In 1991, there was TV series telecast on Doordarshan called “Chanakya”. Doordarshan is the state broadcaster of India and back in 1991, there was no other TV channel in most of India. The 4 metro cities had one other channel. The serial “Chanakya” was incredibly popular when it was first broadcast. It is still very popular and has great recall. The series was based on the life of Vishnugupta Chanakya, also called Kautilya, who was among those responsible for the creation of the Mauryan Empire in India in the 4^th century BCE, and also the author of the “Arthashāstra”.

The series was 47 episodes long. By episode 10, the ruler of Gandhāra, Āmbhi, has submitted to Alexander of Macedon and this is not acceptable to a lot of the ruling class and the general populace. Chanakya is a teacher at the University of Takshashila (capital of Gandhāra) at this time and is worried at the turn of events. The leader of the university mentions to him at this time that if the administration is incapable of leading the society, that job falls to the teachers. This conversation is fiction of course. But Chanakya was a teacher and he did go on to cause major political upheavals in Indian history.

Watch between the 16 and 17 minute marks to see the conversation I referenced earlier.

Chanakya causes major changes by creating a capable set of people who can administer. These are led by a student of his called Chandragupta. Chandragupta Maurya is mentored to be a good ruler. An army to support Chandragupta is created, as is a political alliance, who are willing to take on the ruler of Magadha. In summary, Chanakya, is a teacher and an extraordinary intellectual who could take on the mightiest empire of its time and reset the administrative system, which echoes in Indian society and politics to this day.

Fast forward some 2300 years and we see that universities are still at the centre of attention. In India, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is in the news often for espousing views that seem to be that of the Left. It is accused of being anti-India in some the thoughts it seems to express. These ideas seem to stem from both students and the teaching staff, particularly in the Social Sciences and Humanities areas like history, economics and political science.

In the USA, famous universities like Harvard and Columbia were in the limelight recently for causing disruptions in support of Gaza, against the actions of Israel. These universities, including both students and teaching staff were accused of being anti-Semitic. Professors from these universities and the JNU are popular in both social media and legacy media which are considered to be “Left leaning”. In the case of the JNU at least a few alumni of the JNU have tended to influence administrative policy both from within and without the Government.

So, a situation where professors are involved in politics and are shaping (or at least attempting to) national policies continues from the times of Chanakya through to contemporary times. These educators carry out their activities by shaping the minds of students over many years and decades. They can create a large section of the population that votes for governments that enact the policies vouched for by the university teachers. Barring this, they can influence a section of the population through intellectual output like papers, books, podcasts etc. to expect a government to enact policies the professors taught them to think are right.

In India, some intellectuals including professors have been branded “Urban Naxals” due to their perceived support for the Naxal movement. The Naxal movement is a violent Leftist movement that wanted to replace India’s government with a Socialist administration. The Naxal movement is currently almost over in India, having been defeated by India’s security apparatus. The “Urban” part of the pejorative comes because these intellectuals live in urban areas and sympathize with or support Naxals, who mainly operated out of rural areas.

I just mentioned that professors influence the populace through content that includes books. The main audience for teachers from primary education to universities are their students and the main tools used to influence students are textbooks. “Influencing” students can be called “Conditioning” (perhaps with a negative connotation). Students can be conditioned to think in a certain manner and accept certain events as true or concepts as correct if their textbooks say so. This is especially easy if knowledge is imbibed through rote learning.

This means that a textbook is weapon in the arsenal of teachers that can be applied against impressionable minds. It is not unlike drugs and gases than can make individuals susceptible to suggestions. But the textbooks act gradually over longer periods of time. And this has resulted in the strong opinions and heated discussions taking place in India currently, about the content in text books.

This is especially true of history textbooks. These days, people are questioning which administration is introducing what change in a history textbook for any given class. Questions are also raised about the motivations behind the changes introduced and the individuals nominated to the committees that propose or make the changes to the textbooks.

In this video, Michel Danino, the current head of the committee that is writing History textbooks for the NCERT, speaks about the process and controversy surrounding the same.

The entire conversation around history textbooks is because both the Right and the Left in our country are concerned about whose way of looking at history will be more influential with kids. In other words, the crux of the matter is, whose weapon (textbook) will be used in the conditioning of young minds?

