The book is useful because it warns that foreign policy cannot exist in a vacuum; it must be rela... more The book is useful because it warns that foreign policy cannot exist in a vacuum; it must be related to the needs of the people. The author avoids an excessive focus on the realist framework to analyse India’s foreign policy and instead takes an enlightened view of national interest, placing equal emphasis on security and development. There has to be a proper balance between the short-term and long-term interests. How to arrive at this balance is the task before the policy maker. The book avoids prescribing any specific paradigm and instead shows that it is possible to be pragmatic as well as moral in the foreign policy sphere. This is a serious work. One looks forward to future volumes from the author’s pen where he will hopefully take up issues which have not been covered in this volume. ∗The reviewer is Director-General, IDSA, New Delhi.
T he Indian subcontinent marked 50 years of the 1971 Indo-Pak War or the Bangladesh liberation wa... more T he Indian subcontinent marked 50 years of the 1971 Indo-Pak War or the Bangladesh liberation war: on 16 December 2021. While this event was commemorated in India and Bangladesh, it is a time for introspection for Pakistan. It is not often that geographical boundaries are redrawn to create countries that emerge successful in less than half a century of their existence. It is all the more relevant when their success arguably outpaces that of the country from which they were carved out. Remarkably, Bangladesh has made significant strides in almost every dimension of the human resource index in relation to Pakistan. This becomes striking, since the very inception of the combined state in 1947 was based on the religious identity of the Eastern and Western parts of the country. At least that was the idea that became the rallying point for the demand for a religion-based Pakistan. And a mere 24 years later, this idea was systematically dismantled in an unequal conflict by one of the worst genocides by the army of the nation-state on the one hand, and the victims of the very same country on the other. Given the fact that millions of refugees poured in from across the border, India entered this conflict as a liberating force. These events were accompanied by a number of international players manoeuvring for space to ensure that their geopolitical ends could be successfully achieved. A number of books have been written in these last 50 years about the eventful months of 1971, to shed light on specific aspects of the political churning and genocide in East Pakistan, the diplomatic parleys, and the military campaign. However, there are few that have chosen the path of delving into the interplay of these elements. This includes the circumstances that led to the partition of the subcontinent; how the seeds of disintegration were sown even prior to the integration of Pakistan; diplomatic brinksmanship prior to the War; and the events during it. The book Politico-Military Strategy of the Bangladesh Liberation War, 1971 has chosen this very path and successfully so. The author, Guru Saday Batabyal, has also elected to undertake a wide sweep of the War rather than delving into one particular element alone. It allows the book to emerge as a single source for all aspects associated with the War. This ranges from the causes for the political and emotional alienation of the
Introduction PART ONE: JAMMU AND KASHMIR Kashmir - The Beginning 1947-48 Indo-Pak Conflict LIC Pr... more Introduction PART ONE: JAMMU AND KASHMIR Kashmir - The Beginning 1947-48 Indo-Pak Conflict LIC Preceding 1965 Indo-Pak War The Siachen Imbroglio Active Insurgency Kargil PART TWO: PUNJAB Pre-Independence Period Post-Independence Period PART THREE: THE NORTH EAST Assam-ULFA Assam-BODO Resistance Nagaland Manipur Mizoram Tripura PART FOUR: MINOR CONFLICTS Gorkhaland Movement Naxalite Movements Conclusion
In a judgement pronounced by the Hon'ble Delhi High Court on November 19, 2012, promotions of... more In a judgement pronounced by the Hon'ble Delhi High Court on November 19, 2012, promotions of officers of the rank of Major General (Maj. Gen.) to Lieutenant General (Lt. Gen.) approved by a Special Selection Board held on January 7, 2011 were quashed, mainly on the ground that the revised Quantification Policy (QP) forming the basis FOR the selection was not approved by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and, therefore, lacked legality. The Hon'ble Court also directed that a fresh Special Selection Board (SSB) must be held to assess the officers on the basis of QP dated December 31, 2008. Whereas the judgement may not benefit the petitioners for various reasons, it is a timely reminder to Army Headquarters (AHQ) and MoD that promotion policies should not be tinkered with every change of personality at the helm of affairs. The quantification model itself spells out selection criteria for greater objectivity and helps in selecting the most deserving officers for higher rank from a...
