India risks being sucked into the incipient global rivalry between a hegemon and a rising challenger. Keeping economic growth on track will be pivotal to retaining an independent stance, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

Still Voices, Tamal Sen's diploma film from the Satyajit Ray Institute looks at freedom of expression in the world's largest democracy, showing how it is suppressed in the name of the larger good, writes Shoma Chatterji.

The top brass doesn't agree with the State government's plan to draw-down forces in the Kashmir valley. But should the military air its view publicly, and how does that impact policy-making, wonders Firdaus Ahmed.

India and China make competing plans for the river's precious waters, ignoring the functions it already performs - in sustaining rich ecosystems, flora and fauna, cultures and a wide range of livelihoods. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.

Was India's emergence on the world stage a project of the superpower? And what is the role of the strategic community in keeping Indian and US interests convergent, wonders Firdaus Ahmed.

India would do well to consider its options in light of its national interests. Loose nukes are certainly a concern, but talk of taking them out is cavalier, and we must put the brakes on that, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

While the procedural track of talks between India and Pakistan may stay on course, nothing significant can be expected to emerge from them, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

India needs a China policy that cannot stampede it into a premature confrontation with that putative superpower. The military too needs to be brought on board, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The proposed second round of defence reforms will make the armed forces more utilisable. Nonetheless, this should not blind us to the questionable impulse behind the reforms, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

India and Pakistan don't negotiate with a give-and-take approach. Instead, they hope to gain some advantage in the background while the negotiations continue. This makes the process meaningless, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

A discussion on the upward delegation of nuclear-related decision making is needed now. The defence sector cannot be reformed in isolation of its place in national security, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

Security hawks are expanding the list of terror suspects to include not just the illiterate poor, but also the well-to-do educated Muslims. Who does that leave out, asks Firdaus Ahmed.

Should bureaucrats working in the national security bureaucracy have a working knowledge of the defence sector, or would that just foster group-think? Firdaus Ahmed explores the question.

The case of the Army Chief's true age is only seemingly one of an individual's besmirched honour. It is instead one in civil-military relations, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The recent fracas was not merely the personal case of an officer exercising his right to grievance redress. It must be seen as a crisis in civil-military relations, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

Although officially at peace, the army's theatre of operations has grown steadily. It has responded by boosting its numbers, but that has its own challenges, says Firdaus Ahmed.

The right lesson from the recent Chhatisgarh encounter is that only the army can do the job. If it is politically inexpedient to use it, then there is no alternative to a peace process, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The dark clouds gathered since the early nineties have not quite dissipated. Inevitably so, since the actions that should have been taken were never taken up, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

Outsourcing the policy-making function is bad enough, but the government should certainly not have allowed trespass on its domain by the Naresh Chandra Task Force, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The story of a heroic soldier captured by the enemy and tortured to death stirred strong emotions during the Kargil war. Why, then, is there a lid of secrecy around his death, wonders Firdaus Ahmed.

The new IB chief's track record has made it impossible for the government to ignore his claim. But for all that, there is more at stake, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The gruesome beheading along the Line of Control should alert us that the intensity and the nature of the ongoing conflict with Pakistan is far worse than we are led to believe, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The assault at the Line of Control appears to be a well-planned ambush. It comes at a time when India and Pakistan are tentatively inching closer. It is a message not only to India but also to the Pakistani civilians keen on better relations with India, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The slips in the use of words in India’s official nuclear doctrine may be inadvertent but, nevertheless, point to a worrying amateurishness in the domain, says Firdaus Ahmed.

PM Manmohan Singh’s plans to minimise nuclear risks, as articulated at a recent conference, revolves around formulation of a ‘global no-first-use’ norm. Firdaus Ahmed points to why a practical solution is less about global norms and rests more likely on issues closer home.

Regardless of how it is interpreted, India’s doctrinal promise of ‘massive nuclear retaliation’ in the event of nuclear first use by the enemy would be more than strategically flawed. At a time when India is now poised to review its doctrine afresh, Firdaus Ahmed digs deeper.

The increasing power and influence of veterans of the Indian army, known for their natural affinity towards the right wing regime in power, holds important implications especially when one considers the extent of its permeation into the serving structure. Firdaus Ahmed explains.

