PERSPECTIVE: UPSC AND ARMED FORCES

geopolitics
VOL II, ISSUE VIII, JANUARY 2012 n `100

DEFENCE nDIPLOMACY nSECURITY

SPECIAL
n ALL Guarding
WELL AT the Line of
Control
STILWELL?

CRUISING n THE

NUCLEAR
BUSINESS
n ITBP’S NEW

The Indian Army is the only land force CHALLENGES

in the world to have a precision
attack supersonic cruise missile in
the BrahMos.

n SELF -

CONTAINED
SOLDIER
n IRAN

TROUBLED AND
TROUBLING
 COVER
STORY
(P46)
THE GAME
CHANGER
One of the fastest cruise missiles in
the world, the BrahMos has enor-
mous implications as it gives India
the shock-and-awe capability. It is
highly mobile and better concealed;
therefore, more survivable than the
BRAHMOS

ballistic missiles.

PANORAMA (P10) SPOTLIGHT (P18)

VIRENDRA SINGH

PRO NAVY

NETWORKED FORCE NEED FOR A LINCHPIN

With over 50,000 men and 500 tanks participating, the recently- There is a strong case for the need of a Joint Secretary
concluded Sudarshan Shakti exercise was the largest of its kind in (Maritime) to be a bridge in the South Block for coordi-
recent memory. nation and interaction between the Navy and MoD.

PERSPECTIVE (P12) DEF BIZ (P36) INTERNAL SECURITY (P56)

QUALITATIVE CHANGE?
We examine how the Union Public Ser-
vice Commission can ensure not just
quality selection but follow-up on its
selection norms taking calibrated feed-
back on its selected candidates.
BULLISH ON INDIA
An interview with Roger Rose, Chief
Executive, Lockheed Martin (India),
to find out the future plans of one of
the largest weapons manufacturers
in India.
SENTINELS OF THE EAST
ITBP DG Ranjit Sinha speaks about
how the force has moved from mere
border-guarding duties to expanding
its repertoire and taking on internal
security roles.

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www.geopolitics.in January 2012
 PRESIDENT.IR
CRPF

TRANSFORMING THE
INFANTRY (P40)
The Defence Research Develop-
ment Organisation is working
on its F-INSAS programme that
will transform the Indian armed
forces and improve their effec-
tiveness.
PIB
DECAPITATION ENGAGING IRAN AFFIRMING THE
STRIKE (P60) (P70) PARTNERSHIP (P76)
The security forces have Despite civilisational ties The Indo-Russian summit at
clearly gained the upper between the two, the recent Moscow was yet another mile-
hand in the anti-Naxal relations between New Delhi stone to strengthen the special
operations now that the and Teheran have been and privileged strategic part-
Maoists face a leadership marked by more downs than nership between the two
crisis. ups. countries.

SPECIAL REPORT (P24)

FROM THE
FRONTLINES
We bring you a firsthand account of the
life of soldiers in the Forward
Operating Posts along the Line of
Control with Pakistan.
HEMANT RAWAT

DIPLOMACY (66)
BRIDGE TO EAST ASIA
g
GEOPOLITICS
Editor
PRAKASH NANDA
Editor-in-Chief
K SRINIVASAN
Managing Editor
TIRTHANKAR GHOSH
THE REOPENING OF THE STILWELL
ROAD COULD CUT THE COST OF
TRANSPORTING GOODS BETWEEN INDIA
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All information in GEOPOLITICS is derived from sources we consider reliable. It is passed on to our PERSPECTIVE: UPSC AND ARMED FORCES

readers without any responsibility on our part. Opinions/views expressed by third parties in abstract or
geopolitics
VOL II, ISSUE VIII, JANUARY 2012  `100

in interviews are not necessarily shared by us. Material appearing in the magazine cannot be DEFENCE DIPLOMACY SECURITY

reproduced in whole or in part(s) without prior permission. The publisher assumes no responsibility for  ALL
SPECIAL
Guarding

material lost or damaged in transit. The publisher reserves the right to refuse, withdraw or otherwise WELL AT the Line of
Control
STILWELL?

deal with all advertisements without explanation. All advertisements must comply with the Indian CRUISING  THE

Advertisements Code. The publisher will not be liable for any loss caused by any delay in publication,
NUCLEAR
BUSINESS

error or failure of advertisement to appear.

 ITBP’S NEW

The Indian Army is the only land force CHALLENGES

in the world to have a precision
attack supersonic cruise missile in
the BrahMos.

Owned and published by K Srinivasan, 4C Pocket-IV, Mayur Vihar, Phase-I, Delhi-91 and printed by him  SELF -

CONTAINED
Cover Design:
at Nutech Photolithographers, B-240, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-I, New Delhi-110020. SOLDIER
 IRAN
Ruchi Sinha
TROUBLED AND
Photos:
Readers are welcome to send their feedback at geopolitics@newsline.in.
TROUBLING

BrahMos

www.geopolitics.in January 2012

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 g
GEOPOLITICS
LETTERS

LETTERS TO EDITOR

G T
eopolitics he Cover warriors, December 2011) is going to
is doing a Story be a milestone and like me many
good job (Securing more would have read the detailed
and I feel that it the north, and informative piece for the first
has filled a void December 2011) time.
in the Indian on the Rohtang Looking forward to future issues for
defence publi- Tunnel being many more interesting reads.
cation sce- constructed by
nario. There the Border Sudarshan Bhanot
was a need for Roads Organi- Chandigarh
an overall strategic magazine where sation was well covered. The hardship
the Indian perspective on the geopo- and technological obstacles that are

litical happening was well reflected
and Geopolitics does the job
admirably.
In the recent issue, numerous
issues related with developments that
have taken place in East Asia were
published. India is being accepted by
our East Asian neighbours as a reli-
able power. Our historical relations
have lot to do with this. Your series of
stories covered all the political devel-
opment but I feel the historical per-
spective should have been given
some space. One must not forget that
cultural relations create the ground
on which politically-stable relation-
ships are built.
The story on the AFSPA, (When the
armed forces police, December 2011)
by Ajay Mehra, was a balanced piece.
The article dealt significantly with
the historical perspective and the
ground realities of the circumstances
in which the AFSPA was imposed. It's
a special law for a special purpose. It
is important that we need to put
everything in black and white and if I
am not wrong the article has been
widely discussed within the strategic
community. I happenned to see a
chain mail discussion on the article.
Keep up the good work.
Shivpal Sharma
Ranchi
being faced in the construction are
challenging yet for a country of
India's size and capacity, it is indeed
surprising that the technological bar-
riers have not been overcome.
I wish you could have focused
more on the geographical challenges
that we are facing vis-a-vis China.
The rapid expansion of infrastructure
by China in Tibet that leads to this
project wasn't covered. The boxes
in the cover story do cover other
aspects like the BRO in the North-
East yet more on the other projects
would have helped readers know the
scale of the work being done by the
organisation.
Panorama is
one of the most
interesting pages
that Geopolitics
does. Last
month's panora-
ma (Nuclear
Trouble, Decem-
ber 2011) on the
Iran nuclear
problem was well depicted through
illustrations. The quote of the impor-
tant players in the nuclear game that
is unfolding in the Middle East was
the shortest way to know who stands
where.
The future Infantry combat
vehicle programme (The mount of the
Y
our magazine
has been re-
porting on ar-
tillery modernisa-
tion. Incidentally, it
is the only branch
of the Indian forces
which hasn't seen
any modernisa-
tion in the last two
decades. The saga of artillery moderni-
sation has come full circle with the au-
thorities going back to where it all end-
ed. I am sure the magazine will contin-
ue to track the new plans of production
of guns at the Ordnance Factory Board.
That the future infantry combat
vehicle (The mount of the warrior,
December 2011) is going to be a huge
benefit for Indian industry was an eye
opener.
It would be better if the articles
emphasise on the technical aspects of
the weapons systems, especially those
under development. Technological
strength lies with these technology
firms.
Manoj Saxena
Delhi
All correspondence may be addressed
to: Editor, Geopolitics, D-11 Basement,
Nizamuddin (East), New Delhi-110013.
OR mail to geopolitics@newsline.in.

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www.geopolitics.in January 2012
{GOLDENEYE}
g
Splendid century
In a dog-eat-dog world we would like to think we are different.
Therefore, Golden Eye doffs its hat to the indefatigable team of
Praveen Sawhney and Ghazala Wahab for scoring a century.
Three figure stands — be it on the cricket field or in the pub-
lishing business — need to applauded. While we wait for Sachin
to collect that elusive ton, our many congratulations to Force
for reaching there first. More so because the sprightly publica-
tion that Praveen edits is the product by and for professionals
and packing an inventive new product month after month is
no mean feat. Here is wishing them a great year ahead and a
productive and fruitful double hundred and more.

T 90 is Supreme
Commander’s rath
T
he biggest military exercise of the year
‘Sudarshan Sakti’ saw the T-90 Indian
Army main battle tank being used as the
rath for the supreme commander of
Indian Armed Forces. She donned the uniform of a
tank officer — the black uniform — and sat on top of
the all-terrain tank. What else would have suited the
Supreme Commander? She is continuing the tradition
started by previous President APJ Abdul Kalam, who flew Su-30
and also drove the T-90. But it is worth remembering that
President Kalam’s experience in T-90 tanks led to the
installation of air conditioners in them. But Pratibha Tai
decided that she wouldn’t get into it, but sit on top of
it like a true commander-in-chief!
It is interesting to see the ever silent and
indifferent to the hullabaloos
of New Delhi, the
honourable Raksha Mantri
AK Antony not drawing any
inspiration from the
President. He couldn’t
escape sitting on top
of a tank when the
Supreme Commander
took a ride. But it
will be interesting to
see him doing some-
thing extraordinary on his own. We are all
aware he doesn’t get excited or impressed
easily by anyone. The only person who could inspire him to do
something out of the way would be Sonia Gandhi. He can’t resist
following in her footsteps. Let’s pray for the day when Soniaji
does something that may inspire Antony to get in a Su-30 or a
tank or fire Bofors!

www.geopolitics.in

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 {GOLDENEYE}
g

Mantriji doesn’t hear Nerpa

It all happened at the extremely well-attended Navy Day
in the capital. Mantriji AK Antony was in attendance and
journalists caught hold of the Raksha Mantri who seemed
to be in a chatty mood. All was going well and he was
responding to questions in an informal friendly manner
when in came a question regarding the Nerpa, the
Russian nuclear submarine on lease to India. When it is
arriving, was the question. Antony, poor soul, thought the
missive was on Nepal! All is going well with Nepal, he
blurted, before a torrent of voices corrected him: “Not
Nepal, but Nerpa sir!” The good man smiled and gave the
standard MoD line: “It’s coming,” he said. That was
about it. When the gup-shup veered to the Army
Chief’s age, the conversation came to an abrupt end.
Antony literally cupped his ears: Kya pucha aapne?

Getting it right Band,baja aur beret

So the mischief-mongers have got into action. And if anyone has to
blame, it has to be the decision-making process. Why on earth do
they make the process of selecting and approving CEOs for the pub-
lic sector units so excruciating and painful? Now, take for example,
the selection of the next CEO of HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd). It
took less than half a day on October 13, 2011 for the PESB (Public
Enterprises Selection Board) to clear the name of R K Tyagi (present-
ly the Chairman and Managing Director of Pawan Hans) as its
choice for HAL. A choice that was made with the full support and
backing of the Defence Secretary who was on the selection commit-
tee. Not just that. Tyagi underwent a bruising several months-long
process to head ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) was
cleared by the CBI, IB and every conceivable agency just months
back for the top job there. So, why go through the process again?
The fact of the matter is that HAL requires a breath of fresh air. No
insider (the last one has brought HAL almost to the status of Air Now whoever decided that the bands from the
India) will fit the bill. Moreover, there was no insider from HAL eli- services and the para-military ought to have a fes-
gible for the interview held for the post of Chairman. All the tival in the capital deserves a round of drinks to
Directors have about one year to retire and hence were not even warm the soul in this cold season. What a delight
qualified for the interview. Tyagi is an Engineering Graduate of to see and hear them perform. Barring the Repub-
IIT, Roorkee, and is also an MBA. He is also an alumni of the lic Day and Beating the Retreat, bands, at least for
Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad where he was espe- people at large, are disciplined row of soldiers
cially trained during 2004-05 for 15 months to provide the top attuned to music who play at ceremonies and spe-
leadership in Indian PSU. He has been dealing with HAL as a cus- cial occasions. True. But the fact is they are sea-
tomer, service provider and a collaborator for the last so many years. soned, exceptional in their talent, love music and
With experience of 35 years in PSU working and heading different are martial to boot. Now where do you get such a
positions, Tyagi looks like the perfect man for the job. But there are heady combination? Thank you for playing in Dil-
some who would have us think differently. Kya baat hai, bhai! li. You warmed our hearts.

www.geopolitics.in January 2012

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 OPERATION
g
SHAKTI
T
UDARSHAN
he Indian Army conducted a massive military exercise in Rajasthan
involving troops, tanks, artillery guns and fighter aircraft. Called Exercise
Sudarshan Shakti, it was conducted jointly by the Southern Command—
headquartered in Pune — and the South Western Air Command (SWAC)
based in Ahmedabad. The exercises were carried out in the Barmer-Jaisalmer sector.
The exercise was led by the 21 Corps.
GEOPOLITICS
PANORAMA

POWER PROJECTION
È Over 50,000 troops
È Tanks 500 — T-90 Bhishma , T-72
Ajeya, MBT Arjun Mk I,
È ICV Sarath (BMP-II),
È Artillery — Bofors FH-77 155 mm
howitzers, OFB 130mm guns,
È Multiple Barrel Rocket Launching
Systems (MBRLS) — DRDO-
developed Pinaka 225 mm and
Russian-made Smerch 300 mm
È Nuclear-Biological-Chemical
warfare (NBC) recce vehicles

www.geopolitics.in January 2012

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 g
PANORAMA
Information
Warfare
È Surveillance System — Satellite,
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF +UAVs+ AWACS + Ground
radars (medium range and short
range)+ weapons-locating radars
+ sensors of air defence artillery
È UAVs — from both Army and Air
Force — Searcher and Heron

Rotary
Muscle
MOD

È Dhruv, Cheetah, Mi-17 and

Chetak
È For the first time ever the first lady President of
the Republic of India Pratibha Patil was on hand to È Mi-35 Attack choppers
get a first-hand glimpse of the exercises.
Combined Arms Tactics
È Objective — To validate the concept
of tailor-made integrated logistic
system to sustain any offensive for a
period of time. The southern Army
command and southern air
command practised the “seamless
air-land battle’ focusing on
interservice operatibility to
transform Indian Army for theatre-
based operations.
È The exercise was conducted under
nuclear, biological and chemical
(NBC) and net-centric warfare
environment. The exercise also
validated the integration of all
surveillance assets like, UAVs,
satellites, and radars to assist
commanders in taking dynamic and
proactive operational action in a
fluid battlefield.

Network-Centric Warfare
BAND OF BROTHERS È Exercise was based on the
Integrated Theatre Concept where
various wings of the armed forces
have to come together in a single
cohesive format during war.
È Network-Centric Warfare (NCW)
involving real-time data-sharing
with various battle units and
defence wings was the core
mantra of the exercise. Real-time
data transmission from from
MOD

UAVs, radars and intelligence to

the tropps on the ground and in
È From left to right: General officer Commanding the air was the essence of this
South Western Command Lt General Gyan Bhushan, operation.
Southern Army Commander Lt General AK Singh, È Forces moved from Bhopal, Jhansi
Chief of Army Staff VK Singh, General Officer Sikandarabad and Sagar.
È
VIRENDRA SINGH

Commanding Sudarshan Chakra corps Lt General Forces assembled at triangle of

Sanjiv Langer and AOC-in-C Western Air Command Barmer, Jaisalmer and Jodhpur in
Air Marshal Kumaria area of 140x70 km.

www.geopolitics.in

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January 2012
 g
GEOPOLITICS
PERSPECTIVE
PRO ARMY

HEMANT RAWAT
EPIC MANDATE: The UPSC is the sole agency responsible for selecting the civil services, and also for testing all Armed Forces officer candidates

UNLEASHING THE UPSC

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is the government’s apex Human Resources
(HR) clearing house. Every year, UPSC examines/interviews a staggering 15 lakh-plus (over 1.5
million) candidates who wish to serve the country in diverse professions, ranging from a
plethora of civil services to the armed forces. The UPSC is involved in a work of staggering
complexity and is the world’s biggest government agency involved with HR selection in a
democracy. RAJ MEHTA examines how the Commission is executing its charter in these
challenging times and explores how the UPSC can ensure not just quality HR selection but,
equally importantly, follow up on its selection norms by oversight and by taking calibrated
feedback on its selected candidates end delivery

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www.geopolitics.in January 2012

“The teacher, if he is indeed wise, does not
bid you to enter the house of wisdom, but
leads you to the threshold of your own
mind.”
Kahlil Gilbran,
poet and painter
“The principal goal of education is to
create men who are capable of doing new
things, not simply of repeating what other
generations have done.”
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
British dramatist, critic, writer
S
ARDAR VALLABHBHAI Patel,
India’s first Deputy Prime Minis-
ter and Home Minister, is
remembered as the founder
“Patron Saint” of India’s civil ser-
vants. In an unprecedented and unre-
peated gesture, 1500 officers of India’s
www.geopolitics.in
g
PERSPECTIVE
civil and police services mourned the
demise of the “Iron Man” on December
15, 1950, in Delhi and pledged “complete
loyalty and unremitting zeal” in India’s
service. Sadly, that has not happened. If
anything, the civil services officers, who
should have been proud successors to the
Indian Civil Service (ICS); once consid-
ered the most powerful officials in the
British Empire — if not the world — are
sad caricatures of “the steel frame on
which the whole structure of government
and of administration in India rests”,
which British Prime Minister David Lloyd
George thought they were in 1935. Jawa-
harlal Nehru wrote disparagingly the
same year that the ICS was “neither Indi-
an, nor civil, nor a service”… Cynical
observers would probably agree with
Nehru that the civil services today richly
deserve that scathing criticism.
The Indian armed forces have not
remained untouched either. With a crip-
pling shortage of 15,273 officers and with
over 5,000 officers training at any given
time, the quality of intake over the years
on a number of counts has been as worri-
some as the declining popularity of the
armed forces. On yet another front, the
prevailing, dismal ethical climate in gov-
ernance is starting to make inroads into
the Service ranks. The recent, unprece-
dented surge in cases related to conduct
unbecoming and gross violation of good
order and military discipline is a worri-
some development.
So, what are the options that confront
the UPSC — the sole agency responsible
for selecting the civil services, as also for
testing all armed forces officer candidates
(though not interviewing them)? That
something is seriously amiss is the brutal
truth which can no longer be kept under
wraps. That change is needed is equally
clear. What is potentially heart-warming
is the fact that ‘Barkis (the UPSC) has
been willin’ since 2009… to bring in
reform.
THE DISMAL
ETHICAL CLIMATE
IN GOVERNANCE
IS STARTING TO
MAKE INROADS
INTO SERVICE
RANKS
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The UPSC Charter
The function of the UPSC is to conduct
examinations/interviews for appoint-
ment to the services of the Union of
India. Under the recruitment through
examination method the UPSC conducts
14 examinations; 10 for recruitment to
Civil Services/Posts and four for Defence
Services. The Sixtieth Annual UPSC
Report 2009-10 (the latest accessible on
the web) states that a total of 15,00,787
applications (8,96,804 Civil and 6,03,983
Defence) were received and processed;
7,541 candidates interviewed for Civil
Services/Posts (interviews for Defence
Services are conducted by the MoD) and
3,697 candidates recommended for
appointment to various posts — 2,421 for
Civil Services/Posts and 1,276 for Defence
Services/Posts. We get a sense of per-
spective when we realise that the 1951- 52
applications for joining the civil and
defence services were only 24,680 — a
staggering enhancement of work-load by
61 times. The graduate entry military
written examinations (for the Indian Mil-
itary, Air Force and Naval Academies)
comprise three papers: English, General
Knowledge, and Matric-level Mathemat-
ics. The papers for the Officers Training
Academies exclude Mathematics. The
undergraduate (10 plus 2) entry-level
examination for joining the National
Defence Academy and Naval Academy
has two objective papers: Mathematics
and General Ability Test. On passing, can-
didates are tested and interviewed for
Intelligence/Personality through the
MoD-run Services Selection Board (SSB)
system. It holds a two-stage test. Only
candidates clearing Stage I enter Stage 2
testing.
Reality Check
The public perception of the UPSC varies
widely. It varies from cheerful validation
of what it does to being a gargantuan,
bureaucratic, typically government-run
enterprise (it is actually autonomous).
Let’s do a reality check to ascertain the
truth. The UPSC’s Sixtieth Annual Report
puts across some interesting details that
make the reader sit up. Let’s start with the
Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2008.
Of 3,25,433 candidates, who had applied
for the Civil Services (Preliminary) Exami-
nation, 2008, only 3,06,633 were found eli-
gible. However, only 1,67,035 or 51.3 per
cent candidates actually appeared in this
examination held on May 18, 2008. On the
basis of results of this examination, only
January 2012
 g
PERSPECTIVE

11,849 (7.1 per cent) candidates were

declared qualified for taking the Main
Examination. In other words, 48.7 per
cent of the candidates, who applied did
not turn up for the examination. No
details of defence services candidates are
available.
The report brings out that the average
time taken in completion of the recruit-
ment process is nine months. The delay
by Ministries/Departments in offering
employment to candidates selected by
direct recruitment varied from one year
for 70 candidates to over a year in 69 cas-
es. The delay by Ministries/Departments
in notification of recruitment rules
approved by UPSC varied from one to five
years. Delay in offers of employment for
292 candidates selected by UPSC on the
basis of written examinations exceeded
one year.
Nothing by way of reform measures
exist in the report for the other mandates
of the UPSC, including the four defence
forces examinations that it conducts. The
feeling one gets is that the issue has sim-
ply not invited the attention of the UPSC,
or, if it has, then it has been accorded very
low priority indeed. The November 2011
issue of Geopolitics in an article titled
“Grim Portents” by this author had high-
lighted the crying need for reform in the
selection and training processes for
armed forces candidates. The UPSC has
been inexplicably silent on its responsi-
bilities towards selecting better candi-
PRO ARMY

dates for the forces.

Military Selection Conundrum

It is to be noted that though the military
selection process begins with the UPSC,
the issue of choosing the right candidate
is currently hinged on the SSB interview;
certainly not the examination regime,
which, as for the civil services till 2010,
focuses on memory more than it does on
morality, ethics, mental fitness and
integrity: all qualities that are the basic
DNA of a 21st century soldier-scholar.
The problem actually goes well
beyond a crib against dated linear test-
ing of military candidates. For the sake
of conveying focused concern, let us
take the case of the National Defence
Academy (NDA) and its UPSC connectiv-
ity. The NDA awards a BA/BSc/BCS
degree to its 2000 cadets (the intake will
increase to 2500 by 2012). The degree is
actually given by Jawaharlal Nehru Uni-
versity ( JNU), a leading university to
which the NDA is affiliated. The civilian
ALL BRAWN: The Indian Army needs to change its training programmes which place an
undue emphasis on physical attributes
faculty that teaches the cadets at the
NDA is selected by the UPSC. The Com-
mission, therefore, is not just involved
with cadets but also with faculty selec-
tion at the NDA — once the world’s lead-
ing Inter Services Academy. Let us exam-
ine this issue in some depth.
Starting off as an Inter Science setup
with the ratio of military to academic
subjects set at 2:1, the NDA had its first
JNU graduate degree course passout in
June 1974. A series of high-powered inter-
nal and external committees have exam-
ined the academic content as well as fac-
ulty issues at the NDA since it was raised
and arrived at the conclusion that the
ratio of military vis-à-vis academic train-
ing should be 30:70.
On the ground, the absolute reverse is
in vogue. 70 per cent of cadet time is
spent in physical activities and 30 per
cent in intellectual activity. The NDA is
probably the only institution which con-
currently runs a gruelling physical pro-
gramme alongside an undergrad aca-
demic programme. Whereas that may be
justifiably taken as the military/MoD’s —
not the UPSC’s — concern in the main,
the NDA, for long years has been grossly
understaffed in faculty terms, to the
extent of 50 per cent. Today, NDA has an
authorised faculty strength of 162. It is
reliably learnt that the posted strength is
just 122. There are 15 military Education
Corps posted, five more than authorised
and around 30 ad hoc faculty hired on
hourly/ monthly basis. Left at the deep
end to fend for itself, the NDA covers its