S.D. Muni and Vivek Chadha (Eds.), Asian Strategic Review 2015: India as a Security Provider, (Ne... more S.D. Muni and Vivek Chadha (Eds.), Asian Strategic Review 2015: India as a Security Provider, (New Delhi, Pentagon Press, 2015), Pages: 408, Price: Rs. 995.00The Asian Strategic Review 2015 by IDSA focuses on the possible role of India as a security provider. Edited by S.D. Muni and Vivek Chadha, this volume brings together the contributions of 17 scholars from the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. The topics cover a wide range of issues, such as India's internal political compulsions, the immediate neighbourhood of South Asia, the extended neighbourhood of the Indo-Pacific region and West Asia, and nuclear issues.In the introduction, S.D. Muni lays out the conceptual framework underlying security provisions, and their various dimensions. These include capacity building, military diplomacy, military assistance, and finally military deployment. The evolution of India's security approach over the years has been examined up to the present day when India is seen by major world players as capable of playing a greater role in international security affairs. The scope of this volume is understandably limited to India's immediate and extended neighbourhood, where India's role as a security provider should emerge.Brigadier Dahiya provides a surgical analysis of the political and military factors underlying India's ability to provide military security. India's vital interests now extend far beyond its borders, with new challenges emerging such as piracy, terrorism, security of energy flows, etc. He argues that despite India's capacity in economic, technological, political and military terms, it has played a rather modest role in providing security in the region. The questions of whether India is indeed ready for a role as security provider and the attitude of the Indian military have been appropriately addressed. Dahiya concludes that India will get increasingly involved in security provision in the neighbourhood. India, he says, will work under the UN framework while undertaking security role, and points out that the political leadership will need to deal with some fundamental issues, such as public support, coordination of military, diplomatic and intelligence functions, and building sufficient capacity.The five contributions on India and its immediate neighbourhood cover, in some detail, security related issues in Myanmar, Afghanistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka and various interests and challenges involved in the growing security cooperation of India with its neighbours. S. S. Pattanaik's article starts with the capacity constraints in Indian defence, coupled with other challenges such as China's growing role, and the perceptions of civil society and political entities in the region. There is already a substantial framework for security cooperation with many of India's neighbours. However, there is need to integrate this into strategic planning. Greater demands are arising for security in non-traditional areas, such as disaster relief, where India is unquestionably able to take on a major role.S. Kundu argues that the stage is now set for India to be accepted in the region as a "benign security partner", and there are now increased opportunities for building security partnerships with Myanmar. R. Agarwal examines the post 2014 scenario in Afghanistan, and India's security interests and challenges. He advocates a multi pronged approach to security cooperation with Afghanistan: that is, while eschewing direct military deployment or the transfer of lethal weapons, almost all other forms of cooperation - such as training, intelligence cooperation, satellite data sharing, and cooperation with some neighbours of Afghanistan - should be included. Here, India could emerge as a security collaborator, if not a security provider.N. R. Nayak looks at recent developments in Nepal-India relations, and the new bilateral frameworks that have emerged in the context of security cooperation. Turbulence in relations, the growing role of China, the rise of Maoist insurgency, and non-traditional security threats, have, according to the author, complicated matters. …
Budgam: Breaking the myth of excessive force by security forces in Kashmir. It is relevant to dra... more Budgam: Breaking the myth of excessive force by security forces in Kashmir. It is relevant to draw a comparison of standard operating procedures adopted in the Valley with those followed by UN peacekeeping forces.
