Looking ahead to 2022

The defence ministry's year-end review focuses exclusively on the achievements, but it does offer a glimpse into the challenges ahead

On December 31, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) released its traditional year-end review. Unsurprisingly, it focuses almost exclusively on the military’s successes and achievements during the year gone by, while soft-peddling its shortcomings. An example of the report’s lack of balance is its silence on the continued occupation by Chinese troops from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), of territory that India has always claimed and patrolled. In a clumsy attempt at papering over this blunder, the government finds itself fighting from Beijing’s corner. Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi himself incorrectly stated that the PLA had not entered Indian territory, by