Year: 2026

On the movie Dhurandhar 2 : The Revenge

Harpreet Uncategorized , , , , , ,

Folks, sharing my thoughts on #Dhurandhar2TheRevenge. As I said in this tweet below, INTENSE is the word.
It is quite a bit different from Dhurandhar1, in my opinion. I’ll try and explain how and why.
Let’s see how it goes ..

(Link to above tweet)

At the outset, I’ll leave This Blog Post about the first part here.
Needless to say, the team of @AdityaDharFilms, @AdityaRajKaul, @RanveerOfficial, @ActorMadhavan, @yamigautam and all others associated with the film have once again outdone themselves.

I’ll assume most folks here have already seen the film.

However, aim of this blog post is not to review the film itself, but instead, to talk about the ‘Dhurandhar Effect’ and some personal insights into what has been shown in the film.

IMO, if the first part was about giving vent to the frustrations that people of my generation felt as we went thru mindless terror attacks in the 80s, 90s and all the way upto the Mumbai Attacks of 2008.

A bomb blast every couple of months had become the norm.

Pakistan sponsored terror was at its peak till about the Mumbai Terror Attacks and for some more time thereafter. All that we could do was sit in impotent rage, seeing our country do nothing.
No wonder the Paakis were so cocky.
No wonder, Dhurandhar1 shows them thusly.

Dhurandhar1 was about ‘Edge of the Seat’ violence as Hamza went about systematically annihilating all roadblocks in his ascent to the top. #Dhurandhar2TheRevenge, however, is more about a sense of anticipation as the race to the climax builds up.

‘Will He Survive?’ is the question in everyone’s mind, especially towards the latter half of the film.
In the end, he does survive .. but one leaves with another doubt all over again : ‘Did he actually survive as the Jaskirat / Hamza that he was before it all ended?’

That’s the beauty of this production.
It leaves you strangely satisfied at the end of the nearly eight hours of both movies, and it also leaves you with a battleground of thoughts within.

Both these Dhurandhar movies will survive for decades to come, and be studied over and over again .. not just for cinematic brilliance but also about how films as a medium turned the mood of an entire Nation. I know some folks will take offence at my saying so, but I think about the impact that Ramanand Sagar Ji’s Ramayan had in changing the destiny of the Nation, as I try to get a handle on the impact of Dhurandhar.

Both the Dhurandhar movies have been unabashed in NOT being politically correct.
Unabashed in showing the terror factories of Pakistan in all their dirtiness.
Unabashed about showing the hatred that Pakistanis have towards India/Hindus.

I’ll just leave these short clips from Pakistani Senate to reinforce the points I made in the tweet above. Mind you, these are Paaki Parliamentarians speaking INSIDE their parliament – one gloating about the glory of Pulwama attack & one fantasizing about destroying Ram Mandir!

They won’t mind one bit if you and I die in a terror attack on our own soil, sponsored by their country.
And then there are those within our borders who are AGHAST that a movie shows Pakistani terrorists getting killed inside Pakistan!

Let me also share another snap that talks about ‘Peak Detailing’ by @AdityaDharFilms. When Major Iqbal finally snaps at his father and reminds him that his pants were removed by Indians in 1971 he wasn’t joking!
The Brown Panted ones were indeed systematically ‘Depanted’ in 1971!

Of course, just to be clear, I do claim copyright to the phrase ‘Depanted’!

(Link to above tweet)

While on the topic of Major Iqbal’s family, remember his father gloating about raping thousands of Bengali women in Erstwhile East Pakistan? Well, that is yet another fact that is repeatedly downplayed by Pakistanis but refuses to die, because it is ABSOLUTELY TRUE.

And of course there is that special child sired by Major Iqbal. I am aghast that no one in the ‘Peak Detailing’ Brigade linked it to the rampant cousin marriages in Pakistan and the resultant genetic disorders caused by inbreeding out there!

On the topic of cousin marriages, here is a short ‘chronological’ thread that I had done some years ago.
MUST have a look!

Ok, back to the movie as such.
One big difference that I found in the first and the second part was that in the first part, even the villains were humanized (credit for this insight to @speaknsee who highlighted this in his review of the first part)

But in a marked contrast, in #Dhurandhar2‌TheRevenge, the baddies were shown with the absolute contempt that they deserve. All that they were shown worthy of was slow, agonizing and painful deaths.
Once again, immensely satisfying to watch.

@AdityaDharFilms commenced the movie with a Shlok from the Bhagavad Gita. In light of what I wrote above, I was reminded of this realization that dawned on me when I myself read a version of the revered epic some years ago.

(Link to above tweet)

Yes, it is a BOUNDEN DUTY to annihilate enemies of your Nation.
And this is exactly what Hamza did, guided as he was by Sanyal Saab and all others.
And the way he did it!

Both parts of Dhurandhar showed action and violence in a way that no other Bollywood movie has managed to do before.
There were none of those flying cars launched with gas cylinders, or laws of physics are optional!

