Are India and Pakistan Doomed to Remain Implacable Enemies?

Major General Dr. Rajan Kochhar, VSM (ret), is a senior Indian Army veteran, strategic and defence analyst, author, academic, and a recognized expert in defence logistics and management. He served in the Indian Army for nearly 37 years in the Army Ordnance Corps, retiring at the rank of Major General, with his last appointment as Major General, AOC, Central Command. His military career spans extensive command, staff, and instructional roles across operational, field, and strategic levels, including active service in Jammu & Kashmir and North-East India.

He commanded major logistics and ordnance establishments such as the Central Ordnance Depot and divisional and higher ordnance units, playing a critical role in logistics planning, supply-chain and ammunition management, and sustainment operations in difficult terrains. He also served as Aide-de-Camp to the Governor of Tamil Nadu, reflecting trust at the highest civil–military interface, and contributed to training and doctrine development at premier army institutions.

For his distinguished service, he was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal by the President of India and received the Army Commander’s Commendation Card twice. His other honours include the Global Legend Peace Award, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Award, Akhand Bharat Gaurav Award, Ashoka Award, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Award, and the Force of Inspiration Award by The Times of India, among others.

Alongside his military career, he has built a strong academic profile. He holds a PhD in Emotional Intelligence from Barkatullah University, Bhopal, along with an MBA, MMS, and an MSc in Defence Studies, and is a graduate of the Defence Services Staff College and the College of Defence Management. Post-retirement, he has served as Dean at the Noida Institute of Engineering & Technology, Director of NIET Business School, adviser to the Union Public Service Commission, and a member of academic councils, including Kirori Mal College, New Delhi. He is a regular lecturer on national security, leadership and emotional intelligence, defence logistics, strategic studies, and geopolitics.

He is closely associated with leading think tanks and strategic institutions such as MP-IDSA, CLAWS, SAMDES, the United Services Institution of India, and Defence Research and Studies, and has served on expert panels for civil services preparation and international geopolitics forums. As an author, his widely read book Breaking the Chinese Myth challenges prevailing narratives about China’s military, economic, and geopolitical power and is regarded as a significant contribution to contemporary Indian strategic thought. He is also a prolific contributor to defence journals and national and international media, regularly commenting on India–China relations, defence preparedness, military logistics, self-reliance, and hybrid warfare.

Like his mother, who was born in Rawalpindi, he received his early education at convent schools. A familiar face on Indian television news channels and a TEDx speaker, he is widely respected for combining operational credibility with academic depth and strategic clarity. His analysis is valued for its realism, policy relevance, and ability to demystify complex security and geopolitical issues.

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Shakil Chaudhary is a journalist, author, and researcher. He is an alumnus of Government College, Lahore. He later studied International Relations at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, and Media and Communications at the London School of Economics.

Over the years, he has worked for several leading English-language newspapers and a few other organizations. He is the author of the critically acclaimed bilingual book Handbook of Functional English (Ferozsons), designed to help South Asians improve their English language skills. Prof. Tariq Rahman, one of South Asia’s most distinguished linguistic scholars, has praised the book, calling it “an excellent guide for the South Asian user of the English language.”

Shakil has twice spoken at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C., and has conducted numerous workshops on communication, writing, and critical thinking. He is a founding member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and served as President of the Progressive Writers' Association, Islamabad, from 2021 to 2022. He has attended Rotary’s annual conventions in Toronto and Hamburg.

These are some of his notable interviews:

👉 Sardar Masood Khan, former president, AJK, Part 1:    • Copying Tharoor? Shakil Chaudhary Slammed ...  

👉 Sardar Masood Khan, former president, AJK, Part 2:    • "You Are Representing India," Sardar Masoo...  

👉 Ambassador Abdul Basit:    • Ambassador Abdul Basit: Pakistan has not d...  

👉 Lt. Gen. Asad Durrani:    • Lt. Gen. Asad Durrani, former ISI chief: W...  

👉 Shahid Siddiqui, a former member of India’s parliament:    • Shahid Siddiqui: The partition ruined Indi...  

You’re welcome to follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

👉   / shakil.chaudary   👉   / shakchaudhary