IDSA Comments - MP-IDSA

The issue of de-militarisation of Northern Province of Sri Lanka

De-militarisation per se is a sensitive issue, however, it is of essence that the Sri Lanka armed forces` role vis-à-vis the provincial administrations or even in the larger island-nation context...

Gautam Sen |
March 13, 2014 |
IDSA Comments

Early Trends in Afghan Elections: Abdullah Leads the Show

According to a poll survey, 29 per cent supported the candidacy of Ashraf Ghani, a former World Bank expert, who is one among the three probable candidates President Karzai is...

Why Pakistan cannot defeat the Taliban

The simple truth that has eluded Pakistan is that fighting the Taliban is like fighting a shadow. The Taliban are but a symptom, the real problem is of religious extremism...

Sushant Sareen |
March 10, 2014 |
IDSA Comments

Crimea: Thaw in Tensions?

While President Putin has conveyed the message of tough military action, it is highly unlikely that he will order his troops to invade the majority ethnic Russian region of Crimea....

Rajorshi Roy |
March 07, 2014 |
IDSA Comments

China and Xinjiang: Kunming incident

The Kunming massacre is bound to have widespread repercussions within Chinese society, particularly for the Muslim minorities. In turn this will lead for calls for enhanced security measures and even...

R. S. Kalha |
March 07, 2014 |
IDSA Comments

Upcoming elections in Iraq: Prospects and Challenges

Nouri al-Maliki, the Shiite PM, seeking a third term in office, is facing growing opposition at home, including from his powerful Shia allies. There is also a growing rift within...

Talks with Taliban: war by other means

The situation in Pakistan today is very fragile. Despite the progress on the democratic front, there is a sense of helplessness on how to tackle the menace of terrorism. Unlike...

Yaqoob-ul-Hassan |
March 03, 2014 |
IDSA Comments

India-China talks: why soft border is not an option

Soft border is neither an option nor a means to resolve the India-China border dispute. In Chinese conceptualization where borders are innately strategic frontiers, the idea of soft border is...

Abanti Bhattacharya |
March 03, 2014 |
IDSA Comments

Ukraine’s road to stabilization goes through Moscow

Russia has signalled its intentions in Crimea. With neither the US nor Europe willing to be engaged in another crisis in Eastern Europe, the Russian strategy would be to re-enter...

Gulshan Sachdeva |
March 02, 2014 |
IDSA Comments

Need for action plan to counter KLO

The recent violent incidents carried out by the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) in the sensitive eastern and north-eastern parts India have serious security implications. Conscious intervention of the centre in...

Gautam Sen |
February 28, 2014 |
IDSA Comments

Shinzo Abe’s Visit to India: Reviewing the Strategic Partnership

Japanese prime minister Abe realises that solely relying on the US-Japan security alliance might not serve national interest in the fast evolving regional security architecture. So the leadership is diversifying...

Titli Basu |
February 27, 2014 |
IDSA Comments

India’s Interim Defence Budget 2014-15: An Appraisal

The 10 per cent growth in the interim defence budget although looks impressive from outside, it has a poor outlook on the modernisation front. Much of the hike in the...

Laxman Kumar Behera |
February 23, 2014 |
IDSA Comments

Political Turmoil in Bangladesh Likely to Continue

The BNP has urged the government to arrange for dialogue. The AL says the BNP must snap ties with the Jamaat before engaging in negotiation. The uncompromising attitude of the...

Rupak Bhattacharjee |
February 19, 2014 |
IDSA Comments

Maoist Finances: Sources, Methods of Collection and Utilization

Citing IDSA Report, the Minister of State for Home Affairs, RSN Singh said in the Rajya Sabha recently that “…the CPI(Maoist) party has been collecting not less than Rs 140...

P. V. Ramana |
February 17, 2014 |
IDSA Comments

Modernising the Army’s Tactical-level Communications Systems

The new optical fibre network being laid as an alternative to the 3G spectrum surrendered by the armed forces will go a long way in providing modern land-line communications in...

Gurmeet Kanwal |
February 14, 2014 |
IDSA Comments

What is choking the Indian defence budget?

Projecting a demand which cannot be met is as pointless as allocating budget that is barely sufficient to sustain the armed forces and other departments of the MoD. The persistent...

Amit Cowshish |
February 14, 2014 |
IDSA Comments

Drugs and the Golden Triangle: Renewed Concerns for Northeast India

India’s security strategy for the economic corridors and connectivity will have to entail water tight anti-drugs control measures and mechanisms to snuff out the possibilities of surges in narcotics trafficking...

Namrata Goswami |
February 10, 2014 |
IDSA Comments

Army’s Ingenious Frontier Diplomacy

To reshape public confidence further, the Union Home Ministry should quickly address the long festering issue of redeploying at least one regiment of the sashastra seema bal (SSB) in Ladakh....

P. Stobdan |
February 05, 2014 |
IDSA Comments

Run up to the Defence Budget 2014-15: Challenges to Modernisation

It is commonly viewed that in an election year, the incumbent government is tempted to present a populist budget. In that scenario, the MoD would have reasons to be unhappy,...

Laxman Kumar Behera |
February 04, 2014 |
IDSA Comments

Where is Egypt going?

With Egypt’s reversion to military rule, even if it is sanctified through an election process less than free and fair, one can say definitely that the pro-democracy tide in the...

K. P. Fabian |
February 03, 2014 |
IDSA Comments