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www.geopolitics.in January 2012

academic syllabus by holding more
classes per day. Not many years ago, the
NDA had an ad hoc Principal who
remained in that position for long…The
UPSC and MoD simply could not select
the right person.
The next issue that arises is of quality.
Is the UPSC sending the right faculty to
the NDA? Are the selected candidates
really geared up to be teacher/mentors
in a world-class fully residential setup
that is training cadets to live by the Chet-
wode Credo: Of their country and the
men they will command being above
themselves, always and every time? Are
they role models in knowledge, deport-
ment, conduct; academics; imbued with
the passion of educating a generation of
soldier-scholars at par with the best in
the world? Dispassionate observers
would say that the UPSC has failed to
deliver on most counts here, as has the
www.geopolitics.in
g
PERSPECTIVE
JNU — a university that should have had
both interest and oversight on the
degree that carries its name.
JNU itself has 5,500 students and a
faculty strength of around 550 while its
affiliate, the NDA, has a faculty strength
of 122 for 2000/2500 students. Is the JNU
really concerned? In 2006, The Times of
London rated JNU amongst the top 200
universities of the world — ironically at a
time when the NDA had 50 per cent fac-
ulty shortage — besides some inductees
being of questionable quality. JNU has
collaboration arrangements with 71 for-
eign universities. How has this benefited
its affiliated institutions such as the NDA?
Not at all.
IS THE UPSC
SENDING THE
RIGHT FACULTY
TO THE NDA? ARE
THE CANDIDATES
GEARED TO BE
TEACHERS?
There was a vintage, halcyon time at
the NDA when it had iconic faculty
members who are remembered till date
for being charismatic role models; for
the values they imbued in the cadets
and for their 24x7 involvement in nur-
turing them in concert with their mili-
tary training. That phase has sadly
passed, and surely, the UPSC, JNU and
the overarching authority should be
held accountable for this decline. Prof
Jaspal Singh, an eminent academician-
diplomat, recently presided over the
NDA Convocation and had this to say:
“The quality of a nation depends upon
the quality of its citizens and the quality
of citizens depends upon the quality of
education and training. Education, in
turn, depends upon teachers and men-
tors, who impart the values of morality
and goodness that frame a real human
being. It is important to understand
what do we do but, more important is to
know how we learn,” he said, calling for
a shift towards innovating learning
methods. “The role of teachers is impor-
tant not just as a dispenser of knowledge,
a counselor and a facilitator but, also as
master who can read the psychology of
his/her disciples,” he added.
(15)
An International example could be
instructive. The rough equivalent of the
NDA in Australia is its Australian Defence
Force Academy (ADFA). It trains cadet
officers of the Australian Defence Force,
offering three/four-year primary and
postgraduate degrees. ADFA is operated
as a campus of the University of New
South Wales (UNSW ) and has full aca-
demic and support staff employed by the
university. Military staff maintains a sep-
arate training programme in non-aca-
demic time. The UNSW, like the JNU, is a
research-focused university recognised
as one of Australia’s leading teaching and
research institutions. It has 46,000 stu-
dents taught by over 5,000 full-time facul-
ty. UNSW has nine faculties, the ADFA
amongst them (JNU has 10 schools with
16 affiliated institutions, the NDA being
one of six military institutions which are
so linked). The University was ranked
49th on the 2011 QS World University
Rankings and its ADFA degrees are much
prized all over Australia and the world.
More importantly, the ADFA degrees are
run not by ADFA but by UNSW, for which
purpose it is budgeted separately and has
full autonomy.
The Way Out
The UPSC should welcome reforms. It
must take pride in choosing the very best
as NDA faculty and ensure that the terms
and conditions of service at the NDA rank
amongst the best in India. The JNU needs
to be put on a positive notice to “shape up
or ship out” warning to take charge of its
academic obligations at the NDA on the
lines of the UNSW, if not better. Given the
multiplicity of agencies involved in
invoking correction, a national commis-
sion is suggested to be set up under a
serving Supreme Court judge that should
take a holistic view of the improvements
needed in our civil service and military
selection and training/education sys-
tems. The sooner this call is taken, the
better it will be for Shining India. The
commission can also look at the issue of
constitutionally authorised autonomy of
the UPSC along the lines currently vested
in the Election Commission and the
Comptroller and Auditor General of
India’s Office.
(The author, a Retired Major-General,
was an Army Faculty at the NDA in 1981-
1984. He is a graduate of OTA Madras and
was a Teaching Faculty at the Defence
Services Staff College in 1993-1996)
January 2012
gONLOOKER
KHAN ON SALE!
DID A Q Khan
sell his nuclear
U S STATE DEPARTMENT
wares to India?
Believe it or not
that’s what Joshua
Pollack, an expert
on the nonprolifer-
ation bazar sug-
gested in a recent A Q Khan
piece. One of the great mys-
teries of the Khan Bazar has
always been the identity of
the ‘fourth customer’ apart
from Iran, North Korea and
NKNEWS.ORG
THE WORLD’S WORST JOB
ACCORDING TO Foreign
Affairs, “Pity Kim Jong Un.
In one day, he lost his
father and inherited the
worst job in the world.”
True. The poor bloke has
had little time to prepare for
his ascent. When his grand-
father Kim Il Sung designat-
ed Kim Jong Il as heir, he was
understudy for close to 15
years before he took over
when the Great Leader died.
But Kim Jong Un was pro-
claimed heir only last year
and straightaway made a
four star general. From sube-
dar to general saab! No sur-
prise that some 10 million
portraits are being printed
for distribution. The new
ruler’s mugshot will hang
alongside those of his father
and grandfather.
According to the BBC:
“Very little is known about
the man himself. His mother
was thought to be Kim Jong-
il’s favourite wife, and she
clearly doted on her son,
www.geopolitics.in
Libya that benefitted
from Khan’s flourishing
nuclear proliferation
racket. Khan and Co
have always referred to
a secret fourth customer
and now Pollack sug-
gests it is India. But in
the dog eat dog world of
nuclear games two plus two is
not always four, it can also be
22! No wonder the Indian
establishment is laug-hing at
the Pollack assertion!
reportedly calling him the
“Morning Star King”. In his
2003 book, I Was Kim Jong-
il’s Chef, a Japanese man
writing under the pseudo-
nym Kenji Fujimoto also
claimed that Jong-un was his
father’s favourite. Swiss-edu-
cated like his brothers, Kim
Jong-un avoided Western
influences, returning home
when not in school and din-
ing out with the North Kore-
an ambassador.”
There are reports that as
the young Kim consolidates
power with the help of the
entrenched establishment,
his friend philosopher and
guide will be his powerful
uncle Jang Song Taek, director
of the administrative depart-
ment of the North Korean
Workers Party, who is married
to his father’s sister. The uncle
is just one of the many rela-
tives around the corridor and
gives the impression of a
medieval Mughal durbar in
modern times.
(16)
THE SPIRIT OF WUKAN
THE RINGLEADERS are the villager’s arable land to
arrested and the police are developers. Local officials fled
deployed in full force. But in Wukan till the standoff was set-
the Chinese village of Wukan, tled. Is the Wukanese model the
locals scored a major achieve- new model for China?
ment in their 11-day stand-off
with local government, secur-
ing the release of three
detained leaders arrested after
residents of Wukan accused
local officials of embezzling
more than $110 million dollars
of money owed to them for
PIB
PIB
selling more than 80 per cent of Hu Jintao Vladimir Putin
“I neither write such controversial
frivolous and absurd memo nor
authorised anyone to do so.”
ISPR.GOV.PK
HUSSAIN HAQQANI
Former Pakistan ambassador to US,
“The memo issue is a sensitive matter
and it should be thoroughly
PAKISTANILEADERS.COM.PK
investigated.”
IMRAN KHAN
Chairman, Tehreek-e-Insaf.
“If the government was facing pressure
from the establishment over the memo
and if its purpose was to teach the
establishment a lesson, a better option
would have been to establish a Truth and
Reconciliation Commission, as enshrined
DEFENSE.GOV
in the CoD, to bring dictators before it.”
NAWAZ SHARIF
PML-N Chief, Pakistan
QUIP
METER
January 2012
 O N L O O K E R g
Meanwhile in another world
— Bolotnaya in Moscow — was
EXPLETIVES AT THE UN

U S STATE DEPARTMENT
packed with the young and the US AMBASSADOR to the UN Rice was quickly off the
white-collared (“office plank- Susan Rice and Russian mark: “I think it’s not an exag-
ton,” as they’re known in Rus- Ambassador Vitaly Churkin geration to say that this is

sia) got together to voice their
frustrations, anger and what
they described as ‘fraud’ in the
just concluded elections to
Russian Parliament. And the
brunt of the anger was against
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
As in Wukan, the police was
conciliatory and noted the
mood of the people. Is it a sense
of the season of change?
have slugged out in the cold
winter of New York. Quickly
the charged debate got per-
sonal and vicious. The trigger
has been the Russian
demand for a UN-backed
investigation into allegations
that NATO killed civilians
during its air campaign
against forces loyal to Muam-
mar al-Qaddafi.
UN.INT
something of a cheap stunt to
obscure the success of NATO
and its partners. it is duplici- Susan Rice Vitaly Churkin
tous, it’s redundant, it’s super- claims, cheap stunt, duplici-
fluous and it’s a stunt.” tous, redundant, superfluous,
Churkin wouldn’t take it stunt…you know, you cannot
lying down: “This is not an beat a Stanford education,
issue that can be drowned can you?” Standford is Rice’s
out by expletives. You might alma mater.
recall the words one could Everyone is waiting for
hear: bombast and bogus Round Two!

“American officials never mentioned the

THINK SANE FROM THEIN SEIN
existence of the said memo either If someone had said in Jan- y India and China are plan-
privately or through official channels. I uary 2011 that the Burmese ning big-ticket visits and
cannot deny that something as ludicrous military junta supremo business delegations are
as this could raise more questions. It Thein Sein would win plenty of flocking to the region.
doesn’t take much to be able to raise points before the end of the
those questions.” year, he would have been asked
to get his head examined. But
HINA RABBANI KHAR the fact of life is that Thein
Pakistan Foreign Minister
PIB

Sein, who was PM during the

junta rule and is now the Presi-
“The memo case was a conspiracy against dent of the country, has actual-
parliament. Targeting the President ly won praise for the even-
means targeting parliament. I summoned handed manner in which he
Ambassador Husain Haqqani and got his finally opened Maynmar to the
resignation in presence of the President, outside world. Here is a list of
the army chief and the ISI DG, though the what all he has done this year:
opponents were saying that Mr Haqqani y Hundreds of political pris-
will not return to Pakistan.” oners released. Most promi-
YUSUF RAZA GILANI nent of them being Aung
PIB

Pakistan Prime Minister San Suu Kyi.

y Initiated dialogue with her
and other opposition lead-
“There may be a need to fully examine ers.
the facts and circumstances leading to y A national conference on
conception and issuance of the memo. I tribal conflicts that wrack
strongly dispel the speculation of any Maynmar.
military takeover. They (are) misleading But what has in real terms
and being used as a bogey to divert the taken the West by surprise is
ISPR.GOV.PK

focus from the real issues.” the assertion that Myanmar is

no more a puppet of the Chi-
GEN ASHFAQ PARVEZ KAYANI nese. By announcing the sus-
Pakistan Army Chief pension of the $3.5 billion-
plus Myitsone dam project,
“I suggested to him (president) that the Thein Sein has sent this clear
issue pertains to the national security and unambiguous signal.
should not be taken lightly. I suggested to The consequences have
the president that it will be in the fitness of been spectacular, if anything.
y Myanmar will host the
TRIBUNE.COM.PK

things to ask our ambassador in

Washington (Husain Haqqani) to verify or ASEAN summit in 2014.
contradict the matter.” y In November, US Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton
AHMED SHUJA PASHA came calling.
PIB

Pakistan ISI Director General Lt General (Retd) y British Foreign Secretary

William Hague will be in
Rangoon in January.

January 2012

(17)
 g
GEOPOLITICS
SPOTLIGHT

TIME FOR A CHANGE

With worldwide maritime issues and disputes, including piracy, raising their head along with a
scramble for resources, there is now an urgent need for a Joint Secretary (Maritime) in South
Block to co-ordinate all maritime affairs, argues RANJIT B RAI

(18)
www.geopolitics.in January 2012
 g
SPOTLIGHT

world. Much water has flown since and
the Indian Navy has modernised and
expanded with longer reach and many
more missiles to safeguard the nation’s
increasing maritime responsibilities in
the Indian Ocean and the Asia Pacific
region in concert with the expanding
Coast Guard. Yet the Ministry of Defence
(MoD) and Ministry of External Affairs
bureaucratic set-up has not changed and
one Joint Secretary (Navy) is the lynchpin
in MoD for the Navy and Coast Guard,
who then liaises with the various divi-
sions of Ministry of External Affairs.
On July 30, 2011, on her last day in
office, the then Foreign Secretary Nirupa-
ma Rao (at present Ambassador to the
United States of America) had this say to
a gathering of the Navy Foundation: “As a
diplomatic instrument, the Navy has key
attributes — access, mobility, reach and
versatility. We need to embed these (mar-
itime) attributes within the larger vision
of India’s role in the global arena. A flexi-
ble but ‘proactive maritime doctrine’ is
essential to safeguard and project our
national interests overseas. The Navy and
our foreign policy establishment need to
‘establish closer coordination’ in this
regard.” This seminal statement by some-
one who had worked in South Block
closely with the Navy for over two years
should be read alongside Pandit Jawahar-
lal Nehru’s prophetic words on board INS
Delhi in 1949 as he gazed out across the
seas on a voyage to Indonesia: “We can-
not afford to be weak at sea. History has
shown that whoever controls the Indian
Ocean has, in the first instance, India’s
sea-borne trade at her mercy and, in the
second, India’s very independence itself.”
More recently, the two-day East Asia
Summit at Bali, which concluded on
November 19, 2012, witnessed assertive
policy statements by US President Barack
Obama on Washington’s extended securi-
PRO NAVY
of the Asia Pacific”. And just before arriv-
ing in Bali, he, whilst in Darwin, situated
at the northern tip of Australia close to
Indonesia, announced that the USA
would station 2,500 marines there.
On maritime issues, India’s Prime Min-
ister Dr Manmohan Singh also took a firm
stand at Bali and unequivocally stated to
the media, and to Chinese Premier Wen
Jiabao, that India had every right to pur-
sue commercial exploration agreements
signed in 2005 between ONGC and Viet-
nam Petro in the South China Sea. The
two adjacent blocks 127 and 128 in ques-
tion, in the Phu Khanh basin, are 110
miles off the Vietnamese coast located in
water depths of 400 metres and occupy a
large tract of sea, which incidentally
comes within the lines claimed by China
and may require adjudication between
Vietnam and China. Incidentally, the two
have only recently agreed to set up a hot-
line to avoid maritime incidents. Both
parties agreed to act bilaterally on six
undisclosed issues and the rest according
to the ASEAN code of conduct signed by
all ASEAN states with China to maintain
peace and stability in the South China
region.
The South China Sea dispute is over
the allure for oil, which is estimated any-
where between 105 and 213 billion bar-
rels of liquid gold deposited in the region,
and could exceed 80 per cent of the
entire Saudi kingdoms’ reserves, accord-
ing to Chinese estimates.
Incidentally, while addressing the Bali
summit without naming any country, the
69-year-old Prime Minister of China, Wen
Jiabao, who is a geologist by training,
warned outside powers not to take up
exploration in disputed areas. This was
followed up by the Chinese spokesman’s
strong affirmation. The limits of the 200-
mile EEZ around coasts and inhabited
islands are still to be delineated and con-

FLEXING STRATEGIC MUSCLE: India
will have to safeguard its maritime security
with bold moves, if it is to continue to rise
ty involvement in the Asia Pacific region
and a call for freedom of navigation as
embodied in the United Nations Laws of
The Seas (UNCLOS 1982), apparently
directed at China’s restrictive and threat-
ening postures in the South China Sea.
Strangely, the US adheres to the UNCLOS,
tinental shelves marked, and mired in
legal interpretation and wrangling, mat-
ters in the South China Sea resemble situ-
ations facing India as we are yet to sort
out the maritime issues with Pakistan and
Bangladesh.
China’s interpretation of rights of

T
HE INDIAN Navy celebrates
Navy Week around Navy Day
on December 4 every year to
commemorate its ‘Osa-Class
Missile Boats’, nicknamed the
Killers, that carried out two historic
attacks on Karachi in 1971, which herald-
ed missile warfare from the seas for the
but has not signed the treaty. President
Obama came out strongly to state that
the USA would increase its interests and
presence in the region with the words,
“First we seek security which is the foun-
dation of peace and prosperity” and then
“reduction in (USA’s) defense budget will
not, I repeat will not, come at the expense
exploration of living and non-living
resources, and scientific missions, which
China considers is gathering of intelli-
gence, are controversial. China is taking
full advantage of the fluid situation, as
nations have filed extended claims up to
350 miles, which will be adjudicated in a
future UNCLOS. China has occupied

www.geopolitics.in January 2012

(19)

POLICING THE OCEAN: The Indian Navy has to be on constant guard against pirates in the Indian Ocean region
islands in the South China Sea like Mis-
chief in the Spratlys and some in Parcels
in the South China Sea and claims 200
nautical miles’ EEZ and when it overlaps
another maritime state looks to bilateral
delineation of the boundary. Till then,
China wants outside powers to keep clear
of the disputed areas and has drawn dot-
ted lines on an unofficial chart depicting
its claims. In 2006, a Chinese trawler
bumped US survey ship USS Impeccable
out of the area.
This background begs the question: Is
the world seeing the stirring of a Cold War
on economic and maritime issues
between the largest military power but
economically weak USA, and a strong
economic power China with a rising mili-
tary? India desires strategic autonomy
and is geographically well-located. But it
could become a pawn in the power game
as borders are not settled between India
and China and the issue of Tibet and sup-
port to Dalai Lama irritates China. India
will have to safeguard its maritime securi-
ty, which impacts economy with bold
moves, if it is to continue to rise.
In July, a Chinese ship allegedly chal-
lenged the Indian Navy’s large landing
ship tank INS Airavat, on VHF radio, whilst
she was making an innocent passage in
the international waters of the South Chi-
na Sea after concluding a diplomatic call
in Vietnam. The Navy must have reported
www.geopolitics.in
g
SPOTLIGHT
the incident to MoD, which played down
the event. Surely, the MEA and India’s
intelligence apparatus must have taken
note of the incident. Soon thereafter, the
Navy detected a Chinese intelligence-
gathering vessel loitering off the Andaman
Islands, where Myanmar has the Cocos
Island with reported Chinese interests and
which is just 50 nautical miles north of the
Andamans. The Navy buzzed the ship and
the ship made a passage to Sri Lanka.
Surely the Navy, MoD, and intelligence
agencies, which monitor China closely,
would know details of this vessel taking
advantage of the freedom of passage in
international waters to snoop.
A month before that, on June 17, 2011,
PNS Babur, whilst escorting 17,000-ton-
ner MV Suez to Salalah in Oman, which
had been released after ten months in
captivity in Somalia by pirates who
extracted $2 million raised by human
rights and civil rights activist Ansar Bur-
ney of Pakistan and the Egyptian owners,
willfully collided with INS Godavari in
open seas. In a CBM (confidence building
measure) measure, Indian and Pakistan
Navy ships are not to approach each oth-
er closer than 3 nm from each other. The
released video footage showed PNS Babur
deliberately increasing speed and collid-
ing with Godavari’s stern to the cheer of
the Pakistani ship’s company. According
to the Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma,
(20)
PRO NAVY
INS Godavari was directed to inquire
about the welfare of the six Indian sea-
men on board the Suez. Pakistan lodged a
protest in Islamabad on June 17, and
India’s MEA in New Delhi followed suit
the next day, which was a holiday, by call-
ing a Counselor of the Pakistan Embassy
to South Block. External Affairs Minister S
M Krishna stated it was, ‘momentary con-
fusion and nothing substantial’. Collisions
at sea between warships need full investi-
gation. Pakistan Foreign Office
spokesperson Tehmina Janjua stated,
“The Indian Navy’s warship Godavari not
only hampered humanitarian operations
being carried out by PNS Babur for MV
Suez, but also undertook dangerous
manoeuvres that resulted in brushing of
the sides of the two warships.”
The collision between the two ships of
two neighbouring navies provides a good
study of how maritime issues should not
be allowed to simmer and escalate. The
incident could have been avoided, if
India’s NHQ, MoD and MEA had coordi-
nated in advance and good time, and had
informed the Pakistan Navy the reasons
why INS Godavari left her piracy station
to close in on MV Suez. In fact, PNS
Babur on learning of the approach of the
INS Godavari, was being directed by
Islamabad in an operation codenamed
Umeed-e-Nuh by CNS Noman Bashir.
The open seas of the world are the
January 2012

THE EASTERN THREAT: There have been several examples of confrontations between the Chinese and Indian Navies in the recent past
common heritage of mankind and all
ships are free to innocently roam the seas
and obey the rules of the road, which
apparently did not happen in this case.
It may be recalled that the Dutchman
Hugo Grotius formulated the principle
that the seas were akin to international
territories and all nations were free to use
the seas for trade. In his treatise, Mare
Liberum, (‘The Free Seas’), published in
1609, Grotius offered a justification for
the Dutch to break Britain’s trade monop-
olies and its formidable naval power. The
conflicting claims grew out of their con-
troversial actions in each other’s seas in
the 19th century, but it was finally accept-
ed that the seas were free for ships to
roam unhindered and the world adopted
UNCLOS in 1982.
In such a context, technically both INS
Airavat sailing in the South China Seas
and the Chinese vessel cruising off the
Andaman Islands did nothing wrong, but
both could be suspected of collecting
electronic and physical intelligence. INS
Godavari too, was free to sail close to PNS
Babur and MV Suez which was being
escorted in the Arabian Sea, though India
and Pakistan have agreed on a CBM that
both navies’ ships will not approach each
other as close as three miles.
In another development, China’s appli-
cation for a deep-sea mining licence to
extract nodules from an area of 10,000 sq
www.geopolitics.in
g
SPOTLIGHT
km in central Southwestern Indian Ridge
in the Indian Ocean has been cleared by
International Seabed Authority (ISA), the
designated body that allocates areas. This
has raised concerns by India’s MoD, MEA
and Naval Headquarters, as it will legally
allow ‘Chinese survey’ (sic Intelligence)
and hospital ships and warships to oper-
ate in the Indian Ocean. China’s PLA
(Navy) has already been continuously
operating a task force of three warships
off the coast of Somalia since January 6,
2009, to combat piracy.
Last year, China had proposed to
become Co-Chairman of the Shared
Awareness and Deconfliction (SHADE)
piracy conference, held regularly at the
Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) HQ in
Bahrain, which naval and foreign service
representatives of 20 countries, shipping
and insurance bodies and Interpol
attend. China demanded to become a
Co-Chairman of SHADE and parcel areas
of the Indian Ocean for responsibility to
tame piracy, which was deftly opposed by
India. The Somali piracy operations have
affected shipping and human lives. In
2010, 4,185 seafarers were attacked and
1,090 held hostage, a third of these were
abused. According to Reuters, in the last
four years, 62 seafarers died out of over
3,500 captives, murdered or from suicide
or malnutrition, while many released sea-
farers stand traumatised.
(21)
WIKIMEDIA/TOOK-RANCH
Incidents and challenges at sea and
especially in the Indian Ocean will
increase calls for immediate responses.
These will need close consultations and
swift coordinated actions by the MEA and
MoD, possibly in consultation with
India’s National Security Advisor (NSA)
and his large National Security Council
Secretariat, which receives and collates
intelligence inputs. A naval officer has
been posted in MEA while the post of
Joint Secretary (Exports) tenable by an
IFS officer, has found no takers in MoD.
The Navy has to route all requests for
exercises with foreign navies and diplo-
matic cruises through MoD, which then
deals with the desk in MEA concerned.
The route is circuitous. There is a strong
case for the need of a Joint Secretary (Mar-
itime) to be a bridge, preferably from the
Indian Foreign Service, in the South Block,
with access to the Navy’s War Room for
coordination, and regular interaction
between the MoD and the Navy. As India’s
stock rises and as a mature and responsi-
ble nation, it is in India’s foreign policy
interests to evolve a cooperative architec-
ture to play a substantive and formative
role in issues maritime and for that the
need for a maritime desk in the Ministry of
External Affairs is inescapable.
(Cmde (Retd) Ranjit B Rai is Vice Presi-
dent of Indian Maritime Foundation)
January 2012
 g
GEOPOLITICS

24 More Naval
surveillance aircraft
AFTER PLACING an order for the 12 P-
8I long-range maritime reconnaissance
aircraft (LRMR) from the United States,
the Indian Navy is all set to induct 12
more reconnaissance aircraft. These
will go a long way to secure the coun-
try’s long coastline and the exclusive
economic zones around its seas. The
deal for the P-8I aircraft was signed in
January 2009 and as part of it eight air-
craft were initially procured for $2.1 bil-
lion. The Indian Navy is working out a
NAVAIR.NAVY.MIL
NUMBERSGAME
deal for four more P-8I aircraft. The first
of the new P-8I aircraft specially made
for India is expected to join the Navy by
2013. The aircraft made its first success-
ful flight in the United States in Septem-
ber 2013. In addition to these aircraft
the Navy is also planning to acquire
another six Medium range reconnais-
sance aircraft through a new tender.
20,000
New BSF constables
ON THE occasion of the 47th BSF Day
on December 1, 2011, Additional
Director General (West) Himmat Singh
Gill told reporters that the paramili-
tary force would also create 1500 new
posts of instructors. The increase in
strength would result in the creation of
seven to eight new battalions soon.
157 Border Out Posts (BOPs) are also
being set up on the western frontier
with improved facilities for the sol-
diers guarding the borders. The para-
military force has also initiated new
instruction courses for its men and
even specialised courses for those
being sent for UN missions. The exten-

sion in the strength and infrastructure

would be undertaken with the `560-
crore grant to the BSF from the Union
Home Ministry.

7 Crore value of
marijuana destroyed
18 More districts under
Counter-Maoist plan
THCFARMER.COM

PAUL WALLACE

THE MARIJUANA was destroyed by THE INTEGRATED Action Plan (IAP)

Odisha Police in the Maoist-infested Sun-
darpur-Mahadev area under Nuagada
Gram Panchyat limits. The police
destroyed the ganja plantations being
cultivated illegally near Sundarpur-
Mahadev forest area, about 45 km from
Padampur police limits. According to the
police, the marijuana crop was standing
ripe for harvest over 12 acres of land in
the midst of the forest. The police found
the illegal plantation, acting on a tip-off.
They cut down the crop with the help of
scheme of the Central Government will now
be extended to 78 districts across nine
Maoist-affected states from the next fiscal
(2012-13). The IAP scheme is meant to
achieve development in Naxal-hit regions
with the local administration. Andhra
Pradesh, arguably one of the birthplaces of
the Naxalite movement, will get one-third of
the 18 districts as a “peace dividend”. The
Home Ministry had been in favour of
expanding the IAP to new districts after the
excellent outcome at the districts where the
HEMANT RAWAT

the local villagers and later set the plants scheme was first implemented. Ventures
on fire. Although nobody was arrested, a like building of roads, bridges, schools, and
case has been registered at Padampur electrification are carried out as part of the
police station. IAP scheme.

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www.geopolitics.in January 2012
 g
NUMBERSGAME

HEMANT RAWAT
5,000
Aspirants rejected
4.5 Billion dollars worth weapons sales to India

INDIA IS now the third-largest procurer of cording to the American Department of De-
INDIANARMY.NIC.IN

American arms in the world, according to a
Pentagon report. Overseas Foreign Arms
Sales in the fiscal that ended Sep 30 peaked
at $30 billion for the fourth successive year
after attaining $31.6 billion in fiscal 2010. Ac-
A THIRD of the 15,000 young men
who had come to the Army
fence Afghanistan, Taiwan, India, Australia
and Saudi Arabia were the main buyers of
American weapons last year. Iraq, the United
Arab Emirates, Israel, Japan and Sweden
were the next largest buyers.

25 4
recruitment rally at Akhnoor in
Kashmir were in for a rude shock
when they were rejected for sport-
Crore worth
ing tattoos on their body other heroin seized IM cells ready to strike
than their arms. Army officials
THE HEROIN, along with fake ACCORDING TO the Delhi Police,
said that they had received
Indian currency (FICN) with a there are special Indian Mujahideen
instructions from headquarters
face value of `9.80 lakh was (IM) sleeper cells in different cities
about barring the recruits with tat-
seized by the Border Security of India. The information comes
toos as they ‘proved hazardous to
Force (BSF) in early December after the Delhi Police helped to erad-
health’. Of the candidates who had
2011. According to a Border icate a pan-India module of the IM.
turned up at the recruitment rally
Security Force officer, a patrol The information was garnered after
meant for the five districts of Jam-
confiscated the contraband the interrogation of the IM opera-
mu, Samba, Kathua, Rajouri and
after it was thrown from the Pakistani side in small tives arrested from various regions
Poonch, nearly 30 per cent were
packets. The small sachets contained fake Indian of the country. The grilling of the ter-
found with tattoos and were
currency in `1000 denomination. The heroin was rorists has revealed that the IM has
barred. A number of the rejected
carried in five packets weighing a kilo each. This is sleeper cells in Chennai, Bengaluru,
aspirants confessed that they had
not the first time that the smugglers have resorted Pune apart from New Delhi. Accord-
got themselves tattooed as they
to tossing packets of FICN and heroin across the ing to the police, the sleeper cells of
thought it made them look more
border. In the past too, contraband worth crores terrorists helped the terrorists
macho.
has been seized from fences along the border. acquire the weapons and explosives

124 Pakistanis in Indian jails

THE PAKISTANIS nationals have been lodged in
locally in all the cities where they
have orchestrated attacks in the
past. They also helped the perpetra-
tors of the attacks by scouting
prospective targets and by pro-
a number of different prisons across the country
because of their suspected involvement in terror viding logistical support.
activities. Mohamad Ajmal Kasab the lone sur-
viving 26/11 Mumbai terror attack gunman, is
one of the three Pakistanis who have been sen-
tenced to death. According to Minister of State
for Home Affairs Jitendra Singh Islamabad was
told about the arrests of the Pakistanis through
diplomatic channels and consular access by the
Pakistani Government was also arranged.

www.geopolitics.in January 2012

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 g
GEOPOLITICS
SPECIALREPORT

500 MILES OF
measures on the border, he said that they
had very limited security, as they knew
India was not interested in changing the
status quo.
The Pakistanis might not be afraid of

REALITY CHECKS
infiltration from the Indian side, but we
have three layers of security. While the
Indian fence is way behind the LoC, the
actual LoC is guarded by our men on the
posts with the closest one to the enemy
position being not more than 300 metres
On a journey across the Forward Operating Posts along the away. Behind that line of defence is the
fence and after that we have regular
Line of Control (LoC), ROHIT SRIVASTAVA discovers the harsh patrols and bunker posts. All the three
reality that confronts the soldiers at the borders of the country layers are supported by electronic sur-
veillance systems, such as thermal
in Jammu and Kashmir. imagers and motionsensors.

