Woman Power!

History has repeatedly proved that women have always played a pivotal role in the development of any civilisation. Reservations, hurdles and challenges of consorting in strictly men oriented disciplines of life have instilled a compelling momentum and bolstered her level of commitment to emerge victorious.

Defence and Security have been two such verticals where induction of women has always been considered a taboo, other than medical and nursing corps where postings are largely behind the front lines of battle. However, the last couple of decades have seen a paradigm shift with women officers participating effectively in aviation, logistics, law, engineering and executive cadres. The question is … If European, American and Israeli defence forces have women in combat roles, why is India still apprehensive for this metamorphosis!?

In retrospect, the disposition of our most agonisingly persistent adversary, Pakistan and its proclivity to inflict brutal torture on prisoners of war / combatants, appears to be the root cause of our apprehension in allowing women into the combat zone. Another argument reflected in military ethos is the prevailing civilian attitude of menfolk drawn from the rural areas of India who are unprepared to deal with a greater role of women in society.

In India, this process has been exceedingly slow and women in higher ranks are rare. I still remember my interaction with the first woman Air Marshal of the Indian Air Force, Ms Padmavathy Bandopadhyay who was interviewed for the inaugural edition of DSA in October 2009. It was fascinating to talk to a lady who has become a trailblazer through sheer determination, dedication, commitment and hard-work and became a role model for the younger generation.

This edition of DSA is dedicated to ‘Woman Power’ and the indispensable role she plays as a mother, a sister, a wife, a daughter and above all … a soldier! Experts and stalwarts have beautifully encapsulated their roles, their challenges and their perceptible contributions. Almost all operations of defence and security are now witness to their phenomenal success. However, the bottleneck of antiquated policies is still a marathon that needs to be sweated out.

Defence and security segment in India has become skewed by the predominance of public sector in the production of military wherewithal. With the present government insisting on ‘Make in India’, we feel emboldened to suggest measures for creating the gravely needed and viable Military Industrial Complex with an active policy of public-private participation and productive and profitable partnership. With Aero India 2015 recently concluded, expectations of a clear road map from our Prime Minister are soaring as we feel he understands the paramountcy of much contemplated exponential escalation of indigenous defence production capabilities. I know it is not going to happen overnight but with transparent policies reinforcing this vision, India can expeditiously affirm an upswing in GDP, strengthening and self-reliance of defence and security and generation of jobs and foreign exchange.

Almighty has bestowed a woman with the power to create and I firmly believe that she has the ability and competence to elevate India to the pinnacle of developed nations. As we celebrate International Women’s Day, I look forward to the day when the world says, ‘Behind every successful Woman, there is a Man!’ May the festival of colours adorn your lives with the vibrant hues of happiness. Happy Holi!!

Jai Hind!

Propitious Resurgence

The reaction of our neighbours China and Pakistan to US President Barack Obama’s visit to India underscores the dangers posed by these two to India and the Asia-Pacific region. The collusion between Beijing, Islamabad and Pongyang in the horizontal proliferation of nuclear weapons and the means of delivery has created a bulwark from behind which Pakistan-trained terrorists have tried to sap the strengths of both India and the US. It reveals that the kernel of the China-Pak geostrategic relationship is based largely on the use of terrorist ‘non-state actors’. In its ‘all-weather’ support to Pakistan, China is also bolstering to the hilt the use of Islamic fundamentalist jihadi terrorists as tools of state policy.

This conjunction of the nuclear, conventional and sub-conventional methods of warfare has stoked fears in the region that they will provoke a two-front war against India to satisfy a craving for an overland connection between China’s Pacific Ocean seaboard and the Arabian Sea over illegally held territory that belonged to the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir acceded to India. It also highlights the new hegemonic aspirations in the Indian Ocean region. It is in this context that this year’s biannual Aero India exposition acquires special significance for creation of the wherewithal within India for an aerospace defence capable of sustaining two-front war on the India-Pakistan and India-China frontiers and Pak / China-inspired machinations in the hinterland.

The new BJP-led government has sought to clear the logjam in the acquisition of new generations of fighter-bombers to replace the ageing and obsolescent MiG family of Russia-built aircraft that helped defend India successfully in the 1965 and 1971 Wars with Pakistan. It is now time to look two decades ahead at what should be India’s posture in the aerospace domain. That is what the DSA in this issue has sought to do. The Republic Day parade highlighted the current capabilities, including the air display by US supplied medium-lift C-130J Super Hercules, the heavy-lift C-17 Globemaster and P8I maritime reconnaissance and strike aircraft and the Russian Sukhoi deep penetration strike aircraft all of which have a very specific China orientation and can handle Pakistan collaterally.

