In Our Defence

The killing of student leader Sharif Osman Hadi has set Bangladesh on fire again. But this time, the anger isn't just anti-government, it's dangerously anti-India.

In this episode of In Our Defence, host Dev Goswami and defence expert Sandeep Unnithan decode the chaos next door. From the smashing of Sheikh Mujib's statues to the chilling return of the Pakistan Army in Bangladeshi politics, the two answer the hard question: Is India facing a new "Third Front"?

The two discuss:

-The legacy of the founder (Sheikh Mujibur Rahman) and the general (Ziaur Rahman)

-How the erasure of 1971 is opening the door for a "Pakistan-style" Islamic nationalism

-The rumor of a Pakistan-Bangladesh mutual defence pact and why that should worry India

-What 2026 may bring to Bangladesh and its politics.

Produced by Taniya Dutta

Sound mixed by Rohan Bharti

The new spy thriller Dhurandhar has sparked a massive controversy. The Adtiya Dhar film explores the concept of 'sleeper spies' -- spies who are deeply embedded in a target country's society. On this episode of In Our Defence, host Dev Goswami and national security expert Sandeep Unnithan look at what the film gets right and wrong about this aspect of espionage. 

The two talk about the intersection of ISI and Pakistani underworld that the film portrays and discuss how that is a hat-tip to the unholy alliance between the Pakistani deep state and Dawood Ibrahim that was forged in the early 1960s. 

The two also look back at the stories of some of the world's most legendary sleeper agents such as Mossad's Eli Cohen and Soviet Russia's famous 'Cambridge Five'. Also on this episode is a look at how the Research and Analysis Wing's (RAW) operations evolved in Pakistan under several Prime Ministers and what intelligence agencies are actually asked with.

Produced by Areeb Raza

Sound mixed by Suraj Singh

On paper, Field Marshal Asim Munir is the most powerful man in Pakistan. He has the Army, the intelligence agencies, and a constitutional amendment that effectively grants him unlimited power. So why is he seemingly terrified of a 73-year-old man locked in a 6x8 cell in Adiala Jail?

In this episode of In Our Defence, host Dev Goswami and defence expert Sandeep Unnithan peel back the layers of Islamabad's power struggle.

Is the conflict actually a deep-rooted ethnic clash between the Punjabi-dominated Army and Imran Khan's Pashtun base?

The Adiala Curse: Why does every Pakistani Prime Minister eventually fall out with the Army?

The God Complex: What ingredients create a Pakistani General who thinks he is the saviour of Pakistan?

The Endgame: Does Munir keep Khan locked up forever or will a 'Black Swan' event completely upend Pakistani politics?

Produced by Areeb Raza

Sound mixed by Rohan Bharti

India is set to commission its third -- and most powerful -- nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, the INS Aridhaman (codename: S4). But this isn't just another ship joining the fleet, it marks a critical tipping point in India's national security architecture.

INS Aridhaman is the most complex and devastating weapon to exist in India's weapons arsenal.

In this episode of In Our Defence, host Dev Goswami and defence expert Sandeep Unnithan decode the secrecy shrouding the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project. They explain the "Rule of Three" (why you need three subs to keep one at sea), the massive upgrade in firepower with the K-4 missiles, and how a memo during the 1960s kickstarted India's quest for nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines.

Key discussion points:

The Upgrade: Why Aridhaman is bigger, deadlier, and carries double the missiles of INS Arihant.

The Range War: How the K-4 missile (3,500km) finally allows Indian subs to target threats without leaving the safety of home waters.

The History: PN Haksar memo and the birth of the Indian nuclear submarine program.

The Command: Who actually presses the red button? (Hint: It's not the Navy Chief).

Tune in for a deep dive into the "Silent Service" that protects India from the deep.

Produced by Taniya Dutta

Sound mixed by Aman Pal

Seventeen years ago, India was shaken when Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists launched 12 coordinated attacks across Mumbai, striking the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Chabad (Nariman) House, and other locations in the country’s financial capital. The assault killed 166 people and injured over 300. Nine of the ten terrorists were killed, while the lone surviving attacker, Ajmal Kasab, was captured alive.

In this episode of In Our Defence, host Dev Goswami and national security expert Sandeep Unnithan revisit the assault that became the Kargil of India’s internal security. They take you deep inside the shadowy world of terrorist training, high-risk counter-terror operations and the elite response mechanisms that shaped India’s modern security doctrine.

From Special Forces–style training used by the attackers, to the MARCOS team’s first response and the intense close-quarters battle inside the Taj Hotel and Chabard House. Unnithan revisits the tactics, planning and coordination failures that emerged during the 26/11 Mumbai Attack, offering rare insights into what changed and what still hasn’t.

The two discuss:

- Terrorist training methods

-Frontline decision-making

-The evolution of India’s counter-terror capabilities

Tune in!