W
HAT BEGAN as a trip for a THE FINAL FRONTIER: The LoC fence, technically known as the Anti-Infiltration
story on border manage- Obstacle System, meanders through mountains across the border
ment by the Army ended
up becoming an educa-
tional trip…A journey of
more than 500 km through the state of
Jammu and Kashmir, where I went to the
different border posts and forward
deployed units. I met people responsible
for securing the borders from the enemy
across the LoC, and their stooges within
our territory.
On the first night of my visit to Jammu,
I was at the LoC fence, technically known
as the Anti-Infiltration Obstacle System
(AIOS), along with the Commanding Offi-
cer of the unit at the Lam Khuraita Valley.
The eerie silence of the Valley in the chill-
ing November night was frightening but
the relatively young colonel, an enthusi-
astic man, put me at ease. He was cau-
tious while explaining the system of bor-
der guarding.
The significance of the position of the
battalion can be understood by the fact
that on the other side of the fence is a Pak-
istani town, which is so well-illuminated
that it looks like a white sheet of light in
the midst of the darkness of the Valley.
Strangely, the landscape on the Indian
HEMANT RAWAT

side was rather barren, except for a few

villages scattered in the Lam Valley. When
I asked the Commanding Officer of the
battalion about the Pakistani defence

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www.geopolitics.in January 2012

Pakistan has developed a town barely
four kilometres from the fence without
any fear. On the other hand, the security
situation in the region has not permitted
the construction of a proper road to the
battalion headquarters on the Indian
side. Our journey from the main road to
the battalion was only one and half kilo-
metres but it took us nearly an hour to
travel the stretch.
The road was not motorable for medi-
um vehicles and anyone unfamiliar with it
would never try driving on that track at
night. As we reached the battalion head-
quarters, we were greeted by the second-
in-command. His office was lit with a sin-
gle bulb, thanks to the silent diesel gener-
ators. As we approached the officers’ mess
we began to make out the silhouettes of
the sentries on watch in the moonlight. In
the small and sparsely-furnished mess, we
were offered tea before our visit to the
fence with the CO of the battalion.
When I enquired about the high secu-
rity around the camp, the major informed
us it was because of the close proximity of
the border and the threat of attacks on
the camp by the infiltrators: “We can’t
lower our guard. Anything can happen
www.geopolitics.in
g
SPECIALREPORT
any time. We have to be very vigilant. The
night is a very tense time for every soldier.
No one gets more than four hours of
sleep. The guard duty is changed after
every two hours to keep the men fresh
and vigilant.”
The real drama unfolds at night. The
men move in pairs in rotation. In posts
and bunkers, of the two soldiers, one sits
inside the bunker while the other strolls
around. The ear becomes the eye at night
and every noise is seen as a possible
threat. The CO of the battalion confided
that the daylight hours went into the
preparation for vigilance at night when 95
per cent of infiltration took place.
Clearly, even though the presence of
the fence had reduced the burden on the
sentries at the border, vigilance is still the
keyword. As we accompanied the CO on a
patrol to the LoC fence, we saw dark fig-
ures emerging in pairs: these were the
border patrols in buddy pairs, who are
always on the move around the fence
area. These men are the last line of
defence against infiltration. After more
encounters such as these, I became used
to the phantoms and could differentiate
between the real men on guard and the
dummies put to confuse potential infil-
trators. In any case, the dummies never
saluted the officers or introduced them-
selves to the CO when asked, Kaun? Every
such call was replied in Army manner
with name and designation. At midnight,
the vigil was at its peak.
Vigilance becomes second nature in
these areas. No one ventures out alone —
even in the camps. The battalion head-
quarters is under patrol all the time. Our
small patrol party of three — the CO, our
photographer and I — was under a pro-
tective cordon of six men in full battle
gear. The fear of a sneak attack from a
hidden terrorist was very real. [The same
thing was repeated the very next day at a
Rashtriya Rifle (RR) unit in Rajouri dis-
trict, when we were accompanied to a
Sadbhavna project by three armed
guards, even when we had to walk just 40
metres from the RR Unit Headquarters.]
When we reached the Company Oper-
ated Base (COB) after our patrol, we
sensed tension. The CO was taken to one
side for a briefing. He came back and
informed us that we would have to wait
because of an urgent development. As we
were offered tea and hot pakodas, I was
interested in finding out what the tension
was all about. On enquiring further I was
informed that firing had taken place on
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the border and within a short while we
heard the unmistakable sound of medi-
um machine-gun fire from the Pakistani
positions.
Keeping one’s nerve intact is the most
important thing at the time of firing. The
jawans and the officers never panic and
are expected to react only when attacked
directly. Every bunker is self-sufficient in
terms of operational requirement with
telephone lines to pass on the informa-
tion to the base. When the firing was going
on, the CoB’s telephone was constantly
ringing and the desk officer kept on
updating the information from bunkers.
Later, I was told that the firing was not
specifically targeted at our men but
between two posts. On our way back, the
CO explained that when the Pakistanis
see some movement across the fence
they start firing as a precaution without
targeting any one in particular.
Our stay at the COB had been only for a
few minutes but we witnessed the human
side of the soldier at the border. He is not
as mechanical as we believe he is. Sitting
in a bunker, 200 metres from the enemy in
pitch darkness in the middle of the forest
on the border, he is not as fearless as we
think. In fact, he too fears death.
On our arrival at the battalion head-
quarters, the security party was dis-
missed and soldiers were lined up for bar-
rel checks. After taking out the magazine
from the gun, every soldier pulled the
gun’s lever thrice to check for any leftover
bullets: it was a drill to ensure no acci-
dental firing occurred. This drill was fol-
lowed after every patrol at every location.
The next day we were at an RR battal-
ion’s CoB in Rajauri district. The only way
to reach the mountain top where the CoB
was located was by a road that was being
constructed under the Pradhanmantri
Gramin Sadak Yojna. We were told that it
was a 20-minute climb up from the road
but it took 45 minutes. When we reached
the top of the camp, it was almost freezing.
The wind chill factor made us shiver but
there was respite when we reached the
CoB that was in a group of small tin huts.
The company commander — a young
captain of 26-27 years of age with six
years of service under his belt — was
using the medical room to meet an
informer who had come with information
about a militant hideout. We were to
become witnesses to another drama that
lasted almost three hours. The captain
had met the informer for around 45 min-
utes before he came to greet us. Till then,
January 2012
HEMANT RAWAT
READY FOR ACTION: With Pakistani posts just a few miles away, vigilance is the keyword at the Line of Control
we were served hot snacks and coffee.
(The Army’s precision timing of service
was commendable across the units.)
When I asked the captain about the
informer, he told us that the man was a
former special police officer who wanted
money for information regarding a hide-
out. The young captain was a tough cook-
ie: he did not want to take chances with
the information he had received. As he
called up his commanders to let them
know about the development, he sent the
informer’s friends home but asked him to
stay at the CoB for the night. He also
asked his subedar to prepare a 20-man
party for an operation. Soon afterwards,
we sat for dinner but couldn’t start till the
captain was free. For around an hour and
a half, he was continuously on phone
talking with his commanders. He
informed them that he would not launch
the operation till the informer confirmed
the location of the hideout that he was
reluctant to divulge. As we went to bed,
the jawans’ dormitory next to our room,
was full of noisy activity: shifts were
changing and men were getting ready for
night duty and preparing for sleep.
The CO of the battalion at Lam Valley
informed Geopolitics that the soldiers no
longer led a stressed-out life. As it is, they
www.geopolitics.in
g
SPECIALREPORT
are separated from their families but now
with satellite television, there is some
connectivity to normal life. The jawans
also go through what is called a stress-
busting capsule. Every week, four jawans
are sent to Naoshera (brigade headquar-
ters) from the battalion for these stress-
busting capsules and even for movies.
The men do not take part in sporting
activities — an integral part of military
life — due to space constraints. The ter-
rain also does not allow space for sports
other than badminton, informed the CO.
One company was deployed at every
peak around our CoB location. The area
domination is never complete if the com-
panies are not deployed in a way so as to
reach every nook and cranny of the area.
Every company dispatches patrols in its
area for surveillance, intelligence gather-
ing and search for terrorists. This com-
pletes the area domination. The captain
seemed to be holding back his troops. We
understood when he said: “AFSPA is hot
now, we can’t take risk. I want to be sure
before launching operations.” RR has
become very cautious about allegations
and doesn’t want to take any unnecessary
risks. Terrorism is almost dead. Signs of a
return of normalcy are visible as small
civil disputes have started to take place,
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suggested one officer. But, he said, we
cannot put our guard down. Till 2004, a
large swathe in Rajouri and Poonch was
considered a liberated zone by terrorists.
The Jammu region is marked by demo-
graphic changes — 86 per cent of the
population is Hindu in Jammu and 86 per
cent is Muslim in the Poonch district.
Demography has a very important role in
terrorism as religious sympathy has a key
part to play in the spread of terror. But the
mindset of the people is changing as peo-
ple are slowly discontinuing their support
for the terrorists.
Normalcy is returning and its signs are
everywhere. Roads which would be
deserted by five pm are now busy till mid-
night. A few years back, it was impossible
to even imagine vehicles plying on the
roads. According to deployed officers,
one of the signs that normalcy is return-
ing is that the local population has begun
to express itself, with many small squab-
bles being reported of late.
The battle hasn’t been won but we are
on the right track. The local administra-
tion hasn’t done much but the Army’s
support through various civil schemes
has ensured that unemployed youth do
not turn to violence. It is still an ongoing
battle on many fronts.
January 2012
 geopolitics
DEF BIZ
NPCIL

FISSILE STRENGTH
India has one of the world’s most comprehensive nuclear power
programmes, but it is a strategy that requires the co-ooption of the
private sector into this ambitious project
DEF BIZ
g
Lockheed Martin rolls out HAL, Rolls-Royce start new facility
final F-22 Raptor ROLLS-ROYCE and Hin-
dustan Aeronautics Lim-
ited (HAL) have initiated
construction of a new
manufacturing facility in
Bengaluru, which will be
owned by International
Aerospace Manufacturing
Pvt Ltd (IAMPL), a joint-
venture between Rolls-Royce and HAL. The company was formed in
2010. Spread over 7,200 sq metres, the facility will manufacture com-
ponents for advanced Trent family of civil aero engines, marine and
energy gas turbines. Expected to start production in 2012, the latest
manufacturing techniques of Rolls-Royce will be employed for the
LOCKHEED MARTIN

production of high-performance equipment. The facility is expected

THE FINAL F-22 Raptor rolled off from Lockheed
Martin’s assembly line on December 13, 2011. With
this the US Air Force got its 187th F-22 for its opera-
tional fleet. The last fighter (tail number 4195) will
undergo production flight checks and will be deliv-
ered to the user in 2012.
On the occasion, Jeff Babione, Vice President and
General Manager for Lockheed Martin’s F-22 pro-
gramme, said, “This event honours the many men
and women of Team Raptor who have taken this
plane from concept to reality. For the last 17 years,
regardless of the challenges, they always remained
singularly focused, delivering the world’s greatest
fighter. Each Raptor — from the first jet to the last
jet — is a reflection of the dedication, hard work
and professionalism of our workforce.”
Lockheed Martin partners with the US Air Force
to ensure Raptor availability, performance and
reliability, and to enhance the aircraft’s capabili-
ties to keep it ahead of emerging and proliferating
threats.
to create jobs for high-end technicians and engineers.
PV Deshmukh, Chairman, HAL, speaking on the occasion, said:
“Rolls-Royce and HAL have been strategic partners since 1956 when
HAL started producing the Orpheus engine under licence. As a result
of our strong collaboration, we have progressively contributed to the
development of the Indian aerospace industry.”
BEML to set up unit in Indonesia
BHARAT EARTH Movers Limited
(BEML), the earth-moving equip-
ment major, will be executing `6500
crore worth of orders in the next year.
Chairman and Managing Director
VRS Natarajan said BEML was also
moving into the tank production business. The manufacturer will make
battle tank engines and transmissions for the indigenously developed
main battle tank Arjun. In addition, the company is planning to devel-
op and build 155-mm, 52-caliber tracked guns for the Indian Army, in
collaboration with foreign firms. BEML’s aerospace division is soon
going to have a new manufacturing unit for production of components
for the aviation sector. BEML is the only Indian firm that makes metro
rail passenger cars and is planning to start a new subsidiary focused on
the rail business. This year BEML had a turnover of around `1500 crore
up from `1300 crore last year.

Helo deal: Eurocopter, Kamov in contention

TWO CONTENDERS have emerged from last year’s field trials for the light
utility helicopter (LUH) deal to replace the Cheetah helicopters for Indian
Air Force and Army. The commercial bid will be opened very soon for the
final negotiation with the last two contenders. The twin-engine Kamov
226 (Russian) and the single-engine Eurocopter AS 550 Fennec are the
two last contenders in the bid. They are going to be invited for the price
negotiations. India is replacing the Cheetahs, which were bought in 1970s
from France. They are the lifeline for Army deployments at high altitudes
in Kashmir and Siachen. The procurement
process began in 2005 with tender for 197
helicopters. The contract is expected to be
worth around $1billion. Initially, the order
is expected to be as per tender requirement
but the final figure might become double of
EUROCOPTER

the initial requirement. However, there is

no clear indication yet as to which helicop-
ter will turn out to be cheaper.
KAMOV

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www.geopolitics.in January 2012
 g
Airbus seeks to sell tankers to IAF Satellite
terminals on
Navy ships
PIB

The Indian Navy has

AIRBUS MILITARY, a unit of European Aero-
nautic, Defence and Space Company
(EADS), is in contention to sell its A330 refu-
eling-tanker aircraft to India. It submitted its
bid for the Air Force tanker in a 2010 tender.
The only company offering a competitor to
the A330 in the Indian contract would be
Russian, as Boeing hasn’t responded to the
request for proposals (RFP), news agency
AFP reported, citing unidentified people in
the aerospace industry. A330 is going to face
competition from the Russian Ilyushin 78
$35b worth aerospace tenders by India
PIB
from United Aircraft Corporation. In the pre-
vious tender, one of the leading tanker man-
ufacturers, Boeing, didn’t participate. Media
reports have quoted Boeing, as saying, “Boe-
ing did not submit a proposal in 2011 for
India’s tanker requirement. If there is inter-
est from our Indian customers, we will be
happy to evaluate any future requirements.”
Airbus lost the tanker deal for the US Air
Force to Boeing. Till now, 28 A330 have been
sold to countries such as the UAE, Saudi Ara-
bia, the UK and Australia.
IN THE next ten years India will pur-
chase aerospace equipment worth
$35 billion. Vivek Rae, Director Gen-
eral (Acquisitions), speaking at a sem-
inar said, “Indian aerospace industry
will be making purchases worth $35
billion over the next ten years. Medi-
um Multi-Role Combat Aircraft pur-
chase itself would be about $15 bil-
lion.” The opportunity for Indian
industry from the defence offset itself
will be around $10bn. All defence
begun installing satellite
terminals on its ships as
the countdown to Navy’s
own satellite has begun.
As per sources, the Indian
Navy is expected to get its
own exclusive satellite for
communication and intel-
ligence by July 2012. The
Navy is procuring satellite
terminals from three com-
panies for its three arms:
surface, sub-surface and
aircraft, separately from
three different companies.
The contract for the air-
craft was won by Aero
Marine, for ships by Orbit
and Indra bagged the one
for submarines.
The purchase order for
the submarine terminals
is expected in three to four
months and the installa-
tion will take another
eight months. The con-
tract for the ten subma-

deals above `300 crore had 30 per rine satellite terminals is

cent mandatory offset, the DG further informed. He said that the government had already worth $13.8 million.
signed `18,000 crore (($3.6 billion) worth of defence contracts and the aerospace contracts
would be worth around `14,000 crore.

Lockheed Martin’s innovation programme

UNDERLINING THE programme’s
commitment to enhance the growth
and development of India’s entrepre-
neurial economy, the Depart-
ment of Science and Technol-
ogy and Lockheed Martin
organised the India Innova-
tion Growth Programme.
Interactive meetings were
organised between winning technolo-
gy innovators and potential investors
during the Technology Expo on
December 8, 2011, Mumbai.
The India Innovation Growth
Programme was launched in March
2007 by Lockheed Martin, FICCI and
the IC2 Institute. It has now been
joined by the Department of Science
and Technology, Government of India,
and the Indo-US S&T Forum. The aim
of the programme is to accelerate
innovative Indian technologies into
markets in the United States and
around the world since its introduc-
tion in India. The programme has so
far received more than 2,000
applications. Over 150
agreements have been
signed till date (since 2007).
Several commercialisa-
tion deals were also signed
at the event. Many of the programme
winners signing the commercialisa-
tion deals had technologies that dealt
with health, energy and environmental
initiatives.

www.geopolitics.in January 2012

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DEF BIZ
Piramal Group
eyes homeland
security
PIRAMAL SYSTEMS and Tech-
nologies (PST), a part of the Ajay
Piramal Group, is entering the
defence business with a joint ven-
ture firm, with Global Technical
Systems (GTS), a US-based tech-
nology firm, specialised in sur-
veillance system as partner. Pira-
mal-GTS will look for business in
maritime and border-manage-
ment solutions. Piramal Systems
and Technologies Pvt Ltd was set
up in May 2011. The company’s
decision to start this venture is
based on the Maharashtra gov-
ernment’s decision to install 5,000
surveillance cameras, video ana-
lytics and management, data
preservation centres and six com-
mand and control centres.
Pratt & Whitney to power India-bound
Boeing C-17s
PRATT & WHITNEY
PRATT & WHITNEY, a unit of United
Technologies Corp, has received a
contract to produce the first four
F117-PW-100 engines that will power
the Boeing C-17 Globemaster-III for
the Indian Air Force.
www.geopolitics.in
g
Boeing delivers second Peace Eye to S Korea
THE BOEING Company has delivered the
second Peace Eye 737 Airborne Early
Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft to
the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF).
The aircraft was delivered ahead of
schedule to ROKAF Base Gimhae, the
main operating base for the Peace Eye
fleet. Peace Eye No. 2 has been modified
by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) at its
facility in Sacheon into an AEW&C confi
uration. Randy Price, Peace Eye program-
me manager for Boeing, said, “The quality
of KAI’s work has been outstanding. Its
Pratt & Whitney is the world
leader in the design, manufacture
and service of aircraft engines, space
propulsion systems and industrial
gas turbines.
The engines will be delivered in
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BOEING
commitment to excellence, its focus and
its technical expertise were critical to the
achievement of this major milestone.”
Two more Peace Eye aircraft are undergo-
ing modification by KAI and are expected
to join the ROKAF in 2012. The Peace Eye
programme is for four 737 AEW&C air-
craft along with ground support for mis-
sion crew training, mission support and
system maintenance. Australia and
Turkey have also ordered for 737-based
AEW&C aircraft, which are undergoing
production.
second quarter of 2012. Earlier this
year, India’s Ministry of Defence
signed a Letter of Offer and Accep-
tance with the US government to
acquire 10 C-17s. India will take deliv-
ery of its first C-17s in early 2013.
May 2012
January 2010
 TECH SCAN
g
India develops autonomous DRDO to develop robot soldiers
underwater vehicle
THE DEFENCE Research and
Development Organisation
(DRDO) has started work on an
ambitious project to swap
“humans” with “robot soldiers”
in future wars. Speaking at the
Combat Vehicle Research and
Development Centre in Avadi,
WIKIMEDIA\MIERLO

Dr VK Saraswat, Scientific Advi-

sor to the Defence Minister and
Secretary, Defence R&D, said:
“We are working on the project

THE DEFENCE Research and Development Organisa-
tion (DRDO) has completed the testing of an indige-
nous autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). The
AUV operates around a mother ship from where it is
launched, controlled and recovered. The new probe
has an immense use in intelligence-gathering and
deep-sea surveillance. The AUV can help the Indian
Navy monitor waters and help stave off potentially
threatening foreign vessels or submarines. Its devel-
opment involves inter-disciplinary efforts in the fields
of hydrodynamics, control and guidance.
WINDOWSFORDEVICES.COM
to have robot soldiers by 2020
or 2030.” It is being mooted that
the robot soldiers will be able to
perform numerous missions,
such as including waging war,
transporting ammunition,
mine detection and surveil-
lance. They in turn can be managed by operators from distant locations.
The robots will help put Indian soldiers out of harm’s way in dangerous
situations. The DRDO is already developing robotic ‘mules’ to replace
the live ones that the armed forces use to transport supplied to troops
deployed in distant locations.

India to create solar-powered UAVs Guns with built-in

THE DRDO is all set to develop a solar- night-vision scopes
based Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). INDIAN SOLDIERS will soon be
The agency, responsible for the creation of able to see in the dark, that too
this unique device, will be the Aeronauti- without the use of heavy night-
cal Development Establishment (ADE), a vision equipment. The Defence
lab of the DRDO. A hunt is on for a foreign Research and Development Organi-
partner to develop the project. This UAV sation (DRDO) is developing a
will have an extended flight duration — as night-vision integrated 5.56 mm
much as 15 days — compared to usual rifle for the purpose. This system
UAVs. These high-endurance UAVs can be will allow soldiers to mount a quick
used for surveillance and reconnaissance reaction to hostile situations in the
purposes. Mini UAVs, which are in the dark. A sensor and a thermal imag-
range of up to two kilograms, have been ing device will be incorporated onto
developed by the ADE and are now being the rifle itself. According to senior
put through their paces. The ADE has even officials at the DRDO’s Armament
developed a UAV as small as 300 mm. The and Combat Engineering branch,
Army, police and paramilitary forces have they are also working on an innova-
PIB

been shown these mini-UAVs. tive single-hand operated carbine.

Officials also added that a 5.56mm
India test fires Agni-1 calibre weapon will be traded in for
the Future-INSAS, a prototype
INDIA SUCCESSFULLY test fired its nuclear-capable Agni-I which is currently in development.
strategic ballistic missile from the test range at Wheeler
Island off the coast of Odisha. This version of the Agni has a
range of 700 kilometres and is nuclear capable. Powered by
solid propellants the home-grown surface-to-surface, sin-
gle-stage missile was test fired from a mobile launcher. The
navigation system mounted on the Agni-I missile is highly
specialised, which enables the missile to reach its target
with uncanny accuracy. The Army’s Strategic Force Com-
RUNESTORM.COM

mand carried out the tests while the logistical support was
made available by the Defence Research Development
Organisation (DRDO). The Agni-1 can a carry a 1,000 kilo-
PIB

gramme payload in its 15-metre long frame.

www.geopolitics.in January 2012

(31)

THE INDIAN NUCLEAR SECTOR:
PROGRESS AND PROSPECTS
The Indian nuclear programme will be able to fulfil its destiny of becoming a prime contributor
to the country’s quest for energy security when the imported nuclear reactors are indigenised,
writes SAURAV JHA
I
NDIA’S DEPARTMENT of Atomic
Energy (DAE) has one of the most
extensive nuclear power program-
memes in the world today, the
ongoing crisis at Kudankulam
notwithstanding. Few countries (if any)
can boast of a plan to set up Light Water
Reactors (LWRs), Pressurised Heavy
Water Reactors (PHWRs), Fast Breeder
Reactors (FBRs) and Thorium-utilising
reactors near simultaneously. This is, of
course, a direct result of the country’s
three-stage programmeme which now
boasts of a fleet of 20 operational reactors
with seven in various stages of construc-
tion. In all, India intends to have in place
at least 20,000 MWe of nuclear capacity
by 2020 and 63,000 MWe by 2032. Even if
the 2020 target is not fully met owing to
post-Fukushima jitters, the fact remains
that the nuclear option is indispensable
for an India looking to augment non-
emitting sources of base-load power.
The DAE’s extensive plans are certainly
being helped by India’s re-entry into the
international nuclear order. Visible exam-
ples of the impact of India’s post-2008
ability to import uranium were the com-
missioning by the Nuclear Power Corpo-
ration of India Limited (NPCIL) of the
Rajasthan Atomic Power Plant (RAPP)-5
in 2010 and the attainment of criticality
by its twin unit RAPP-6 in the same peri-
od. Both units had actually been com-
pleted two years earlier but could not be
brought on line due to a mismatch
between domestic fuel production and
demand. Given that domestic sources of
uranium are also being augmented, it is
www.geopolitics.in
g
GEOPOLITICS
DEFBIZ
very likely that Indian nuclear reactors being stalled by domestic protests, only
will go back to operating at very high- somewhat influenced by the Fukushima
capacity factors (i.e. more 95 per cent) effect. Earlier this year, four more reactors
that was so characteristic of their per- of the VVER-1000 design have been
formance in the late nineties and in the cleared at the Kudanakulam site and
first few years of the new millennium. ground break for the first of these four
Indeed, after an uneven first decade for units was expected to take place in 2012.
the 21st century, India’s PHWR program- Given the current situation at the site, it is
meme is geared to speed again. January unclear when — if ever — this will happen.
2011 saw the commissioning of Kaiga-4, Meanwhile, civil works continue at
which too had been held up by the fuel Jaitapur, with the boundary wall being
mismatch problem. Fuel cargo from
France and Russia was key facilitators in
remedying the problem and is now being
joined by supplies from Kazakhstan,
which recently emerged as the largest
exporter of natural uranium in the world.
The availability of uranium import has
also begun to reflect itself in NPCIL’s new
build plans. Construction of four 700
MWe PHWRs began in 2011 with two
units being built at the Rawatbhatta site
as RAPP-7 & 8 and two at the Kakrapar
site as KAPS 3 and 4. In the future, 700
MWe units will displace the existing 220
MWe units as the mainstay of India’s
PHWR fleet. In fact, some 20 new PHWR’s
are to be constructed by 2027. Some of
the firm sites for these new PHWRs
include Kumaria (Haryana), Bargi (Mad-
hya Pradesh) and Nawada (Bihar).
Unfortunately, even as the PWHR pro-
gramme is back on a firm footing, the
move to set up imported LWRs has run
into heavy weather. Kudanakulam 1 & 2,
both Rosatom VVER-1000s, initially
weighed down by delays in sourcing com-
ponents owing to constant restructuring
NPCIL
in the Russian nuclear estate, are now
(32)
January 2012

