Why the Indian Army isn't a lethal war machine today

The Indian Army is reputed to be one of the most experienced armies of the world and we reiterate that on Army Day each year. It is good to have a defence minister this year whose grasp on the range of complex issues involving national security seems to be growing and even better that he is not shy in talking about them.

The army’s confidence in dealing with the spectrum of threats is also sound even as it struggles with its infrastructure and equipment which appears to be drawing all the attention. That too is good because years of neglect have indeed marginalised its capability and the more it concentrates in this field and keeps drawing the government’s concern the faster will amends be made. The acquisition policy along with emphasis on indigenisation and off the shelf purchases to overcome immediate requirements appears the right approach.

Functioning

Defence manufacturing in due course will be the priority as is evident from the fallout of the "Vibrant Gujarat" event. We also hear the army chief is rightly diluting his direct involvement in operations, even though the media emphasises on his visits to the frontlines. This is probably giving him more time to look at equipment, training, doctrine, personnel management and welfare; all of these are equally important and complex areas which need his direct attention.

There are a few aspects about the army’s internal functioning which rarely receives attention from the media or public. Transformation, the ambitious project which the army had initiated, has not been able to make adequate impact in the light of lesser emphasis on areas other than new raisings and equipment, which are essentially issues of force structuring.

In due course, the army will have the right structure, the best weapons and equipment and would have made up its apparently dwindling reserves, which have got sucked into the process of enhancing its size. In some years, after overcoming the numerous challenges and slow process of development, even the infrastructure will ultimately get developed. There is no doubt about that and it is receiving all the right support of a government, which is hell bent on playing its role positively.

Yet, it will be lacking some aspects which make a war machine the lethal entity that it is supposed to be. I am emphasising on the personnel that will run this machine and the structures, their motivation, involvement, ethos and intellect, all of which contributes towards effectiveness. Army Day, is a good occasion to remind ourselves about this.

Very briefly, the first of these is the degree to which it (including all three services) is consulted on formulating security policies. This can only happen if the government seriously reviews the various studies on restructuring of the higher defence organisation. It does not appear to find place in the current priorities. The structure of the MoD itself needs a serious review while revisiting all recommendations of the Kargil Review Committee and the Naresh Chandra Committee. The creation of the headquarters integrated defence staff and the delegation of a few powers to the services must not be viewed as the final outcome of review of higher defence organisations. The entry of uniformed personnel into the MoD must not be resisted any longer as it will provide an exponential push to its understanding of matters military, an area which is significantly reducing in effectiveness as threats and challenges become much more complex.

Secondly, the perennial problem of the shortage of officers will hit the army even more in current times when frontline units are being manned at hard scales. Reducing the age profile of its middle level leaders, a positive contribution by the AV Singh Committee (AVSC), has nevertheless compounded other problems; the bloating of the middle cadre with non-empanelled officers who could do justice in other government departments and police organisations.

Their progression has not been possible because of the pyramidal structure of the cadre and not because of their lack of capability. The peel factor for lateral absorption recommended by the AVSC and approved by the Central Cabinet remains unaddressed with the closing of ranks by civil departments dealing with personnel. This is a national security issue which cannot be simply brushed under the carpet.

Security

Thirdly, once the high profile issue of "One Rank One Pension" is finally resolved, the army needs to create a directorate for army veterans under at least a major general, to divest the Personnel Services (PS) Directorate off its responsibility of dealing with the affairs of veterans. The PS must primarily concentrate on issues involving serving personnel. It is currently an overburdened organisation which compromises its effectiveness. The last of these issues is something the army has been ignoring for long and the MoD too has hardly understood. This concerns the extremely short tenures the army affords to its senior commanders and staff officers in two and three star ranks. Simply put, if an officer spends 33 years below general rank, it obviously leaves him six to seven years to contribute at the senior ranks where he commands for short periods and assumes very high responsibility in an unacceptably short time, leaving inexperienced officers and staff at higher ranks.

Issues

The inability to resolve some complex problems lies in this domain because ticket punching at higher ranks leaves all these contentious issues unresolved. There are enough solutions for this if the MoD and the army wish to pursue the issue.

In recent months, I have focused attention to two other issues that the army appears to be ignoring, primarily because of the over dynamic movement of its senior officers. They are interconnected and the first is the problem of dwindling military intellect. The development of military intellect adds to the confidence of an army and ensures that not only does the army find its natural position in national security formulation but enhances its reputation internationally and leads to higher quality leadership at all levels.

The reason for this is the lack of a mentoring approach by the senior ranks and the burden of responsibility on younger officers because of the shortages. This is the second of my worries about the future because as warfare becomes more complex, black and white are no longer the colours of decision making; comfort with ambiguity comes only with sharper intellect.

All the issues outlined above are those which are rarely spoken about and remain in the shadow of acquisitions, LoC firing and infrastructure development in the proximity of the LAC. As such, Army Day is as good a day as any to celebrate the Indian Army’s great achievements and flag areas of concern which are not in focus so that this great institution continues to excel and contribute to India’s extremely positive future.