|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Winning India’s Next
War Budgeting for Indian
Defence Reflections of an Air
Warrior three senior serving officers of the Indian Air Force and the publishing house concerned have set a welcome trend by bringing out professional books that even a layman could read with considerable ease. Admittedly, all the books here pertain to service matters only, yet the time has come to open up all genres of writing for all those in uniform, endowed richly as they are, with plenty of experience and the propensity to call a spade a spade. It is people like Joseph, Srinivas and Subramaniam who will one day facilitate the wiping away of the cobwebs of secrecy and undue interference by our ‘babudom’, which often does not want the truth to see the light of day.
In the Kargil war, the IAF did prove its mettle where the precision bombing along the LoC did save the Indian Army a good deal of unnecessary casualties. The modernisation of China’s PLA Air Force with its capability of "designing and producing the fourth-generation combat aircraft" with Russian assistance should be of considerable interest to Indian defence planners. The Sino-Pakistan military collaboration, with specific reference to the development of the Gwadar port, providing the former with a "strategic footprint in the West Asian region by positioning itself close to the Strait of Hormuz", a worrying development of considerable military import for India, assumes added importance when examining a policy of strategic encirclement being resorted to by our powerful northern neighbour. Added to this is the disparity with China on the infrastructural development of the border road and communication network in Arunachal Pradesh, a matter referred to recently by the Indian Defence Minister. And all this definitely points to some serious catching up that we have to expeditiously achieve in our defence preparedness.
Unfortunately, for a number of years, the real worth of the R&D has not been openly commented upon. It is no secret that the users on the ground have not been overly impressed with this unwieldy organisation’s output—the much-hyped Arjun tank is one such example. In another recommendation, the author suggests a reduction in the military manpower expenditure by "outsourcing the non-core military functions". However, in any debate on the matter of manpower holdings, especially in the Indian Army, the teeth to tail ratio can only be disturbed at a very high operational cost. There is a need to enhance the country’s defence outlay if our modernisation is to keep pace and operational voids are to be avoided. Budgeting is a serious book about serious issues. In spite of all the figures, it makes for an interesting reading.
He counsels wisely many of the over ambitious (you find these categories all over in any organisation) that, "Do not seek any personal glory; personal satisfaction—yes!" The author’s suggestions to the flying leaders to fly in marginal weather, and not to promise the moon but to deliver what is promised, are service truths that cannot be denied. Empathy as a leader in feeling the pain of others is essential in today’ low-intensity conflicts, where a unit may often suffer grievous casualties. He quotes the Chinese system of engagement where all male citizens on reaching the age of 18 are eligible for conscription, a measure which I feel needs to be strictly enforced in India for the good of our own youth. There is little talk of women officers in the Chinese armed forces and the few women NCOs that there are only get one term of three years. India please note. Cutting across the usually well-guarded individual Service turf, all the three books are of contemporary relevance in matters of security and should be of considerable interest to both those in uniform and those who never opted for this exceptional profession.
|
||
|
|
||
Budgeting for Indian
Defence discusses defence
fiscal planning and allocation, indigenous arms production versus
imports, trends in the military expenditure of China and Pakistan as
best known to us, and the "cost of military manpower" as
seen by Srinivas who is basically a man from the Accounts Department.
He raises some pertinent points that the Defence Minister needs to
take note of. For instance, "presently, the defence planning
process is predominantly confined to Service HQs, with limited
involvement of the MoD. In certain other democracies such as the US,
UK and Australia, the planning process commences in the MoD."
Another one of his observations is faultless, "While the nation’s
R&D set-up has gained considerable expertise in designing and
developing weapon systems, what has been achieved hitherto is far too
short of meeting the nation’s defence requirements."
Fighter pilot
Subramaniam has penned a humorous, practical and useful booklet for
budding air warriors. Quoting primary signs of fatigue like sleep
deprivation, excessive weight loss and sudden tendencies to take
shortcuts, he recommends a ditty which says it all: "If you are
tired, mate—speak up/or else you may be fighting to/save your skin
that/demands your superior skill./On the flip side mate/don’t make
it a habit to say you are tired/coz that makes you a sissy and we don’t/need
no sissies in cockpits."