The action and dare I say, VIOLENCE, in Dhurandhar has been exceptional.

What the two-part Dhurandhar has done to Bollywood will only become apparent in the months and years to come. Remember the shrill noises of disapproval and sermonizing reviews by the Bollywood ecosystem during Dhurandhar1?
Did you see even 10% of that for #Dhurandhar2‌TheRevenge?
Looks like they did get the message – not only on Social Media, but via Box Office as well.
Period.

If Dhurandhar1 was about the build-up of frustration at unpunished terror from Pakistan, #Dhurandhar2‌TheRevenge was about REVENGE .. icy cold revenge.
It was about the rise of a new India.
It was based on actual change in sentiment in the middle of the previous decade.

The defining dialogue of this film was when Ajay Sanyal gives a free hand to Hamza.
The sense of anticipation amongst the audience was instantaneous.
And Hamza went berserk!
As if the lid on a pressure cooker finally gave way.

The hero, and through him India, was not merely waiting and/or reacting. This time he was causing things to happen.
This time HE had taken the lead and taken control of the escalation ladder.
This time he was the reflection of an increasingly confident country.

The Dhurandhar Duology has given an expression to the feelings most of us have had within our hearts but were unable to express for various reasons, one amongst them being the fear of being labelled as an ‘extremist’, just for daring to speak against Pakistan sponsored terror!

Of course, the erstwhile ecosystem is still thrashing about.
They still call it a propaganda.
They are perfectly entitled to their opinions.
But in my opinion, they will soon become fossils of an era gone by.
Mark this.

(Link to above tweet)

What the Dhurandhar Duology will unleash is an altogether new genre of cinema.
And mind you, a major reason for this will also be sheer economics. If two films by @AdityaDharFilms make nearly 5000 Crore, why wouldn’t someone else try to emulate that, right?

Copycat productions will soon flood the market.
But most of them will fall flat.
Why, you asked?
Well, firstly, because of the sheer brilliance in production by @AdityaDharFilms and his team, not to mention the ‘Peak Detailing’!

And secondly, because most of them just will NOT be able to shed political correctness because that is how they have been nurtured by the ecosystem.
THIS is where a new breed of film-makers is likely to find their feet.

For the new to rise, the old needn’t die.
Instead, the old can just be made irrelevant.
In that context, this vid of @yamigautam apparently being ignored during a film promotion some years ago is worth a watch.

Dare I say, that the old will soon become irrelevant.
The ‘oldies’ will either fade away, or be forced to reinvent themselves.
And it will happen much sooner than we think.
THIS is what the #Dhurandhar duology has achieved.

Of course, they themselves have some help from their own ‘Unknown Men’!
I am sure the identity of Dibya S will be another mystery to be solved in the near future!

But jokes apart, the research consultants in form of @AdityaRajKaul and Dibya S have done a fantastic job.
The persona of Major Iqbal is no doubt based on Ilyas Kashmiri as was surmised by me in my review of the first part.

(Link to above tweet)

That was further reinforced in #Dhurandhar2‌TheRevenge when Major Iqbal boasts that he had presented the head of an Indian soldier to Musharraf.
This too happened in real life.
The bastard was rewarded Rs 1Lac by Musharraf.

Both, Ilyas and Musharraf died horrible deaths.
Ilyas died in a drone strike by USA, with intel provided by Paaki intel agencies.
Musharraf died a slow & agonizing death, yearning to return to Pakistan.
No tears were shed by me atleast on these two deaths.

Yet another piece of brilliance that I personally found in #Dhurandhar2‌TheRevenge was the ending.
Instead of a song and dance as might have been warranted in a traditional ‘formula’ film, all that Ajay Sanyal told Jaskirat was ‘Well Done’ and ‘Come for Debriefing Tomorrow’.

This was in stark contrast to the high octane action that had been dished out for more than three hours before this scene!
And a perfect end to the movie when Jaskirat burns yet another family photo, this time of his family in Pakistan and heads back to his ‘pind’ in Punjab!

The sheer ebb and flow of emotions throughout the duology is the hallmark of the work of a true master of his craft.
The way the movie ended, was almost exactly the way it began – From the house of Jaskirat Singh Rangi.

Of course, the one place where Shri @AdityaDharFilms’s ‘Peak Detailing’ went wrong was in the casting of Raj Zutshi!
Technically, Sanay Datt’s character couldn’t have been the Jinn, when Raj Zutshi was there!
Raj Zutshi was the original Jinn from the 80s!

But jokes apart, it was as if each and every actor/actress was born to play the part that they played in the Dhurandhar duology.
It is a testament not just to their brilliant acting, but also to brilliant direction by the Director.
Overall, an all-rounder effort by the team.

As I close this thread, I will also highlight a cruel and unintentional ‘Peak Detailing’ by @AdityaDharFilms.
He blew up an entire train of Kerosene in the midst of the Iran War!

