Indian Military Thought KURUKSHETRA to KARGIL and Future Perspectives

Brig K Kuldip Singh

Lancer Publishers LLC, Oct 28, 2013 - History - 575 pages

 The title aspires to present a panorama of India’s yet to be fully discovered martial heritage, denoted by its unconquerable ancient epoch, a critique of the generally misread medieval age vicissitudes, followed by a survey of the contemporary & post-independence travails and triumphs. Not a historical narrative, it attempts to define what constitutes India’s natural-born military mind, how it evolved and breasted the world-conquering armies, followed by critical glimpses of the past ordeals, besides its uncelebrated defiance & conquests. The venture culminates in defining the nation’s prospective defence and development policy imperatives, for its emerging global role. It is rare in providing in one volume India’s scintillating perspective of the past, present and the future.

The ardent quest, spanning over twelve years, is a reflective blend of a review of the Vedas, the Epics, relevant Shastras & other select material of help, with the author’s long years of rich military operational, planning and instructional experience. Poring over its pages answers many elemental questions, coming naturally to a lay reader, student, research scholar, man-at-arm, defence analyst and the policy maker. The thesis fills a gap by covering a wide range of archeological, historical, politico-military, socio-cultural and strategic and warfare issues, besides dispelling certain myths, which tend to demean India’s way of life and war fighting. The scrutiny of the post-independence wars comes to several untold finds. An exclusive study on ‘what motivates men in combat’ gives the subject an added depth.

A lucid account of the nuances of the vital subject, bolstered by an unflagging perceptive probe, makes it an absorbing study.

About the author

 After an exciting inning in the Army, the foot-soldier author’s second inning of life got an early breakthrough in the form of the successful launch of his maiden publication ‘Overcoming Crisis in Leadership’ in 1998, by the then Defence Minister, and its selection for issue to all universities, major defence establishments and central libraries, on behalf of the central government. Encouraged, he undertook scrutiny of India’s yet-to-be-disclosed validated account of the post-independence wars. With the Kargil conflict erupting around the same time, the author also began a special study on ‘what motivates men in combat’. During interaction with the war veterans, a question started coming to the author, ‘if this heroic showing was truly reflective of the inherent mettle of Indian warriors, what had gone wrong to warrant India’s medieval age drubbings?’ This persisting question further enlarged the scope of the scrutiny.

Meanwhile, the author’s assignment to General Zorawar Singh Chair of Excellence, University of Jammu, to analyze the all-important topical subject ‘Relevance of undivided J&K to security and peace in the region’, proved conducive to refining and updating his prime enterprise ‘Indian Military Thought’. The author’s research paper assigned to the chair has been widely acknowledged as a fresh approach to the ongoing tangled issue of the region.

Based at Pathankot, the author has finely tuned a balance between his literary pursuits and rural development-related activities, besides running a school in a backward area.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Indian Military Thought KURUKSHETRA to KARGIL and Future Perspectives
• Author: Brig K Kuldip Singh
• Publisher: Lancer Publishers LLC, 2013
• ISBN: 1935501933, 9781935501930
• Length: 575 pages
• Subjects: History / Military / General; History / Military / Other