The rogue neighbours, internal enemies & uncertain geopolitical situation are giving a grave challenge to the Indian security apparatus. Coping with the contemporary security situations, India has appointed its new army chief. Moments after taking the charge, Lieutenant General Manoj Chandrashekhar Pande underlined his tenure’s priorities & challenges.
Aatmanirbhar in defence
After taking the charge, the new Army Chief in his press brief has outlined the future of Indian Security Architecture in the upcoming years. He said, “My foremost priority will be to ensure high standards of operational preparedness to face the current, contemporary & future challenges across the entire spectrum of conflict.”
Further talking about the Army reform, the new Army Chief said, “In terms of capability development & force modernisation, my effort will be to leverage new technologies through process of indigenisation & Aatmanirbharta.”
“To enhance the inter-service cooperation, I would like to focus on ongoing reforms, restructuring & transformation so as to enhance the Army’s operational & functional efficiency,” he added.
My foremost priority will be to ensure high standards of operational preparedness to face the current, contemporary & future challenges across the entire spectrum of conflict: Army Chief General Manoj Pande pic.twitter.com/6RccSPKBP2
— ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2022
Answering the question about Chinese aggression along the Indian borders, he assured the nation about the Army’s preparedness of defending India’s territorial integrity. Assuring the nation, he said, “we are very clear that we will not permit any change in the status quo & any loss of territory.”
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Old security concerns in Modern times
The medieval expansionist mindset of China & religious war started by Pakistan are age-old security concerns for India. On one hand, Pakistan is still hell-bent on fulfilling its infamous dream of bleeding India with a thousand cuts policy and on the other, China continues to pose a serious security threat in the Himalayan region.
With the coming back of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Islamist terrorist groups in Pakistan have got another sense of confidence for spreading their terror activities in Kashmir & other parts of India. They are still living in a medieval mindset of religious zeal under which they dream to achieve Ghazwa-e-Hind. Moreover, filled with the venom of religious bigotries, they are ready to launch their terror operations in India.
The other rogue neighbour, China is in another ‘Chinese dream’ of spreading its cultural hegemony. To maintain its internal legitimacy of government, the Chinese president Xi Jinping continues to adventure near the Indian borders.
Further, the internal security concerns remain the same. Although, in recent times, the Modi Government has somewhat taken the strong carrot & stick policy to counter the internal separatism & Naxal problem in the country. But, enemies, internal & external are ready to fuel the cooling separatist movement.
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To counter this old age security threat, there is an urgent need to form a strong modern security architecture along the lines of the latest weapons & technologies. Army Chief’s emphasis on the operational restructuring & indigenous modernization is the road ahead in the direction. Leaving aside some cyber & technology security concerns, India’s rest of the defence problems remain the same. Challenges of the new army chief will be to fight the medieval war with modern technologies.
