Indian Army, as it moves through the first quarter of the 21st century, is likely to face four types of challenges and threats including traditional threats, contemporary challenges in the form of international terrorism, internal threats, and contingency threats. Defence of a nation and development are complementary. If India aspires to be a regional/global economic power, its military power must reflect that desire through its ability to protect its interests.

The early military history of India dates back thousands of years. From the ancient period through to the 19th century, a succession of powerful dynasties rose and fell in India as smaller rulers also struggled for power through war. Thus the early military history of India is a history of princely kingdoms constantly at war with each other and this motivated their thinking with the resultant lack of unity against foreign invaders. The British colonised India during the 19th century.

The Indian saga of battles against all invaders including the British is full of tactical level battles of personal bravery of kings and princes which lacked strategic level thinking and planning. From the lesson of these wars it also becomes clear that the military leaders of India’s princely kingdoms did not understand the importance of battlefield mobility and the need to evolve new concepts and to have new weapons synchronised into a new art of warfare to confront more skilful opponents.

The British era of the Indian Army lasted for about 200 years. Major Stringer Lawrence was the first Army officer appointed Commander-in-Chief of all the East India Company’s forces in 1752. He can thus be deemed as the Father of the Indian Army. The forces then comprised Europeans recruited from England or locally and Indian auxiliaries. These Indians were armed with their own weapons, wore their own dress and were commanded by their own officers.

After the reorganisation in 1796, the major changes were: increase in the number of British officers in Indian units and consequent diminishing of the importance and responsibility of Indian officers (subedars and jemadars); artillery units were created with European gunners and Indian helpers (lascars and syces); infantry battalions were grouped into regiments with each regiment having two battalion; Indian Cavalry was formed into a cavalry brigade and declared a distinct service.

The events of 1857 are too well-known to be recounted in any detail in this brief focus on the Indian Army. Following the First War of Independence in 1857 (called the Indian Mutiny by the British Government), the British Queen issued a proclamation in 1858, taking over the Government of India from the East India Company. A Royal Commission appointed in July 1858 suggested that the Army in India be composed mainly of Indian troops with a proportion of Indian to British being 2:1. By 1863, the actual numbers were 3,15,500 Indian and 38,000 British troops. Step by step the three Presidency Armies were amalgamated which was completed by 1895.

With the overall control of the Indian Empire being vested in the Crown, the imperial strategy for the defence of India envisaged a wide cordon sanitaire to give depth to this jewel in the crown. Afghanistan, Tibet and Burma were the immediate buffers, while the global dominance of the British Navy of the time allowed them even further outposts like Hong Kong, Singapore, Aden and Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea. Pax Britannica was at its zenith and the core was centred on India.

The Era of the World Wars

The final shape and professional restructuring of the Indian Army was carried out prior to World War I under General Kitchener, the Commander-in-Chief in India from 1902. During this period, due to a clash, between him and Viceroy George Curzon, over the perceived organisational duality of control of the military in India, Curzon resigned. The issue has had a significantly negative effect on the higher defence control mechanism that evolved after independence, which leaves the service chiefs outside the governmental decision-making forums. Till date this aspect remains an Indian weakness.

In World War I, more than one million Indian soldiers served overseas. The Army expanded from 2,39,511 in 1914 to 14,40,428 personnel by 1919. While there were no commissioned Indian officers in the Army, the Indian Army fought in all major theatres including France Gallipoli, Mesopotamia, Egypt and Palestine.

The period between World War I and World War II, the 20 years separating the two wars saw the emergence of the Indian officer Corps and the first batch was commissioned on December 1919, when 33 Indian cadets were granted Kings Commission with effect from July 17, 1920. Field Marshal Kodandera Madappa Cariappa was a member of the first batch. The British made an effort to ensure that no British officer would ever have to serve under any Indian. However, the rapid expansion in World War I put paid to this scheme and by the end of the war there were a number of units where British officers and troops were serving under Indian officers.

When Poland was attacked by Germany on September 1, 1939, Britain declared war against Germany on September 3, 1939. The Viceroy declared India at war on the same day. The World War II had started. Congress governments in power in eight provinces resigned as they had not been consulted at all and declared that they would not cooperate with the government. This was not due to any love for Nazi Germany but as a matter of principle. At the start of World War II, the Indian Army had a strength of 1,94,373 personnel which was a little more than the strength available at the start of World War I. The Army had 96 infantry battalions and 18 cavalry regiments. The cavalry had no tanks and was mounted on trucks. The infantry had no mortars or anti-tank weapons. Radio equipment was available at Brigade level and above. The modernisation planned in 1938 had yet to start. Indian Army was not intended to fight overseas but only protect India’s borders and nearby areas. However, before the war ended, the Indian Army had expanded to a strength of over 20,00,000 men and engaged in operations stretching from Hong Kong to Italy. In the re-conquest of Burma, it provided the bulk of forces and played important roles in the campaigns in North Africa and Italy. About 63,000 awards were received by the Indian Army in World War II. Awards for gallantry alone totalled approximately 4,800. They included 31 Victoria Crosses, four George Crosses, 252 Distinguished Service Orders, 347 Indian Orders of Merit and 1,311 Military Crosses.