Produced by Taniya Dutta

Sound mixed by Aman Pal

On November 21, an Indian Air Force Tejas fighter jet performing aerial manoeuvres at the Dubai Airshow crashed, killing its pilot, Wing Commander Namansh Syal. This is the second crash involving the indigenous aircraft in its 24-year history but the first to result in a fatality. The previous Tejas crash took place in Jaisalmer in March 2024 when the pilots ejected safely.

With the IAF ordering a court of inquiry, this bonus segment of In Our Defence sees host Dev Goswami and national security expert Sandeep Unnithan break down what the accident reveals about India’s indigenous defence production and the future of the Tejas programme.

Tune in!

Produced by Taniya Dutta

Sound mixed by Suraj Singh

With the release of the Farhan Akhtar-starrer 120 Bahadur, the spotlight returns to the Battle of Rezang La -- one of the bravest last stands in military history. But the 1962 India-China war was much more than just one battle. It was a geopolitical storm involving a "Forward Policy," a distracted America, and a political leadership caught off guard.

In this deep-dive episode, host Dev Goswami and national security expert Sandeep Unnithan will peel back the layers of the 1962 conflict. They discuss the tactical realities of Major Shaitan Singh’s Charlie Company, the mystery of the "missing" Indian Air Force, how and why the Indian Army was handed a solid defeat, the strange connection between the Himalayas and the Cuban Missile Crisis, and, of course, whether this indeed was Nehru's 'Himalayan Blunder'.

In this episode, Dev and Sandeep discuss:

- The Real Rezang La: How 120 men of the 13 Kumaon held off thousands of Chinese troops at 18,000 feet without winter gear.

- The McMahon Line: Who drew it, why it was flawed, and why a "thick line on a map" led to war.

- The Geopolitics: Did the Panchsheel Agreement lull Nehru into a false sense of security? What was the "Forward Policy"?

- The Cuban Connection: How Mao Zedong timed the attack to coincide with the Cuban Missile Crisis to ensure US silence.

- Classified History: What is the Henderson Brooks-Bhagat Report, and why does the Indian government refuse to declassify it 60 years later?

- The Chinese Perspective: Why Beijing calls this a "Self-Defence Counterattack" and why they unilaterally withdrew after winning.

Whether or not you plan to watch 120 Bahadur, this is your comprehensive crash course on the war that changed India forever.

Tune in!

Produced by Taniya Dutta

Sound mixed by Rohan Bharti

A car explodes near Delhi's Red Fort and the trail runs through Srinagar posters, Faridabad storehouses, and an alleged "white-collar" module featuring multiple doctors.

In this episode, host Dev Goswami and national security expert Sandeep Unnithan take their first impressions of the deadly terror attack that has revived scary memories of blasts in India's urban centre.

The two examine what we know (and don't) about the Red Fort attack, why the government's initial messaging stayed deliberately measured, and zoom out to Field Marshal Asim Munir's "thousand cuts" doctrine that the Pakistani military boss seems to have adopted.

Tune in!

Produced by Taniya Dutta

Sound mixed by Aman Pal

Donald Trump says China, Russia and Pakistan are "testing nuclear weapons". And that is why he's told the Pentagon to immediately prepare to test the US's nuclear weapons. In this episode, host Dev Goswami and national security expert Sandeep Unnithan unpack what counts as a nuclear test in 2025, who's actually doing what at their test sites, and what a US return to explosive testing would mean for India, the CTBT, and global stability.

The two cover:

- Why does Trump want to carry out nuclear testing? Are Russia, China, and Pakistan really carrying out secret nuclear tests?

- Cold tests vs hot tests: Why the world doesn't really need 'explosive' nuclear tests anymore?

- Why India feels satisfied with its comparatively lower number of nuclear tests vis a vis the rest of the world?

- Should India take a re-look at its nuclear doctrine that vows no first use?

- What global treaties on nuclear testing really achieved?

- And finally, what happens if the US actually carries out a nuclear test?

Tune in!

Produced by Taniya Dutta

Sound mixed by Suraj Singh

India's Navy faces two very different fronts at sea. To the west, it has history and geography on its side against Pakistan -- think Karachi aflame in 1971 and quiet coercion in Kargil. To the east, a bigger, busier chessboard: the Chinese PLAN surging into the Indian Ocean and sniffing around the Bay of Bengal.

On this episode, national security expert Sandeep Unnithan joins host Dev Goswami to separate swagger from substance: Pakistan's problem of not enough 'sea room', what the Indian Navy did in 1971 and Kargil, how INS Vikrant shaped the '71 East theatre, and whether modern India should "pop up" in the South China Sea or lock down the Andamans.

On this episode:

- Pakistan's coastline and its geographical vulnerability

- 1971 War: Op Trident & Op Python; Karachi burning, costs and consequences

- Kargil: the Navy's "quiet pressure" playbook

- Op Sindoor: what a modern surge looks like and deterrence without tripping red lines

- China, the Indian Ocean Region, and the Indian Navy area of influence

- Can India routinely show up east of Malacca or is gatekeeping the chokepoints the smarter flex?

Produced by Taniya Dutta

Sound mix by Rohan Bharti