The accent of air power in the coming decades will be on acquisition of fifth generation-plus fighter-bombers and the ability to reach into the Chinese heartland if necessary. This entails the upgradation of not only the air power infrastructure of the Air Force, Army and Navy but also the flexible deployment facilities for the Paramilitary forces like the Border Security Force, the Central Reserve Police Force and Indo-Tibetan Border Police. So in a way the upcoming Aero India 2015 will create more value addition to the procurement process in lieu of the announcement of 49 per cent FDI in Defence by the current government and all the major manufacturers of the aero products and technologies around the world will be participating.

This edition is dedicated to the Aero India 2015 show and you will find many, research-based articles by the experts on all aspects of air power which make this edition a very special one. DSA has the privilege of publishing an interview with the Deputy Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal SBP Sinha in this edition. Under a new DSA feature titled ‘Know The Chief’ we present a complete profile of our Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, his great career graph and his achievements.

This edition also carries Pre-budget Musings by renowned subject experts. With the announcement of defence budget round the corner, this is an integral aspect that needs meticulous scrutiny of its strengths and weaknesses. It is an exercise in explaining the crux of national security planning and the means and sapience of achieving the required Defence capabilities. I am sure that these articles will open new ways and provide insights to develop a robust defence budget of India considering the shortfalls and the challenges that our Defence forces are facing.

Jai Hind!

Alert For India?

The Taliban and their Pakistani masters are behaving with India like the Kauravas did with Pandavas in the ancient times. We all know the fate of the Kauravas and it now appears – after the massacre of the innocent school children in Peshawar on 16th December – that dastardly act could yet prove to be the last straw that will break the Pakistani camel’s obdurate back.

In spite of all warnings and alerts by the world community, Pakistan has never tried to control the global terrorism and anti-Indian activities of the many Sunni Islamic jihadi outfits operating from within its territory and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. I think the attack on the Peshawar military school is the direct outcome of the permissive attitude of both the Pakistani military establishment and the political milieu which used Islamic fundamentalism to create constituencies within the many terrorist organisations operating under the umbrella United Jihad Council. That the young Malala Yousafzai should win the Nobel Prize for standing up to defy the jihadi diktat against education of the girl child in Pakistan is a commentary on the depth to which the Pakistani society has descended that such groups can revel in the slaying of the innocents.

There is now no doubt that there exists a nexus between the Pakistan government led by an Ahle Hadith-believing Prime Minister, the Pakistan Army Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the various terrorist outfi ts be they the Al Qaeda, the Taliban, the Lashkar-e-Taiba or the rabidly anti-Shia Lashkar-e-Jhangvi to name a few. The admission by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan that it conducted the massacre in Peshawar in retaliation for the Pakistan Army and Air Force Operation Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan robbed the Pakistan government of any excuse to accuse India and Afghanistan for the Peshawar massacre Lashkar e-Taiba chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed’s rantings against India notwithstanding.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s assurance that his government would take strong action against the perpetrators was rendered useless with the release from jail two days later of one of the handlers of the Mumbai carnage of 26/11, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi. Worldwide condemnation forced the Nawaz Sharif government to put him back in jail under a law that allows only three months incarceration. Sufficient proof of his involvement has been handed over to the Pakistan government but threats to public prosecutors and judges have ensured that no action will be taken against Lakhvi.

After the Peshawar massacre Indian defence and security forces and the intelligence agencies have become more vigilant against any similar attack on Indian schools. The role of Indian Army has become more challenging now considering the various threats internally as well as externally. The entire security paradigm has changed in the last one decade. The ultras using the latest technologies to destablise peace in India are the biggest challenge for the Indian Army which is now well equipped with the latest telecommunication devices and arms and ammunition. The Indian Army has kept the Pakistani game plan at bay and has blunted the many proxy attacks it has conducted over the past two decades which have been characterised by a “no war, no peace” state of affairs. The coordination of the Indian Army with border state governments and the paramilitary forces has stymied Pakistani plans to destroy Indian unity and territorial integrity. I am confident that our Army will play the role of a catalyst to safeguard India’s security and national interests in this changing security paradigm.

I am happy to inform you that veteran journalist and leading strategic analyst Nitin A Gokhale has joined team DSA as Executive Editor with this edition. We are also introducing a new feature ‘Know the Chief.’ As this edition is Indian Army Special we are featuring the Indian Army Chief General Dalbir Singh. Team DSA commemorates the Indian Army Day and salutes each officer and every jawan of the Indian Army by dedicating this edition to the Indian Army. I wish you all a very Happy New Year 2015 and a joyous Republic Day!

Jai Hind!