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Late Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (Retd.) was a celebrated soldier, author, thought leader and noted strategic affairs analyst. Graduating from the National Defence Academy in March 1972, Brigadier Kanwal went on to command an Infantry Brigade along the LOC and an Artillery Regiment in Kashmir (1993-1994). He also served as Deputy Assistant Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff.

After taking voluntary retirement in 2003, Brigadier Kanwal joined the Observer Research Foundation and served at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses and Centre for Air Power Studies. He was Director of the Centre for Land Warfare Studies from 2008 to 2012. He was also the co-founder of two think tanks, Forum for Strategic Initiatives (FSI) and the South Asian Institute for Strategic Affairs (SAISA). In November 2012, he was nominated among 50 Thought Leaders by Mail Today. He was awarded the COAS Commendation Card twice. He had contributed extensively to various journals and leading newspapers, including a column in the Statesman for over two years. He was a regular speaker at well-known international think tanks and military institutions.

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“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.”
— THOREAU —

Honours

Life & Work

Writings

Safety and security of India’s N-weapons

Besides posing practical difficulties, the virtual non-involvement of the armed forces in the country's nuclear weapons programme has undermined the credibility of India's nuclear deterrent and raised doubts about the safety and security of nuclear weapons. The need for ensuring the highest...

Strategic Analysis | Apr 5, 2001
India’s Nuclear Force Structure

Background Though the dust has settled over Pokhran and the Chagai Hills since the nuclear blasts of May 1998, their aftershocks are still reverberating round the world. The crossing of the nuclear Rubicon had propelled […]

Strategic Analysis | Sep 1, 2000
National security council – Panacea or pipedream

National security strategy requires a holistic approach, clear concepts for determining vital national security objectives and policies, a viable framework for the successful implementation of the policies, constant monitoring of the security environment to anticipate and pre-empt or neutralize...

Combat Journal | Aug 15, 1996
From strategic partnership to transactional relationship

India's new policy to diversify its sources of defence procurement, especially its reliance on Western weapons platforms despite their greater cost, had not been received well in Russia and the relationship had tended to deteriorate into a transactional rather than a strategic one. Russian leaders...

Defence & Security Alert | Apr 6, 2018
Of brave men and pretty girls

As the battles raged on for the recapture of icy mountain tops from the enemy in Batalik, Kaksar, Dras and Mushkoh Valley sub-sectors of Kargil district, the war cries of a dozen Indian Army regiments […]

Hindustan Times | Aug 30, 1999
China’s long march to world power status: Strategic challenge for India

While China is likely to continue Its present stance of improving relations with India as a period of "Peace and tranquility" will enable China to consolidate both economically and militarily, it is unlikely to countenance India's aspirations to become a major regional power in the Asia-Pacific...

Strategic Analysis | Feb 5, 1999
Free, Fair and Peaceful

They came from all over the Namibian people, young and old, educated and illiterate, rich and poor, of all colours and tithes and many religions, drove in cars, rode buses Or bakkies, flew in by […]

UNTAG Journal | Jan 5, 1990
Mission Kashmir

Most security analysts commenting on the Prime Minister's unilateral declaration of ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir during the holy month of Ramzan have completely missed the primary motivation for the initiative - it reflects the overwhelming desire of the Kashmiri people for peace. Disgusted at...

The Statesman | Dec 3, 2000
Last man standing

Inducted into the theatre of operations well before the actual war began, the US Army's under-cover Delta Force, Green Berets and Rangers; the Navy's SEALS, and a handful of Air Force and Marine Corps units, together with British and Australian SF units, played a bigger role in Iraq than in any...

Force | Jan 1, 2004

Condolences

Sharpening the arsenal: India’s evolving nuclear deterrence policy
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The essence of the defence minister's introspection was that ambiguity enhances deterrence. This view has been expressed by several nuclear strategists. Nuclear doctrines are not written in stone and are never absolutely rigid.

Indian Army Vision 2020
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Indian Army: Vision 2020 examines the threats and their changing nature, identifies the key operational commitments, makes a comparative analysis of how other modern armies are coping and offers a considered guide map for a modern fighting force that is light, lethal and wired to meet the operational challenges of the 21st century.

Pakistan’s Proxy War
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This book presents an incisive analysis of the trends and prospects of Pakistan`s proxy war and its wider ramifications. Specific recommendations focus on the pro-active military measures that are necessary to regain control over the vitiated security situation and restore normalcy.

Heroes of Kargil

This book recounts in graphic detail the raw courage under fire displayed by the young officers and heroic fight back against daunting odds. It is a tribute to the young heroes and gallant martyrs of the campaign that stirred the national consciousness like nothing else before.