Is Indian Army being 'deliberately' weakened?

[Kunal Biswas]

Is Indian Army being 'deliberately' weakened?


The Army is the last bastion of the nation, and a weakened, demoralized force will spell doom for it.
The Indian nation is going through some testing times. The Kashmir Valley continues to be embroiled in an unabated cycle of violence which is making life an unending misery for the common man and creating a tense security environment.

The blockade in Manipur has been in place for almost two months and people are suffering unimaginable hardship even as the governments. The Naxal issue has gained criticality in the aftermath of a proactive policy adopted by Home Minister P Chidambaram.

The Army is already playing an active role in both Kashmir and the North East and now it may be called upon to contain the Naxal menace also.

In the midst of this turmoil the Army, which is the sole savior and sentinel of the nation''s integrity, is facing a grave challenge from a number of forces that are trying to weaken its intrinsic fabric.

Whether this is part of a grand design or the machination of different powers and lobbies who have their own axes to grind, cannot be ascertained, but what is very obvious is that the cumulative effect is quite alarming.

The increasing involvement of the Army in quelling social and political dissent in the country provides the first and most critical chink in its armour.

Interestingly, the divisive ideologies of Islamic Jihad and Maoism that the country has to contend with are direct imports from its two neighbours, China and Pakistan.

The two countries are well aware that only the Indian Army stands between them and their long standing policy of dividing India into small segments in order to curtail its growing influence.

Now, by involving the Army more and more in internal security, these countries feel that they may have hit bulls eye.

The engagement with the Naxals is not possible without diluting vigil on the border as also the edge that the Army enjoys as a conventional force. Quite obviously, the vacuum thus created will be exploited by these two countries, Pakistan will be able to boost its proxy war and China will gain strength in its negotiations for the border dispute.

The second challenge is emanating from a psychological war that has been launched against the force with the intention of denting the high moral pedestal at which it stands. The people of India see the Indian soldier as the epitome of all that is the best in the country due to his demonstrated qualities of courage, self sacrifice, integrity, strength of character and commitment to the cause of the nation.

If this image is dented, the psychological fallout may propel the country into a self destruct mode.

Against this backdrop, a sustained campaign is being orchestrated to malign the image of the soldier in the eyes of his countrymen.

Terrorists and terrorist linked organisations are keeping the pot boiling in regions like Kashmir and the North East by highlighting baseless human rights violations through the medium of orchestrated public demonstrations and virulent outcry.

In the remaining parts of the country, especially the national capital, the slightest misdemeanour by an Army man is blown out of proportion through well managed propaganda. The result is that the force and the country are getting enveloped in a feeling of low self esteem and the army is getting involved in a web of legality which is keeping it perpetually on the back foot.

There is a need to counter this challenge being thrown up by forces inimical to the nation.

Firstly, in order to allow the Army to concentrate upon its primary task of manning the country's borders against our many adversaries we have to build upon our police and paramilitary forces so that they can perform the role assigned to them.

Some methodology can be worked out, whereby, the Army's expertise is put to good use to give a boost these organisations.

On the psychological front the media, which is unwittingly becoming a stooge in the hands of anti-national forces, needs to understand the difference between reportage of normal events and security issues, the latter being too important to be subject to TRP driven sensationalism.

The nation must realise that not all that is heard is coming from sources that have its good in mind.

The Army is the last bastion of the nation, and a weakened, demoralized force will spell doom for it.

Isolating the Army from deliberate attempts to reduce its capabilities and from negative propagandist influences is a national responsibility.

Is Indian Army being 'deliberately' weakened? ~ Indian Terror Alert

 

[mayankkrishna]

Indian politicos should have compulsory Army training bcoz i think internal disturbances is more about lack of political strength, will power, Vision and leadership. Army discipline would help them with all. Atleast Rahul Gandhi must lead the charge to inspire future youths of politics.