In the Bujinkan system of martial arts, we lean of a concept, which in Japanese, is called “Jokin Hansha”. “Jokin Hansha” refers to “conditioned responses”, or the way we humans behave and react to situations as a result of the conditioning we experience in our lives. Consider a situation where someone looks at another and extends their right hand with the fingers outstretched, the other person will extend his or her own hand to shake the hand that was offered. This is not something that we think of too much. It is something that we are all conditioned to do. It has become a part of our natural behaviour. This is an example of “Jokin Hansha”.

Belief in a “certain narrative” or a specific “memory of history” is much the same. It is a “Jokin Hansha”. Every conditioned behaviour can be used to manipulate individuals and groups of individuals. Consider this, one person throws a punch at another, the person on the receiving end, will invariably move or throw up her or his own hands in defence. If the punch was a feint, the attacker can use the defensive movement of the defender to change the attack to a hand grab or move into the space vacated by the other individual in defending against the fake punch.

In this situation, the default defensive behaviour of one person was used by another person to her or his own advantage. A feint was used to capture space or an arm. This is an application of Jokin Hansha. This same situation can be replicated with textbooks.

Seen above are a series of rough sketches that depict how one individual’s movement is used to the benefit of the other. Sketches by Keane Amaral.

If a student has been conditioned to believe that members of one community are disadvantaged due to a lack of financial resources and education by the vagaries of history, any action by a member of that community which could be derogatory towards another community, might be forgiven as “they do not know better”, irrespective of what the motivations of the individual might have been.

If however, a student has been conditioned to believe that members of said community have historically been conquerors and plunderers, and a member of that community behaves in a manner derogatory to another, the situation could be different. Irrespective of the economic and financial condition of the community, the feeling will be, “this is how they have always been, and deserve to be retaliated against”. This difference in response is what scares people. It is the “Jokin Hansha” of a society that is at stake! Textbooks are the weapon in making or breaking the responses of a society to future scenarios!

That said, weapons are useless without the will of the one wielding the weapon. Teachers can mitigate the success or failure of any attempt at conditioning. Which way the teachers who impart the knowledge from the textbooks direct the mind-set of kids depends on the personal brand of politics they believe in. From this point of view, the teacher is the weapon, a living one, who in turn deploys a lifeless weapon in the form of a textbook.

The notion of conditioning can be considered at a more personal level. In Eastern cultures, the teacher is greatly respected and in some cases, considered a second parent. Many kids in India start school with a prayer that explicitly equates a teacher with the Gods*. All of this is conditioning.

This results in students putting a teacher on a pedestal. This is even more so in the physical arts, like sports, dance, martial arts, music, spirituality and the like. The sense of respect is so great that students never consider that a teacher might be wrong, or might not know everything! This means that there is no questioning of what a teacher mentions or asks of the students.

But in reality, teachers are just humans who are experts (hopefully) in the subject whose knowledge or experience they are sharing. Some teachers will have human frailties and weaknesses. Put together the conditioning which results in devotion towards the teachers and teachers who are not perfect, and the creation of a cult is possible.

Teachers can exploit students. Teachers can prevent students from moving on to study with other teachers or study subjects and art forms that they are not teaching. It is also likely that teachers might not identify cases where they are of no use to a student. A student might not really enjoy what the teacher is sharing or not have an aptitude for the same.

In cases of such a mismatch, a teacher should be able to let go of a student, and encourage a student to explore other options. Not doing any of these is a failure. Numbers of students could lead to a sense of importance for a teacher which could lead to exploitation and act as an incentive to hold on to them. In the same vein, more students could mean more wealth for teachers and that is an incentive to control students as well. And then there are the horrible cases of sexual exploitation and other forms of control that a cult could possibly lead to.

All of this means that a student must find the right teacher. This is especially true in a world where education is an expensive proposition and also a business, with a lot of challenges for those involved in it. The teacher-student match needs to work for both, at least for a short duration. Let me share a few statements I have heard while training at my dojo that emphasize the need for a productive teacher-student relationship.