I will end this thread with this short vid of @rampalarjun and the resounding BHARAT MATA KI JAI in the end that caused so many heartburns to so many fossils of the old ecosystem.
He extracted his own revenge by being part of this phenomenon of Dhurandhar.

My final addition to this chain of thoughts is this Blog Post On the Movie Chhaava that too turned out to be a politically ‘incorrect’ one and a mighty successful one at that.
May have a look.
Jai Hind!

On the US-Iran War (As on 21 March 2026)

Harpreet Uncategorized , , , , , , , , , ,

Folks, sharing some thoughts about the currently ongoing #IranWar and how it has fundamentally changed the world as we knew it.

Let’s see how it goes ..

At the outset, I begin with the hope that Shri @Bigfoot_BC and Shri @shoonyaanantah Ji would be quite satisfied by now, having heard the ‘Drums of War’ in May 2025, June 2025 and now again in March 2026.

I can only assure them that if they show a little more patience, then they and indeed we all will be ‘blessed’ with much more of the same within the next few years. This is just the beginning, IMO, and there will be a LOT more violence in the years to come.

(Link to above tweet)

Coming on to the currently ongoing war in Iran, one still struggles to find what was the political and military aim of US / Israel as they went in and attacked Iran. And then they began with an opening salvo killing everyone in Iran who could have negotiated / talked with them!

Needless to say, the regime in Iran survives.

And not only that, it had learnt lessons from previous American operations well and implemented a decentralized system of decision making and warfighting that is very difficult to break. Talking about lessons from history, whereas Iran learnt it well, the USA, sadly, failed on that account yet again. Well, atleast they are consistent that way!

(Link to above tweet)

I think the quick and easy success in Venezuela might have played a part in the American decision to attack Iran. But what they didn’t factor in was the fact that Iran would actually fight back .. and fight well, at that. Of course, lack of knowledge of geography too helped them rush headlong into this disaster.
Iran is a MASSIVE country with a MASSIVE military, sitting astride a VERY narrow waterway.

And the other countries in the region are, well, minnows, militarily speaking.

(Link to above tweet)

What has happened thus far is matter of public knowledge and I don’t intend writing much about that. However, I will most definitely share this tweet from 13 years ago that perfectly summarizes most of the American wars since WW2 thus far.

(Link to above tweet)

If only they had learnt from their own history, they might have given a more detailed thought before going kinetic against Iran.
But then, time for that is long gone now.
So let us see what have they achieved so far.

For one, they have achieved total surprise, but for THEMSELVES!

If they thought Iran wouldn’t attack American military bases in the region and retaliate for attacks on its own energy and economic infrastructure originating from those countries, then I might have a white coloured building in Agra to sell to you!
Iran did warn the countries in the region & offered them a way out.
Read this statement carefully.

Now guess how many of these countries have US bases that serve as launchpads for attacks against Iran!

Which brings me to the question – Could any of these countries have actually refused permission to the USA?
The answer is a resounding NO.
Why, you asked?
Well, because nearly half a century ago, they outsourced their security in lieu of agreeing to sell oil in dollars only.

This was the basic premise of the petrodollar that helped these gulf monarchies prosper and also helped the USA to run record deficit budgets and become a military and economic superpower.
It was good while it lasted, I’d say.

(Link to above tweet)

The implicit promise of security that was offered by the USA to the countries in West Asia in lieu of establishing the petrodollar empire has failed miserably and even spectacularly, I’d say. They are suffering death and destruction in a war in which they have no real stakes.

Once the dust settles, would they still want the USA to be the provider of security in their region?
Will they permit use of their sovereign territories to house USA military?
More than that, will they even have a choice in this matter?
Well, my guess is as good as yours.

Most of the West Asian monarchies rely on continued economic prosperity, expat labour for blue and white collar jobs and American security guarantees to stay in power.
The system worked fine for the past 50 years or so.
But now it is under immense stress.

Lure of a Dubai or any of its counterparts in the region as safe places for business & investment is now gone forever. It is highly unlikely that they recover their past ‘glory’ once this war is over. Any money coming there will always have a contingency plan, ready to scoot.

Might there be societal pressures within these countries in case this happens? Quite likely.
Might the monarchies feel vulnerable? Quite likely.
Might they deny any more bases to USA? Quite likely.
Might the USA look for regime change in these countries?

Food for thought, no?

But then, these are questions for the future to answer.
For the time being, it is amusing to see the USA look for a face-saving measure to pull out of this war.
Dare I say, with Iran still fighting and Strait of Hormuz still closed, they have already lost.

(Link to above tweet)

They have already lost an aircraft carrier, not to Iranian missiles, but to an onboard fire which some suspect was caused thru sabotage from within, after a toilet crisis!
You couldn’t make this up even if you wanted, so absurd is the situation!
And then there was the F-35 shootdown!

