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The Print
07-06-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Op Sindoor is the first battle in India's two-front war. A vicious pawn in a King's Gambit
For once, I would avoid the temptation of the usual trope, a cricketing analogy. I'd leapfrog to chess instead. Since the Pakistanis started this with Pahalgam and fought with Chinese equipment, technology and guidance, think of them as holding the white pieces. And since the side with the white pieces makes the opening move, see this as that familiar move called PK4 in the past, and e4 now. I would, however, suggest a description, if not a sharp, hashtag-worthy name. What we've seen just now is the opening move in a two-front war. You could call it a trailer. It's just the early moves in a long-drawn war of wits, nerve, and military muscle. How do I explain this more succinctly? History gives every war a name. Officially, there's a pause, but the fighting lasted about 87 hours. Will it suffice for future generations for it to be listed merely as the 87-hour war? This means moving the pawn in front of the king two squares ahead, inviting the rival to counter the move. This move can lead to several different strategies, some as exotic sounding as The Italian Game, Scotch Game and Ruy Lopez. The description I find more suitable is The King's Gambit, since it's more aggressive and can lead to multiple tactical options. The two of them, Pakistan and China, are playing this together. And they have moved a pawn forward. Pakistan is in the front, the pawn, powered by the king and the queen, their cavalry and counsels in the back, read China. They wait for India's move now. Complacency is no plan. The clock is running. The flurry of stories (in the newspapers; you'd never catch us citing any TV channel on this) inform us that now the armed forces have also been following the practice of setting up a 'Red Team,' a group of sharp officers tasked with thinking and responding like the enemy. Think for a moment like your Red Team. What will it do next? Our basic premise is that while we have fretted over our two-front predicament, we never really thought it would come to pass at the same time. In 1962, the Pakistanis stayed out, although not unconditionally. They demanded negotiations on Kashmir which duly began under US-British pressure. And in 1965 and 1971, Kargil and onwards, the Chinese mostly kept away. This first move of the pawn two squares ahead of the king shows this has now changed. Also Read: Asim Munir just stole his 5th star & has nothing to show for it. It'll make him desperate, dangerous A two-front war is on. Except, the Chinese see no need to fight it directly. They have an able and willing proxy in Pakistan. They will keep selling it enough cutting-edge hardware to keep it on a par with India if not ahead in some specific areas, like possibly 5th-generation fighters within a year. Their satellites and other ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) resources will be at their ward's disposal, and real-time advice on tap. That's the reason I had said two weeks ago that the next provocation from Pakistan may not take the usual five-six years. It is likely to come earlier, before the field marshal begins to lose his political capital. Logically, the Red Team will conclude that China no longer has any need to fight India directly. All it needs to do is keep equipping Pakistan adequately to do it on its behalf. If you read any coverage of Operation Sindoor, an important strategic pointer jumps out at you. In the entire series of exchanges, you never heard of any American equipment being used, not even the F-16s. The Swedish SAAB Erieye AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning & Control) aircraft are bristling with Chinese electronics. See it as China versus India, but with the Pakistani military in front. For decades, we have known that the Chinese use Pakistan as a cheap instrument to triangulate us between them. This strategy has now moved two steps ahead. The first was the Chinese moving up to eastern Ladakh and tying down a significant section of our strike forces usually earmarked for Pakistan. The second is the direct military challenge from Pakistan. India's aggressive response to this PK4 or e4 move set the two partners back. They might have believed, as CDS Gen Anil Chauhan said in his Pune lecture, that their rocket/missile assault beginning the night of 9/10 May would 'bring India to its knees'. Once this gambit failed with almost all projectiles intercepted and the withering Indian response had the PAF grounded and its bases mauled, ceasefire was the wise option. The Red Team is now thinking what went wrong, and how to prepare for the next round. Also Read: There's an all-new N-word now. And India's soft power has become its hard liability