Other Writing

This column examines Pakistan’s recent surge in defence export agreements and the growing narrative that arms sales could provide an economic lifeline to a country long grappling with debt dependence, inflation, and IMF bailouts. While Islamabad has secured significant interest in platforms such as the JF-17 fighter jet from countries across Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, the article argues that these deals offer limited fiscal relief.

It analyses the structure of modern arms...

An examination of how India’s long-standing doctrine of strategic autonomy has evolved amid rising global pressures from the United States, China, Russia, and regional instability in South Asia. The piece argues that autonomy is no longer ideological positioning but a practical necessity, as India balances energy security, defence partnerships, regional diplomacy, and domestic priorities in an increasingly transactional world order.

This column assesses the international implications of the United States’ unilateral intervention in Venezuela and the detention of a sitting head of state. It explores how such actions weaken multilateral norms, embolden rival powers, unsettle allies, and contribute to a global shift toward power-based diplomacy over rule-based order.

A comparative reflection on leadership cultures shaped by professional experience in European multinationals and Indian corporate environments. The piece contrasts management styles rooted in structure and accountability with those driven by hierarchy and pressure, arguing that leadership behaviour is learned, replicated, and ultimately determines organisational health.

An analysis of how a brief India–Pakistan military confrontation produced disproportionate diplomatic and defence-market outcomes. The article examines how narrative control, perception management, and geopolitical timing allowed Pakistan to extract strategic value despite unresolved economic and political fragility.

A historical and strategic reflection on India’s enduring effort to balance relations between Russia and the United States. The piece traces how trust, memory, and reliability have shaped India’s long-term partnerships, arguing that restraint and balance—rather than alignment—remain central to India’s foreign policy resilience.

An in-depth examination of Bangladesh’s political crisis following the conviction of Sheikh Hasina and its implications for India’s regional diplomacy. The article explores legal, humanitarian, and strategic considerations facing New Delhi as it navigates extradition demands, historical responsibility, and South Asian stability.

A measured assessment of India’s evolving relationship with Israel amid intensifying conflict in West Asia. The piece explains how defence cooperation, technology exchange, and strategic necessity drive New Delhi’s engagement, even as it seeks to preserve balance with Arab partners and uphold humanitarian concerns.

A regional survey of South Asia’s shifting political and security landscape, from Pakistan’s internal instability to Afghanistan’s isolation and China’s expanding influence. The article argues that India’s role as a stabilising power depends on sustained diplomacy, regional engagement, and strategic patience rather than episodic intervention.

A sharp geopolitical analysis examining why Pakistan, despite deep economic weakness and political instability, continues to pose a serious security challenge to India. Tracing the divergent trajectories of India and Pakistan since 1947, this column explores how military dominance, state-sponsored terrorism, and external backing—particularly from China—have allowed a fragile state to remain strategically disruptive. The piece argues that Pakistan’s threat lies not in conventional power but in...

Letters from the Periphery

By: B. S. DARA

In the grey haze of May 2025, war broke out first in ticker tapes and touchscreen war rooms, then not in trenches. India rolled out Operation Sindoor and Pakistan countered with Operation Bunyan al-Marsoos. But what followed wasn’t war in the classical sense, it was theatre. Four days of aerial muscle-flexing, scattered missiles, and scrambled jets spiralled into something far more surreal: a high-definition shadow play where AI-generated dogfights...

Letters from the Periphery

By: B. S. DARA

Imran Khan’s journey from cricket legend to jailed former prime minister reflects the chronic failures of the Pakistani state. It is the story of a state that has never learned to separate power from the military, truth from propaganda, and democracy from managed elections. It is the story of Pakistan.

Letters from the Periphery

By: B. S. DARA

Following the partition of British India in August 1947, two independent nations, India and Pakistan, emerged. Despite their shared historical, cultural, and geographical origins, the paths of these countries have significantly diverged over the past 77 years. This critical analysis evaluates the progress of India and Pakistan since their independence, examining the factors behind India’s relative prosperity and Pakistan’s challenges across various...

Letters from the Periphery

By: B. S. DARA

By: B. S. DARA

Why the Israel–Iran Conflict Has Become a Nuclear Time Bomb

The morning of August 6, 1945, began like any other, sunlit, serene, suspended in the hum of post-war fatigue. In Hiroshima, children laughed in schoolyards, bicycles clicked along narrow streets, and homemakers folded their morning linens. Then, at exactly 8:15 AM, the sky split. A single bomb, named Little Boy, detonated above the city. In 43 seconds, Hiroshima ceased to be a place and became a warning etched in...

By: B S DARA

In times of conflict, truth becomes not just a moral necessity but a national obligation. As India witnessed the developments around Military Operation Sindoor, our nation stood at the cusp of a moment that demanded unity, discretion, and deep resolve. Yet, what unfolded on our television screens, YouTube feeds, and social media timelines was not just irresponsible, it was dangerously incendiary. The Indian media, a section of YouTubers, and scores of anonymous social media...

By: B. S.DARA

India today finds itself in one of the most volatile international environments since the Cold War. The Middle East is sliding into wider conflict, old alliances are being revived, America is gripped by its own political breakdown, and economic nationalism is spreading across the globe. For New Delhi, the world’s largest democracy and a rising voice of the Global South, these shocks carry profound consequences for security, diplomacy, and economic growth.

Two developments in...

By: B. S. DARA

The 2025 ICC Asia Cup, which opened under clouds of bitterness, has ended with a thunderclap. India, undefeated throughout the tournament, humiliated Pakistan not once, not twice, but thrice in the space of two weeks , a clean 3-0 sweep. The crescendo was the Dubai final, where the men in blue thrashed their old rivals to clinch a record ninth Asia Cup title. Yet, when the smoke of fireworks cleared, there was no glittering silverware in Indian hands. Instead, there was a...

By: B. S. DARA

As an NRI returning to my beloved Jammu this year after a long interlude abroad, I found myself deeply pleased to witness the visible transformation of my hometown. The streets gleamed, public spaces looked cleaner, and the ambitious Smart City initiative had clearly begun reimagining Jammu’s urban landscape. Let me say it plainly that Jammu is transforming.

The city’s facelift is real and, in many parts, commendable. Roads gleam under LED lights. Green belts now split traffic...

By: B. S. DARA

The early 20th century in India was like a boiling pot of transformative social and political change, simmering with the fervour of a nation battling for independence from British colonial rule. But a very few people know that at the heart of India’s freedom struggle was a profound ideological conflict, one that pitted Gandhi’s vision of a harmonious, unified society against Ambedkar’s call for radical reform and the dismantling of the caste system. Where Gandhi’s approach was...