• I have heard from my teacher and mentors that Hatsumi Sensei, the Soke (Grandmaster) of the Bujinkan, said that one should find the RIGHT teacher. He is supposed to have mentioned this in the context of there being a lot of teachers and not all of them are a right fit for all students.
• I have heard it said that, just as teacher is present when the student is ready to learn, a student is present when the teacher is ready to teach.
• It is supposedly said that, a teacher appears when a student is ready, and when a student is really ready, the teacher disappears.

All of the above statements mean that a teacher has a huge responsibility. He or she should be able to impart knowledge and share experience, but not PRESUME responsibility for the journey that is a student’s life.

Now that I have outlined how teachers can be instrumental in making, rewiring and possibly wrecking individual lives and also affect the fate of societies and nations, I will share a story where teachers played a pivotal role in directing the fate of entire societies. The story of the Narasimha avatāra, in its nuances, explains beautifully, how teachers work in the background to affect events that change the world forever.

While Lord Narasimha and Hiranyakashipu are the main characters in the story of the Narasimha avatāra, I opine that Maharishi Nārada and Shukrachārya (the Guru of the Asuras) are the two individuals who shape the story to be what it ended up being. Both of them were teachers of Prahlad at different times and hence shaped events as they unfolded.

When Hiranyakashipu was meditating upon Lord Brahma to attain a boon that would make him an equal of Lord Vishnu, or the Devas at least, his kingdom was attacked. The Devas saw an opportunity to destroy Hiranyakashipu’s kingdom while he was away. Without Hiranyakashipu to lead them, the Asura kingdom was defeated. Indra, king of the Devas, took Hiranyakashipu’s wife Khayadu hostage. Khayadu, the queen, was pregnant with Prahlad at that time. Indra even entertained thoughts of killing Hiranyakashipu’s son as soon as he was born.

Indra decides to abduct Prahlad’s mother Khayadu, but is dissuaded by Maharishi Nārada. Image credit – “Prahlad”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

But Maharishi Nārada intervened and prevented Khayadu from being taken hostage. He also saved Prahlad’s life by this action. Khayadu lived at the āshrama of Sage Nārada until Hiranyakashipu returned after successfully attaining the boons. Prahlad was born after his father had returned from his venture. But according to the story, while at the ashram, Sage Nārada explained the virtues and greatness of Lord Vishnu to Khayadu. Prahlad is supposed to have imbibed this knowledge while still in his mother’s womb. In this manner Maharishi Nārada was Prahlad’s first teacher.

Khayadu at the āshrama of Maharishi Nārada. Image credit – “Prahlad”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

This knowledge gained from the Sage stayed with Prahlad after he was born, during his childhood years and even as an adult. Prahlad was a devotee of Lord Vishnu even after he became the king of the Asuras. Hiranyakashipu was outraged that his son was a devotee of someone he considered his greatest enemy, and whose worship he wanted to stamp out.

Prahlad being sent to Shukrachārya as a student. Image credit – “Prahlad”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Prahlad was put under the tutelage of Shukrachārya as he was the Guru of the Asuras. But Shukrachārya was unable to diminish in any manner Prahlad’s devotion towards Lord Vishnu. In fact he was concerned as Prahlad was sharing with his other pupils the knowledge received from Nārada. Since Shukrachārya failed, Hiranyakashipu attempted to kill Prahlad through various means, all of which failed. These attempts led to the arrival of Lord Narasimha to protect his devotee, Prahlad, and to the death of Hiranyakashipu.

Shukrachārya fails to diminish Prahlad’s Bhakti for Lord Vishnu. Image credit – “Prahlad”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Since it was Prahlad’s devotion to Vishnu that led to the arrival of Narasimha, I suggest that Nārada was the cause for the avatāra. Nārada was the one who inculcated devotion** towards Vishnu in Prahlad and hence set up the events that culminated in Narasimha killing Hiranyakashipu. At the same time, is it possible that if Prahlad had been weaned away from Bhakti towards Vishnu by Shukrachārya, the Narasimha avatāra would have been different, or been postponed, or not occurred at all? It seems possible, but the story would certainly have been different.

