GUWAHATI: The Indian armed forces need to adapt to changes in the fast-changing geopolitical situation, Eastern Army commander Lt Gen Rana Pratap Kalita said in Guwahati, Assam on Tuesday.
“The whole geopolitics is changing. Now it impacts not only our country but also the armed forces as well. In a future war, armed forces alone can win a war unless every segment of the nation is involved,” said Lt Gen Rana Pratap Kalita, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command of the Indian Army here on Tuesday.
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Addressing as the “Guest of Guwahati Press Club” here lt Gen Kalita said: “Russia-Ukraine war is going on, Israel-Hamas conflict is also on. There is also a lot of instability in our neighbourhood. So, the whole geopolitics is changing.”
“There is a change which is taking place. It impacts not only our country but our armed forces as well. As there are “changes” all around, a technological development is taking place and it is making an impact on the art of warfare,” Lt Gen Kalita also said.
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“So, the warfighting methodology is also changing. That is the reason why 2023 has been identified as the year of transformation by the Indian Army. These are based on five main pillars,” The army general said.
The five verticals are force restructuring and optimisation, modernisation and technology infusion, processes and functions, human resource management, and jointness and integration, Kalita said.
“Only the armed forces cannot win any future war. It is a whole nation’s effort. The whole nation’s every segment has to participate in future battles which is proven by the recent Israel-Hamas conflict as well as the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” Kalita also said.
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In a war in the present time, no segment of the population is left alone and it brings in the importance of civil-military fusion, Kalita also said.
“We need to harmonise the security needs with the socio-political and socio-economic needs of the country. That’s why we need to achieve synergy in all the segments,” Kalita further said.
Referring to the low-intensity conflict in the northeastern states, including Assam and Manipur, Kalita said that society plays a big role in ensuring no youth gets misled to join extremist organizations.
“In the last 10 years, we have witnessed how infrastructure has improved and developments are taking place in Assam. Society has a big role to play to ensure no youth is misguided to join extremist organizations. Irrespective of our religion and caste, we should be taught to be identified as an Indian first,” Kalita said.
When asked about why there are a lesser number of Assamese jawans in the Indian Army, Kalita said, “To achieve the dream of becoming an Army officer from Assam, I had to make a lot of struggles at the start like the other professions. For this day, I will extend my gratitude to my parents, teachers, and colleagues who always supported me throughout the journey.”