India must be cautious and not repeat its Himayalan blunders during new Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang's forthcoming visit, warns Colonel Anil Athale
Why did Mountbatten suddenly declare that the Partition of India would take place with inexplicable haste on August 15, 1947, almost a year ahead of schedule? Colonel Anil Athale (retd) explains the likely reasons for the British decision to hastily grant India independence.
The story of the 1962 war with China has all the elements of a dramatic historical event. Nehru's handling of the crisis and panic reactions were in marked contrast to the cool and confident Kennedy. The generous and prompt response by JFK made him an icon in India. But the US State Department, under pressure from Pakistan and with British support, scuttled the chances of a more lasting India-US alliance, say Colonel Anil Athale (retd).
There are alternatives that are preferable to the octopus like Jan Lokpal being proposed. Extremism, whether the Gandhian excess of non-violence or obsession with environment at cost of everything else is dangerous in the long run, says Colonel Anil Athale (retd).
Colonel Anil Athale (retd), the official historian of India's 1962 war with China, pin-points the reasons for the clash between the Asian giants 50 years ago and the series of blunders that led to India's military humiliation.
With the death of the terrorist mastermind, the emergence of a nuclear-equipped splinter group from within the Pakistani establishment looks disturbingly plausible, says Colonel Anil Athale (retd)
'The greatest blunder was to let the Pakistani army get away with its 'genocide' in Bangladesh. There is massive evidence of Pakistani army brutality in Bangladesh. The evidence is from Pakistani sources itself, the Justice Hamidur Rehman Commission Report. Some of the testimony in that report makes very chilling reading, even 40 years after the event.'
It is time to free this great son India from the shackles of narrow regionalism, says Colonel Anil Athale (retd).
It is the 'tolerance' of eve teasing and harassment of women that is the start point of 'social rapes', points out Colonel Anil Athale
Army chief General V K Singh has spoken recently of Chinese troops in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. The impending American withdrawal from Afghanistan and the US-Pakistan divorce has the potential to destabilise the region. China may become more assertive in South Asia, feels Colonel Anil Athale (retd).
Is the Nyoma incident, where a group of army officers allegedly thrashed a jawan for alleged misbehaviour and then defied their commanding officer, an aberration? Or is the matter more serious than what the army is making it out to be?Colonel Anil Athale (retd) explains the origins of this Dabangg-giri.
The Abbottabad raid has raised many disturbing questions and the Indian armed forces must find answers to them, says Colonel Anil Athale (retd)
In an open letter to Team Anna, Colonel Anil Athale questions their obsession with the Lokpal Bill. Athale suggests the merger of existing anti-corruption wings of all departments and public enterprises with Lokpal instead of creating another huge army of clerks.
In 1666, Shivaji Maharaj and his son Sambhaji escaped from the Agra Fort, one of the most miraculous escapes in India's history.
While these major changes are taking place in the US policies, India seems stuck in the old paradigm of wishing that somehow Pakistan will turn Gandhian someday, says Colonel Anil Athale (retd)
Colonel Anil Athale (retd) on the state of the judiciary in the country.
'One is not talking of an all-out war,' says Colonel Anil A A Athale (retd). 'What we must accept is a short, sharp, attack by the Chinese, more in the nature of a slap!'
A powerful campaign has been launched against Hazare and the movement he led. 'Anti democratic', 'Fascist' are some of the adjectives hurled at him. There is a less than subtle attempt to paint him a Hindu fundamentalist, writes Colonel Anil Athale (retd)
A powerful campaign has been launched against Hazare and the movement he led. 'Anti democratic', 'Fascist' are some of the adjectives hurled at him. There is a less than subtle attempt to paint him a Hindu fundamentalist, writes Colonel Anil Athale (retd)
Community policing and strict control over the sale and distribution of explosives and detonators will go a long way in curbing the menace, says Colonel Anil Athale (retd)
The main issue is the high risk that government took in a midnight swoop where things could have gone horribly wrong! Apart from illegality of use of force against sleeping citizens, the utter insanity of the decision making and panic syndrome is an issue of concern, says Colonel Anil Athale (retd).
'If ever there was a case for the government to use its power to issue an ordnance and take pre-emptive action, this is it.'
Colonel Anil Athale (retd) recommends that Extrnal Affairs Minister S M Krishna should tell Pakistan that the current exercise in peace building is possibly the last chance for the country to avoid a second Bangladesh like situation.
Colonel Anil Athale (retd) lists a few military tactics that may help team India win the World Cup.
The apparent Indian smugness and inability to see the gathering clouds on the security horizon is at the heart of our problems, warns Colonel Anil Athale (retd).
'A demonstration of the force by the State will wean away a large portion of sympathisers. The hardcore ideologically motivated cadres are not likely to be affected by this, but it will ease the path of the impending operations by lowering the morale of the Naxal rank and file and raising that of the police forces as well as common people.'
For a long-term solution to the Kashmir problem, there is no substitute to opening a mass debate with representatives of all regions of the state and not just the valley, says Colonel Anil Athale (retd).
Colonel Anil Athale says that a long lasting solution to the Af-Pak situation is balkanisation of the area.
The ultimate battle against Islamist terror has to be fought by the Muslims themselves, for they are its biggest potential victim.
'Every time news of riots in PoW camps in India and the killing of Pakistanis reached Lyallpur, huge crowds would throng the Lyallpur jail gates, thirsting for revenge.'
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).
The debate on Sardar Patel's legacy is less about the Sardar and more about the acute sense of threat felt by the Delhi establishment at the rise of Narendra Modi and questions he has raised about the disproportionate share of credit given to a single family, says Colonel (retd) Anil Athale.
It is rare for communal riots to spread to rural areas. The UP riot is the first time after the September 1969 Gujarat riots that a rural area have been affected. Electoral politics which divide society in majority/minority, going on since the early 1990s, is a major contributing factor to this heightened tension between communities, says Colonel (retd) Anil Athale in the first of a two part series.
The roots of the problem lies in the alienation of the tribals. Extreme sensitivity is required to tackle the issues involved. Rough and ready methods of using force may prove counterproductive in the long run, says Colonel (retd) Anil Athale.
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