Prahlad sharing his thoughts about Vishnu with other Asura students. Image credit – “Prahlad”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Thus, it was Narada’s actions and Shukrachārya’s failure that led to the Narasimha avatāra occurring as it did. It was a contest between two teachers. On this occasion, Narada’s action were the ones that led to the story we know. Shukrachārya had many other successes, they are just not relevant to this article. In this manner, the actions of two teachers determined the events that led to one of the most important stories in Hindu culture.

Prahlad confirms that Nārada is his  teacher. Image credit – “Prahlad”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Before I conclude, I must add another point. Maharishi Nārada ensured that Indra released Khayadu. In doing so, he ensured that Indra would not be committing the same crime that Kamsa, Lord Krishna’s uncle would commit much later. Kamsa killed all of Vasudeva’s children with his sister Devaki as soon as they were born. Also, by ensuring that Prahlad was not killed before he was born, he ensured that Indra did not commit the same crime that Ashwatthāma would commit in the future, at the end of the Kurukshetra war in the Mahabharata. Both Kamsa and Ashwatthāma suffered severe consequences for their actions. Indra would be eligible for the same fate had he carried through with his impulsive plans.

If Indra had been deserving of divine retribution, would the Devas be eligible for Vishnu’s protection, in the form of Narasimha? Perhaps not. Thus, by ensuring Indra did not commit actions worthy of punishment, and Prahlad was a devotee of Lord Vishnu, Maharishi Nārada literally laid the groundwork for the coming of Narasimha.

Maharishi Nārada prevents Indra from committing a grave crime. Image credit – “Prahlad”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Based on the above points, teachers shaped the future of empires and ensured the Gods could protect the world in the past. In current day, teachers can shape the future of individuals AND societies for better or worse as we saw in the case of university professors, creators of textbooks and martial arts instructors. Conditioning, which is one of the outcomes that actions of teachers eventually lead to, is thus a weapon. And that makes me suggest, TEACHERS ARE WEAPONS.

As some of you might have guessed, the idea for this post comes from tomorrow, September 5^th, being celebrated as “Teacher’s Day” in India. September 5^th is the birthday of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, former President of India. He was a preeminent intellectual, author and educator, whose life is celebrated by recognizing the contribution of teachers to the country.

Notes:

* The shloka (loosely translated as prayer) where teachers are equated with Gods, is seen below.

Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnuhuh

Gurur Devo Meshwarahah

Guruhuh Sākshāt Parabrahma

Tasmai Shree Guruve Namahah

It translates to,

Guru is Brahma, Guru is Vishnu

Guru is Maheshwara (Shiva)

Guru is literally the Supreme Being

I bow/salute that Guru

** I use the words Bhakti and devotion interchangeably, though “devotion” is not a perfect translation for the word “Bhakti”.

Some 25 years ago, I read the book “Every Man a Tiger” by Tom Clancy and General Chuck Horner. This was a non-fiction book published in 1999. It was about the air operation during the First Gulf War, also called the Kuwait Liberation War. General Chuck Horner was the commander of the Allied air forces during that war.

I had read very few books about military history at that time and most of those were about the Second World War. The interest in modern warfare had been kindled in many of my generation in the aftermath of the Kargil War in 1999. It was also in the latter half of the 90s that satellite television had fully taken off and there were several series related to military technology and spy craft on the Discovery Channel and the National Geographic Channel.

At that time, I had only read one book, “Despatches from Kargil” by Srinjoy Choudhary, about Indian military history and that was related to the Kargil War. This book had been published in late 2000. “Every Man a Tiger” was more of a history book than the other because it had been written some 8 years after the conclusion of the First Gulf War. If I recall right, about a quarter or a third of the book deals with the transformation of the United States Airforce (USAF) after the Vietnam War.

This part of the book details how the USAF improved its quality management, adopted new technologies and improved its focus on logistics. This part of the book is dull compared to the parts describing the action and management of the war. But in hindsight, it shows a remarkable level of foresight in the leaders of the USAF in the years between the Vietnam War and the First Gulf War. And this part of the book is what inspired me to write this article.

I had not and still have not read many books about Indian military history. This includes military history post 1947. This is partially because not many military history books were popular in the social circles I grew up in. This in turn could be because this genre was not stocked in the libraries that were frequented back then. It could just be that the genre was not very popular in general.

