Indian Military News

[malushahi]

[url="http://www.ptinews.com/news/592381_INS-Chennai-adds-to-naval-might"]INS Chennai adds to naval might[/url]





Mumbai, Apr 1 (PTI) The Navy today added might to its warship fleet with Elizabeth Antony, the wife of Defence Minister A K Antony, launching INS Chennai, a guided missile destroyer, prior to its induction.



INS Chennai, the third destroyer under Project 15 Alpha, has been built by Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL).



The majestic 163-metre long ship had a pontoon assisted launching, with hundreds of MDL workers and dignitaries, including Antony and Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Nirmal Verma, cheering as the ship was lowered into water here.



Chennai will be fitted with the indigenous supersonic Brahmos surface-to-surface missile system. The destroyer, propelled by four gas turbines, is designed to achieve speeds in excess of 30 knots.

[malushahi]

[url="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/WIL-signs-MoU-with-French-naval-shipbuilder/articleshow/5744748.cms"]WIL signs MoU with French naval shipbuilder[/url]



Nikhil Deshmukh, TNN, Mar 31, 2010, 06.02am IST





PUNE: Walchandnagar Industries Limited (WIL), a Rs 700-crore group, which mainly supplies machinery and equipment for nuclear power, aerospace, defence and other turnkey projects, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with French naval shipbuilder DCNS, to manufacture critical equipment for Scorpene submarines to be used by the Indian Navy.



The submarines are built by state-owned Mazgaon Docks Ltd, and are expected to join the naval fleet by 2018, said Chakor Doshi, chairman of WIL at Walchandnagar industrial township, some 130 km from Pune, on Tuesday.



Doshi was speaking to reporters after the inauguration of a research and development centre at Walchandnagar industrial township. The township is spread over 580 acres and includes 50 acres of factory area. Doshi was accompanied by Patrick Boissier, chairman and chief executive officer of DCNS and Anil Kakodkar, former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission.



"The MoU was signed in February this year," said Doshi. "WIL and DCNS will work out the details and it will be converted to a joint venture eventually. We may float a new company or continue to manufacture the required equipment from the existing establishment, which already manufactures special products for the defence sector. With the JV, WIL will continue to work in the areas for which we have technical capacity. The agreement may include procurement of required equipment for its French counterpart and will be finalised at a later stage." At present, defence, aerospace and nuclear projects contribute 15 per cent of WIL's total revenue.



With WIL joining India's ambitious multi-billion-dollar project to build Scorpene class submarines, the contribution of indigenously manufactured equipment in the defence sector has increased. India plans to source 70 per cent of its defence requirement from indigenous sources by the end of this year.



Of the six Scorpene class submarines that are scheduled to be supplied by 2018, WIL is already supplying equipment for the first and second submarine. The WIL and DCNS venture will mainly focus on supply of equipment for the remaining four submarines, Doshi said.



Bossier said, "Along with the ongoing project of Scorpene class of submarines, the company should also be able to get a second contract for the P75i project. These will be advanced submarines and DCNS will be involved in it.”

[malushahi]

[url="http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=352296&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16"]Exposure to technology essential: expert[/url]



By Ramesh Mathew





The requirements of the coastguards and navies of the Middle East are growing at a rapid pace owing to the developments in the seas in and around the region, feels Indian Navy’s Real Admiral (Retd) Vineet Bakshi.



The chairman and managing director of Goa Shipyard Limited and India’s major ship building yard for defence vessels has come to Doha to participate in the 2nd Doha International Maritime and Defence Exhibition (Dimdex) concluding this evening at the Doha Exhibition Centre.



Unless such exhibitions are hosted at intervals, the region’s naval personnel would not get the real exposure that they need to have while dealing with different varieties of multi-purpose vessels, believes Bakshi.



“Some of the ships that we developed in the maritime industry could be found only with the Indian Navy, which is engaged in different duties in and around the Arabian Sea owing to a newly emerging situations from the increased pace of piracy off the Somalia coast,” the ship yard official said.



