Former Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Mukund Naravane (Retd) reflects on Operation Sindoor, the changing character of warfare, Agnipath, defence indigenisation, the strategic lessons India must draw from recent conflicts and how AI, cyber and drones are reshaping battlefields.
The Agnipath scheme rolled out during your tenure remains controversial. Did you foresee the challenges that cropped up?
There is nothing inherently wrong with the Agnipath scheme. Many people don’t know that in the late 70s, there was nothing like pensionable service. The jawan used to serve for seven years and go home without any pension or any major corpus or anything like that. At that time there was no social media, so we do not know the objections which were raised, then. But we have on record senior generals of the army then saying — What are you doing? We will become an old army, how will we fight with old people? The exact opposite is being said now. How will we fight with young people? So HR policies change with time. Then it was seven years, no pension and it became 15 years, plus pension. Now it will come down to four with the policy of retaining some and releasing some. So it’s a mixture and there is nothing wrong. Nothing will be perfect — you cannot think of all the angles to something and therefore changes will be required. Three days ago, The Indian Express had a headline that the army and air force want 50% retention of Agniveers with the Navy looking at 75% retention. I’m sure that amendments will be brought in to keep finding new solutions.
You oversaw significant progress on Atmanirbhar Bharat in defence. Which indigenous platforms or systems developed or inducted during your tenure you think will have the most impact on future operations?
Drone and counter drone industry are the main industries where a lot of work had stepped up. The first drones which came in were from ideaForge, which is an indigenous company. But having said that, we have to accept that we are still at the assembly stage. Parts are still coming majorly from abroad, and we are assembling here. Self-reliance doesn’t happen overnight. So we are taking those baby steps. And as we go ahead, from assembly, we will get to manufacture — that transition period is on, it will take time.
You talked about drones and anti-drone systems as key elements of modern warfare. The other domains are Cyber, Information and Space. Where do you think armed forces are heading on these fronts?
On the Cyber, Space and Information fronts, all three services are putting joint efforts. The future is not just about the platforms. It will be platforms, fused with the sensors fused with AI. So earlier we used to talk about platform centric, then we moved to network centric paradigm with sensor-shooter network. Now, going beyond that, we are incorporating AI into it. At the same time, Cyber warfare will be an overlay on everything. Whether it is a small weapon system or a rocket or a drone which has to be controlled or brought down, everything will have a Cyber warfare part interwoven. So at the time of design development itself, the Cyber-hardening of these systems will have to be done, not as an afterthought. This is how we will have to think ahead.
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Taking you back to Op Sindoor, are there any lessons for the Indian Armed forces? What are your observations as far as we could change or do differently?
I think our response was militarily excellent. If at all we have lost out somewhere, it was in the information warfare, the narrative. I think we were slightly lacking in that. Information warfare does not start once the crisis has started. Narrative has to be built and its seeds have to be sown. It is a continuous process. Even as we speak, it should be happening. Our ambassadors abroad, our DAs, trade delegations should know what picture is to be painted. And when the crisis arises, this narrative, which we have been building, should be made use of. That is where we need to focus. Pakistan tried to set the narrative that they are the victims of terrorism rather than what they actually are — the hub of terrorism. But we also have to understand information warfare has to be a nationwide effort, not just of individual services. It has to be a top down approach. The narrative to be known and passed down. Everyone is an ambassador in that sense, everywhere we go, especially in the era of social media. In the age of social media, velocity beats veracity. So you have to be first one. But when I say, velocity beats veracity, what we say should have truth.
After Op Sindoor, the tri-services continued their exercises along the Western front. New formations too came up including Rudra Brigade, Bhairav Battalion among others. How do you look at that?
Bhairav and Rudra were not directly correlated to Op Sindoor. These thought processes were in the pipeline. Structures keep changing. The Integrated Battle Groups (IBGs) were started in my time as an initial idea and they are getting operationalised now. Basic motto is one foot on the ground. So with one foot steady on the ground, you bring in the change. The idea is to never lose balance.