The increase in violence levels on the streets of Kashmir and participation of the local populati... more The increase in violence levels on the streets of Kashmir and participation of the local population became a cause for worry in 2016. The peace dividend achieved at great cost only a couple of years earlier seemed to be losing out to the mindlessness of violent mobs. This was accompanied by enhanced local recruitment, especially within the ranks of the Hizb-ul Mujahideen (HM). A larger proportion of the new recruits came from South Kashmir, unlike in the past when North Kashmir was the hub of violence and terrorism. The situation seemed to be going downhill from the perspective of an average peace loving Kashmiri who in the past had seen schools being burnt by terrorists. The security forces were routinely the target of stone pelting mobs. And finally, children and women had been pushed into the line of pellets and bullets due to relentless propaganda, coercion and the resultant cycle of violence.
IDSA Policy Brief Demonetisation is an important step in the fight against the finance of terrori... more IDSA Policy Brief Demonetisation is an important step in the fight against the finance of terrorism. However, it should neither be the first nor the last, if the interlinked threats of corruption, crime and the finance of terrorism have to be controlled.
Army respects human rights: Sacrifice of soldiers in Pamper encounter. The force continues to rem... more Army respects human rights: Sacrifice of soldiers in Pamper encounter. The force continues to remain the bastion of reliability and faith that the nation reposes in it.
The Indian Army has undertaken sub-conventional operations, especially counterinsurgency and coun... more The Indian Army has undertaken sub-conventional operations, especially counterinsurgency and counter-terrorism for over 60 years. During this period, there has been an evolutionary shift in its approach to such operations. However, there are certain guidelines that have come to define them. Amongst these, the relevance of human rights remains possibly the most important. Despite its criticality, the subject has been been researched inadequately, especially from the army's perspective. This paper attempts to fill this void by analysing three factors that remain the most important constituents of the army's approach to human rights. These include its incorporation as part of the doctrinal evolution, organisational structuring and procedural aspects and finally operational issues. The paper restricts its focus to Jammu and Kashmir in order to link its peculiar circumstances to the conduct of the army.
The book is useful because it warns that foreign policy cannot exist in a vacuum; it must be rela... more The book is useful because it warns that foreign policy cannot exist in a vacuum; it must be related to the needs of the people. The author avoids an excessive focus on the realist framework to analyse India’s foreign policy and instead takes an enlightened view of national interest, placing equal emphasis on security and development. There has to be a proper balance between the short-term and long-term interests. How to arrive at this balance is the task before the policy maker. The book avoids prescribing any specific paradigm and instead shows that it is possible to be pragmatic as well as moral in the foreign policy sphere. This is a serious work. One looks forward to future volumes from the author’s pen where he will hopefully take up issues which have not been covered in this volume. ∗The reviewer is Director-General, IDSA, New Delhi.
T he Indian subcontinent marked 50 years of the 1971 Indo-Pak War or the Bangladesh liberation wa... more T he Indian subcontinent marked 50 years of the 1971 Indo-Pak War or the Bangladesh liberation war: on 16 December 2021. While this event was commemorated in India and Bangladesh, it is a time for introspection for Pakistan. It is not often that geographical boundaries are redrawn to create countries that emerge successful in less than half a century of their existence. It is all the more relevant when their success arguably outpaces that of the country from which they were carved out. Remarkably, Bangladesh has made significant strides in almost every dimension of the human resource index in relation to Pakistan. This becomes striking, since the very inception of the combined state in 1947 was based on the religious identity of the Eastern and Western parts of the country. At least that was the idea that became the rallying point for the demand for a religion-based Pakistan. And a mere 24 years later, this idea was systematically dismantled in an unequal conflict by one of the worst genocides by the army of the nation-state on the one hand, and the victims of the very same country on the other. Given the fact that millions of refugees poured in from across the border, India entered this conflict as a liberating force. These events were accompanied by a number of international players manoeuvring for space to ensure that their geopolitical ends could be successfully achieved. A number of books