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Lt Gen H S Panag (Retd)

Lt Gen H S Panag (Retd)

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Trump’s military purge holds key lesson for India–it takes a straight spine to course-correct

Indian military hierarchy must learn from US–loyalty must be constitutional, not political.

10.04.2025 10

ThePrint

Lt Gen H S Panag (Retd)

Punjab police is protecting its officers. Army left Colonel Bath to fight his battle on his own

Ever-increasing cases of police high-handedness against soldiers are impacting the morale of the Armed Forces. It is only a matter of time before the...

03.04.2025 10

ThePrint

Lt Gen H S Panag (Retd)

Russia-Ukraine war shows why Indian Army must integrate drones into its combined arms

Drones are certainly the cheapest and most effective precision-guided munition. However, their impact on the tactical battlefield is evolutionary...

13.03.2025 20

ThePrint

Lt Gen H S Panag (Retd)

Trump is offering India stale weapons. Not in sync with Aatmanirbharta

On the face of it, the joint statement on defence ticks all the right boxes. However, the two-decade-long India-US defence cooperation has promised...

27.02.2025 10

ThePrint

Lt Gen H S Panag (Retd)

Indian Army must adopt subterranean warfare to counter China. Learn from military history

The military differential between India and China is predominantly in the domains of electronic and cyber warfare, and in the quality and quantity of...

13.02.2025 10

ThePrint

Lt Gen H S Panag (Retd)

India can’t sit at high table with this defence budget. Viksit Bharat 2047 is impossible

Adopting a similar model to China, India should transform its armed forces to be in a position to challenge Beijing by 2035 and seek parity in...

06.02.2025 4

ThePrint

Lt Gen H S Panag (Retd)

Definite change in Kashmir. Violence exists only because terrorists have adapted, Army hasn’t

India must transition from ‘conflict management’ to ‘conflict termination’ in J&K. For this, a de novo political and military approach is required.

23.01.2025 10

ThePrint

Lt Gen H S Panag (Retd)

Indian Army is right to make Lt Gen promotions merit-based. More reforms are needed

The selection system of Service Chiefs and the CDS remains opaque, making it open to unethical interference both from within the armed forces and from...

09.01.2025 7

ThePrint

Lt Gen H S Panag (Retd)

Shivaji statue in Ladakh is part of an unfortunate trend. Indian Army must introspect

The most suitable place to honour Shivaji would have been Leh. As a regimental icon of the Maratha Light Infantry, his reverence should have been...

02.01.2025 3

ThePrint

Lt Gen H S Panag (Retd)

General’s letter on women officers was flawed, not ‘patriarchal’. There was truth to it

Current problems stem from a hastily executed policy and the inadequate grooming of women officers for higher ranks. They will, in future, be...

26.12.2024 20

ThePrint

Lt Gen H S Panag (Retd)

1971 surrender painting celebrated a real victory. New COAS lounge art offers mythology

The surrender painting was tangible and factual — a depiction of the armed forces’ finest hour. The replacement painting is steeped in religiosity,...

19.12.2024 10

ThePrint

Lt Gen H S Panag (Retd)

India must learn from China’s red line to the US. And send Beijing a message

India must warn China that the present borders defined by the LAC cannot be changed and using the border dispute to impose hegemony will be...

28.11.2024 4

ThePrint

Lt Gen H S Panag (Retd)

Restoring public confidence after Uber & Strava rows is crucial. Armed forces must give clarity

Self-styled experts on social media cannot be allowed to ridicule IAF. Domain experts from IDS must brief media on the Indian military's...

21.11.2024 3

ThePrint

Lt Gen H S Panag (Retd)

India-China border can’t be changed. Formalising LAC as the redline is the answer

The India-China crisis has led to a de facto delineation of the 1959 Claim Line in Ladakh. Why can’t this delineation be extended to the rest of...

07.11.2024 20

ThePrint

Lt Gen H S Panag (Retd)

India-China disengagement is tactical. Won’t impact border dispute or power tussle

The quest for territory is not the driver of the border dispute; it is merely China’s tool to assert hegemony. India needs until at least 2047 to...

31.10.2024 10

ThePrint

Lt Gen H S Panag (Retd)

Indian Army’s first brush with the PLA was in 1951. The windfall was Chushul airfield

The incident of 1951 in Ladakh's Chushul is a lesser-known historical fact. It was India's first brush with the PLA under unusual circumstances.

24.10.2024 10

ThePrint

Lt Gen H S Panag (Retd)

Gaza, Ukraine being fought on techno-battlefields. Indian military is 3 decades behind

My assessment is that the Indian armed forces are adopting emerging technologies for incremental change and not transformation—which is the need of...

03.10.2024 3

ThePrint

Lt Gen H S Panag (Retd)

Normalising India-China relations is an economic need. Modi is right to seek peace

Any future tactical agreement in Eastern Ladakh will be based on India accepting the 1959 claim line. The diplomatic challenge is to reach a face-...

26.09.2024 10

ThePrint

Lt Gen H S Panag (Retd)

SIG Sauer 716 rifles are a stopgap. AK-203 is the future rifle of Indian armed forces

The recent order of 73,000 SIG Sauer rifles has triggered debate on India’s long quest for a modern rifle. The India-Russia AK-203 joint production...

12.09.2024 5

ThePrint

Lt Gen H S Panag (Retd)

Russia-Ukraine war to intensify. India has a year to bring peace—start with a conference

Since a peace initiative is not likely before next year, heavy fighting before the winter is inevitable, with each side trying to capture more...

05.09.2024 10

ThePrint

Lt Gen H S Panag (Retd)

Regaining the confidence of Bangladeshis is key to safeguarding India’s national security

An unfriendly government in Bangladesh can dilute the BIMSEC programme, undermining India’s status as a regional and emerging world power.

22.08.2024 4

ThePrint

Lt Gen H S Panag (Retd)

Ismail Haniyeh assassination is a covert ops benchmark for India

We must stop fixating on ‘Israeli model’ in Gaza to deal with terrorism and conventional threats. Ismail Haniyeh killing holds deeper lessons.

15.08.2024 10

ThePrint

Lt Gen H S Panag (Retd)

Jammu insurgency can be fixed by the Army. The real solution is political

There are 3 facets to resolving the crisis in J&K—avoiding outright military confrontation, optimising the counter-insurgency grid, and...

08.08.2024 3

ThePrint

Lt Gen H S Panag (Retd)