Brig. Ravi Palsokar (retd)

There is change in the air in the Indian Army. This stems from the Chief of the Army Staff’s decision to carry out reforms within the army to be better prepared for a future war by strengthening the force and making it more efficient while maximising the use of increasingly limited budgetary allocations.

It is reported that four studies have been initiated under officers of Lt General’s rank and their subject is to restructure Army Headquarters to make it leaner and more effective; maintain a youthful profile of the officer cadre with particular emphasis on commanders of units and formations; and re-examining the terms of service engagement of other ranks, the bulk of whom retire at the age of 35. It is also reported that a concomitant aim is to reduce the size of the army which many commentators and serving officers feel has become bloated, unwieldy and is not making optimum use of the capabilities of soldiers. Note that today’s soldier is an educated individual unlike those of yesteryears when limited education was the norm.

Along with this there has been discussion about re-structuring field formations by recasting traditional divisions and brigades into self-contained all arms Integrated Battle Groups (IBGs) operating directly under respective Corps Headquarters. For the lay reader, it needs to be explained that a corps-sized formation comprises an independent field force, responsible for a specific geographic area with tailor-made defensive and offensive operational tasks. The success of this reorganisation obviously depends on the optimal use of manpower in terms of organisation, training, deployment and operational capabilities. Therein lies the rub and the challenge.

The above discussion suggests that what is needed is a field force consisting of trained soldiers who are versatile, technologically capable with adequate training for effective deployment along and across the country’s borders, as capable of operating in the plains as in the mountains.

Regrettably, the last few decades have seen an emphasis on specialisation, particularly in the Infantry with units permanently organised for mounted and dismounted roles. This resulted in the late Seventies in the formation of a newly constituted Mechanised Infantry Regiment and as the requirement grew, conversion of the Brigade of The Guards which is the senior-most regiment of the Infantry, to a mechanised role. Thus, we now have two regiments of Infantry permanently configured for a mechanised role. It is a moot point whether this is a wholly desirable change. It has been functional over the last 40 years and expanded as needed. It is now time to re-examine, in the background of the Army Chief’s proposed makeover whether the Infantry needs to reconsider such specialised role or make every infantryman capable of operating in the mounted and dismounted role.

Operational Necessity

There is no gainsaying the fact that the modern battlefield is an integrated one requiring the closest co-ordination between its component arms. Remember, however, that warfare across centuries have required all fighting men on the battlefield to act in concert, the only difference being the increasing level of technological sophistication.

It is worthwhile to reiterate that the role of the Infantry has always been to close with the ene