Independence and Partition

Among the factors that led to independence, a major factor was the formation of Indian National Army (INA) by the Indian prisoners of war. Nearly 20,000 officers and men joined the INA. The British were stunned at the defection of officers. They realised that they could not rely on the Indian Army to put down a movement for Independence. This was reinforced by the mutinies in the Royal Indian Air Force in January 1946 and an even more widespread one in February 1946, in the Royal Indian Navy. It was acknowledged that India could not be held by force of arms and this was a major factor in the British decision to grant independence. Great Britain, fearing a revolution, decided to quit India on February 20, 1947. His Majesty’s Government announced its intension to transfer power to Indians. Lord Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten replaced Lord Wavell as the Viceroy. Based on the views of two main political parties, the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League, it was decided to Partition India into the Dominions of India and Pakistan on August 15, 1947. No planning had been done to work out the administrative consequences of the Partition and its allied problems of law and order and many other vital issues such as the boundary alignment, division of armed forces and defence assets, economic assets, status of princely states and numerous other aspects of Partition which had to be resolved under a frenetic timetable.

An Armed Forces Reconstitution Committee under Field Marshal Auchinleck was set to divide the units and stores in the ratio of two to one between India and Pakistan respectively. Muslims from India and non-Muslims from Pakistan could elect which dominion they would serve.

The tragedy of Partition is a story which deserves separate coverage. The misery of Partition and Punjab migration could have been lessened had Mountbatten been a wiser man and not rushed independence and delayed the announcement of the boundary award. Out of about 14 million people involved in migration, it is estimated that more than half a million died in the violence that erupted on both sides. The strain on the troops of the old Indian Army with the emotional stress of communal differences, personal tragedies and daily exposure to heart-rending scenes of murders, rapes and other brutalities, brought their discipline to a breaking point but its hard crust did not break. It was the greatest test of the Indian Army which it passed with flying colours under the most adverse circumstances.

Operation Gulmarg

Operation Gulmarg, which was a deliberately planned operation by Pakistan, aimed at the annexation of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). According to its leader Colonel Akbar Khan of Pakistan Army, its planning was done in August 1947. Indian Army’s operations in Jammu and Kashmir and the achievement of the Indian Army under its own officers despite logistics constraints, daunting terrain and severity of climate is a proud tribute to its leadership, fighting spirit and patriotic fervour of all ranks. They undertook a task allotted to them as a sacred mission to be fulfilled whatever the cost.

Post-Independent Indian Army

The strength of the Indian Army in August 1947 was 4,00,000 but the political leadership was keen to reduce the strength to save defence expenditure and hence it was decided to bring down the strength of the Army to 2,00,000 after the J&K Operations which would involve the disbandment of many units. A new Territorial Army Act was passed in 1948 and infantry and artillery units with a nucleus of regular officers were raised in 1949. Many other changes occurred during the period 1948-60. The designation of Commander-in-Chief ceased to be in use from 1955 and the three Chiefs (Army, Navy and the Air Force) were made equal and independently responsible for their respective service. Every function of the defence services was duplicated in the Ministry of Defence where civilian bureaucrats not only ensured financial and administrative control but also gradually took over the decision-making powers of the defence services. One of the first steps after Independence was the introduction of a new pay code for Indian Commissioned Officers (ICOs) and a reduced warrant of precedence to downgrade the status of defence services officers. The standing of the military reached an all-time low during the time of Krishna Menon as Defence Minister when decisions concerning matters of major military importance were taken without consultation of the concerned service.

Nehru’s bias against the military was well known in the services. The clearest example of this is when Cariappa outlined his plan for the security of North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA), after China had occupied Tibet, Nehru flared up and thumping the table said, “It is not the business of the C-in-C to tell the Prime Minister who is going to attack us where. You mind only Kashmir and Pakistan.” Nehru continued to appease the Chinese and the untimely death of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel took away all opposition to Nehru’s views. The Sino-Indian War of 1962 and the national humiliation was the result of this policy and the bias against the military.

Politicisation of the officer class led to the appointment of General P.N. Thapar as the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) in May 1961 and Lt General B.N. Kaul as the Chief of General Staff (equivalent to the current Vice Chief of Army Staff). This team was suspect in the eyes of the officer corps who resented political appointees and questioned their professional calibre and bona fides.