Vaad

Shiv Kunal Verma is an Indian military historian, author, and filmmaker renowned for his extensive work documenting India's military history and cultural landscapes. Born into an army family, he received his education at The Doon School and Madras Christian College. Verma began his career by opening trekking routes between Kashmir, Zanskar, and Ladakh. He later transitioned into journalism and filmmaking, producing acclaimed documentaries such as Salt of the Earth for the Indian Air Force and The Standard Bearers on the National Defence Academy.As an author, Verma has penned several significant works, including The Long Road to Siachen: The Question Why, 1962: The War That Wasn’t, and 1965: A Western Sunrise, Industani:Six degrees of separation. He also co-authored Courage and Conviction, the autobiography of General V.K. Singh. Hindi translation of Verma's books on 1962 and 1965 wars are now also out.His recent publications were Yodha-1 and Yodha-2, illustrated military histories of the Indian subcontinent. These works offer a comprehensive visual and narrative account of India's military evolution, with Yodha-1 covering the period from ancient epics to the 1857 uprising, and Yodha-2 detailing events from 1858 to the Kargil War in 1999.Verma has just come out with 6 books on six important battles of Indian republic. He has picked six different authors to pen these accounts and has edited these into a nicely packaged series. Below is the link of all these latest books: 1947: The Battle of Badgam and Shalateng (https://amzn.in/d/0hKfVdC4)1962: Death Trap in Nam Ka Chu (https://amzn.in/d/02v4TBVr)1971: The Genocidal War (https://amzn.in/d/08mPDxu5)1965: Holding The Line at Asal Uttar (https://amzn.in/d/0glKEpm1)The Sabre Slayers: The Air Battles of the 1965 War with Pakistan (https://amzn.in/d/06d3IACe)1999: The Battle for the Heights of Point 5770 (https://amzn.in/d/02DsFYBy)

Vikram Jit Singh is a distinguished journalist and columnist. With a career spanning several decades, he has gained recognition for his in-depth reporting and analysis on defense and security issues.Singh served as a war correspondent, notably covering the Kargil War and counter-terrorism operations in Kashmir from 1997 to 1999 and again in 2004. His frontline experiences during these conflicts have provided him with unique insights into military operations and the challenges faced by the Indian armed forces.In addition to his written work, Singh is a TV analyst specializing in defense, where he offers expert commentary and analysis on current military and security affairs.His book 'Flowers on a Kargil Cliff' is an excellent account of the Kargil war from the perspective of a war correspondent.

Anchit Gupta is an aviation historian, researcher and the founder of IAFHistory.in, a digital archive dedicated to preserving and documenting the history of the Indian Air Force. An Air Force “brat” who grew up in an Air Force family, Gupta has spent years researching archival records, veterans’ accounts, photographs and official documents to uncover forgotten stories of India’s military aviation history.Professionally, he is an investment professional and Managing Director at Samara Capital, and is an alumnus of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He is the author of RAF India to Vayu Bhawan: The History of Air Headquarters and has contributed research to documentaries and official IAF publications. His work on IAF history has also earned him commendations from senior Indian Air Force leadership.

If you want to join Amit Sangwan's courses, just send a Whatsapp VAAD25 to 9289886158 and get 25% discount.Amit Sangwan is a Gurgaon-based content creator, private investor, astrologer, marital-counsellor and real estate consultant whose straight-talk videos have made him a familiar face across India’s YouTube landscape. Branding himself the “No. 1 Clarity Giver,” he runs a cluster of channels—Sango Life Sutras, Clarity for Youth, Guruji from Gurugram, Sango Real Estate and Sango Saral Jyotish—that blend advice on career strategy, relationships, property investing, and Indian philosophy.Sangwan’s mantra—“people need clarity, not motivation”—underpins his candid, sometimes controversial takes on trending national issues and personal finance. Offline, he conducts real-estate webinars, one-to-one counseling sessions and youth workshops. He is best known for delivering actionable frameworks that help them think clearly, act decisively and live intentionally.In this episode, we dive deep into the silent crisis consuming Indian middle-class families. Amit Sangwan uncovers the dark truths behind the modern rat race, explaining why the traditional "formula life" has collapsed. We discuss the trap of lifestyle inflation, the vanity of competing with the ultra-rich, the harsh realities of delayed marriages and falling birth rates, and why the ultimate goal shouldn't be a promotion, but reclaiming control of your own time.