Atomic Power Station
KNPP-1, Kudankulam, Tamil Nadu
KNPP-2, Kudankulam, Tamil Nadu
PFBR, Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu.
KAPS-3, Kakrapar, Gujarat
KAPS-4,Kakrapar, Gujarat
RAPP-7, Rawatbhatta, Rajasthan
RAPP-8, Rawatbhatta, Rajasthan
built at the moment. It seems that
the fulcrum of protest has shifted from
Ratnagiri to Kudankulam for the time
being. The Jaitapur site has, of course,
been earmarked for French major Areva’s
1600 MWe European Pressurised Reac-
tors and NPCIL expects to set up six such
reactors at this site. Much will, however,
depend on how successful the Maharash-
tra government is with its relief and reha-
bilitation package.
Now, while existing imported LWR proj-
ects are encountering difficulties, progress
on designating further sites to reactor sup-
pliers from around the world continues to
be registered. The Americans, who are
AMBITIOUS GOALS: India has one of the
most-extensive nuclear power programmes
in the world today
www.geopolitics.in
g
DEFBIZ
Agency Expected Physical progress (%)
Capacity (MWe) commissioning date (as on December 2011)
1,000 NPCIL 2012 99.20
1,000 NPCIL 2013 94.60
500 BHAVINI 2012 84.00
700 NPCIL 2015 N.A
700 NPCIL 2015 N.A
700 NPCIL 2016 N.A
700 NPCIL 2016 N.A
5300
always concerned about not getting a (PFBR) being constructed at Kalpakkam
share of the Indian nuclear pie fast is nearing completion with physical
enough, have been allocated a site each in progress touching the 85 per cent mark
Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. While the and in all likelihood will see commercial
Mithi Virdi (or Chayamithi Virdi) in operations sometime in 2012. Incidental-
Gujarat has been selected to host Toshiba ly, the Kalpakkam site will host a further
Westinghouse AP1000 reactors, Kovvada two 500 MWe Fast Breeders by 2020 and
in Andhra Pradesh will get GE Hitachi four more are expected to come up else-
Advanced Boiling Water Reactor units. The where by the same date. The plutonium
Russians, unhappy with the Paschimban- generated by these reactors will be used
ga (West Bengal) government’s stance on to start up a 1000 MWe version of these
Haripur, which is expected to witness the reactors in the post-2020 period. Indeed,
setting-up of four 1200 MWe VVER-1200 metallic fuelled fast-breeder reactors are
units, are demanding the allocation of a expected to become the most numerous
new site which may possibly be located on kind of reactor in use in India by 2035.
the east coast in Odisha. It is likely that India’s first thorium-util-
The second and third stages of India’s ising reactor, the Advanced Heavy Water
nuclear programme, however, continue Reactor (AHWR), will see construction in
to advance steadily though a little slowly. the Twelfth Plan period (2012-17).
The Pressurised Fast Breeder Reactor Although no site has been decided as yet,
a critical facility for the AHWR was com-
missioned at BARC, Trombay in 2008.
This 300 MWe reactor combines the fea-
tures of both LWRs and PHWRs and rep-
resents a generational jump in terms of
safety and durability. Moreover, the
design has already begun inspiring spin-
offs such as the AHWR-LEU, which was
unveiled in 2009 and is being promoted
for export purposes.
At the end of the day, however, the
Indian nuclear programme will not be
able to realise its true potential without
sufficient domestic manufacturing sup-
port. Indeed, anticipating major demand
from nuclear programmes, the past cou-
ple of years have seen severable notable
domestic companies entering the nuclear
component manufacturing space by
leveraging both in-house capability and
entering into partnerships with interna-
tional majors. The leader of the pack is, of
course, heavy engineering giant Larsen &
Toubro (L&T), one of the ten internation-
al companies qualified by the American
Society of Mechanical Engineers to fabri-
cate nuclear-grade pressure vessels and
core support structures. This Indian giant
January 2012
(33)
 g
DEFBIZ

has wasted no time in entering the

Rating MWe/ Commissioning
nuclear component supply sweepstakes. Reactor Type Net MWe date
It presently has a new forging facility
under construction at Hazira, Gujarat, RAPS-1, Rawatbhatta, Rajasthan PHWR 100/NA December 1973
which has been set up as a result of an
agreement with NPCIL in 2008. This facil- RAPS-2, Rawatbhatta, Rajasthan PHWR 200/188 April 1981
ity will produce 600-tonne ingots in its RAPS-3, Rawatbhatta, Rajasthan PHWR 220/202 June 2000
steel-melt shop and consist of a very large
forging press designed to supply finished RAPS-4, Rawatbhatta, Rajasthan PHWR 220/202 December 2000
forgings for nuclear reactors, pressurisers
and steam generators. L&T has also RAPS-5, Rawatbhatta, Rajasthan PHWR 220/202 February 2010
entered into component supply agree- RAPS-6, Rawatbhatta, Rajasthan PHWR 220/202 March 2010
ments with GE-Hitachi, Atomstroyexport,
AECL and Toshiba-Westinghouse. MAPS-1, Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu PHWR 220/202 January 1984
Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL),
MAPS-2, Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu PHWR 220/202 March 1986
meanwhile, plans to spend $7.5 billion in
the next couple of years building plants to NAPS-1, Narora, Uttar Pradesh PHWR 220/202 January 1991
supply components for reactors of sizes
up to 1,600 MWe. The company also has NAPS-2, Narora, Uttar Pradesh PHWR 220/202 July 1992
plans to set up a 50-50 venture with KAIGA-1, Kaiga, Karnataka PHWR 220/202 November 2000
NPCIL, which will supply turbines for
nuclear plants of varying sizes. It is KAIGA-2, Kaiga, Karnataka PHWR 220/202 March 2000
understood that collaboration with for-
KAIGA-3, Kaiga, Karnataka PHWR 220/202 May 2007
eign enterprises will also be sought for
this purpose. In fact, it was announced in KAIGA-4, Kaiga, Karnataka PHWR 220/202 January 2011
July 2009 that BHEL was close to finalis-
ing a European partner to take 30-35 per KAPS-1, Kakrapar, Gujarat PHWR 220/202 May 1993
cent of this joint venture. A JV with NPCIL KAPS-2, Kakrapar, Gujarat PHWR 220/202 September 1995
to manufacture steam generators for
indigenous as well as imported nuclear TAPS-1, Tarapur, Maharashtra BWR 160/150 October 1969
plants is also on the anvil. BHEL also
TAPS-2, Tarapur, Maharashtra BWR 160/150 October 1969
CRUCIAL FOR GROWTH: The nuclear
option is indispensable for India as it looks to TAPS-3, Tarapur, Maharashtra PHWR 540/495 May 2006
augment non-emitting sources of base-load
power TAPS-4, Tarapur, Maharashtra PHWR 540/495 September 2005

seeks to join Areva and Bharat Forge in

their joint venture for casting and forging
nuclear components intended for both
the export and domestic market, which is
expected to come online by 2012. Inci-
dentally, UK’s Sheffield Forgemasters will
be a technical partner. The partners have
apparently shortlisted Dahej in Gujarat
and Krishnapatnam and Visakhapatnam
in Andhra Pradesh as possible sites.
Incidentally, HCC (Hindustan Con-
struction Co) secured an order worth $200
million for RAPP 7&8 from NPCIL in
December 2010. The materialisation of
these ventures will definitely ease the situ-
ation for the Indian nuclear programme as
it steams into the 21st century unshackled
by the vestiges of the 20th. Indeed, the
indigenisation of imported nuclear plants
is a stated goal of Indian nuclear planners
and must be pursued as nothing short of
an ideology. It is only then that the Indian
nuclear programme will be able to fulfil its
destiny of becoming a prime contributor
NPCIL

to India’s quest for energy security.

(34)
www.geopolitics.in January 2012
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 g
GEOPOLITICS
INTERVIEW
LOCKHEED MARTIN

Lockheed is in the news for the F-35. But there is more

to it than this fifth-generation fighter aircraft as ROGER
ROSE elaborates in an exclusive interview with
ROHIT SRIVASTAVA. Excerpts:
How do you see Offset as an evolving policy?
RR: I think there are some very smart guys who are working in those
issues in Ministry and I am very hopeful that a very positive policy will
come out. Lockheed has done $40 billion worth of offsets in the past 40
years. Currently, we have 70 ongoing commitments in 20 countries
worth $20.2 billion in outstanding commitment including India. Off-
sets for the first six C130J have been successful and all projects have
been approved and we are executing those projects. We have been
working on banking credits for future sales. If you really want the best
technology, if you bid in a competitive process, you bid an offset pack-
age along with the equipment package. That takes a year or so to
put together and then it take two years to complete procurement
process and then they say get ready to deliver you get into
Moors Law. The low technology equipment may not change
that span of time but a very high-tech like chip will evolve
very fast. The ministry is building in rules to provide flexibil-
ity to let that change to benefit the companies providing
the offset.

"WE ARE NOT

How do you see the debate over F-35 for India?
RR: We are out of MMRCA and I wish nothing but suc-
cess to the IAF in filling out their fighter fleet. We are
done with the competition. What has happened
with F-35 that has caught in the Indian press is

PUSHING THE
probably two things that at the Paris Air Show
we came out with the cost of the F-35 being
$65 million in 2011 US dollars, that is all-
inclusive of all the systems not the weapons.
That number was quoted for all the nine

F-35 TO INDIA!"
partner countries and new customers like
Israel and the nine partner countries that
are looking to buy the F-35. That got caught
HEMANT RAWAT

on the Indian press as something that has

been pointed out to India.

(36)
www.geopolitics.in January 2012

We always press the F-35 as a fifth-gen-
eration fighter at fourth-generation price.
So we have done a lot of work to keep the
costs down. So that has nothing to do with
MMRCA that was just a number game at
the Paris Air Show. On November 1, 2011,
the office of Secretary of Defence com-
pleted a study that was
requested by US
Congress on
engagement
with the Indian
defence establish-
ment. And this was six- to-
eight months ago, but before that
date it was directed by the Senate Arms
Committee to the Department of Defence
to give a report before November 1. Within
that report, the terminology says F-35
should eventually be considered for India.
It has nothing to do with timing of MMRCA
competition. It was a US Defence Depart-
ment report that pointed to the US Con-
gress and it had nothing to do with Lock-
heed Martin. Any discussion on Joint Strike
Fighter between India and the US has to be
government-to-government and it will not
be Lockheed Martin unless directed by the
US government. And, by the way, this is not
the first time F-35 is being discussed
between the two governments. There have
been requests from the Indian government
to the US government for briefing on F-35.
We are not pushing the F-35.
There are technical glitches in F-35?
RR: It’s a complicated machine and it will
always run into some technical glitches.
Lockheed Martin writes more code than
Microsoft… there are 38 million lines of
codes in the F-35. It is replacing every
fighter or attack aircraft in the US invento-
ry. By 2015 or so it should be in the US fleet
and delivery to international customers
will start from 2016. We are holding to that
schedule and price. There are lots of inter-
ests for that fighter around the world.
Tell us about more orders for C-130 J?
RR: We are done when we deliver it to the
US government and it is the US govern-
ment which delivers to the Indian govern-
ment. We are done with that a long time
ago. Right now we are helping with the
transition and helping with the support
and the logistics with the back-end.
We went from $70-million a plane to $
59-million a plane and we can’t keep the
excess and we have to give it back to the
customer. We did at $70-million a plane
originally as per estimate based on manu-
www.geopolitics.in
g
INTERVIEW
facturing 12 planes per year. We are now
making 36 aircraft a year, the volume and
our efficiency and of our international
partners have brought that number down
to 59 million a plane so by FMS rule and the
US law I can’t keep that profit. So we gave it
back to the Indian Air Force. The return of
the money is on going with the contract. It’s
part of the contract. We don’t bid in FMS to
exceed price and in DPP it requires firm
prices. So when we say not to exceed $ 70
million it means $ 70 million or less. So
they are just paying less at every delivery
milestone. The aircraft is performing well it
was at the Sikkim earthquake relief.
I fully expect a follow-on sales but I
can’t put a number to it. We are talking to
the Air Force and also to the meteorologi-
cal department looking at the WC 130 J, as
this is the only aircraft that can fly through
a hurricane or typhoon.
We also have joint venture with Tata to
manufacture C-130 J components at the
facility at Hyderabad and it’s almost com-
plete. We expect it to be in production by
January. We expect that work to expand
and make more and more component. It’s
not just for Indian C-130 but for the global
supply chain. I would like to build India-
specific C-130 J at the Hyderabad, it’s my
vision. Tata is great company to work with.
What is the update on Aegis for India?
RR: We have offered co-operation on
Aegis with Indian Navy. Those discussions
are ongoing and I believe that as…the
Aegis system is the only one that can fully
protect a carrier battle group. We will get
into more substantial discussion. It’s real-
ly a win-win situation that US Navy rely
on Aegis system and it will be interopera-
ble with US Navy. The Japanese, the Kore-
an and the Australians are already operat-
ing the Aegis system.
Another thing that comes with the Aegis
missile system is the ship-building capa-
bility. We not only offered the weapons
system but also to help on the weapon sys-
tem we said, we will team with a Indian
ship yard whichever shipyard whether pri-
vate or public sector selected by Ministry
of Defence, that offer is still there.
We made our first proposal in January
15, 2007. The RFI was for the seven ships.
We offered to build a couple of ships in a
foreign shipyard (Korea) and then transfer
the technology and build ships three to
seven here. It was a five-year shipbuilding
schedule at a very competitive price. I am
not sure why they didn’t catch hold of the
offer. As India looks ahead to being a major
(37)
naval force in the Indian Ocean and a
nation which secures the global maritime
domain to have a common weapon system
is a right thing. Our original teaming was
with the Hyundai ship yard. Yesterday we
had the last discussion on the Aegis the
team that looks after the Aegis was in the
town. More discussion was on the MH60R.
They always touch base on the Aegis.
The best thing about Aegis radar is that
it is the only one that can track SM 2 mis-
sile, which is an anti-missile missile to its
full range of capability. And that is the
only missile today that can intercept a
modern surface-to-surface missile that is
coming to the carrier battle group. You
have to have a certain frequency of radar
to do that and at present India doesn’t
have the radar to do that. They are work-
ing on a different frequency, which is fine
for individual ship-protection but if you
want to lose your major asset, there is only
one system that can do that is SM 2 mis-
sile which is a Raytheon missile.
What’s going on with MH60?
RR: Looking at the next RFP to come out.
We have given two options, one is we
would be happy to sell through FMS
directly to Indian Navy through the US
government because we think it’s a
unique capability and it’s a frontline,
brand new US helicopter. I think we have
delivered 100th Romeo to US recently. It is
state-of-the-art in mission helicopters
and recently it has been selected by Korea
and Australia. It’s eye of the fleet for us, it
gets in front of the carrier battle group
and relays all the information. If MoD
doesn’t want to pursue sole source then
allow us to bid in to a RFP for 60 Romeo.
There is still some disconnect in a FMS in
competitive process and DPP. We are try-
ing to pursue MoD to allow us to partici-
pate in RFP, We don’t want to bid if we are
technically not compliant. We would love
to bring that capability here.
Obviously, there is a need for naval
Helios in an anti-submarine warfare role.
We will bid for RFP for 90 Helios for RFP
which is expected sometime next year.
ASW helio is the best thing for finding any
submarine.
What are your components in Apache
and Javelin?
RR: Boeing has got the lead in Apache; we
have got some weapons system, naviga-
tion system and mission system. Raytheon
is the lead for Javelin, we do somewhere
around 40 per cent of the systems.
January 2012
 ñ

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A STAR
IS NOT
Juhu refuses BORN
to take off
Even with the green signal to
expand, Mumbai’s Juhu airport
still cannot accommodate traffic
Air India’s Maharaja may be broken — the rejection
by Star Alliance of Air India’s membership and the
whimsical performance of its erstwhile CMD — but

Dreamliner
he has not given up the fight

shows its wings Jet joins low

fare battle...
The Praful Patel
years
MAKS puts
Russia on top
Boeing’s 787 makes a With IndiGo and SpiceJet taking
away passenger share at home
PP established milestones that have
acted as catalysts for the Indian
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 g
GEOPOLITICS
SPECIALFEATURE

THE FUTURE SOLDIER

All the leading armies of the world are now undergoing technological transformations so as to
make every soldier a ‘self-contained fighting unit”. His kit is now an electronic ensemble mostly
embedded in the armour vest consisting of a wearable computer. Defence Research
Development Organisation is, therefore, now working on its F-INSAS programme that will
transform the Indian armed forces and at the same time reduce the standard soldier’s load by
50 per cent. DRDO’s initial sets may be rolled out in the 2012-13 time frame. F-INSAS will
probably be the world’s largest soldier transformation programmes with a potential buy of
more than 500,000 sets to equip the Indian Army’s 465 infantry battalions, writes SAURAV JHA

T
wenty-first century hybrid consisting of a wearable computer,
threats representing everything peripheral device interfaces, energy man-
from road-side bombs to mass agement systems and man-machine inter-
terrorist strikes in crowded faces. Take the Israeli Army’s Integrated
cities have made it clear that Advanced Soldier (IAS) programme being
armies around the world need to refocus developed by Israel’s Directorate of
on the basic unit of warfare — the soldier Defence Research and Development and
itself. Beyond armour and airpower, the Elbit systems for example. Its Personal
most relevant and flexible response mech- Digital Unit (PDU) consists of a wearable
anism remains the infantry and there is a computer coupled with a handheld dis-
move underway to augment the situation- play, a radio, eyepiece display and head-
al awareness, survivability, and combat sets, mobile Wireless Local Area Network
effectivenes of the same. All current pro- (WLAN) and navigation system (mostly
grammes seem to treat the soldier as a sys- GPS). All components are to be found in
tem of systems while seeking to keep a the wearable system and armor vest and
balance between information overload weigh below five kilogrammes.
and enhanced capability. It is a good time The chief feed-in peripherals for such a
therefore to survey the existing efforts system are of course gun-mounted sights
while identifying key trends for the future. (essentially thermal or image-intensify-
The chief thrust of all ongoing pro- ing video cameras) and a helmet-mount-
grammes is the need to create a modular ed mini camera (day, thermal or light
Command, Control, Computers, Commu- intensifier type). Typically a section com-
nication and Information (C4I) scheme for mander’s target acquisition device is an
the individual soldier enabling him to uncooled thermal imager integrated with
transmit and receive real-time data, voice a laser rangefinder, electronic compass
and images in a seamless manner. While and GPS effective at ranges of over a km.
digitisation of militaries around the world While other section members usually
has been relatively simpler to do for mount an image intensifier tube on their
NPCIL

armoured formations, since they essen-
tially require an extension of wireless
internet protocols to the existing com-
mand and control set-up, plugging indi-
vidual soldiers into the larger digital net-
work is a different ball game altogether.
Networking the soldier has meant the
ONLY A MOCK-UP: The future soldier is
being readied in labs
chief component of all so-called ‘future
soldier’ kits is an electronic ensemble
mostly embedded in the armour vest
guns. The other peripheral device is of
course a two-way radio headsets integrat-
ed with the ballistic helmet.
The idea is to “slave” all sensor infor-
mation to the wearable computer and
make it available to the soldier on dis-
plays that may be found on the armour

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www.geopolitics.in January 2012
 g
SPECIALFEATURE

Helmet: Blast-resistant and

bullet-proof

Night-vision binocular
Assault rifle: Modern lightweight
assault rifle with smaller barrel for bet-
ter handling

VHF/UHF radio set:

Target designator: Gun- For communication
mounted laser target desig- with troops
nator for accurate targeting
DAVID MONNIAUX

Rugged tablet: Part of

Handheld GPS navigator
battlefield manage-
ment system, pro-
vides soldiers with
map, troop locations
and objective

Hand-held thermal imager for night

surveillance

www.geopolitics.in January 2012

(41)

vest, on the wrist, be handheld or inte-
grated onto the combat helmet itself as a
collimated eyepiece. Information gath-
ered by each soldier can then also be
shared on the squad network and beyond
(typically by hooking on to the larger
army network through the console on the
squad’s armoured mount) via high-speed
wireless connectivity. This allows com-
manders to make tactical assessments
and send back updated orders while
keeping track of unit locations using the
transmitted GPS data.
Some systems like the IAS are also
developing a new navigation system,
enabling geo-location in areas where GPS
cannot be relied upon. The system appar-
ently uses a combination of gyro, com-
pass, accelerometers
and some other
sensors to trian-
gulate unit loca-
tions. Accuracy,
however, will
essentially be a
function of the
KRISFROMGERMANY
www.geopolitics.in
g
SPECIALFEATURE
distance travelled after GPS is lost, as the
basis for the initial reference is the last
available GPS reading.
Soldier systems of course go beyond the
C4I element. One of the more mature sys-
tems like France’s Fantassin à via a Thales PR4G VS4 frequency-hopping
KEEPING UP
WITH WESTERN
TRENDS, INDIA'S
DRDO HAS
INSTITUTED A
MODERNISATION
PROGRAMME
Équipements et Liaisons Intégrés or
FELIN has 155 components in all, includ-
ing a new low infrared combat outfit that is
fire, water and mosquito repellent with the
NBC version consisting of a new ventila-
tion system. FELIN also has modular bal-
listic protection which can be tailored to
the threat environment. The French Army
has placed orders for 22,588 sets of the 23
kg FELIN with Sagem, of which apparent-
ly 5000 have already been delivered.
The first units equipped with FELIN
may be on their way to Afghanistan.
FELIN’s combat headgear is also a
much-touted feature and besides
the ballistic helmet, protective
visors and goggles, jawpad, night
vision sensor (NVS), and OVD col-
limated eyepiece, boasts an Elno
OH-295 osteo-microphone
which detects speech by sens-
ing the vibration in the wear-
er’s skull. The osteo-micro-
phone coupled with a vibrat-
ing speaker enables good
voice communications even
in noisy situations.
Like other soldier systems
at the heart of the FELIN is the
Plateforme Electronique
Portable (PEP) embedded in the
armour vest interacting with the
soldier through various man-
machine interfaces and manag-
ing the RIF infantry information
TIME FOR A CHANGE: Keeping
up with hi-tech innovations, the
attire of the traditional solider
will change
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network that networks the individual to
other soldiers in the section and to the
section leader, who in turn is linked with
the SITEL battle management system of
the section’s armoured personnel carrier
tactical radio. Incidentally, SITEL devel-
oped by Sagem is becoming a common
feature on French armoured vehicles.
The ‘two gun sight scheme’ is also a
feature of FELIN with infantryman being
given an image intensifier while the com-
mander is being issued a thermal-imag-
ing weapon sight. Both kinds of sights are
linked to the PEP, so the acquired images
viewed through the guns sights are avail-
able on the soldier’s displays (including
the OVD) and can also be transmitted via
the network to other units and com-
manders. The video sights also allow the
soldier to extend the weapon and aim
around a corner much like Israel’s Cor-
nershot system. At the moment FELIN is
compatible with existing French Army
infantry weapons such as the FAMAS
assault rifle and the FR-F2 sniper rifle. In
the future, the FELIN system hopes to
add the new PAPOP rifle come program-
meable grenade launcher system which is
currently under development. Sagem’s
JIM MR multifunction binoculars com-
bining an uncooled thermal imaging
channel, eyesafe laser rangefinder and a
digital magnetic compass has also been
chosen as a commander’s sight for FELIN.
Though the FELIN may have been
ordered in significant numbers, the sol-
dier system that has already seen some
action is Germany’s IdZ Basic System (BS)
supplied by Cassidian of which 2500 sets
have already been delivered to combat-
ants in the field in Afghanistan. The IdZ-
BS is designed to be a squad- level system
and each kit consists of a Heckler & Koch
G36 5.56mm rifle, a Thales C4I system
known as NavICom, image intensifying
helmet-mounted NVS also supplied by
Thales, Nacre’s QuietPro digital tactical
headset, an Oerlikon Contraves weapon-
mounted laser system together with eye-
protection glasses, a ballistic and stab
protection vest and a load-carrying vest.
The NavICom notably provides the
soldier with continuously updated situa-
tion awareness via a digital moving map
display system shows the soldier’s own
position, the position of his comrades,
the position of minefields and other dan-
ger zones, target course and coordinates
and the enemy’s status. Digital voice and
data wireless communications provide
January 2012

the soldier with commands and recon-
naissance data. The system is also
designed to give the soldier access to
micro-unmanned air vehicles (UAVs).
The navigation system is equipped with a
global positioning system.
Other countries in Europe are also
developing future soldier systems such as
Italy’s Soldata Futuro and Spain’s Com-
Furt kits. However the budgetary situa-
tion in both countries has meant that
development programmes are now pro-
ceeding slower than usual. Nevertheless,
the programmes do have some interest-
ing standout features in terms of the work
done on finding renewable energy solu-
tions for powering the main electronic
gear and on modularity. Spain’s ComFurt,
for instance, has been exploring the pos-
sibility of using boot heel generators that
generate electricity when the soldier
walks, to power at least a part of the elec-
tronic equipment thereby taking some
load of the litium-ion batteries embed-
ded in the vest that typically power ‘future
soldier’ kits. Indeed, energy management
is one the biggest challenges that face the
development of all soldier kits given their
direct relation to endurance via both
weight carried and powered availability.
Soldata Futuro is built from the ground
up to be an ‘ improve as you prove’ sys-
tem which is constantly upgrading or
modifying features as and when feedback
from the field is processed. A case in
point is the development of the kit’s new
NC4-09 ballistic vest which was designed
based on the inputs of soldiers in
Afghanistan. In terms of modularity, the
Soldato Futuro operates under a very dif-
ferent paradigm from the FELIN.
DRDO’s F-INSAS or Futuristic Infantry
Soldier As A System essentially has all the
features that FELIN et al are demonstrat-
ing, including lightweight and modular
ballistic protection, protective combat
clothing with an NBC component, sensor
and display integrated ballistic headgear,
gun-mounted sights consisting of both
television and laser rangefinding capabil-
ity all tied to a powerful wearable com-
puter. F-INSAS also aims to deliver a new
modular weapon system not too dissimi-
lar from PAPOP.
In all, the stated aim is to reduce the
standard soldier’s load by 50 per cent
while turning the soldier into a ‘self-con-
tained fighting unit.’ F-INSAS is also
researching the latest health monitoring
systems, smart shoes and seeks to devel-
op a collimating eyepiece that can
www.geopolitics.in
g
SPECIALFEATURE
ergonomically present the same level of Device” which is basically a smartphone
information as two 17-inch LCDs. Initial tagged into a US military Joint Tactical
sets may be rolled out in the 2012-13 time Radio System-compliant Radio. The
frame. In any case F-INSAS will probably new smartphone weighs a fifth of the
be the world’s largest soldier transforma- total of the total electronic ensemble in
tion programmes with a potential buy of typical kits and yet gives comparable
performance over 3G networks. While at
the same time the chances of informa-
ONE OF THE tion overload are cut down considerably.
MORE MATURE These smartphones also enable game
console-like control of UAVs and their
SYSTEMS LIKE texting capability is something that new
generations of troops would in any case
FRANCE'S FELIN be comfortable with.
HAS 155 More such smartphone devices at all
levels of the chain are being tried out by
COMPONENTS IN the US Army. The idea is to replicate the
civilian success of tablet-like phones to
ALL bridge the digital divide on the battlefield
in a manner that is far less cumbersome
more than 500000 sets, i.e to equip the than what is being currently deployed.
Indian Army’s 465 infantry battalions. Developers around the world would do
As such, it would do well to take cog- well to remain “wired
nizance of the lessons being held forth by in” to such trends.
the European buys. FELIN, for instance,
is being issued piecemeal at the
moment to allow for soldiers to get
a feel of the systems. Soldata
Futuro’s modularity approach
may also be taken note of. F-
INSAS should not be driven by
the usual “must have”, “good to
have” paradigm that has delayed
several indigenous programmes
in the past.
Lessons should also be
learned from the long
running US Nett War-
rior programme which
is basically the world’s
oldest ‘future soldier’
effort. Nett Warrior, for
instance, is only the latest avatar
of the Ground Soldier System pro-
gramme which itself was a result of the
rebadging of the Land Warrior Advance
GIDEPARK.RU
Technology demonstration programme
with the US Army’s larger Future Force
Warrior programme which aims to use
everything from nanotechnology to
yoga in a bid to create a new breed
of soldiers by the 2030s.
At the moment, Nett Warrior
is shedding the typical ‘future
soldier’ ensemble of sensors,
monocles, GPS devices and
keypads for an “End User
READY FOR ACTION: An
Italian soldier equipped with
some of the latest gadgets
January 2012
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PERISCOPE
g
GEOPOLITICS

`5,20,000 crore to be spent on Indian-Russian joint

defence in five years exercise next year
DEVELOPMENT OF military infrastructures
and capabilities on the country’s western
and eastern fronts and the purchase of a
wide array of weapon systems for billions of
dollars will require India to earmark a
defence budget of a staggering
`5,20,000 crore over the next ten
years, it has been reported. This fig-
ure, however, does not include the
huge day-to-day cost of maintain-
ing 13-lakh armed forces.
This figure has been arrived
at by taking into account
Defence Minister AK Antony’s

revealed expenditure plans in
the Parliament for the develop-
ment of military infrastructure, with
new fighter bases, helipads, bunkers,
forward ammunition dumps and the
like, to strategically counter the coun-
try’s two potential adversaries — China
and Pakistan.
Antony pegged the planned “devel-
opment” of Army infrastructure and
“improvement” of IAF infrastructure
in the north-east at `7,374 crore
and `1,753 crore, respectively.
Similarly, capability develop-
ment along the northern bor-
ders will cost `24,312 crore, while
upgrade of storage facility for
PIB
ENG.MIL.RU
INDIAN ARMY will have a war-game with the Russian
Army in a joint exercise to be held in ‘Cheetah’ training
range in East Russia, close to the Mongolia-China border,
next year to increase inter-operability between the two
armies. This will be the fourth round of INDRA series of
Army-to-Army exercise between the two countries. The
two sides have also decided to make INDRA series of joint
Army exercises an annual affair, which will be held alter-
natively in India and Russia. So far, India and Russia have
conducted three rounds of INDRA exercises. The first
such exercise was carried out in 2005 in Rajasthan, fol-
lowed by Prshkov in Russia. The third exercise was con-
ducted in Chaubattia in Kumaon hills some time back.
The exercise is aimed at increasing the inter-operabili-

ammunition will come for `18,450 crore. ty and mutual understanding between the two armies.

UAVs for Naval Air Stations Development of Naval Academy

AS PER its modernisation plans, the Indian Navy will
soon have Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, probably early
next year, at Naval Air Stations in Tamil Nadu. It has
two naval air stations in the state — INS Rajali at
Arakkonam and INS Parundu at Uchipuli. This meas-
ure, it is said, will go a long way in augmenting India’s
coastal security. As it is, the Navy coordinates with the
Coastal Security Group of Tamil Nadu Police and Indi-
an Coast Guard in educating fishermen along the
Tamil Nadu coast on the importance of International
Maritime Boundary Line.
PIB

THE GOVERNMENT has approved the second phase of the develop-

ment works of Indian Naval Academy (INA), Ezhimala, which is esti-
mated to cost nearly `140 crore, according to the Defence Minister
AK Antony. With this, the academy will have a capacity to train near-
ly 1,200 people in one go. “Malabar region has a prominent place in
the defence map of the country. The establishment of INA and Coast
Guard Academy, which are coming up in Irinavu in the district, and
the HAL unit in Kasargode has further strengthened the importance
of the Malabar region,” said the Defence Minister while addressing a
PIB

press meet organised by Kannur Press Club recently.