'Lord Krishna' made kshatra dharma to be immortal.....It wont die ....... Indian Army would never

 

[Tshering22]

Looking at the Maino Mafia and Co, I don't doubt if this can be true. When we have inbreds and foreign slaves as rulers, naturally our strongest arm i.e. the military will be trampled politically or at least be attempted. I think the Joint Chief should start saying no to Italian Madam's dictates (with MMS's signatures) now and then. Just to let the asshats know that they cannot cross the Red Line.

If Gen. Manekshaw could do it to someone like Indira, Maino and her pups should be a cakewalk for ACM Naik.

 

[sant]

Politicians will go to any extent to serve their interest.

 

[Tshering22]

I always said this and will say this; a weak Army is in the interest of Congress who would use territorial bargains if it were upto them to fill their dirty foreign coffers and scoot from this country if an opportunity struck them. This entire government team is like a team of Zardaris put together. One Zardari is there in Pakistan while we have more than 400.

 

[sesha_maruthi27]

Congress has been doing this from the time of pre-Independence. his is not new for them. They have got used to do this.

 

[JBH22]

Congress has been doing this from the time of pre-Independence. his is not new for them. They have got used to do this.

We had one of their cartoon leaders who had a dream to scrap the army now the prince wants to become the leader god help us all.

 

[venkat]

kunal must be thanked for putting up such a thread. i am also getting this doubt of-late. There are too many scams running in, not one or two ,but thousands and thousands of crores!!! Even though we are spending billions ,we are not getting the right military equipment for our armed forces..every mil project is getting delayed,,Russia is playing truant!!!! China and Pak have joined hands... I saw video of INS Godavari speeding away from that rogue ship from PN Babur..it was not funny incident....our soldiers have been beheaded and their heads have been taken away as trophies by pakistanis. Govt says nothing and puts the incident under carpet.. Are we too impotent to retaliate?Pakistanis carry out bomb blasts in the name of IM...scores of people have died..and people of india are slowly forgetting the incident and again cry after another such blast...old ships are being dumped in and around mumbai coast choking the seabed with tons and tons of steel garbage,which will hamper and damage indian ships and subs moving in and out of mumbai harbour..something is fishy....

 

[Kunal Biswas]

thousands and thousands of crores!!! Even though we are spending billions ,we are not getting the right military equipment for our armed forces..every mil project is getting delayed And Kick back in every deal from rifle to truck to aircraft, banning of all important and primary weapon suppliers..

QUOTE for the truth !

 

[hit&run]

Is Indian army not working on national security policy or manual or doctrine?
.
If they are working and are able to serve the cause of given doctrine then why this question in the first Place?
.
If they are not able to serve the cause the way it should be then its a failure of Army not political class?
.
It's a failure of army who is supposed to act like a Smart organization. if they are not feed properly because of some external reason; which they can not pursue/oppose/negotiate actively then there is no one to blame. Sitting Ideal and playing a waiting inning is just criminally wrong. If you need something to equip your self to serve better then you should make procurement policy easy and transparent. But if you have been doing scams and are party to political class's pillage during deals, then next procurement will be having more checks and balances to make it almost impossible to clinch. Once bitten shy twice. Also no one like some other person making money in India and they will make sure to disrupt it even if there is nothing fishy about that deal.

 

[Tshering22]

^^ Army cannot do anything if they don't get semi-political enough to threaten the Congees to stop weakening them. Not just Army but Navy and Air force as well. I don't know why The military suffers from such a stockholm syndrome of going along with these looters.

 

[ace009]

^^ Army cannot do anything if they don't get semi-political enough to threaten the Congees to stop weakening them. Not just Army but Navy and Air force as well. I don't know why The military suffers from such a stockholm syndrome of going along with these looters.

That's not a smart idea - Army getting "semi-political" is the start of the military getting political in India. It's a slippery slope, down which we may slide into military Junta's and death of democracy in India.
One of the greatest assets for India is it's completely apolitical military, which is directed by the GoI.

 

[The Messiah]

That's not a smart idea - Army getting "semi-political" is the start of the military getting political in India. It's a slippery slope, down which we may slide into military Junta's and death of democracy in India.
One of the greatest assets for India is it's completely apolitical military, which is directed by the GoI.

