused by Mao Zedong. Chairman Mao was already the undisputed leader of the Communist revolution and the Peoples Liberation Army, an … Read morePower Flows From The Smartphones