In Own Matter

Hello everybody!

The two features on the latest show-down between India and Pakistan, posted the last weekend (see Part 1 and Part 2), have attracted plentiful of attention. Especially so in India. So much so, I’m both surprised (even a bit shocked) and humbled: essentially, since two days I’m overwhelmed with requests for interviews, for participations in different (online) panels, and for commentary.

That said, certain questions to my address are recurring, and thus would like to address them in this place.

1.) My private life: is my private business. Therefore, no point in asking me about it.

2.) I’ve got no academic degree. Thus, no point (even ‘wrong’) to address me with ‘Doctor’, ‘Professor’ or anything of that kind. Actually, I think I’m ‘simple to handle’, even if (just quoting two-three people who know me), ‘unusually outspoken, direct and frank’ (and sarcastic, as should be obvious).

3.) My work: I’m researching, analysing and publishing about air warfare for about 40 years (yes, have started in my teenage), including slightly over 25 years in English language. Presently, I’m also working as book-series-editor and illustrator for Helion & Co, a publisher in Great Britain.

4.) I’m a ‘full time freelancer’ since exactly 25 years.

5.) Number of books I’ve published: it’s long since I’ve lost the count of books I’ve authored, co-authored, edited/enhanced etc., but it was certainly no ‘560’ (not even if I count all those I’ve helped illustrate with my artwork). A list of about 80-85% of my books (at least the most recent ones, all published by Helion) can be found here (feel free to count them if you think you have to, but then add about a dozen published earlier, for example, by Osprey and Schiffer).

6.) I have no trace of clue how many articles I’ve published over the time. Can only say I’ve worked with lots of magazines, periodicals and dailies over the time – before completely stopping that kind of work, about eight years ago. Magazines coming to my mind for having published something by me were Aeroplane, Air Combat, Air & Space Journal, AirEnthusiast, Air Force, AirForces Monthly, Airpower, Antares, Aviation & Space Technology, Aviation Week, Avions, Battlespace, Jane’s Defence Weekly, Combat Aircraft, Desperta Ferro, DSI, Fana de l’Aviation, Fliegerrevue, Fliegerrevue Extra, Flight Journal, International Aviation Review, Iranian Aviation Review, Letectvi + Kosmonautika, Modern War, Scale Aircraft Modelling, Smoketrails, Swiss Military Review, The Aviation Historian, Truppendienst, the blog War is Boring, or (good example for ‘dailies’), Die Presse, in Austria.

7.) I’m busying myself with Indo-Pakistani conflict since the 1990s. Don’t recall to have penned anything on my own to this topic, but I’m proud to say I did my best to help a number of other authors publish their stuff. Have found this even more important because there are excellent researchers of this topic, and, since I’m working for Helion, I’ve been fortunate to be in position to commission several of them to write related books. In other cases, have helped realise various book-projects.

What I know about the Indian and Pakistan armed forces, and their mutual armed conflicts is nothing 'exclusive'. It's something based on cooperation with a number of well-informed, well-positioned contacts in both countries - and that for literal decades. These are kind and dilligent people with insider knowledge.

It might appear 'unpopular' in our days to mention 'such an obsolescent media' like printed books, but: these contacts have resulted in the commission of, and publishing of numerous well-informed books. Moreover: books need no batteries, nor a plug to re-load.

What kind of books?

Books detailing the mindset of the officer corps in both the Indian- and the Pakistani armed forces, books detailing their combat operations in different mutual conflicts, books also providing (often comprehensive) backgrounds and context, and books sparing no critique (nor merits), wherever deserved. The only kind of books about modern warfare that's really telling the 'full story' - from 'bullets & beans' (also camouflage patterns and colours used to camouflage Indian and Pakistani aircraft, tanks etc.), to the 'game of thrones' (i.e. political 'games' resulting in military operations).

In chronological order of their publishing (all in the Asia@War book-series by Helion & Co, in the UK), the books in question were:

For additional details about these books (and few other ‘touching’ India and Pakistan, like Adrien Fontanellaz’s work on the Sri Lankan Civil War, or Ken Conboy’s reconstruction of the CIA Ops in Tibet), please check the sub-site of the Asia@War book-series:

https://www.helion.co.uk/series/asiaatwar.php

Bottom line: if you like, it's not even my own knowledge I'm using to analyse the India-Pakistan conflict. It's the knowledge of classy veterans and researchers. People like Ravi Rikhye (who can tell you the CV and the way of thinking of every important general, regardless what side); like Sanjay Badri-Maharaj (who can tell you how the Indian top political- and military leadership think about nuclear weapons and defence of India); people like Major-General (ret.) Syed Ali Hamid (who can tell you intricate details about the Pakistan Armoured Corps), or Air Commodore (ret.) Kaiser Tufail (who can do the same about the Pakistan Air Force). 'Last but not least', Usman Shabbir and Yawar Mazhar, two enterprising Pakistani researchers: the first civilians ever permitted to research the history of Pakistan Air Force with help of official documentation (instead of the usual hear-say).

Bottom line: nope, I do not ‘know everything’. Far from that. I would say that I only happen to know either who knows, or where to find the info - even if, very often (more often than I would like), that might take time.

Correspondingly: please have patience, I’ll see to answer all the ‘good questions’ as soon as I only can.