A fresh security strategy is overdue
It’s about time we go in for an empowered Chief of Defence Staff to better manage military affairs
The Kargil victory exhibited the power of human will and demonstrated the Indian military’s professionalism and resolute commitment to national security objectives. The victory was achieved despite heavy odds. Among the odds, as pointed out by the Kargil Review Committee (KRC) report tabled in the Parliament on February 23, 2000, was our obsolete security system with a number of anomalies.
The report attributed the sorry state of affairs to the status quo mindset of our political, bureaucratic, military and intelligence establishments. The committee that was set up post haste to satiate the widespread public resentment over the Pakistani intrusions, turned out to be a blessing for the national security system. It marked the beginning of some major transformational initiatives.
The Group of Ministers (GoM) formed in the wake of the KRC report reviewed the security system and made recommendations for bolstering the national security apparatus. The last 18 years have seen the majority of the recommendations come to fruition. However, there are still some important ones that need to be acted upon with greater urgency. A nation aspiring to be a global power must have a ready and relevant security system capable of taking on the challenges of the 21st century.
A National Security Strategy (NSS) is long overdue. All great powers and emerging great powers have articulated such strategies to guide their national effort in pursuit of national interests, goals and objectives. The NSS today is synonymous with the national or grand strategy, which aims to secure the objectives of policy through the application of political, diplomatic, economic and elements of national power. Given its enhanced scope, the NSS should include policy guidelines and broad strategic framework for all elements to evolve their respective sub-strategies to protect, pursue and promote national interests. The NSS should not be confused with the military strategy.
The recommendation on establishing the Indian National Defence University (INDU) should also be expedited. INDU will cater to higher studies in defence and strategic security issues besides promoting policy-oriented research in various facets of national security. By facilitating greater interaction between the military, central armed police forces, intelligence services, diplomats, academia, strategic planners, university students and officers from friendly foreign countries, the university will be well placed to provide well researched and informed inputs for policy formulation to the government. The university could also be utilised to organise presentations to the parliamentarians, leadership of various departments of the government and advisors on critical security issues from time to time. The fourth estate, which plays an important role in the functioning of democracy, can also be empowered through education at the university on matters of higher defence management. In the long run, INDU will certainly help strengthen our strategic culture, which is vital for the well being and growth of a nation. Being a set of time-tested and shared beliefs, values, and norms, strategic culture guides the behaviour of national leadership and strategic community in making pragmatic policy choices.
It’s about time that we also go in for an empowered Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) as recommended by the GoM to efficiently manage military affairs. Perhaps the strengthening of the strategic culture will help decision makers to understand the import of this recommendation. Large organisations, like the military, consist of intricate networks of staff, functional and operating components. Its management requires special expertise and a full-time commitment. Moreover, because war fighting is a specialised field, it requires an in-depth understanding of the science, art and dynamics of war. Strategic military leaders acquire the necessary skills and competencies over decades. Multi-agency mechanisms can never compensate for a CDS. The military domain must be left to the military leadership. Multi-agency mechanisms should be suitably utilised for the implementation and monitoring of national strategy. An empowered CDS will be able to develop a pragmatic architecture for the integrated tri-service theatre commands. In addition, he will be able to provide singlepoint military advice to the government, administer the strategic forces and streamline the joint planning and acquisition processes.
As an emerging great power, we as a nation cannot allow the status quo mindset to creep back in to our security system. The recommendations of the GoM must be consciously taken to their logical conclusion with an enhanced sense of urgency.