A phrase I have been hearing often in recent months from a faculty colleague and the commandant at the National Defence College (NDC) is that the institution is a “hidden gem in Lutyens’ Delhi”. Soldier-scholars have always been considered oxymorons within academia and within the strategic establishment — and not without reason. It has been widely believed that excessive operational focus has stymied intellectual growth within the armed forces and it is only in recent years that a realisation has dawned that ‘fighting generals have to be thinking generals’ in order to be effective in coping with modern warfare as well as contribute to national security and statecraft.
Located on a quiet avenue of Lutyens’ Delhi, the NDC has been around since 1960. It was designed to be the apex institution of strategic learning in the country, where senior military officers from the three services were to spend a year of ‘sharing and mutual learning’ with officers from India’s diverse civil services and a sprinkling of officers from friendly foreign countries. From the first NDC course of 1960 that comprised 14 officers from the three services and four officers from the civil services, the course has expanded to the current strength of 100, including 25 officers from abroad.
Practitioners and leaders
What is it that transforms these operational practitioners into leaders with the potential to shape vision, doctrine and strategies in their respective domains and countries? It is precisely this challenge that the NDC has attempted to address over the last five decades in its own typical way. The NDC widens horizons, encourages people to share experiences, debate fault lines and challenges, and, finally, discuss ideas that lead to comprehensive national security. The academic focus is tempered by a deliberate infusion of practical experience rather than excessive focus on theory, particularly in the realm of war, conflict, geopolitics and international relations. There is an initial attempt to expose the course participants upfront to the political evolution of India’s fledgling democracy in the backdrop of its rich historical, social and cultural ethos. This is done through talks by eminent historians, sociologists, educationists, bureaucrats and politicians from various political parties and across ideologies. These are accompanied by seminar discussions on contemporary issues like the caste system, education, healthcare and infrastructure development in a module called ‘The Socio-Political Study of India’.
This study culminates in a trip to lesser-developed States to showcase the tremendous development that India has made over the years in addressing societal fault lines, as also to acknowledge the miles it has go before it can aspire to be a fully developed country. The second and third modules deal with economic, science, technological and global issues where Cabinet ministers, eminent economists, bankers, industrialists, and scientists share their perspectives on fiscal issues, the annual Budget, banking reform, nuclear technology, space, cybersecurity, global warming and more. These modules end with a tour to developed States where participants get to see vignettes of India’s economic and scientific progress through visits to institutions such as the Reserve Bank of India, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, the Indian Space Research Organisation and industrial giants in the private and public sectors.
After a few months of forcing the participants out of their comfort zone, the fourth module deals with ‘bread and butter issues’ related to the international security environment. Issues of global concern, such as the rise of the Islamic State and the deepening schisms in the South China Sea, are discussed. Ambassadors in Delhi, retired and serving Indian diplomats, experts from Indian and global think tanks, serving and retired soldier-scholars and visiting scholars address the college. It is fascinating to see the emergence of the ‘hawks, doves, realists and liberals’ from within the course. The midpoint of the course is marked by a visit abroad to observe and learn from the experiences of others in the strategic domain.
India’s neighbourhood
The last two modules of the course deal in great depth with India’s strategic neighbourhood and the strategies and structures for national security. Focus areas are decided based on existing geopolitical imperatives so that course participants are adequately challenged to come up with implementable policy options. For foreign participants, these are the modules that offer insights into Indian strategy, doctrine diplomacy and national security. The discussions are wide-ranging and heated — the American will ask why Indians are so critical of themselves despite their achievements as a democracy; the Israeli will question why India is so ambivalent and restrained about the use of force in the ongoing proxy war; the Japanese will say that a lack of focus is what is hurting India; the Nigerian officer who has done a course in Pakistan will recalibrate his views after hearing views on Pakistan and much more.
Course participants have the option of acquiring an M.Phil degree from Madras University for which they need to write a number of papers and submit a thesis on a topic of some relevance to national security. What next? An expansion is an inescapable eventuality that has to be planned for. As the 56th NDC course reached its finale on November 25, the Commandant, Lt. Gen. Ghei, expounded eloquently on the year gone by and distributed course completion parchments to the 101 course participants. There was much bonhomie and some tears with a promise to foster friendships and synergies in the years ahead.
