ThePrint
A warrior-scholar’s reflection on national security, strategic culture
Pooja Bhatt
2 days ago
Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam and the cover of his book Wider Horizons
Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam and the cover of his book Wider Horizons
AVM Arjun Subramaniam’s book is an inspiration for young officers to delve deeper into issues of security at an intellectual level, beyond physical war-fighting
How do soldiers perceive security and strategy? It is a crucial question to ask in a realm where concepts such as ‘national security’ and ‘strategic culture’ have long been the purview of the political leadership, bureaucrats-cum-strategists and scholars. The parlance of security has been two-pronged — one, based on geostrategic realities in great power rivalries and the other, as a quest for theoretical understanding of security. One angle that is often overlooked is the reflection of those who are on the forefront of guarding the nation — soldiers — whose mandate is often seen as the protection of the country.
The 21st century has seen changes in the modes and paradigms of warfare. Defence structures in India have also undergone a transition at an institutional level with planned development and force modernisation to keep up with technological advancements and vagaries of war-fighting. However, war-fighting is multidimensional and requires a multipronged approach.
AVM Arjun Subramaniam’s latest book is a warrior-scholar’s reflection of issues on national security and strategic culture. Wider Horizons is a collection of more than 40 small essays that he wrote between 2010 and 2017. Besides outlining the importance and evolution of airpower, the book focuses on topics as diverse as terrorism, non-alignment, nuclear deterrence and statecraft. Subramaniam has bravely indulged in comparing Deng Xiaoping with Kautilya for their strategic farsightedness, intellectual brilliance and military innovativeness.
History reminds us of our pasts and helps us to be well prepared for the future. Human history is replete with battles and bloodshed and there is a need to avoid conflicts in future. Military history examines with more than the behaviour of political and military leaderships during wars. It carefully tries to understand the human emotions such as greed, fear and honour that are attached to fighting, winning and losing the war.
There has been an immense focus on studying military history in the US, the UK and other countries in Europe. Keeping this in mind, the author has extrapolated his personal experiences regarding the lack of interest in military history in India. Inadequate archives and declassified primary information leaves researchers to rely on autobiographies and biographies for conducting their academic work. History based upon facts not only provides a better perspective on how we fought our wars in the past but also on how to avoid them in future by not repeating the same mistakes.
The book works at several levels. It is a guide and inspiration for young officers to delve deeper into issues of security at an intellectual level beyond physical war-fighting. At the same time, it is a primer for non-warriors on practical concepts such as aspects of airpower, air operations and contemporary warfare from a fighter’s vantage point. Airpower can act as a tool of statecraft if understood properly and used judiciously.
Having an extensive career as a fighter-pilot with over 3,000 hours of flying India’s frontline fighters as Mirage-2000 and MiG-21, he intricately understands the employment of airpower with significant command and its role in the complex fourth generation warfare.
Perfection can be only achieved when one is open to self-criticism as much as self-appreciation. Subramaniam is well aware of this and has not minced words where he felt was necessary. He has made pointed remarks in his book, for example, on the lack of transparency and inclusiveness between different stakeholders in the development of critical technologies for national security. At the same time, he factually ‘clears the air’, under a chapter with a similar name, when his seniors or colleagues were made targets wrongfully by the Chinese media.
The author narrated his experiences in the book for the younger audience and junior officers with élan and sophistication. His personal anecdotes offer several important life lessons. He encourages youngsters to acquire knowledge and accept criticism for their holistic growth.
A prolific writer, Subramaniam advises more officers to take up military writing. He believes that an insider’s viewpoint can add to their skill sets and also enrich the discourse of military history.
Metaphorically, Wider Horizons is an apt title for the book. It goes beyond the regular military jargon and establishes the importance of military, especially the Air Force and airpower in the wider canvas of the current geopolitical context and sensitivities. The book ends with a poem written by his daughter on ‘the mighty Su-30’, which adds a personal tribute to air warriors.
Pooja Bhatt is a research scholar at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
‘Wider Horizons by Air Vice-Marshal Arjun Subramaniam (retd) has been published by KW Publishers’