I always thought that not much had been written about recent Indian military history*. Perhaps this is true in comparison the number of books written about Western military history in the same period. But it turns out that quite a few books were indeed written, and I was not aware of those until they were mentioned on YouTube videos discussing Indian military history. That being said, I have also heard from retired Indian military leaders and thinkers that there are not enough books about contemporary India military history, thinking and strategy. I am sharing a link to a video that specifically discusses this issue.

This video elucidates how Indian military history is not well documented.

But, irrespective of the lack of books for Indian citizens to read about the evolution and improvement of the Indian armed forces, the forces are clearly doing a great job despite all the constraints they face. The evidence of this is in the actions taken during Op Sindoor, which occurred between 7^th May and 10^th May of 2025. The actions reveal that the armed forces are continuously learning and adding to their repertoire of abilities, processes and technologies.

I am guessing it is extremely difficult to make a movie about the awesomeness of military planning. It is a continuous activity and incremental in nature. It might not make for great viewing in terms of the action and drama of actual fighting involving humans. This challenge is likely to increase going further. This is because war will be taken over to a significant extent by technology, from drones to stand off weapons to beyond visual range missiles to using AI in target acquisition. Pilots will likely be on the ground or far behind drone swarms and the target will never be seen by any operator, except through sensor packages.

During the years since the pandemic, we civilians have seen news about war all the time. It started with the Armenia-Azerbaijan war which introduced us all to drones taking centre stage and legacy systems like tanks and artillery guns being vulnerable. This was followed by the India-China stand-off in the Himalayas, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war (with Operation Spider’s Web being the latest news-maker from this war), the war in Gaza, the Israeli actions against Hezbollah, the clash between Pakistan and Iran, the fight against the Houthis in Yemen, Op Sindoor and most recently, the war between Israel and Iran (Op Rising Lion).

In India’s case the face off with China was more about maneuvering and not about technological superiority. The one deadly clash that occurred did not involve firearms! But the conflict prior to this, involving Pakistan, did.

Post the Pulwama terrorist attack where 40 CRPF personnel were murdered by a suicide bomber, India carried out an air strike using Mirage 2000 aircraft against a terrorist training centre on Jabbar Top in Balakot in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Pakistan retaliated the next day with Operation Swift Retort. In this operation, India lost a Mig-21 Bison aircraft while Pakistan lost an F-16. India also lost a helicopter to friendly fire. The pilot of the Mig-21 was taken prisoner and released a short while later. 200 or more terrorists are supposed to have been killed in the first Indian strike.

This short skirmish did not see the use of drones. At this time, India still did not possess the Rafale fighters which carry the long-range Meteor air to air missile. The S400 Triumf was not available for long range air defence either. Both of these were on order but had not been delivered yet. At the same time, Pakistan did not have the J10C Chinese fighter carrying the PL15E missiles. It did not have the Chinese air-defence and cruise missiles either. So, this skirmish was similar to what had been seen in the previous decades.

And then the Armenia-Azerbaijan war happened in 2020, over the Artsak or Nagorno-Karabakh region, which changed everything. This was followed by the Ukrainian defence against Russia with drones and Russia’s adaptation to this new kind of war. This started in early 2022 and is still going on. The defence forces of the whole world learned from these 2 conflicts and air defence became a facet of great importance. The defence was vital against low-cost drones and rockets and also against man-portable guided missiles that target attack aircraft and helicopters.

The Israeli layered defence system, comprising the Arrow AD system, the David’s Sling system and the Iron Dome emerged as an example to learn from. These proved their abilities in the Israeli war against Hamas & Hezbollah starting in late 2023. But the Israeli system was recognized to be very expensive for all countries to emulate. The cost of the interceptors far exceeded that of the drone swarms and cheap rockets and artillery shells they defended against.

Fast forward a year and a half to Op Sindoor and this changed. A new Indian example that could be emulated had been battle tested. I have heard it said that for the first time, the cost of the interceptors that took down drones launched by Pakistan was lower than the cost of the drones themselves. Indian Air Defence systems took down missiles fired by Pakistan and military aircraft as well. I have also heard it said that the layered air defence system India demonstrated between May 7^th and 10^th came as a surprise both within India and without.