Bakshi said each of the region’s navies would require multipurpose coastguard vessels, interceptors, mine sweepers and damage control simulators as their needs are increasing day by day.



Asked about the possibilities for doing business in the region, the senior naval official said the shipyard’s order book is full these days with 70% domestic orders and other international and regional requirements.



“However, India’s friendly defence relations with GCC states like Qatar and Saudi Arabia would certainly bring in new orders,” he said.



Naval offshore patrol vessels built by Goa Shipyard have been widely accepted with some of the GCC states and new inquiries are coming in for their requirements, said Bakshi.

[malushahi]

[url="http://www.dailypioneer.com/246616/India-ups-the-ante-on-China.html"]India ups the ante on China[/url]



Rahul Datta | New Delhi



Centre okays raising of 2 mountain divisions





In a major decision aimed at countering the growing threats from China, the Government has sanctioned raising of two mountain divisions (20,000 troops) to be deployed on the India-China border. Taking the urgency of the situation into account, the Government has lifted a 37-year-old freeze on making fresh recruitment for the China-centric mountain division.



The Army was raising new units in the last 25 years from within its existing sanctioned troop strength. One division has about 10,000 men.



At present, the Army has two divisions and the sanction for two more divisions will help the Army plug all operational gaps and help it defend its eastern and western borders and wage two-front war if need be.



The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) recently gave the go-ahead to the Army to raise two more mountain divisions, sources said here on Friday. The Government has also decided to speed up the process to procure specialised weaponry needed for mountain warfare.



China was rapidly modernising its armed forces and strengthening the infrastructure all along the 4,500-km Line of Actual Control(LAC). Acknowledging the fact that China’s preparedness was better, India took a series of steps like improving road network in States like Arunachal Pradesh and raising specialised mountain divisions, sources said.



They, however, claimed that these mountain divisions would be trained to fight a two-front war simultaneously with China and Pakistan as the Army was now capable of rapidly transferring troops from one theatre to another at a very short notice.



Elaborating upon the decision to remove the cap on fresh recruitments, sources said the Army raised the first two divisions from within its existing resources. It stretched the Army’s resources and realising its adverse impact on preparedness, the Government allowed additional recruitments.



With the hike in sanctioned manpower strength, the Army would now have more elbow room to rapidly raise the two divisions and train them in the shortest possible time. Moreover, the Government asked the Army to hasten the process of procuring Howitzer guns aptly suited for mountain warfare.



The Army planned to go in for more than 200 Howitzer guns which can be carried on horse back or in helicopters to the remotest posts in the rugged mountain terrain in Jammu & Kashmir and North-East.



The guns were likely to procured through the foreign military sale (FMS) route from the US, sources said.



Incidentally, the new Army chief General VK Singh said on Thursday infrastructure development in border States facing China was “slightly behind” and the Government was giving due attention to this fact.



Stating that China was not only focusing on modernising its armed forces in Tibet and the stress was now on making Chinese soldiers operate in a digitised battlefield. Giving reasons for slow pace of infrastructure development on the Indian side, he said the terrain was “friendly” on the Chinese side as it was a plateau. However, the terrain was mountainous on our side thereby making it all the more difficult for fast road building, he said.

[ramana]

Mudy, Is this the same old news of two mountain strike corps being raised or is it in addition?

[malushahi]

^^^

Ramana, these are same divisions that were approved by CCS in 2008. However earlier they were to be raised using elements from existing formations. Seems like there has been a rethink on that, so these are now truly "new" MtnDivs. See the quote from the above article:

Elaborating upon the decision to remove the cap on fresh recruitments, sources said the Army raised the first two divisions from within its existing resources. It stretched the Army’s resources and realising its adverse impact on preparedness, the Government allowed additional recruitments.



With the hike in sanctioned manpower strength, the Army would now have more elbow room to rapidly raise the two divisions and train them in the shortest possible time. Moreover, the Government asked the Army to hasten the process of procuring Howitzer guns aptly suited for mountain warfare.