The bombastic statements coming out of the USA are more like the thrashings of a drowning man who doesn’t know what to do.
Reminded me if this anecdote from a war from the ‘Most Allied Ally’ of the USA!
The similarities are uncanny indeed!

(Link to above tweet)

The mightiest military force that the world has ever seen, is literally begging for ‘allies’ to come and open the Strait of Hormuz.
And the potential ‘allies’ have adequately been put on notice by Iran earlier this morning.
Talk about Timing!

(Link to above tweet)

Bottomline: Geography cannot be trampled upon by brute force.
The Strait of Hormuz can only remain open if Iran wants it to remain open. The entire world in general and Gulf countries in particular are learning it at great peril.

It no longer matters whether USA declares victory and ends this war today, or carries on fighting for the next few days or weeks or months or even years.
The writing on the wall is absolutely clear.

The USA is an overstretched empire and in need of a drastic course correction.

Else, they may not last much longer.

Dare I say, that this might actually be a Suez Canal Crisis of their own for the American Empire.

The original crisis marked the beginning of the end for the British Empire.
Will this do the same for the Americans?
Well, time will tell.

What is most amusing is that ALL calls for ending the war are coming from the American side, whereas Iran sits pretty, bombing other Gulf countries at will.
And the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.
The Americans do have a choice, though!
This 👇

(Link to above tweet)

Or they can do the whole ‘Boots on Ground’ thing with the few thousand marines sailing fast into the battlezone.
But then, what will they achieve?
They can’t capture Iran.
Capture Kharg Island perhaps?
But will that open up the Strait of Hormuz or give yet another target to Iran?

Basically, Shri Donald Trump is caught in a Monkey Trap.
There is absolutely no dignified exit for him.
Period.

This brings me to the concluding part of this thread – What Comes Next?
Well, let me offer what I think will come next.
First and foremost, NATO is well and truly screwed, atleast till the time Trump remains in power.

Then there is the impact on European and other world economies due to high energy prices which won’t come down anytime soon due to the extensive damage to energy infrastructure.
All in all, the world as such is screwed.

Further, in this war, we might just have seen the seeds of a larger war that will consume much of the ‘civilized’ world in the years to come.
I am not saying this is what will happen, but just that this is what MIGHT happen. Feel free to disagree.

Coming over to India in particular, the first thing that came to my mind was this tweet from my very first few weeks on Twitter, just over 14 years ago.
India is gladly looking after its own interests, as it should.
And keeping its powder dry.

(Link to above tweet)

For those who may not be aware, India has been a constant presence in West Asia since millennia, back when the USA was thousands of years from being ‘discovered’!

(Link to above tweet)

And before the petrodollar came it, Indian Rupee was the preferred currency there.
Do read : 1966: When India’s Iron Lady Buckled Under US Pressure

The aura of invincibility of US military is well and totally demolished, and I get a feeling that they will draw down substantially from their military presence in West Asia as well. Of course, the vacuum will be filled up by a number of players, instead of just one superpower. Needless to say, Indian Navy will play a major role in the region, which it technically, our own backyard, given our historical presence as well as the hundreds of thousands of Indian citizens working in the region currently.

Over the past few decades, Indian Navy has gradually expanded its presence in the region, thnx to anti-piracy ops. How many remember the destruction of the pirate ‘mothership’ some years ago, or this 👇 anti-piracy op involving paradropping of Marine Commandos for that matter?

However, friendship at the point of a spear is not friendship. It is merely fear disguised as friendship, as the Gulf countries are now discovering to their peril. That said, the one thing where Indian diplomacy doesn’t get enough credit is for the fact that we have bridges and channels open with practically each and every party to the conflict in that region, be it Israel, or Iran, or KSA, or Qatar or Bahrain or UAE.

I doubt anyone else has it.
Now add to that Indian maritime power & see the kind of confidence all parties concerned would have wrt mutual interests
All in all, this is a really interesting time to be alive, when wheels of history are turning faster & faster.

(Link to above tweet)

Mind you, the current world order was built with sweat and blood and money of the then powers. It will take an equal amount of these same things for it to be changed, if at all. I think we just might be in striking distance of that point in history again.

(Link to above tweet)

Of course, none of us can claim to see the future.
So the best bet is to wait for it.
But at the same time, it would be foolish NOT to prepare for it.
The coming weeks and months and years will see blood and pain. That is inevitable.
The best we can do is to prepare ourselves.

Hence the need to keep your powder dry as I mentioned earlier in this thread.
Let this circus play out.
With the UPA era oil bonds having recently been paid off, dare I say, India already has a cushion in absorbing the shocks of high oil prices for the next few months atleast.

