Coups, Rumours, Independence, et al
Two shocks to the system. One, the Indian Army was planning a coup. Two, the bigger shock, the above news is false. And the next day, another shock: a newspaper as anti-establishment as the Indian Express totally changed its colours! Let's run through this coup thingie, with my admittedly theoretical, but rather substantial, knowledge of wars, battles, military matters. One, the troop movements reported were of one brigade of Paras and one brigade of mechanised infantry. Now, one brigade (or even a company) of elite Special Forces (henceforth referred to as SF) can beat the living crap out of the entire Delhi Police. Or any other copper force in the country. With their bare hands. With the cops as armed as they can ever be. And probably even if you tie the SF's right hands behind their backs. But a brigade of light infantry, which is what all SFs basically are, can never sustain a coup. Even when reinforced with another Brigade (or even a regiment) of mechanised infantry,