Control of land will be key to victory in war, says army chief

Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Tuesday put the spotlight on the role of the army in determining the outcome of any conflict saying control of land will remain “the currency of victory” especially in the Indian context, stressed the need to establish technological dominance over the country’s adversaries and build capabilities to fight longer wars, and called for developing and deploying longer range strike weapons.

- Rahul Singh

“When you go back to the Alaska conference that took place between the two presidents, they just discussed how much land has to change hands,” he said, referring to the August 15 summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to discuss how to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

“Others (navy, air force) will look at destruction as the only kind of action that they are required to take. But in the case of land forces or army, it is the eviction and occupation of land which is important. In India, since we have a 2.5-front threat (China, Pakistan and counter insurgency), land will remain the currency of victory.”

Dwivedi made the comments at a function organised by All India Management Association.