I agree.

Lets hope govt grows a pair rather than involve army in politics.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Army in Politics is bad Idea..

 

[thakur_ritesh]

if i recall well, when general vk singh assumed office, he made a pointed reference that no army officer will be running around with his file/s to central secretariat/south block. just that had enough to say the extent to which on daily basis army officers at various levels were directly engaging with bureaucracy and politicians to get the favors done, and the extent to which politics happens.

 

[anoop_mig25]

if that so then what are armymen i.e those sitting at higher poistion are doing

 

[Singh]

The Army is the last bastion of the nation, and a weakened, demoralized force will spell doom for it.

Army is not the last bastion of India, unless, the author meant to use it rhetorically, even then...

The Indian nation is going through some testing times. The Kashmir Valley continues to be embroiled in an unabated cycle of violence which is making life an unending misery for the common man and creating a tense security environment.

Violence in Kashmir has been going down year on year and imho shouldn't be classified as an insurgency but as a law and order/police problem.

The blockade in Manipur has been in place for almost two months and people are suffering unimaginable hardship even as the governments.

Law and order/police problem.

The Army is already playing an active role in both Kashmir and the North East and now it may be called upon to contain the Naxal menace also.

Naxal menance is again a law and order/police problem.
To be called upon to assist in case of an emergency is one of the reasons for raison d'etre of the Indian Army.

In the midst of this turmoil the Army, which is the sole savior and sentinel of the nation''s integrity, is facing a grave challenge from a number of forces that are trying to weaken its intrinsic fabric.

Indian Army is perhaps, the sole instrument to protect the nation's "Territorial" integrity.

Whether this is part of a grand design or the machination of different powers and lobbies who have their own axes to grind, cannot be ascertained, but what is very obvious is that the cumulative effect is quite alarming.

The increasing involvement of the Army in quelling social and political dissent in the country provides the first and most critical chink in its armour.

I tend to somewhat agree with this assertion. Army shouldn't be used to quell domestic issues but is it a chink in its armour ? That depends.

Interestingly, the divisive ideologies of Islamic Jihad and Maoism that the country has to contend with are direct imports from its two neighbours, China and Pakistan.

In an Indian context, neither is Maoism/Marxism/Socialism/Communism nor Al-Qaeda Jihad divisive ideologies. The Indian people are by and large against Maoism and Militant Islam. TAnd even amongst the leftist a large number of them reject Naxalism, and amongst Muslims a large number reject Militant Islam. There is no polarization.

Neither is "Pakistan" nor "China" the creators of these ideologies nor have the "exported" it to sow seeds of discord in India.

The two countries are well aware that only the Indian Army stands between them and their long standing policy of dividing India into small segments in order to curtail its growing influence.

I don't understand how would T90s and Bofors fight ideologies ? You fight ideas with ideas.

Now, by involving the Army more and more in internal security, these countries feel that they may have hit bulls eye.

The reason Indian Army is involved in internal security is because of a lack of police reforms.

The engagement with the Naxals is not possible without diluting vigil on the border as also the edge that the Army enjoys as a conventional force.Quite obviously, the vacuum thus created will be exploited by these two countries, Pakistan will be able to boost its proxy war and China will gain strength in its negotiations for the border dispute.

Absurd conjecture.

The second challenge is emanating from a psychological war that has been launched against the force with the intention of denting the high moral pedestal at which it stands. The people of India see the Indian soldier as the epitome of all that is the best in the country due to his demonstrated qualities of courage, self sacrifice, integrity, strength of character and commitment to the cause of the nation. If this image is dented, the psychological fallout may propel the country into a self destruct mode.
Against this backdrop, a sustained campaign is being orchestrated to malign the image of the soldier in the eyes of his countrymen.

How does image of a soldier correlate to a nation's survival ?

Terrorists and terrorist linked organisations are keeping the pot boiling in regions like Kashmir and the North East by highlighting baseless human rights violations through the medium of orchestrated public demonstrations and virulent outcry.

Human Rights violations have occurred no doubt, yet, the citizens of this country still have faith in the Army. Do you think us a country of hypocrites or realists ?

