Col (Dr) D.P.K. Pillay is Research Fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi. Click here for detailed profile.
The complexity of the challenge in the Israel–Hamas conflict should not deter from the need to uphold humanitarian law and minimise the suffering of civilians by both the protagonists.
Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Col DPK Pillay’s article ‘Israel isn’t the first to violate laws of war. But we owe Gaza an experiment in negotiations’ has been published in ‘The Print’ on 23 November 2023.
The article describes the slippery slope between legitimate combat and inadmissible violence as seen in Gaza.
This Article reviews Kerala’s efforts to check the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) without additional expenditure or infrastructure and employing the state police forces. This was remarkable in the face of the fact that healthcare systems were stretched the world over and were struggling beyond capacity to treat the number of people affected by the virus. To add to the overstretched healthcare systems, there were reports of attacks on healthcare workers and facilities. The state of Kerala was among the first to report a coronavirus case in January 2020.
Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Col DPK Pillai’s article ‘Evolution of Indian Army the harbingers of change’ has been published in Blitz India on 19 June 2023.
Exposure to wars in Europe brought a new awakening and confidence in Indian soldiers that they were ready to take on the world, and they did, says Col Pillay.
Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Col DPK Pillay’s article ‘Thimayya of India: A Man for All Seasons’ has been published in ‘Arbit Today’ of Hindi Daily ‘Rashtradoot’ on 21 April 2023.
One of the most loved generals of the Indian Army, General Thimayya is not only an Indian military hero, he is also a hero of the Korean War, says Col. Pillay.
Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Col DPK Pillay’s article ‘Why India needs its own USAID-like aid agency’ has been published in ‘Times of India’ on 13 February 2023.
India’s capacity to deliver humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) as well as execute development projects far beyond its region is something only developed countries have demonstrated in the past, says Col Pillay.
Maroof Raza’s new book Contested Lands: India, China, and the Boundary Dispute documents the evolution of India’s boundary with China, an issue that predates independence and annexation of Tibet. The key question that has metamorphosed into the dispute with China is the differing interpretation on both sides. The genesis of the current dispute lies in the interpretative differences between the British, the Tibetans and the Chinese on the three sets of lines drawn by the British: (a) Johnson Line in 1865, (b) Johnson-Ardgah Line in 1897, and (c) McCartney MacDonald Line in 1899.
Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Col DPK Pillay contributed the chapter ‘Foundations of Good Governance: Enduring Relevance of Human Security’ to the book ‘ASEAN and India: The Way Forward’, which was released by Emeritus Senior Minister, Goh Chok Tong, at the Institute of South Asian Studies of National University of Singapore (NUS), on 12 October 2022.
There is a part of history that many in India are not familiar with today. This article is an account of Independent India’s first overseas mission under the UN – The unique role that the Indian military played in the Korean conflict.
A Need for an Autonomous Agency for Overseas Development Assistance
There is a need for India to establish an autonomous agency to execute overseas development assistance programmes.