THE TALK
Since the late 1940s, China and India have been unable to agree on a border between the two newly emerged Asian giants, even fighting a war in 1962 over this disagreement. What exactly is the border problem? What are its origins and why is it so difficult to resolve? What are the external and internal political factors driving the current round of tensions and which way could this go?
Ajai Shukla, Expert on Defence & International Relations
Colonel Ajai Shukla (Retired) is one of India’s most respected experts on defence, strategic affairs, international relations and the defence economy.
He regularly writes for the Business Standard, on these subject and appears on national television very often.
Ajai also hosts a strategic affairs blog, Broadsword (ajaishukla.blogspot.com), which is visited daily by thousands of readers from across the world.
Before joining Business Standard, Ajai worked with New Delhi Television (NDTV) from 2001-2008 as a prime time news anchor and war correspondent. During that period, he reported from the ground the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and the insurgencies in India’s northeastern states and in Jammu & Kashmir. He continues to be a commentator on news television.
Before taking up journalism, Ajai served as a combat soldier in the Indian army for over two decades, retiring as a colonel after commanding a tank regiment. From 1979-2001, he saw military service across India’s borders, including Jammu & Kashmir, Nagaland, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan. He spent a year (1993-94) as a UN peacekeeper in Mozambique.
Ajai has graduated from the National Defence Academy, Kharakvasla and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. He has a bachelor’s degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University and post-graduate degrees from Madras University and from King’s College, London.