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www.geopolitics.in January 2012
 g
GEOPOLITICS

Navy to get first N-sub by March Seven more radars for Gujarat
WHEN INDIA THE GOVERN-
acquires, by the MENT has given
end of March this approval for set-
year, a nuclear sub- ting up seven
marine from Rus- radar stations on

TROY CLARKE @NAVY.MIL

sia for its Navy, it Gujarat coast
will possess the along with a Coast
“triad” capability Guard station at
to launch nuclear Pipavav in the
strikes from land, state, Defence
air and water. Minister AK
“INS Chakra”, Antony has
PIB

the first-genera-
tion Russian Nerpa
Akula-II class nuclear submarine, armed with 300-km-range
Klub missiles, is to be berthed in the Bay of Bengal. The leased
8,100-tonne vessel is currently in the final user acceptance tri-
al stage in northern Russia. India, of course, has its indige-
nous nuclear submarine INS Arihant, which will undergo sea
trials planned over the next six months.
informed the Parliament. There has been approval also for
setting up a Coast Guard station at Pipavav in Gujarat,
Antony said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.
Coast Guard stations at a particular place are set up after tak-
ing into account the threat perception, vulnerability gap
analysis and presence of other stations in the vicinity. A
Regional Headquarters (North West) at Gandhinagar has also
been established in Gujarat to monitor coastal security.

HAL starts Sukhoi production Poor planning causing crashes

HEMANT RAWAT

THE HINDUSTAN Aeronautics
Limited (HAL) has started man-
ufacturing of Sukhoi-30 MKI
fighters in the country. Con-
tracts have been concluded
with Indian Air Force (IAF) for
supply of 140 8U-30 MIG air-
craft by 2014-15, along with
earlier order of 40 aircraft. Of
the total 180 aircraft, 99 aircraft
have been delivered till 2010-
11.
The government has asked
HAL to speed up the manufac-
turing of Su-30 MKI fighters. As
per the Cabinet Committee on
Security (CCS) sanction dated
18/12/2000, the project was
to commence from the year
2004-05 and be completed by
2017-18. However, in June 2005,
Air Headquarters requested
HAL, to explore the feasibility
HEMANT RAWAT
of compressing the delivery IF INDIA’S first Indian astronaut Rakesh Sharma is to
programme by three years. be believed, then faulty planning in defence public
Accordingly, HAL submitted a sector units is responsible for rising MiG crashes.
Proposal, which envisaged Speaking at the annual confluence of Indian Institute
compressed delivery of 140 air- of Management, Ahmedabad, recently, he said that
craft within 2014-15. PSUs such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)
The steps taken by HAL for and Defence Research and Development Organisation
timely manufacturing of such (DRDO) were being run like political and bureaucratic
fighters include: fiefdoms, with the result that they had the infrastruc-
y Commissioning of more ture but no expertise. The solution, according to him, is
tooling and fixtures in man- in “public-private partnership (PPP) model with Indian
ufacturing and assembly companies in these sectors”. Giving his personal expe-
shops. rience, Sharma said that as a test pilot with the HAL, he
y Increased outsourcing. would send back fighter planes to the laboratories if he
y Development of alternate detected snags in their parts. But he soon found out
vendors. that instead of doing research and development on
y Improvements in manufac- these parts, the laboratories fitted the parts in another
turing processes & opera- fighter plane. “The parts used to keep repeating the full
tions. circle consuming time and energy without any result,”
y Effective monitoring and he said.
timely actions through Lamenting that “the HAL does not even have an in-
Enterprise Resource Plan- house test-pilot team”, he said that there was a lack of
ning (ERP). transparency and accountability in PSUs.

www.geopolitics.in January 2012

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GEOPOLITICS
COVERSTORY

BrahMos has become a role model for its

integration of public-private industries from India
and Russia. It has emerged as the most potent
weapon system for precision strike and a “force
multiplier in network-centric warfare”. As a high-
technology defence product, it has great potential
in the world market, writes SITAKANTA MISHRA

INDIA’S ROBUST
GEO-TECHNOLOGY POWER
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 g
COVERSTORY

T
HE SECOND BrahMos regi-
ment equipped with
advanced systems, mainly the
Block-II version, has been
delivered to the Indian Army
on November 9, 2011. The first BrahMos
Army regiment was made operational in
2008. The Defence Acquisition Council
(DAC) has reportedly approved the
deployment of Block III variants to
enhance the Army’s firepower in the
north-east following a similar nod for
the western sector facing Pakistan. A
product of the India-Russia joint ven-
ture, the supersonic cruise missiles
have been serving the Indian armed
forces as force multipliers, while
bestowing India with the geo-techno-
logical leadership in the world. Howev-
er, its techno-strategic implications are
bound to reverberate in the both
regional and global security spectrum
in the decades ahead, with the evolving
security scenario perceptibly shifting
from geopolitics to geo-technology.

Unshackling “Fifth-Nation Syndrome”

In respect to technology — whether it be
in nuclear weapons, satellites, super
computers, cryogenics or any other sys-
tem for that matter — India has always
been a follower — third, fourth or fifth
country — never been ‘the first’ in the
world. “By giving the supersonic cruise
missile which is the first of its kind in the
world…the BrahMos team has success-
fully broken the fifth-nation syndrome,”
says APJ Abdul Kalam. According to S
Pillai, the CEO of BrahMos Aerospace,
“The Indian Army is the only land force
in the world to have a precision-attack
supersonic cruise missile.”
Considered one of the fastest-cruise
missiles in the world, the BrahMos is a
stealth supersonic cruise missile ventured
jointly by India and Russia in February
1998. The name BrahMos is an acronym of
the names of two rivers, the Brahmaputra
of India and the Moskva of Russia. While
Russia holds 49.5 per cent of the invest-
ment, India holds the remaining 50.5 per
cent and the venture is constantly evolv-
ing. The company proposes to grow into a
`1000-crore venture within the next five
years. Another setup, the BrahMos Aero-
space Thiruvananthapuram Ltd. (BATL),
BRAHMOS

EXPLOSIVE POWER: The BrahMos is one

of the most destructive missiles in its class

www.geopolitics.in January 2012

(47)

PRIDE OF THE NATION: The BrahMos missile programme is one of India’s best joint venture success stories
has been integrated to the company.
Headquartered in Hyderabad, BrahMos
Aerospace reportedly handles anti-ship
missile production, and in Nagpur, the
missiles receive their warheads.
A derivative of the Russian Yakhont,
the BrahMos is a two-stage vehicle with
solid propellant booster and a liquid
ramjet system. It has a striking range of
290 km with supersonic speed at 2.8
Mach (four time faster than the Ameri-
can Tomahawk, three times the speed of
the Harpoon or the Exocet), and can
carry a 200-300 kg payload. While the
propulsion system of the missile is Russ-
ian origin, its guidance and electronics
packages are designed and developed in
India. Distinctively, guided by the Iner-
tial Navigation System, GPS and
active/passive radar, the missile has
precision of around six-metre Circular
Error Probability (CEP) and is nine
times more destructive than sub-sonic
cruise missiles. According to the
Defence Research Development Organi-
www.geopolitics.in
g
COVERSTORY
sation (DRDO), the Russian-built
Glonass receivers have been successful-
ly used to enhance the aiming and tar-
get-acquisition accuracy. With the iner-
tial-navigation system onboard with
three gyroscopes and three accelerome-
ters, the weapon is a “fire-and-forget”
system requiring no further guidance
from the control centre once the target
is assigned and launched. Officially, its
cruising altitude could be up to 15 km
and terminal altitude is as low as 10
metres. The anti-jamming systems
onboard can protect it from electronic
countermeasures and enable it to dis-
tinguish the target from decoys. The
missile is capable of mounting two types
of warheads — (1) one that explodes on
contact; (2) target penetration by impact
and then explode a few milliseconds lat-
er. Once assembled, the missile has a
10-year shelf life, requiring a routine
preventive maintenance check once
every three years. Considering all these
attributes, the BrahMos missile is rightly
(48)
HEMANT RAWAT
claimed to be the ‘best ground beef out
there’ in comparison to the Tomahawk
that is the ‘best steak out there’.
As a versatile system, the BrahMos
can be launched from multiple plat-
forms based on land, sea, sub-sea and
air. The modular design of the missile
and its capability of being launched at
different orientations enable it to be
integrated with a wide spectrum of plat-
forms such aswarships, submarines, dif-
ferent types of aircraft, mobile
autonomous launchers and silos. Out of
the total 25 test flights of the missile so
far, 24 tests have been successful. The
test of Block-II version of the missile on
January 20, 2009, failed to hit its target
due to glitches in the homing device.
While BrahMos Block-I version is an
anti-ship missile, Block-II is an Army
version meant for attacking targets on
land. The latest Block-III is meant for
operations in mountain warfare where
the missile has to hit the target with a
steep dive.
January 2012

‘Veritable Force Multiplier’
According to defence sources, the produc-
tion target fixed by the agency is 1,000
missiles over the next ten years (current
capacity is to produce 100 missiles a year)
for Indian forces. Both the Indian Army
and Navy have already inducted the Brah-
Mos missiles. The Army has inducted the
first battery of the land version in June
2007. According to Global Security Infor-
mation, the Army had ordered two Brah-
Mos regiments in the first phase at a cost
of `8,352 crore, with 134 missiles in 2006-
09, 10 road-mobile autonomous launch-
ers on 12x12 Tatra vehicles and four
mobile-command posts and another 240
land-attack Block-II versions in 2010. The
first ships to be equipped with BrahMos
were Project 61ME (Kashin-Mod class)
destroyers. The anti-ship naval version
has been integrated on the destroyer INS
Rajput and will also be mounted on the
three 7,000-tonne Kolkata-Class destroy-
ers and the Talwar-Class. The Indian Navy
also plans to deploy them on submarines
and possibly on land-based patrol air-
craft. The Navy had ordered 49 BrahMos
firing units at a cost of `711 crore.
The Indian Air Force will be equipped
with the first operational models of the
missile by 2012 by modifying the fifth-
generation fighters and Su-30MKI. This
would prove to be a ‘force multiplier’ to
the Air Force to engage all types of
land/sea targets. It is quite likely that the
126 medium-multirole fighters for which
India has announced contracts, will also
be fitted with BrahMos missiles. The F/A-
18 Super Hornet, Rafale and Typhoon
fighters can all serve as carriers.
y Used by: Indian Army, Indian
Navy, Indian Air Force (awaiting)
y Manufacturers: Joint venture
between NPO Mashinostroeyenia
(Russia) and DRDO (India) -
BrahMos Aerospace
y Unit Cost: US$ 2.73 million
(approx)
y Weight: 2,5000 -3,000 kg; Length:
8.4 m; Diameter: 0.6 m
y Range: 290 km; Speed: Mach 2.8
y Warhead: 200-300 kg, convention-
al /(nuclear)
y Engine: Two-stage integrated
Rocket/Ramjet
y Launch Platform: Ship, subma-
rine, aircraft and land-based
mobile launchers
www.geopolitics.in
g
COVERSTORY
WHY CRUISE MISSILES?
W
HY IS it that in this age of
rapidly-growing ballistic
missiles, cruise missiles
continue to be relevant? The short
answer is that most wars are fought
with tactical weapons, not strategic
weapons. Cruise missiles are tacti-
cal weapons and much cheaper
than the strategic ballistic missiles.
And importantly, while advanced
nations are competing against one
another in developing ballistic mis-
sile defence (BMD) systems, cruise
missiles are designed to hug the
ground, which makes them hard to
detect by radar. They are launched
from ships, submarines, airplanes,
and from the ground. Besides,
unlike the cruise missiles, ballistic
missiles are more prone to inaccu-
racies as regards the targets. In fact,
putting into operation of ballistic
missiles is very complex with
increasing accuracy, range, and
defence penetration requirements.
And finally, while ballistic missiles
are essentially fitted with high-
range nuclear weapons, cruise mis-
siles can carry both nuclear and
conventional warheads.
The importance of cruise missiles
in the recent wars has been clearly
discernible. Their frequent use by
the United States since the end of
the Cold War has been noteworthy
in this regard. The spectacular
demonstration of the US Toma-
Beneficial Export Potential
The BrahMos missile could become one
of India’s major contributions to the
world arms export market during the
decades ahead. In fact, the agency plans
to export up to 2000 of them to interested
friendly countries, worth $10 bilion.
More than 10 states have already evinced
interest in purchasing this missile.
Reportedly, Indonesia, the UAE, Brazil,
Thailand, Chile and Malaysia have
already submitted their orders. Other
nations, from Algeria to Venezuela, South
Africa, Egypt, Oman and Brunei find the
versatility of BrahMos enticing. In Febru-
ary 2010, India was reportedly in “serious
negotiations” with Chile, Brazil, South
Africa and Indonesia regarding the pur-
chase of the missile. Informal negotia-
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hawks during “Operation Desert
Storm” in January 1991 highlighted
the effectiveness of the cruise mis-
siles. During the 2003 Iraq War, the
US military employed cruise mis-
siles over four times more than that
in the 1991 war. The Iraq War also
saw the first use of the UK-French-
produced “Storm Shadow” cruise
missiles. In fact, since the Iraq War
(Operation Iraqi Freedom), evolving
opinion in the strategic literature
has been that “Cruise missiles have
reached their mature stage”.
All this explains why cruise mis-
siles have been in great demand and
are used more frequently than any
other weapon system. One estimate
shows that as many as 130 types of
cruise missiles exist today, with 75
countries possessing them. But, a US
Congressional Research Service (CRS)
estimate reveals that 81 countries
have cruise missiles of some kind. It
says that approximately 70000 cruise
missiles are operational worldwide.
seventy-five different types of sys-
tems are currently in service and over
40 additional cruise missiles are
reportedly under development.
However, existing literature only
highlights the “tipping point”
assumption, identifying their
spread mainly to the developing
countries while overlooking the ver-
tical proliferation in the case of the
developed countries.
tions seem undergoing between India
and Vietnam for the sale of the BrahMos.
As a matter of its demand, according
to experts, the missile is driving the sales
of aircraft and submarines that carry it,
which is normally the other way round in
case of other missiles. For example, the
Rubin Design Bureau is working on a
special version of the new Russian Pro-
ject 677 (Amur class) submarine that
uses the anti-ship version of its main
weapon. With more than one decade of
successful partnerships over the missile
project, the BrahMos joint venture has
become a vehicle for future India-Russia
defence projects.
Towards Hypersonic Avatar
With a view to staying in the forefront of
January 2012

REACHING THE THIRD DIMENSION
BrahMos, the only supersonic cruise missile of the world, has enhanced India’s strike
capability. Represented below are Dr Sivathanu Pillai views on BrahMaos and a variety of
issues across the spectrum *
On the genesis of the BrahMos Project
The very will to develop a world-class
weapon system by pooling in scientific
know-how and technological resources
from both countries (India and Russia)
was the basis of the foundation of the JV.
It is the fusion of great scientific minds of
two countries that help design and devel-
op such a weapon system with unparal-
leled capabilities.
On the Indian Air Force version
The very essence of carrying a weapon
system on board an aircraft is to possess
the capability of engaging targets from a
stand-off distance. Air-launched Brah-
Mos provides these capabilities to our Air
Force with distinct superiority in terms of
HC TIWARI
www.geopolitics.in
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COVERSTORY
stand-off distance, range, accuracy and
lethality vis-a-vis the Air Force of other
countries. With the rare combination of
the refueling capability and stand-off
range of BrahMos, the IAF can now
engage many targets.
We have reduced the weight to 2.5 tons
for installation on aircraft, while the land-
launched version weighs 3 tons. Even this
is heavy. When considering this missile for
use on a Sukhoi fighter, we are thinking of
a lower weight. Besides, the shorter a mis-
sile, the better it is. The air-launched
BrahMos needs to have reduced booster
propulsion, to take advantage of the initial
speed of the aircraft.
On technological edge of the BrahMos
BrahMos has no parallel in the world in
terms of combination of speed, range,
lethality and survivability. Moreover,
through regular capability upgradation
by way of use of new high-end technolo-
gies, BrahMos is bound to maintain the
superiority. The Indian Army is the only
land force in the world to have such an
advanced weapon system.
On engine and guidance system
At first, we thought we would go for a sol-
id propellant ramjet to propel the missile
to its supersonic speed. But solid ram-
jet has limits in the Mach number
that can be attained, whereas a
kerosene-based ramjet can
reach up to Mach 7.
We have our own func-
tional navigation systems,
along with excellent expe-
rience in onboard com-
puters through the
Indian Prithvi and
Agni ballistic missile
programmes. Fortu-
nately, our friends at
NPO Machinos-
troyenia were
working with us as
consultants.
On the role of pri-
vate sector in Brah-
Mos
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BrahMos for the first time, with govern-
ment approval, established a consor-
tium of public-private industries, which
took part in development, proving and
finally in bulk production. The major
private companies took keen interest in
participating in production activities,
even though they had to establish pro-
duction infrastructure along with the
test facilities at their own cost in their
respective premises. The industries also
were very fast to absorb new technolo-
gies that were required for fabrication of
certain critical items. Private sector
companies contributed to a great extent
in the success of this JV. The manufac-
turing of BrahMos in large numbers will
grow Indian industry and economy, ulti-
mately increasing self-reliance.
On the role of the BATL
BATL (BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvanan-
thapuram Ltd.) was established as a lead-
ing aerospace industry and a role model
for Kerala. It is expected to grow in the
coming years. BATL is primarily for sup-
porting various projects of BrahMos,
Defence Research Development Organisa-
tion and Indian Space Research Organisa-
tion. In addition, we will be supporting
Bhabha Atomic Research Center for the
robotic system and Hindustan Aeronau-
tics Ltd. (HAL) for engines. The Phase-II
expansion will begin after we get addition-
al land and the Phase-III thereafter. The
first fully-integrated BrahMos missile is
expected to roll out from BATL by 2012.
On retrofit of BrahMos on submarines
The missile is already ready and the Amur
design with vertically-launched BrahMos
missile has been designed jointly with
Russian Institutes. We are also looking at
Air Independent Propulsion for Amur to
make it more versatile, so that Amur will
be a class superior in performance com-
pared to the diesel submarines, which
can fire only tube-launched missiles or
torpedoes. I am certain that given the
speed with which we work, Amur can be
built faster with BrahMos integrated. We
are hoping to get a decision soon.
* Dr Pillai’s reactions are based on
published interviews in the media.
January 2012

FORCE MULTIPLIER: With multi-platform, multi-mission and multi-target capabilities, the BrahMos can be used across a variety of
scenarios
missile technology the BrahMos Aero-
space has unveiled a plan for developing
hypersonic version (BrahMos-II) of the
missile. The project, centred round the
scramjet engine technology, has kick-
started with a team of defence scientists
at the Hyderabad-based Defence
Research and Development Laboratory
(DRDL), a constituent of the DRDO.
Looking beyond the basic version in
operation with a speed of Mach 2.8, the
hypersonic version will have a velocity of
up to Mach 7. The scramjet technology,
in which the DRDL has a good degree of
expertise, will be used in the hypersonic
version with kerosene as a fuel to attain
stability and storage safety.
According to Dr Pillai, the focus of the
hypersonic programme would be on zero-
ing in on the optimum technological ele-
ments for realising on operationally viable
scramjet system, which could ultimately
be accelerated to attain Mach 7 velocity.
This version will carry a conventional
weapons payload weighing around 200
kg. To withstand high temperature and
pressure during the trans-atmospheric
flight, high performance materials will be
used. Overall, the destructive capability
www.geopolitics.in
g
COVERSTORY
would be reinforced by the large kinetic
energy of the impact, much more than
that of the supersonic versions. The entire
process would take around five years from
now and support from Russia is crucial.
Diversified Production Line
While the entire project is a joint ven-
ture between the DRDO of India and the
NPO Mashinostroyenia of Russia, many
private agencies are integrally involved
in the production of specific software
and hardware components of the mis-
sile. Around sixteen companies in India
are involved in the production of specif-
Advantage BrahMos
¾ World leader for supersonic cruise
missile
¾ Multi-platform, multi-mission,
multi-target capability
¾ Most cost-effective weapon com-
plex
¾ Ultimate force multiplier for armed
forces
¾ First joint venture between India
and foreign partners to design,
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PIB
ic hardware and systems. While Godrej
Aerospace produces the airframe,
wings, as well as the pneumatic and
hydraulic systems, Larsen and Toubro
(L&T) makes the composites and Hin-
dustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) makes the
inertial navigation system and missile
checkout system. BrahMos Aerospace
has also set up a second assembly line at
its newly-created facility in India. On
November 8, 2011, the company also
opened a centre of excellence for devel-
oping hypersonic aerodynamic vehicles
and engines at the Indian Institute of
Science (IISc) in Bengaluru.
develop, produce and market ad-
vanced defence systems
¾ First joint venture with equity
share ratio of 50.5 per cent (India)
and 49.5 per cent (Russia) between
government funded private sectors
¾ First joint venture to integrate
public-private industries
¾ Role model for future joint ven-
tures
January 2012

BRAHMOS
TECHNOLOGY DISSEMINATOR: The decision to export BrahMos to friendly countries,
especially in East Asia, could generate critical reactions from China
Technical and Strategic Implications
Without violating the norms of Missile
Technology Control Regime (MTCR) the
BrahMos missile has established itself as
a unique and unparalleled weapon sys-
tem whose competitor is yet to be born.
After a decade of journey by now, the
joint venture has become a role model
for future India-Russia joint ventures.
However, the technical sophistication
and operationalisation of BrahMos are
bound to have technical and strategic
implications both at the regional and at
the global strategic discourse.
First, the venture is a precursor to
www.geopolitics.in
g
COVERSTORY
India’s evolving geo-technological power
with the aim to exploit the nexus of tech-
nology, sustainability and economic
vitality. In fact, the competition to cap-
ture the leading sectors of innovation
determines winners and losers. In that
context, the BrahMos venture is a leader
not only in the field of invention, but also
provides scope to agencies to innovate,
design, build and sell high-tech goods
and services to rest of the world.
Second, if the plan to export the mis-
sile to friendly countries in the neigh-
bourhood materialises, it would leverage
India’s strategic objectives, particularly in
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East Asia where China has sufficient
strategic inroads. While striving to
achieve leadership in technology innova-
tion, India must avail all opportunities to
make others look towards it in terms of
security insurance.
Thirdly, the deployment of BrahMos
regiments in strategic areas will strength-
en India’s strategic manoeuvrability.
Endowed with shorter flight time, super-
sonic speed and stealth features, they are
‘weapons of quick reaction’ and will give
“extreme surgical strike capability” to
Indian defence forces with chances of
less escalation.
Fourthly, its implications for India’s
nuclear deterrence strategy are enor-
mous as the missile is highly mobile
and better hidden, therefore more sur-
vivable than the ballistic missiles. Par-
ticularly the Block-III version of the
missile can be deployed at ease using
mountain roads, certainly appropriate
for mountain warfare. It is also opined
that its high mobility helps in pre-locat-
ing them at the edge of the Indian land
mass to cover areas that the Agni series
presumably does not. However, the
question is whether India is on its way
towards an intended posture of “defen-
sive deterrence”.
Fifthly, and most importantly, a
robust propagation of the BrahMos mis-
sile, both in Indian defence forces and
in the neighbourhood can certainly gen-
erate reactions from the neighbouring
countries especially from China and
Pakistan. One can imagine how China
values cruise missiles in its overall
defence preparedness from the number
of cruise missile tests it has conducted.
(From 2004 to 2009, Beijing has con-
ducted cruise missile tests 32 times, par-
ticularly the DH-10 series.) On the other
hand, Pakistan is actively sophisticating
its Babur (Hatf-7) cruise missile. In
addition, the Sino-Pak nuclear/missile
nexus targeting India is well known.
The decision to export BrahMos to
friendly countries, especially in East Asia,
would generate critical reactions from
China and may lead to strategic chain
reactions in the region. However, the
genie is out of the bottle and this versa-
tile cruise missile is here to stay, reinforc-
ing India’s strategic advantages.
(The writer is a Research Fellow at the
Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi.
He has recently authored a book, cruise
missiles: evolution, proliferation and
future)
January 2012
 geopolitics
INTERNAL SECURITY

ARDUOUS PEAKS
Indo Tibetan Border Police DG Ranjit Sinha on the challenge of
guarding India’s borders with China
ITBP
 IS
INTERNAL SECURITY B R I E F S g
MHA: The year in review
Gelatin trouble! ¤P Chidambaram
What have been the achievements of
the Union Home Ministry? With
The mines may still be in Odisha because of
¤politics but the explosives are sure being put to completing three years
as Union Home Minister, the ministry
good use. put out its annual list of achievements
Recently, Odisha

PIB
under his leadership
police recovered a Here they are:
huge cache of „ Significant decline in violence and infiltration in
explosives Jammu and Kashmir and North-Eastern states.
including gelatin „ No major communal conflagration during last three
sticks years.
manufactured by
3.BP.BLOGSPOT.COM

„ Significant capacity building of police across the

the private sector
from Khalguda
area bordering
neighbouring
Andhra Pradesh. The cops are wondering how the
explosives reach the Maoist hand. How is it that
explosives meant for industries are being
smuggled to the extremists in the state? It is
believed that unused explosives sourced by the
industries reach the hands of Naxals either
through pilferage or through intimidation.
country.
„ The National Investigation Agency would get
permission for another 400 posts.
Unresolved issues:
„ Cross-border terror camps in Pakistan.
„ Better ground-level intelligence gathering in
Naxal-affected areas.
„ On the top of the Home Ministry’s pending matters
was the NCTC (National Counter Terrorism Centre),
an idea floated by the Home Minister in 2009.

Delhi is Target: Israeli arms invade

Lashkar hub Commercial N-E rebel arsenal
hubs
¤the country’s ¤soonThe
According to Israelis had arrived long back to take a leading
position in the Indian arms bazar, but they may
IT IS NOT JUST THE
premier terror- ¤RAJDHANIS THAT ARE IN take pole position in the illicit bazar if
arms recovered from North-East rebels
ism, related TROUBLE, EVEN INDIA’S are anything to go by. Chinese small arms

investigator—the National
Investigation Agency (NIA),
Delhi is the hub of all
Lashkar operations in the
country. Its latest is a
well-oiled and complexly-
networked financial machine
that brings in obver `100
crore by hawala for distribu-
tion across the nation to
families of terrorists killed in
the country. In other words: a
sort of terrorist benevolence
fund underwritten by the
COMMERCIAL CAPITAL ARE
BEING EYED BY THE MAOISTS
WHO HAVE FORMED A ‘GOLDEN
CORRIDOR COMMITTEE’ TO
ENHANCE OPERATIONAL;
CAPABILITY AND CAPACITY IN
INDUSTRIAL AREAS OF
GUJARAT AND MAHARASHTRA.
THERE ARE ALSO PLANS TO
MOVE INTO NAGPUR, WARDHA,
BHANDARA AND YAVATMAL
DISTRICTS OF MAHARASHTRA.
THEY ARE ALREADY A
POTENT FORCE IN
WIKIMEDIA.ORG
now face stiff competition from superior
Israeli weapons with raids producing Uzi subma-
chine guns apart from the Chinese variant of the AK-47
and AK-56 assault rifles. In percentage terms, the Israeli
catch is small, but officials believe that these are slowly
trickling in from Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Mujahideens targeting tourist areas
¤ Tourists beware, the Muja-
haideens are looking! This was
the finding after the recent
busting of an Indian Mujahideen
PANORAMIO.COM

cell in Delhi. The idea is to make

Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) as well
as Hizbul Mujahideen (HM).
The NIA has registered two
police reports in this connec-
tion outlining how part of
the hawala goes for seper-
GADCHIROLI, GONDIA AND
CHANDRAPUR DISTRICTS OF
THE STATE. ALL THREE ARE
PREDOMINANTLY TRIBAL
DISTRICTS. THE HOME
MINISTRY REVEALED THIS
it a completely tourism unsafe
country. The German Bakery in
Pune and the blast outside Delhi’s
Jama Masjid were both arrows in
that direction. Pakistani Jaish-e-Mohammed militant Mohammed
Adil, alias Ajmal, told police during interrogation that among the

atists in Kashmir and the rest INFORMATION IN RESPONSE areas surveyed by him were high-value tourist zones like Dilli Haat
and the Paharganj area, which are frequented by budget tourists.
to the terrorists families.
TO A PARLIAMENT QUESTION.