If you want to join Amit Sangwan's courses, just send a Whatsapp VAAD25 to 9289886158 and get 25% discount.Amit Sangwan is a Gurgaon-based content creator, private investor, astrologer, marital-counsellor and real estate consultant whose straight-talk videos have made him a familiar face across India’s YouTube landscape. Branding himself the “No. 1 Clarity Giver,” he runs a cluster of channels—Sango Life Sutras, Clarity for Youth, Guruji from Gurugram, Sango Real Estate and Sango Saral Jyotish—that blend advice on career strategy, relationships, property investing, and Indian philosophy.Sangwan’s mantra—“people need clarity, not motivation”—underpins his candid, sometimes controversial takes on trending national issues and personal finance. Offline, he conducts real-estate webinars, one-to-one counseling sessions and youth workshops. He is best known for delivering actionable frameworks that help them think clearly, act decisively and live intentionally.In this episode, we dive deep into the silent crisis consuming Indian middle-class families. Amit Sangwan uncovers the dark truths behind the modern rat race, explaining why the traditional "formula life" has collapsed. We discuss the trap of lifestyle inflation, the vanity of competing with the ultra-rich, the harsh realities of delayed marriages and falling birth rates, and why the ultimate goal shouldn't be a promotion, but reclaiming control of your own time.

Avtar Singh is a Nihang Sikh, associated with the Shiromani Panth Akali Budha Dal under the leadership of Akali Baba Maan Singh Ji 96 Crori. His passion lies in delving into the deeper, unaltered history of Sikhism. Through his research, he aims to bring forward the historical reality of Sikhi’s alignment with Sanatan Dharma, challenging modern narratives established by institutions like the SGPC and other such groups.

Prasanna Tantri is an Associate Professor in the Finance area and Executive Director of the Centre for Analytical Finance at ISB. His research areas include- banking, financial inclusion, financial contagion, regulation, and the relationship between politics and finance. He teaches a course on Indian financial systems.

Adarsh Pandit is a graduate from IIT Delhi. He is a political strategist.

In this video, we dissect the frustrations of India's middle-class taxpayers. Despite footing a massive portion of the nation's bills, taxpayers receive almost nothing in return regarding healthcare, education, or social security. We explore why the "crab mentality" punishes high earners and propose a comprehensive, points-based "Kar Yogdaan Credit" system to reward taxpayers with real, tangible benefits and incentivize tax compliance.

Kuljinder Dhillon is a common man from Majha region in Punjab. Like tens of thousands of youth, he also got swept away by the Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale-led Khalistan movement in late 1970s and early 1980s. He was inside the Golden Temple when the Indian Army launched a military operation codenamed 'Blue Star' to take control of the holy complex back from Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who was using the Sikhism's holiest site as a launchpad for his terrorism and anti-India activities.Kuljinder Dhillon actively participated in the battle with Indian army on 4th & 5th June 1984. He was arrested later from the Golden Temple but managed to flee from a hospital where he was referred to for treating injuries inflicted by a grenade attack. He later fled to Pakistan in search of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, believing like lakhs of other Sikhs that 'Sant' was hiding in Pakistan.Kuljinder Dhillon later got involved in smuggling activities across the border but was caught few years later. Ultimately, he got disillusioned with the Khalistan movement and is a strong opponent of the same now. His journey from extremism to mainstream is an important one that needed to be documented. Though, Kuljinder Dhillon lives like a family man in Punjab, he is constantly under the threat from Khalistanis who have made attempts on his life for speaking truth.

Dharmendra Pradhan has resigned, finally!

Puneet Sahani is an independent researcher and commentator known for his work on Sikh history, identity, and the intersection of religion and politics in South Asia. He is particularly recognized for his critical perspectives on the evolution of Sikh identity and the Khalistan movement.

Jay Vardhan Singh is currently doing his PhD in Ancient Indian History at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. His area of interest includes the Ancient and early medieval history of the Indian subcontinent.Follow Jay’s YouTube channel (English): @JayVardhanSingh ; Hindi: @ThestoryofIndia

Dinkar P. Srivastava joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1978. He has served in Karachi in the early 90s. Also served in the Middle East, Washington, Brussels and Tehran.In 1993-94, as Director (UNP), he was part of successful Indian lobbying efforts against four Pakistani attempts to have resolutions on J&K adopted in UN General Assembly and UN Commission on Human Rights. He was involved in the drafting of National Human Rights Commission statute. As Joint Secretary (UNP), he participated in Indian lobbying efforts to contain the diplomatic fallout of the Pokhran II nuclear tests and prevent the internationalization of the J&K issue during the Kargil war (1999).He dealt with Indian candidature for permanent membership of the UN Security Council, UN Peace-keeping and Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism. He was a member of the Indian delegations to the World Conference on Human Rights in 1993, and the International Court of Justice in the case of Aerial Incident of 1999 (Pakistan v. India). In 2011-15, as Indian Ambassador to Iran, he negotiated the MOU for Indian participation in Chabahar Port.His book 'Forgotten Kashmir: The Other Side of the Line of Control' examines the evolution of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) over the past seven decades. His latest book 'Pakistan: Ideologies, Strategies, Interests' examines the ideology of Pakistan.

