Author: David Smith
Affiliation: Stimson Center
Organization/Publisher: Stimson Center
Date/Place: September 30, 2020/USA
Type of Literature: Analysis
Number of Pages: 221
Link: https://www.stimson.org/2020/the-wellington-experience/
Keywords: India, Indian Army, Pakistan, Kashmir Dispute, Civil-Military relations, China, South Asia
Brief:
This in-depth study analyzes the structures of India’s army, the world’s third largest, and its role in the Indian establishment, South Asia, and relations with the US defense establishment. It traces India’s journey from non-alignment days to becoming the US’ strategic partner in the region under the shade of rising China. This study is the outcome of wide-ranging interviews of US military personnel who were trained alongside their Indian counterparts. One of the key findings of the study is that hatred towards Pakistan in the Indian army has been increasing every decade while there is reluctance to categorize China as an enemy. The author argues that the unaccountable actions of the Indian Army in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir has accelerated the “radicalization” of a new generation of Kashmiri youth, besides rejuvenating the indigenous armed rebellion “once thought to have been defeated, and raised the level of violence along the Line of Control to levels not seen since 2003.” It also refers to the Indian Army’s so-called counterinsurgency doctrine in Jammu and Kashmir, categorizing the killing of armed rebels as “extrajudicial.” It notes that while the Indian army’s role remains significantly dim in the structures of Indian civil-military relations, however, “such questions are less applicable to the Indian Army except perhaps in the nuclear dimension and in issues related to the state of Jammu and Kashmir.” Regarding possible involvement of the US in any future India-Pakistan war, the author argues that Washington will rely on diplomacy and not on military intervention despite the fact that the US is closer to India. However, the same does not apply in case India engages in a military conflict with China. “Any significant failure by the Indian Army against the People’s Liberation Army… will almost certainly create a crisis situation in which the United States could be pulled in on the Indian side not just diplomatically, but potentially militarily as well. This may lead to enormous geopolitical risks of escalation for the United States not only in South Asia but in other Asian and maritime theaters as well,” the study asserts.
By: Riyaz Ul Khaliq, Non-Resident CIGA Research Associate