The four things they will worry about: India's multi-layer air defence led by S-400, BrahMos missiles, especially when launched by Su-30MKIs from a distance way out of reach of any PAF missiles, the inadequacy of their own air defences including Chinese HQ-9s and India's ability to suppress or destroy these using its anti-radiation drones. Be sure the Chinese are working with the Pakistanis to address these. They have the S-400 too and boy, can they reverse-engineer. They will try to encash some IOUs with the Russians to find an answer to the BrahMos. A next generation fighter, the FC-31 with a longer-range missile will be on its way soon. I am only wargaming the Red Team. It's safer to presume that China now sees Pakistan as an extension of their India-focused Western Theatre Command. I would go so far as to say that the Chinese PLA would see Pakistan as their newest, the sixth theatre command. If it keeps India bogged down, their own Western Theatre Command can chill. There are several books and academic papers written on Pakistan-China relations. For our limited purpose we only need to run our eyes backwards over some important dates. The India-China border situation deteriorates after the Zhou Enlai visit in 1960. On 28 March, 1961, Pakistan sends a note to China seeking a demarcation of their boundary, which they only share by virtue of their illegal occupation over a part of Kashmir. In February 1962, as the crisis with India is heating up, Sir Muhammed Zafrullah Khan, speaking for Pakistan at the UN, admits that Islamabad is committed to withdrawing its forces from its borders with China in PoK. Two months later, on 3 May, the two issue a joint communique to start negotiations. India meanwhile keeps protesting. On 12 October, Pakistan and China have direct negotiations on border demarcation. Eight days later, Chinese PLA begins its attack. This is moving at warp speed. Just four months after the India-China fighting stops, Pakistan foreign minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto makes a dramatic visit to Beijing where a landmark agreement is signed which involves the ceding of 5,180 sq km of PoK territory (Shaksgam Valley and around) to China while getting some grazing grounds across Hunza in return. India of course rejects this. This super-short 150-word history explains the single-pylon China-Pakistan relationship. The shared hostility to India is the solitary pylon. The Pakistan-China embrace came even though one was a formal US, anti-Communism ally and the other still a 'brother' of the Soviet Union. This deal has strengthened over the intervening six decades. The difference now is that China is the world's second superpower and India is much stronger too. That's why China and Pakistan need each other more than they did in the 1960s. And if the Chinese can enable the Pakistanis to fight India as their proxies, it is value for money. We've only seen the first moves in this game yet. Also Read: What is Asim Munir thinking?
Hans India
04-06-2025
- General
- Hans India
Danish leads a successful Indian campaign at European US Kids Golf Champs
London: Danish Verma led a successful Indian campaign to the US Kids Golf European Championships this week. The Chandigarh lad, who has had a string of successes, won the Boys Under-13 title at the iconic Royal Musselburgh Golf Club in Scotland. Indians picked up one gold medal, two silver and one bronze medal and another top-10 place. Verma was one of numerous Indians to make it to the podium as Nihal Cheema finished runner-up in the Boys 8 years. Ahana Shah in the Girls 9 years was tied second, and Naaysha Sinha was third in the Girls 8 division and was also among the medallists. Most of the Indian medallists have finished on the podium in other events in the recent past. For both Danish and Nihal, their careers have been shaped by coach Jesse Grewal. Danish, who also won the US Kids Thailand Championships, has been consistent. He shot rounds of 70-72-69, and his final round 69 was bogey-free. The Longniddry olf Club proved a happy hunting ground. Ground for some of the other Indian youngsters. Nihal Cheema, with rounds of 35-38-34 and a total of 106, lost narrowly to Rinto Oake of Japan (35-35-35), who totalled 105 at Longniddry. Naaysha Sinha of Noida shot rounds of 41-35-41 in the three nine-hole rounds at Longniddry Golf Club, where Brianna Yang of Great Britain won the Girl 8 title.. In the Girls 9 section, Ahana Shah, who carded 37-37-39 in her three rounds, was the runner-up as Jay Kang of the US won at Longniddry. Danish was also picked for the Red Team for the European Van Horn team competition, and in his match, where he teamed up with Luke Lapone of the US, they tied their match with Zach Gammon of France and Caleb Pickett of the UK of the Blue Team. Overall, the Blue Team won the Van Horn Cup. In some of the other