Of course, the USA can sanction & unsanction Russian and Iranian oil, but that doesn’t make an iota of difference to Indian energy imports.
On the other hand, it only exposes the American empire for the hollowness within
Meanwhile THIS is what Iran says 👇

Ramdhari Singh Dinkar Ji’s famous lines come to mind:

क्षमा शोभती उस भुजंग को
जिसके पास गरल हो
उसको क्या जो दंतहीन
विषरहित, विनीत, सरल हो।

This is exactly the state of the POTUS currently, I’d say.
Meanwhile, Hormuz remains closed till the time Iran doesn’t oblige them.

As far as India goes, oil and gas continue to flow to our ports from Iran as well as Russia .. as they always have, regardless of US sanctions or sanctimony.
Rest of the neighbourhood are far more stressed than us.
How it plays out in the near future, remains to be seen.

However, one thing remains constant .. and that is the need for constant vigil in furtherance of own interests.
Just like Iran learnt its lessons from the previous operations, I am sure Pakistan too would be looking at the current Iran War with keen interest and a begging bowl.

The next round with Pakistan, whenever it happens will be much different than Op Sindoor 2025.
Good Different or Bad Different, remains to be seen.
Will share some thoughts on that at a later date.
As for right now, it is time to wind up this thread.

All I will say in the end is that there can be no surer sign of the USA having lost the plot than this.
You may play around with words, but facts will remain unchanged.

And as far as West Asia is concerned, they might want to make Dhurandhar 2 tax free!

In the end, I’ll just add this little graphic that came my way via WA.
Sums it up perfectly!

With this, I conclude this chain of thoughts.
Hope it made some sense to you. If not, well, I can definitely live with it!
Oh, and watch out for the US Bond Market over the next few days!
Cheers.
:Fin:

On the Statement of US Deputy Secretary of State on India-US Trade Deal Negotiations

Harpreet Uncategorized , , , , ,

So this report just landed up on my TL.


Basically, the US Deputy Secretary of State lays out the US gameplan in the ongoing trade deal negotiations with India.
I think he has done a great service to his hosts in New Delhi by saying this out loud!
Let me explain why ..

What he has given away is the guiding principle of the US negotiation strategy. IMO, this is an absolutely idiotic thing to do because it now officially and publicly warns India of how the US redlines might look like.
It was a part that should NOT have been said out loud!

Technically, US is perfectly right in trying to preserve their interests. However, with own negotiators now having gotten an insight into what might have been discussed in closed door discussions in the US, our negotiators do get an upper hand. Secondly, with this having been said out loud and the RR that has already commenced against yet another ‘loss’ for the GOI, it actually further strengthens their hand by citing these very idiots and their RR in refusing US proposals that may not be to our liking.

Remember, this was the same strategy as used by the GOI when discussing the India-US Nuclear Deal and the ‘123 Agreement’ during the reign of Mr Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister, when the Leftist Parties were openly and loudly protesting against it. Even at that time, citing political opposition, we were able to hold our ground and get a much better deal. How it panned out ultimately, is a different story altogether.

In this case too, those indulging in the R@ndi-Rona and gloating about yet another ‘loss’ for GOI at hands of the USA are actually doing a wonderful service to the Motherland, even if unintentionally!

But coming to these idiots, what is making them cry is a mere statement by the visiting American. Similar statements by the GOI about looking after Indian interests are just as conveniently ignored by them. But then, at the end of the day, these are merely statements. As the saying goes, ‘Proof of the Pudding is in the eating’, and THAT will have to wait till the time the deal is actually signed.

Yes, it will be sold as a victory by both sides, just as it should be because an ideal deal is ideally a win-win for both sides.
But then, we are still far from that stage.
Till then, let us treat this statement by Landau Ji for what it is .. an ignorant slip of the tongue.

Bottomline: If mere trade deals could prevent the rise or the downfall of a great nation, then there would be no wars whatsoever .. only trade deals!
In the end I will leave this tweet that explains my chain of thoughts.

To conclude, I would like to offer a sincere ‘Thank You’ to my dear ‘outraged’ ones for their service to the Nation!

On Blurring the Line Between Cognitive and Kinetic Warfare

Harpreet Uncategorized , , , , , , , , , , , ,


So this tweet below landed on my TL some days ago. It was about ADG Strategic Comms talking about the IW and Cyber warfare that India was subjected to on the first day of Op Sindoor.
Sharing some thoughts on the same.
Here goes ..

Here’s the ANI video that formed part of the tweet above 👇

What caught my attention was the very specific statistics that General Sharda put out in his talk.
However, the most interesting part was the fact that the attacks were launched within 30-40 minutes.
THIS is what caught my interest.
Let me explain why.

The sheer numbers of attacks and their ‘bombardment’ through cyberspace within 30-40 minutes means that the Paakis were already prepared even before the first Indian munition was fired on 7th May 2025.
They knew India would attack. And they were prepared for it.

They were prepared not only militarily, but also in terms of info warfare and cyber attacks. I think it would be a fair assumption that such planning would already have been in place since long. And when the time came, it all was let loose in a torrent.

This was the same template that they let loose during Balakot when the then Propagandu-in-Chief was the first one to announce the strikes, thereby taking the initiative in the war of narratives.

