A week ago, the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), administered by the Headquarters, Integrated Defence Staff (HQIDS), conducted a seminar on ‘Exploring the Idea That is India from the Strategic Perspective’ and whether it needs to be brought in line with India’s historical legacy that is anchored in the Hindu civilisation. This is a development that needs to get the military’s seniormost leadership thinking.
The armed forces are steeped in military ethic and not without the best of reasons. Military ethic has ensured that the armed forces remain professional, disciplined and apolitical. It is this military ethic that is, unfortunately, not being understood by those who must not only embody it but also groom future generations.
Often, changes are required in general mindsets in countries such as India, which was colonised for over three centuries and the emphasis on revival of Indian culture is laudable. However, this does not include in its ambit, sowing seeds of doubt in military minds about military ethic. What is definitely avoidable is getting even a whiff of religion or ideology into the military officer corps.
The mindset and behaviour of the military officer corps are central to how the military behaves today and will behave in the future. It must be remembered that the DSSC trains mid-ranking officers of the rank of Lt Col and equivalents in the other two services for higher responsibilities. These officers will go on to tenant important staff assignments and command large bodies of men and women. What they imbibe at DSSC and other institutes of higher learning is likely to influence the manner in which our armed forces will behave in future.
For very good reasons, politics, religion and women were topics that were ‘out of bounds’ in the Indian Navy’s Wardroom (officers mess) discussions. I suppose similar norms exist in the Army and Air Force as well. The armed forces realise that they are non-partisan, volunteer, inclusive, merit-based, multi-cultural and multi-religious organisations that represent a microcosm of the Indian population. Any divisive discussion will impact the harmony within the armed forces and adversely affect the morale of the forces and their effectiveness in conflict. The general turmoil within the country and the divisiveness that prevails in civil society is bad enough. Leave the military out, for God’s sake.
The armed forces are capable of unleashing enormous violence and that capability must always pledge allegiance to the broadest concepts of democratic governance – the elected government and the Constitution.
Allegiance to narrower ends such as religion, ideology or a particular leader has ominous portents which must be discouraged at all costs. It is in this light that such seminars and attempts at narrowing the vision of the armed forces officers should be condemned and immediately halted. It is not that Indian culture and writing have not been studied at institutes of military learning. Ramayana, Mahabharata and Arthashastra have been researched alongside, Sun Tzu, Mahan and Clausewitz. That must and will continue.
This is not a matter that should attract the attention of the military alone. The Indian armed forces have a proud history of remaining spotlessly apolitical, religion-agnostic, highly disciplined and impeccably professional - uncorrupted by such unnecessary discussions that carry undercurrents of narrower allegiances. It is not that attempts have not been made earlier to undermine and weaken this fabric but our military leaders over different times have stood tall, keeping the larger good of the country in mind, always upholding the military ethic.
Civilian control of the military has been a defining feature of our democracy since independence. Despite its limiting effects on military autonomy, the armed forces have internalised this need to remain subservient to political ends and not taint itself in political, ideological or religious colour. That is how it must remain. A cursory look around our neighbourhood will drive home the stark difference between India and our immediate neighbours in this regard.
Military leadership bears the responsibility to ensure that the armed forces walk the ‘straight and narrow’ path. Poor understanding of the larger good, immature reading of political statements, eagerness to please the powers that be and inadequate oversight of Professional Military Education by the apex leadership are reasons that contribute to the erosion of the professional military ethic, so essential to maintaining apolitical armed forces that submit willingly to civilian democratic control. Other institutes of higher professional military education such as the War Colleges and the National Defence College would be wise to take note.
Such indiscretion is akin to riding a tiger. Attempting to control the tiger may be a heady feeling but it is fraught with assuredly disastrous consequences.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK
