CHANGE AND CONTINUITY IN WARFARE : AN INDIAN
EXPERIENCE
Every age has its own kind of war, its own limiting conditions,
and its own preconceptions. Each period, therefore, would
have held to its own theory of war.
Carl Von Clausewitz
Introduction
Conflict is as old as human existence. As the human race progressed, the nature of
warfare also changed. Development of weapons led to creation of organizations
which in turn depended on technology. Requirement of ideas or doctrines or strategy
came up to use the equipments and organizations optimally.
Large number of theories exist on trends in change in warfare. There is no common
“fit” in these theories. Military theorists have propagated Clash of Civilisations
(Huntington),Wave Theory (Tofflers), Revolution of Military Warfare(RMA), Fourth
Generation Warfare (4GW) etc. Presently the theories of Information Warfare,
Network Centric Warfare, Effect Based Operations, for conventional warfare with
extensive use of technology specially Information Technology(IT) have been
propagated. For age old Counter Insurgency Operations (CI Ops) theories of
Revolutionary Warfare, Guerilla Warfare, Low Intensity Conflict Operations(LICO),
Asymmetric Warfare, Peoples War, Proxy War, Irregular War, Restricted Warfare,
Unconventional Warfare, Gray Area War, Sub Conventional Warfare, Military
Operations Other Than War (MOOTW), Limited War, Small War, Three Block War
etc are in vogue. All these types of warfare have overlapping characteristics. Warfare
situations are much richer and more complicated than any single theory can cover.
The then British Indian Army fought in World War one and two with distinct glory.
Field Marshal Bill Slim considered his Indian divisions as one of his best. India since
independence has fought four conventional wars in 1948, 62, 65 and 71 with
Pakistan and China. Kargil conflict (May to July 1999) with a nuclear backdrop gave
a new dimension to warfare we are likely to fight. In addition Indian Armed Forces
have taken part in Hyderabad and Goa Operations, Op PAWAN in Sri Lanka,
counter insurgency operations in North East since 1955 and ongoing proxy war in J
and K. We have been successful in Punjab, Mizoram, West Bengal against Naxalites
in early 70s and GNLF agitation in North Bengal (though Armed Forces did not take
part). No other country in the world after World War two has such varied experience
in warfare in the two extreme spectrum of war. There is likely to be a paradigm
change in warfare as well as continuity. We should be ready for both and initiate
action in terms of weapon and equipment, organization, doctrine and leadership.
Theories of Warfare
Clash of Civilisations This is propagated by Professor Samuel P Huntington. He
predicts a “clash of civilizations” between Western, Confucian, Japanese, Islamic,
Hindu, Latin American and African cultures. The clash will occur along cultural “fault
lines” between people, groups or non states who struggle for control over political
