Mar 18 2025 to Mar 18 2025 6:30 p.m.

EVENT HAS ENDED

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

For over five decades since the Liberation of Bangladesh and the 1971 India-Pakistan War, the Indian state has had to pay a heavy price to protect the fabric of its democracy and its basic geographical structure in the face of a multiplicity of national security threats. These threats have ranged from constant pressure along its Northern and Western borders from nuclear-armed adversaries, several internal fissures and cracks in Punjab, J&K and the Northeast and a festering problem of Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) across several states. Complementing these internal and border security challenges have been challenges in the neighborhood that have precipitated the deployments of India’s military such as in Sri Lanka and Maldives in the late 1980s.

Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam, former fighter pilot and accomplished military historian, explores war and conflict in contemporary India in his latest book, Shooting Straight: A Military Biography of Lt Gen Rostum K. Nanavatty. Moving beyond the traditional discourse of the 1965 and 1971 wars, the book examines modern military challenges through the lens of one of India’s most distinguished post-1971 Army commanders. From leading para commandos in Sri Lanka to commanding formations in Siachen, Baramulla, and the Northeast during key crises, and later serving as Northern Army Commander in the aftermath of the 2001 Parliament attack, Nanavatty gained a frontline perspective on hybrid and ‘grey zone’ warfare—topics highly relevant today.

Joining AVM Subramaniam in a free-wheeling discussion on the changing character of conflict over the past few decades and its implications for India through the lens of Gen Nanavatty is military historian Probal Dasgupta. The discussion will be followed by a Q&A session with the audience.

Speakers

Arjun Subramaniam
Air Vice Marshal (Retd) & Military Historian
A retired fighter pilot from the IAF who has flown MiG-21s and Mirage-2000s, Air Vice Marshal (Dr) Arjun Subramaniam is an accomplished military historian, academic and strategic commentator. A PhD in Defence and Strategic Studies from the University of Madras, he has been a Visiting Fellow at Harvard and Oxford Universities and a Visiting Faculty at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and Ashoka University. After a tenure as the first President’s Chair of Excellence in National Security Affairs at the National Defence College, he is currently an Adjunct Faculty at Kautilya School of Public Policy, Hyderabad and several war colleges across the three services.

The author of several books including the much acclaimed two-volume India’s Wars series, his latest book is a military biography titled Shooting Straight: A Military Biography of Lt Gen Rostum Nanavatty. AVM Subramaniam is a public intellectual and writes extensively in the open domain on issues related to national and international security, military history and air power.

Probal DasGupta
Military Historian, Author & Army Veteran
Probal DasGupta is an acclaimed military historian, author, corporate leader and an army veteran. He has two best-selling books to this credit. These are Watershed 1967: India’s Forgotten War with China (Juggernaut, 2020) and the recent runaway hit Camouflaged: Forgotten Stories from Battlefields (Juggernaut 2023).  Prior to his transition to the civilian world, he was Major Probal DasGupta and served with the 11 Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army. After his Army tenure, Probal has been a Braun Myers Fellow, JN Tata Scholar and RD Sethna Scholar at Columbia University, New York, where he completed his master’s degree with a regional focus on South Asia. Probal is currently a senior corporate leader and strategic thinker who heads his boutique advisory firm Birdstone Consulting where he helps clients make informed business decisions on complex issues. He is also a columnist for First Post and writes regularly on strategic issues in newspapers.