Army Day Special
By Col Bhaskar Bharti (Retd)
Army Day in India is celebrated annually on 15 January to honour the courage, dedication and sacrifices of the Indian Army. On this very day, Field Marshal KM Cariappa (then Lieutenant General) took over as the first Indian Commander-in-Chief – 15 January 1949. We gained independence on 15 August 1947 but till 14 January 1949, British Officers were leading the Indian Army and General Sir Francis Butcher was the last Commander-in-Chief. This arrangement was primarily resorted to for stability in reorganising and distributing resources, troops and infrastructure of British Army into Indian and Pakistan Armies.
Aspirations of Indian Army post-1949
Integration of Arms and Services
Modernisation in respect of State of Art Weapons, Equipment, Technology and Infrastructure
Re-establishing Command Structure
Self-Reliance
Professionalism and Discipline
Re-assessing Threat Perceptions after Independence
Global Peace Contribution through United Nations
Internal Security
Keeping in Tune with World Order
Hits
Modernisation
Self Reliance
Global Peace-Keeping
Resilience in Wars and Conflicts
Internal Stability
Border Management
Misses
Modernisation Delays
Border Challenges
Resource Constraints
Technological Gaps
Way Forward
Increase in Defence Budget (US-$800 Billion, China-$230 Billion, India-$76 Billion)
Credible Operational Effectiveness
Prioritise Indigenous Defence Production
Use of Cutting-Edge Technology and Modernisation
Effective Border Infrastructure & Management
Strategic Weapons and Missile Defence (Hypersonic Weapons, Directed Energy Weapons)
Space & Cyber Warfare (Space Based Surveillance, Anti Satellite Weapons, Defence Cyber Agency)
Apolitical Conduct (Perceived Politicisation, Civil Military Relations)
Exemplary Higher Leadership (Strategic Vision, Integrity & Inspirational)
Jointness & Inter Services Integration (Theatre Command Concept)
Hybrid & Asymmetric Warfare (Insurgencies, Cross Border Warfare, Information Warfare, Psychological Operations)
New Geo-Political Alignments (QUAD, BRICS, G-20, Strategic Balance, Soft Power Diplomacy)
Enhanced Technological Integration (AI, ML) (Decision Support System, Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance ISR)
Network Centric Warfare (Integrated Battle Groups, Net-Centric Operation)
Drone / Anti Drone Technology/ Robotics (Swarm Technology, Real Time Surveillance)
Psychological & Cognitive Warfare (AI, Big Data, Social Media, Deep Fake)
Indigenous Defence Manufacturing (Atmanirbhar Bharat, PLI Schemes)
Advanced Logistics and Supply Chain Optimisation
(The author is an Indian Army veteran. He is an alumnus of NDA & IMA. He had an illustrious career of 33 years. He is a PG in Journalism & Mass Communication and Human Resource Management. He is an avid writer, photographer and painter. Currently, he is pursuing acting in theatre and films/web-series. He is based in Dehradun.)