results, Vedaansh Jain was 18th in Boys 9, Drona Setlur was 12th in Boys 10, and Rajveer Suri was T27 in Boys 12. In Girls 13-14, Naina Kapoor 72-78-77 was seventh. The U.S. Kids Golf returned to East Lothian, Scotland's Golf Coast, for the 16th annual U.S. Kids Golf European Championship. More than 500 of the world's best young golfers, aged 5-18, travelled from more than 50 countries to compete in a premier junior golf tournament at the Home of Golf. The conditions were challenging with wind and rain amidst cold weather, and it was a truly Scottish weather experience for the young stars. An Indian team qualifying on the basis of their performances represents India each year. Indian results: Boys 8: 2. Nihal Cheema (34-38-34) 105. Lost by one shot. Boys 9:18. Vedaansh Jain (79-78-81) 238. Boys 10: 12. Drona Setlur (80-76-86) 242 Boys 13: 1. Danish Verma (70-72-69) 211. Won by 5 shots Girls 8: 3. Naaysha Sinha (41-35-41) 117. Lost by 4 shots to the winner Girls 9: T2. Ahana Shah (37-37-39) 113. Lost by one shot to the winner Girls 13-14: 7. Naina Kapoor (72-78-77) 227
Hindustan Times
04-06-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Danish leads successful Indian campaign at European US Kids Golf Champs
London, Chandigarh's Danish Verma led a successful Indian campaign at the US Kids Golf European Championships this week, winning the boys U-13 title at the iconic Royal Musselburgh Golf Club in Scotland. The Indians claimed one gold medal, one silver, two bronze and another Top-10 finish. Verma was one of numerous Indians to make it to the podium as Nihal Cheema finished runner-up in the boys 8 years. Ahana Shah in the girls 9 years and Naaysha Sinha was third in the girls 8 division were also among medals. Most of the Indian medallists have finished on the podium in other events in the recent past. For both Danish and Nihal, their careers have been shaped by coach Jesse Grewal. Danish, who also won the US Kids Thailand Championships, has been consistent. He shot rounds of 70-72-69 and his final round 69 was bogey free. The Longniddry Golf Club proved a happy hunting ground for some of the Indian youngsters. Nihal Cheema with rounds of 35-38-34 and a total of 106 lost narrowly to Rinto Oake of Japan who totalled 105. Naaysha Sinha of Noida shot rounds of 41-35-41 in the three nine-hole rounds at Longniddry Golf Club, where Brianna Yang of Great Britain won the girl 8 title In girls 9 section, Ahana Shah who carded 37-37-39 in her three rounds was runner-up as Jay Kang of the US won. Danish was also picked for the Red Team for the European Van Horn team competition and in his match, where he teamed up with Luke Lapone of the US, they tied it with Zach Gammon of France and Caleb Pickett of UK of the Blue Team. Overall the Blue Team won the Van Horn Cup. In some of the other results, Vedaansh Jain was 18th in boys 9, Drona Setlur was 12th in boys 10 and Rajveer Suri was tied 27th in boys 12. In girls 13-14, Naina Kapoor 72-78-77 was seventh.
Edinburgh Live
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Edinburgh Live
The Chase star points out major issue ‘ruining' rival ITV gameshow
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info A star of The Chase has taken a swipe at a rival ITV gameshow, pointing out a major issue that seemingly "ruined" an episode. Mark Labbett, known as The Beast, is one of the six Chasers on the ITV show, having been a part of the line-up ever since its launch 16 years ago. The TV star recently took to social media to share his verdict on new gameshow Genius Game, which launched on ITV earlier this month. The programme, hosted by Doctor Who favourite David Tennant, sees contestants competing in a series of unique tasks to win a big cash prize. While they begin by working together, eventually contestants are forced to put themselves first as only one person can win the game. (Image: ITV) Watching at home, Mark criticised the show's editing and claimed that a big surprise had been made obvious. "Editing is ruining the play-along factor #geniusgame," Mark wrote on X, alongside a sad-face emoji. The Chase star's comment about the show was seemingly supported by Genius Game contestant Rebecca, who featured in the episode Mark had been watching. A post shared on an account which appears to belong to Rebecca, 37, read: "Totally agree," in response to Mark's initial tweet. Also, when a fellow X user said: "The editing of this show is awful. We know the Red Team has won now – there's no jeopardy," the same account responded: "I know! I wish they'd held off telling us white had lost." (Image: ITV) Rebecca wrote about her stint on Genius Game on Instagram, under the handle northernblondeabroad. She penned: "As most of you know I have always been a fan of escape rooms, trivia and problem-solving, so to be part of a show where brains, strategy and fun collide is a dream come true!" Genius Game has continued to divide viewers since its launch. 1.2 million viewers tuned into the first episode, according to Broadcast Now, but Race Across the World, which aired in the same time slot on BBC One, managed to rake in significantly more, at 3.1 million. The description for Genius Game reads: "Eleven strategically minded players participate in a host of never before seen games designed to test their intellect, while carefully and creatively using the art of manipulation to outfox their opponents and win a cash prize." The Chase airs on weekdays on ITV at 5pm
