Modi cuts Gordian Knot: Announcement of CDS position was overdue. Make this the beginning of serious military reform

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s problem solving technique hearkens to the method of Alexander of Macedon. Instead of unloosening the intractable Gordian Knot, Alexander hacked it with his sword. Whether it was the tangle on Article 370, triple talaq or black money, Modi has used unorthodox solutions rather than follow the conventional path of persuasion and compromise. This style characterised his Independence Day announcement of appointing a chief of defence staff. The proposal has been doing the rounds for 30 years, but has been skillfully blocked, sometimes by the vested interests of the armed forces themselves, sometimes by pusillanimous politicians and always by the non-expert civilian bureaucracy.
The decision could only have come the way it did: a political pronouncement of a strong and self-confident PM. In his remarks Modi said that the new CDS would provide synergy and effective leadership to the army, navy and air force. This implies that the CDS would be primus inter pares, unless Modi again applies the Alexandrian method and gives him a five-star rank. The government deserves credit for not going down the usual path of appointing yet another commission to deal with the issue. As the PM pointed out, but for minor differences, past recommendations for a CDS were unanimous. Everyone knew what had to be done, but did not have the gumption to do it. In 2012 the Naresh Chandra Task Force saw the CDS as being responsible for a single acquisition plan for all three services, administering tri-service institutions like the strategic forces command or the ones planned for space and cyber operations, leading the forces in out-of-country exigencies, encouraging integrated administration and logistics, in short being the principal military adviser to the government.
The logic of technology as well as the exponential cost of equipment has pushed other militaries to integrate. But the Indian armed forces stood out in splendid isolation as a force stuck in the World War II era. Now, with a CDS, it can be reformed and restructured to make it a force capable of fighting and winning 21st century wars. Having displayed perspicacity here, presumably the government understands that this is the beginning of the process, not its end. Its end point, at least in the first phase, should lead to joint theatre commands and an insistence on uniformed and civilian expertise in the defence ministry chain of command. A situation where the army’s Eastern Command works from Kolkata, the navy’s from Vishakhapatnam and air force’s from Shillong, is an absurdity.
The political leadership needs to keep a sharp eye out for efforts to sabotage the decision. But first, they must avoid a self-goal of handing out the position as a sinecure to some favoured general for services rendered. The CDS’s task on hand will be enormous and requires great intellectual and executive skills to make up for lost time. Equally, the government must show how serious it is by formally amending its archaic, but crucial, internal business allocation and transaction rules. These lay out the executive responsibilities and powers of officials and, in their current iteration, ignore the role of uniformed personnel. Unless the CDS is inserted into these rules, things will not changeThe wars of today no longer involve just the military. They often present a bewildering overlap of conventional warfare, terrorism, legal and psychological instruments and the use of information through conventional and social media. This requires better coordination not just among the three services, but between the military, civilians and political leadership. Actually, when it comes to rules of business, it may be a good idea to include the national security adviser as well. In April 2018, the government had set up a defence planning committee under the NSA and authorised him to deal with a range of issues relating to defence at the apex level. With the appointment of the CDS this higher command system “with Indian characteristics” requires some urgent clarification.
Times of India August 17, 2019