<b>Shekhar Gupta: </b>Breaking the two and a half front siege

A powerful nation's Army must be able to fight on multiple fronts. But must it be made to do so?

General Bipin Chandra Rawat's statement, that his Army is prepared for a two-and-a-half front war has drawn a fair bit of comment. The fact is, India has faced multiple and multi-layered threats since 1959 and its Army has been the political leadership's go-to option. With one exception, 1962, it has delivered each time.
 
Many questions, however, arise from this, particularly now when the second front, China, has sprung to life after decades and the language coming out of Chinese official media will embarrass panelists on our commando-comic TV channels.
 
The first question is, almost 60 years after the