Subject: STRATEGY INDIA- Evolution of Intelligence
Date: Sunday, 28 November, 2010, 12:41 AM
Sir,
1. One has heard about socio cultural Int or anthropology related issues. But I always thought these are applicable to yanks who go to Afghanistan looking like Santa Clause and without any cultural sensitivity to local population with a predominant yank superiority complex. Result is there all to see and hence reqmt of cultural int. 2. We Indians always believe in assimilating other cultures after getting beaten by the invaders, before the Britishers all invaders came through a tiny place called Khyber Pass and no Indian king ever thought of blocking that or crossing over Khyber pass to the other side. After all if the invaders came through Khyber Pass we could also go to the other side of Khyber pass. Third largest economy of the world be damned, nobody ever gives any credence even if we express interest in geostrategic affairs. Recently I read a book by Friedman on Next 100 Years. He had discussed everybody except India. We can be taken for granted. Then we talk of Indian way of doing things. The way media is going gaga in recent times I do not want to deliberate on Indian way of getting things done.
3. However, for CI Ops we do require knowledge of the local people. But then we cannot term it as Int it is knowing culture of our own people! We have a peculiar habit of picking up jargons long after Yanks have left those for some newer fancier term. Example? US Defence people nowadays don't talk about Network Centric Warfare, Transformation, they have been given a decent burial by present Secy of Defense Robert Gates after sacking of Donald Rumsfeld and see our response. Rumsfeld coined Capability based planning in 2001 QDR, now everybody talks about this here. I dare say how many of us really know what is capability based planning vis a vis threat based planning. For sure I know the best and brightest of Brig and its equivalent in Indian Armed Forces don't know this.
4. But the point is valid. We must know all the sociocultural issues of the population where we do CI Ops. This issue gets lip service. I don't say nothing is done but a lot more can be done. How many of us have read Koran. If we carryout CI Ops in the Valley no way we can avoid reading this. We should be able to argue with the clergy quoting Koran specially on issues of women emancipation. education etc. Same in North East. Of course I know about some senior army officers whose knowledge about the people in North East is second to none. some of them carried out anthropological studies also. But more is reqd.
5. I cannot fail my Int Guru. Here is some material on Cultural Int. I am now getting tempted to write a paper on Cultural Int!
JAY HO
---PKM
Links to Military Intelligence and Adversary Culture
No comments:
Post a Comment