Gunners Shot

This is the third  and concluding part in the series of Reality of China. The first part was about China's economy. It can be seen by clicking   here   . The second part was about China's demography. It can be seen by clicking here . In this concluding part , Aadi and I discuss the Xi Jinping factor in China, compare the China model with Japan and analyse the overall implications for India. Ultimately the question is what should India do about this crazy malignant rise of China?

Till last month Pakistan was triumphant and flush with its victory over its ally. Happiness was to put drug smugglers in power in Afghanistan and sermonising  the world to recognise Taliban. It strode the world stage like a behemoth behind Chinese skirts and made pompous statements. That was not the Pakistan we always knew. That was a Pakistan high on Afghan poppy and flexing its non-existent muscles. The real Pakistan has re-emerged now and has reverted to type in the past few days. However there is a difference. The difference is that Pakistan is now stewing in own juices and everyone is letting it happen. Let us have a look at the Naya Contours of Purana Pakistan.   At the outset nothing has changed. Their ‘Establishment’ aka ‘Deep State’ still selects politicians, military-civil bureaucrats, judges of superior courts, business magnates, and media persons. Everyone has to fall in place. Or else…! ’Im The Dim’ nee ‘Taliban Khan’ nee ‘U Turn Khan’ tried to step out ...

    Part 1 : Preamble   @    https://www.gunnersshot.com/2021/10/firepower-and-artillery-futuristic.html When I attended the Staff College at Wellington, our Chief Instructor taught us that 60% of any military plan is dependent on the ‘Ground’ factor and  30% on the ‘Enemy’ – capabilities, organisation and characteristics. The balance 10% is our ‘Own’ capabilities. Hence a discussion of firepower in the Himalayas – our karma-bhoomi is important.  Any Sino-Indian or Indo Pak military conflict (even if it is collusive) will most probably take place in the Himalayas. The Himalayas as we are aware, offer the highest terrain friction for Armed Forces in the world. They place important demands and impose peculiar restrictions on  firepower during operations. Understanding the effect of  Himalayas will therefore  be critical to develop and employ firepower successfully.    The Himalayas consist of a serie...

  This is the second in the series of reality of China. The first part was about China's economy. It can be seen by clicking   here  . This is a  discussion on the demography of China and its impact on economy. military and geopolitics. The question we are asking as everybody else is  - will China get old before it gets rich? Aadi and I have made it as interesting as possible.  

The  2 nd  edition of ‘The Economic Times Aerospace and Defence Summit 2021 (ET ADS 2021) ’ is taking place virtually on 16 th  November 2021.  The Indian aerospace & defence manufacturing sector has seen exponential growth in the last few years. According to Government estimates, the Aerospace and Defence industry in India is likely to reach a market size of US$70 billion by 2030.  As the sector is on the verge of transformation, powered by important Government initiatives like ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ Abhiyaan (Self Reliant India Campaign), the idea is to find solutions and forge a way forward. In   this light, The Economic Times Aerospace & Defence Summit 2021 aims to bring together industry experts on one platform to deliberate on the growth opportunities while dealing successfully with the challenges. It is my honour that I will be participating in the Summit as a guest speaker in a panel which covers a panoramic  aspe...

Till last month Pakistan was the kingmaker. After all it had put the Taliban in the Afghan throne. It was sitting in cloud nine. Their PM , their foot in the mouth Foreign minister and  that mousy NSA were imploring the world to recognise Taliban or else….till the Taliban said that Pakistan International Airlines would be banned to fly into Kabul. Ever since then the trio have gone quiet on their students. They stopped celebrating their newfound status of kingmakers and reverted to their  traditional state of happiness. After all Happiness is a Pakistani state in mind.  This article is a set of extracts from Dawn editorials over a couple of days. The authors very clearly express the  state of current happiness in Pakistan. I have just added my comments at the end of each facet of Pakistan’s happiness.       Spate of Attacks  @  https://www.dawn.com/news/1653350/spate-of-attacks   The sense of déjà-vu is unmistakable. Khybe...

Part 1 : Preamble This is the first in a series which I had outlined in my article on Gunners Day on the Future of  Artillery Winston Churchill famously said that ‘Renown awaits the commander who first restores Artillery to its prime importance on the battlefield’. There is a converse to it. Infamy awaits those who relegate Artillery and Firepower on the battlefield by neglecting it. The Kargil War reinforced what Churchill had said seven decades back. It applied to Pakistan and India in equal measure. At the beginning of the Kargil war, it was discovered that Pakistan had brought up British era 5.5 inch guns near the LC in difficult mountainous terrain. They modified the gun pits to enable them fire in high angle. They used these vintage guns and ammunition imaginatively to destroy the Kargil ammunition dump and interdict National Highway 1A. Later as the battles progressed, the Pakistani Artillery lost steam. Not because their Gunners were not gallant or imaginativ...

This article has been published originally @  https://www.republicworld.com/india-news/general-news/the-first-half-army-74-years-of-pakistans-first-capitulation-to-indian-army.html . Pakistan Army exudes a hubris of fighting capability and martial tradition. However, Stephen Cohen once described it as the finest army in the world which never won a war. The fact that it has lost all wars with the Indian Army and that too at a time and place of its choosing underscores this statement. Pakistan Army has kept its nation at war forever. This formidable force has constantly failed Pakistan. This journey of failure started on 22 October 1947 when it invaded J&K to wrest the state from India. An analysis of the 1947 war and events of that time indicates that the character and traits it showed then have surfaced and resurfaced consistently over seven decades in all conflicts thereafter. Pakistan Army now boasts of defeating USSR and USA in Afghanistan through proxy means. The concept of...