Lt Col Gautam Das

Independent India has not yet evolved any functional style of command which is uniquely its own, but is continuing to stay with the British-era Indian Army system, relying almost entirely on the effectiveness of its infantry battalions and armoured regiments, and the quality and capability of their commanding officers during the battle. This, in fact, effectively boils down to the rifle company commanders of the infantry, and the squadron commanders of the tank regiments fighting the Indian Army’s battles, as we have seen, for example, in the battle of Daruchhian (1971). With the old British-type officer ethos gradually eroding due to changes in society, affecting both the quality and the outlook of the officer cadre, as well as the improvement in the educational standard and the more modern outlook of the enlisted men, this is not necessarily the best route to continue to follow.

However, there is no surviving traditional Indian style or pre-British style of military leadership any more. The only styles of military leadership in the public mind are those of the mindless cavalry charges of the Rajputs, relying solely on raw courage and hand-to-hand combat, with the leaders among them, or the ancient Aryan chariot-warfare imagery of the Mahabharat epic in which the force commander was himself also a combatant. Neither of these have any relevance to modern warfare, the furious Rajput assaults having become obsolete with the arrival of the Turko-Mongol horse-archers and their battles of minimal personal contact. Nevertheless, the Indian public eulogises personal bravery, as traditionally was the case, whether the battle was won or lost. Very often, personal bravery is extolled even in the case of lost engagements or battles, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but should not overshadow the necessity of winning engagements and battles more often than not. Personal bravery, as seen in soldiers and regularly displayed by junior officers of the ranks of Lt. and Capt., show the ongoing culture of ‘leading from the front’ by this level of officers, but should not be made into a fetish.