PREMIUM

Milking military for political gains will undermine its ethos

While both PM Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh extolled Atmanirbharta and defence exports, defence budget remains 2 per cent of the GDP since 2014.

Maj Gen Ashok K Mehta (retd)

Updated At : 06:50 AM Aug 08, 2025 IST

Poll blues: The politicisation of Op Sindoor has already started. The Uri surgical strikes and Balakot air strikes were game-changers in the UP Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. PTI

ON July 29, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar finally took President Donald Trump's name in the Rajya Sabha (and stirred a hornet's nest) after PM Narendra Modi had alluded to him: "No leader… no global leader asked us to stop Operation Sindoor." Jaishankar prefixed his statement with "Kaan khol ke sun lo (listen carefully)! There was no phone call between Trump and Modi between April 27 and June 16." On June 17, Modi reportedly told Trump on phone what Jaishankar had said, annoying Trump. On July 29, Trump insisted, for the 30th time: "I stopped the fighting…."

The Tribune, now published from Chandigarh, started publication on February 2, 1881, in Lahore (now in Pakistan). It was started by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist, and is run by a trust comprising five eminent persons as trustees.

The Tribune, the largest selling English daily in North India, publishes news and views without any bias or prejudice of any kind. Restraint and moderation, rather than agitational language and partisanship, are the hallmarks of the newspaper. It is an independent newspaper in the real sense of the term.

The Tribune has two sister publications, Punjabi Tribune (in Punjabi) and Dainik Tribune (in Hindi).

Remembering Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia

Designed and developed by :

Milking military for political gains will undermine its ethos

Maj Gen Ashok K Mehta (retd)

Unlock Premium Insights in This Article