Colonel Rajesh Pawar (retd) is a former officer of the Indian Army and is now a seasoned war correspondent and defense journalist for India Today. He is best known for his fearless ground reporting from some of the most volatile conflict zones in recent history.His expertise lies in global geopolitics, modern warfare tactics, and defense strategy. Most notably, he provided extensive on-ground coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war, reporting live from Kyiv even as the city was under siege.More recently, he has covered the Israel-Hamas war, reporting from locations like Tel Aviv and the Dead Sea to analyze the conflict's military and human impact. His work often focuses on the intersection of military action and its geopolitical ripple effects, making him a critical voice for understanding how global conflicts impact India's strategic interests.

Colonel Yogander Singh is a retired Indian Army officer and military historian, with special focus on Haryana. He has written several books, most prominent among them being 'Hal Wa Samshir: Politico-Military History of Haryana', Future Ready Indian Army and 'Effective Deterrence: Thoughts on India's Security Policy and Structures in the Twenty-first Century'.

Dr Abhinav Pandya, a Cornell University graduate in public affairs and a bachelor's from St. Stephen's College, Delhi, is a founder and CEO of Usanas Foundation, an India-based foreign policy and security think tank. He has authored books named 'Radicalization in India: An Exploration (2019)' and 'Terror Financing in Kashmir (2023)'.He had previously advised the former governor of Jammu and Kashmir on security issues during the critical times when Kashmir's special status, Article 370, was revoked.He has written extensively for several national and international newspapers, and worked with the International Labour Organization, the United Nations.His latest book is 'The Jihad Game: Inside Pakistan's dark war'

Dr Ramesh Chandra Sinha is a 1962-batch IAS officer whose six-decade career produced some of the most consequential infrastructure projects in modern India.As Vice Chairman and Managing Director of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) under PWD Minister Nitin Gadkari, he built India's first world-class expressway — the 95-km Mumbai-Pune Expressway — completing it in 36 months at a cost of Rs 1,600 crore, which was Rs 50 crore below the MSRDC's own estimate and roughly half of Reliance's competing bid that came with 78 concessions. He raised Rs 2,400 crore from the open market through non-convertible debentures on an equity base of just Rs 5 crore, creating a financing model that other states later sought to replicate.Alongside the Expressway, he delivered 50-plus flyovers across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region with an average construction time of around 30 months, along with numerous rail over-bridges and town bypasses.Earlier, as Vice Chairman and Managing Director of CIDCO under Chief Minister Sharad Pawar, he transformed Vashi from a settlement of 30,000 people into the foundation of Navi Mumbai — building its dam, water supply, six-lane road to Mumbai, railway connectivity (with CIDCO funding 67 percent of the capital cost), modern railway stations, and the iconic Seawoods NRI Complex which sold out worldwide in nine days.He also developed New Nashik, New Aurangabad, New Nanded and the district headquarters of Sindhudurg, and engineered the shifting of Mumbai's wholesale market to Navi Mumbai.At the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation, he turned a loss-making PSU profitable and launched the famed half-hourly ASIAD bus service between Mumbai and Pune in the face of organised taxi-union resistance.In Andhra Pradesh, under Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, he played a key role in conceptualising Cyberabad, the Visakhapatnam SEZ, the Nagarjuna Sagar water supply system for Hyderabad, the Hyderabad bypass, the biopharma zone, the Hyderabad Metro, the Krishna port and the international airport.As Vice Chairman and Managing Director of MADC, he led the MIHAN multi-modal cargo hub and airport project at Nagpur. As Aurangabad Collector during the 1992 riots, his decisiveness earned him the nickname "Simh."At All India Radio earlier in his career, he was instrumental in bringing FM radio to India in 1977. His biography, Transforming India from Within, was released in 2024.

