STRENGTH IN UNITY

India is on the threshold of its most significant military reform to date as it advances towards theatrisation of its armed forces for optimal resource utilisation, jointness and operational efficiency

- PRADIP R. SAGAR

COME INDIA'S 77TH INDEPENDENCE DAY, AND Prime Minister Narendra Modi may yet make a long-awaited announcement when he addresses the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort-the theatrisation of the Indian armed forces. Based on the doctrine of One Border, One Force, units of the army, navy and air force will be integrated over a certain geographic area, or theatre, under a single commander, with logistics, training and support services all woven into this single unit for optimum utilisation of military resources, operational efficiency and jointness in operations. General Bipin Rawat, India's first Chief of Defence Staff, had set the ball rolling, but his untimely death as well as opposition from the services, especially the Indian Air Force (IAF), had put the project on the back-burner. Current CDS Gen. Anil Chauhan has given it fresh impetus, and misgivings of the IAF have also been resolved.

Currently, the three services function with 17 independent commands: the army and air force have seven commands each, and the navy three. India did create a unified command in 2001, with the Port Blair-based Andaman and Nicobar Command. The Strategic Forces Command, in charge of the country's nuclear forces, also functions as a tri-services command.

Theatre commands were recommended by the Kargil review committee in 2000 to promote increased jointness between the three services. As per Gen. Rawat's original plan in 2020, there were to be five theatre commandsEastern, Western, Peninsular, Maritime and an Air Defence Command. Two functional commands-Joint Training Command and Operational Logistics Command-were also planned. Now, however, the Indian military will be restructured into three integrated theatre commands. There will be two land-based commands-one focused on Pakistan and the other on China-and a third maritime one, overseeing the Indian Ocean Region.