The story of the ant and the grasshopper must have been narrated countless times in our childhood. The ant survived the famine and the famished grasshopper perished!

China’s aggressive behaviour along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the made in China COVID19 have been an unprecedented disruptor for a responsible rising India.

“If we step back and re-visit the cause of the 1962 Indo-Sino conflict, one of the reasons was the disagreement on the defined LAC,” Lt Col Channan states.

The transfer of Maj Gen Vardhan from Delhi’s Base Hospital has been officially justified as routine HR process. But there is more than what meets the eye.

The Modi government has initiated several defence reforms. But mere political acumen of the defence minister is insufficient to steer them.

India will soon witness a blame game — the Centre will blame states, govts will blame private sector and citizens. But the gaming of political system won’t be discussed much.

Death in a hospital, on an ICU bed and under effective medical care brings a level of mental satisfaction to family members, of having done their best to save a life.

Except for a brief period in 1998 when I was researching for a dissertation on ‘Non Military Threats’, I never ever focused on pandemics as a source of existential security threat to a nation.

We got caught unprepared due to some plain incompetency, lack of teamwork, power greed at political and administrative levels. We are paying an inordinately heavy price for it.