The recent episode in which a mysterious boat was intercepted off the coast, and blew itself up, may or may not have anything to do with Pakistani terror, but has important implications for national security strategy, external relations and domestic political dynamics. Firdaus Ahmed explains.

A recent announcement by the army chief that officers of all ranks of the army will donate a day’s pay to the PM’s relief fund for Kashmir floods has triggered an interesting exchange, throwing light on the broader trends of politicisation within the military. Firdaus Ahmed has more.

As India takes on the role of a mature power centre in the Indian Ocean region, Firdaus Ahmed wonders if it will stick to its traditional defensive culture or if the move to a rightist polity will bring about a different doctrine altogether.

The Indian army’s evolving China strategy, leading to its preparedness for an offensive on that front, seems to have undergone a bit of dilution, as evident in North Block posturing. Is it merely a run-up to Modi’s China visit or is there more to it? Firdaus Ahmed explores.

Several recent media reports as well as scholarly literature point to a deep-seated communal bias in certain sections of Indian society. Firdaus Ahmed looks closely at the military and its mutations to explore if it can remain insulated from similar prejudicial leanings.

Firdaus Ahmed deconstructs the various levels of state and individual dynamics that have led to India’s recent military doctrine of ‘disproportionate response’ as evident in various instances of encounters and killings, including the recent crackdown at the Myanmar border.

Our government and the National Security Adviser are promoting 'defensive offence' as India's Pakistan strategy. Firdaus Ahmed explains why that's not the case and that our strategy is more 'offensive-compellence' than 'defensive offence'.

Key army posts are currently vacant including two very sensitive posts. Firdaus Ahmed highlights the plausible reasons for this hold up by the Indian government and cautions there there could be deeper reasons for this than is being discussed in the media.

For the last 15 years, India has been unable to deal with a fasting, frail poet! Anjuman Ara Begum writes  how Irom Sharmila has been waging a protest against the cruel Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, enforced in her home state of Manipur and other parts of northeast India.

Commanding general of Western Command, KJ Singh recently described Pakistan’s repeated military posturing in the broad framework of history as “the hallmark of being idiotic”. But can India really afford to say that? Firdaus Ahmed presents an incisive inward-looking analysis.

A mega Indian Army exercise aimed at sharpening Army's deep strike capabilities in enemy territory concluded last month in Rajasthan. Firdaus Ahmed analyses why having the strike capabilities in this nuclear age might be a mixed blessing.

Firdaus Ahmed analyses the recent comments made by the Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar's in case of India being provoked by Pakistan.

Nothing is lost by abandoning the principle of seniority, but the armed forces need restructuring says Nitin Pai.

Is India shifting its nuclear strategy in a new direction? Firdaus Ahmed analyses what that would mean.

The recently released joint doctrine shows a movement in India's strategic, nuclear, conventional and sub-conventional doctrines. Firdaus Ahmed claims that this necessarily will not make India any safer.

The  two-front war remark made by the Indian Army Chief recently makes Firdaus Ahmed question the usage of nuclear weapons in case of such a war.

Firdaus Ahmed ponders if India’s nuclear weapons are in safer hands or not.

Firdaus Ahmed reflects on the possibility that there is a budding pushback from the army commanders to their Chief’s increasing proximity with the ruling party at the Center.

Pokhran-II  happened on May 1998, Firdaus Ahmed writes if nuclear weapons have made us more secure in these last twenty years.

Global oil prices have risen dramatically, and nationalised oil companies have been crying themselves hoarse over the government's reluctance to correspondingly increase retail prices. The sensible long term alternative is to move beyond fossil fuels, with clear policy initiatives. The India Together editorial.

While other cities in India are planning new Metro systems to address their transport woes, Ahmedabad has thrown its weight behind Bus Rapid Transit instead. And given the may advantages this enjoys over rail - cost, potential, flexibility - it may prove to be the wiser choice, writes Madhav Pai.

Engineering is often the only factor considered during design and implementation of junction improvements plans at key locations where flyovers are built. But the reality is that these locations are commonly filled with pedestrians and used as transit points, and any plan that overlooks this is doomed from the start, writes Madhav Pai.

Work zones are an important source of traffic disruptions, and, if not properly managed, can cause both hardship and accidents. But the cost of planning and managing them is often only a tiny portion of the infrastructure costs, and the resultant savings in time can be very high, writes Madhav Pai.