- Home
- Columnists
- Ashok K Mehta
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
Dealing with the dragon
The indomitable neighbour in China is testing India’s diplomacy and prowess; but we are found wanting on both as it goes all out to extract its pound of flesh India missed a good opportunity in nudging the disengagement and de-escalation process at the Samarkand summit last week after China had made...
-
After much ado, Truss is UK PM
07 September 2022 | Ashok K Mehta -
Pakistan's perennial existential crisis
24 August 2022 | Ashok K Mehta -
Peace in J&K is still a pipe dream
10 August 2022 | Ashok K Mehta -
Eastern Europe bats for Ukraine
27 July 2022 | Ashok K Mehta -
The rise and fall of political dynasties
13 July 2022 | Ashok K Mehta -
Stop messing with our military
29 June 2022 | Ashok K Mehta -
On Defence, Govt running on empty
15 June 2022 | Ashok K Mehta
Sri Lanka hopes for a rising tide
Following the worst economic crisis in Sri Lankan history, the magic of the Rajapaksa clan is on the wane. Ranil Wickeremesinghe is now the go-to man It’s Day 54 of ‘Gota Go Home’ protests. The protestors representing all sections of society have thinned but the resolve to get President Gotabaya Rajapaksa...
Govt fumbling on Defence issues
The 26-month blanket ban on recruitment and rethinking over the charter of CDS are casting a shadow on our operational capabilities A nationalist Government that treats national security as a sacred patriotic duty has surprisingly pulled the brakes and taken a laid-back position on two critical Defence matters: Recruitment of Personnel...
Don’t compromise on military muscle
Many regimental centres have not trained troops for nearly two years owing to the ban on recruitments on account of COVID The social media is aflutter with confusing news about military recruitment, which has been suspended for more than two years on account of COVID. As unemployed youth yearning to become...
The nation awaits a CDS after Rawat
The conjecture among the Services officers is that the delay in appointing the new Chief of Defence Staff is linked to the Army chief of choice It is eminently clear why the Government has shown no sense of urgency in appointing a permanent Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) to replace late...
Don’t neglect Army recruitment rallies
Recruitment has been frozen for two years due to the pandemic but the Defence Ministry seems oblivious to the perilous shortfalls due to this Pradeep Mehra, the lad captured in a video jogging 10 km in his preparation to join the Army, has a place guaranteed provided he is kosher in...
Nostalgia: The days of yore at RIMC
The 100-year history of the Rashtriya Indian Military College is replete with great men, stories of their achievements and playful mischiefs At my age, memory is fading more gracefully than are my Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) and Gorkha silk ties. The RIMC, when I joined in 1950, was called...
A helping hand for our neighbour Lanka
The gritty little nation is gasping for survival in the face of a never-before economic crunch, and India must do what it can to help it out In the new year, India has seen more official engagement with Sri Lanka than with any other country. The country, which is struggling under...