This video is an example of everyone’s surprise at the effectiveness of Indian air defence.

India’s air defence system, based on my limited knowledge, consists of the AAD (Advanced Air Defence – it is an anti-ballistic missile Air Defence system), the S400 Truimf, the MRSAM, the Akash missiles and the Zu-73 and L-70 guns. There are also snipers, shoulder fired missiles and “non-kinetic” systems like lasers and jammers to take down drones.

In this video, between the 28 and 35 minute marks, the speakers discuss “Grene Robotics”, one of the organizations whose equipment was used in Indian air defence during Op Sindoor. Grene Robotics has developed a system called “Indrajaal” (Indra’s Net) for air defence.

The AAD used to intercept ballistic missiles was likely not used during Op Sindoor. The S400 was supposedly used to take down Pakistani aircraft, including one Swedish Saab Erieye 2000 AWACS at a distance of 313 km! This system also prevented the PAF from rising to take on the IAF on the 9^th and 10^th when Pakistani bases and command centres were destroyed. The MRSAM or Akash is supposed to have intercepted Pakistani Ballistic missiles. The intercepted missile is supposedly the Fatah-2 or the Shaheen. Chinese CM400AKG missiles were also supposedly used against the S-400 but were intercepted as well.

This video explain the events surrounding the CM400 missile.

Large numbers of drones, including those of Turkish and Chinese origin were deployed by Pakistan. Many of these were supposedly taken down by the Bofors L-70 and Soviet origin Zu-73 guns. Both of these are guns that first came on the scene in the fifties and sixties! India also operates other old air defence guns & systems like the Tunguska and Osa, the Pechora and Igla. All of these are very old weapons!

But the game changer as a whole was the Akashteer system. This is a network that connects the IACCS (Integrated Air Command and Control Centre) of the Air Force and the air defence systems of the Army and Navy. This networking ability apparently identifies an aerial threat and designates the correct system to neutralize it. So, expensive systems are not utilized for smaller threats. This system supposedly uses AI to report all threats also ignore ones that can cause no real harm (missiles that might fall in fields are simply ignored and not intercepted).

In this video, the speakers describe at a high level, the “Akashteer” system used by India for air defence.

The major threat that assets like fighter aircraft face as seen in modern warfare are surface to air missiles (SAM) and shoulder fired missiles manned by small groups of soldiers, as seen during the Russia-Ukraine war. The response to this has been “Stand Off” range weapons. These are weapons that have a greater range. These can be deployed from within safe airspaces and stay outside the range of the defensive munitions.

This lesson was clearly learnt by the IAF. None of the Indian aircraft supposedly left Indian air space during Operation Sindoor. Long range missiles like the air launched Brahmos, Rampage, Scalp and SAAW were deployed. So were kamikaze drones like the Skystriker and Harpy (both of Israeli origin, but manufactured in India). This learning prevented a repeat of a post Balakot-like situation. Even though a few fighter aircraft were lost (before SEAD and DEAD operations, one must add), no pilots were lost, and most importantly, all mission objectives were met.

The most incredible observation that comes up from all of the action during Op Sindoor is that the defence planners and strategists in India have done a fantastic job! They have clearly always known the capabilities of the enemy and the evolution of modern warfare. Every evolution and adaptation has been tracked and responded to! The end result is a mission that produced results, that for a civilian layman seem like clockwork! Of course, there must have been several adjustments over the course of the 4 days, but those are data for further learning by the defence forces.

The reason I mentioned the books about military history at the beginning of this article is because I hope there are some great ones about Op Sindoor in the near future. Not just a blow-by-blow account of how the events progressed, but books that detail how Indian defence preparedness evolved in the 5 or 10 years prior to the conflict. It would also be amazing to understand how the surgical strike in 2016 and Balakot related actions in 2019 affected planning and evolution of military actions.

It seems India has always learnt lessons after every conflict, be they a war with neighbours or an insurgency within the country. I am sharing a link to a video that details the same. This is a video by Shekhar Gupta, the Editor-in-chief of “The Print”. But there is also a feeling among us Indians that we do not document our military history and also that we learn lessons only after a crisis.

