Lt Gen Ashok Bhim Shivane

The author, a PVSM, AVSM, VSM has had an illustrious career spanning nearly four decades. A distinguished Armoured Corps officer, he has served in various prestigious staff and command appointments including Commander Independent Armoured Brigade, ADG PP, GOC Armoured Division and GOC Strike 1. The officer retired as DG Mechanised Forces in December 2017 during which he was the architect to initiate process for reintroduction of Light Tank and Chairman on the study on C5ISR for Indian Army. Subsequently he was Consultant MoD/OFB from 2018 to 2020. He is also a reputed defence analyst, a motivational speaker and prolific writer on matters of military, defence technology and national security. The views expressed are personal and do not necessarily carry the views of Raksha Anirveda

A Quiet Axis, A Loud Message: What China’s Trilateral Diplomacy Signals for India

In diplomacy, symbolism often walks ahead of substance. To seasoned observers of South Asian diplomacy, the Kunming (a city in China) meeting between China, Pakistan, and Bangladesh was a low decibel, high impact signal....

Fordow and the Firestorm: Why India’s West Asia Moment Has Arrived

A History That Refuses to Fade: For those watching the events of June 2025 unfold with shock, history offers little comfort. The United States’ latest kinetic venture is not an aberration but part of a...

The US-Pakistan Nexus: A Strategic Signal India Mustn’t Ignore

Field Marshall Asim Munir, the architect of Pakistan’s terrorism factory, met President Trump over a luncheon meeting and is also expected to meet Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth during...

Op Rising Lion to Op Sindoor 2.0: Six Lessons for India’s Next Round

The Era of Stand-off Attacks: At 06:30 a.m. on June 13,  2025, the Israel Defence Forces lit the desert sky with the opening salvo of Operation Rising Lion. More than two hundred fighters, many of them stealth F-35I...

The Terror State Leading the War on Terror? A Global Farce with Blood on Its Hands

When a terror enabler like Pakistan is made vice-chair of the UN’s Counter-Terrorism Committee, it is not just hypocrisy, it is an act of betraying every victim of terror. Global justice has not just...

The Clash of Strategic Cultures in India’s Neighbourhood: Can Peace Ever Prevail?

Every nation navigates its destiny not merely through weapons and alliances, but through an invisible compass called strategic culture. It is a deep imprint - shaped by history, belief systems, geography, and national traumas...

Defining Victory in Operation Sindoor: From Firepower to Psychological Dominance

The brutal terror attack in Pahalgam was not just another tragic entry in the long history of violence in Kashmir. India’s response under Operation Sindoor was a loud, calculated signal — a move on...

Digital Blades and Silent Strikes: How Operation Sindoor Redefined India’s Warfighting Paradigm

In the early hours of May 7, 2025, the nature of conflict in South Asia changed forever. Operation Sindoor, India’s swift and high-precision military response to the gruesome Pahalgam terror attack, gave a clear...

Sindoor Is the New Red Line: India’s Unmistakable Strategic Message

Operation Sindoor marks a watershed moment in India’s history and the nation's responses to terrorism. It was not a mere continuation of the past trajectory — it was a transformational leap, an inflection point....

From Partition to Pahalgam: Pakistan’s Addiction to Violence

In the annals of modern history, few nations have been as deeply entwined with violence as Pakistan. From its inception in 1947, carved out amidst the bloodshed of Partition, to its continued reliance on...

Operation Bunyan al-Marsus: Pakistan’s Strategic Collapse and Military Embarrassment

When Pakistan launched Operation Bunyan al-Marsus in response to India’s audacious Operation Sindoor, the intended message was resilience, deterrence, and retaliatory prowess. Instead, it unfolded as a high-profile unravelling of Pakistan’s failure in conventional...

Operation Sindoor: India’s Just War on Terror and the Doctrine of Decisive Resolve

Operation Sindoor marks a watershed moment in India’s history and military responses to terrorism. Not since the Balakot airstrikes of 2019 or the ground Surgical Strikes of 2016 has the nation mounted such a...

Why Restraint, Strategy, and National Resilience Prevail After Pahalgam?

In the aftermath of yet another brazen terror strike, India’s blood boils — and rightly so. The public demands justice. The strategic community calls for calibrated retaliation. The political leadership weighs its options. And...
Indian Navy Special EditionLatest Issue