Notes of Nagesh

By Nagesh Bhushan  Iran’s current military doctrine, often referred to as  “Decentralised Mosaic Defence”  (or simply “Mosaic Defence”), represents a strategic shift designed to ensure the regime’s survival and operational continuity in the face of a potential war with the United States or Israel. Articulated publicly by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in early 2024 and refined through 2025–2026, the strategy is a direct response to two decades of observing U.S. military campaigns, which Iran believes rely heavily on “decapitation strikes” against leadership and centralized infrastructure. Core Philosophy: Resilience Through Fragmentation The central premise of the Mosaic Defence is that a centralized command structure is a vulnerability. If the enemy destroys the capital, kills senior commanders, or severs communication hubs, the entire war effort collapses. Instead, Iran has moved toward a  fully distributed command hierarchy . Autonomous Nodes:  Milit...

By Nagesh Bhushan How India's Supreme Court judges may be trading favorable rulings for comfortable post-retirement sinecures — and what the data reveal about justice for sale New Delhi  |  Mar 2026 Corruption, as any economist will tell you, is fundamentally a story about incentives. Bribe a customs officer and she waves your container through. Offer a politician a directorship and he tweaks the regulation. The logic is ancient and depressingly universal. What is rarer — and considerably more alarming — is when the same logic appears to grip the apex court of the world's most populous democracy. A paper published in the  Journal of Law and Economics  by Madhav Aney and Giovanni Ko of Singapore Management University, and Shubhankar Dam of the University of Portsmouth, makes a disquieting argument. Studying 652 judgments of the Supreme Court of India between 1999 and 2014, the authors find statistical evidence that some judges ruled in favour of the government...

♦️ The Mystery: Do Judges Trade Rulings for Jobs? In a robust democracy, the judiciary acts as the ultimate neutral referee. However, researchers Madhav S. Aney, Shubhankar Dam, and Giovanni Ko uncovered a pattern in the Supreme Court of India that suggested the referee might be playing for the home team. They observed a frequent "revolving door" where retiring justices were quickly appointed to prestigious government positions. This raised the specter of a "Quid Pro Quo"—the suspicion that judges were systematically trading favorable verdicts for post-retirement career security. The researchers deconstructed this mystery into two measurable questions: 1.       The Incentive:  Do judges respond to the temptation of future appointments by ruling in favor of the government? 2.       The Reward:  Does the government actually follow through by appointing the specific judges who ruled in its favor? While the "ruling-for-jo...

In an ideal world, a judge is a symbol of total independence—someone who decides cases based strictly on the law, regardless of who is standing in the courtroom. However, a groundbreaking study of the Supreme Court of India suggests that a very human concern might be tipping the scales of justice: the search for a job after retirement. The "Quid Pro Quo" Problem In India, Supreme Court judges must retire at age 65. Once they step down, many are barred from practicing law, making the government their most likely employer for prestigious post-retirement roles, such as heading national commissions or tribunals. Researchers analyzed 15 years of legal data (1999–2014) to see if these future job prospects influenced how judges ruled while still on the bench. They found evidence of a "quid pro quo" —a Latin phrase meaning "this for that." Essentially, judges may pander to the government by ruling in its favor, and in exchange, the government rewards them w...

In a popular video presentation, Rabbi Ezra — a rabbi and successful businessman — shares five key spending habits that wealthy Jewish families and billionaires deliberately avoid. Drawing wisdom from the Torah and Talmud, these principles focus on building and preserving generational wealth through disciplined asset accumulation rather than short-term consumption or flashy displays. Here are the five things they never (or rarely) spend money on, according to Rabbi Ezra: Depreciating Status Symbols Luxury purchases made purely to project wealth — such as brand-new exotic cars, high-end watches, or designer clothing — are avoided. These items lose value quickly and represent "spiritual poverty" by draining capital that could be invested productively. Rabbi Ezra illustrates how redirecting funds from leasing a luxury vehicle into wise investments can generate far greater long-term returns. Unvetted Partnerships Business or financial partnerships are approached with the same se...

  1. Strategic Context and Operational Profile In the current theater of operations, Kharg Island stands as the definitive "center of gravity." It represents a profound strategic paradox: while it is the most critical node of Iranian state power, it has remained a sanctuary of operational continuity despite an intensive bombing campaign by US and Israeli forces targeting military and nuclear sites. This restraint identifies Kharg not merely as an infrastructure asset, but as a strategic tripwire with immediate global contagion risks. Its status as a protected asset is a calculated omission, as any kinetic strike here would fundamentally alter the trajectory of the conflict from a regional containment exercise to a global energy crisis. The island’s operational profile reveals why it is both a massive strategic asset and a point of acute vulnerability. Built by the American company Amoco in the 1960s, the facility was designed for high-volume loading, yet its physical geograph...