This video charts the evolution of India’s security architecture over the decades after independence.

Perhaps there is truth to both. But from the number of books I had not heard of and how much detail is coming out on the internet in recent times, both are not entirely true. We citizens I think, are just frustrated that we did not know more. The actions and successes of Op Sindoor certainly indicate that India has been learning continuously. The volume of data about Indian strategic evolution and military advancement in the last few years also indicates that the other lacuna (aircraft number, engine development, submarine numbers etc.) are being addressed.

I have been following content creators on YouTube who track advancements in Indian defence preparedness regularly. They track the technology, the planning, the strategy and the supply chain for these as well. Following them, I have realized that despite feeling the progress is agonizingly slow, forward movement is happening every day! For they simply would not have content to produce otherwise. Three channels I follow on YouTube, all of which produce content in Hindi, are,

• Alpha Defense – Hindi
• Defence Matrix
• Defence Decode

There are others like Bharat Shakti and Strat News Global, which focus more on strategic and tactical issues, and less on technical aspects. There are many other content creators who focus on developments in the Indian defence space. Add to this the several retired defence personnel, who have started writing books and creating their own content on YouTube and we are beginning to move towards a resource rich phase for civilians interested in India’s military evolution.

To be more specific about the points in the previous paragraph, the 3 defence YouTube channels I mentioned, were instrumental in me knowing a lot of the systems used by India during Operation Sindoor. These channels might not know and sometimes do not reveal if they know, what is not explicit in the public domain. So, the actual status of the induction or deployment of a weapon system or network would not always be available on these channels, nor would exact technical details and numbers deployed. But the general capability and the progress of development of various systems will be known if one follows these and other such channels regularly.

For example, these channels have always spoken about the progress of the AAD ballistic missile defence. They have also spoken of the MRSAM and the multiple variants of the Akash missile system. I only knew that the MRSAM (Medium Range Surface to Air Missile) was based on the Israeli Barak-2 missile, and was jointly developed by DRDO with Israeli industry because of these channels.

I also knew that that the Indian Nagastra was used in Op. Sindoor and that the Israeli Harpy/Harop and Skystriker drones were produced locally due to these channels. Further, I know the difference between the “Sudarshan Chakra” and “Sudarshan CIWS”! 😊The former is the name for the S-400 Triumf in India and the latter is the “Close in Weapon System” (air defence gun system) being developed by L&T. I also knew the difference between the Akash missile and the Akashteer networking solution. 😊

Further, as we realize more about the development and planning of weapons based on evolving threat perceptions, what is clear is that these days war is almost as much a matching between adversaries, of R&D, Supply Chains, engineering abilities, defence budgets, communication and the actual people on the frontlines, who operate various weapon systems. It almost seems like a never-ending exercise in management, finance and technology even though they are not visible. Only the final operators of the tools of war are visible and the outcome of the deployment of weapons are known.

Of course, none of this is new. All of this has been going on for centuries, all over the world. One can only imagine the efforts needed in managing the men and animals in an Akshauhini mentioned in the Mahabharata. How did one feed and clear the dung of over 21000 elephants! How did one breed, train and manage hundreds of thousands of horses used in the Kurukshetra war!

In the historical era, Alexander’s campaigns are considered a success of his supply chain. In Roman history, we hear of the “Marian reforms”. These refer to the reforms carried out by Gaius Marius around 100 BCE, in the army of the Roman Republic. They are supposed to include changes to the composition of the army and its training. There were also supposedly changes to equipment design and how these were procured. All of this is supposed to have resulted in a more effective Roman army**. This process of evolution is heard of from every culture in all parts of the world.

The outcomes of Op Sindoor have brought to the fore the efforts that go into the procurement, maintenance and equipping of fighter aircraft and drones, beyond just the actual combat in the air. These days, aircraft supposedly never see their opponents, they are only aware of their presence and actions due to electronic sensor packages. These sensor systems can deploy defensive weapons when needed!

