Shedding Skin: Gen Mush casts off his ‘second skin’ and its consequence on India

Finally the general kept his word. Pakistan's beleaguered chief General Pervez Musharraf at last cast off his "second skin" and stepped down from Pakistan Army’s top position. 

After reigning as the supreme commander of the Pakistan armed forces for nine long years since 1999, General Pervez Musharraf passed over the baton to the new Chief of Army Staff, Gen Ashfaq Kiyani.

Entangled in the midst of unprecedented pressure on International fronts, especially the US and escalating opposition from the home front with the return of political heavy-weight rivals Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, Musharraf took the decision to step down from the top position. With this, Musharraf enters a new power struggle but without the comfort of his uniform. Nevertheless to ensure his grip on power, he chose to appoint trusted aides and confidants like Gen Tariq Majid and Kiyani in important positions in the Army. 

On this significant move, DefenceIndia tries to explore the implications on India and what lies beneath the General’s latest move on the political chessboard. Our team spoke to notable think-tanks.

Reacting to this recent event, Maj Gen (Retd) Ashok Krishna opines, “Situation will be as it was before, ISI is the key organization which conducts all the activities against India to weaken India Internally and make it bleed by thousand cuts. Musharraf was part of ISI and is responsible for ISI and what has happened…They will continue to perpetrate terrorism and their policy of weakening India will still continue. In Pakistan, the army still has control so whatever happens Pakistan army will have its stamp. The greater the instability in Pakistan the greater will be its fallout on India.”

The very fact that newly appointed General Kiyani is the first ISI chief to command the 500,000-strong army and his significant role during during the 2001-02 stand-off between India and Pakistan when India initiated Op Parakram reinforces Maj Gen Ashok Krishna’s views. 

Suggesting a better option, Maj Gen (Retd) Ashok Krishna said, “Change is only possible when we have a civilian leader and army is put in place. As far as this change is considered it will not improve any thing. Situation will remain same or might worsen.”

“Situation will neither be beneficial nor will it change, it will remain same, he is still the president and supreme commander of the forces. It is good to have a new chief for a dynamic force. This change is of no significance as far as India is concerned. Democracy will only take shape once duties are delegated”, Maj Gen (Retd) Y.K. Gera said.

Air Marshal (Retd) Vinod Patney adds, “There will be not much difference, the Army still holds the real power, and we will have to be on guard, it will take some time to settle. Only after the elections one will be able to say if there is stability. As long as the army rules we can’t say it is a new beginning. We will have to wait and watch, we can’t say anything at this stage. If stability in Pakistan is undermined then it will be worse. Now boundaries of privileges will be more demarcated.”

Speaking on the similar lines, Col (Retd) Anil Shorey asserted, “There will be no difference, army will still control, Gen Mushrraf is still the president, he knows the pulse of the Army and it will be the same situation. He has his best men in most sensitive posts and now he can focus on the elections, things might get tightened.’’

Pointing at the role of the newly appointed General, Col Shorey adds, “Gen Kayani will now prioritise and focus on all the shortcomings of the Army and will dedicate time and funds on Equipments, Manpower, Morale and Training of the Army. As for the Pakistani Army, it is good to have new chief who will focus on the Army alone as he is Sensible, Mature and a balanced soldier.”

Further, Col Shorey said “The Indian Army will have to now be on guard and focus on these issues as well. As for India, the situation remains the same, we will have to wait and watch.”

But the key question for India is what will be the effects of existing Indo Pakistan relation in the wake of this significant move? Will India see a new dawn in the current relations? Or the relation will transform from good to better; or even worse? 

(Source: Defence India; inputs by Mrs. Priyanka Charan)

Is conscription India weapon to fight escalating attrition?

With its long history of fighting battles for country's valour, pride and security, the Indian Army fourth largest Army in world is all set to wage a new battle in upcoming time. And this time the battle is not with the enemies across the border but with a threat that lies within. Escalating Attrition rate within the defence forces is the new threat that lurks around and if not sorted on time can cripple the mammoth structure of the country's defence. 
 
Echoing the same fear of mounting human resources crisis in the army, General Deepak Kapoor recently administered Compulsory military service or conscription in the long run as a way to combat this enemy. 

While addressing on the eve of the 60th Army Day, General Deepak Kapoor acknowledged that the army had proved itself no match for the corporate sector, which with its big-ticket jobs was depriving the force of its most vital resources. 

"We are not getting the right material. The corporate world is paying much more. It is a source of worry," he said. 

