FAUJI INDIA - August 2017

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Our armed forces have a new Supreme Commander, with President Ram Nath Kovind now in Rashtrapati Bhawan. But his role will be essentially ceremonial – at least in matters on national security – as is our democratic tradition, with executive decisions on matters military being in the hands of the PM and his cabinet colleagues. What however goes unnoticed and is rarely highlighted, is the steadfast support of India's military establishment to India's civil leadership, unlike the pro-active role that the Pakistan Army plays.
And while much of India's media has remained focused on developments in Pakistan – though my view is that a quasi-democratic set up will be in place in Pakistan, since that gives hope to the world – the real threat to India is from the Chinese, not just at the Doklam area, since that could be a 'feint' but with China's overarching support to Pakistan, and its anti-Indian agenda. India of 2017 is a much more confident nation, and therefore has chosen to stand up to the Chinese design of claiming what they like, and expecting the world to accept it (as it is doing in the South China Sea).