Chanakya's New Manifesto: To Resolve the Crisis Within India by Pavan K. Varma

Author:Pavan K. Varma [Varma, Pavan K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789382277934
Google: qYYwAAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Aleph Book Company
Published: 2013-08-27T18:30:00+00:00

SECURITY

No enemy shall know his (the king’s) secrets. He shall, however, know all his enemy’s weaknesses. Like a tortoise, he shall draw in any limb of his that is exposed.

The Conqueror shall think of the circle of states as a wheel—himself at the hub and his allies, drawn to him by the spoke though separated by intervening territory, at its rim.

An enemy’s destruction shall be brought about even at the cost of great losses in men, material and wealth.

The Arthashastra

Chanakya recognized a basic truth: if the State is vulnerable or, even in a worst case scenario, ceases to exist, then everything about it is of little or no consequence. This is why he felt the security of the State was the paramount goal of all governments and societies. The modern Indian republic has not recognized this fundamental truth. Its approach to security is sloppy, ad hoc, unplanned, reactive and completely lacking in focus and will. In short, modern India has not developed a clear-cut, unequivocal, and well-thought out security doctrine. This is a matter of grave concern, and must be rectified, for if India is dismembered, or defeated, or permanently destabilized, all is lost.

There are several elements that go into the making of a security doctrine. First, it is absolutely essential to have a considered yet flexible strategic vision. Second, that vision must be backed by resolute political will. Third, goals must be laid out and the means provided to achieve them. Fourth, there must be put in place a command and control structure that can anticipate, plan, coordinate and react effectively. Fifthly, such a structure must have the jurisdiction to act in the interests of the security of the State. Sixth, it must be able to, where public interest dictates, operate in absolute secrecy. And lastly, those charged with the country’s security must remain ceaselessly vigilant for any threat to the nation.

India follows none of the above, or at least none fully. Since ahimsa, as a conscious policy choice elaborated upon and implemented with dramatic efficacy by Mahatma Gandhi brought us freedom, independent India remained for many decades in its thrall. The choice of ahimsa against a much stronger military enemy was, when shorn of the genuine idealism animating the Mahatma, a Chanakyan stratagem. Gandhiji had the clarity and vision to adopt it as a means to victory. After 1947, non-violence in security terms, and the ineffectual pacifism that was its consequence in statecraft, was something he would have been bemused by.

Strategic vision requires the ability to adopt that policy which is best suited for a particular situation. That is why Chanakya articulated the four tools of sama, dana, danda, bheda—reconciliation, inducement, deterrent action and subversion—and the lesser known asana, or the strategic art of deliberately sitting on the fence. Each tactic had a specific use. The need for us today to have a thoroughly revamped and effective security doctrine, and the infrastructure required to support it, is self-evident given the fact that we are located in one of

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