Field Marshal K. M. Cariappa: His Life and Times narrates, for the first time, the full story of the life and times of India’s first Commander-in-Chief, a soldier and a diplomat and above all. a patriot. Coming immediately after his death at the age of 93, this assiduously researched biography gives a total insight into his life and deeds that have immortalised him. Cariappa’s life has been a fascinating compound of character, luck and circumstances. His meteoric rise from 1947 to the pinnacle enabled him to frame the Indian Army - and other services - into his mould of tenacity and resilience. The book, devotes itself adequately to episodes of his one-man-crusade to let the Armed Forces remain undivided for the duration of the Partition in 1947, when everyone was bent on doing so. Aspersion was cast freely on his political ambition at that time. As C-in-C his skirmish with the politically supported bureaucracy to safeguard the dignity of his office had repercussions on civilmilitary relations but he steadfastly stuck to his position. Hearing Nehru say that “the Chinese will safeguard the northern border and that, he as C-in-C should worry about J&K and Pakistan,” shook him and he could see how removed the leader was from strategic reality. Here then is a book on the life and times of Cariappa in which there is a balanced blend of biography and history which is punctuated by human episodes, anecdotes and reminiscences.
Field Marshal K. M. Cariappa: His Life and Times narrates, for the first time, the full story of the life and times of India’s first Commander-in-Chief, a soldier and a diplomat and above all. a patriot. Coming immediately after his death at the age of 93, this assiduously researched biography gives a total insight into his life and deeds that have immortalised him. Cariappa’s life has been a fascinating compound of character, luck and circumstances. His meteoric rise from 1947 to the pinnacle enabled him to frame the Indian Army - and other services - into his mould of tenacity and resilience. The book, devotes itself adequately to episodes of his one-man-crusade to let the Armed Forces remain undivided for the duration of the Partition in 1947, when everyone was bent on doing so. Aspersion was cast freely on his political ambition at that time. As C-in-C his skirmish with the politically supported bureaucracy to safeguard the dignity of his office had repercussions on civilmilitary relations but he steadfastly stuck to his position. Hearing Nehru say that “the Chinese will safeguard the northern border and that, he as C-in-C should worry about J&K and Pakistan,” shook him and he could see how removed the leader was from strategic reality. Here then is a book on the life and times of Cariappa in which there is a balanced blend of biography and history which is punctuated by human episodes, anecdotes and reminiscences.
IN THIS VOLUME: ‘Sagara Manthan’: Make in India Transition | Lt Gen JS Bajwa “Our vision in next 10 years is to become top defence industry in the world...” | Interview by Danvir Singh Indian Airborne Troops Script History | Danvir Singh Submarine Ahoy – Whither to Bound? | Rear Adm AP Revi Aerospace and Defence News | Priya Tyagi Higher Defence Organisation for India: Towards an Integrated Approach | Maj Gen Rajiv Narayanan Indian Army: Adopting ‘Deep Operations’ Doctrine | Col JK Achuthan The Government’s Burden of Military Security | Lt Gen Gautam Banerjee Global Terrorism: An Analysis of Fault Lines and Risks | Maj Gen SB Asthana Tackling Global Terror | Anil Kumar Tandale Islamic State: The New Brand of Terrorism in India | V Balasubramaniyan India & China Territorial Dispute: The Growing Challenge | Brig Gurmeet Kanwal China-India-Myanmar: The Forgotten Frontier | Air Cmde PC Chopra Myanmar and India: A New Future | Maj Gen Nitin P Gadkari Airfield Security: Lessons for the IAF | Air Marshal Anil Chopra Acoustic Capacity Building in the Indian Ocean Region | Cdr (Dr) Arnab Das & Vice Adm DSP Varma Transportation Infrastructure in the North East | Air Marshal Dhiraj Kukreja Our Forgotten Wars: Victimisation and Survival in Bodoland | Dr Samrat Sinha Women Officers in the Indian Army: A Reality Check | Lt Gen Mukesh Sabharwal Socio Economic Transformation: Through Ex-Servicemen | Lt Gen SK Gadeock & Col Nishant Sharma DPP 2016: A Missed Opportunity | Dr SN Misra Defence Budget 2016: Hits and Misses for the IAF | Air Marshal Anil Chopra Privatisation of the Indian Aerospace Industry: Problems and Prospects | Gp Capt AK Sachdev The Patrol Leader | Sumit Walia
The title aspires to present a panorama of India’s yet to be fully discovered martial heritage, denoted by its unconquerable ancient epoch, a critique of the generally misread medieval age vicissitudes, followed by a survey of the contemporary & post-independence travails and triumphs. Not a historical narrative, it attempts to define what constitutes India’s natural-born military mind, how it evolved and breasted the world-conquering armies, followed by critical glimpses of the past ordeals, besides its uncelebrated defiance & conquests. The venture culminates in defining the nation’s prospective defence and development policy imperatives, for its emerging global role. It is rare in providing in one volume India’s scintillating perspective of the past, present and the future. The ardent quest, spanning over twelve years, is a reflective blend of a review of the Vedas, the Epics, relevant Shastras & other select material of help, with the author’s long years of rich military operational, planning and instructional experience. Poring over its pages answers many elemental questions, coming naturally to a lay reader, student, research scholar, man-at-arm, defence analyst and the policy maker. The thesis fills a gap by covering a wide range of archeological, historical, politico-military, socio-cultural and strategic and warfare issues, besides dispelling certain myths, which tend to demean India’s way of life and war fighting. The scrutiny of the post-independence wars comes to several untold finds. An exclusive study on ‘what motivates men in combat’ gives the subject an added depth. A lucid account of the nuances of the vital subject, bolstered by an unflagging perceptive probe, makes it an absorbing study.
