Is India right to say no to Elon Musk’s Starlink? Does these battles in Middle east serve a greater purpose ? And why does the West fear India’s rise? Former RAW Chief Vikram Sood Ji doesn’t hold back. “They might win battles, but they lose the war,” he says of America - pointing from Vietnam and Afghanistan to Ukraine and Iran. “It’s a civilization you’re dealing with. You think you can overpower it in two days?” In this conversation with Roshan Cariappa, Vikram Sood Ji - former chief of India’s external intelligence agency, R&AW - breaks down the forces reshaping the world: Elon Musk and the Starlink controversy and why it’s really about sovereignty, Trump’s unpredictable decision-making, the strain in India-US relations, the fear of a Russia–China–India alignment, the protests and the question of foreign funding, the changing nature of war, and the crisis spreading across the Middle East - Ukraine, Gaza, Iran, the Houthis and Saudi Arabia. The big question running through it all: how does India navigate a world being redrawn in real time? 📚 CHAPTERS (00:00) — “They Win Battles, But Lose Wars” (02:14) — Reconnecting with Vikram Sood Ji (02:24) — Elon Musk, Starlink & India’s Sovereignty (04:44) — “Prime Minister Ambani”: Musk’s Frustration with India (06:45) — Can India Block These Technologies? (07:31) — Are US Tech Leaders Part of the State? (08:44) — Trump: “Decides First, Thinks Later” (10:26) — The End of the Global Liberal Order (12:40) — “Tighten Your Seatbelts” — A Warning for India (16:56) — Is Trump an Aberration or US Strategy? (18:58) — Has the India–US Relationship Been Hurt Permanently? (23:49) — Why India’s Strategic Autonomy Worries America (25:46) — The Russia–China–India Line (26:12) — Does the US Fear Pushing India to China? (28:21) — Are the Protests Organic or Foreign-Funded? (29:32) — Can We Trust Our Institutions? (32:12) — Democracy Belongs in Parliament, Not the Streets (33:26) — Why Young People Are Targeted (34:53) — How Should the State Handle the Protests? (37:10) — Following the Foreign Money (38:08) — The flydubai Hijack Attempt (39:45) — The Middle East: A Spreading Crisis (44:22) — How the Nature of War Has Changed (45:51) — What Should India Do in the Middle East? (50:54) — Israel, Gaza & the Endgame (52:37) — Sovereignty: What India Must Never Depend On (57:37) — Why India Underrates Itself (59:35) — Closing Thoughts 👤 ABOUT GUEST Vikram Sood ji is the former head of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), India’s external intelligence agency, which he led until 2003. One of India’s most respected voices on intelligence, geopolitics and strategic affairs, he is the author of The Unending Game and The Ultimate Goal. ABOUT BHARATVAARTA Bharatvaarta is a long-form podcast on India’s politics, policy, economy, technology and culture — honest, in-depth conversations about what’s happening around us, and what it means for India’s future. 🌐 https://www.bharatvaarta.in ✖️ https://x.com/bharatvaarta 📷 @bharatvaarta Join this channel to get access to perks: ▶️ /@bharatvaarta Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfBfBd-1kvCOPxVll8tBJ9Q/join Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