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What was the most difficult call you had to make during the Ladakh standoff? And would you have done anything differently in hindsight?
The very difficult call was when we lost 20 men. At that moment there was the thought that should we delay or stagger the announcement. I said, no, we cannot keep families and others in a state of suspense. Yes we suffered casualties, it should not happen but it’s a part and parcel of our job. It was critical that we announced that straightaway. That was my decision and even in hindsight I feel it was a correct decision. I always told my commanders too that when things go wrong you must tell me immediately – after that it becomes my problem, it’s not yours anymore.
How much operation latitude does a serving army chief have versus political direction during the time of crisis, especially war crisis?
A lot of it. No two crises are the same. No two situations are same. In a similar situation with say Pakistan and with China there will be different methods to tackle it. And the person, the commander on the ground is given full latitude to handle it. When they feel it’s beyond their capability, then they look up for direction and more resources to use. And we also know our extent and areas of capabilities and responsibilities right? So these obviously, automatically, becomes a boundary too. But otherwise full levy is always given to the man on the ground.
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On the international front, the conflicts in West Asia and between Russia and Ukraine continue to evolve. What key lessons do these conflicts hold for the Indian Armed Forces, and how should India view them from a strategic perspective?
First and foremost, I want to say that wars are easy to start and difficult to end. In that respect, India as a nation has been very mature in choosing what to do, what level to do and how to exit and stop. The Ukraine-Russia conflict has lasted longer than World War I. On the other hand, we have been very finite. So when we embark on an action, we must know what the aim is. The politico-military aim has to be clear and once that is achieved, one must stop. Lessons will keep emerging. Importance of drone warfare is another lesson. Vulnerability of large groups of people or platforms, whether it is ships or other such targets. There is also a lesson, you cannot do without the man on the ground. Earlier, if we needed 100 for something, we can now do the job with 50. But we still need that 50. Technology will never replace man.
Post Op Sindoor, you were one of the first to talk about trauma of war. In a speech in Pune, you talked about how war impacts people. Because conflicts don’t just have strategic implications but also have social impacts.
When the cost of war is generally discussed, it is done in terms of cost in rupees, its budget. But there is also a social cost. Wars displace people. Just like the soldiers bear the cost, so do the people. Women and children are the worst affected in a conflict. Then there are human losses. Children lose parents, people lose spouses. It takes generations to get over such traumas. My wife has written a series of books on the subject, it’s called the Memory Tree and it’s available with Bare Bones Publishing. It’s a set of three age-appropriate books. It deals with the subject of how to help children overcome loss.
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There have been three unfortunate deaths of cadets at the NDA since October last year. Do you think a change is needed in the way training is conducted at military academies?
We will have to be more stringent in our selection process. Unfortunate deaths have occurred in the past. When I was at the academy, a cadet had lost his life in the swimming pool. But the incidents seem to be happening more frequently over the last few years. Because of the basic standards, we might have to change our training regimen. Maybe, a three to four months of transitionary period can be introduced. Maybe, a more rigorous medical check-up can be put in place including better ways of detecting underlying causes.
What advice would you give to the young officers and jawans of today when it comes to balancing professional and personal life in the forces.
I always talk of work-life balances. You will never say at the end — I wish I had spent more time at the office. You will always say – I wish I had spent more time with my family. So everyone in the forces need to have this balance. I tell the officers if you are going for a fitness run, take your daughter or your wife along. Find ways to spend time with them. Also never start a drill or anything new on a Monday because that will mean everyone will have to work on Sunday to prepare, I always said — start things on Tuesdays.
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We know you said you are bored of this question but still do you see your book Four Stars of Destiny releasing anytime soon?
The publisher is in contact with the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The MoD has also invested their time and efforts in it so I am sure it’s in their interest to have it out too. My job was to write it. It’s their job to release it. I have written two books after that and the sequel of the Cantonment Conspiracy is with the publisher. In fact I even have the plots of the third and fourth books in the series all sorted out in my mind.
