India must go back to the drawing board and overhaul defence strategy

India's military planners must work out force levels for the Services that are more suited to current threat perceptions and realities

Not many may now remember that the Indian Army’s manpower, less than 300,000 before the India-China war of 1962, gradually increased to 825,000 following it. This was authorised by the Emergency Committee of the Cabinet (ECC) in 1964 on the premise that the country had to be prepared to fight wars with Pakistan and China simultaneously. At this same time the Air Force was authorised 45 fighter squadrons. The Army has since seen further growth to over 1.2 million for different reasons, including the need to cope with internal insurgency and terrorism, while the Air Force’s squadron strength stands at