Balaji Subramanian - Samvada World

Is the US Trying To Engineer Regime Change In Bangladesh to bring a radical Islamist party to power?

7Nov

By Balaji SubramanianNo Comments

Asia, Featured, World

Is the US Trying To Engineer Regime Change In Bangladesh to bring a radical Islamist party to power?

It seems the US is leaning towards the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) which gets a lot of support from the Islamists who want Sharia law implemented in one of the most secular Muslim-majority countries. With Bangladesh’s upcoming general election scheduled for January 2024, various Islamist groups, including Jamaat-e-Islami and BNP, are vigorously striving to regain power with the backing of Western governments, particularly the Biden administration. Many are calling the regime change in Bangladesh a checking mechanism for India which the US sees as a possible opponent in two decades as its economy grows fast. (This article was first published in The Commune Mag. Republished with permission) There are clear signs that the United States of America is interfering in the affai...

The Hindu’s ‘Frontline’ Turns Frontline For Hamas And Glorifies Them

31Oct

By Balaji SubramanianNo Comments

National

The Hindu’s ‘Frontline’ Turns Frontline For Hamas And Glorifies Them

The latest interview given by Moussa Abu Marzouk who heads Hamas’ international relations office based in Doha, Qatar to Frontline magazine is a new low in woke-liberal journalism that absolves the terror group’s wrongdoings. It is amazing how the left liberals and Islamists normalize and legitimize violence under the cloak of the apostle of peace and use Gandhi as their means to an end. We can now see that in India the universal brotherhood supported by Jamaat-e-Islami Hind who said that Hamas is not a terrorist organization but a ‘resistance movement’ ably supported by those who want to turn Muslim ghettos into mini Gazas. (This article was first published in The Commune Mag. Republished with permission) After the advent of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) at the centre under t...

7Aug

By Balaji Subramanian1 Comment

Book Review, Featured

Quo Vadis Xi and PLA?

If one were to delve into the history of China until 1976, when Mao Zedong one of the greatest mass murderers of all time passed away, there is the story of the greatest human tragedies of modern contemporary history. However, all that changed in 1976 after Mao’s passing as China began a new path toward prosperity under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping who followed the principle of the “Peaceful rise of China” and Hide your strength, bide your time.” But to make a long story short, all that Changed under the present leadership of Xi Jinping who is using the People Liberation Army (PLA) as a continuation of his politics. The book The Dragon’s Bite: Strategic Continuum and Chinese PLA’s Evolving Fire and Teeth written by retired Major General Rajiv Narayanan ...

Modi Leading India in a Geopolitical Fog of Uncertainty: An Anthology of Essays

28Mar

By Balaji SubramanianNo Comments

Book Review, National

Modi Leading India in a Geopolitical Fog of Uncertainty: An Anthology of Essays

The book, 'Modi Shaping a Global Order in Flux' is a seminal collection of essays written by a diverse group of strategic thinkers, scholars, and diplomats with practical knowledge that highlights the statesmanship, leadership, and moral courage of Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi and provides the world with a strong moral compass to resolve disputes. The book is divided into five sections and each chapter addresses various challenges India has encountered since 2019 in a constantly changing geopolitical volatile environment and the complex navigation in a fragile multilateral world each having its own self-interests. This book gives a succinct insight into a variety of subjects like Covid-19 that brought existential challenges for India and how the government managed to ino...

Officer, Hamesha Aage: The Story of K J S ‘Tiny’ Dhillon Lt Gen (Retd)

21Feb

By Balaji SubramanianNo Comments

Book Review, Featured, National

Officer, Hamesha Aage: The Story of K J S ‘Tiny’ Dhillon Lt Gen (Retd)

Lt. Gen. Dhillion lived by these three words - Imandari, Wafadari, Zimmedari and his autobiography exemplifies this through numerous exhilarating instances. “Shed not recklessly the blood of another with thy sword, Lest the Sword on High falls upon thy neck.”Guru Gobind Singh Ji's 'Zafarnama' When I finished reading the autobiography of Lt Gen KJS 'Tiny' Dhillon, it felt like a script written by Quentin Tarantino who is famous for using non-linear narrative as a tool to introduce his characters multiple times, through different characters' perspectives, in all timelines. When I was living in Auckland, New Zealand, I would visit the local Gurudwara on Sundays to listen to the Guru ki Bani and enjoy the "Langar Prasad". Though I heard this sermon over ten years ago, it remained...

