Dear Readers,
An unsuccessful but costly Fidayeen attack at a somewhat far corner of the Army’s Corps Headquarters at Nagrota, rise of disconcert among people on the effects of de-monetisation of currency notes while hoarders of black money find ingenuous ways to hoodwink the system, and the confabulations during the ‘Heart of Asia’ Conference in Amritsar are the reckonable events of the past fortnight.
The Fidayeen attack, ostensibly to avenge the lawfully hanged traitor Afzal Guru, was aimed at breaking into a group of officers’ family quarters which is located at a limb adjacent to a jungle. Three suicidal terrorists, heavily armed and equipped, carried out the attack at morning wee hours. Hurried reaction by unprepared troops foiled the attackers’ mission but at a heavy cost of seven casualties. Three aspects need to be borne in mind in this regard: One, once the terrorists have infiltrated and got on to the National Highway, they can travel any distance over a short period especially when in uniform. So Nagrota was well within their reach; two, whereas in present kind of situation and based on past experience, there is a requirement to have a certain level of defense mechanism working in all cantonments, these cannot be turned into fortified stations. Besides the normal protection, a number of Quick Reaction Teams deployed will provide reasonable defence; and three, it is very clear that the better policy would be to inflict heavy punishment on Pakistan for any such misadventure.
That indeed was the focus during the Heart of Asia Conference which saw, for the first time, Pakistan being shamed by an international forum unanimously. However, for a state habitually intransigent, it is difficult to visualize Pakistan mending her ways any time soon.
In the economic front, the shortage of currency notes has created some inconvenience. However, the public across the board is supporting the Modi Govt to weed out black money and put a stop to corruption. Never has the nation displayed such resolve for this kind of policy. As the 50 days deadline set by the Prime Minister approaches, the Government must set in motion emergent measures to remove the shortcoming faced by the public so far.
This fortnight, we have on our Website a number of interesting articles for you to read and contemplate. We also have reports on three of our meaningful interactions that we had this fortnight. One was with the Ambassador of Norway who discussed the issues related to the Europe politics. The other two interactions were with the think tanks of the mainland People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Taiwan based Republic of China (ROC).
These and more are to be found on our Website www.vifindia.org. I enjoin you to peruse these to the advancement of your insight.
Happy reading,
Yours Sincerely,
General N C Vij
Director, Vivekananda International Foundation
New Delhi
Articles
When Leaders Must Flex Muscles to Demonstrate Intent of Purpose
Rajesh Singh
Ever since the Union Government sounded the demonetisation bugle on November 8, various political leaders and sundry experts Read More...
China’s Stance towards Pakistan Occupied Kashmir: Recent Developments
Dr Teshu Singh, Senior Research Associate, VIF
Given its geo-strategic location, China has been keenly interested in the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) for long. Read More...
Rising Uncertainty in ASEAN: Bandwagoning or Hedging Against China?
Prerna Gandhi, Research Associate, VIF
Events post Hague International Tribunal ruling on South China Sea in July of this year have been a paradox Read More...
Meet the New Chief; Same as the Old Chief?
Sushant Sareen, Senior Fellow, VIF
In all the anticipation and excitement surrounding the announcement of the appointment of Pakistan’s next Army Chief Read More...
Event Report
Interaction with H.E. Nils Ragnar Kamsvåg, Norway’s Ambassador to India
Amid growing uncertainties over Brexit, especially in the Eurozone and the UK, the VIF invited Norway’s current Ambassador to India, H.E. Nils Ragnar Kamsvag, on November 28, 2016, for a talk on the current state of play in Europe in post Brexit. General NC Vij, Director VIF, welcomed the visiting dignitary and introduced him to the VIF faculty. Read More...
Interaction with Delegation from Guangdong Institute for International Strategies
A four member delegation led by Prof. Sui Guangjun, Vice President of Guangdong Institute for International Strategies and Party Secretary of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies interacted with the VIF faculty led by Amb. Satish Chandra Read More...
Interaction with Taiwan Delegation from National Defense University
A two member delegation from Taiwan’s National Defence University comprising of Dr. Shen, Ming-Shih, Director War College of NDU and Col. Chen, Yeng Chuan interacted with the VIF faculty on 28 November 2016. Read More...