Stranger Than Fiction
Rakesh started his career in 1995 with New Delhi-based Business World magazine, and later worked in a string of positions at other leading media houses such as India Today, Hindustan Times, Business Standard and the Financial Express, where he was the news editor. He was also a contributor for OneWorld South Asia, a portal on sustainable development and human rights. His articles have been used as reference at the Centre for Research on Globalization, Canada; the School of Communication, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; and as part of the curriculum at the Anthropology Department of the National University of Ireland, Maynooth.
Coming from a multicultural milieu, his family members include Chinese, Tibetan and German speakers, and of course Indians from six states. Which perhaps explains his love of languages. In 1996 he topped his Russian language course at the Russian Institute of Art, Science and Culture, New Delhi.
According to Rakesh, being away from India is like exile. But there's an upside too: living in one of the most pristine countries in the world is extremely conducive for clear headed contemplation. From the corner of the planet you get a better view of what's going on up there, he claims. Stranger than fiction!
He can be contacted on rakeshmail@gmail.com
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Operation Unthinkable: Churchill’s plan to start World War III
In the closing days of WW II, Winston Churchill came up with a bizarre plan for a joint British-American attack on the USSR. When told the Russians would bombard the UK on a massive scale, the British PM quietly backed off
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The American F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing aircraft has its origins in a secret collaboration between Russia’s Yakovlev and Lockheed Martin of the United States.
Alexander vs Porus: Beyond the fog of war
Marshal Gregory Zhukov, the legendary Russian commander, said the Macedonians had suffered a catastrophic defeat in India. In the final part of this analysis, fact and fiction are separated
Marshal Zhukov on Alexander’s failed India invasion
Alexander’s invasion of India is regarded as a huge Western victory against the disorganised East. But according to Marshal Gregory Zhukov, the largely Macedonian army suffered a fate worse than Napoleon in Russia
Chechnya Blowback: West gets what it paid for
When you make a Faustian Bargain, there always comes a time to pay up, as the United States and its sidekicks are finding out
War in the East: How Khalkhin-Gol changed the course of WWII
In 1939 an unknown general named Georgy Zhukov trounced Japan at the Battle of Khalkhin-Gol in the Mongolian steppes, changing the trajectory of Japanese expansionism towards Pearl Harbour and Europe’s Asian colonies
Stalin: Not so steely in World War II
Joseph Stalin’s indecision and blunders in the weeks leading up to the German invasion in June 1941 paralysed the Russian armed forces and nearly cost his country the war
E-bomb – The real doomsday weapon
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Colours of corruption – More than you think
While emerging countries like India and Russia admit graft is a huge problem, in the West they tend to dismiss it as a Third World disease
The man who won the race to the stars
Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, enjoyed rock star status before the term rock star was coined
Why Australia should scratch the F-35 and fly Sukhois
The F-35 Lighting was the first choice of the Australian air force. But several thunderbolts have struck the stealth aircraft, including the arrival of new generation Sukhois that are skewing the odds against the Australians
Tango in space: Choose your partner carefully
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Mobster’s paradise: Why Britain remains a haven for the bad guys
Britain has been acting like a state sponsor of criminal fugitives like Boris Berezovsky for decades
Show me the Evil Empire
Thirty years after Ronald Reagan called the Soviet Union an evil empire, the description is boomeranging on the United States today
Chavez and the art of diplomatic ambush
By punching way above his weight, the late Venezuelan leader showed that countries like Russia and India, with vastly more influence, can do a lot more in shaping the world around us
Sukhois shift the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific
The Australians are attempting to take evasive action against the threat posed by the Sukhoi Flanker in Southeast Asia
Can the BRICS rule in a world without the West?
Jim O’Neil, the Goldman Sachs economist, who coined the term BRIC, has walked away into retirement, but the alliance he allegedly sparked remains standing. How realistic are its chances of establishing a new world order?
Steroids for success: Who’s pumping up?
Reports of large scale doping by Australian athletes and the fall from grace of American cycling legend Lance Armstrong show that drug abuse is rampant in places once thought to be kosher
Spaced out Russia needs another Sputnik movement
Once the leading space faring nation, Russia is reduced to ferrying cargo for other space agencies. Do the Russians have it in them to make a spectacular comeback?