What Beijing’s Growing Polar Silk Road Means to India? Beijing’s intent to incorporate the polar regions within China’s greater maritime strategy, explore their resources and subsequently emerge as a polar great power is quite evident in its initiatives like the Polar Silk Road. In light of growing global ambition and resource needs, the Arctic could become another theatre of India–China competition. Mayuri Banerjee | October 21, 2021 | IDSA Comments
Land Warfare in the Eastern Theatre: 1971 Indo-Pak War The formation of Bangladesh resulted from the military operations undertaken in erstwhile East Pakistan by the Indian Armed Forces. The Indian Air Force established air superiority in the first few days which enabled land operations to be executed smoothly. The Indian Army outclassed the Pakistan Army by avoiding capture of towns and built-up areas. They headed for the capital Dacca which was the centre of gravity of the operations. The operations were preceded by detailed planning, logistics build up and war gaming which led to outclassing the enemy in the field. P.K. Chakravorty | October–December 2021 | Journal of Defence Studies
1971, the War as I Saw It Introduction Shamsher M. Chowdhury | October–December 2021 | Journal of Defence Studies
The Battle of Garibpur The ‘Lightning Campaign’ to liberate Bangladesh during the 1971 IndoPak War was one of the finest moments in Indian history. The ‘Battle of Garibpur’ fought on 21–22 November 1971, before the Indo-Pak War was officially declared on 3 December 1971, was a key battle in East Pakistan where a single infantry battalion, 14 Punjab (Nabha Akal) supported by a squadron of armour and intimate artillery support, successfully fought a Pakistani attack by infantry and armour. Vijay Yeshvant Gidh | October–December 2021 | Journal of Defence Studies
Politics in Pakistan and the Bangladesh Liberation War, 1971 The Partition of India in August 1947 was a colossal man-made catastrophe resulting in the formation of Pakistan, with its east and west wings.Jinnah’s two-nation theory ignored the diverse culture and geographical settings. East Pakistan got its first political shock when Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy—a popular mass leader—did not become the chief minister of East Pakistan. Further, in the initial period of state formation, there was forceful imposition of Perso-Arabic culture and Urdu language by the leadership of Pakistan, consisting majorly of Punjabis and Pathans from West Pakistan. Guru Saday Batabyal | October–December 2021 | Journal of Defence Studies
Malhama Tactical: Now Jihadists for Hire A conglomerate of elite jihadists called Malhama Tactical, a commercial enterprise driven by a for-profit agenda and not constrained by a specific ideology and defined enemies, has emerged as a serious threat as it can potentially connect and facilitate terrorist organisations worldwide. Saman Ayesha Kidwai | October 14, 2021 | IDSA Comments
The Curious Case of Jama’at-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir The recent statement by the former Amirs (chiefs) of Jama’at-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir, which was banned in 2019, seems to be a tactical move by the leadership to save the organisational structure from any kind of damage and to continue Islamisation of the society at the grassroots level. Manzoor Ahmad | October 14, 2021 | IDSA Comments
Did Pakistan Learn from its Bangladesh Experience? This article seeks to re-analyse the pattern of Pakistani response to the demands from East Bengal as a federating unit with distinct linguistic and regional identity, which led to eventual vivisection of Pakistan, and examine whether in the post-1971 years Pakistan learnt any lesson from its Bangladesh experience and used it to deal with similar assertions at ethnic and regional levels. Ashok K. Behuria | October–December 2021 | Journal of Defence Studies
Sagat and Helicopters True Pillars of Victory This article looks at the real issues that were responsible for destabilising the centre of gravity of Pakistan Army in the eastern sector. Lieutenant Rajesh Isser | October–December 2021 | Journal of Defence Studies
Eagle Unleashed IAF Strategy and Operations The only unfettered use of air power in India’s wars was in 1971, and it produced disproportionate and decisive outcomes. IAF’s air strategy, the extent of its role in contributing to the failure of Pakistan’s strategy in the west, and the vast range of operations carried out towards the surface war on both fronts simultaneously, are relatively unknown. Diptendu Choudhury | October–December 2021 | Journal of Defence Studies