Böcker av G D Bakshi

This is the Military History of the Mohyals - an Indian clan of fighting Brahmins. They are Saraswat Brahmins who dwelt on the banks of the ancient river Saraswati - that once flowed from the Himalayas to the Arabian Sea. As such they came in the path of each and every invader who came to loot or subjugate India. The warrior sage, Parshuram, had militarised them in the early epic period. From priests these Brahmins had morphed into Mohyal fighting Brahmins, brave and tenacious fighters with a great tradition of soldiering. After Alexanders invasion, Chanakya recruited the Maurayan Army from this region. They became the Bhumiar Brahmins who later settled in Bihar and UP, and helped unify India for the Maurayan empire. Surprisingly, a Mohyal clan fought in Iraq on the side of the Shias' in the famous Karbala war. The Mohyal Shahi rulers of Afghanistan stopped the world conquering Arab armies on the Hindu Kush and gave them their first taste of defeat and held them off for 300 years. They fought the Arab invasions of Sindh, Mehmood Ghaznavi and Muhammad Ghori. When the Mughal empire turned tyrannical under Aurangzeb, they flocked to the banner of the Sikh Gurus to overthrow this evil tyranny. Baba Paraga, Bhai Mati Das and Banda Bairagi were great soldier saints of the Sikh military tradition. They were all Mohyals who played a major role in the Indian military revival that took place with the Sikhs and the Marathas. This book is an invaluable record of all the military invasions of India from the third century B.C. onwards. The soldiers and scholars of History will find it an invaluable document about Indian Military History per se - right from the Vedic times to the present era. These fighting Brahmins have maintained their military traditions. Post-independence, 2/Lt Puneet Datt won the Ashok Chakra - the highest gallantry award in the land. Four Mohyal officers won the Mahavir Chakra and other four, the Vir Chakra. Six Mohyals have risen to the rank of Army Commander and equivalent in the Indian Army and Air Force, and three became the governor of states. 10 became Lt Generals and 15 Maj Generals - all from a miniscule community - just 6 lakh strong. They are like the Samurai of Japan - great patriots, scholar-warriors and erstwhile feudal lords who have made enormous sacrifices for their country. They have been the guardians of it's gates.

This is an explosive and topical book about the one threat that is exercising the minds of security planners the world over - the looming threat from a rising and increasingly assertive China. China is emerging as a global superpower and a regional hegemon. Its economy that grew at a scorching, double-digit pace for two decades is now slowing down. What does the current phase of Chinese aggression against all its neighbours signify? Will China engage in conflict? if so when and where could that conflict occur? This book is a structured net assessment of China's military power by a reputed and well-known Indian military analyst. The growth of Chinese military power has been examined with emphasis on how it primarily affects India. The book analyses how India must respond. It has an exhaustively researched section on how the Chinese PLA has performed in actual combat since 1949, and a detailed analysis of the evolution of China's military doctrines and strategic culture. With this as a backdrop, there is a detailed chapter each on the structure and modernisation of the PLA, the PLAN and PLAAF. The most dangerous for India is the exponential growth in the Chinese Airpower (PLAAF). China has already changed Asia's balance of power. The Gulf War in 1990 had shown to China how backward it was in terms of military technology and weaponry. A radical transformation in Chinese military thought and practice led to a transformation towards introduction and absorption of latest technology. This has been accompanied by a ruthless reduction in manpower. The dynamic unleashed by the Chinese has prompted the biggest military buildup in Asia since World War II. China's nuclear force structure and employment doctrines as well as its military industrial complex are examined and the strength and Chinese weaknesses underlined. The crux of this book lies in the concluding chapters on Alternative Economic and Military Futures for China. Whether China will engage in conflict is not so much a question of "if" but "when". It will largely be dictated by the performance of the Chinese economy. China will initiate a conflict when it feels its Comprehensive National Power (CNP) has become sufficiently strong in relative terms. This could well happen by the middle of the next decade, i.e. 2025. This book is a must read for military professionals and laymen alike.