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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

Opportunistic Oli?
China’s mission is to prevent a formal split in the NCP after Parliament dissolution but the Nepal PM says he wants to be ‘a real friend of India’ Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali is in New Delhi for the 6th Meeting of India-Nepal Joint Commission. The invitation was given before Nepal Prime...
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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
01 January 2020 | Ashok K Mehta -
An unstable Nepal
20 December 2019 | Ashok K Mehta -
An avoidable battlefront
04 December 2019 | Ashok K Mehta
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...
Break the impasse
The international community is keen on an India-Pakistan dialogue. The Government must seize the window of opportunity at the grand opening of the Kartarpur Corridor Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Gujarat to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, (not father of...
Lanka’s electoral test
With presidential polls in Sri Lanka scheduled later this year, internal security is one domain that is going to be on the minds of citizens The space for presidential contenders in Sri Lanka’s election on November 16 is crowding. The hopefuls are from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), the breakaway...
Needed, a healing touch
The Army remains the ultimate protector of the Sri Lankan people but there’s a need to track down human rights violations. The country must also stop demonising Muslims Last month, the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) held its ninth annual defence seminar under the shadow of the tragic Easter Sunday bombings in...