Expertise
Latin America and the Caribbean, India’s Nuclear Doctrine, Air Defences, Police and Paramilitary Forces
Education
PhD in War Studies, Department of War Studies King’s College London
Current Project
India-Latin America relations: Opportunities and Constraints
Background
Dr. Sanjay Badri-Maharaj is an independent defence analyst and attorney-at-law based in Trinidad and Tobago. He holds a PhD on India’s nuclear weapons programme and an MA from the Department of War Studies, King’s College London. He has served as a consultant to the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of National Security and to its Ministry of the Attorney-General. He has also served as a freelance journalist and correspondent for various publications in the defence sphere, a teaching assistant at the Department of War Studies, King’s College London, researcher at the University of the West Indies and as a lecturer in naval history, strategic studies and threat perception and critical analysis for the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard Officer Training Program at the University of Trinidad and Tobago.
Select Publications:
Book
The Armageddon Factor – Nuclear Weapons in the India-Pakistan Context
ISBN: 978-81-7062-109-7, Lancer Publishers, New Delhi (2000)
Journal Publications
China and Stability in Afghanistan: China’s Afghanistan Strategy Scholar Warrior: Spring 2016 pp 45-51
Worsening Fault lines Militant Groups Attacking the Pakistani Armed Forces?, Indian Defence Review, Net Edition 8th January 2016
The Role of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force in Disaster Management, Journal of Defence Studies, Jan 2012, Vol.6 #1, pp.114-123
Ethnic Armies Revisited, Indian Defence Review, Net Edition 30th September 2011
The Mumbai Attacks – Lessons to be Learnt from the Police Response, Journal of Defence Studies, Apr 2009, Vol.3 #2, pp.145-156
India’s Nuclear Capability, Indian Defence Review, Apr-Jun 2004, Vol.19, # 2, pp.43-51
Ballistic Missile Defence for India: Another View, Vayu Aerospace Review, III/2003, pp.70-72
India: Asia’s Aerospace Hub of the Future, Indian Defence Review, Jan-Mar 2003, Vol.18, #1, pp.23-34
Defending India’s Airspace, Vayu Aerospace Review, I/ 2003, pp.62-72
India’s Nuclear Arsenal, Indian Defence Review, Oct-Dec 2002, Vol. 17, #4, pp.155-160
Indian Air Defences Modernization Prospects, Indian Defence Review, Oct-Dec 2002, Vol. 17, #4, pp.29-35
Underestimation of Nuclear India a Major Mistake, Indian Defence Review: Jul-Sep 2001, Vol. 16, #3, pp.10-15
Civil Defence Capabilities of the Indian State, Indian Defence Review, Jan-Mar 2001, Vol.16, #1, pp.19-32
Air Defence Networks of India and Pakistan, Air Forces Monthly, Nov 2000, pp.54-58
India’s Nuclear Status, Indian Defence Review, Apr-Jun 2000, Vol.15, #2, pp.124-128
Ethnic Armies, Indian Defence Review, Apr-Jun 2000, Vol.15, #2, pp.43-54
Publications at IDSA Email:-sbmvv_2000[at]yahoo[dot]com Phone:-+91 11 2671 7983
The Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ) has an enviable combat record among the air forces of Sub-Saharan Africa. It has a strong professional ethos and, until budgetary cuts and sanctions came into effect, was one of the most effective air forces in the region. It has gone through a period of decline and relative stagnation in strength. However, the last two years point to a revival in its fortunes though this is through the restoring of grounded equipment to service.
The Nigerian Navy is slowly clawing its way back to being a viable force capable of performing critical missions in respect of EEZ surveillance and patrol. It possesses an adequate fleet of inshore and riverine patrol craft and its growing refit and overhaul capabilities should prove adequate to the task of maintaining these vessels and augmenting them with new construction. However, the Nigerian Navy continues to face capability gaps in respect of the number of major surface combatants as well as the weapons systems available to the fleet.
The government needs to focus on meeting the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard’s urgent requirements for fuel so that their existing assets could be put to optimal use rather than squander funds on procuring an additional patrol boat from an Australian company.
The Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force officer corps has a challenging task at hand to preserve the operational capability of the force as well as address the genuine concerns being expressed by their subordinates.
The RSA may be forced to choose between significantly increasing the budgetary allocations for the SAN and adopting a rotational storage programme to preserve capability while reducing operational costs.
This paper seeks, from a Latin American perspective, to examine India's relations with the Latin America-Caribbean region. It makes a distinction between the hesitant and somewhat apathetic approach of the Indian government towards enhanced ties with the region and the rather more proactive and enthusiastic approach by the Indian business sector which has seen Indian trade with the region growing many fold and increasing at the same rate as China's.
The deficiencies in planning and training of personnel for disaster relief operations as well as the capability gaps in equipment that the response to Huricane Maria highlighted need to be plugged.
The IAF is not without options, all of which are currently at some stage of realization. What is lacking is a sense of urgency on the part of all the parties concerned.
While thermonuclear weapons are not necessary for maintaining a credible deterrent, they serve the purpose of enabling India to make effective use of its relatively limited fissile material stockpile.