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Armed Forces : Changing Cultures
Lt Gen Prakash Menon (R) and I had a discussion on the changing cultures and societal values in the country and its impact on the Armed Forces. We also dwelt upon the need for the Armed Forces and its leadership to uphold constitutional norms rather than fall for individual aspirations. Anyone in uniform must see…
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Defence Procurement Issues
Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia (R) , Lt Gen Anil Ahuja and I had a detailed discussion on issues related to defence procurement which are of importance and are often misunderstood by the public. One must realise that defence acquisition in an atmosphere of changing technology and processes is a complicated process and needs time to…
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INDIA AND WEST ASIA
Mr Anil Trigunayat, IFS our former ambassador to Libya, Jordan and Malta gave a fantastic overview of West Asia and the internal dynamics in the region. India and West Asia is a story of mutual interdependance bordering on existential requirements. This is now expanding as India’s strategic foot print is expanding. West Asia poses tremendous…
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Pakistan : Old Wine in a New Bottle
Mr Sanjay Dixit and I had a very lively discussion on Pakistan. The new PM wants Kashmir back. Cross LOC incidents are increasing and Pakistan army is increasing military links with China, Iran, Turkey and Russia irrespective of the precarious economic situation and wobbly politics. It is time to deal with the military state of…
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China’s Two Sessions
China’s Two Sessions is an annual event which got under way two days back. The indications are pretty clear – as China declines it is militarising even more. This is only an initial analysis. The real issues will come out in the course of this week. The pointers are clear though as I have explained…
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Recollections of Working Under Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and Mr Manohar Parrikar
I had the opportunity to work with two great men of India at a time when Change was happening, In many ways l learnt immensely from the experiences. The interaction with Dr APJ Abdul Kalam was in my formative years of service and that with Mr Manohar Parrikar was towards the end of my service.…
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Water: The Werewolf of Pakistan
Pakistan will collapse …not because of its greedy politicians, its ruthless army or its money hungry elites. It will die because of Water or rather lack of it. Water is the werewolf of Pakistan which will eat it up internally. A combination of depleting water resources, poor deliver, mismanagement and neglect have pushed Pakistan to…
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Will China Invade Taiwan? A Gunners Shot Interaction
Hojo Minoru is an experienced Japanese reporter of Jiji World , a Japanese new agency. He has spent over six years in China till about 2021. He read my article China’s PLA Plagued By 6 ‘New’ Incapabilities That Could Cause Its Eventual Downfall: Ex-Indian General in Eurasian Times ( https://gunnersshot.com/2023/12/07/chinas-pla-plagued-by-6-new-incapabilities-that-could-cause-its-eventual-downfall-ex-indian-general/ ) and felt it was “concise…
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China – The Worlds Biggest Old Age Home
China has an old age population twice the size of India. That is officially. It could actually be more. Its old age dependency ratio is zooming faster than the missiles it fires at Taiwan and is set to be the highest as time passes. Declining birthrates, a contracting work force, unwillingness to marry and a…
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Xi Jinping’s Trials : Taiwan Tension, Troubled Economy & PLA
This episode was an interesting one in which a lot of issues pertaining to contemporary China were covered. Brig Sanal Kumar who has served in China brought an insiders insight to the discussion. One aspect which is emerging clearly is that China has lost much of its sheen.
Gunners Shot 