Metro
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
The Chase star points out major issue 'ruining' rival ITV gameshow
A major star of The Chase has taken a big swipe at a rival ITV gameshow after claiming that a surprise was 'ruined' at the end of an episode. Mark Labbett, better known as The Beast, has been part of The Chase's iconic line-up of quiz masterminds ever since its inception 16 years ago. ITV recently drafted in Doctor Who star David Tennant to present Genius Game, a brand new quiz show going out on Wednesday evenings. The gameshow involves contestants initially working together but eventually being forced to put themselves first in a bid to win a cash prize. However, watching on at home, Mark criticised the editing on the new show, claiming that big reveals are already obvious to viewers before they're made. On X, he said that the editing on the show is 'ruining the play-along factor,' finishing up his message with a sad-faced emoji to drive home his disappointment. His comments about the show then appeared to be backed up by a contestant who was on the very episode he was watching – Rebecca, 37, from Huddersfield. Posting from an account that seems to belong to Rebecca, with the name @RebeccaKellett, she concurred with Mark's thoughts, adding: 'Totally agree'. When @ShawnCBrown said, 'The editing of this show is awful. We know the Red Team has won now – there's no jeopardy,' the same @RebeccaKellett account said: 'I know! I wish they'd held off telling us white had lost.' Eagle-eyed fans who watch quiz shows almost every day of the week also spotted West Yorkshire native Rebecca on an episode of The Finish Line this week. @BCFCBradz, who had been watching Genius Game, took a photo of his TV when he spotted Rebecca – going by 'Bex' on TV – on The Finish Line. He tweeted, 'Bex from Genius Game popping up on daytime TV quiz shows,' tagging ITV in his message in a bid to bring it to their attention. @Millardy73 also commented: 'I see Bex from ITV's Genius Game (yes I am still watching it but only for David Tennant) is a bit of a sneaky gamer. Now appearing on The Finish Line. But… which came first!?' The gameshow contestant responded to those tweets too, explaining that she recorded her slot on The Finish Line way before Genius Game. 'The Finish Line came way first. I also did The Chase but I actually won that one,' she said. @BryonyBowes wondered 'if the Genius Game and The Finish Line studios are just next door to each other' after spotting Rebecca twice. Entrepreneur Rebecca explained: 'This is so awkward. They were filmed so far apart.' @CagSib5 asked her 'Did you just apply for a load of TV programs one day?' to which Rebecca reiterated that that wasn't the case: 'They were filmed ages apart.' In response to @ShawnCBrown, who criticised the editing on Genius Game, Rebecca responded: 'I know! I wish they'd held off telling us [who] had lost.' In a post on Instagram under the handle @northernblondeabroad, she wrote about her stint on the gameshow, saying: 'As most of you know I have always been a fan of escape rooms, trivia and problem-solving, so to be part of a show where brains, strategy and fun collide is a dream come true!' Mark's critical comments about Genius Game come just weeks after it was branded 'the most expensive flop' that ITV had suffered in several years. More Trending In the aftermath of the first few episodes, it was quickly rumoured that the muted reception from viewers had resulted in an urgent scheduling change from ITV. Only 1.2 million viewers tuned in for the first episode (via Broadcast Now), significantly behind Race Across the World, which pulled in 3.1 million in the same timeslot over on BBC One. ITV then confirmed that Genius Game would air only on Wednesdays over the next seven weeks, with Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? celebrity specials taking the Thursday, May 8 slot. View More » Catch up with Genius Game on ITVX, watch The Finish Line on BBC iPlayer. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: The Doctor Who finale will 'shock and terrify' — here's what parents need to know MORE: Wynne Evans devastated as he confirms BBC axe: 'It breaks my heart' MORE: 11 years on, I'm still mourning comedy legend Rik Mayall