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www.geopolitics.in January 2012
 g B R I E F S IS INTERNAL SECURITY

Dealing with CRPF goes to school;

mobs in J&K creates six new centres
¤ for ops skills
There have been zero deaths
because of law and order fra-
cases in J&K this year. And the
credit can largely go to the
innovative new material at the
disposal of the state police. By
¤largest
Refreshing your skills is the essence of
preparedness and the country’s
paramilitary force — CRPF (Cen-
using non-lethal equipment’s
tral Reserve Police Force) — has taken it
and versatile body protectors
the cops have produced a zero- to heart. The CRPF has created six new Rajdhanis get
security cover
death graph of civilians and institutions to improve both its
security personnel. The number intelligence-gathering and operational skills. These
of injuries during law and order
disturbances has also dramati-
cally gone down.
include: Indian Institute of IED Management in Pune
(Maharashtra), dogs breeding and training
in Red zones
The new equipments
include Blast Dispersal Car-
tridges (BDC), vehicle mounted
centre in Taralu (Karnataka), intelligence school in
Kadarpur (Haryana), RAF training school and train-
ing of trainer’s school in Meerut (Uttar Pradesh) and
¤inventions.
Innovation is the
mother of all
In the
tear-smoke devices and Stun-
lac grenades. Other items college of insurgency and jungle craft in Belgaum case of the Indian
include body protectors, poly- (Karnataka). Railways it is a
carbonate shields, polycarbon- goods train front of
ate lathis, helmets and visors, all super fast
bullet-proof bunkers, pump
action guns, water cannons, Maharashtra goes digital Rajdhani Express
that connects the
anti-riot rifles, rubber pellets
and plastic pellets. ¤ Maharashtra’s home
department is going country’s capital
digital! All the 1,039 with the major
police stations will be metros. The unique
NSG centre in part of the Crime and
Criminal Tracking Net-
antidote is out of fear
Hyderabad working Service
(CCTNS). In fact, Maha-
of Maoists disrupting
their operations or
derailing trains in

MAPSOF.NET
¤ Union Home
Minister
rashtra could be the first
state in the country to Bihar, Jharkhand
P Chidambaram
recently
implement the CCTNS.
What this will do is help
and West Bengal.
inaugurated a police stations track That apart, the
regional hub of information about any criminal registered in any part of the state. railways are also
the elite anti-terror National 60,000 policemen and women have been trained across the state running security
Security Guard (NSG) which to implement the CCTNS. The project is expected to commence in trains on a regular
now has a new hub at Hyder-
abad. The hub has come up at a
March 2012. The initiative has been launched under the e-gover-
nance project of MHA and National Crime Records Bureau. The
basis to survey
cost of `37.96 crore on 22 acres project will connect 14,000 police stations and 6,000 administra- tracks. Last year,
of land at Tirmulghery in tive offices in the country. East Central
Secunderabad and was inaugu- Railway
rated in December by Home
(that bears the brunt
Minister P Chidambaram.
Chidambaram said on the Terror money of the Maoists
insurgency) had 18
occasion that the NSG was
being provided modern for stocks attacks. The major
one included the
weapons and the world-class
training to thwart terrorist
attacks and hijacking of air-
¤ “Suspicious transactions linked to
terrorist financing were received from
intermediaries of stock market such as
derailment of 10
planes. He said that NSG com- brokers, asset management companies coaches of a
Rajdhani Express,
PANORAMIO.COM

mandoes would be sent to visit etc since 2009-10 and disseminated to

their counterparts in Russia and
France to update themselves on
training methods and equip-
ment. He said that the decision
to set up the regional NSG hub
was post-26/11 with the sole
aim to reduce response time
and reach the area of operation
as quickly as possible.
intelligence agencies by FIU.” The FIU in between Gaya and
this case is the Financial Intelligence Unit Mughalsarai in
and the information was given to Parlia-
meny by Minister of State for Finance
Bihar. Eight
Namo Narain Meena. The developments are worrying because stock Rajdhanis pass
markets are governed by tough regulatory mechanism that makes it through this zone
mandatory to know your customer. How the ultra escaped the each day.
microscope of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to
keep away dirty money from the exchanges is also under study.

www.geopolitics.in January 2012

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 g
GEOPOLITICS
INTERVIEW

“THE ITBP HAS THE MOST

CHALLENGING ASSIGNMENT…”
With massive restructuring and training centres in
the offing, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is
in the midst of a major transformation. ROHIT
SRIVASTAVA spoke to the recently-appointed
Director-General, RANJIT SINHA, under whose
watch the force is undergoing the makeover.
How challenging is this new assignment?
RS: Before this, I have had a stint as Additional Director General (ADG)
for two years with the ITBP. So, I am aware of the problems and chal-
lenges that the ITBP faces. In fact, among all central armed police forces
(CAPFs), the ITBP has the most challenging assignment as far as terrain
is concerned: more than 60 per cent of our border out post (BOP) are at
altitude above 12,000 feet and some of them remain cut off from supply
for as long as six months of the year. This is a tribute to the resilience and
strength of the ITBP personnel in spite of such odds at duty to the satis-
faction of all concerned. Recently, we have been tasked to perform Nax-
al operations in Chhattisgarh for which five battalions of ITBP have
been deployed.
During my earlier tenure, we were not involved in
anti-Naxal operations (ANO) and the ITBP was basi-
cally engaged in border-guarding duties,
according to the charter made for the force.
However, in view of the severity of the Naxal
problem, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)
has deployed ITBP for these operations
along with CRPF and BSF.
In addition, one of the most impor-
tant duties is to provide security to
the Indian mission at various loca-
tions in Afghanistan, which are
under severe security threats.
In fact, during the bomb
attack on the Indian embassy
in 2008, two of our person-
nel died along with others.
In the last few years, the
force has undergone many
changes. The number of
battalions has increased
ITBP

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www.geopolitics.in January 2012

substantially with a corresponding
increase in number of supervisory ranks.
In view of the varied work assigned to
us, the ITBP ensures that the cadre of the
force is properly trained. We have set up
special training institutes such as moun-
tain-driving school, high-altitude motor
training institute, counter-insurgency
and jungle-warfare school, etc. In addi-
tion, our officers and men undergo in-
service training regularly. We also send
our personnel to select Army institutes to
hone operational skills.
The Chinese border is one of the most
sensitive frontiers. How well-equipped is
your force to handle the current security
challenges?
RS: There is no such thing as tension at
the border. As it is a long-standing border
dispute with China, all efforts are being
made to settle the dispute amicably. As
far as our deployment in the North-East is
concerned, we have been engaged in bor-
der-guarding duties for long. They (the
ITBP) have been working in close coordi-
nation with Assam Rifles and the Army.
Proper coordination is being maintained
to perform the task assigned. We have the
latest arms and ammunition and we are
in the process of evaluating more vari-
eties. Under the modernisation pro-
gramme, we have procured the state-of-
the-art equipment, which will make our
men more effective and self-reliant and
integrate them with higher formations.
Some of the latest equipment that we
have procured are hand grenade simula-
tors, handheld monitoring receivers, digi-
tal satellite protocol telephony (DSPT).
These enhance our capability manifold.
As far as training is concerned, we have
devised our training programmes and
selected the training areas as per our
peculiar area of operation. Apart from reg-
ular tactical training, fieldcraft and other
related fields, we lay a lot of emphasis on
training of our personnel in the field of
mountaineering, rock climbing, ice craft,
skiing, mountain warfare, jungle warfare
and other specialist skills necessary to
operate at high altitudes, extremely cold
mountainous terrain and forests.
ITBP is going through major restructur-
ing at present. How well is the process
going? What challenges are you facing?
RS: The process is going well. The main
challenges are acquisition of land, timely
construction of infrastructure, recruit-
ment and training. The state governments
www.geopolitics.in
g
INTERVIEW
have been quite forthcoming in giving
land for the training institutes. In most
states where state government land is not
available; land is being acquired from
local people with the assistance of the
state government. The setting-up
of a training institute improves
the local economy.
Your force operates in one
of the harshest geo-
graphical regions of the
world. Health manage-
ment is a major chal-
lenge for your force.
What steps have been tak-
en in this regard?
RS: Each border battalion of ITBP has a
team of five doctors with a well-
equipped hospital. ITBP has established
a high-altitude medical training centre in
Leh. It will train our doctors and medics
for high-altitude related medical condi-
tions. All section-level posts have well-
trained medics.
We have a good network of compos-
ite hospitals in our area of operations.
The ITBP in Delhi provides excellent
medical care. Recently, a 200-bed refer-
ral hospital was inaugurated by the
Home Minister in Greater Noida. This
ITBP hospital will provide super spe-
ciality medical care to personnel of
CAPFs. We have equipped all our for-
ward posts with oxygen concentrators,
haematology analysers, HAPO (High
Altitude Pulmonary Oedema) bags,
and portable lightweight oxygen
cylinders so that basic emergency
medical care can be provided at for-
ward postS till the arrival of specialist
medical care.
The operational responsibility of ITBP
has changed in the last few years. How
do you see these challenges? Should
ITBP get into other areas of policing
risking its core competence?
RS: Ours is primarily a border-guarding
force and it will remain so. The govern-
ment has given us some specific respon-
sibilities keeping in view our competency
and specialisation. Most of these assign-
ments are highly prestigious and require
a high level of professional skill training
and discipline.
ITBP
Most ITBP jawans are exposed to high
ON THE LOOKOUT: Starting out as a
specialised border guarding force, the ITBP
is now also involved in anti-Naxal operations
January 2012
(57)
 g
INTERVIEW
GUARDING THE HIMALAYAS: The ITBP has extensive training and experience in guarding the mountainous borders of the country
altitudes, extremely low temperatures
and mountainous terrains. Staying for a
longer duration at these heights poses the
risk of physical and mental problems. To
neutralise the adverse effects of a pro-
longed stay at high altitudes, subzero
temperatures and mountainous terrain, it
becomes necessary to move our jawans
to the plains.
The other assignments being per-
formed by our jawans in the plains not
only provides a much-needed period of
rest and recuperation but also give our
jawans a variety of professional opera-
tional experiences.
The operations against Left-wing extrem-
ists require subordinate officers like Sub-
Inspectors and Inspectors to take on lead-
ership roles. How well- equipped are the
officers for these challenges?
RS: Before induction in the ANO opera-
tions, our men undergo pre-induction
training at institutes and to make them
fully aware of the local terrain, demogra-
phy and practical problems. In addition,
the intermediate officers and senior offi-
cers always accompany patrol parties and
lead them in operations.
Which are the new institutions coming
up for your force?
RS: We are coming up with three recruit
training centres at Karera in Madhya
Pradesh, Sivganga in Tamil Nadu and
Kimin in Arunachal Pradesh. We are also
www.geopolitics.in
establishing other specialised centres for
jungle warfare, mountain-driving school
and weapons-training school.
Anti-LWE and Counter-Insurgency (CI)
operations have forced CAPFs to change
their training manuals. What are the new
things that have been incorporated in
the ITBP training?
RS: A new standard operating procedure
(SOP) has been made for ITBP personnel
deployed in these areas. Case studies and
training modules have been modified,
which have become an integral part of
the training programmes.
Some experts believe that due to a single
-mountaineering school, ITBP has not
been able to keep up to its standards. Do
you agree? Do you see scope for
improvement?
RS: It is not that we run mountaineering
courses only at the mountaineering
school at Auli. The ITBP Academy (Mus-
sourie), Counter Insurgency and Jungle
Warfare (CIJW) School (Mahidanda) and
all the battalions situated in the border
areas run mountaineering courses. All
battalions have their own mountaineering
teams and each year they scale one peak
in their area of responsibility. We organise
unit-level, sector-level and frontier-level
mountaineering competitions. We have
established artificial climbing walls in our
training institutions situated in the plains.
Mountaineering and rock climbing are
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ITBP
part of the basic training of each rank. Till
now we have climbed more than 187
national and international peaks. Our
team is going to ski down Mt Everest dur-
ing our Golden Jubilee Year in 2012.
The Army is trying for the operational
control of ITBP. How do you see this?
RS: The matter is under consideration
with Government of India and no final
decision has been taken.
ITBP is the lead intelligence agency on
the Indo-China border. Your force is rais-
ing an intelligence branch. How much
has been achieved in this regard? How do
you see this new responsibility?
RS: Intelligence has always been a part of
our basic structure. Now we are restruc-
turing and strengthening it. We have
made good progress on this front and it is
yielding excellent results.
Tell us about the Sikkim-relief operation.
RS: We were the first ones to respond after
the earthquake, in spite of the fact that
there was damage to ITBP assets. ITBP
personnel braved the inclement weather
and commenced relief and rescue mis-
sion immediately after the earthquake.
About 500 people were brought to our
camps and provided with necessary med-
ical and other aid. Hundred blankets and
200 tents were distributed. Rescue and
relief work has been well appreciated by
the Prime Minister and Home Minister.
January 2012
„ D E F E N C E „ D I P L O M A C Y „ S E C U R I T Y

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 g
GEOPOLITICS
INTERNALSECURITY

THE BATTLE AHEAD

After the death of Maoist leader Kishenji, fears are that the group will retaliate strongly. But
these fears may prove unfounded as the Maoists are now suffering from a crisis of leadership,
writes UDDIPAN MUKHERJEE

STRATEGIC LOSS: The death of Maoist leader Kishenji has broken the back of the Left-wing extremist movement
PLATYPUS1917.ORG

(60)
www.geopolitics.in January 2012

S
QUEEZED BETWEEN Palamau
in the north and Gumla in the
south, Latehar district in the
eastern Indian state of Jhark-
hand is strategically located.
Carved out of the old Palamau district,
Latehar was created on April 4, 2001.
Nearly half of its area is under dense
forests. Furthermore, it abuts Chhattis-
garh to the west and is hence a fertile
region for the Maoist infiltrators. Late-
har’s hilly terrain makes it a perfect des-
tination for a Maoist stronghold.
It was no wonder that within 24 hours,
the Maoists claimed, with considerable
equanimity, the responsibility of
ambushing the convoy of independent
Member of Parliament (MP) Inder Singh
Namdhari at Latehar on December 3,
2011.
Though such attacks were highly
expected, still a validation came from
Sudhir, the Maoist spokesperson for the
local committee. He said: “We own the
responsibility for the attack on the police
party to avenge the killing of our leader
Kishan Da.”
Who was Kishenji?
By all means, he meant Kishenji instead
of Kishan-da. Mallojula Koteswara Rao,
alias Kishenji alias Prahlad alias many
more, was a top-rung policy-maker-
cum-military leader of the ultra-left
rebels. He was media-savvy. His popu-
larity could be gauged when one finds an
obituary-cum-analysis of this rebel
leader in Foreign Policy, the US political
magazine which hardly takes cognizance
of India’s internal matters.
At 56 years of age, he was a senior
Politburo member and part of Central
Military Commission of the Communist
Party of India-Maoist (CPI-M). He was
reportedly killed in a mammoth opera-
tion by Indian security forces in the Jan-
galmahal area in West Bengal on Novem-
ber 24, 2011. The operation, which
hemmed in Kishenji, was planned in
concentric circles. A group of 1000 joint
forces (paramilitary and state police
combined) encircled Kishenji and his
aide Suchitra in three circles. This made
it almost impossible for the elusive
leader to evade the clutches of the secu-
rity forces.
Kishenji was a major decision-maker
for the Maoists and was looking after the
expansion of the group in the North-
East. Presumably, he came from Assam a
couple of days before his death and was
www.geopolitics.in
g
INTERNALSECURITY
convening meetings on the West Bengal-
Jharkhand border.
Fake or Real Encounter
After his targeted killing, allegations of a
fake encounter were levelled from many
quarters, some expected and one quite
astonishing. Maoist ideologue and Tel-
ugu poet Varavara Rao, the family mem-
bers of Kishenji and the human rights
activists raised the banner of protest by
alleging a fake encounter. Quite stun-
ningly, Communist Party of India (CPI)
MP Gurudas Dasgupta was obdurate
enough to call up Union Home Minister
in this regard.
A similar hue and cry had taken place
in July 2010 at the time of CPI-M
spokesperson Azad’s targeted killing.
Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)
Director-General K Vijay Kumar was visi-
bly angry with such malice being heaped
on the paramilitary forces. Interestingly,
the autopsy report confirmed Vijay
Kumar’s assertion. According to it, bul-
lets hit Kishenji in the chin, chest and
head. One bullet was fired from a dis-
tance of around 500 metres. A team of
forensic experts also found some gun-
powder in his hand.
However, from the policy perspective
of targeted killings as a veritable compo-
nent of counter-insurgency operations,
whether the Kishenji encounter was
staged or real, is probably insignificant.
Nevertheless, the following reasons may
be elucidated to have brought about his
undoing.
First, he was recovering from an
injury suffered last year from an attack
by the security forces at Jangalmahal.
Hence, his physical fitness was under the
scanner.
Second, the penetrative intelligence
network of the police (across states) was
tracing him and the moment he came
out of his hideout, he became vulnera-
ble. In fact, after the close shave last
year, he had cocooned himself.
Third, he was technology-savvy and
that could have helped the police track
his position. He used to scan newspa-
HEMANT RAWAT
pers on the internet.
Fourth, the proximity of the Commu-
nist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-M) with
the Trinamool Congress (TC) before the
assembly polls in West Bengal could
MOMENTOUS FEAT: The encounter of
Kishenji, who had eluded security forces
for years, was a major accomplishment
for the CRPF
January 2012
(61)
 g
INTERNALSECURITY

have worked to the disadvantage of the

former. The cadres of TC can now very
well act as moles against the Maoists. In
fact, there are reports that Kishenji
might have been betrayed by his own
rank and file.
One tale that is doing the rounds is
that Bikash, a close confidant of Kishen-
ji, had ultimately betrayed him. The `19-
lakh (US $40,000) reward announced on
the head of the top Maoist is likely to be
given to the person who provided the
vital tip-off about his whereabouts in the
last few hours leading to his elimination.
Sify.com quoted official sources that
the Andhra Pradesh government had
announced a `12-lakh reward to anyone
who would give any information about
Kishenji. The Chhattisgarh government
too, had announced a `7-lakh reward
with a similar statement.
Bikash had supposedly developed dif-
ferences with Kishenji. The former was
expected to be the Communist Party of
India-Maoist (CPI-M) West Bengal State
Secretary after the incarceration of Kan-
chan alias Sudip Chongdar in December
2010. But, Bikash was replaced by anoth-
er leader Asim Mondal alias Akash. Inci-
dentally, it has been alleged by the
Maoist rank and file that almost all
major decisions in the eastern zone were
unilaterally taken by Kishenji.
Even Kanchan, after his capture by
the Special Task Force in 2010, hinted
the same and a possible disintegration
of the Maoist command structure in
West Bengal. The dramatic surrender of
squad leader Jagari Baske and her hus-
ITBP

band Rajaram Soren at the Writers’

Buildings in Kolkata is a further testimo- EFFECTIVE TACTICS: Kishenji's elimination signified that, at last, the counter-
ny to this fact. insurgency/counter-terrorism policy seems to work vis-a-vis the Maoists

What Next?
Kishenji’s demise would be a big jolt to
the rebels. It would be hard to find a
replacement soon as he had become
almost indispensable in the eastern
region. However, there is no reason to
expect a sudden spate of sporadic
reprisals from the Maoists. Neither can
the annihilation of Kishenji be seen as
the demise of the insurrection. Their
General-Secretary, Ganapathy, is still at
large. However, what could be expected
in the near future?
First, the Maoists would re-group and
Ganapathy must be extremely cautious
now. They lost Azad in 2010 and now
Kishenji. Senior leaders Narayan Sanyal
and Kobad Ghandy are languishing in
jail. Telugu Deepak and Kanchan are also points out in the daily Hindustan Times:
incarcerated. Hence, Ganapthy now has “The blow will be more for their eastern
to work with second-rung leaders. regional bureau of which Kishenji was
As Snigdhendu Bhattacharya aptly the spokesperson and the top-most
leader. His boss in the eastern bureau
Saheb-da, alias Jhantu Mukherjee, was
TRIBAL MILITIAS arrested a few months back.”
ARE EXTREMELY Second, by the very principle of guer-
rilla warfare tactics, the rebels would
SIGNIFICANT FOR retaliate; albeit in a different venue, dif-
ferent time and different occasion. That
ACQUIRING is exactly what happened at Latehar on
KNOWLEDGE OF December 3, 2011, when the landmine
planted by the ultras exploded. Ten secu-
THE LOCAL rity personnel and an eight-year-old boy
succumbed to the injuries. Namdhari, a
TERRAIN former Speaker of the Jharkhand Assem-
bly, escaped unhurt.

(62)
www.geopolitics.in January 2012

ITBP
Tactical Change by Maoists?
What does this attack signify? Does this
indicate any change in operational tac-
tics or an overall change of the strategic
game plan on the part of the Maoists?
Are the Maoists too following the policy
of targeted killings as adopted by the
Indian counter-insurgency forces?
Keeping in mind the previous attacks
of the Maoists, it is not unlikely that the
December 3 ambush was an attempted
targeted killing. The Naxalites had
attacked the convoy of the then Chief
Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Chan-
drababu Naidu. Nevertheless, the note-
worthy point is the landmine attack exe-
cuted in October 2003 which was in the
pre-merger era. From 2004 onwards,
after the Communist Party of India-
Maoist (CPI-M) formed after unification
www.geopolitics.in
g
INTERNALSECURITY
Bhattacharjee in November 2008.
Since 2004, the Maoists have basically
been following guerrilla operations tar-
geting the administration as a whole.
Their primary motive is to acquire arms
and ammunition and demoralise the
security forces. Personal vendetta,
apparently, is not in their agenda.
Such a hypothesis was corroborated
by Sudhir. He said that the attack on
Namdhari was simply unintentional as
they had no information about him in
that police convoy. Their primary targets
were the security personnel. So, going
by the apparent veracity of the Maoists’
statement, it may be safely surmised
that the present mode of punitive action
that they have embarked upon is ‘deter-
rence’. They are targeting the security
and infrastructural architecture of the
Indian State. A mass attack on a police
or paramilitary convoy would likely,
according to the Maoists, deter the
security personnel to plan a targeted
killing or assassination of any Maoist
leader.
Interestingly, the Maoists’ method of
deterrence sometimes works. After the
hijack of a passenger train on April 22,
2009, as noted by Deepak Nayak of the
New Delhi-based Institute for Conflict
Management, the Railway Protection
Force (RPF) contingent, which arrived at
the Latehar Railway Station to sanitise
the railway route, was unwilling to move
to the location of the hijacked passenger
train. An unidentified RPF trooper, as
per Nayak, had stated: “There is no use
entering the train-hijack zone…it is risky
given that the Maoists target people like
us who are in uniform.” The report fur-
of the erstwhile People’s War Group ther informed that police officers,
(PWG) and Maoist Communist Centre including the Superintendent of Police,
(MCC), such incidents have become preferred to work from their residences,
rare. A notable exception, however, was fearing Maoist attacks.
the assassination bid on former Chief The above was no isolated phenome-
Minister of West Bengal, Buddhadeb na. In a gripping report authored by jour-
nalist VK Shashikumar for a leading secu-
rity journal; the following plight of police
THERE ARE personnel emerges: “What will I do if I
leave the police force? How will I earn?
REPORTS THAT My family wants me to quit police serv-
KISHENJI MIGHT ice. But when I am jobless and unable to
provide for my family, will they treat me
HAVE BEEN well?” asked Rajendra Prasad, sub-
inspector of Kajra Police Station. This
BETRAYED BY HIS police post is hardly 15 kilometres from
OWN RANK AND the spot where four policemen were kid-
napped after a skirmish with the Maoists
FILE on August 29, 2010, in which seven
policemen were killed and 10 injured.
January 2012
(63)
 g
INTERNALSECURITY
CALCULATED APPROACH: India has kept the option of talking to the Maoists open but is moving to a position of strength first
The Battle Ahead
Kishenji’s elimination signified that, at
last, the CI/CT (counter-insurgency/
counter-terrorism) policy of the Indian
security forces seems to work fine vis-a-
vis the Maoists. The recent success of the
forces in the Saranda forests in Jhark-
hand coupled with the annihilation of
Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad and now
Kishenji speaks of the Indian CI/CT pol-
icy as toeing the line of Winning Hearts
and Minds (WHAM)-based counter-
insurgency policy plus Targeted Killings
and Incarcerations or TK/TI approach.
The latter suitably bolsters the WHAM-
based CI/CT.
At the other end, the Indian State has
kept the options of ‘talking to the
Maoists’ an open agenda and is quite
rightly moving to a position of strength
before they ‘talk’ to the rebels.
It may be recommended that a care-
fully orchestrated dual-strategy of TK-TI
compounded with population-centric,
WHAM-based CI operations, needs to be
implemented. The direct deployment of
the Army may be kept on hold. However,
future prospects of the Army being put
into effect should not be ruled out
www.geopolitics.in
altogether. Tribal militias need to be
upheld. But, they must be provided legit-
imacy through the process of official
recruitment. Tribal militias are extremely
significant for acquiring knowledge of
the local terrain and for useful ground
intelligence. Moreover, consistent
attempts must be made to dissect the
political unity of the ultras.
The path of ‘talks’ needs to be kept
open as a viable option, but only when
the government would be sure that the
Maoist guerillas are in an awkward posi-
tion to continue their present phase of
‘strategic defence’. Mere proclamations
of ‘ceasefires’ by the Maoists should not
be taken as pre-conditions for opening
talks as these temporary cessation of
hostilities are used by the rebels to
regroup, rearm, revitalise and recruit.
Talks can only be initiated if the govern-
ment is in a ‘position of strength’. And
this could be achieved through sus-
tained implementation of a strategic
framework, which houses TK-TI-plus
WHAM-based CI operations.
Talks? Not Always
While researching on insurgency,
(64)
CRPF
Martha Crenshaw observes that rebel-
lions may systematically decline
because of three features: physical
defeat, decision of the group to abandon
terrorist strategy and organisational dis-
integration.
In the Indian context, it may be
hypothesised that some or all the above
features may be achieved through talks.
However, if talks do not provide the way
out, then TK/TI along with WHAM-
based CI operations must be employed.
After all, the demise of the Maoist insur-
gency should be an acceptable endgame
for the Adivasis, the government, the
police and the paramilitary; apart from
the core Maoist leadership.
If talks work, then fine. Otherwise, to
quote notable military strategist Luttwak,
there would probably be no harm if “war
is given a chance”. It is true that develop-
ment and governance are the keys to
long-term tranquility, but the ‘small war’
must be won as a prerequisite.
(Dr Uddipan Mukherjee is an Asstt. Prof.
at BPPIMT, Kolkata, India and a Strate-
gic Analyst at ITS,Landshut, Germany &
Gais, Italy)
January 2012
 geopolitics
DIPLOMACY

STILWELL IMPACT
It is like a rattlesnake’s zig-zzag trespass but the Stilwell Road is
actually a life-ssaver and can have a huge role to play in India’s
Look-EEast policy
US AIR FORCE

WILL THE
YO-YO PHASE
AMIR H. MAHMOODI PANORAMIO.COM

OF INDIA-IRAN
RELATIONS INDIA-RUSSIA
REACH A SUMMIT: AGE
MORE STABLE OLD TIES
PLANE? REAFFIRMED
PIB
 g
GEOPOLITICS
DIPLOMACY

ALL WELL AT STILWELL?