First ‘true visuals’ of the strike too were let out on social media by the same Propagandu-in-Chief soon thereafter. In doing so, Bhikharistan took a lead on the narrative front.
How effective that was the long run, I shall discuss later in this thread.

What helped the Paakis during Balakot Airstrike was also the lack of immediate visuals from IAF due to weather conditions at the time of the strike.
Needless to say, satellite imagery emerged soon thereafter, putting out the truth.

What helped further was also the fact that Abhinandan ejected over PoK after shooting down a PAF F-16 and was captured. Here too, we witnessed Paaki Propaganda Warfare at it finest!
First they announced capture of 3 Indian pilots and then shamelessly said, Na Ji .. ek hee tha!

What had happened in the above instance was that in the fog of info-war, they had counted their own downed pilots too as Indian pilots. In fact Paaki citizens actually lynched one of their own pilots to death, assuming him to be an Indian pilot.
Talk about irony!

But that is history.
My reason for bringing that out all over again was to highlight the fact that Paakis flooded the social media landscape with so many falsehoods and different versions of actual truth that true facts virtually drowned in that deluge.

As Maj Gen Sharda mentioned in his video embedded in the first tweet, we were bombarded with ‘Misinformation, Disinformation and Malinfomation’ on the first day of Op Sindoor.

Hereinafter, as per Paaki plan, we were to once again be playing catch-up on narrative front while military facts would get obliterated under this flood of ‘Misinformation, Disinformation and Malinformation’.
Unfortunately, Paakis were once again caught fighting the previous war!

This time, there was no questions of missing visuals of Indian attacks and utter and complete impotence of the Brown Panted Ones to either prevent them or retaliate against them.
This time the Awaam themselves provided proof.

On the other hand, the Propagandu Warriors of Bhikharistan could only provide bombastic claims with not one visual or other proof!
Oh, and they also hacked Indian Dams, as confirmed by their idiotic defence minister in their parliament.
Hot Air and DEAFENING Applause followed!

Btw, don’t miss what is said in the video above.
A minister in Pakistan Govt announces publicly in their very SENATE that they have attacked Indian Dams via a cyber attack.
What bigger a smoking gun can we ask for?

IMO, in this instance of Op Sindoor, the battle was convincingly won by India both in the Kinetic as well as the Cognitive Domain.
However, fact remains that even though Kinetic engagements may have petered down, attacks in the Cognitive domain still continue. The good General himself says so.

This is where I come to the question that triggered this chain of thoughts :
Is it time to consider Kinetic actions against warriors of the Cognitive domain as well, whenever the inevitable next round comes?
Mull over it for a moment before moving ahead.

Personally, I most definitely believe that time has come to physically eliminate the IW infrastructure, including its manpower, whenever the next opportunity presents itself.
A keyboard warrior in today’s world is just as lethal as one with a rifle in his hand.
Period.

It is a given that info warfare is a highly delegated operation with multiple nerve-centres feeding millions of individual social media users. However, fact remains that nerve centres play a highly important role in setting narratives and giving course-corrections wherever needed. While Info Warfare goes on unabated across national boundaries and without any distinction between uniformed and non-uniformed ‘warriors’, official information channels still play a key role in providing critical raw material for manipulation on social media.

These nerve-centres are what are identifiable on ground & should ideally form part of the target list whenever the next Indian missiles & bombs fly Westwards. By choking the flow of info from official channels thru physical elimination, Info Ops on the other side will definitely be hobbled.

Being the militarily weaker power, Bhikharistan naturally has to invest greatly in shaping perceptions outside as well as within their borders when it comes to conflicts with India. No wonder their DG ISPR is a Lt Gen ranked officer while the Indian counterpart is a Major General. However, fact also remains that more stars on the shoulder STILL does not make a horse out of an ass. Even when celebrating Pakistani ‘victories’, they pick up photographs of Indian Army!

That said, attacks on critical national infrastructure and critical national leaders, both military and non-military still continue unabated as mentioned by the ADG Strat Comms in his address in the first tweet of the thread. This is kept up even during ‘peace’ time.

THREE CRORE attacks on the National Stock Exchange itself on the first day of Op Sindoor.
Let that sink in a bit.
Imagine the chaos had even one of those attacks succeeded.
Our guys have to successfully defend 3 crore times, while Paakis have to succeed only once.

THIS is the beast we are dealing with.
The beast needs to be dealt with, not just in the same coin, but with brute physical force.
Once again, as General Sharda mentioned in the video above : ‘War is about making the adversary submit to your Will.’

To that I shall add that any & every means towards achieving that end is justifiable. Even if it means physically destroying the network supplying narratives & inputs to Info Warriors, as well as Info Warriors themselves.
THIS is the sum total of what I want to say via this blog post.