3Nov

By Balaji Subramanian4 Comments

Analysis, Europe, Featured, World

Russia-Ukraine Conflict and India

Given the high levels of fear and mistrust on both sides, it is necessary to avoid inadvertent escalations that might spiral things out of control.It is clear that Russia had no intention of invading Ukraine but all it wanted was to prevent it from becoming a satellite state of the US. India has been cajoled and bullied by the West to pick its side in this conflict because it is today an economic and military power. No other country has to walk the tightrope of international relations more than India which needs to have positive economic indicators for growth.A weakened Russia is more dangerous because the weak always act out of desperation and unfortunately a meaningful compromise is not in sight. Woodrow Wilson who was the twenty-eight President of the United States of America in...

Epoch Thinkers, Apex Strategists: Ambedkar and Savarkar – Part 2

17Aug

By Balaji Subramanian2 Comments

Asia, Featured, National

Epoch Thinkers, Apex Strategists: Ambedkar and Savarkar – Part 2

Part 2 (This is the concluding part in the 2-part series on Dr BR Ambedkar and Veer Savarkar. First part can be read here) Over one hundred years ago Vinayak Damodar Savarkar had dreamt of creating a naval fortress to protect India. The analysis by one of the greatest strategic thinkers of modern India has never been proven true as China's spy ship arrives in Sri Lanka, on 16 August, just one day after India celebrated its Seventy-Fifth independence day and the timing has to be suspect. Dr Ashok Modak in his book, Relevance of Savarkar Today, (Prabhat Publication, page number 133) writes, "As Savarkar is facing double life imprisonment, he was dreaming of using Bharat's geo-strategic location to its advantage." Savarkar wanted to nurture India back to its glory days as se...

Epoch Thinkers, Apex Strategists: Ambedkar and Savarkar – Part 1

21Jul

By Balaji Subramanian1 Comment

Asia, Big Block of 4, National

Epoch Thinkers, Apex Strategists: Ambedkar and Savarkar – Part 1

Part 1 (This is the first article in a 2-part series on Dr BR Ambedkar and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar) When India got its independence in 1947 in terms of diplomacy, national security, and the economy, India was in dire straits. And to further compound this problem, the new leader of India was to be the mercurial and quixotic Jawaharlal Nehru who had no understanding of national defense nor did he practice a cogent foreign policy. However, Bharat was blessed with Dr Bheem Rao Ambedkar and Vinayak Damodar Veer Savarkar, two-man of great vision and foresight when it came to matters of national defense and geopolitics. Both men were practical with their approach when it came to foreign policy. Ambedkar believed in laying the groundwork of a strong infrastructure that will allow us s...

Afghanistan, a Graveyard for Empires to Wage Wars

19Jul

By Balaji Subramanian1 Comment

Book Review, Featured

Afghanistan, a Graveyard for Empires to Wage Wars

Afghanistan is often called the 'graveyard of empires' but in reality, it is simply a graveyard where empires go to wage their wars. It is land that has been invaded first by the Persians, Greeks, and then the Arabs who brought Islam after a long struggle against the Hindus and Buddhists who lived there, and later the Mongols under Genghis Khan and many more. However, the two most famous words uttered over one hundred fifty years ago by a British Army officer named Arthur Connolly who coined the term, "Great Game" still resonates one way or another in Afghanistan. Since then its fortune has always been decided by foreigners. In the beginning, the great game was played between Great Britain and Russia. After the end of the Second World War, the United States of America eme...

The Nambi Conspiracy – How Politicians and Vested Interests denied India its Cryogenic Engine

1Jul

By Balaji Subramanian2 Comments

Featured

The Nambi Conspiracy – How Politicians and Vested Interests denied India its Cryogenic Engine

“I would like to emphasize that security can be endangered not only from outside but also from within. That is why we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and the society” - Dr Vikram Sarabhai These ominous words of the father of the Indian space program Vikram Sarabhai came true on 30th Nov 1994. It was on this day Indian space ambition suffered one of its massive setbacks when Nambi Narayanan, the top scientist in the field of cryogenic engine technology which would have enabled India to launch heavier satellites into orbit, was falsely implicated. The sad irony was Narayanan and his team were very close to perfecting the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) that could hoist payloads to the geosynchronous ...