In the remaining parts of the country, especially the national capital, the slightest misdemeanour by an Army man is blown out of proportion through well managed propaganda.

Any example to highlight and contrast ?

The result is that the force and the country are getting enveloped in a feeling of low self esteem and the army is getting involved in a web of legality which is keeping it perpetually on the back foot.There is a need to counter this challenge being thrown up by forces inimical to the nation.

How, so ?

Firstly, in order to allow the Army to concentrate upon its primary task of manning the country's borders against our many adversaries we have to build upon our police and paramilitary forces so that they can perform the role assigned to them.
Some methodology can be worked out, whereby, the Army's expertise is put to good use to give a boost these organisations.

Spot on. Police reforms.

On the psychological front the media, which is unwittingly becoming a stooge in the hands of anti-national forces, needs to understand the difference between reportage of normal events and security issues, the latter being too important to be subject to TRP driven sensationalism.
The nation must realise that not all that is heard is coming from sources that have its good in mind.

Why should the media for chastised for reporting facts ? Let us not become another army state.

The Army is the last bastion of the nation, and a weakened, demoralized force will spell doom for it.
Isolating the Army from deliberate attempts to reduce its capabilities and from negative propagandist influences is a national responsibility.

Meh.

The only positive about that blogpost/rant was identifying the need for police reforms.
===

A few more points

1. Why are most Generals from the Infantry ?
2. Why does Army continue to get a lion's share of the budget ?
3. Why aren't urban Army cantts sold off and money used for modernization ?
4. Why does Army suck up to MoD ?
5. Why are there no Army-Airforce-Naval joint wargames ?
6. Why isn't the Army doing anything about the calibre of new officers ?
7. What is Army's vision for the next 10/20/30 years ?
8. Why are the Army's purchases so disjointed ?
etc. etc.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Army is not the last bastion of India, unless, the author meant to use it rhetorically, even then...

Its the People and People who supports Army..

Violence in Kashmir has been going down year on year and imho shouldn't be classified as an insurgency but as a law and order/police problem.

Its Not Simple As You See:

Its WAR happening inside our own country Also as u mentioned LAW and Order problem..

The Enemy are foreign as well as Domestics..

Its only controlled via Army and Paramilitary joint operation, Mainly via Army, Only Coz of Army Kashmir is under Indian Control..

Police:
1. Police and paramilitary are responsible for suppressing riots which act as a motivation for tangos and their supporters..

2. Their are mainly responsible for security in major urban sectors so does the Intel of the place..
3. The are not allow to conduct direct contact with tangos, their training does not allow so..


Army:
1. Their job is security of the whole valley..
2. Their work is to intercept tangos and kill them in both Urban and Jungle/mountain..
3. They duty also is to keep track on the enemy on the other sides so does the intel..
4. Gathering Intel also makes their job harder coz they conduct LRP very near Loc..
5. Main issue is to keep WARM relation with Civilians where we are stationed, As well as maintaing joint collaboration with local Police..

Law and order/police problem.

Its will only raise tango sympathy within our Civilians..

Naxal menance is again a law and order/police problem.
To be called upon to assist in case of an emergency is one of the reasons for raison d'etre of the Indian Army.

Absurd conjecture.

I tend to somewhat agree with this assertion. Army shouldn't be used to quell domestic issues but is it a chink in its armour ? That depends.

The reason Indian Army is involved in internal security is because of a lack of police reforms.

Meh.

The only positive about that blogpost/rant was identifying the need for police reforms.
===

Army is not required at all, Indian Gov have largest Paramilitary force, Also they are well feed and trained and well equipped more than us what we have in J&K, Infastrucher is good compare to us, Still failure in hands of those carrying 303, This is a serious internal issue and can only be dealt with Strong political will with diplomacy not FORCE, If Army put to business it will only bleed..

Army is starched, We have plans to raise more units for N.E front as well as additional reserve force..
Army already using it reserves in J&K..
That is a simple Idea of Army getting stretched and complex..

