Journal of Defence Studies

An Infantry Combat Leader’s Memoir of the 1965 War

The article is a recall of the 1965 War by an infantry company commander in the war. It attempts to bring out how the war was conducted at the tactical...

Battle of Haji Pir: The Army’s Glory in 1965

In 1965, Pakistan attempted infiltration into Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), with Operation Gibralter, followed by a planned capture of Akhnoor Bridge under Operation Grand Slam. While Operation Gibraltar was bold...

Recounting 1965: War, Diplomacy and Great Games in the Subcontinent

‘Stalemate’, ‘futile’, ‘forgotten’—the descriptions of the 1965 War between India and Pakistan often do injustice to its profound Impact on the history of the Indian subcontinent. It was a war...

The 1965 Indo-Pak War: Through Today’s Lens

This article seeks to analyse the lessons of the 1965 Indo-Pak war that are applicable today. It finds that the current army doctrine, Cold Start, has some similarities to the...

Operation Gibraltar: An Uprising that Never Was

Launched in early-August 1965, Operation Gibraltar was designed to infiltrate several columns of trained and well-armed Mujahids and Razakars, led by Pakistan Army Majors into Jammu and Kashmir. Under the...

India and Pakistan: An Eternal Conflict!

Shooting for a Century: Finding Answers to the India–Pakistan Conundrum, by Stephen P. Cohen

India’s Special Forces: An Appraisal

At a time when the battlefield has been progressively transforming from the conventional to unconventional, the role of Special Forces will become critical in shaping its outcome. Conflicts in the...

Fit for Command: Leadership Attributes for PSO–COIN Operations

Peace support operations (PSO)–counter-insurgency (COIN) operations are different and often significantly more complex than conventional operations. Such a complexity places greater demand on military leaders both at the tactical and...

Policing Insurgencies: Cops as Counterinsurgents, edited by C. Christine Fair and Sumit Ganguly

Counter-insurgency, referred to as COIN with the usual military fondness for abbreviations, is commonly understood as a military-centric effort that seeks to overwhelm the insurgents with superior numbers, firepower, technology,...

Drone Warfare, by John Kaag and Sarah Kreps

Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that can carry a payload for the purpose of reconnaissance and surveillance; and those that are armed with missiles and bombs carry a payload...

Can War be Eliminated?, by Christopher Coker

Imagine a book that talks of war, of all wars that have been fought in all of human history. One could be forgiven for assuming that such a volume would...

China’s Biological Warfare Programme: An Integrative Study with Special Reference to Biological Weapons Capabilities

This study attempts to profile China’s biological warfare programme (BWP), with special reference to biological weapons (BW) capabilities that exist in facilities affiliated with the defence establishment and the military....

Standing Committee on Defence (16th Lok Sabha): Striking Old Notes on Debut

Three months after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was swept to power at the centre in the general elections held in April–May 2014 to the 16th Lok Sabha (the lower...

The Rise of the Bengal Tigers: The Growing Strategic Importance of the Bay of Bengal

The Bay of Bengal region is now growing in economic and strategic importance. The good economic prospects of many Bay of Bengal states are making the region a cockpit for...

India’s Doctrine Puzzle: Limiting War in South Asia, by Ali Ahmed

India has often been accused of not having a strategic culture and, more recently, of not clearly enunciating its strategic and doctrinal thought. More often than not, this has led...

Revisiting the 1971 ‘USS Enterprise Incident’: Rhetoric, Reality and Pointers for the Contemporary Era

The USS Enterprise naval task group entry into the Indian Ocean during the closing stages of 1971 Indo-Pak Conflict led to further deterioration in the relations between India and the...

Benchmarking of Shipyards and Processes for Cost Effective Naval Shipbuilding

The article highlights the applicability of benchmarking methodologies to the shipbuilding industry, and how these could be utilized to improve the competitiveness of shipyards to enable delivery of cost-effective naval...

Leadership and Management Theories in Indic Traditions

This article aims to rediscover some key aspects of leadership and management latent in ancient Indian secular texts of statecraft and governance that are relevant in contemporary times.

P. K. Gautam |
January-March 2019 |
Journal of Defence Studies

The Geopolitics of Cyber Espionage

There is an intricate relationship between the methods of cyber espionage and the evolution of information and communications technology, of which information security is a key aspect. This article is...

Impact of the Recommendations of the Standing Committee on Defence (15th Lok Sabha) on the Defence Budget

The examination of the detailed demands for grant (DDGs) of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) by the Standing Committee on Defence of the 14th Lok Sabha (2004–05 to 2008–09) and...