Here is one of the news items from 2008, regarding the composition of the new divs:



[url="http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/India-to-raise-two-new-mountain-divisions-of-the-army/322331/"]India to raise two new mountain divisions of the army[/url]

While most troops for the two new divisions would be pooled from existing army units, there could be new battalions and brigades raised for augmenting the new divisions' strength, the sources added.

Seems there is renewed urgency with respect to the original 5 yr plan (2 yrs for Div+Brig HQs and 3 yrs to add teeth).

[Arun_S]

[left] [url="http://www.greaterkashmir.com/today/full_story.asp?Date=21_4_2010&ItemID=80&cat=1"]Army Chief visits Leh[/url]



[/left]

Reviews Sino-India Border Security



PRESS TRUST OF INDIA



[url="http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news_images/News_21_4_2010_21.jpg"] [/url] Jammu, Apr 20: On his maiden visit to Jammu and Kashmir after taking charge, new army Chief General V K Singh Tuesday reviewed the security situation of strategic Sino-India border in the Ladakh region.

Gen Singh, accompanied by his wife Bharti Singh, who arrived on a three-day maiden tour to Leh this morning, was received by the General Officer Commanding in Chief, Northern Command Lt Gen B S Jaswal, Leh-based 14 Corps Commander, Lt Gen S K Singh.

Soon after his arrival, the army chief reviewed the security situation along the Sino-Indian and Indo-Pak borders in Ladakh region, defence sources told PTI.

He was briefed by the field commanders about operational preparedness and various other security measures in the frontier region.

Later Singh flew to Srinagar to review the security situation, counter-militancy operations and cross-border infiltration in the area, they said.

During the three-day visit, Singh, who has led counter-insurgency operations in the state, is scheduled to visit Northern Command headquarter at Udhampur and will hold discussions with Northern Command Chief Lt Gen B S Jaswal.

He is also scheduled to visit 16 Corps headquarters at Nagrota in Jammu and forward areas in Poonch, Mendhar and Akhnoor for an on-the-spot assessment of cross-infiltration measures and border situation.

The army chief is also expected to meet Governor N N Vohra and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and discuss with them the security situation, infiltration and other issues before leaving for New Delhi on April 22.

During his long tenure in the Valley, Singh had commanded 2nd Rajput on the Line of Control and took charge as General Officer Commanding of Counter insurgency Victor Force, besides Chief of Staff of 15 Crops.

[Arun_S]

[url="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8652837.stm"]Indian man 'survives without food or water for decades'[/url]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8652837.stm



No hoax.

[ramana]

Time for a prayer in memory of Lt Kalia and his men.

[laltaputu]

The Internet is buzzing with news of ARJUN but we are forgetting other important needs



ARTILLERY



1.the M777 is a done deal for light transportable artillery

2.trails for the towed gun between B77-05 and ifh-2000 will be on

but what about others and what are the contenders

3.wheeled self propelled (who are the contenders)

4.tracked self propelled(who are the contenders)

5.mounted gun(who are the contenders)



there is no news about them



while arjun is becoming a reality what about other tanks that we need

and what are the contenders there is no news after the RFI



6.wheeled light tank (who are the contenders)

7.tracked light tank (who are the contenders)may be CV-90 with 120mm gun,or SPUT-SD 125mm gun

8.armored personnel carrier (who are the contenders)may be BTR-90,STRIKER



there is no news about all these



anyone who knows about these development please share.

[Guest]

[url="http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?channel=awst&id=news/awst/2010/05/24/AW_05_24_2010_p24-228387.xml&headline=India%20Embraces%20Defense%20Technology%20Road%20Map"]India Embraces Defense Technology Road [/url]

India is embracing medium- and long-range precision-strike weapons, short-range directed-energy air defenses and unmanned combat air vehicles as key aspirations for its future arsenal, according to a technology plan expected to be released imminently.



The need for these capabilities is spelled out in the defense ministry’s ambitious Technology Perspective and Capability Road Map 2010, its first effort to provide industry with an overview of what the armed services hope to field by the middle of the next decade. The document’s stated intent is to drive the “technology and development process” of prospective developers, contractors and bidders in India and abroad, and to “provide industry an overview” of ministry aims. The extent to which such desires can be adequately funded, and met by industry, national or otherwise, remains a big question.



The position paper identifies as a goal the ability to field long-range subsonic cruise missiles for precision strikes against high-value targets. The 625-mi.-range Nirbhay cruise missile is now being developed for both land and air launch.



At the other end of the precision-strike range, the road map spotlights interest in loitering munitions. New Delhi has already tapped Israeli and European guided-weapons manufacturers in this area, and in March, the Indian army formally expressed interest in a medium-range loitering missile system.



In terms of directed-energy systems, the paper calls for the ability to be able to engage “enemy unmanned aerial vehicles in the 8-10-km. [5-7.2-mi.] range, capable of being designated and controlled by appropriate detection and tracking systems.” Such systems would likely be laser-based. The directed-energy requirements also include “dazzlers,” low-power lasers, for special forces to disrupt optical sensors.



India’s list of air power, surveillance and missile needs are also detailed in the road map, reflecting the capital commitments the Indian air force is already making in these areas. The document glosses over New Delhi’s well-known requirement for fixed-wing aircraft (fighters and tactical and heavy-lift), while emphasizing the critical technologies the air force wants as part of its rotary-wing procurements.



The air force could sign deals for the acquisition of 150 helicopters in the next four years. Arguing that Indian airpower will progressively focus on air dominance and effects-based operations—until recently a vocabulary associated with the U.S. Air Force and Europe’s main air forces—the document underscores the need for day/night standoff strike, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAV) and an increased number of force-multiplier platforms such as airborne early warning (AEW) and tanker aircraft. The air force is also in the process of developing the capabilities provided by the A-50 Phalcon AEW aircraft, along with its Ilyushin Il-78 tankers.



While India continues to look to Israel as a provider of tactical UAVs—the addition of further Searchers or Herons is likely—the state-owned Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) is conducting a feasibility study of an indigenous UCAV design concept.



“UAVs with advanced sensors and weapons are going to dominate all facets of the future battlefield and hence the need to acquire the necessary UAV expertise indigenously,” the road map document states. “These should be capable of carrying payloads such as weapons, [synthetic aperture radar] payloads, electro-optical devices, [and] electronic and communications intelligence.”



As a complement to increasing its inventory of precision-guided weapons, the document also spells out the air force’s far-reaching surveillance and target-acquisition capabilities, including long-range battlefield surveillance, remote sensor systems and the ability to track cruise missiles from airborne platforms.



Improved air defenses are identified as a near-to-medium-term requirement, including an overhaul of India’s air defense ground environment. The military is looking to replace its obsolescent Soviet-era surface-to-air missile systems through programs with Israeli and European industry. The air force will look to acquire air defense weapons “from ground-based mobile platforms capable of engaging all kinds of projectiles-—rockets, mortar/ artillery, UAVs, missiles, fighter aircraft, helicopters, precision guided munitions and other stand off armament.”



The emphasis on air defense reflects the findings of numerous parliamentary committees and government-led security audits that have identified shortcomings in India’s air defenses.

[Guest]

Indian Army in Siachen

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbZzcyD5abw[/media]

[Capt M Kumar]

Gen Singh's letter to Antony is an unusual step, and was "forced by the troubles we have with maintenance of the radar systems", an Army source said.



India has been using the non-tender, FMS route to buy big-ticket defence items from the US since 2002, when the radars became the first items to be bought under the scheme in recent memory. Over the past eight years, the military has carried out a host of acquisitions through the route. Among them were the $2.21 billion purchase of eight Boeing P-8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft, $962 million deal for six C-130J Hercules transport aircraft for IAF and $88 million for USS Trenton and accompanying helicopters for the Navy. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India...970446.cms

[Capt M Kumar]

However, giving the example of the civil nuclear deal, the Prime Minister advised scientists to stay ahead in the curve and develop the capacity to 'compete, to innovate and to deliver on time'. "If our systems are strong and robust, the world will respect us and be willing to work with us. This was the lesson we learnt in the process of negotiating the civil nuclear deal with the international community," Singh said.



He also pointed out that defence projects are lagging behind and emphasised that DRDO should work in tandem with the defence forces and industry. http://news.in.msn.com/national/article....id=3943762

[Guest]

[url="http://www.hindustantimes.com/Not-convinced-India-won-Kargil-war/H1-Article1-550936.aspx"]Not convinced India won Kargil war: Ex-IT gen[/url]

“We did gain some tactical victories, we regained back the territories we lost, (but) we lost 587 precious lives,” he said.



“I consider this loss of war because whatever we gained from the war has not been consolidated, either politically or diplomatically, it has not been consolidated militarily,” he added.



The Armed Forces Tribunal recently indicted Pal for showing bias against his junior Brigadier Devinder Singh and falsifying accounts during the Kargil war.



Asked if the army was under pressure then to give quick results, Pal admitted it was so. “It was a big embarrassment to everybody. The then vice chief (Lt Gen Chandra) Shekhar told me that there is lot of pressure we have to clear this very fast,” he said.

[Capt M Kumar]

Krishna descended steeply, a parachute flowering as his aircraft touched down; a split second behind him, the chase aircraft, another Tejas flown by Group Captain R R Tyagi, "peeled off" into the sky with a roar.



That was the "chase aircraft", which had watched and photographed every moment of Krishna's flight. In those 40 minutes, both fighters had climbed to 36,000 feet; broken the sound barrier; turned and twisted sharply; and checked several parameters as part of the Tejas flight test programme. http://news.in.msn.com/internalsecurity/...066&page=4

[Rudra]

Question for Gurus,



Where the DRDO at active seeker technology. I remember DRDO successfully developed IIR seeker for NAG (Ajai shukla reported march this year). i dont know whether we are using same to Astra or imported one. what happened to MMW seeker? Anybody have any update on these?

[ramana]

The Week's Prasanan reports



Missile for MissileMO Beat

PMO BEAT



By R. Prasannan



Manmohan Singh tried to be even-handed while giving away the National Technology Day awards to DRDO scientists. He commended their work on missiles, tanks, aircraft, electronic warfare, radar and communication systems. Then he went ballistic: “Our current level of self-reliance in defence R&D is less than our capabilities.”



DRDO chief V.K. Saraswat, who has shot down incoming missiles endo- and exo-atmosphere, made an interception bid within the solemn atmosphere: “...The responsibility for self-reliance should be shared by all stake-holders of MoD [ministry of defence],” meaning the brass-hats and the babus.



Another ICBM from the PM: “...Some defence projects have been delayed... DRDO [should] learn from these experiences and work more closely with the armed forces....”



Saraswat's ABM: “DRDO neither has the power to impose its products on its customer nor the mandate or capacity to produce the developed systems all by themselves.” A point missed by those who compare defence scientists with space and atomic scientists! Space savants don't have to sell their PSLV to anyone. DRDO has to 'sell' Tejas, Arjun and Lakshya to phoren-crazy customers.



Saraswat then launched his own ICBM at the brass-hats: “...While the temptation may be overwhelming to field proven, state-of-the-art imported systems, they [the services], too, have a role to play in the economic and industrial growth of the country.”



Defence scientists have been saying ad nauseam that the services should order local ware in bulk for the industry to grow. But the Army has ordered just 120 Arjun tanks and the Air Force 40 Tejas warjets. No plane-maker in the world, save Hindustan Aeronautics, would set up assembly lines for 40. The services say the systems have to be proven 100 per cent.



No such problem when importing! The MiG-29, indeed the world's finest interceptor, was bought eyes closed when Gorbachev offered it for the first time outside the Warsaw Pact. The Sukhoi-30, the world's best plane of its class, had not even flown when India committed to buy 230.



Qualitative requirements (QR) are diluted if the foreign seller reduces price. But no dilution for Arjun, come hell, highwater or Pakistan's Al Khalid tank. QRs are upped for local ware, midstream. Some missile caught the fancy of IAF in 2004 and the QR for Tejas was changed, after the prototypes had clocked hundreds of test hours. The entire wing, made of locally-invented composite material, had to be re-engineered from square-one on the graph sheet. Nag, the third world's first top-attack anti-tank missile, is still in the lab because the generals asked for a longer range, after it had completed trials.



The Navy asked DRDO to build an electronic warfare system in the 1980s. When DRDO delayed, the Navy went for import. The Public Accounts Committee was horrified that the Navy had “firmly stuck to the short time-frame given to [DRDO] while liberally revising the delivery schedule of the foreign vendor”.



Indeed, DRDO men need to be pulled up. They bite more than what they can chew. They promise the moon, and deliver meteors. They think of themselves as product-developers; they should be technology-developers. Hopefully, the Rama Rao report, which A.K. Antony is implementing, will rectify the lacunae.



Tailpiece: In the 1930s, Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin ordered the Royal Air Force to take Hampdens and Wellingtons even before the prototypes had been tested. He sent the Bristol Beaufort into production straight from the drawing-board. When the Luftwaffe locusts came to bomb Britain into Stonehenge age, the RAF pilots raced to meet them in more than 10,000 rookie planes. That trust, which the brave-hearts had on the wise-minds of their country, created 'the finest hour'.

prasannan@the-week.com

Sadly in India there is little confidence in the boffins!



Anyway watch the space I think the PM is seized of the matter and is driving the reform.

[Guest]

Spy ring cloud on Brigs, Major Gen

pioneer.com

Pioneer News Service | New Delhi

Expanding the scope of their investigation into the suspected spy ring, following the hacking of a Major’s computer, a joint team of National Investigation Agency (NIA), Military Intelligence and Intelligence Bureau are now scanning the role of some senior Army officers, including two Brigadiers and a Major General.



Sources said these officials of the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) could be questioned by the agencies in the next few days. The main focus of the probe was to find out if they were part of the espionage network and how a Major, a relatively junior officer, could get access to the sensitive information much beyond his official purview.



Alarm bells started ringing when the detailed analysis of the Major’s personal computer by the Hyderabad-based Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory (CFSL) indicated that the officer had more than 2,000 files, many of them pertaining to deployment and contingency plans of the Indian Army. The investigators now wanted to know as to how a junior officer got access to such information and if there was an espionage ring at work, sources said here on Monday.



The probe agencies feel that the Major was acting in cahoots with other Army officers since sensitive filed were deleted from his computer hard disc after the machine was seized. The laboratory analysis pointed out that files were deleted after the machine was sealed and reportedly placed in the safe custody of the Army before it was sent to Hyderabad, sources said. The Army, however, maintained that the safe custody was joint responsibility of the NIA and Military Intelligence and it had no knowledge about deletions.



The probe agencies have found that the computer was accessed many times from a proxy server based in Pakistan and one more country, it, sources said. They said other server could also be based in Pakistan but the proxy server addresses had hopped through various internet gateways of European countries.



[color="#FF0000"]The case came to light when the US intelligence agencies tipped off their Indian counterparts two months ago that the ISI had got hold of some sensitive data pertaining to the Indian Army. The trail then led to the Andaman-based Bihar Regiment Major who, so far, maintained, that his computer was hacked.[/color] He reportedly admitted that he was an inquisitive person but did not know as to how sensitive information was parked in his personal computer.



Andaman and Nicobar deployment is part of the tri-service command where all the three Services work as one unit under the overall command of the IDS. The tri-service command and the IDS were set up following the recommendations of the Kargil Review Committee report and recommendations of the Group of Ministers (GoM).



Meanwhile, reports indicated that the security agencies found that the Major’s computer and emails were remotely accessed from a server located in Pakistan. The probe also indicated that the National Investigating Agency and Military Intelligence officials were responsible for not taking care of the computer after it was seized and certain files and mails were deleted on a particular date.

[Guest]

[url="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/expressindia/iKgY/~3/PMk4uhuK-B8/"]Is Indian Army being 'deliberately' weakened?[/url]

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, [size="5"]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.[/size]



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.