Letter from the Editor | September 2025

The news cycle in August has been relentless. From internal politics to foreign policy, most things have been in a freefall. And through this, the after-effects of Operation Sindoor continued to reverberate during the month. In the second week of August while delivering the Air Chief Marshal L.M. Katre memorial lecture in Bengaluru, chief of air staff ACM A.P. Singh referred to the brief war with Pakistan in May towards the end of his talk. He mentioned that the IAF had downed five Pakistani fighters and one support aircraft. His claim once again led to competitive claims of victory during Op Sindoor by both India and Pakistani. Incidentally, IAF chief’s statement mentioning PAF aircraft was not part of his written speech, which was released to the media, leading to the speculation that he spoke of the enemy fighter loss as an afterthought for political purposes.

As expected, Op Sindoor was also the theme of the Independence Day celebrations—from invitation cards to the Prime Minister’s speech. Given this it is only natural that the post-mortem of the brief operation will continue for a few months, both in the media and politics.

August was also the month when additional 25 per cent tariffs imposed on India by President Trump came into effect, leading to much anxiety in India, whose exports to the US in several sectors are affected. But tariffs were not the only sign of the once close relationship now in disarray. Several officials of the Trump administration not only publicly criticized India but one even mocked Prime Minister Modi on X. The month ended with the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s summit in Tianjin, China, which Prime Minister Modi attended. All of this has led several experts to call for a recalibration of India’s foreign policy, urging the policymakers to once again look at India’s neighbourhood first.

Beyond the corridors of power, another grim reality continued to make news through the month. Relentless rain in most of north India, causing landslides, floods, death and displacement of people and massive economic losses. The National Disaster Relief Force has been stretched thin across north India, from the mountainous states like J&K and Uttarakhand to the plains of Punjab, UP and Bihar, forcing both the IAF and the army to commit manpower and resources for rescue and relief.

The September issue encapsulates the month gone by and much more, like news from the government of India and defence industry, as well as news making books. Hopefully, we will all see better days ahead. Read on.