Two issues that dominated the debates of the strategic community in the first quarter of this year were; ‘Make in India’ energetically marketed at the Aero-India Show and the Defence Budget. The Defence Budget is looked at intently to get the general emphasis of the government on security. Brig Gurmeet Kanwal has debated this lucidly. Maintaining a large standing armed force requires more than mere day-to-day support. An ill-equipped large force mired with equipment hollowness is not a guarantee for security but in a future war will be cannon fodder for the adversary. Someone will have to be held accountable to the nation for this debilitating lapse. Or take a conscious decision to reduce its size if this country cannot afford a well equipped large armed force!!! Preparing an armed force on a long-term basis requires a deeply considered perspective of its future role in the national security scheme and the road map for its implementation. The absence of a doctrine and the hesitation of establishing a single point of contact on all matters military have been well debated in this issue. Generals Harwant and Banerjee and Colonel Achutan look at the aspects of doctrine. ‘Make in India’ has been the didactic theme of this Government. It needs to be spelt out in clear terms and not left to the (mis-)interpretation of the bureaucracy. Make in India will be feasible only when the basic industrial manufacturing has notched up a number of counts and the manpower skills to go with it are matching. Currently it is more theoretical than implementable. The articles Dr Misra, Air Marshal Kukreja and Group Captain Noronha address these issues with particular reference to the aero-space industry. Two articles relate to the major current event on PM Modi’s visit to China; the first is on Tibet and the second on the boundary issue. Cyber space is emerging the next frontier; Gen Davinder Kumar has generated an excellent discussion on the issue. Col Harjeet has looked at the implications of social media on security. As a first Claude Arpi has documented a diary highlighting prominent issues relating to China’s PLA in this first quarter. This will now be a regular feature in the print edition. Wishing all our readers a worthwhile professionally invigorating reading experience.
In this volume: Coup in Turkey Now in A Coop | Lt Gen JS Bajwa Fifth Generation Aircraft: Battlefield Air Support Mission | Air Marshal Anil Chopra Unmanned Full Scale Fighter Targets for Training and Ucav Technology Development | Sqn Ldr Vijainder K Thakur Women Join the Fighter Stream of the Iaf: Will it Work? | Gp Capt Joseph Noronha First Param Vir Chakra | Sumit Walia Military Aviation and the Indian Air Force | Dr Narender Yadav The Contours of Iddm: A User’s Perspective | Lt Gen VK Saxena Challenges to the Indo-Us Defence Relationship | Abhinav Dutta Aerospace and Defence News | Priya Tyagi About Wars of the Future | Artsrun Hovhannisyan Decision-Making in War: Recalling India’s Military History | Brigadier Amar Cheema China’s Maritime Strategy: Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) | Bharat Lather Is Indianess Reasserting in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir? | RSN Singh Indian and Chinese Covert Efforts | Nicolas Groffman Home Minister in Pakistan: Take Action Against Terrorists and Countries that Support Them | Danvir Singh Decommissioning of Ins Viraat | Danvir Singh Potent Indigenous War Unfolding in Jammu & Kashmir | Brig Narender Kumar China – The New Aerospace Power | Gp Capt AK Sachdev Sino-Pak Collaboration – Military Aviation | Air Marshal Anil Chopra Success Breeds Stunning Success: The Story of India’s Space Endeavour | Gp Capt Joseph Noronha Book Reviews
