New Delhi, Mar 15: Indian armed forces should be able to deal with the current security threat and anticipate challenges ahead, and build capabilities which will enable them to “effectively fight future wars,” former Army chief Gen Manoj Pande (retd) said on Saturday.
In his address at an event here, he also said that where national interests are involved, “we see the primacy of military force or military power”, and cited examples of the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war and the West Asia conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran.
Gen Pande served as the 29th chief of the Army staff from April 2022 to June 2024. His tenure saw the Army’s focus on a high state of combat readiness, impetus towards its transformation and a strong push towards initiatives to achieve self-reliance.
The event was hosted by Delhi Marathi Pratishtan at the Dr Ambedkar International Centre in Delhi.
The topic of his address was “Nation Building and Leadership: A Soldier’s Perspective.” He spoke largely in Marathi, mixing it with English occasionally.
“We are living in a very complex world…not only deal with the current security threat challenges, but be able to anticipate what is coming up in the future. Once you have anticipated, you have to prepare yourself accordingly,” the former Army chief said.
“You have to have those capabilities which will enable you to effectively fight future wars. So the armed forces have to be future-ready,” he asserted.
He also emphasised that the character of war is changing and underlined the need to prepare for a full-fledged, long-duration war, citing the Russia-Ukraine war.
The former Army chief emphasised that if a nation is strong, powerful, and capable, only then a war will not take place, but “if you are weak” then a battle or war could take place.
Talking about the new security threats in various domains, such as cyber, space and information warfare, he said that now there should be a new maxim — “expect the unexpected.”
“What will happen in the future? Geopolitically, who your alliances are, who your friends are, who your adversaries are, it’s become difficult to tell,” he added.
In his address lasting about 40 minutes, he also emphasised that economy and security share a “symbiotic relationship”, and said, “when we envision a Viksit Bharat, what do we imagine — a country that is united, secure, stable, prosperous and Atmanirbhar”.