 
General Kapoor's view on conscription reflects at army's constant worry towards growing attrition rate and its inability to attract right raw material in presence of corporate giants. 
 
At last count the army was short of 11,238 officers. Worse still, the Indian Military Academy and the National Defence Academy are functioning way below their capacities. 
 

Definition: CONSCRIPTION is a system whereby the state requires all men (and in a few cases women) to serve a period in the armed forces. Initiated in Prussia in the 18th century and later developed by Napoleon in France and then it spread across the Europe. 
 
Countries without mandatory military service 

1 Argentina 
2 Australia 
3 Belgium 
4 Belize 
5 Bosnia and Herzegovina 
6 Bulgaria 
7 Canada 
8 Costa Rica 
9 Croatia 
10 Czech Republic 
11 France 
12 Hungary 
13 India 
14 Iraq 
15 Republic of Ireland 
16 Italy 
17 Jamaica 
18 Japan 
19 Latvia 
20 Lebanon 
21 Luxembourg 
22 Republic of Macedonia 
23 Montenegro 
24 Morocco 
25 Netherlands 
26 New Zealand 
27 Peru 
28 Portugal 
29 Romania 
30 Slovakia 
31 Slovenia 
32 South Africa 
33 Spain 
34 Tanzania 
35 United Kingdom 
36 United States 

Countries with mandatory military service* 

1 Albania 
2 Armenia 
3 Austria 
4 Belarus 
5 Bermuda 
6 Brazil 
7 Chile 
8 China (PRC) 
9 Colombia 
10 Cyprus 
11 Denmark 
12 Egypt 
13 Finland 
14 Germany 
15 Greece 
16 Iran 
17 Israel 
18 Korea, South 
19 Malaysia 
20 Mexico 
21 Norway 
22 Poland 
23 Russia 
24 Serbia 
25 Singapore 
26 Sweden 
27 Switzerland 
28 Taiwan (ROC) 
29 Turkey 
30 Ukraine 

Albania
Albania has compulsory military service.
 
Armenia
Armenia has compulsory military service for two years for males from 18 to 27 years.
 
Austria
Austria has mandatory military service for fit male citizens from 18 to 35 years of age. Since 2006, the period of service has been six months. Conscientious objectors can join the civilian service (called Zivildienst) for nine months. Since January 1, 1998, females can join the military service voluntarily.
 
Belarus
Belarus has mandatory military service for all fit men from eighteen to twenty-seven years of age. Military service lasts for eighteen months for those without higher education, and for twelve months for those with higher education. 

Bermuda
Bermuda, although an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, still maintains conscription for its local force. Males between the age of eighteen and thirty-two are drawn by lottery to serve in The Bermuda Regiment for a period of thirty-eight months. 

Brazil
Males in Brazil are required to serve 12 months of military service upon their 18th birthday. While de jure all males are required to serve, numerous exceptions mean military service is de facto limited mostly to volunteers, with an average of between 5 and 10% of those reporting for duty actually being inducted. 

Chile
Chile has mandatory military service for male [9] citizens between eighteen and forty-five. The duration of service is twelve months for the army and twenty-four months for Navy and Air Force.
 
China (PRC)
Conscription has existed in theory since the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949; however, because of China's huge population and therefore the large number of individuals who volunteer to join the regular armed forces, a draft has never been enforced. 

Colombia
Colombia has compulsory military service for males.

Cyprus
Cyprus has compulsory military service for all Greek Cypriot men between the ages of eighteen and fifty. Military service lasts for twenty-five months. 


Denmark
As described in the Constitution of Denmark, § 81, Denmark has mandatory service for all able men. Normal service is four months, and is normally served by men in the age of eighteen to twenty-seven. Some special services will take longer. 


Egypt
Egypt had a mandatory military service program for males between the ages of eighteen and thirty. Females of comparable age serve in a civilian program.  
 


Finland
Finland has mandatory military service for men of a minimum duration of six months (180 days), depending on the assigned position: those trained as officers or NCOs serve for twelve months (362 days), specialist troops serve for nine (270 days) or twelve months, while rank and file serve for the minimum period. Unarmed service is also possible, and lasts eleven months (330 days). Since 1995, women have been able to volunteer for military service. 

Germany
Germany has mandatory military service of nine months for men. Women may volunteer and are allowed to perform similar jobs as men. 