In an Indian context, neither is Maoism/Marxism/Socialism/Communism nor Al-Qaeda Jihad divisive ideologies. The Indian people are by and large against Maoism and Militant Islam. TAnd even amongst the leftist a large number of them reject Naxalism, and amongst Muslims a large number reject Militant Islam. There is no polarization.

Neither is "Pakistan" nor "China" the creators of these ideologies nor have the "exported" it to sow seeds of discord in India.

Dispite that many are getting into such ideology, for example 'Indian Mujahidians' and more than Seven states under Moist terror, heck at TATA nagar even Rajdhani is not allowed to leave until morinig even today !

Not entirely true, Foreign agents have come and laid seeds in those parts where our grip was loose enough..
As speaking of Pakistani dont have any hessitation to connect them with terror inside India..
As Speaking of China, Their Spies have very deep connection to the terror groups in northeast..

I don't understand how would T90s and Bofors fight ideologies ? You fight ideas with ideas.

Its a know truth..

How does image of a soldier correlate to a nation's survival ?

The nation stand on People`s will, Its the moral & Belive of the People which make our country as a Nation, Any caste or religion in this country respect a Army man more than any-other, And its a fact in this Country and even in this very forum..

Human Rights violations have occurred no doubt, yet, the citizens of this country still have faith in the Army. Do you think us a country of hypocrites or realists ?

Indeed, And they are punished as by code in Army !
But again what people like Madam Anuradi whatever is given the lime light, Solider do read all this, And its not healthy for their moral on front lines even in peace duties..

In one simple way this reports discourage the relation between civilian and a Jawan, And it works both ways..

Any example to highlight and contrast ?

Army truck crashes into bus stand, couple, DU student among 4 killed - *

Army bus killed civilian in bus stand, It seems Army Driver Drunk on Duty..

Later found out it was a Army hired Civilian vehicle, And the driver was not drunk, But mechanical failure..

Btw, Their are others took including CBI official so call kicked out of Military Hospital in Delhi..

But i wont Blame Delhi People, The News is HYPED by Media so call well managed propaganda. !!

Spot on. Police reforms.

Teaching them abt Civillain and Security forces relations mainly

Why should the media for chastised for reporting facts ? Let us not become another army state.

Army State ?
No one want army state, Even in Army..

Also SIMPLE idea is $$$$ this, This channels are same as Politicians, They will go to any extend to keep viewer EYE on their channel and websites for the needed ratings and view !, Its Simple as that, And no one do nothing to prevent why ?, Democracy have no role in this..

A few more points

1. Why are most Generals from the Infantry ?
2. Why does Army continue to get a lion's share of the budget ?
3. Why aren't urban Army cantts sold off and money used for modernization ?
4. Why does Army suck up to MoD ?
5. Why are there no Army-Airforce-Naval joint wargames ?
6. Why isn't the Army doing anything about the calibre of new officers ?
7. What is Army's vision for the next 10/20/30 years ?
8. Why are the Army's purchases so disjointed ?
etc. etc.

1. They are most experienced in every possible needed section for such position..

2. Because its needed !
A. We have Enemy big as China and Pakistan as well as they need to cover all the fronts even in south..
B. The accommodation for Men and Officers and salary is needed to promise all the benefits for their duty they do in return..
C. To maintain the hardware purchased..

3. What is the need of a cantt in Urban > Because its a Largest organization in Gov, Same for railways, Also U need to keep such offical in a place which is secure, from outside..

4. Because the big guy want to have power over his adversary, Its known and its Ugly truth,

5. Thier are in Andaman many times, Its posted in DFI many times .. !?

6. Its a complex process, lots of things are evaluated, though most get what they deserve..

7. Improve strength and rectify deficiency..

8. I DONT know, And i hate to say so..

 

[roma]

We had one of their cartoon leaders who had a dream to scrap the army now the prince wants to become the leader god help us all.

if i could give a super-like to any post - it would have to be this - quoted above .

 

[ace009]

I have a better heading for this discussion thread - "Are we being deliberately paranoid or have we all gone nuts?"