Author: David Devadas

Senior journalist and author David Devadas writes late Masud Choudhary was an inspiration to two generations of Gujjars, and many others, in the Jammu, Samba, Rajouri, and Poonch regions.

Union law minister Kiren Rijiju recently suggested that Maharaja Hari Singh was willing to accede the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir to India in the summer of 1947, but then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru was unresponsive, since he wanted Sheikh Abdullah to have a leading role. It is true that Nehru gave primacy to […]

While raking up the past, let us also remember that India took to the UNSC a straight-forward request that, in order to avert war, the UN should make Pakistan withdraw all its personnel from the state, which was now a part of India. Under the British delegation's influence, the UN turned that simple request into an issue for the Security Council to arbitrate between Pakistan and India.

The whole story is a bit like Alice in Wonderland. First, a Bollywood starlet decided to troll an army commander. That was bad form. But her comment itself was based on a misconception about what happened at the Battle of Galwan on 15th June 2020. And most of the responses which have slammed her for […]

Author and analyst David Devadas argues that Indian wargamers must take lessons on how Chinese supply lines could be disrupted – and Indian diplomats must ensure that Western and Asian countries share intelligence that allows pinpoint targeting.

Several right-wing Indian thinkers would be disappointed by the US mid-term election results. They would have hoped these polls would be a springboard for Donald Trump’s triumphant march back to power in 2025. For, they would expect a Trump presidency to be good for a Modi-led India. (It would be — though Biden has not […]

Recent statements of defence minister Rajnath Singh and the corps commander in Srinagar reveal that some of those in authority are considering aggressive moves to retake areas of Jammu and Kashmir that are currently controlled by Pakistan, widely referred as “Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir”.  Referring to a 1994 parliamentary resolution, Singh, during his recent J&K visit, said India’s […]

So, on Diwali, former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak got the support of enough British MPs to become the next prime minister of the United Kingdom (UK). That happened on Diwali was a coincidence, but must have pleased Sunak no end. Remember, he had very publicly performed gau puja (cow worship) during his earlier […]

Melting Himalayan glaciers have contributed to Pakistan’s horrifying floods. This is an opportunity for India, Nepal and Bhutan to take whatever measures they can to prepare for such devastating events.

Let’s not forget that the current havoc in Pakistan is on the western edge of Jammu and Kashmir – although it has affected areas far beyond. The disaster stems largely from glacier melts in the part of Jammu and Kashmir controlled by Pakistan. Indeed, the heart of the havoc is Swat, which was once considered […]