DNA Edit: On the edge

The drums of war are beating. Air Chief Marshall BS Dhanoa has written a personal letter to each officer of the Indian Air Force to be “prepared for operations with our present holdings, at a very short notice”. Finance and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, who recently visited the LoC in North Kashmir, reportedly said that he was extremely satisfied with the preparation of the Indian armed forces in warding off any of the Pakistani army’s misadventures. He added that the Indian Army was more than capable of giving a befitting reply to any ceasefire violations.

Even Home Minister Rajnath Singh chaired a meeting comprising the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Chief Ministers of states along the Indo-China border, where he reviewed the current state of security along the border, while directing ITBP to be “very vigilant”. All signs indicate that the Indian establishment is on guard. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty and India’s defensive firmament encapsulates the sacrifice entailed in the maxim. While there are no doubts that the triumvirate of the military, navy and the air force has gone above and beyond the call of duty, there is still much left to be desired when it comes to the mainstream political framework meeting the needs of the trio. Look at our dismal procurement of fighter planes.

While the air force is expected to square off with the enemy employing 42 squadrons of fighter planes, it currently has only 33 squadrons in its stable. The inclusion of 36 Rafale fighter planes and the induction of the indigenous Tejas will hardly make a dent in the deficit. The output from HAL has been disappointing and under the UPA, the procurements came to a screeching halt, leaving the Indian Air Force completely vulnerable.

The recent step taken by the Defence Acquisition Council under Jaitley to allow for larger participation of the private sector in the four domains of fighter jets, helicopters, submarines and armoured vehicles is a welcome change that ought to propel PM Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative as well. The military history of the Indian subcontinent stands testament to the fact that India’s vigilance has never translated into expansionist aggression. The Pakistani armed forces, unlike their Indian counterparts, derive its raison d’être and its overwhelming importance in the power dynamic of Pakistan from its unceasing projection of India as an aggressor state, which is ever inclined to subsume Pakistan. In contrast, the Indian armed forces have avowedly kept miles away from the Indian political fabric, finding their rightful place in allegiance to the Indian Constitution.