When the government announced my name as the next chief of army staff on 27 November 2004, it made headline news. It was the first time in the history of the Indian Army that a Sikh officer was going to head it. It was indeed a great honour and a unique privilege. The Command House at Chandi Mandir Cantonment was brimming over with the media, who were keen to pick my mind on various issues. The first was, ‘How does it feel to be the first Sikh chief of the Indian Army?’
‘I consider myself first and last to be an Indian,’ was my immediate response. I added that I was proud to be a Sikh, and equally a Maratha, as I had spent over forty years with the Marathas. I carefully fended off many other queries by saying that the people must wait (I was still the army commander of Western Command), and give me time to reflect on my new position and responsibilities.
While narrating one of my poignant experiences in Kashmir, my eyes were moist, thinking of the intense pain and anguish of the innocent people in strife-torn areas. ‘These young Kashmiri boys did not deserve to die like this,’ I said, describing operations in Kashmir during which many AK-47-toting young men had lost their lives. I also recounted the story of the newly married misguided youth whom we let go after confiscating his AK-47. We gave him a chance to reform and start life afresh. There has to be a human touch while conducting counterinsurgency operations. Though I have a hard-as-nails exterior, I have a soft core too. This incident made good copy and the media went to town; it even got editorial comments, and led to a debate.
Another reason for the tears in my eyes that morning was the sinking in of my achievement and the recognition accorded by the nation. I had finally emerged victorious in the race for the top slot against three contenders who peeled out one by one, but not before playing out their parts as best as they could. I don’t blame them for it, but I was the one whom destiny favoured. It was a subterranean fight. Finally one of the contestants had the grace to say to me, ‘Congratulations, JJ.’ I gratefully acknowledged his felicitations. Then he said, ‘The King is Dead, Long Live the King!’ As far as I am concerned, the final lap was the toughest.
‘Are the emotive moments orchestrated? Is JJ just trying to repair the army’s image, dented as it is with reports of fake kills and human rights violations?’ wrote the Tehelka of 26 February 2005. These were some of the issues being raised by segments of our media. Continuing, the report in Tehelka went on to say, ‘It is difficult to find an officer who has a problem with the first Sikh chief’s style or manner. Ask former army chief General S. Padmanabhan what he made of a teary JJ and he says, “He has always been a man straight from the heart. It is not a sign of weakness to show emotion.”’ It further quoted General V.P. Malik, another former chief, as saying, ‘“JJ has a humane and yet a tough approach. He ensured that Kashmiris were neither alienated nor exposed to any hardship.”’1 [This remark was related to operations in J&K when I was a brigade commander and he (General Malik) happened to be my GOC.] The reaction of the people to this ‘humane face’ of a military leader was heart-warming. A minister from J&K, Muzaffar Hussain Baig, wrote a letter which, along with some media reports of that period, are reproduced as Appendices 2 and 3 respectively.
Being appointed the chief of army staff of the Indian Army, the second-largest standing army in the world, has definitely been, and most probably shall remain, the most significant event in my life. It was a proud and yet a very humbling occasion when I was adorned with the rank badges of a four-star general by my parents and my wife, Rohini, on Monday, 31 January 2005. I happened to be the twenty-fourth chief of army staff since independence.
Our great army has been carefully nurtured by many illustrious predecessors and placed on a solid foundation of nationalism and the three pillars of being apolitical, secular and professional. Our ethos and traditions flow from these fundamentals. What would be my mission and key objectives during my tenure of two years and eight months as the army chief or the ‘Jangi Laat,’2 a term used by some elder veterans while addressing the chief? This thought was uppermost in my mind as I set about shouldering the responsibilities of my office. In fact, this process started as soon as I was nominated in November 2004 itself.
An Army is to a Chief what a sword is to a soldier.
– Marshal Foch: Precepts, 1919
I defined my aim in simple and precise terms – to lead the second-largest army in the world, a highly professional force that should be optimally trained, equipped and structured. The army should have the capability to operate successfully in a joint services environment in the entire spectrum of conflict in a network-centric battlefield. And, if and when challenged, our motto shall be – ‘Fight to Win.’
Calling on President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee were my first few important engagements. I accepted their congratulations and the discussions that followed were brief, formal and cordial. I assured them that I would do my best in the service of the nation, and give the Indian Army the leadership that the officers and the men expected of their chief. The next on my agenda was to visit J&K, the northeast and the sensitive border areas, and observe things first hand. Travelling in the comfort of the Boeing executive jet of the IAF’s VIP Squadron gave me time to think about and refine my ideas.
Having discussed various issues with the national leaders, field commanders and my advisers at the Army HQ, I held my first conference in February 2005. This was to spell out the road map of the next three years to my principal staff officers, the heads of arms and services, and other senior officers of the Army HQ, and enunciate my aim, concepts, principles and key result areas (KRAs). A few months later, I reiterated these core policies and key objectives during the army commanders’ conference in April 2005, where we discussed ways to improve the state of the army and achieve our aim. Excerpts of my concepts disseminated to the media and in the public domain are reproduced below:
Readiness to carry out our operational mission shall be one of our primary KRAs. To quote Chanakya, ‘If a society seeks to live in peace, it should be prepared for war, and a unilateral desire for peace cannot ensure peace.’ We are well aware of the live challenge of a proxy war that we are facing in Jammu and Kashmir and insurgency or terrorism that occupies our attention in the northeast. Besides, we have unresolved boundary issues with Pakistan and China. Consequently, there is a requirement to deploy the army and paramilitary forces to guard these frontiers. The strife and tension that has engulfed most countries in our region needs to be kept in mind. We must constantly review and refine our doctrine, operational and logistics plans and ensure the desired level of equipment fitness.
