End the Neglect of Military by bharat verma in IDR 4/2/13
Growing threat
perceptions call for urgent sprucing up of the military machine which has been
grossly neglected in India so far.
The Pakistan Army’s
strategy in the near future will be based primarily on two perceptions. First,
it believes that the ‘Kashmir’ issue is dying down; fading away from
international focus and ‘Kashmir’ is slipping from Pakistani control. Second,
internal turmoil in Pakistan is seriously threatening its territorial integrity
as it dodders on the verge of becoming a totally dysfunctional
state.
In the event of any
future conflict, New Delhi’s political will and the capabilities of the Indian
military should be such that China and Pakistan are hard-pressed to defend Tibet
and Lahore respectively instead of threatening Arunachal and
Kashmir.
In this situation,
GHQ Rawalpindi headed by General Kayani has two choices. If India attacks
Pakistan, the country under an ‘anti-India’ sentiment will unite once again.
However, New Delhi is not likely to oblige. In India’s perception, Pakistan is
falling apart in any case and war, unless imposed by Pakistan, makes little
sense. In such an eventuality, it would be prudent on the part of Kayani to hold
his flock together, needle India in Kashmir thus enabling Pakistan to regain a
degree of unity and simultaneously bring back ‘Kashmir’ onto the centre stage of
its international agenda.
The Western forces
led by America require Pakistan’s assistance to ensure a smooth and honourable
exit through Karachi port. Withdrawing forces would need to be escorted by the
Pakistan Army to obviate the possibility of ambush by the local militia.
Therefore, New Delhi is not likely to receive support against Islamabad from the
international community till US withdrawal from Afghanistan is complete. General
Kayani will utilise this opportunity to further Pakistan’s agenda against
India.
The Pakistan Army
comprises the regular conventional army and the irregulars or guerrilla forces
under the jihadi flag, the likes of Hafiz Sayeed. On completion of the
withdrawal by US and NATO forces from Afghanistan, the Pakistan Army plans to
let loose the irregular forces such as the Afghan Taliban to capture large
territories inside Afghanistan. The residual US forces may not even be allowed
to ultimately retain a toe-hold in Kabul. Subsequently, attacks on the Union of
India will be mounted from Talibanised Afghanistan and
Pakistan.
Couple this threat
with the principal challenge posed by authoritarian China in cahoots with
Pakistan. Besides claiming 90,000 sq.km of Indian territory, the Chinese, with
the help of Pakistani regular and irregular forces, will attempt to obtain a
stake in mineral-rich Afghanistan. The long term objective of the Chinese is to
open up the route to Central Asia, gain a sizeable presence in the Indian Ocean
by positioning themselves at Gwadar port, replace US influence in Asia and
eliminate completely, the Indian footprint in Afghanistan.
By arming Maoists,
Beijing and Islamabad want to ensure that Indian Army’s attention is diverted
from the borders to handle the growing internal turmoil.
The Union of India
is in turmoil and transition. The internal circus in the name of governance
continues owing to dearth of visionary and honest leadership. The Maoists, who
control 40 per cent of Indian territory, will increase their influence primarily
due to the inept civil administration which is failing on all fronts. On the one
hand, external threats mount due to contradiction between dictatorial regimes in
the neighbourhood and the Indian multi-cultural democracy. On the other, corrupt
and failing instruments of the State are creating massive internal instability.
Obviously, there is a connect between the external adversaries and the internal
dissidence which makes the situation explosive.
Primarily therefore,
the country is held together by its military and in particular by the Indian
Army. The internal charade in the name of governance is only possible so long as
the invincible Indian Army along with the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy
continue to secure the nation.
Due to neglect by
the state for decades, Indian military power is in decline and its capabilities
are shrinking. Though India is densely populated with 65 per cent of its
population below 35 years of age, the huge shortages in manpower defy logic. The
Indian Army has a deficit of nearly 10,000 officers. Surprisingly, despite the
large population and high unemployment rate, the Indian Army is short of over
30,000 soldiers. There is a shortfall of approximately 2,000 officers and 15,000
sailors in the Navy. The Air Force is deficient of nearly 1,000 officers and
7,000 airmen. Shortfall in Young Officers in the Army is creating havoc with the
traditional cohesion and bonding between the officers and soldiers. This state
of affairs can be attributed primarily to the lack of incentives and
unattractive terms and conditions of service in the armed
forces.
Similarly, the
equipment held on the inventory is ancient and archival. Yet, the military is
expected to successfully defend the borders of the country. New Delhi’s neglect
of its military over decades is gradually but surely, destabilising the ‘final’
instrument of the State with morale plummeting to the lowest levels since
independence. To add insult to injury, the budgetary cut of Rs 10,000 crore
imposed recently by the finance ministry will adversely impact the much-needed
military modernisation. China and Pakistan must be delighted at the move by the
Indian Finance Ministry that will degrade the Indian military.
Meagre budgetary
allocation for defence and the bureaucratic red tape involved in the acquisition
process have placed the defence services in a tight spot. In such a milieu
compounded by acute scarcity of equipment and human resources, plummeting morale
in the armed forces is not surprising. Today, India is in no position to deal
with threat from China or fight a two-front war if imposed on it after the
withdrawal of Western forces from Afghanistan.
India also should
become a part of global supply chain of defence equipment by being one of the
important hubs of research and development of a variety of main and
sub-assemblies.
