Upcoming Book: COVID-19 & Its Challenges — Is India Future Ready?

Against the backdrop of the Pandemic, the book is anchored in the most pertinent query: Is India Future-Ready?

COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the world to re-think and most importantly, letting go of the ‘old ways of thinking’- as nothing is static. The long quantified ways of understanding ‘security’, most notably, ‘national security’ has called for a significant change. The health emergency caused by SARS-CoV-2 has highlighted the fragility of a state-centric definition. At the core lies the very aspect of ‘human security’ which has often been overlooked in the traditional understanding of ‘territorial sovereignty and securing of borders’. The pandemic with its cataclysmic effect has been the biggest reality check for the international system at large and each nation-state in particular, as the virus respected no borders. With India in particular, with a dense population of 1.3 billion, COVID-19 has been a catalyst calling for a re-look at all dimensions- social, economic, political, and military. The need of the hour lies in enhancing India’s preparedness at all levels. Against the backdrop of the Pandemic, the book is anchored in the most pertinent query: Is India Future-Ready? With a holistic approach, this upcoming book by Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS) the first of its kind in presenting an Indian perspective to the COVID-19 pandemic. This attempt truly justifies the proverb- A Stitch in Time Saves Nine!

Blurbs:

The devastating global impact of Covid-19 has drawn attention to major current, latent, and potential national security threats. This volume is a timely effort to identify them and to recommend policy approaches for India to be “future-ready” to tackle the challenges of a post-COVID world. 

- P.S.Raghavan, Chairman, National Security Advisory Board

The COVID pandemic requires a fundamental change in the way that India thinks and acts in the coming decade. The lessons we learn will determine our place in this century. A forward-looking review of its impact on our comprehensive national strength is, therefore, needed to make informed decisions while coping with a pandemic that may be here to stay. This book critically examines India’s options in a holistic way and outlines what is required to secure our interests in the global order. It is a welcome addition on the Indian perspective to a global crisis.

- Vijay Gokhale, Former Foreign Secretary of India

The outbreak of the Pandemic, COVID-19, has brought the world to a grinding halt. The experts have argued that a timely pitched book makes it a promising read. Anchored in the most pressing query - Is India Future-Ready? this book goes a long way to enhance the understanding of both the range and the implications of India’s fight against the invisible virus - both now and for the future. Making a strong case on India’s National Security from its various perspectives, the book indeed is the ‘need of the COVID-19 hour’. 

                                                                    - Lt. Gen. Devraj Anbu, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, YSM,SM

Former Vice Chief of Army Staff, Indian Army

About the Editors:

Lt Gen (Dr.) V. K. Ahluwalia, PVSM, AVSM**, YSM, VSM (Retd.), is the Director of Centre for Land Warfare Studies. Lt. Gen. Ahluwalia was superannuated as Army Commander, Central Command in March 2012. As the GOC, his Division was awarded the National Green Governance Award (BNHS) by the Prime Minister of India on 10 November 2005, for conceiving and implementing the unique strategic concept, “Operation Green Kargil”.Post-retirement as GOC-in-C, he served as a Member in the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT). The General Officer commanded an infantry brigade, mountain division, and corps in Uri- Baramulla, Kargil, and Leh-Ladakh sectors respectively. He has also served in North East India and in the states critically affected by the Maoist insurgency in India. Lt Gen Ahluwalia holds a Ph.D. He has authored a book titled Red Revolution 2020 and beyond (Bloomsbury India) and has co-edited a book on Kargil titled Surprise, Strategy, and Vijay: 20 years of Kargil and beyond (Pentagon Press).

Dr. Amrita Jash is a Research Fellow and Managing Editor of the CLAWS Journal at the Centre for Land Warfare Studies. She is a Pavate Fellow and has been a Visiting Fellow at the Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Cambridge. Dr. Jash holds a Ph.D. in Chinese Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University. She has been an Adjunct Faculty at the School of Global Affairs-Ambedkar University and a Visiting Faculty at the Department of Chinese-Sikkim Central University; a UGC Graduate Fellow (2012-2017); a US-INDIA-CHINA Initiative Fellow SAIS-Johns Hopkins University (2013); a researcher under China’s Ministry of Commerce (2014); a researcher under Harvard-Yenching-NanchingProgramme(2015). She has been awarded by the COAS Gen Bipin Rawat for her contribution to Chinese Studies (2019). Dr. Jash’s research has appeared in 11 edited books, Peer-Reviewed Journals such as East Asian Policy, Review of Global Politics, Strategic Analysis, Yonsei Journal, China Report, Maritime Affairs, and Strategic Vision. She has published with CSIS, RSIS, ThinkChina, Huffington Post, E-IR, Asia Times, Munk School, Crawford School, ISDP, China-India Brief, SADFand others. Her research interests are China’s foreign policy, strategic and security issues, Chinese military, China-India relations, and China-Japan relations.

Commissioning Organization: Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), New Delhi, India

Publisher: Pentagon Press, New Delhi, India

ISBN-13: 978-93-90095-02-5

Date/Month of Launch: July 2020

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