We should ensure that we win the war against terror – the proxy war unleashed by Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir, the insurgency in Nagaland and the actions of outfits like ULFA in Assam and Manipur. Our aim should be to carry out successful operations in J&K and the northeast and bring down the level of violence so that the civil administration, paramilitary forces and the police are able to function in an appropriate manner and provide good governance.
There can be no substitute for realistic and operational-oriented training. We must train for the modern hi-tech battlefield and the future war, not the last one. The side which is adept at netcentric and information warfare and has the required night-fighting capability shall carry the day in any future conflict. The war doctrine should be incorporated in our exercises and practised at the tactical, operational and strategic levels.
We must provide top class leadership to our soldiers, who are amongst the finest in the world. To quote Field Marshal Slim, ‘The real test of leadership is not if your men will follow you in success, but if they will stick by you in defeat and hardship.’3 Therefore, we need the best officers to lead the units and formations and give the kind of leadership our warriors deserve. They must be thorough professionals with adequate experience, particularly in command of troops.
We must inculcate an offensive spirit and a proactive approach in our subordinates. As no plan survives the first engagement, we must train ourselves and our commands to be dynamic and flexible and practise the directive style of leadership. Remember to be two steps ahead of the adversary. We must seize fleeting opportunities and take bold actions and calculated risks, but no gambles – lives are at stake! Surprise, deception and an element of cunningness should be ingrained into our thought process and plans. Our men are naive by nature and the average officer is too conventional. We must change the predictability in our approach and begin to do the unexpected. In fact, an unconventional plan could be the battle-winning factor. You will probably get your objective faster and certainly with lesser number of bodybags. Always be original and innovative and don’t do the ‘bhed chaal’ (the way the sheep follow each other). In war as in peace, try to be the top dog – always in command of the situation. I have always been a practitioner of ‘Chanakyaniti’ (the principles of Chanakya).
This brings me to the most crucial element in any war, past, present or future – the fighting man. The man behind the machine should be well-trained, physically and mentally robust, highly motivated and imbued with great esprit de corps. I have often stated that our men should have their ‘batteries’ fully charged and be raring to go into action. Therefore it is imperative that we as leaders should see to it that our men have time for rest and recreation. A tired army shall never deliver. We must never forget that the soldier is the ultimate determinant of victory in the battlefield. The well-being of the soldier’s family and dependents is a dimension that is also extremely important. Our welfare schemes ought to assure the soldier that his family would be looked after should anything happen to him.
To evolve into an army of the twenty-first century, it is axiomatic that our ‘mantra’ should be modernization. I highlighted the need for acquisition of arms and equipment to replace some of our obsolete inventory, which had reached unacceptable levels. Therefore, I would like to see the results of the impetus given by the government for the modernization of the army and the induction of high-end technology and improvement of our night-fighting capabilities. This, along with information technology, information warfare and netcentric warfare, would be the essence of modernization during my tenure. India is known for its progress in the field of information technology all over the world and we are going to make sure that our armed forces exploit this strength optimally. I have thought of nominating the South Western Command, which is under raising, to be the test bed for IT and information warfare systems. Fighting in a synergized and joint manner calls for a joint doctrine and joint training, and greater level of inter-services cooperation. We in the defence forces today are in a state of transition from single-service entities to a synergized approach of jointmanship. The beginning was made by the creation of the Integrated Defence Staff with its headquarters at New Delhi, and the Strategic Forces Command and the Andaman and Nicobar Command, which are all joint structures. They have achieved a lot in their short span of existence. We still have a long way to go on the road to further integration in order to synergize our collective potential. Some of the areas which can be addressed without prejudice to respective domains include a common defence communications network, joint missile programme, exploitation of space by the three services, precision-guided munitions, combat potential evaluation model and, as far as possible, a common logistics infrastructure and human resources management strategy and training facilities.
The revolution in military affairs caused by battlefield transparency with the help of satellites, UAVs, radars and sensors, employment of hi-tech weapon systems and other force multipliers, is having an impact on our doctrine, concepts and structure for war fighting. In a modern battlefield success depends on tempo, lethality and survivability. The buzz word is manoeuvre and not attrition. Maximum firepower must be applied. All this calls for having a closer look at our doctrine, force structures, span of command and control and existing boundaries of our formations.
The other focus areas for us are assured and responsive logistics plans to support the operational plans, which are based on the principle, ‘just enough and just when required’. Welfare measures to ensure the desired quality of life for all ranks at our military cantonments and stations remains one of our primary concerns. Importantly, we must give the highest priority to our schemes for healthcare and the welfare of our veterans, such as the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS). And finally, we need to ensure that physical fitness of all ranks and the importance of sports as a facilitator of building team spirit and camaraderie, continue to be given the highest importance.
For me, truthful reporting, loyalty and integrity are sacrosanct. I admire and appreciate frank and forthright subordinates, and do not want ‘yes men’. The thrust of an argument or a dissenting note should be on the logic or rationale and pragmatism, rather than theory.
I am and have always been a team man. Therefore, my first step was to create a close-knit, loyal and dependable team of personal staff. This team was to act as my eyes and ears, and I encouraged them to give me honest feedback, frank views and pragmatic advice. Even till this day, my team continues to display an amazing spirit and camaraderie. They have never failed me.