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Ashok K Mehta
Ashok K Mehta is a retired Lt General of the Indian Army. He writes extensively on defence matters and anchors Defence Watch on Doordarshan
The eternal flame can’t be partial to our soldiers
The ‘othering’ of Indian soldiers in colonial times was the biggest disservice to the collective memory of the armed forces; it must be rectified now In his book Surrender at Dacca: Birth of a Nation, Lt Gen JFR Jacob utilised one page to state: “The rifle and helmet that forms the...
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The legacy of truly martial Wellington
12 January 2022 | Ashok K Mehta -
Arunachal intrusions a big cause for worry
27 January 2021 | Ashok K Mehta -
Opportunistic Oli?
14 January 2021 | Ashok K Mehta -
Repeated failures
16 December 2020 | Ashok K Mehta -
LAC deadlock continues
02 December 2020 | Ashok K Mehta -
Mixed bag of achievements
29 January 2020 | Ashok K Mehta -
Take the bull by the horns
15 January 2020 | Ashok K Mehta
Arrest the widening gulf
2019 is ending on a sombre note — the economy is in a shambles and the nation is polarised as never before. The Modi-Shah duo must discard its Hindutva projects for a better year ahead Looking back at 2019, the defining image of the year captured by The Indian Express was...
An unstable Nepal
Kathmandu may have a Government completing its full term in 2023 but Oli’s physical incapacity to be the Prime Minister will be the inflection point in Nepalese politics Three events witnessed by me recently have come to dominate the political landscape in Nepal: A new power-sharing deal between ailing Prime Minister...
An avoidable battlefront
The concurrent rise of China and the communist parties of Nepal in South Asia is a fundamental shift in negating India’s primacy in Kathmandu. We must scale up ties in the neighbourhood Who would have ever imagined that effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had conquered the hearts and minds...
Forget the brag, get real
Like in J&K, where the Government’s decision to split the former State into two Union Territories has led to resentment, undemocratic methods are allegedly under way in Nagaland, too On November 20, Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated in the Rajya Sabha that after more than 100 days, the situation in...
Power shift in Colombo
Sri Lanka’s new President Gotabaya has vowed to maintain neutral but friendly relations with foreign powers. He must be judged by his deeds, not words Gotabaya (Gota) Rajapaksa’s decisive victory in the presidential election was not entirely surprising though it has shocked the liberals in Colombo, becoming the most ethnically polarised...
The cross of valour
Three Victoria Crosses for Second Fifth Gorkhas are a reminder of unparalleled action that prevented the Japanese army from reaching India Three Victoria Cross-winning actions of a single unit along the Tiddim-Bishenpur-Imphal road and one unknown British Sergeant and seven soldiers in a trench along with others at Garrison Hill in...
A ride into military school
The defence academy at Khadakwasla is truly tri-service and a unique training institution, which sows the seeds of camaraderie, military ethos, customs and traditions Returning to one’s roots in soldiering is replete with nostalgia, inspiration and feeling 10 years younger. Revisiting the National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla, Maharashtra, after more than...