The biennial Aero India Show is here again in Bengaluru. The current issue is focused on Air Power. With Prime Minister raising the upper limit of FDI in the Defence Industry sector and bringing forth a policy of “Make in India” the international weapon systems and equipment manufacturers are realigning their format to meet the requirement in these changed circumstances. The major players in the aviation industry are already on the starting blocks and fine tuning their nuanced approach. Dr Nikolai Novichkov has presented a view of the Russian aviation industry; Steven Gillard has outlined Rolls Royce’s committed support in positioning India as a global manufacturing hub. Boeing has elaborated on the maintenance support and services being set up for the two major aircraft deployed by the IAF – C17 and P8I as also making India as a hub for support and services in the region. Rafael Industries and IAI Israel too have outlined the format for possible TOT in an impressive array of technologies in the future. A fair number of our articles are devoted to analysing India’s Air Power. Air Marshal Dhiraj Kukreja has comprehensively dwelt on India’s present and future combat fleet. Drones as game changers are presented lucidly by S Gopal. Space is considered an adjunct to air power; Gp Capt AK Sachdev has analysed this aspect in relation to India’s space endeavours. IAF phased out its fleet of Canberra medium bombers in 1990. Was that a well considered decision taking into account India’s future growth as a regional and global power? The role of bombers in the air force is pithily argued by Sqn Ldr Vijainder Thakur. As aircraft exploit the air medium, air defence weapons aim to deny this freedom to aircraft and missiles. Air Marshal Anil Chopra brings forth the success of the ‘Iron Dome’ deployed by the Israelis and its role in protecting surface targets. This issue also covers India’s ‘sub-conventional deficit’ by our special correspondent and the present state of insurgency in India’s North East region by Brig R Borthakur. Gen Vijay Oberoi has highlighted the need for a structural change in India’s higher defence management. Brig Deepak Sinha has raised the issue of India’s security strategy and doctrine being on divergent paths. Maj Gen AK Chadha has emphatically put forth the need for the military in the digitalised battle field to carve out its own ‘slice of space’ for operating successfully in such a future war scenario. Air Marshal Anil Chopra and Dr SN Misra have presented the efficacy of TOT and off sets and challenges before the defence industry. Mr Kanwal Sibal has critically assessed the evolving dynamics of Indo-US relations. Gen JS Lidder with his UN experience has looked at the need for enhancing the role of women in conflict zones. Claude Arpi has been a keen China watcher. He presents the current situation in the PLA consequent to the crackdown by the Chinese President Xi Jinping on the wide spread corruption in the Chinese PLA. The IDR has endeavoured through the range of articles to hold the interest of the serious reader of military affairs.
IN THIS VOLUME: Indo-Pak War 1965: Are Commemorations Due? – Lt Gen JS Bajwa (Editor) ---------------------------------------------------- INDIAN DEFENCE REVIEW COMMENT Indian Army’s Multi-Calibre Individual Weapon System – Danvir Singh ---------------------------------------------------- Getting More from Less: Force Multipliers for the IAF – Gp Capt Joseph Noronha Quietly Effective, Vigilant Airborne ISR – John Kiehle Look Beyond FDI: Laying the Right Foundation for Defence Manufacturing – Dr JP Dash Making “Make in India” Succeed – Lt Gen Anjan Mukherjee Restructuring Defence Procurement Procedure – Ashish Puntambekar Airborne and Special Forces: Reassessing Role, Tasks and Organisations – Brig Deepak Sinha The IAF and its Need for Close Air Support – Sqn Ldr Vijainder K Thakur India: An Aerospace Power? – Gp Capt TP Srivastava Computer Network Operations and Electronic Warfare Complementary or Competitive? – Lt Gen Davinder Kumar Spectre of China’s Artificial Islands – Prof Swaran Singh & Dr Lilian Yamamoto China’s Game of Territorial Claims – Lt Gen Gautam Banerjee Aerospace and Defence News – Priya Tyagi The Dragon’s Adventures in the Indian Ocean – Vice Admiral Anup Singh Influence of Aerial Combat on the Development of Armoured Fighting Vehicles – Artsrun Hovhannisyan Fifty Years Since Haji Pir – Special Correspondent The Middle East: An Assessment – Air Marshal Dhiraj Kukreja Climate Change in the Himalayas: A Ticking Time-Bomb? – Col CP Muthanna Restructuring Defence Reforms for National Security – Brig Gurmeet Kanwal Wanted A Full Spectrum Military Doctrine – Brig Amar Cheema Reviewing India’s Foreign Policy: From Regional Power to Potential Super Power – Anant Mishra The PLA Digest – Claude Arpi Book Review
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