CENTRE FOR LAND WARFARE STUDIES (CLAWS)
NATIONAL SEMINAR ON
INDIAN ARMY: EMERGING ROLES AND TASKS
15 OCT 2010
General
A National Seminar on “Indian Army: Emerging Roles and Tasks” was organised
by CLAWS at the DRDO Auditorium on 15 October 2010. The COAS and other
delegates were welcomed by Brig Gurmeet Kanwal (Retd), Director CLAWS. The
Chief of Army Staff, General VK Singh PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC, delivered the
keynote address.
The seminar was held in two sessions. Session I dealt with „Experiences since
Independence‟ and was chaired by Lt Gen Ravi Sawhney, PVSM, AVSM (Retd).
Session II dealt with „Role Appraisal for Future Threats and Challenges‟ and was
chaired by Gen VP Malik, PVSM, AVSM (Retd). Vote of thanks was delivered by
Maj Gen Dhruv C Katoch, SM, VSM (Retd), Additional Director, CLAWS.
Welcome Address: Brig Gurmeet Kanwal (Retd), Director CLAWS
The role and tasks of the Army are evolutionary in nature. Safeguarding the
territorial integrity of our country would continue to be the primary role of the
Indian Army. Though current challenges indicate that the future engagement of
the army is likely to be predominantly in sub conventional conflict, yet the
conventional threat cannot be wished away. Thus, the Indian Army has to train,
equip and be prepared to undertake operations along the entire spectrum of
conflict. Also, there have been rapid strides in technology which have ensured
battlefield transparency and enabled the commanders to undertake real time
decisions. These evolutions necessitate analysis of the changes necessary in
organisation, training and equipping of the Force so that the Army maintains a
very high state of operational preparedness for all future conflict scenarios.
Keynote Address: Gen VK Singh, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC, COAS
China and Pakistan are two major irritants to India‟s security concerns. It is
hence imperative that we modernise and augment the country‟s war fighting
capabilities. China is building its military capabilities at a rapid pace and Pakistan
is allowing anti India terror infrastructure to operate from its soil. To meet our
future operational challenges, the country must have substantial conventional
war fighting capabilities with the ability to even fight in a nuclear backdrop. While
a conventional full scale war with either China or Pakistan looks remote at this
point in time but skirmishes are certainly possible, hence, Army can‟t digress
from its primary role of safeguarding the territorial integrity of the country besides
preparing for its secondary roles.