The harsh reality is
that if the Indian Army is incapable of protecting the borders, the Union of
India will disintegrate within no time. Another issue of concern is that the
police and the CRPF cannot successfully counter the Maoist onslaught. Sooner or
later, and somewhat unfortunately, the Army will be called in to take charge of
the operations against the Maoists. By arming Maoists, Beijing and Islamabad
want to ensure that Indian Army’s attention is diverted from the borders to
handle the growing internal turmoil. This will further stretch the military
which is already under considerable pressure on account of capability
degradation owing to the callous apathy of the political
leadership.
In order to avoid
the collapse of the Union, the military capability in its entirety needs to be
refurbished on a war footing. Foremost, integrate the Service Headquarters with
the Ministry of Defence by posting serving officers in the Ministry to increase
efficiency and knowledge base. Integrate the armed forces through the
appointment of the Chief of Defence Staff and create theatre commands with
integral army, air and naval elements to optimise the military punch and avoid
duplication of effort and resources. Strange that New Delhi should find it a
herculean task to bring about a tri-Services integration along with its MoD to
enhance India’s war-fighting capability even as China and Pakistan boast of a
combined military strategy against India!
The foreign policy
of a country is only as good as its military and economic power. Hence it is
important that the military be part of the national decision-making process in
strategic and security matters. What is astounding is that the professional
advice of the military is not sought prior to shaping diplomatic strategy. The
nation won the 1971 War as Indira Gandhi sought professional military advice of
the Generals. However, if military officers had been a part of her delegation at
the Shimla Summit, wily Bhutto would not have won on the negotiating table, the
war he had lost.
In the 21st century,
with wide ranging and attractive options for employment available to the youth,
a career in the military is not really a priority. Also, with India constantly
in conflict with her neighbours or insurgents, the youth shy away from a
hazardous career in the defence services. Therefore, it is vital for the
government to provide extra-ordinarily lucrative package and incentives for the
young to voluntarily put in five to seven years of commissioned service.
Similarly, service conditions of soldiers need to be substantially
improved.
Obviously, there is a
connect between the external adversaries and the internal dissidence which makes
the situation explosive.
It is an operational
imperative to keep the military young. The colour service of the jawan should be
reduced to 10 years from the current 17. There should be lateral induction of
the Short Service Commissioned Officers and the jawans into civil
administration. This will beef up the civil administration, which in turn will
help tackle groups like the Maoists. For example, an officer from Signals
inducted into the civil, can not only help organize communication systems but
also protect against and conduct cyber attacks effectively. With multiple
professional skills acquired in the military, this exchange will beef up the
civil administration and enhance civil-military interface.
In addition to human
resources, no military can pack the extra punch unless it is equipped with the
most modern weaponry. At the same time, a nation cannot be a great power unless
it boasts of a fairly large defence industrial complex. The reason India is one
of the world’s largest importers of defence equipment today is due to the fact
that under the disguise of ‘self-sufficiency’ mantra, scarce and precious
resources of the nation have been squandered largely due to the inefficiency of
the Defence Public Sector Units. One of the main reasons for delay in the
production of the Scorpene submarine is the fact that it took a huge effort for
DCNS of France to upgrade and modernise the public sector shipyard Mazagon
Docks!
Today, the
war-fighting equipment held by the armed forces is in a dismal state and the
state defence industries are in no position to correct the situation. The only
way to equip the defence forces is to privatise the state defence units, bring
in the private sector as tier-1 supplier, encourage collaboration and joint
ventures between Indian and international defence industries with minimum 49 per
cent FDI. In case of sunrise defence technologies, permit 100 per cent FDI. This
will, in the next decade, create a large and modern defence industrial complex
in India that will not only equip the Indian armed forces but also earn revenues
for the state through exports.
It is unfortunate
and demoralising for a soldier to not even possess a reliable assault rifle to
tackle the insurgent or terrorist equipped with the latest weapons. Therefore,
at the initial stage by-passing the long-drawn acquisition process, it is
imperative that the basic requirements are met with through quick imports. To
save costs, an assault rifle should be selected to meet the requirements of
defence services as well as para-military forces. In addition, transfer of
technology to a designated private sector unit in India should be done
simultaneously.
It is unfortunate and
demoralising for a soldier to not even possess a reliable assault rifle to
tackle the insurgent or terrorist equipped with the latest
weapons.
On the other hand,
there is a dire need to eliminate cumbersome red-tape and indecisiveness. The
tender in which six in-flight refueling aircraft were selected by the IAF, was
cancelled due to a clerical mindset of the MoD. The irony is that in the tender
re-floated, the same company has now been identified as the preferred bidder.
This reflects unimaginative application of mind by the MoD causing huge delay.
In view of the prevailing threat, timely provisioning of the required hardware
for the IAF ought to have priority over procedural imperatives. Similarly, if
companies continue to be blacklisted without cleaning up our own stables, it can
only lead to disaster. For example, if five companies in the world make 155mm
artillery gun and three are blacklisted, it will kill competition and deprive
the nation of getting the best value for money. The rules of engagement should
be fair and consistent with international norms for India to succeed in creating
its own modern defence industrial complex. With the rapid march of defence
technologies it is not possible today to be entirely self-sufficient in the
production of the complete spectrum of weapons. Therefore, India also should
become a part of global supply chain of defence equipment by being one of the
important hubs of research and development of a variety of main and
sub-assemblies.
In the event of any
future conflict, New Delhi’s political will and the capabilities of the Indian
military should be such that China and Pakistan are hard-pressed to defend Tibet
and Lahore respectively instead of threatening Arunachal and Kashmir. This is
only possible if we end the demoralisation of the Defence Services by perpetual
neglect.
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