PERSPECTIVES FROM THE NORTHEAST
Originally termed the Ledo Road,
the 1,736-kilometre Stilwell Road
was built during World War II
from Ledo in Assam to Kunming
so that the Western Allies could
supply Chiang Kai-Shek’s
Kuomintang forces to fight the
Japanese during the World War
II. It was renamed after General
Vinegar Joe Stilwell of the US
Army in 1945. The reopening of
the Stilwell road could reduce by
30 per cent the cost of
transporting goods between
India and China, providing a
boost to Sino-Indian overland
trade in a few years. It could also
boost trade with the ASEAN
countries, an important goal of
India’s Look-East policy. But
there are other issues involved
WWIILECTUREINSTITUTE.COM

that require caution. We present

two different views

REVISITING KUNMING: After seven decades the

need to reconnect with eastern Asia has increased

(66)
www.geopolitics.in January 2012

DIPLOMACY
Stilwell will usher in development of
the North-East
W T
ith the first high-level Myanmarese visit to India in
many decades, witnessed in President Thein Sein’s
trip to the country this year, Indo-Myanmarese rela-
tions seem to be going from strength-to-strength. In this
context, and in the perspective of development, the reopen-
ing of the Stilwell route as a trade road is important for the
overall trade benefit and commercial development of the
North-Eastern region (NER) of India.
Economic Implications
The Stilwell Road connects Ledo in Assam through
Arunachal Pradesh with Yunnan Province in China, through
Myitkyina in Myanmar. The 632-kilometre stretch in China
and 60-kilometre in Assam have been constructed; however,
a major section of the road lies in Myanmar, stretching 1,033
kilometres, and until this year, Myanmar was reluctant to
develop its side of the road. This year, it awarded the contract
for the construction of the 312-kilometre portion linking
Myitkyina in Kachin State to Pangsau Pass on the Arunachal
Pradesh border, to the Yunnan Construction Engineering
Group of China. Both India’s North-East and China’s Yunnan
province are landlocked, and while China has had successes
in implementing sub-regional growth in Yunnan, economic
development in the North-East leaves a lot to be desired.
This road carries viable economic importance for Indo-
Myanmarese and Sino-Indian trade.
Most significantly, this road will reduce transportation
costs between India and China by around 30 per cent or
more, compared to the current trade value. Beijing recently
hosted the first-ever India-China special talks on strategic
economic cooperation, which is a step forward for bilateral
cooperation. In terms of India’s trade with Myanmar,
although bilateral trade has increased, there are still gaps
that need to be addressed.
One tends to ignore the border trade potential between
India and Myanmar. To correct this, Stilwell Road could
RENEWING BONDS: The Stillwell Road could prove to be a major conduit for India’s Look-East Policy
CHAPATIEXPRESS.FILES.WORDPRESS.COM
www.geopolitics.in
(67)
g
Needed: More focus on links
with Myanmar
he economic gains that can be accrued from the reopening
of the Stilwell ‘Road’ cannot be denied. However, atmos-
pheres of goodwill have a sense of immediacy and are time-
bound, and much more needs to be done to exploit the present
momentum in Indo-Myanmarese relations. For this, the atten-
tion on Stilwell Road could quite possibly overshadow the con-
sideration that ought to be given to the maintenance and regula-
tion of projects and cross-border routes already in existence.
There are, therefore, some crucial points that merit attention.
Stilwell or Moreh?
The Stilwell Road was used as a supply line for military troops
during World War II, after which it became redundant. It has
never been used for trade purposes and to ask for its ‘reopening’,
in that context, is a fallacy. The currently operating border point
is at Moreh in Manipur, which connects with Tamu in Myanmar.
It has been recorded that a significant amount of illegal trade
occurs across the border. Although the list of tradable items
across the North-Eastern border was recently expanded from 22
to 40 items, border trade is still wanting in various aspects, such
as infrastructure and security mechanisms. Working on the
assumption that this pattern is likely to be replicated in the case
of Stilwell, it can be said that its operationalisation is not a short-
term goal. Therefore, while discussion in policy circles about the
enormous gains to be had from the reopening of this route in the
absence of any official undertaking is all very well, steps must
also be taken to ensure that they do not cloud the work that
needs to be done in strengthening the point at Moreh, and oper-
ationalising agreements made on other border points, such as
Zowkathar (Mizoram)-Rhi (Myanmar).
Political Dimensions
The primary importance for this renewal of interest is due to the
passage it provides to Yunnan in China. This could potentially
assign secondary importance to Myanmar, which would serve as
the transit country. Although there are no reports on whether
January 2012
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DIPLOMACY
TEAM-BHP.COM
ACROSS THE HUMP: The road would lead to the opening-up
of North-East to the vast markets in Burma and Thailand
emerge as a preferred trade route between the two countries.
Except for farm and forest products, most commodities
imported through Myanmar by informal channels are largely
products manufactured in China, ASEAN countries or the
Koreas and Japan. In contrast, the informal exports to Myan-
mar are varied and ranged from basic necessities such as
medicines and kerosene to household consumption items all
of which are manufactured in India. Apart from producing
agricultural surpluses, Myanmar’s coastal areas are also richly
endowed with natural gas where Indian companies like the Oil
and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) are already engaged in
exploration and production. Therefore, there is huge potential
for the development of bilateral economic cooperation via
this route with Myanmar.
Development of the North-East
Apart from boosting Sino-Indian and Indo-Myanmarese
trade, the road is also considered important for the develop-
ment of India’s North-East. The starting point of the road,
Ledo, is in Assam, which is believed to be the gateway to the
North-East India and is well connected by railways to all oth-
er Indian states. Reopening the road will not only help to
develop the export potential of the North-Eastern products
but also better land connectivity to the North East for the
transport of export products from the rest of India, since it is
directly connected to National Highway-31, which the exist-
ing trade routes do not have direct access to.
Security Considerations
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www.geopolitics.in
Myanmar will be a transit route or a trade point extending to
Kunming via Stilwell, the linkage that it will help establish with
China is given much more prominence. It is important to note
that both trade with and through Myanmar is vital for India’s
North-Eastern states and for this purpose routes in operation
would serve just as well.
Myanmar plays a decisive role in India’s ‘Look-East’ Policy
because it is India’s access point to East and Southeast Asian
markets. Myanmar this year indicated its willingness to imple-
ment market reform and make investments more attractive to
interested external parties. At a meeting between India’s Minister
for Commerce, Anand Sharma, and U Khin Maung Lay, Chairman
of Myanmar Trade Council, an agreement was reached to aim at
doubling the trade between the two countries by 2015 from $1.5
billion to $3 billion, and increase the list of tradable items. The
additional strategic benefit that this opportunity offers to India is
as a counterpoint to China’s headway into Southeast Asia; Chi-
nese investments suffered a setback after the Myanmarese sus-
pension of a Chinese hydro-electric project in the country.
Diplomatic relations are unpredictable at the best of times;
they should, therefore, be grabbed when presented. The appro-
priate channel for cementing Indo-Myanmarese trade linkages
at such a propitious time would be routes that are already in
existence, and not those that are hoped to come online at some
point in the future.
In addition, the China factor also indicates the assumed or
endowed stewardship of Assam in matters of the Northeast. In
terms of ministerial influence, Assam is observed to have the
most clout at the Centre among the other North-Eastern states.
The recognition granted to Stilwell thus speaks also of internal
politicking. Stilwell connects Ledo in Assam to Yunnan in China
and just as Myanmar could act as a transit country for exchanges
between the two Asian powerhouses, Arunachal Pradesh, through
which Stilwell passes, could merely play the role of a trade con-
duit between Assam, Myanmar and China. Does this augur well
that development meant for the entirety of the North-East may be
monopolised by Assam and leave the other states behind?
LEP and Vision 2020
One of the reasons for the primacy placed on the Look-East Poli-
cy (LEP) is the mileage it provides to the Vision 2020 document,
which is intended for the development of the North-East region.
This is to be brought about by establishing and consolidating
linkages with the countries that lie in its immediate neighbour-
hood and serve as gateways to Southeast Asia. For this outcome,
it is essential that Moreh-Tamu play a critical role, since border
trade at this point is already in place. Procedures for border trade
have been deemed complicated. In fact, Indians conducting
cross-border businesses prefer to use sea routes from Kolkata,
Mumbai and Singapore rather than across land borders in the
Northeast to avoid tax irregularities. This, despite the signing of
the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement between India and
Myanmar, which is supposed to make certain that taxation
occurs in the country where the company holds permanent resi-
dence. Rules therefore need simplification, and trade needs regu-
larisation, to stem illegal exchanges and strengthen formal trade.
Apart from the border points, the various Indo-Myanmarese
ventures that have been languishing on the back-burner need
impetus, more so than the construction and rehabilitation of a
route, which might be a pipedream, at least in the foreseeable
future. With the exception of land connectivity with China, these
January 2012
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DIPLOMACY
INDIA
ARUNACHAL
LEDO PRADESH
CHINA
MYANMAR
AMBER KUMAR
EPIC PROJECT: Although daunting, the Himalayas have not proved to be an insurmountable obstacle in the face of strategic concerns
Recently, the former Director-General of the Border Security
Force (BSF) Prakash Singh stated that the western border of
India had been given far more attention than the northern
border areas, which showed the lack of a uniform policy of
the Government of India (GoI) towards the country’s bor-
ders. Negligent border management has resulted in illegal
trade and consistent security threats in the region. Therefore,
while considering the importance of Stilwell, adequate
attention must also be given to security threats which hinder
investments in the region. For this, joint cross-border securi-
ty mechanisms are essential, and the operationalisation of
Stilwell Road can be a first step in the direction of making
Indo-Myanmarese linkages secure.
The rugged topography of the region and lack of connec-
tivity have always been major hindrances in the economic as
well as infrastructural development of the Northeast of
India. The reopening of the road will diminish the remote-
ness of sections of the border area, reducing the threat posed
by insurgent elements.
Jayasree Nath
Formerly with Institute of Peace
and Conflict Studies (IPCS)
www.geopolitics.in
(69)
KUNMING
projects would help accomplish the very same developmental
goals that are trumpeted as the prizes to be won from the open-
ing of Stilwell Road. The Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport
Project, for instance, comprises road and water corridors, and
amongst others, is anticipated to act as a direct agent of trade
between the Myanmarese port of Sittwe and ports on the east-
ern seaboard of India. Its inadequate implementation, however,
demonstrates a gap that needs urgent attention; progress thus
far has been inadequate. It could play a catalytic role in trans-
forming the North East, thereby aiding the fulfilment of the
Vision 2020.
It must be noted that in this anointing of Stilwell Road
because of the provision it makes for trade with China, Myan-
mar could be very easily ignored. Trade between India and
Myanmar is still small compared to Myanmar’s other major
trade partners — China and Thailand — and demands dynam-
ic investments and development. Stilwell Road can most cer-
tainly be prioritised as is the current trend, as long as the routes
in existence and the additional assistance they require is not
neglected at the expense of it.
Ruhee Neog
Research Officer, Institute of Peace
and Conflict Studies (IPCS)
January 2012
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GEOPOLITICS
DIPLOMACY

BEYOND HISTORICAL I N WHAT is widely regarded as one of

the most engaging historical

LINKAGES
accounts of India, authors Alain
Daniélou and Kenneth Hurry, in
their book A Brief History of India,
trace the origin of India-Iran relations
since the time “when the Iranian and
Indo-Aryan tribes had separated, about
2500 B.C.E”. It was this constant interac-
tion that established a profound relation-
ship between the two culturally-rich and
historically-diverse civilisations: India
and Iran. For centuries, religion, history
Despite civilisational ties between the two, the recent relations and culture have been the most distinc-
between India and Iran have been marked by more downs tive elements of this strong and vibrant
link and have played a pivotal role in
than ups, writes YAMINI CHOWDHURY maintaining the strength of bilateral ties
RENEWING BONDS: A profound relationship between India and Iran — two culturally till this day. Besides, the strategic dimen-
rich and historically diverse civilisations exists sion of the relationship is another aspect
that merits attention. Iran’s size,
favourable geographical location — pro-
viding unbridled access to Central Asia —
and significant energy resources have
enabled this large Persian Gulf nation to
acquire a more commanding presence in
India’s strategic calculus.
Talking of recent times, the visit of for-
mer Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao
to Tehran in 1993 heralded a new chap-
ter in bilateral relations. Iran under-
scored the importance of the relation-
ship when, just a year later, it prevented
a Pakistan-sponsored resolution of the
Organisation of the Islamic Conference
(OIC), condemning human rights viola-
tions in Kashmir, from being tabled at
the UN Human Rights Council. Com-
mon concerns, like the rise of the Tal-
iban, and common causes, like extend-
ing support to the Northern Alliance in
Afghanistan in collaboration with Rus-
sia, added greater substance and
strength to this rapport.
All this culminated in the “New Delhi
Declaration”, the most significant out-
come of the January 2003 visit of Iranian
President Mohammad Khatami. It
enabled the regional powers to augment
their strategic partnership. It was a part-
nership that held out tremendous prom-
ise, as Iran had emerged as India’s key ally
in the Muslim world.
PIB

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www.geopolitics.in January 2012

Towards Intransigent Postures
If 2003 was the high point in India-Iran
relations, then 2006 can be described as
the nadir. Three years and two votes later,
the relationship had undergone a dra-
matic reversal. India’s vote against Iran at
the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) in 2005 was welcomed by unremit-
ting displeasure. A year later, India joined
the United States and 26 other nations in
a scathing attack on Iran’s nuclear pro-
gramme, and voted in favour of referring
the state to the UN Security Council for
violating international obligations. One
of the factors that explained India’s voting
was the pressure from the United States.
As enmeshed in the Hyde Act, the US
demanded a clear linkage between the
voting against Iran and the conclusion of
the India-US civilian nuclear deal.
Commenting on the India-Iran stand-
off, Dr. Harsh V Pant, Reader in Interna-
tional Relations at the Department of
Defence Studies in King’s College, Lon-
don, maintains, “I am sure Iran must have
liked India to support its case. But India
has its own interests to preserve. How
could India have supported Iran’s defi-
ance of the global nuclear order at a time
when India was trying to become a part of
that order via the US-India civilian
nuclear cooperation agreement? Iran
itself has not supported India on crucial
issues that matter to New Delhi, so I don’t
think there is any question of reciprocity.”
After India’s vote, Iran blocked the con-
tracted shipments of liquid natural gas
(LNG). The energy relationship with this
crucial partner sunk to an even lower
plane, only to be replaced with a strong
partnership with Saudi Arabia.
Targeting ‘Nuclear’ Iran
In November 2011, the perennial prob-
lem concerning Iran’s nuclear edifice trig-
gered off acrimonious reactions yet
again. The latest IAEA report on the coun-
try’s nuclear programme has brought this
contentious issue into sharp focus, as it
contradicts Iran’s contention of running
an entirely peaceful enterprise. The reac-
tion from the West followed predictable
lines — imposing sanctions and ordering
the closure of embassies, without the
slightest hesitation.
Though India articulated its concerns
about this grim development, it adopted
a more mature and responsible approach
guided by its own interests. “India defi-
nitely does not want another nuclear
weapons state destabilising a precarious
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DIPLOMACY
environment, stresses Ambassador
Arundhati Ghose, Former Chairperson,
UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Board
on Disarmament. “Further,” she adds,
“any action taken by the US and its allies
would have a calamitous impact on
India’s commercial interests.”
IRAN HAS GREAT
STRATEGIC
SIGNIFICANCE
FOR INDIA, AS IT
IS AN IMPORTANT
SOURCE OF
ENERGY
It is a view shared by Rejaul Laskar, an
expert on International Relations, who
articulates, “India’s position on Iran’s
nuclear programme has been consistent,
principled and balanced, and makes an
endeavour to reconcile Iran’s quest for
energy security with the international
community’s concerns on proliferation.
So while India acknowledges and sup-
ports Iran’s ambitions to achieve energy
security and, in particular, its quest for
peaceful use of nuclear energy, it is also
India’s principled position that Iran
must meet all its obligations under the
international law, particularly its obliga-
tions under the Nuclear Non-Prolifera-
tion Treaty (NPT) and other such
treaties, to which it is a signatory.” It may
be noted that like China and Russia,
India too, has opposed sanctions on Iran
by individual countries, as it precludes
foreign investments in its energy sector,
ultimately affecting the people of that
country. “The international community
must engage with Iran through dialogue.
Military action in this unstable region
would have a catastrophic impact on
world oil prices,” suggests Ambassador
Ghose.
Crucial Issues
There are several critical issues in the
region that require India and Iran to elu-
cidate a comprehensible blueprint for the
future. The most contentious of these
issues is the restoration of peace and sta-
bility in Afghanistan, which, as articulat-
ed in the New Delhi Declaration,
“requires the two states to broaden their
strategic collaboration in third countries”.
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Moreover, as the deadline for the with-
drawal of US troops from the region
draws closer, it becomes imperative to
deploy a comprehensive strategy.
Both India and Iran are important
stakeholders, who have an enormous
strategic imperative to institute a demili-
tarised environment of peace in
Afghanistan, asserts Satish Chandra, for-
mer Deputy National Security Advisor.
“Despite a trust deficit between Iran and
India arising primarily on account of our
having voted against it at the IAEA and its
perception that we are cosying up to the
USA, we share a common interest in
Afghanistan as both of us would not like to
see a Taliban regime in that country. Coop-
eration possibilities on this score exist and
we should work on them,” he insists.
But, as Dr Pant points out, the possibil-
ity of the Taliban coming back to power
with Pakistani help may not be persua-
sive enough for the two important players
to join hands. “India and Iran will have to
coordinate their responses, particularly
since there are fundamental differences.
While Iran wants to see the US out of
Afghanistan lock, stock and barrel, India
feels the US presence in the region is
good for its interests,” he maintains.
Despite the inherent differences, there
are many ways in which India and Iran
could co-operate politically in stabilising
Afghanistan, as highlighted by S Samuel C
Rajiv, an Associate Fellow at the Institute
for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA),
New Delhi. “India and Iran could also
cooperate in crucial economic projects
by adding value to Afghanistan’s econo-
my as well as catering to India’s own
requirements of minerals like iron ore,
which are reportedly found in abundance
in areas like Hajigak, north of Kabul. The
possibility of connecting Hajigak to
Chahbahar port through a 900-km rail-
way line, from where the minerals can be
shipped to Surat or Mumbai, must be
explored. This may seem daunting con-
sidering the worrisome security situation,
but India has been able to deliver on cru-
cial infrastructure projects like the 215-
km Delaram-Zaranj highway in the past,”
concludes Rajiv.
The development of the Chahbahar port
and the construction of the railway line
have the potential to be a game-changer,
believes Dr M Mahtab Alam Rizvi, Associ-
ate Fellow at IDSA. “The port is in the
mutual interest of India, Iran, Afghanistan,
as well as Central Asia. It would provide an
entry point into Afghanistan and Central
January 2012

LIQUID GOLD: With 10 per cent of the world’s proven oil reserves, it is not surprising that energy security has always dominated the
discourse on India-Iran relations
Asia”, he emphasises. Considering the
import that these infrastructure projects
have on the economic and security archi-
tecture of the region, India must leverage
Iran’s support and pursue the same with
greater vim and vigour.
Energy Security
With India’s energy consumption expect-
ed to gallop to 27.1 quadrillion BTUs by
2025 and Iran recognised as OPEC’s sec-
ond-largest oil producer with 10 per cent
of the world’s proven oil reserves, it is not
surprising that energy security has always
dominated the discourse on India-Iran
relations. India’s oil imports from Iran are
approximately 400,000 barrels per day,
almost 12 per cent of the country’s total
import, making Iran the second-largest
oil supplier to India after Saudi Arabia.
At the core of India’s energy equation
with Iran lie two important but arduous
projects — the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI)
gas pipeline project and the LNG deal.
Commenting on the challenges facing
both these projects, Professor PR
Kumaraswamy, Chairperson, Centre for
West Asian Studies (CWAS), School of
International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru
University, says, “The 1,700-mile, $7-bil-
lion IPI gas pipeline project has failed to
take off primarily due to security con-
cerns in Pakistan. The other project,
which involves the export of LNG from
Iran, has not materialised even though it
was signed in 2005, even before the elec-
tion of President Ahmadinejad, due to a
multiplicity of reasons. It requires India
to construct an LNG plant using Western
technology, which would be in violation
of the Iran Sanctions Act. Matters
are exacerbated by the lack of consensus
between Indian and Iranian oil
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DIPLOMACY
companies with regard to the legal inter-
pretation of the contact”. The conclusion
of the Iran-Pakistan pipeline deal in 2009
and the rise of China as Iran’s largest trad-
ing partner have underscored the
urgency for India to intensify its energy
engagement with Iran.
ENGAGING WITH
A RISING GLOBAL
POWER LIKE
INDIA WILL LEND
IT A MODICUM OF
LEGITIMACY TO
INDIA
Defence
India’s defence ties with Iran, restricted
by the burgeoning Indo-Israel defence
partnership, have comprised naval exer-
cises conducted in 2003 and 2006, and
Iran’s participation in the Indian Ocean
Naval Symposium, an annual initiative
organised by the Indian Navy to enhance
maritime cooperation among the naval
forces of the Indian Ocean littoral states.
Though the presence of an armed Iranian
ship, MV Assa, in India’s Exclusive Eco-
nomic Zone (EEZ) near Lakshadweep
over a month ago did cause a flutter in
South Block, the defence relationship has
been largely intermittent. According to
Samuel Rajiv, “I do not see any prospect
or requirement for any defence engage-
ment beyond training programmes con-
ducted by Indian defence establishments
for foreign officers, in which Iranian
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PLINE\WIKIMEDIA
officers are, on occasions, present along
with many other nationalities, especially
from the neighbourhood.”
The Way Forward
Analysing the future of Indo-Iran ties,
Ambassador Chandra maintains, “Iran is
and shall remain an important regional
player. Apart from the shared cultural and
historical linkages, Iran has enormous
strategic significance for India, as it is an
important source of energy and a gate-
way to Central Asia. It is imperative that
we engage actively with Iran, irrespective
of a Western-driven sanctions regime
against it.” From Iran’s standpoint, engag-
ing with a rising global power like India
will lend it a modicum of legitimacy.
Ambassador Ghosh believes: “India’s
engagement with Iran in the future will
continue to be determined by our core
interests in the region, namely oil and
natural gas, stability in the Gulf and the
acceptance of Iran as a regional power.
Strong, steady bilateral relations, despite
political upheavals in Iran, will play a
pivotal role in the geo-politics of the
region.”
In addition to developing a robust rela-
tionship with one of the biggest suppliers
of energy to India, Dr Rizvi believes:
“High-level visits and track-II level dia-
logues would add substance to bilateral
ties.” However, Iran’s international isola-
tion could be a major stumbling block,
thinks Dr Pant. “India has a huge stake in
maintaining stability in West Asia but
unless Iran brings itself back into the
global mainstream, the Indo-Iran part-
nership will be remain largely circum-
scribed,” he analyses.
(The author is a journalist)
January 2012

I
T IS WRONG to view the proposed
India-Australia-US cooperation
agreement as a military pact being
planned to contain the rising influ-
ence of China.
The proposal seeks to enhance the lev-
els of security cooperation, along with
working on other issues of mutual inter-
est and concern, among the three coun-
tries. One such issue of common interest
is maritime security whose dynamics are
rapidly changing. Such an alliance would
serve India’s interests
As advocates of trilateral cooperation
among the US, Australia and India, we
have watched with interest the attention
given to the issue in the Indian media. We
released a report on the topic in Novem-
ber in New Delhi and Sydney. The pri-
mary goal of our report, authored by
scholars from Australia’s Lowy Institute
and India’s Observer Research Founda-
tion, entitled Shared Goals, Converging
Interests: A Plan for US-Australia-India
Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, is to
encourage cooperation across a broad
range of shared interests, from maritime
security to counter-terrorism to non-pro-
liferation, and many other areas.
The idea is being floated just as the
new US-Japan-India trilateral initiative is
about to be formally launched in Wash-
ington later this month (December). It
also comes amidst a decision by Aus-
tralia’s Labour Party to lift its ban on ura-
nium exports to India — a major gesture
by Australia’s ruling party in the future of
US-AUSTRALIA-INDIA:
A POSSIBLE NEW ALLIANCE
For peace and stability in the region, it will be good if three democratic regimes in the
“Indo-Pacific” work together, argues LISA CURTIS and WALTER LOHMAN
www.geopolitics.in
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GEOPOLITICS
GLOBALWATCH
Australia-India relations.
Given the amount of groundwork
already done on the Japan dialogue, it is
understandable that policy-makers want
to focus their attention there first. But the
concept of an India-US trilateral with
Australia has a very similar logic to it. It is
an idea whose time is now.
Each side of the triangle is already in
development. On the strongest side, the
US and Australia have a robust security
alliance, involving joint military facilities,
major multi-service combined exercises,
co-development of weapon systems and
joint strategic planning. As for the US and
India, in 2005 they signed a 10-year
defence framework agreement, and
today, India conducts more military exer-
cises with the US than any other nation.
On the India-Australia side, the parties
issued the 2009 Joint Declaration on
Security Cooperation and have proceed-
ed with bilateral talks between service
chiefs and security advisers.
One of the most promising areas for Three years ago, India convened the Indian
trilateral cooperation is enhancing mar- Ocean Naval Symposium, inviting partici-
itime security and maintaining freedom pants from the littoral states — including
of navigation in the Indo-Pacific. Two- Australia - to discuss maritime security.
thirds of Indian oil and gas imports tran- India, the US and Australia should
sit the Indian Ocean waters, and most of begin discussing a code of conduct for
Australia’s resource exports transit East naval vessels and other maritime activi-
Asian waterways to China, Japan, South ties in the region and an action plan for
Korea and Taiwan. dealing with violations of such a code.
India is steadily building up its naval The three powers should consider what
capabilities, giving particular attention to would be the best forum for managing
its Eastern Naval Command’s role in its this code: Perhaps an enhanced version
overall naval strategy and foreign policy. of IONS or a new forum with conditions
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January 2012

COOPERATION FOR SECURITY: Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh at a bilateral
meeting with the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard during the ASEAN Summit in 2010
of entry based on capabilities, interests,
willingness to contribute, and a demon-
strated willingness to abide by the rules.
Furthermore, the US and Australia
should encourage India to join the multi-
lateral Combined Task Force 151 anti-
piracy operations off the coast of Soma-
lia. As its naval capabilities grow, India
should participate in multinational
efforts to address piracy and maintain
freedom of the seas.
The report also highlights the potential
for the three countries to increase consul-
tations and intelligence sharing on ter-
rorist networks, both at home and
abroad.
Washington, Canberra and New Delhi
share the goal of preventing Afghanistan
from again serving as a haven for interna-
tional terrorists. Given several roadblocks
the US has hit with its strategy in
Afghanistan in the last few months,
including (the recent) NATO attack that
killed 24 Pakistani soldiers along the
Afghanistan border, it is clear the conflict
is far from over. And it’s a conflict that has
www.geopolitics.in
PIB
enormous implications for trends in glob-
al terrorism that affect all three nations.
INDIA, THE US
AND AUSTRALIA
SHOULD BEGIN
DISCUSSING A
CODE OF
CONDUCT FOR
NAVAL VESSELS
With India’s extensive — and Australia’s
growing — development programmes in
Afghanistan, Washington should work
with both capitals to fortify Afghanistan’s
institutions to preserve the democratic
and human development gains made over
the last decade. Washington and Canberra
should fully support New Delhi’s role in
Afghanistan, noting that it has every right
to safeguard its interests there.
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GLOBALWATCH
On non-proliferation, the three coun-
tries can help develop fresh thinking
about India’s relationship with the
Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty and the
global non-proliferation regime that
accounts for the reality that India is both a
highly responsible actor when it comes to
non-proliferation, but is also unlikely to
join the treaty as a non-nuclear weapons
state. The US first substantially acknowl-
edged this during the Bush Administra-
tion with the US-India Civil Nuclear
Cooperation Agreement. US President
Barack Obama has taken it to the next log-
ical step with his stated intention to bring
India into the four major non-prolifera-
tion groupings — the Nuclear Suppliers
Group, Missile Technology Control
Regime, Australia Group, and Wassenaar.
The Australia Group is the easiest place
to start India’s formal entry into the global
export control network. Being the perma-
nent chair of the grouping, Canberra
could advise India on harmonising its
export controls and encourage other
members of the grouping to welcome
India’s admission. Some of the media cov-
erage of the prospects for US-India-Aus-
tralia trilateral cooperation is misleading.
No one in his or her right mind believes a
trilateral ‘security pact’ is in the offing.
The goal is really to promote a stable and
predictable order in the Indo-Pacific.
This is not to say that officials from the
three countries should not compare
notes regarding their China policies. All
three are economically and diplomatical-
ly deeply engaged with China and, at the
same time, hedging against the potential
negative side of its rise. (Japan is in some
variation of the same position.) There is
great value in discussing the different
contexts and experiences we have had
trying to reconcile these approaches. And
the outcome need not be all negative.
Indeed, we may develop new, construc-
tive ways of dialogue with the Chinese.
The US, Australia and India have
‘intersecting’, not ‘identical’ interests.
There are things we disagree on. Geogra-
phy alone dictates that we see the world
from slightly different angles. But there is
enough commonality in our world views
and our challenges that we should con-
sider those areas where our perspectives
do overlap and work together where it is
in our mutual interest.
(Lisa Curtis is Senior Research Fellow and
Walter Lohman is Director, Asian Studies,
with the Heritage Foundation)
January 2012
 g
GEOPOLITICS
DIPLOMACY

