Build that carrier, quick!

All of this year, the navy's proposal for building INS Vishal has gone back and forth between the defence secretary and the navy

The Duke of Wellington’s description of the Battle of Waterloo — “The nearest run thing you ever saw in your life, by God!” — also describes the Sino-Indian stand-off at Doklam that ended last month in a mutual pullback. But we must also consider what might have happened had it come to hostilities, and the frank answer would be: Besides China’s infrastructure and equipment advantages on the land border, India would have been caught short even in the theatre where it enjoys strategic advantage over China — the maritime domain in the Indian Ocean. 

 All of this year, the navy’s