'Peace talks with Pakistan are like accepting a dinner invitation from cannibals and hoping to return alive,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The Battle of Pratapgad can be termed the turning point in Indian history as it interrupted the continuous chain of Muslim successes on the battlefield.
'The best course for India is to wait out the implosion that is bound to take place in Pakistan sooner than later.' 'We have to ensure that the fallings debris from a collapsing State does not damage us,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'In a war of guerrilla resistance from 1682 to 1707, the Marathas destroyed the foundations of the Mughal empire.' 'Shivaji was dead, but his example and ideals survived and were the main source for inspiration for the Marathas in their desperate struggle with the mighty Mughal empire,' notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd), the well known military historian.
'We took the initiative after Balakot and continued to hold it, forcing Pakistan to react.' 'This was not the case in the Kargil conflict.' 'At that time we 'reacted' to Pakistan's actions,' points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'It is time to not merely assert that Kashmir is an internal problem, but begin to act on it,' argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'The idea of a 'Hindu Rashtra' only emerged in the 1920s and 1930s.' 'The context at that time was the clear British attempt at 'divide and rule' between Hindus and Muslims and within Hindus on caste lines,' argues military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Colonel Anil Athale (retd) recalls how the Battle of Panipat, 258 years ago, changed the history of India for the next century and half.
'The Pakistani denial was the greatest triumph of this strategy.' 'From now onwards Pakistan will always have to factor in the Indian reaction when it decides to back non-State actors like LeT,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
It is most unlikely that the US would take kindly to Indian claims of having shot down an F-16. There is too much commercial interest involved, says Col Anil Athale (retd).
Contemporary records speak of Chhatrapati Shivaji's resolve to liberate Hindu holy places, and the later Maratha rulers carried forward his legacy, Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) reveals in a forthcoming book.
'The domination of American foreign policy by the military poses some hidden dangers for us.' 'We must factor in that the Pakistani military and the US military have close ties going back three generations.' 'Pakistan will find sympathetic ears in the Pentagon against India as the bogey man.' 'This will be further milked to the maximum by raising the ante in Kashmir through its proxies,' warns Colonel Anil A Athale.
'She preserved national unity against great odds.'
'Loss of faith in the fairness of the system and the perception that one cannot expect justice are the first few steps to the slippery slope of anarchy,' warns Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
One thing is certain: Demonetisation has broken the back of terror funding, says Colonel Anil A Athale.
'As I went around Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Jaffna and Mannar, my mind went back to my visit in January 1990 at the fag end of the IPKFs mission in Sri Lanka,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'With Taliban rule in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the unemployed jihadis will certainly turn their gaze to India and Kashmir.' 'Despite this imminent danger to national security, defence preparedness does not find a mention in the ongoing electoral campaign,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'The interesting point about the choice of the area for the surgical strikes is that it is the most sensitive part of the Line of Control,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
By clinging to the past misdeeds of some Islamic rulers, present day Muslims are making reconciliation of communities an impossibility, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The current Indo-Pak crisis over Kashmir is a godsend for the US. With tensions running high, Pakistan is in no position to militarily help the Taliban. Once this realisation dawns on the Taliban, they are likely to be more amenable to a compromise on American terms, says Colonel Anil Athale (retired).
'She must first change the Rules of Business 1961 that makes the defence secretary and not the defence minister responsible for the defence of the country!' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd.)
Nothing would please our adversaries if the court verdict sees triumphalism on the part of the majority and sullen anger of the minority, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'The Indian response in confining our action to our side of the LoC set a dangerous precedent,' argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'A seniority-based system created a situation where officers in the higher rank would know, years in advance, who amongst them would be the chief at some future date and the rest would not have a shot at the highest post!' 'Out of this idiotic concoction was born the media created myth of 'line of succession', as if the Indian Army was some kind of monarchy.'
Will Prime Minister Modi start a conversation on the need for people to limit the size of their families, asks Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) on the occasion of World Population Day, July 11.
'If India is to emerge as a superpower, we must utilise our huge agricultural potential and not, as in past centuries, merely exploit our farmers,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Vajpayee was the first prime minister to visit the battlefield at the height of conflict,' recalls Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Terrorism is merely a symptom of a deeper disease in Pakistan's body politic,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'An elephant has to behave like an elephant and not shy away from confronting the jackals,' argues Colonel (Dr) Anil A Athale.
'Will the liberals explain if minorities are under such a dire threat in India, how come more and more groups want to separate from the majority and want themselves to be declared a minority?' asks Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'In order to achieve Pakistan's psychological isolation and pariah status, breaking all cultural, economic and people to people contacts must become a government policy with clear linkage to a change in behaviour by the Pakistani regime.'
At the Battle of Malegaon, Muslim soldiers in the Maratha army defied the British army for a full month when they had no hope of victory as the Chhatrapati and Peshwa had already surrendered.
'What we are today witnessing is the final act of the Pakistani army trying to retain its turf,' argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'The Naxalite strategy is to periodically attack police forces to provoke a reaction.' 'Once the security forces over-react and cause suffering to innocents by high-handed actions, the people will be alienated and support the revolution.' 'This appears to be the Naxalites' strategy and hence, their recent brutal killings of policemen,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'The only effective defence against a suicide attack is 'pre-emptive' destruction of the attacker,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Even if it is difficult to replicate Bangladesh, India can cause sufficient turmoil in Pakistan to keep it off balance,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'The vocal pacifists who monopolise the media in India need to answer a simple question: Would they have the Taliban or ISIS take over Kashmir or the rest of the country or let the army do its duty so that we are safe in our beds and free to demonise the soldiers in our cozy drawing rooms and television studios,' asks Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
There is a great danger of the government getting stampeded into actions in Kashmir that could result in long lasting damage, warns Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
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