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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
Civilian facade of Thai military
Thai Military Generals have managed to subvert civil rule by manipulating the democratic process Thailand, the favorite destination for Indian tourists, is an instructive case for the study of civil-military relations. Control of the military by civil authority, the accepted democratic norm, is frequently challenged by the Palace, the third player...
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Prachanda’s art of Govt formation
11 January 2023 | Ashok K Mehta -
The eternal flame can’t be partial to our soldiers
26 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
The architecture under which the newly-appointed CDS has been placed and the charter given to him is commendable, provided the system lets him do his work As the first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen Bipin Rawat has hit the ground running. He has been tasked with — or is expected...
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...
