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Maritime Forces in Pursuit
of National Security
However, when, on the one hand, the Indian Navy demonstrated its utility during the Bangladesh war by blockading Karachi and, on the other, its vulnerability in the face of the looming US naval intervention on behalf of Pakistan became manifest, attempts — albeit spasmodic — have been made to acquire not only blue-water capabilities but also to develop credible strategic deterrence. The author points out that this has become all the more urgent in the post-Cold War scenario wherein China is fast filling in the power vacuum not just in the Indo-Pacific region but in the Indian Ocean proper too. Already China has more or less hemmed India in by building the Gwadar port facilities in Pakistan, and by having strategic tie-ups with Myanmar, and Bangladesh as well as cooperation with Sri Lanka. All this poses a grave threat to India's deep-sea food and mineral resources, strategic assets, including its far-flung island territories. Then its sea-lanes, that are so necessary for imports of crude-oil and natural gas etc, too are becoming increasingly vulnerable not only to interventions by foreign navies but also to possible terrorist strikes. This book, which lucidly delineates the emerging post-globalisation geo-strategic scenario, is a valuable input not only for our strategic planners but also for mainstream opinion makers. Freedom
When the late Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung uttered these words he was perhaps underscoring the perils of becoming a slave to habits. And if one becomes a slave to alcohol or drugs, well, then one has unwittingly pressed the self-destruct button. Self-esteem begins to dwindle, family, social and professional lives take a nosedive and, what is worse, one allows the 'no hope' placard to hang from one's neck. Truly, intemperance is the worst kind of slavery. This book claims that you can gain and retain freedom from this slavery through a systematic regimen, which it explains quite comprehensively. Women in Peace Politics
Firstly, it examines the symbiosis between war and peace — is the latter a mere derivative of the former or is it a distinct, well-defined phenomenon on its own? True, peace cannot be straitjacketed in a definition. It is a multi-dimensional, perhaps subjective, but definitely an ever evolving, concept. The present discourse, while acknowledging that all women are not necessarily peace-mongers, looks upon them as 'visionaries and agents of peace' primarily because they suffer the most in conflict situations — be these international wars or local insurgencies and other antagonisms. We learn how women in different South Asian countries have carved out space for themselves as peace negotiators — acquiring credibility and authority in the process by asserting their status as mothers. This book chronicles varied experiences, reactions and viewpoints of women who are placed in variegated situations. Erudite, enlightening and absorbing read.
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Hardheaded
"EVERY form of
addiction is bad, no matter whether the narcotic be alcohol or morphine
or idealism."
THIS South Asia-specific
volume's preface contextualises several related issues and concepts in
order to delineate the framework for the main discourse, viz., the role
of South Asian women in peace politics.