The just-concluded Indo-

Russian summit held at
Moscow promises to be yet
another milestone in
strengthening the special and
privileged strategic
partnership between the two
countries, argues
ARUN MOHANTY

I
NDIA AND RUSSIA, two genuine
and special strategic partners,
recently concluded yet another reg-
ular bilateral summit at Moscow.
This had been the 12th India-Rus-
sia Annual Summit meeting since the
declaration of the Indo-Russia Strategic
Partnership in 2000. It once again under-
scored why Indo-Russian strategic part-
nership is special and unique. In the
entire history of international relations,
India and Russia are the only two major
countries which never had any conflict
of interest, let alone military conflict.
There is a continuity in the time-tested
bilateral relationship, which does not get
affected by political fluctuations in
either country. One does not perceive

CONSOLIDATING A
any threat from the growing strength of
the other, rather gains more confidence

SPECIAL
from the elevation of the other’s status.
India has many strategic partners, and
so has Russia. However, Delhi and
Moscow are ‘special and privileged
strategic partners’ for each other.
Because, Russia is the only strategic
partner with which India holds a regular
annual summit.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh held substantive talks with both

RELATIONSHIP
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during
the last summit held at Moscow. While
ALL-WEATHER FRIENDS: India and
Russia have identical positions on all major
global and regional issues of mutual
concern
PIB

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www.geopolitics.in January 2012

this was President Medvedev’s last sum-
mit with the Indian Prime Minister, Rus-
sia would be represented most likely by
Vladimir Putin, widely believed to be the
architect of our strategic partnership, in
the next Indo-Russian summit in Delhi.
Russia’s ruling party might have taken a
beating in the last Duma elections com-
pared to its showing in the Parliament
poll held in 2007, it nevertheless
received almost 50 per cent of the votes.
In spite of some decline in Putin’s popu-
larity, nothing can prevent him from
winning the forthcoming presidential
polls. The stage is set for Putin to be
Russian President at least for the next 12
years, which augurs well for the Indo-
Russian relationship, as he is considered
to be the architect of our strategic part-
nership. One should not be worried
about poll results in Russia in terms of
its relationship with India as a broad
consensus across political parties in that
country on the issue of developing a
strategic partnership with India exists.
Both sides had wide-ranging discus-
sions at the Moscow summit on a host of
global as well as regional issues of mutu-
al concern and deliberated on ways to
further enhance our consultations in
international forums such as the United
Nations Security Council (UNSC), G20,
Brazil Russia India China South Africa
(BRICS) as well as the East Asia Summit,
which Russia has recently joined.
The Indian PM is on record that he is
convinced that the India-Russia consul-
tation on global issues is more necessary
today than ever before. The summit
reasserted the special and privileged
nature of the Indo-Russian strategic
partnership, which Indian Prime Minis-
ter aptly described as an anchor of peace
and stability in a world of strategic flux
and shifting global power equations. “It
is impossible to draw any parallels or
compare the relations between India
and Russia and our relations with some
other countries. We [India and Russia]
have a specially privileged strategic part-
nership,” said the Prime Minister, stress-
ing the unique nature of our tested and
tried relationship.
Indo-Russian summits are always
known for the impressive number of doc-
uments signed in course of the high-level
interaction. For example, the 11th Indo-
Russian summit held in 2010 at Delhi
witnessed the signing of 30 documents
for promoting ties in different areas.
However, only five documents were
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g
DIPLOMACY
inked in the course of the last Moscow
summit that included an agreement for
production of 42 SU-30 MKI multi-func-
tional jets in India, agreement on coop-
eration in the sphere of education, Mem-
orandum of Understanding (MoU) for
establishing ties between anti-monopoly
agencies of both countries, MoU for
cooperation in the pharmaceutical field
for overseeing safety and quality issues.
However, the outcome of the summit
must be judged not by the number of
documents signed but by the depth and
range of understanding that emerged in
the course of an unprecedented six
hours of interaction that leaders of both
countries had. President Medvedev and
Prime Minister Singh signed a joint
statement on further strengthening the
Russian-Indian strategic partnership in
the face of the challenges of the chang-
ing world in course of the summit. That
THE BILATERAL
RELATIONSHIP
DOES NOT GET
AFFECTED BY
POLITICAL
FLUCTUATIONS IN
EITHER COUNTRY
India and Russia have identical positions
on all major global and regional issues of
mutual concern is vividly demonstrated
in the joint statement issued at the end
of the summit. The Moscow summit
demonstrated the meeting of minds of
the two strategic partners on a host of
burning international issues that includ-
ed Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, situation in
the Middle-East and North Africa, ter-
rorism, security in Asia, Indian and
Asia-Pacific regions.
On the issue of security and coopera-
tion in Asia, Delhi and Moscow reiterat-
ed their support to the creation of a
transparent, open, comprehensive, and
balanced architecture of security and
cooperation in the region based on the
recognised principles of international
law as well as respect for the legitimate
interests of all states.
They emphasised their commitment
to the principle of indivisibility of secu-
rity, unacceptability of attempts
to enhance their own security to the
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detriment of other states’ security, inad-
missibility of preservation and creation
of new dividing lines. The sides
acknowledged the necessity of address-
ing both traditional and new security
threats — terrorism, extremism,
weapons of mass destruction (WMD)
proliferation, illicit drug trafficking,
organised crime and maritime piracy.
They expressed readiness to work close-
ly within the framework of the East Asia
Summit, which they regard as a leaders-
led forum for dialogue on broad strate-
gic, political and economic issues of
common interest and concern with the
aim of promoting peace, stability and
economic prosperity in East Asia.
While emphasising the importance of
the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
(SCO) in fostering regional security and
cooperation, Russia welcomed India’s
intention to join the organisation as a
full-fledged member and expressed the
belief that its participation would signifi-
cantly increase the political weight of the
SCO and give new quality and dimension
to cooperation within its framework.
Russia firmly said that it stood for joint
efforts with other SCO members to accel-
erate the process of India’s full member-
ship of the organisation.
While expressing interest in strength-
ening multilateral export control regimes
as an important component of the global
non-proliferation regime, the Russian
side reiterated readiness to assist and
promote a discussion and positive deci-
sion in the Nuclear Security Group (NSG)
on India’s full membership in the NSG,
and welcomed India’s intention to seek
full membership. India underscored its
determination to actively contribute to
international efforts aimed at strength-
ening the nuclear non-proliferation
regime. The Russian Federation also took
into consideration India’s interest in full
membership in Missile Technology Con-
trol Regime (MTCR) and the Wassenaar
Arrangement.
The sides recalled the bilateral
Moscow Declaration between India and
Russia on International Terrorism signed
on November 6, 2001, in Moscow. Point-
ing fingers at Pakistan, they strongly
condemned the existence of safe havens
and sanctuaries for terrorism, and reiter-
ated that states that aided, abetted or
sheltered terrorists were as guilty of acts
of terrorism as their actual perpetrators.
Reaffirming the need for all states to
combine efforts to defeat terrorism,
January 2012

RUSSIAN SUPERFIGHTER: An agreement for production of 42 more SU-30 MKI multi-role fighters in India has been signed
Delhi and Moscow agreed that there was
no justification whatsoever for any act of
terrorism, and that India and Russia
being pluralistic states were especially
vulnerable to acts of terrorism, which
are attacks against the values and free-
doms, enshrined in their societies. Both
sides reaffirmed that international ter-
rorism was a threat to peace and securi-
ty, a grave violation of human rights and
a crime against humanity. They reaf-
firmed the central role of the United
Nations, in which Moscow reiterated its
support for India’s permanent member-
ship in the Security Council, in the com-
bat against international terrorism and
in this context called for an early adop-
tion of the UN’s draft.
Expectedly, while discussing issues of
bilateral ties, defence cooperation occu-
pied the centre-stage in the Moscow
summit agenda. A protocol to the inter-
governmental agreement of 2000 on ren-
dering technical support in the organisa-
tion of the Su-30 MKI aircraft production
was signed during the summit. The doc-
ument envisages supplying additional 4
components for the licensed assembling
of Su-30 MKI aircraft — multifunctional
fighter jets, which became the flagship of
the Indian Air Force. Now India would
have 42 more of such jets increasing its
total strength to 272 in the IAF.
India and Russia have large-scale joint
projects that include licensed assem-
bling of the Su-30 MKI fighter jets , T-90S
tanks, aircraft engines, production of
“BrahMos” stealth supersonic cruise
www.geopolitics.in
g
DIPLOMACY
missiles and supplies of Mi-17 helicop-
ters. Both countries are working for joint
production of the Fifth Generation
Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) and Multirole
Transport Aircraft (MTA). Indo-Russian
defence cooperation over the years has
entered a qualitatively new stage from a
buyer-seller relationship to a partner-
ship in joint research, development ,
production, technology transfer, etc. and
even joint marketing.
The military and technical coopera-
tion programme envisages 10-year lease
of the nuclear submarine “Nerpa” by the
Indian Navy, modernisation of the air-
craft carrier “Admiral Gorshkov”, supply-
ing of a new set of three frigates. It is reli-
ably learnt that the Russian Nerpa-class
nuclear submarine would join the Indi-
an Navy in January 2012. According to
the agreement, the submarine, which is
on a 10-year lease by the Indian Navy,
will be transported to India soon.
Nuclear-powered submarines require
special skills to operate compared to
conventional diesel-powered sub-
marines, which is why Indian Navy staff
have been training on the nuclear sub-
marine for the past several months.
It may be noted that both countries
are currently developing their mutually
beneficial defence cooperation on the
basis of a ten-year-long framework
agreement worth $20 billion covering
the period up to 2020.
Similarly, bilateral relations in the
vital and sensitive areas like nuclear and
space fields constitute the backbone of
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HEMANT RAWAT
Indo-Russian high-tech cooperation.
Construction of two nuclear reactors at
Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu has been on
the verge of completion but face prob-
lems due to protest demonstrations by
locals, bringing clouds over our coopera-
tion in this sensitive sector. While the
third and fourth reactors would be built
there with Moscow’s assistance, 16 new
reactors are planned to be built in India
with Russian technical knowhow. How-
ever, no new contract could be signed
for construction of the third and fourth
reactors at Kudankulam, belying expec-
tations.
Another sensitive area of our high-
tech bilateral cooperation is space. India
is the only country which has been per-
mitted to be Russia’s partner in the high-
profile GLONASS project, an alternative
to US-controlled Global Positioning Sys-
tem (GPS) and would receive high preci-
sion signals from it for civilian as well as
military use. India’s quest for strategic
autonomy in advanced technology
would be served with the pact on preci-
sion signals from GLONASS.
The Indian security establishment
has set its eyes on GLONASS after it con-
ducted a post-mortem of the US inva-
sion on Iraq. It was discovered that the
US had blocked GPS signals to Iraq dur-
ing the war and then inserted erroneous
signals that rendered Saddam Hussain’s
military officers virtually blind as far as
visual-range sighting and targeting were
concerned. It was established that Iraqi
Army was trapped, misled and its
January 2012

STRATEGIC PARTNERS: President Medvedev and Prime Minister Singh signed a joint statement on further strengthening the Russian-
Indian strategic partnership
weapons went awry. Given the love-hate
relationship between India and the US,
receiving precision signals from
GLONASS of Russia, our time-tested
friend, is of great strategic importance.
However, the weakest link in the
growing Indo-Russian relationship is
trade and economic ties, which are not
commensurate with the high level of
political cooperation and do not reflect
the potential of the two large economies.
The bilateral trade turnover barely
touches the $10 billion-level and the
mutual investments are at low levels.
While discussing the issue at the
Moscow summit, India and Russia reaf-
firmed their resolve to achieve the bilat-
eral trade turnover of $20 billion by 2015.
Both sides agreed on four important vec-
tors to galvanise bilateral trade and for
fructifying cooperation, including cre-
ation of the Joint Study Group ( JSG) to
prepare a Comprehensive Economic
Cooperation Agreement (CECA), with
the Custom Union, which unites Russia,
Kazakhstan, Belarus, enhancing connec-
tivity through the International North-
South Corridor and Joint Public-Private
Investment Fund for investments in
India and Russia. It has been decided to
create a new Working Group (WG) on
modernisation in addition to the nine
Working Groups already functioning
within the framework of Indo-Russian
Intergovernmental Commission (IRIGC).
The Moscow summit firmed up
prospects for India to expand its presence
www.geopolitics.in
g
DIPLOMACY
in Russian oil and gas through joint-
ventures with energy majors like
Gazprom and Novatek. Steel, diamonds,
pharmaceuticals and hydrocarbons
have been identified as new thrust areas
of bilateral economic cooperation. Yet
another pillar of our strategic partner-
ship is cooperation in science and tech-
nology. Scientists from both countries
have been successfully conducting joint
research for decades in hundreds of
projects under a Complex Long-Term
Programme and nearly five hundred
projects have been successfully com-
pleted so far. However, the problem in
the sphere lies in the fact that the results
of the research projects do not find
industrial application. That is why the
establishment of a Science and Technol-
ogy Centre with offices in Moscow and
Delhi would enormously help in com-
mercialising the results of the research
projects undertaken by two countries
during the past two decades.
But then, a perception among certain
sections of our policy-makers is growing
that Russia’s relevance for India is losing
ground in the changed global context and
against the backdrop of Moscow’s
declined status both as military and eco-
nomic power. Some go to the extent of
asking what Russia can offer us in terms
of meeting our growth requirements.
However, one should not lose sight of the
fact that Russia remains a power-house of
high-tech; it still has world’s most devel-
oped fundamental science and controls
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PIB
30 per cent global resources. India, being
Moscow’s most-trusted strategic partner,
has the privilege to have access to them
and should try to take advantage of it. The
obsession of India’s political elite as well
as the media, with our relationship with
the US contributes to drawing attention
away from our relationship with Moscow.
Last year, all the leaders of P-5 had visited
Delhi, and if one carefully analyses results
of those summits, one will find that Indo-
Russian summit with 33 documents
signed during President Medvedev’s visit
to Delhi was the most productive and
impressive.
Russia might have lost its super-pow-
er status as a result of the disastrous
market reforms of the 1990s, but now it
is on a resurgent path. The long-term
development strategy under implemen-
tation in Russia would make it the fifth-
largest economy in the world. Russia
with its huge natural resources, vast sci-
entific potential, impressive technical
knowhow and tremendous goodwill for
us can still cater to a lot of India’s devel-
opment needs. The deep mutual trust,
time-tested and civilisational nature of
our long ties would contribute to our
mutual prosperity as well as help build a
multi-polar, just, democratic global
order for the benefit of every nation
under the sun.
(The author is Professor at School of
International Studies, JNU and Director,
Eurasian Foundation)
January 2012
 g
GEOPOLITICS
EXCERPTS

LESSONS IN DIPLOMACY
Diplomacy Indian Style by KP FABIAN is a riveting account of the course of Indian
diplomacy down the ages. The following excerpts exhibit two divergent actions performed
by India on the international stage. The first instance is from the 1962 War and how India
‘sleepwalked’ into the conflict with China. In the second excerpt, we learn about Swaran
Singh’s skilful manoeuvring in the United Nations during the 1971 war when the tide in
the Security Council was turning against India. His marathon speech, which had continued
for over two days, gave the Indian soldiers enough time to wrap up the Pakistanis, ending
in their surrender

Diplomacy Indian Style
Author: KP Fabian
Publisher: Har-A
Anand
Pages — 260 Price — `595
Year of Publication — 2012
INDIA SLEEPWALKS INTO WAR
As the Indian official history puts it,
“The Indian Government in its fond
belief did not expect serious retaliation
from the Chinese and it assumed that
whatever mild reaction came from the
Chinese, the Indian Army would be
capable of neutralising it.” Thus, “the
Government of India ordered the Army
to rid the Thagla Ridge of the Chinese as
early as possible to do so and the Army
accepted the task — both having based
their decision on the unwise assumption
that the enemy would not react strongly
and mere starting of military activity by
India would make the Chinese vacate
the Thagla Ridge.68 Clashes occurred in
Dhola on 20 and 24 September.
Mao started to consider administer-
ing a “painful” military rebuff to India.
Mao declared himself for war. “We
fought a war with old Chiang (Kai shek).
We fought a war with Japan and with
America. With none of these did we fear.
Now the Indians want to fight with us.
Naturally, we don’t have fear. We cannot
give ground, once we give ground it
would be tantamount to letting them
seize a big piece of land equivalent to
Fujian province....
Since Nehru sticks his head out and
insists on us fighting him, for us not to
fight with him would not be friendly
enough. Courtesy emphasizes reciprocity.”
We can leave the chronology here as
what happened later is well known.
To continue with Carver’s account. At
one meeting held after the basic deci-
sion was taken to strike hard at India,
Mao called on General Ye Jinaying to
give his assessment of General Kaul. Ye
had met Kaul during a visit to India in
1957. Even though Kaul had apparently
served in World War 2 in Burma, Ye said,
the Indian commander had no actual
combat experience. He also seemed to
be a very rigid, if impressive looking sol-
dier. Still, he was one of India’s outstand-
ing commanders. “Fine,” Mao interject-
ed, he’ll have another opportunity to
shine. (Emphasis added.) Did Mao
assess Kaul more accurately than his
superiors in Delhi?
Mao recognized many difficulties and
dangers in going to war with India. Nehru
enjoyed high international prestige. India
was the leader of the non-aligned move-
ment and was courted by both US and
USSR. India’s military inferiority to China
(according to China’s analysis Indian mil-
itary forces were about 1/6th of China’s)
would enable India to play “victim.”
There would be “misunderstanding”
among some Afro-Asian countries. How-
ever, Mao concluded, these costs were
more than off set by the long term gains
of inflicting a severe if limited “war of
extermination” on India.
Even as PLA moved toward war, Mao
asked himself whether it was worth let-
ting Indian forces advance un-resisted

(80)
www.geopolitics.in January 2012

further in order to build up a better case
for China. Mao had to choose the loca-
tion of the strike. Aksai Chin was what
counted the most for
China. But the approach roads “were
not convenient” for the PLA. India will
not be able to send a big force to Aksai
Chin, A big batt!e was required to teach a
lesson. A big Chinese offensive met by a
small Indian force will not do. India
could move its forces in the eastern sec-
tor. It was in the east that Nehru had
insisted that the McMahon Line was “an
established fact.” Hence the choice of
Tawang for a big attack.
According to the Chinese account, on
October 9, over a hundred Indian sol-
diers crossed the stream flowing along
the base of Thagla and closed in on a
Chinese out post. The next morning
Indian forces opened fire. In response a
full battalion, about a thousand, fired
back. The war began.
India still did not wake up. On Octo-
ber 12, on his way to Colombo, Nehru
told the press that the Indian army had
orders to clear the Chinese out from all
“Indian territory.”
On October 16, Mao got a report on
the reasons for India’s “expanded offen-
sive” against India. Lei Yingfu made the
following points:
(1) Nehru wanted to turn Tibet into “a
colony or protectorate” for India.
(2) A desire to gain increased US sup-
port and military assistance from
USSR by joining their anti-China
campaign.
(3) A desire to “achieve hegemony in
Asia.”
(4) A desire to divert attention from
class contradictions in India.
(5) Last and the most important, a belief
that China was “bluffing” and will
not retaliate.
Lei repeatedly drew attention to Nehru’s
belief that “China was too weak and
could be taken advantage of.”
On October 16, China reconfirmed its
decision to go to war. But, before that
China wanted assurances from USSR.
On October 14, Ambassador Lin Shao
met Khrushchev. If there is a war
between India and China, the ambassa-
dor was told, “USSR would stand by
China.” Though Carver does not say it, it
is worth adding that the ambassador did
say that India was about to attack China.
www.geopolitics.in
g
EXCERPTS
Khrushchev stated that it “would be a
betrayal to declare neutrality” if China
were attacked.
We do not know whether Mao had
advance knowledge of the Cuban missile
crisis. It is possible that Moscow might
have thrown a hint. Mao might have
complimented himself on his excellent
timing for teaching a lesson to India.
There was one more factor for the deci-
sion on timing: the weather. The best
time is July-September. Action should
start soon or be postponed till mid-1963.
But by then Indians will be better
mobilised. Indian forces were short of
winter clothing and food and given time
they will be better equipped. Formal,
final order to start a “self-defensive
counter attack” was given on October 18.
The attack was set for October 20.
SWARAN SINGH’S SUPERB
DIPLOMATIC STYLE
A word about the diplomatic coup by
Foreign Minister Swaran Singh is in
order. India’s military action in East Pak-
istan commenced on December 4, 1971.
It was almost like knife going through
butter. Pakistan Army was not able to
put up any serious
resistance. India was able, as we have
seen, to disregard calls for cease-fire,
thanks to the veto of USSR. Yet, the
trend in the Security Council was going
against India and USSR signaled around
December 10 that it would find it diffi-
cult to hold on for much longer. Swaran
Singh made a marathon speech lasting
for two days to give the Indian military
more time to complete the task and
arrange for surrender by the Pakistan
Army. Swaran Singh at times insisted on
sequential as opposed to simultaneous
interpretation in order to prolong his
speech.
After announcing the surrender and as
the Security Council proceedings were
about to end, Swaran Singh passed a
note to Foreign Secretary TN Kaul to ask
all the members of the Indian delegation
to meet him outside the Security Council
chamber. He told them that he did not
want any of them to go the bar at UN for
the next 48 hours; there should be no
expression of triumphalism; we should
say that the dismemberment of Pakistan
was a tragedy; but add that it occurred
because of the wrong policies of the
Pakistan Government; India had no
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aggressive designs on the Western front.
It is obvious that Swaran Singh was
right, prudent, and wise. His advice
holds good still. When we hear aggres-
sive talk from India’s officials or the
media one is reminded of Swaran Singh.
Take the case of President Obama’s suc-
cess in catching and killing Osama bin
Laden in Abbottabad. Presumably, he
was staying in a safe house provided by
the ISI (Inter-Service Intelligence
Agency) of Pakistan. US carried out the
operation without any support from
Pakistan and without telling that coun-
try. In India some commentators started
airing the view that India should con-
duct a similar operation on Daud
Ibrahim. In response to a question from
the media the Army Chief replied that
India could do it. Pakistan reacted by
issuing a stiff warning to India. A more
mature, capable, and self-confident
India would have carried out the opera-
tion and talked about it afterwards.
Talking about in advance showed imma-
turity and in any case such talk does not
carry much conviction of India’s ability
to undertake the task.
A word more on Swaran Singh. He
went to Sri Lanka in 1971. He was being
briefed by the High Commissioner and
the Deputy High Commissioner. He
asked only three questions:
(1) What is the mood in Colombo?
(2) What do they want from us?
(3) What can India offer them?
When Swaran Singh met Prime Minis-
ter Sirima Bandaranaike, she asked him
to start first. The Sardar adjusted his tur-
ban and said softly: In diplomacy, I have
been taught to say, “Ladies first.” The
Prime Minister burst out laughing. Later,
the Prime Minister said that her “elder
sister” should visit Sri Lanka at an early
date. The Sardar once again readjusted
his turban and said, “Between two beau-
tiful ladies, it is so difficult to say who is
younger or older.” The Prime Minister
almost got out of her chair laughing. Sar-
dar Swaran Singh had the ready wit, so
essential for a good diplomat.
(KP Fabian, a career diplomat with
the Indian Foreign Service for 36 years,
retired as Indian Ambassador to Italy)
—Excerpted with permission
from the publisher
January 2012

THE FRENCH EXPERIENCE
A
S A CONCEPT, “national security” is always
evolving. It is no longer viewed only in terms
of defending the territories of a country. Its
scope is broadening all the time. It is now
linked with every vital aspect of national life,
even protecting the “cultural profile of a country”.
I learnt the above lesson during my recent stay in
France. The French Senate, dominated by Socialists, has
just passed a bill that would make the legal non- Euro-
pean Union (EU) immigrants to vote in local elections.
Of course, it is unlikely that it will become law as the
Lower House of French Parliament (National Assembly)
is dominated by President Nicolas
Sarkozy’s right-of-the centre “Union for a
Popular Movement” (UMP).
Socialists argue that letting non-Euro-
pean Union citizens vote and get elected
in municipal elections would bring immi-
grants into the fold of French “Republican
values” (the French are proud of their
“republicanism”, in which the “State” Prakash
uncompromisingly guards its supreme
authority against the factors of religion and ethnicity,
the factors that could weaken the fabric of the national
community) and soothe community tensions. On the
other hand, UMP says that allowing a foreign and
largely Muslim constituency (most of the immigrants
into France in recent years are from its former colonies
in North Africa and they happen to be Muslims.
Between five and six million, the French Muslims are
said to be the largest of their kind in the European
Union) “to influence local policy would usher in halal
meals at school cafeterias and women-only days at
municipal swimming pools”, thus endangering the
nation’s secular traditions.
“The government is resolutely against this proposal,”
Interior Minister Claude Gueant has said. According to
Xavier LeMoine, Mayor of Montfermeil, a troubled sub-
urban town northeast of Paris, “as in some towns the for-
eign population can make up half of the total, with the
vote they could radically change the way of life in those
towns”. It is all the more worse, he adds, “while EU citi-
zens shared a ‘common identity, a common culture’ with
the French, in the other countries where many of our for-
eigners come from, there is nothing in common cultural-
ly, much less any common political system”.
Immigration issues have gathered greater electoral
and political momentum in France, particularly under
Sarkozy, first as interior minister and then as the Presi-
dent. It is he who had put into effect a law on immigra-
tion based upon the notion of “chosen immigration”,
which allows immigration into France to restricted sec-
tors for employment. His UMP says that in the coming
Presidential election in May and parliamentary elections
in June it would highlight the need for lesser immigrants.
However, it would be misleading to think that the
(82)
www.geopolitics.in
GEOPOLITICS
g
Right Angle
“Left” led by the Socialists are for liberal entry of immi-
grants into France. Under their regime in 1990s, they
had also imposed restrictions. They, like the UMP,
would also love only skilled immigration. Their differ-
ences are mainly over how to send back illegal immi-
grants and how to treat those who are legal so that they
accept “the French life and the Republican values”. The
Socialists argue that the State must encourage the
immigrants to participate in national affairs. Of course,
there are political calculations, too. It is said that the
Socialists deliberately take a pro-immigrant stance to
polarise the issue to such an extent that the extremists
within “the Right”, such as National Front
gain an upper hand over the moderate
UMP (and this is happening now, with
National Front presidential candidate Jean-
Marie Le Pen is leading over Sarkozy in the
opinion poll) and thus divide the “right
votes” to their electoral advantage.
If we compare the French situation to the
Nanda one prevailing in India over the immigra-
tion issue, there are striking differences.
While notwithstanding their differences, both the Right
and Left in France recognise the existence of the prob-
lem, in India, except the Right (the BJP), no other sec-
tions in the polity, including the ruling Congress party,
admit that there is a problem. One is referring here to
the vexed issue of illegal immigration from Bangladesh,
about which the late Home Minister Indrajit Gupta, for-
mer Governor of Assam Gen. S K Sinha, late National
Security Advisor J N Dixit and Assam High Court have
had expressed serious concerns publicly, saying how it
would radically change the socio-economic and politi-
cal profile of Assam and West Bengal in the days to
come. Even during UPA-I, on July 14, 2004, in reply to
an unstarred question in Parliament, the then Union
Minister of State for Home Shriprakash Jaiswal stated
that out there were 1,20,53,950 illegal Bangladeshi infil-
trators all over India. But under UPA -II, the same Man-
mohan Singh government withdrew, in February 2009,
all the existing official data on the number of illegal
Bangladeshis in India as “unreliable” and based on
“mere hearsay”!
It is no wonder that India does not have any laws per-
taining to immigration. The Assam-specific laws (Illegal
Migrants Determination Act and the Foreigners Tri-
bunals Order of 2006) have been declared illegal by the
Supreme Court; in any case these had been worded in a
manner to remain self-paralysed. And that means that
unlike in France where the ruling party gets more votes
in the name of checking immigration, in India, those
ruling the states where immigrants are concentrated
the most (Assam and West Bengal) achieve so by court-
ing the immigrants, albeit silently.
prakashnanda@newsline.in
January 2012
RNI No. DELENG/2010/35319
Posting Date. 8-9/01/2012
Reg No.DL(E)-01/5363/2011-2013

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