have been written in these last 50 years about the eventful months of 1971, to shed light on specific aspects of the political churning and genocide in East Pakistan, the diplomatic parleys, and the military campaign. However, there are few that have chosen the path of delving into the interplay of these elements. This includes the circumstances that led to the partition of the subcontinent; how the seeds of disintegration were sown even prior to the integration of Pakistan; diplomatic brinksmanship prior to the War; and the events during it. The book Politico-Military Strategy of the Bangladesh Liberation War, 1971 has chosen this very path and successfully so. The author, Guru Saday Batabyal, has also elected to undertake a wide sweep of the War rather than delving into one particular element alone. It allows the book to emerge as a single source for all aspects associated with the War. This ranges from the causes for the political and emotional alienation of the
Introduction PART ONE: JAMMU AND KASHMIR Kashmir - The Beginning 1947-48 Indo-Pak Conflict LIC Pr... more Introduction PART ONE: JAMMU AND KASHMIR Kashmir - The Beginning 1947-48 Indo-Pak Conflict LIC Preceding 1965 Indo-Pak War The Siachen Imbroglio Active Insurgency Kargil PART TWO: PUNJAB Pre-Independence Period Post-Independence Period PART THREE: THE NORTH EAST Assam-ULFA Assam-BODO Resistance Nagaland Manipur Mizoram Tripura PART FOUR: MINOR CONFLICTS Gorkhaland Movement Naxalite Movements Conclusion
In a judgement pronounced by the Hon'ble Delhi High Court on November 19, 2012, promotions of... more In a judgement pronounced by the Hon'ble Delhi High Court on November 19, 2012, promotions of officers of the rank of Major General (Maj. Gen.) to Lieutenant General (Lt. Gen.) approved by a Special Selection Board held on January 7, 2011 were quashed, mainly on the ground that the revised Quantification Policy (QP) forming the basis FOR the selection was not approved by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and, therefore, lacked legality. The Hon'ble Court also directed that a fresh Special Selection Board (SSB) must be held to assess the officers on the basis of QP dated December 31, 2008. Whereas the judgement may not benefit the petitioners for various reasons, it is a timely reminder to Army Headquarters (AHQ) and MoD that promotion policies should not be tinkered with every change of personality at the helm of affairs. The quantification model itself spells out selection criteria for greater objectivity and helps in selecting the most deserving officers for higher rank from a...
S.D. Muni and Vivek Chadha (Eds.), Asian Strategic Review 2015: India as a Security Provider, (Ne... more S.D. Muni and Vivek Chadha (Eds.), Asian Strategic Review 2015: India as a Security Provider, (New Delhi, Pentagon Press, 2015), Pages: 408, Price: Rs. 995.00The Asian Strategic Review 2015 by IDSA focuses on the possible role of India as a security provider. Edited by S.D. Muni and Vivek Chadha, this volume brings together the contributions of 17 scholars from the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. The topics cover a wide range of issues, such as India's internal political compulsions, the immediate neighbourhood of South Asia, the extended neighbourhood of the Indo-Pacific region and West Asia, and nuclear issues.In the introduction, S.D. Muni lays out the conceptual framework underlying security provisions, and their various dimensions. These include capacity building, military diplomacy, military assistance, and finally military deployment. The evolution of India's security approach over the years has been examined up to the present day when India is seen by major world players as capable of playing a greater role in international security affairs. The scope of this volume is understandably limited to India's immediate and extended neighbourhood, where India's role as a security provider should emerge.Brigadier Dahiya provides a surgical analysis of the political and military factors underlying India's ability to provide military security. India's vital interests now extend far beyond its borders, with new challenges emerging such as piracy, terrorism, security of energy flows, etc. He argues that despite India's capacity in economic, technological, political and military terms, it has played a rather modest role in providing security in the region. The questions of whether India is indeed ready for a role as security provider and the attitude of the Indian military have been appropriately addressed. Dahiya concludes that India will get increasingly involved in security provision in the neighbourhood. India, he says, will work under the UN framework while undertaking security role, and points out that the political leadership will need to deal with some fundamental issues, such as public support, coordination of military, diplomatic and intelligence functions, and building sufficient capacity.The five contributions on India and its immediate neighbourhood cover, in some detail, security related issues in Myanmar, Afghanistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka and various interests and challenges involved in the growing security cooperation of India with its neighbours. S. S. Pattanaik's article starts with the capacity constraints in Indian defence, coupled with other challenges such as China's growing role, and the perceptions of civil society and political entities in the region. There is already a substantial framework for security cooperation with many of India's neighbours. However, there is need to integrate this into strategic planning. Greater demands are arising for security in non-traditional areas, such as disaster relief, where India is unquestionably able to take on a major role.S. Kundu argues that the stage is now set for India to be accepted in the region as a "benign security partner", and there are now increased opportunities for building security partnerships with Myanmar. R. Agarwal examines the post 2014 scenario in Afghanistan, and India's security interests and challenges. He advocates a multi pronged approach to security cooperation with Afghanistan: that is, while eschewing direct military deployment or the transfer of lethal weapons, almost all other forms of cooperation - such as training, intelligence cooperation, satellite data sharing, and cooperation with some neighbours of Afghanistan - should be included. Here, India could emerge as a security collaborator, if not a security provider.N. R. Nayak looks at recent developments in Nepal-India relations, and the new bilateral frameworks that have emerged in the context of security cooperation. Turbulence in relations, the growing role of China, the rise of Maoist insurgency, and non-traditional security threats, have, according to the author, complicated matters. …
Budgam: Breaking the myth of excessive force by security forces in Kashmir. It is relevant to dra... more Budgam: Breaking the myth of excessive force by security forces in Kashmir. It is relevant to draw a comparison of standard operating procedures adopted in the Valley with those followed by UN peacekeeping forces.
The increase in violence levels on the streets of Kashmir and participation of the local populati... more The increase in violence levels on the streets of Kashmir and participation of the local population became a cause for worry in 2016. The peace dividend achieved at great cost only a couple of years earlier seemed to be losing out to the mindlessness of violent mobs. This was accompanied by enhanced local recruitment, especially within the ranks of the Hizb-ul Mujahideen (HM). A larger proportion of the new recruits came from South Kashmir, unlike in the past when North Kashmir was the hub of violence and terrorism. The situation seemed to be going downhill from the perspective of an average peace loving Kashmiri who in the past had seen schools being burnt by terrorists. The security forces were routinely the target of stone pelting mobs. And finally, children and women had been pushed into the line of pellets and bullets due to relentless propaganda, coercion and the resultant cycle of violence.
IDSA Policy Brief Demonetisation is an important step in the fight against the finance of terrori... more IDSA Policy Brief Demonetisation is an important step in the fight against the finance of terrorism. However, it should neither be the first nor the last, if the interlinked threats of corruption, crime and the finance of terrorism have to be controlled.
Army respects human rights: Sacrifice of soldiers in Pamper encounter. The force continues to rem... more Army respects human rights: Sacrifice of soldiers in Pamper encounter. The force continues to remain the bastion of reliability and faith that the nation reposes in it.
The Indian Army has undertaken sub-conventional operations, especially counterinsurgency and coun... more The Indian Army has undertaken sub-conventional operations, especially counterinsurgency and counter-terrorism for over 60 years. During this period, there has been an evolutionary shift in its approach to such operations. However, there are certain guidelines that have come to define them. Amongst these, the relevance of human rights remains possibly the most important. Despite its criticality, the subject has been been researched inadequately, especially from the army's perspective. This paper attempts to fill this void by analysing three factors that remain the most important constituents of the army's approach to human rights. These include its incorporation as part of the doctrinal evolution, organisational structuring and procedural aspects and finally operational issues. The paper restricts its focus to Jammu and Kashmir in order to link its peculiar circumstances to the conduct of the army.
Bringing about change in any setup, especially major shifts, is a challenge. This challenge is ac... more Bringing about change in any setup, especially major shifts, is a challenge. This challenge is accentuated further in a strictly hierarchical organisation like the army, presenting an unenviable contradiction to both senior military practitioner and the governing elite, wherein, change is inevitable, yet, it is most likely to be resisted.
