Journal of Defence Studies

Indian Aircraft Industry: Possible Innovations for Success in the Twenty-First Century, by Vivek Kapur

Taking off in 1940 with the establishment of Hindustan Aircraft Limited (later named Hindustan Aeronautics Limited or HAL), the Indian aviation industry has grown in spurts over the past seven decades and more. During the initial phase, HAL provided maintenance support to various combat aircraft of the allied forces in World War II and, subsequently, commenced licenced production of combat aircraft. After Independence in 1947 and its nationalisation, HAL grew in strength to design combat aircraft.

Kautilya’s Arthashastra: Indian Strategic Culture and Grand Strategic Preferences

The utility of the theory of strategic culture to explain the choices nation-states make is still to be convincingly proven. Alastair Iain Johnston has provided a viable notion of strategic culture that is falsifiable, its formation traced empirically, and its effect on state behaviour differentiated from other non-ideational variables. Following his methodological framework, Kautilya’s Arthashastra is identified as the ‘formative’ ideational strategic text which is assessed to illuminate Indian strategic culture.

Army and Nation: The Military and Indian Democracy since Independence, by Steven I. Wilkinson

Steven I. Wilkinson’s work on the Indian Army and its relationship to Indian democracy is mandatory reading for scholars interested in civil-military relations. Ironically, despite the voluminous literature on civil-military relations in the Subcontinent, it is still an understudied subject. Wilkinson’s book breaks new ground by giving the reader a distinct assessment of the evolution of civil-military relations in India vis-à-vis those in Pakistan.

Emerging India-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

India and Indonesia recently upgraded bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, a move that comes on the eve of 70 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. This deeper engagement serves to highlight the importance of the Indo-Pacific for both countries. India and Indonesia have recently witnessed some intensive engagement in the political, strategic, defence, security, and economic spheres.

Mission Overseas: Daring Operations by the Indian Military, by Sushant Singh

Military history has four main genres. The first is the ‘official’ military history, or a military historian’s narrative. It is a narration of facts given as accurately as possible, written in an academic manner with maps and sketches. These are difficult to follow by non-military readers and, for that reason, are almost never read by them. The second category are reminiscences (autobiographies or biographies) of those who took part in wars—mostly in important and commanding positions.

The Battlefields of Imphal: The Second World War and North East India, by Hemant Singh Katoch

In 2013, in a poll on ‘Britain’s Greatest Battle’, the twin victories at Imphal–Kohima during the Second World War were voted as the winner of the poll. If one recalls popular representations of World War II in this part of the world, what comes to mind immediately is the film The Bridge on the River Kwai, starring Alec Guinness. That the Japanese had reached the eastern borders of British India and posed a great threat to the war effort is something that people may take time to recollect.

Maoist Finances

This article shows that the Maoists have been collecting not less than Rs 140 crore annually from a variety of sources: businesses—big and small—industry; contractors engaged in various trades; corrupt government officials; and political leaders. The largest and principal sources of income for the Maoists are the mining industry, PWD works, and collection of tendu leaves. They have been able to put in place a well-organised mechanism to extort money on a regular basis. Besides, they have conceived ingenious ways to store money and ensure its safety.

Inherent Structural Constraints Challenging India’s Internal Security

The words ‘internal security’ do not figure in the Constitution of India. At the time of the framing of the Indian Constitution, the lawmakers were more worried about preserving the unity and sovereignty of the new nation. The world was in a far more peaceful environment and issues like terrorism and cybersecurity were far from their minds. Their outlook was conditioned by the constitutions then in existence.

Jihadist Radicalisation in India: Internal Challenges, External Threats

The Indian strategic community has for long debated aspects of jihadist radicalisation in the country—particularly over its origins, causes, extent, trajectory and possible counter-measures. This article posits that in the absence of clear perspectives, the incipient threat of jihadist radicalisation has the potential to metastasise and snowball quickly, as has been witnessed in other parts of the world in recent times.

Police and Counter-Insurgency: The Untold Story of Tripura’s COIN Campaign, by Kuldeep Kumar

The role of the state police in combating insurgencies has not been given due acknowledgement in India despite the success stories of Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal where police forces successfully deployed to counter insurgency movements. For instance, in Punjab, with support from the central paramilitary forces, the state police successfully neutralised terrorists who were demanding a separate state of Khalistan. In Andhra Pradesh, the state police played a highly critical role through the efficient Greyhounds model of security force operation.