Greece

As of 2006, Greece (Hellenic Republic) has mandatory military service of twelve months for men. Although Greece is developing a professional army system, it continues to enforce the 12-month mandatory military service despite earlier promises that the draft will be reduced to six months. Women are accepted into the Greek army, they are not obliged to join as men are. 

Iran
Iran has mandatory military service for men. Duration of military service is dependent on some conditions and circumstances, but it is usually 21 months in normal conditions on top of the three months of initial training. E 
 
Israel
Israel has mandatory military service for both men and women. 

Korea, South
South Korea has mandatory military service of 24 to 27 months.[11] There are no alternatives for conscientious objectors[12] except imprisonment. The duration of service varies from branch to branch of the military however, by 2012, army military service will be reduced to 18 months varying by age and background of education. 

Malaysia
Main article: Malaysian National Service
As of 2004, Malaysia has mandatory national service of three months for a selected group of both men and women. Twenty percent of 18-year-olds are selected through a lottery system to join this program. 
 
Mexico
Currently, all males reaching eighteen years of age must register for military service (Servicio Militar Nacional, or SMN) for one year, though selection is made by a lottery system using the following color scheme: whoever draws a black ball must serve as a "disponibility reservist", that is, he must not follow any activities whatsoever and get his discharge card at the end of the year. 
 
Norway
Norway has mandatory military service of nineteen months for men between the ages of 18.5 (17 with parental consent) and 44 (55 in case of war). 

Poland

Poland has a compulsory service term of nine months for all mature men (three months for those with higher education). However, many of them are considered unfit for mandatory military service during peacetime. 

Russia
The conscription system was introduced into Imperial Russia by Dmitry Milyutin on 1 January 1874. As of 2007, the Russian Federation has a mandatory 12 months draft. 
 
Serbia

Serbia has compulsory national service for all men aged between 19 and 35. In practice, men over 27 are seldom called up. Service is usually performed after University studies have been completed. The length of service was 9 months but has recently been reduced to 6 months (2006). 
 
Singapore
In Singapore, the NS (Amendment) Act was passed on 14 March 1967, under which all able-bodied male citizens of 18 – 21 years of age were required to serve 24 months of compulsory national service in the Singapore Armed Forces, the Singapore Police Force, or the Singapore Civil Defence Force. Upon completion of full-time NS, they undergo reservist training cycles of up to forty days a year for the next ten years. 
 
Sweden
Since 1902 military service is mandatory in Sweden. All Swedish men between age 18 and 47 can be called to serve with the armed forces. The number of drafted have changed over time, but during the Cold war it was about 90%. 
 
Switzerland
Switzerland has the largest militia army in the world (220,000 including reserves). Military service for Swiss men is obligatory according to the Federal Constitution, and includes 18 or 21 weeks of basic training (depending on troop category) as well as annual 3-week-refresher courses until a number of service days which increases with rank (260 days for privates) is reached. Service for women is voluntary, but identical in all respects. 
 
Turkey
In Turkey, compulsory military service applies to all male citizens from twenty to forty-one years of age (with some exceptions). 
 
Ukraine
The options are either reserve officer training for two years (offered in universities as a part of a program which means not having to join the army), or one year regular service. In Ukraine, a person cannot be conscripted after he turns twenty-five. 

Snail pace making of MBT Arjun Tank and its effect of Indian Army

In the world of ever-increasing pressures and escalating security threat against the backdrop of the rising terrorist activities across the globe and mounting infiltration bids from the neighboring country reinforces Charles Darwin “the survival of fittest theory” and “prevention before cure ’’statement.

Despite knowing the round a clock threat of the sword hanging and enemies back stabbing tendencies raises the question that how far our defence forces are well equipped to counter enemies’ evil plans and to triumph it?

No doubts that thinking tanks and government policies converge at the betterment of nation security but the time consumed in formulating the plans on paper into ground reality does raises a serious doubts in the minds of citizens. A delay regime that had severely hampered the growth of India’s armoured might since quite long despite knowing the indispensable need.

Earlier the 57th report of the Public Accounts Committee (2003-2004) on the design and development of MBT, presented to the Lok Sabha on 15th December 2003, highlighting its fifth report in which it had “observed that there were considerable delays at various stages of development and production of the tank as against the envisaged targets”.

And recently Defence Minister A K Antony’s admission that the government has noted that there has been some delay in Arjun Tank reinforces these doubts. Accepting the snail pace making of the main battle tank, the Defence Minister A K Antony has held recurrent design amendments and the time required to obtain some major assemblies responsible for the delay.