Wars of India: An Operational Perspective

Description

The history of wars of India and multiple minor and major operations is well-documented by the Historical Division of the Ministry of Defence, reputed historians and military scholars who were directly involved in these. Surprisingly, in the majority of the cases, the focus has been on tactical battles conducted by units and tactical formations operating under corps and groups of corps at the cost of neglecting operations by the latter.

It is a paradox that notwithstanding the steady growth of the Indian Armed Forces since independence no effort has been made to undertake pragmatic and in-depth introspection of wars and military operations to identify major shortcomings and initiate corrective measures. No gainsaying that a scientific and objective analysis demands a comprehensive understanding of the art of war and hawks to constantly remain abreast with changes by military brass. Unfortunately, that was not the strong point of the military leadership of the first few decades of free India.

The book attempts to carry out a detailed introspection of the three wars (1962, 1965, and 1971) and the Jammu and Kashmir Operation 1947 – 1948 from an operational perspective.