A Hypothetical Look of Fighting Wars by Using India's Indigenous Technology:
28 Oct 2022
The DefExpo held recently in Gujarat was used as a platform by PM Modi and the Chiefs of Staff of the 3 services to extol the virtues of fighting wars by using India's very own indigenous technology. There can be no other ingenuous statement than this. However, before we start on this issue we need to recognise that in these, our modern, times there is no need for war. War in its performance and in its aftermath inflicts a huge cost both material and human on all countries involved and leaves the economies shattered for some and inflicts irreparable losses on others.
With that in mind let us look at India's weapon capabilities. In a theatre of war there are many categories of arms that are required ranging from the pistols or revolvers which in their modern avatar are called automatics to rifles, today called SLR's, and then to larger weapons like tanks, artillery guns and going up the scale to missiles and ultimately nuclear weapons. The Air Force and the Navy have their own unique weapon range though at the lower end of the scale, they share the use of similar weapons as the Army. It is, however, unfortunate that India does not make the full range of weapons that are required in a war scenario by all the 3 arms of our Services. Therefore using Indian arms in the next war with any enemy is a recipe for losing it. Why people like Modi encourage such thoughts is not understood since it can be seen to only seek very temporary and cheap mileage of pseudo-nationalism? Where our Service Chiefs are required to maintain an independent stance from the political establishment, we are finding these days a certain amount of sycophancy from them while dealing with political leaders particularly Narendra Modi. They need to eschew such behaviour since an independent armed force is an important pillar and guardian of any democracy.
Coming back to wars, they are today fought with technology and not with standard or conventional arms. You have to ask Modi why he made such a big deal of acquiring the Raphael fighter jets from France on the plea of improving our strike capability. We could have remained with our indigenously designed and manufactured Tejas. Though one must grant the present political establishment that they have decided to support the replacement of the ageing Russian MIG21 fighter fleet with the Tejas fighter jets. Similarly, we are risking the ire of the USA by getting the artillery capabilities of the Russian S400 batteries. Israel is also a major supplier of hi-tech EWS (Electronic Warfare Systems) to enhance the edge of our defence systems. The problem with Modi and his kind is that because of lack of education they tend to develop a one-track mind and speak at forums without thinking and wanting to convey what they believe is the audience expectation. This is a very limited and blinkered approach.
Granted that Modi made the statement that we would fight wars henceforth with India made arms. But for that he needs to thank his predecessors for having laid the foundations which are today bearing the fruition of the manufacture of arms ranging from SLR's to missiles to nuclear weapons. If these foundations had not been laid then whatever is available today would not have seen the light of day today for Modi's bombastic flights of fancy. Because since 2014, the year Modi came to power, there have been no investments in factories or projects relating to defence or national security.
Are Our Politicians Crazy? : 27 Oct 2022
Our politicians are a strange lot. When Rishi Sunak was appointed as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, across party lines our politicians saw it primarily as a person of the minority community getting the top post and with those in the Opposition parties drawing parallels that it should happen in India. It was also the aspect of a person of colour who became Prime Minister because of Sunak's competence which also commanded respect among the Tory MP's which two issues, one thinks were more important.
In a similar strange situation, we have Arvind Kejriwal seeking the images of Lord Ganesha and the Goddess Lakshmi on our currency. Some of the BJP leaders have commented on this saying that the AAP leader is seeking to prove his Hindu credentials. In fact it is quite the opposite. If Kejriwal is practising the Hindu religion then he should not have proposed this. We need to keep our Gods and their images inviolate and keep them on a pedestal and not draw them down to matters of currency that keeps changing hands multiple times. If you see the condition of our currency notes in circulation, in the majority they are the dirtiest and the most ill treated and mutilated in the world. Imagine Ganesha and Lakshmi images on them creased, folded, torn and stained. Do our Gods deserve this from those who claim to be their believers?
Thus with the above we need to see if the heads of our politicians are screwed on properly that bring these distorted and downright crazy ideas into the public domain just to seek cheap publicity.
Rishi Sunak As the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom: 26 Oct 2022
Rishi Sunak may be considered as the 'sacrificial pig' by many of the Tory MP's who supported him in his bid to become UK's PM. The logic for this is the same as when Liz Truss was elected PM over Sunak. Apart from that none of them would want the 'hot seat' of the PM's chair now with the financial mess that the country is in, fearing that they would possibly break the record of the shortest tenure of PM that is held by the previous incumbent now. Thus Rishi Sunak has admittedly the best credentials for the job given his track record as Chancellor of the Exchequer lately and after having weathered the economic storms during the Covid pandemic. Once he has been able to steer the UK out of the economic quagmire and into calmer waters, then would be possibly the time to take out the knives again by the Tory naysayers. Until then Sunak's adversaries will sharpen their weapons of choice. But for Sunak these are matters of minor concern since he has been steadfast in his commitment in seeking the job of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He should take up the challenge and show the people of the UK and the world what he a man of colour and of Indian origins as also the youngest can do as Prime Minister of one of the leading countries of the world. Just like Virat Kohli played that ethereal knock at Melbourne to carry India home in the match against Pakistan on 23 Oct so also should Rishi Sunak rise to the occasion and show his prowess as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. We wish him all success. He has indeed made India proud.
Kohli Wraps Up Indo-Pak Match In Style at Melbourne: 25 Oct 2022
In the Indo-Pak cricket match played at Melbourne as part of the T20I World Cup on 23 Oct 2022, Virat Kohli silenced his critics in exceptional style. After all the hullagulla being made out about the loss of form that was plaguing Kohli's game, he has come out from that debacle and showed the truth in the statement that - Form is temporary but class is permanent. And Kohli has got class. The 82 not out was scored under tremendous pressure with India having lost 4 quick wickets and that too in an Indo-Pak cricket match. It was as if Kohli was carrying India's prestige singlehandedly on his shoulders though Hardik Pandya at the other end gave him more than adequate support. Some of the shots that Virat played were unimaginable particularly the two 6's in the same over against the pace bowler Rauf were sublime. Even after Hardik Pandya got out things were not easy and the match went down to the last ball in the last over with 1 run required. This Ashwin got easily by chipping over the fielders who were closing in to stop the single. And then King Kohli went into raptures deservedly and gracefully accepted the kudos from his teammates. The first match of the T20I World Cup was sealed, signed and delivered by Virat Kohli to set up a blazing start to India's campaign in the tournament. We hope they will come back with the trophy this time.
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