This means there needs to be an R&D and manufacturing ecosystem in a country if it has to even survive going up in the air. If the ecosystem is absent or nascent, money has to be found to procure the abilities from other nations, which means a focus on geopolitics! All this means the focus is on integration and that mystical word, “synergy”.

The achievement of objectives is more about the integration of all systems to work together than just having numbers or courage. Numbers and courage matter a lot, but do not guarantee success. I had read a sentence in a “Modesty Blaise” story, “The Warlords of Phoenix”. It goes something like, “guns make a weak man strong, but make a strong a man a giant”. In a contemporary context, this could be “numbers and courage make a weak nation strong, but integration makes the strong nation untouchable”.

Let me use an analogy from the martial arts to elucidate further. Consider training with a spear. The spear is a stick with a pointed metal tip at one end. The stick is called the shaft or haft of the spear. Remove the shaft and the spear is a dagger at worst or a short sword at best. The advantage of range that made the spear vital in the past is nullified. The shaft is also how a wielder interacts with the weapon.

So, the shaft is what makes a spear, not the spear head! But the tip or spear head is what everyone looks at, respects, appreciates and most importantly, fears. Remove the shaft and the fear diminishes greatly.

This is exactly like modern warfare. The drones, fighter aircraft and the missiles are the tip of the spear. But the planning, management, technology, study, and finances are the shaft of the spear. Without these, the tip diminishes greatly in its ability.

Taking this analogy further, the air defence system is like the shield or armour to the missiles and aircraft that are the spear. Historically, the shield and armour have been as important as the spear or the sword. These were used by all cultures and were always a part of a soldier’s kit for most of history. A soldier with a spear and a shield is more devastating as against one with just a spear. And a soldier with just a shield and no spear is even less so.

The Shield and Armour are vitally important to a soldier. Image credit – “Mahabharata 33 – Drona’s Vow”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

So, the defence system and the offensive weapon package together make for a combination that affords a greater probability of mission success. This is the integration that we discussed earlier. A lack of integration, while still capable, is not as effective as the other.

So, one of the things that Op Sindoor has done spectacularly, is to bring the focus onto the parts of conflict management that are not glamourous and are less well known. The management, planning and continuous learning that enable the successful execution of a military operation have been highlighted like never before. And we as a nation can breathe easy as the planners seem to have been doing a great job behind the scenes.

As a last analogy, martial arts training is all about drudgery. One trains for long hours for years on end, despite knowing that the need to apply the learning might never occur. This is also the most preferred situation; one never wants to fight, for the variables in any conflict are numerous. The learning from training in the martial arts are likely applied in walks of like beyond physical combat.

Similarly, the machinery that defends our nation has clearly been going full steam! One can only imagine and marvel at the innumerable hours spent over years, putting together and training with the various aspects that resulted in the success of Op Sindoor! We owe a debt of gratitude to all the individuals who played their parts in this mammoth exercise.

Lastly, just as the martial arts are likely to lead to benefits beyond physical combat, our nation’s defence preparedness will lead to greater economic development due to increased spending on R&D and manufacturing and the many export opportunities that are likely to materialize.

Notes:

* Some other books I have read and heard of about Indian military history are mentioned below. These are beyond the ones mentioned in the article proper.

• 1962: The War that Wasn’t by Shiv Kunal Verma
• 1965: A Western Sunrise by Shiv Kunal Verma
• The Garud Strikes by Mukul Deva
• The Battle of Haji Pir by Kulpreet Yadav
• The Battle of Rezang La by Kulpreet Yadav
• Nimbu Saab: The Barefoot Naga Kargil Hero by Neha Dwivedi and Diksha Dwivedi
• India’s Most Fearless : True Stories of: True Stories of Modern Military Heroes by Shiv Aroor and Rahul Singh
• There are several other books that have out in recent times!
• There is a lot more content on YouTube in the form of podcasts that details recent Indian military history and evolution

** I have heard a statement about Roman military training that goes something like, “the training is like bloodless fighting, while fighting is like bloody training”. I had heard this statement in an old series called “War & Civilization” on Discovery Channel in the late 90s. The series was based on the work of John Keegan.

Similarly, it seems that India’s success in Op Sindoor was as much about the study, planning, research, management and training when there was no fighting, as about the actual fighting during the operation.