Armchair Perspectives

Delivering independent analysis and viewpoints on geopolitics, military affairs, infrastructure development and society.

[Armchair Perspectives @ArmchairPersp]

@AMIT_GUJJU Possibly a change of approach to force a heavy handed response from Delhi Police and then play victim.
Delhi Police is too smart to fall for these theatrics.

[Armchair Perspectives @ArmchairPersp]

@theskindoctor13 @Iyervval A helmet is your personal life insurance against the efficiency of the municipal corporation. The man suffered a serious head trauma. The impact may not be felt immediately. Hope he is fine now.

[Armchair Perspectives @ArmchairPersp]

24*7 news cycles and advertising every little incident as the event of the decade for TRPs has dumbed down the public.

It's like the boy who cried wolf everyday. Nobody cared when the wolf actually arrived. People don't respond to incidents as strongly as they did before. Maybe they do temporarily, but they move on because there's always more news to catch up with.

[Armchair Perspectives @ArmchairPersp]

@adgpi Is it an indicator of midlife crisis or changing perceptions with the passage of time that even Lieutenant Generals of the army start looking much younger and fresher than they ever did?

Lt Gen Pundir and Lt Gen Mohit Malhotra of @SWComd_IA look like they are still in their 40s.

[Armchair Perspectives @ArmchairPersp]

Have to hand it to the Indian government. Despite thousands of travellers engaging in intense savagery, traveling ticketless, ripping cushions, shattering windows, hanging on train doors, strewing peanut shells on floors, and turning coaches into tabelas, the government is constantly rolling out world-class trains and revamping stations to change the image of the Railways.

It remains to be seen if this form of "gandhigiri" will transform passenger behaviour in the long run.

[Armchair Perspectives @ArmchairPersp]

This shows how easily educated humans can reduce themselves to acting like absolute beasts if not monitored or forced to follow set rules.

Such a strange phenomenon for the most intelligent species in the planet.

Beasts are perhaps better than us. A lioness would not even let the father go near her kids for their well-being. Humans have created an alternate world for themselves where parents cannot afford to make time for their own children and have to leave them in the care of strangers.

[Armchair Perspectives @ArmchairPersp]

What a revolution it can prove to be for high-speed freight services in India. The current state of affairs is such that there is no official timetable for freight operations.

High-speed and predictable freight trains can induce more businesses to use the railways to ship their goods to other states. This will help reduce truck traffic significantly in highways and also help save billions in fuel imports.

[Armchair Perspectives @ArmchairPersp]

A combination of strict non-nonsense policing, large-scale issuing of challans and better planning and management of dividers, U-turns and crossings can help reducing these instances.

However, there are many drivers who would drive on the wrong side for their own convenience and will be happy to fight it out if challenged. An example needs to be made out of them through strong laws and enforcement.

[Armchair Perspectives @ArmchairPersp]

The practice of enforcing strict opening and closing hours for restaurants or other businesses should be stopped.

If people are happy to visit cafes in late hours or go shopping after work, why should the state interfere? The heavy handedness by the Police is a continuation of the British era Police State which no government has interfered with.

[Armchair Perspectives @ArmchairPersp]

@Benarasiyaa @Iyervval The Vietnamese are learning first hand what happens when you ask Indians to follow rules or behave in public places.

[Armchair Perspectives @ArmchairPersp]

@realakashgupta How safe do you think these transport aircraft are against supersonic surface to air missiles? The best they can do is to ferry logistics miles behind the frontline.

[Armchair Perspectives @ArmchairPersp]

This practice of policemen using their power to assault common citizens must end. Violence of any kind has to be eradicated from the society, be it corporal punishment at schools, or policemen beating poor people in the streets.

If a person has violated a law, there are legal provisions to deal with him/her. What is the need to insult and destroy the self-respect of adult citizens through violence?

[Armchair Perspectives @ArmchairPersp]

@KanchanGupta @IndEditorsGuild @smritiirani It does not suit the Government of India to engage in whataboutery about citizens' basic rights. The government must not and cannot deny citizens' passport and electoral rights based on their viewpoints.

[Armchair Perspectives @ArmchairPersp]

The Indian Army has several divisions deployed in Arunachal Pradesh and conducts regular forward patrols to monitor the border. Did frontline troops raise an alarm about the land grabbing activities by the Chinese and what did the government do about it?

The government must issue statements or organise press conferences to clear the air. It is a crime for media organisations to not make this their top story.

[Armchair Perspectives @ArmchairPersp]

We need to talk about GTRE's track record. Even the Shakti engines in Dhruv and Prachand helicopters are derivatives of the Safran Ardiden 1H1 engine.

GRTE's inability to enhance peak power in the Kaveri engine means that India will have to, embarrassingly, use indigenous fighter aircraft engines to power loitering UAVs.

[Armchair Perspectives @ArmchairPersp]

A lot has changed since 2024. Diplomacy cannot be the same in peace and at times of war.

First of all, Iran is an active war zone. There's no saying when and where Israel or the US decide to drop their bombs. A state funeral where the entire Iranian leadership has converged can serve as a juicy target for Netanyahu.

Secondly, sending a low-level diplomat to Iran isn't just to appease the US. Iran has bombed the entire Middle East, with many of these countries sharing very close ties with India. Indian workers and travellers have also lost their lives as a result of these attacks. There is no reason why India should accord the highest diplomatic courtesies to Iran at the moment.

[Armchair Perspectives @ArmchairPersp]

@navinbijoy1 @YusufDFI Safran and GTRE signed a contract in 2025 to develop a 120kN - 140 kN engine for AMCA. Work is in progress.

The Rolls Royce engine can be a parallel program to expedite development and bring in competition.

[Armchair Perspectives @ArmchairPersp]

@AMIT_GUJJU If civic sense and hygiene are not taught during childhood, it’s difficult to teach such behaviour to adults who cannot understand or care about the ills of spitting, littering or throwing food waste on floors.

[Armchair Perspectives @ArmchairPersp]

@Indian_Analyzer Its the hope that kills.

[Armchair Perspectives @ArmchairPersp]

If there is a conspiracy, it exists because the Tejas program spells doom for a lot of western aviation manufacturers.

The jet engine is one of the few remaining aviation technologies for which India is dependent on western suppliers. Strangling jet engine supplies will kill Tejas and force the IAF to consider importing more aircraft.