Military change is a relatively nascent area of study, especially in the Indian scenario. This book attempts to analyse this subject through an examination of existing literature, thereby co-relating some of its primary conclusion in the context of the Indian Army. This is done in relation to both conventional and sub-conventional threats and challenges, with a number of case studies as illustrative examples.
The book concludes that given the wide spectrum of threats faced by the Indian Army, as also most major armies across the world, attempts at understanding military change only through the prism of conventional wars could be misleading. It suggests that change need not only be revolutionary to enhance effectiveness. It could be both revolutionary and evolutionary, top-down and bottom-up. While effective change is primarily major in conventional conditions, it could well be tactical and yet make a substantial impact in sub-conventional scenarios. The book reinforces the importance of operational changes in the sub-conventional domain, even as an assessment of strategic and organisational changes is undertaken. It attempts to answer important questions related to the drivers, shapers, facilitating conditions and limitations related to effective change. It also relates military change with organisational change in the corporate world to provide an interesting comparative analysis. Finally, the book reinforces its conclusions through a survey of officers from the Indian Army, to highlight existing limitations that need to be corrected in order to better innovate and adapt in pursuit of effective military change.
The emerging trends of terrorism in Asia have in the recent past challenged the conventional wisd... more The emerging trends of terrorism in Asia have in the recent past challenged the conventional wisdom that dictated and defined violence by non-state actors. This, as the chapters in this volume suggest, is illustrated by its distinct characteristics, forcing the world at large to grapple with these threats, including volunteers from countries that had remained isolated from the contagion until now.
Various facets of the challenge from the Islamic State (IS) and the unfolding contours of terrorism in Asia, have been analysed and written about in the past. Most of the perspectives have, however, been Western, with a sprinkling of Asian views. The present volume is a modest attempt to join the discourse on Asian terrorism from an Indian perspective. It is hoped that these essays will enliven and enrich the debate on the challenge of terrorism in Asia that is increasingly threatening peace and stability as well as values and ideals.
The volume has been organised in four sections. The first deals with the ideological and technological aspects as well as the , funding, communication and weapons of the IS and other terror groupings. The remaining three sections focus on West and Central Asia, South Asia, as well as China and Southeast Asia.
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Military change is a relatively nascent area of study, especially in the Indian scenario. This book attempts to analyse this subject through an examination of existing literature, thereby co-relating some of its primary conclusion in the context of the Indian Army. This is done in relation to both conventional and sub-conventional threats and challenges, with a number of case studies as illustrative examples.
The book concludes that given the wide spectrum of threats faced by the Indian Army, as also most major armies across the world, attempts at understanding military change only through the prism of conventional wars could be misleading. It suggests that change need not only be revolutionary to enhance effectiveness. It could be both revolutionary and evolutionary, top-down and bottom-up. While effective change is primarily major in conventional conditions, it could well be tactical and yet make a substantial impact in sub-conventional scenarios. The book reinforces the importance of operational changes in the sub-conventional domain, even as an assessment of strategic and organisational changes is undertaken. It attempts to answer important questions related to the drivers, shapers, facilitating conditions and limitations related to effective change. It also relates military change with organisational change in the corporate world to provide an interesting comparative analysis. Finally, the book reinforces its conclusions through a survey of officers from the Indian Army, to highlight existing limitations that need to be corrected in order to better innovate and adapt in pursuit of effective military change.
Various facets of the challenge from the Islamic State (IS) and the unfolding contours of terrorism in Asia, have been analysed and written about in the past. Most of the perspectives have, however, been Western, with a sprinkling of Asian views. The present volume is a modest attempt to join the discourse on Asian terrorism from an Indian perspective. It is hoped that these essays will enliven and enrich the debate on the challenge of terrorism in Asia that is increasingly threatening peace and stability as well as values and ideals.
The volume has been organised in four sections. The first deals with the ideological and technological aspects as well as the , funding, communication and weapons of the IS and other terror groupings. The remaining three sections focus on West and Central Asia, South Asia, as well as China and Southeast Asia.