As far as the ‘FANTASTIC’ Bhikharistani win of Feb 2019 goes, it did them a fat load of good barely 6 months later when India abrogated Article 370 and all that they could do was make a song and dance about it!
Here is what I wrote at that time.
Must See!

Bottomline : It might be time to blur the lines between Cognitive and Kinetic Warfare, once and for all.
Period.

:Fin:

On the Republic Day Parade 2026

Harpreet Uncategorized

Folks, sharing some thoughts on the Republic Day Parade of yesterday. Reason being that I personally found this parade to be a lot ‘different’ from earlier ones.
Disclaimer: Purely my personal opinions. Feel free to disagree.
Here goes ..

As I mentioned, I found this parade to be different.
To me personally, it was as much a statement of intent, as it was the yearly parade.
And it was also a statement of achievement.
Especially in light of what has gone down over the past one year.

Tone for the event was set by the very first contingent itself – 61 Cavalry. Where they had been in their ceremonial uniforms for all these years, we now saw them in combat uniform. I may be wrong but this was perhaps for the first time ever that they marched in combat uniform.

Of course, another change if you noticed in the two screenshots above was that Lt Ahaan Kumar had now been promoted to Capt Ahaan Kumar!
The young lad looked equally dashing in both types of uniforms!

Right on their heels came the very aptly named ‘Prahaar‘ Formation, carrying the flag of Operation Sindoor!
THIS is what caught my eye and for the first time, it appeared that this parade was going to be much different!

And right on cue thereafter came the tanks and various other military vehicles, as they do every year.
But this time, well .. ‘different’!
This time not only were they more in numbers and variety, but also battle-ready, given the latest experiences of last year.

The tanks were kitted with what can be assume to be drone-protective measures, the BMPs had anti-tank missiles in addition to their guns, as well as drones.
The light strike vehicles too had drones and jammers as well.

Dare I say, much of this equipment seems to have only been inducted in the past few months and operationalized just as quickly.
The very aptly named ‘Dhwansak’ Light Strike Vehicle was especially a treat to watch, equipped with quite a bit of firepower!

However, the purpose of this thread is not to chronicle all pieces of hardware that marched past the Supreme Commander.
What was different in this time was the innate confidence and self-assured supremacy of a military that had achieved a mighty victory just a few months ago.

It was not just about the equipment and the body language of the troops that marched with or without it, but it was as much about the guests of honour and how they viewed it. The visuals of the dais flitted equally between the President of India taking the salute, and between the two apparently very happy and very inquisitive Chief Guests interacting with the Prime Minister of India regarding the various marching contingents / tableaus.

And of course, there also was the young man who was translating for the guests whenever the need arose. He sure had a busy day at office yesterday!

The forces were NOT shy of showcasing their latest means of destruction, most of which would have made their presence felt in Pakistan during Op Sindoor, while the others would be awaiting their turn in the next round, whenever it comes by.

This was a VICTORY MARCH of the armed forces who had rained death and destruction over the enemy with cold, surgical precision. And were equally willing now to rub it in the enemy’s face all over again!
Period.
The tableau too aptly said ‘Victory Through Jointness’

And then there was the ‘Sindoor Formation’ flypast in the middle of the parade, which was dutifully and beautifully MISSED by the Doordarshan cameras!
Don’t miss the Music Credits by the IAF in this video below!

The Bhairavs were there as well, शिव-गण in the form of Khalsas of Gobind!
The same Guru Gobind Singh Ji who hailed Lord Shiv in his beautiful hymn ‘Deh Shiva Var Mohe Ehe’!
Talk about symbolism, even if unintentional!

Bottomline : This year’s parade was VERY different from the past ones. It was not merely about the men and equipment on display .. it was about the sheer ENERGY that one could feel.
Energy of a Nation and its armed forces stamping their mark on History, and raring to go again.

As I conclude this short thread, I will leave this ode to Sepoy Badluram that was so beautifully sung on the Kartavya Path by the young ‘Rhinos’ of the Assam Regiment!
Do watch this vid for 20 seconds as they march past, saluting the Supreme Commander!

So this is what I wanted to share.
Hope you find this chain of thoughts agreeable.
If not, well, I can live with that as well!
Of course, I look forward to seeing how Pakistan showcases its own ‘victory’ on 23rd March!
Cheers and Jai Hind!
:Fin:

On the Upcoming Global Buddhist Summit in New Delhi

Harpreet Uncategorized , , , , ,

So this tweet regarding the Global Buddhist Summit being conducted by India landed up on my TL some time back and triggered a chain of thoughts that I shall attempt to share here.

Let’s see how it goes ..

Note : Before moving ahead, do go thru the video on the tweet above, even if in form of snippets.

I’ll begin with a disclaimer : This blog post is NOT about religion or evangelism, if at all. Instead, I intend talking a bit about our Buddhist heritage and how it has great potential in deepening ties with the near and far neighbourhood.

