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  SPRINGING THE ‘THUCYDIDES TRAP’   “ In contentious times, analysing deeds and recognising patterns in key events is a surer way for an observer to timely deduce the likely turn of events. ” – Col RS Sidhu   ‘Thucydides Trap’ On 14 th of May 2026, the paramount leader of China, Xi Jinping during his Summit with POTUS Donald Trump in Beijing, used an interesting catchphrase by calling upon the two countries to transcend the ‘ Thucydides Trap ’ . The axiom ‘ Thucydides Trap ’, refers to the inevitability of war when the rise of a challenger threatens the supremacy of an established power. This expression is named after Greek historian Thucydides, who first propounded this principle in the context of geopolitical challenge by Athens to the supremacy of Sparta, resulting in the long drawn out Peloponnesian Wars in ancient Greece during the 5 th century BCE. By using this phrase in context of the adversarial relationship between China and the US, Xi Jinping ...
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  RUMINATIONS ON REINTEGRATION OF MECHANISED FORCES “ The mechanised forces, with their inherent potential to shift the battlefield centre of gravity by their very presence, are the decisive arm in land battle, from the high altitude plateaus down to the plains, deserts, and the littoral regions. ” – Col RS Sidhu   Backdrop The Directorate General Mechanised Forces (DGMF) was established in 1986 by amalgamating the Directorate of Armoured Corps and the Mechanised Infantry Regiment, newly raised in 1979, after detaching the latter from the Directorate General of Infantry. Incidentally, the decision of 1979 to amalgamate the Mechanised Infantry battalions into a new Regiment was vehemently opposed by both the Corps of Infantry and the Armoured Corps . This opposition led to several attempts to disband the Regiment in the first two decades of its existence. Reversion of battalions to erstwhile parent regiments, reassigning ICVs to ASC transport battalions with perm...
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  Akhand Bharat SENSING AN AD HOC APPROACH TO THEATRE COMMAND REFORMS “ In the absence of a National Security Strategy vision document, the impending Theatre Command reforms suspiciously look like an adhoc consensus achieved in the Chiefs Of Staff Committee (COSC) on equitable distribution of spoils of higher posts between the three protagonists Armed Services .” – Col RS Sidhu   Backdrop Emerging news reports indicate the Indian apex military hierarchy reaching a broad consensus on forwarding a draft on Theatre Command reforms to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) by the end of April/May 2026, coinciding with the end of extended tenure of the current Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) . The draft document is reportedly recommending three Theatre Commands by integrating the Tri-service resources. A Lucknow based Northern Theatre Command headed by Army , a Western Theatre Command at Jaipur headed by Air Force , and a Thiruvanthapuram Maritime Theatre Command under the Navy . At th...
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  Silver Warriors Kolkata GTG Kolkata – Sunderbans – Gangasagar 15 – 20 March 2026 An ode to the Silver Warriors, a mad Collective… “ One of the biggest certainties of life, other than death, and the surest fire way to induce even the role model adults of high society and governance to descend into adolescence behavioral displays, is by throwing them into the company of their early life adolescence peer group .” - Col RS Sidhu Preamble – Definition of a Coursemate The Silver Warriors Kolkata GTG, held amidst the ‘ Agent Orange ’ induced spreading conflagration in the Levant and India’s near abroad, best showcases the country’s singular geopolitical achievement, of standing tall as the only symbol of regional stability and strength amidst burning chaos, and being courted by all the protagonists. Preparations for this major event were underway for more than the past six months, and not one cautionary opinion was voiced by any participant, urging calling off the show, ...
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