There must be a cheaper method of ensuring security for India. I am referring to the talk that is going around about the US selling F-16 fighter planes to India. I don’t know how much they cost exactly but I guess that they go for about a $100 million a piece. India may end up getting about 125 of them from the US for a whopping $10 billion. There is much rejoicing going on in some circles at that prospect. For me, that is one of the most depressing news …

Don’t let me stop your great self-destruction. Die if you want to, you misguided martyr. I wash my hands of your demolition. Die if you want to, you innocent puppet! ————– Pilate to Jesus at the trial in Jesus Christ Superstar.
Fact: A permanent arms industry requires perpetual wars for its sustenance.
Fact: The most advanced industrialized economies have the most high-tech industries.
Fact: The arms industry …

Anant in a recent comment on this blog concluded with the seemingly wise statement “to revenge is pleasure, to forgive divine.” I say seemingly wise because it does not withstand any level of scrutiny. Forgiving an enemy may or may not be a very wise principle if you are dealing with an individual. Being magnanimous towards someone who in a momentary lapse of reason has harmed you could be a good strategy if the person realizes his folly and is genuinely sorry about his aberrant behavior. But it could be …

Economic development is a complex matter which touches every aspect of a society, public as well as private, domestic as well as foreign. One cannot seek to understand (and subsequently act to change) the existing order by narrowly focusing on a just a few aspects of development. It is in that spirit of eclectic investigation that I recently wrote on the true weapons of mass destruction. Understanding conflict and how to minimize conflict is as important to development as the use of IT tools and other …

Over fourty-three years ago in January 1961, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower in his farewell address warned of the dangers of the “military-industrial complex”. In view of the upcoming US presidential elections and the global conflict that the US is engaged in, I think it is appropriate to carefully consider what he had to say.

A report by Josey Joseph in the Oct 14th Times of India warmed the cockles of my heart. The story is about the supply of military equipment from the US to Pakistan. Quote:
… On the pipeline are more than $1.5 billion worth of military supplies over five years. Plus, numerous futuristic deals.

Ever wonder why poor nations are poor and rich nations are rich? I don’t. I believe I know why the poor stay poor and the rich get rich. Consider this from The Wall Street Journal of Jan 19th. The report is titled India and US to Improve Ties. Here is an excerpt:
Washington also sees India becoming a big buyer of U.S.-made arms. In the past two years, India has purchased roughly $200 million of American arms and is in negotiations to purchase P3 Orion maritime-patrol …

A report in the online edition of India Today, INDO-US RELATIONS HIGH ON TECH starts off imaginatively with
Imagine a commercial satellite blasting off from the Sriharikota Space Centre with NASA-ISRO painted on the launch vehicle. Or building modern weapons using Indian software and US technology. It is the kind of vision Indian and US strategists dine on.
While the Indian and US strategists dine on the mouth-watering prospect of building modern weapons, the poor in India get to dine on nothing. To a large extent, chronic hunger is …