First & foremost, as expected, I searched for & quickly found a hashtag about the upcoming Global Buddhist Summit that seems to have been created by some good folks: #GlobalBuddhistSummit .
The event is apparently being organised by International Buddhist Confederation, New Delhi.

The existence of the International Buddhist Confederation itself was a revelation for me!
That such an organisation exists in the country speaks volumes about those who realized the importance of this heritage and the need to preserve and share it.

The motto of the @IbcWorldOrg itself give away the intent : ‘Collective Wisdom, United Voice’.

THIS is what holds a huge potential for the near and even far neighbourhood.

The common heritage of Buddhism directly links India with almost all its direct neighbours less East and West Pakistan.
Nepal : Birth Place of Lord Buddha
Bhutan : Buddhist Majority Country
Myanmar : Buddhist Majority Country that is also credited with saving the practice of Vipassana in its true form as taught by Lord Buddha Himself. Sh. Goenka Ji discovered it while doing business in Myanmar and brought it back to India.Sri Lanka : Yet another Buddhist Majority Country.
Tibet : The Birthplace of the current Dalai Lama, as also thought to be the custodian of a large number of priceless Buddhist manuscripts.

Then there is Japan from where a steady stream of visitors keep landing in Bodh Gaya for pilgrimage, many of whom then settle there in matrimonial bliss with Indian spouses. This is what Google tells me 👇

However, the first Global Buddhist Summit only happened in 2023. We were perhaps a bit late in realizing this common heritage. But as they say: Better Late Than Never!
I’d say that we have been in an overdrive since then, ‘spreading the word’ & getting like-minded folks together!

The first inkling of the sheer GOLD that India has in terms of Buddhist heritage was the reception in Thailand of the sacred relics that were sent there by us. IIRC, it was the IAF that flew the relics to Thailand and back.

(Link to above tweet : https://x.com/AdityaRajKaul/status/1764395457189413163 )

The relics subsequently travelled to Russia and Bhutan as well in 2025.
In fact Prime Minister Modi himself was there in Bhutan when the relics were on display there for the faithful.
Talk about Diplomacy with common heritage links!

The case of Russia is even more interesting, though.
Who knew that a region in Russia would be a Buddhist majority region .. and that too in the EUROPEAN part of Russia.
So technically, the relics also travelled to Europe last year!

On that note, do watch the video in the tweet below for the reception accorded to the holy relics in Kalmykia by the locals.

Bottomline : This common Buddhist heritage has a lot of potential to thicken the already existing bonds of friendship and cultural imprints throughout the Indian Subcontinent and even farther away.

IMO though, the acme of this shall, however, lie in not only deeper cultural linkages but also in deeper economic linkages.

Remember, it was an Indian businessman in Burma – Sh Goenka Ji – who brought back Vipassana to India after millennia. What is to say that the current ambassadors of the Buddhist heritage won’t find a way into translating this forum of Global Buddhist Summit into business partnerships as well?
Especially if a gentle nudge or two is given by the GOI as well?

In any case, as mentioned in the interview in the beginning of this blog post, delegates for this Global Buddhist Summit include not only religious scholars but academics as well.
Here’s to hoping that subsequent iterations will also see businessmen as well!

And as always, when it comes to the question of Buddhism, there is always the China factor as well.
Especially wrt the reincarnation of the next Dalai Lama, whenever that happens.
In fact here is what I wrote about that 14 years ago!

And true to their form, China didn’t disappoint either!
This is what they did after the First Global Buddhist Summit was held in India.


Come to think of it, we weren’t the only ones who were late in recognizing the potential of the Buddhist legacy!
And the Chinese just copied us!

This time round, thought, they have been a bit smarter .. they did theirs a week before the Indian event!

As I conclude this chain of thoughts, all I’ll say is that the upcoming Global Buddhist Summit might just be a much larger event in terms of eventual impact than what we think currently.
This is exactly what triggered this thread after I first came across the report regarding it.

It is as much about sharing the common heritage of Lord Buddha as it is about deepening existing bonds throughout the near and far neighbourhood. And I hope this includes economic bonds as well because in addition to religion, nothing else binds more strongly than money!

True impact of events such as the Global Buddhist Summit can only be seen with the benefit of hindsight, perhaps a few years or even decades after the event. One can only hope and pray that we steer this in the right direction for common good of all.

For Europe and USA, Buddhism is truly one the most ‘popular’ religions that have originated in India, thanks in large part to the charisma of His Holiness The Dalai Lama. In fact, Richard Gere even got banned from travelling to China for talking about Tibet!

However, the question of Tibet is not triggered this thought. That will be decided in due course, probably whenever the Dalai Lama reincarnates next.
That said, this unrelated event by Buddhist monks in USA is also worth following 👇

With this I conclude this chain of thoughts.
I hope the Global Buddhist Summit becomes a regular event, either annually or bi-annually & that dividends shall include peace and harmony for all concerned.
On that note, I’ll leave this post here as well, to tickle your brains!


:Fin: