India’s Defence Preparedness

After the statements made by the Air Chief Marshal A.P.Singh, Naval Chief Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi and Chief of Defence Staff(CDS)General Anil Chauhan, it becomes clear that the leadership of the Indian Armed Forces are introspecting the contemporary scenario in terms of the comprehensive challenges that must be kept in mind while strategizing the Indian defence preparedness. In the aftermath of the Pahalgam carnage that led to the massacre of innocent Indian citizens by the Pakistan trained and patronised radical terrorists, India launched the Operation Sindoor to decimate the terrorist bases and terror infrastructure in Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) and Bahawalpur in Pakistan to teach the merchants of death a strong message. Besides, it was the beginning of a clear policy underlining that India will impose a heavy cost on Pakistan if it again indulges in acts of terror by targeting the innocent Indians. The top commanders of all the three wings of the Indian Armed Forces have raised certain issues that need to be addressed in the national interest. These include the procurement of the weaponry and the aircrafts besides the other objects of warfare by adhering to the specified timeline. Moreover the focus has to be on the indigenous objects that help to cater to the demands of the Armed Forces. The Indo-Pak conflict that was witnessed after the Operation Sindoor as Pakistan targeted the civilian areas made it clear that in this emerging scenario India has to change the tactics to counter Pakistan in a comprehensive way as the days of conventional warfare are gone. Pakistan cannot withstand India in conventional warfare. Pakistan has managed to destabilise India in Jammu and Kashmir by asymmetrical war that has been wrongly termed as proxy war. It is a full –fledged war that we have been fighting for more than three decades. Now the things are changing as the Indian Armed Forces have internalised the Pakistani tactics to engage India in an asymmetrical war so that it can hoodwink the international community in the name of Jammu and Kashmir. Pahalgam carnage and many more massacres that have happened in Kashmir and Jammu are the outcome of the Pakistani machinations by cultivating the sleeper cells and the hybrid terrorism. Pakistan is a terrorist state that thrives by using terrorism as the state policy. It has exhibited this by indulging in acts of war using terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir. As such India needs to take a holistic look at Pakistan’s nefarious designs. It has become clear that to tackle Pakistan India needs a comprehensive defence preparedness that is ready to destroy the terror modules in Pakistan from time to time. Not only that India needs to be identified by the subversive networks that are helping Pakistan from within the nation to wreck the national interest. It is a two pronged battle that has to be fought to defeat Pakistan in this asymmetric war and uphold the national interest and territorial integrity of India. In order to do that what the top commanders of the Indian Armed Forces have underlined has to be heeded. We cannot allow Pakistan to use terrorism as the state policy and pose a threat to the sovereignty of India. Operational swiftness and strike superiority will determine the level of India’s defence preparedness and the National Security Doctrine.