To study the past and to understand thee present thoroughly is essential to prepare for the future. This is true of any people, but more so, the armed forces and the political leadership that guides them.

The underlying theme of Brigadier Retd) Gurmeet Kanwal’s book entitled “Indian Army Vision 2020” is preparedness and planned response any crisis – without showing panic as has happened time and again in India’s history.

Released recently by Vice President Mohammed Hamid Ansari, himself strategic analyst, the book gives an overview of the changing nature of warfare, the emerging geo-strategic environment, the existential threat from India’s nuclear armed military adversaries and the danger from terrorism which require a quantum jump in the army’s operation capabilities.

Brig Gurmeet Kanwal, who wrote the book as an analyst with the Observer Research Foundation ORF), advocates that the army must modernise its weapons and equipments and upgrade its combat potential by an order of magnitude order to successfully face the new challenges. The author now heads the Centre for Land Warfare Studies CLAWS), a think tank set up by the Army.

The book gives a scholarwarrior’s view of the nation’s defence preparedness, especially that of the army, born of experience, and a close study of the security environment and how it is changing.

Congratulating the author for this well published book, Mr Ansari said that a book on the Indian Army was always welcome, and praised theauthor’s simple, telling style.

At the book release ceremony, organized by ORF, former Chief of Army Staff Gen. (Retd) V P Malik gave a brief description of the Book.

Brig Kanwal’s book has been written under the presumption that the background issues are well known to an informed reader. attempts to figure a way out hereafter for the Indian Army, which is, at present, deployed extensively along the borders with China and Pakistan, besides being engaged in manpower-intensive counter insurgency operations for the past half century.

Brig Kanwal has had interest in writing; and he did a coffee table book on the Indian Artillery’s glorious role in the 1999 Kargil War based on the inputs from the Army Headquarters. He was also the Army’s nominee to the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses IDSA), India’s premiere think tank on strategic studies.

Although his book focuses primarily on the Indian Army, his findings reaffirm the central message: that in the high- tech battlefield of tomorrow, only a tri-Service joint operation that will be jointly conceived, planned and executed can offer success in the modern battlefield.

Moreover, while dealing with threats within the country, the Indian Army must operate in complete harmony with the plethora of police and paramilitary forces across India. Therefore, a better part of this book explains in great detail the threats India faces and how the Army has coped with them.

Having explained the strategic and the tactical issues involved, Brig Gurmeet Kanwal goes on to make his recommendations about how the Indian Army must restructure to meet the emerging challenges of the 21st century. Recalling the 1526 Battle of Panipat, when moguls silently intruded into India, he says that India’s rulers must not wake up only when an enemy is at the door. It happened in 1999 also when Pakistani troops occupied Kargil and there had to be a war to evict them.

To be a major Asian power, India must set aside its passive, reactive policies and instead, flex its muscles when it needs to. How this can be done, is what Brig Gurmeet Kanwal’s book is all about.