Vishal Bhargava is one of India's most independent voices on real estate — a journalist and analyst who has tracked the sector for nearly two decades from inside both finance and media. He began his career on the institutional side, with stints at CLSA India and Bank of America, before moving to financial journalism at The Economic Times and ET NOW.Today he writes regular columns on real estate, and runs BHK-Voice, his independent platform that has become required reading for serious homebuyers, builders, and policy-watchers. He is based in Mumbai and applies the discipline of an equity analyst to a sector that has historically resisted scrutiny - pricing builders the way one would price stocks, and reading projects through their lenders, their balance sheets, and their political backers.His writing and commentary are known for being unusually plain-spoken in an industry built on spin: he has called Mumbai's market "Lower Parelised," predicted Gurgaon's coming correction long before consensus, and coined the term "location deception" for one of Indian real estate's most common scams.Beyond the numbers, he is also a chronicler of Indian cities — their architecture, their infrastructure, their slow disfigurement — which makes him one of the few people in India equipped to discuss real estate not just as a market, but as a mirror of Indian state capacity and public life.

Dr Abhinav Pandya, a Cornell University graduate in public affairs and a bachelor's from St. Stephen's College, Delhi, is a founder and CEO of Usanas Foundation, an India-based foreign policy and security think tank. He has authored books named 'Radicalization in India: An Exploration (2019)' and 'Terror Financing in Kashmir (2023)'.He had previously advised the former governor of Jammu and Kashmir on security issues during the critical times when Kashmir's special status, Article 370, was revoked.He has written extensively for several national and international newspapers, and worked with the International Labour Organization, the United Nations.His latest book is 'The Jihad Game: Inside Pakistan's dark war'

Nityānanda Miśra is a Mumbai-based finance professional in the investment banking industry. He specialises in quantitative finance, equity market microstructure, algorithmic trading, and execution consulting. He is an alumnus of IIM Bangalore (2007) and a gold medalist from Gujarat University (2004).Nityānanda is a multifaceted personality—a Sanskrit scholar, a polyglot, a grammarian, a littérateur, an instrumentalist, a musicologist, a researcher, an editor, an author, and a book designer. He has authored thirteen books, including several bestsellers. He is also a professional onomastician, specialising in Sanskrit names.Nityānanda is passionate about Indic culture, literature, music, and arts. He runs a popular YouTube channel, which produces content on these topics.

Our guest today is the journalist Anirudhya Mitra. In May 1991, when a former Prime Minister of India was assassinated at Sriperumbudur, Mitra was a young reporter who had joined India Today magazine barely a month earlier. Over the next ninety days, he covered the hunt for Rajiv Gandhi's killers from closer than almost any other journalist in the country — his investigative stories became known as the "inside story" of the assassination. That reporting also made him a target: he was followed, threatened, and publicly branded a CBI agent by both the DMK and the LTTE chief Prabhakaran himself. For thirty years he carried facts he could not put in print. In 2022, he finally wrote them down — in the book that is the subject of today's conversation, Ninety Days: The True Story of the Hunt for Rajiv Gandhi's Assassins.

Dr Anil Kakodkar is one of the senior-most living architects of India's atomic energy programme and a Padma Vibhushan awardee. He joined the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in 1964. He served as Director of BARC from 1996 to 2000 and as Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy, from 2000 to 2009.He was among the small group of scientists at Pokhran for India's first nuclear test — Smiling Buddha — on 18 May 1974, and played a central role a quarter-century later in the five Pokhran-II nuclear tests in May 1998 that established India as a declared nuclear weapons state.As a working engineer through the long sanctions era, he designed and built the Dhruva research reactor entirely indigenously, led the development of pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) systems that today form the backbone of India's civilian fleet, and rehabilitated Units 1 and 2 of the Madras Atomic Power Station after the 1989 failure of their moderator inlet manifolds — both reactors had been on the verge of being written off. He conceptualised the Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR), a 300 MW thorium-fuelled design that remains central to India's three-stage nuclear power programme.His team at BARC designed the miniaturised 83 MW pressurised light water reactor that powers INS Arihant, completing India's nuclear triad. Between 2005 and 2008, he was the technical anchor of the Indian negotiating team — alongside Manmohan Singh, Pranab Mukherjee, Shivshankar Menon and Shyam Saran — that delivered the 123 Agreement with the United States, the India-IAEA safeguards agreement, and the September 2008 Nuclear Suppliers Group waiver that ended three decades of India's nuclear isolation.A lifelong champion of thorium as the foundation of India's long-term energy sovereignty — India holds roughly a quarter of the world's known thorium reserves — he has continued to argue, well into his eighties, that abandoning the thorium path would be a serious strategic error. Beyond nuclear, he has chaired the Board of Governors of IIT Bombay, led high-level committees on Indian Railways safety and Maharashtra higher education, helped establish NISER and the Homi Bhabha National Institute, and currently chairs Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Limited.