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India at Risk: Mistakes, Misconceptions and Misadventures of Security Policy
Experience over sixty-six years of independence reveals that India has failed when confronted with challenges to national security, external or internal. The challenges have been comprehensive, but the response consistently amateurish.
Why, asks Jaswant Singh. Is it on account of conceptual fault lines or fractures in governance? Both, says Jaswant Singh, ably laying bare the challenges, responses and the consequences of failing to reach the goal of credible defence and security in independent India.
Having directly handled the responsibility of managing a whole series of security-related challenges, Jaswant Singh provides a uniquely informed and illuminating analysis of the major challenges that India has faced over the last sixty-six years: the conflicts, the issues, and the consequences that remain with us today. How does it look in the first quarter of the 21st century?
Why, asks Jaswant Singh. Is it on account of conceptual fault lines or fractures in governance? Both, says Jaswant Singh, ably laying bare the challenges, responses and the consequences of failing to reach the goal of credible defence and security in independent India.
Having directly handled the responsibility of managing a whole series of security-related challenges, Jaswant Singh provides a uniquely informed and illuminating analysis of the major challenges that India has faced over the last sixty-six years: the conflicts, the issues, and the consequences that remain with us today. How does it look in the first quarter of the 21st century?
292 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2013
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118 people want to read
About the author
Jaswant Singh
60 books27 followersJaswant Singh is an Indian politician. He belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party and has held many portfolios in the national cabinet including Finance, External Affairs and Defence during the NDA regime (1998 to 2004). He was also the Leader of Opposition from 2004 to 2009 in the Rajya Sabha and the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of India(1998–99). Known for his moderate political views, he is a self-described liberal democrat even though the Bharatiya Janata Party is often described as a right-wing nationalist organization. Currently he represents Darjeeling parliamentary constituency in the 15th Lok Sabha.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 2, 2016
Jaswant Singh has been a politician and diplomat of high standing, serving as Minister of External Affairs and Defence simultaneously in the first NDA government. His serviceman background further adds to his credentials as the author of a book challenging Indian security policy.
Yet the first half of the book is rather reminiscent of south park's "Captain Hindsight", capturing flaws that are, today, well recognised, at least in military circles if not civilian. The greatest failing of the book is that it does not really specify any kind of comprehensive security policy for India, although most criticisms it offers are well founded. Singh's narrative tends to ramble at times, switching between different excerpts and own writings in an altogether confusing manner, and he often falls into that pretentious manner of writing so typical of the Indian military, eschewing accuracy and pragmatism for sesquipedalians and a perceived sense of aesthetics. Perhaps it is to be expected of his conservative background, but Singh also has a tendency to harken back to India's dharmic and martial traditions and identify their dilution as a cause in Its security lapses, although this is by no means the predominant feature of the book, and appears to read merely as lip service to the political party he spent a career in.
Yet Singh is that rare breed of politician India lacks, unquestionably leaning to the right, patriotic, intelligent, articulate, patient, entirely devoid of personal hubris, and as skilled in diplomacy as in exercising restraint, both political and military.
Having outlined the weaknesses of India at Risk, it is perhaps appropriate to turn to its strengths. It is a matter of fact that India's various conventional security lapses, the most grevious of these undoubtedly being the ill advised misadventure against China in '62, can be attributed to a deficiency in strategic thought, and it's confinement between four lines; The Durand Line, The McMohan Line, The Line of Control, and The Line of Actual Control. Perhaps also included should be the Actual Ground Position Line, which India has held onto ever since it displayed a rare moment of strategic foresight, and none too soon, in 1984's Operation Meghdoot. Yet the Indian leadership's traditional tendency to shy away from the outside world, and it's neglect of the recognition that India has historically stood between four collapsed empires, the Ottoman, The British, the Qing and the Soviet, has cost it dearly, both, in missed opportunities and in lack of foresight.
Singh's account is replete with secondary sources, personal accounts and notes of third party observers, and men who were intimately involved in the events that are described in the book. While these anecdotes are undoubtedly enriching, and will probably offer much to the casual reader, those with some degree of familiarity with Indian military history, and high expectations of both, the title and Singh's own personal stature, will perhaps not take away too much that is new in the first half of the book, which only highlights the lack of strength and acute neglect of our borders by the military and political leadership, contrasted with the unwavering patriotism and zeal of the average jawaan, to whom "surrender" and "yield" are foreign words indeed, And how the unparelled achievements of a few generals, notably JFR Jacobs, were initially given no support and later subsumed by the top brass. It is the second half of the book where it truly comes into its own, insofar as we get a direct look in the mind of the man responsible for the masterful handling of the Kargil crisis, and whose task it was to oversee the great security challenges of the new millennium, including the Kandahar hijack and the parliamentary attack, both as Minister of defence and external affairs.
3/5
Yet the first half of the book is rather reminiscent of south park's "Captain Hindsight", capturing flaws that are, today, well recognised, at least in military circles if not civilian. The greatest failing of the book is that it does not really specify any kind of comprehensive security policy for India, although most criticisms it offers are well founded. Singh's narrative tends to ramble at times, switching between different excerpts and own writings in an altogether confusing manner, and he often falls into that pretentious manner of writing so typical of the Indian military, eschewing accuracy and pragmatism for sesquipedalians and a perceived sense of aesthetics. Perhaps it is to be expected of his conservative background, but Singh also has a tendency to harken back to India's dharmic and martial traditions and identify their dilution as a cause in Its security lapses, although this is by no means the predominant feature of the book, and appears to read merely as lip service to the political party he spent a career in.
Yet Singh is that rare breed of politician India lacks, unquestionably leaning to the right, patriotic, intelligent, articulate, patient, entirely devoid of personal hubris, and as skilled in diplomacy as in exercising restraint, both political and military.
Having outlined the weaknesses of India at Risk, it is perhaps appropriate to turn to its strengths. It is a matter of fact that India's various conventional security lapses, the most grevious of these undoubtedly being the ill advised misadventure against China in '62, can be attributed to a deficiency in strategic thought, and it's confinement between four lines; The Durand Line, The McMohan Line, The Line of Control, and The Line of Actual Control. Perhaps also included should be the Actual Ground Position Line, which India has held onto ever since it displayed a rare moment of strategic foresight, and none too soon, in 1984's Operation Meghdoot. Yet the Indian leadership's traditional tendency to shy away from the outside world, and it's neglect of the recognition that India has historically stood between four collapsed empires, the Ottoman, The British, the Qing and the Soviet, has cost it dearly, both, in missed opportunities and in lack of foresight.
Singh's account is replete with secondary sources, personal accounts and notes of third party observers, and men who were intimately involved in the events that are described in the book. While these anecdotes are undoubtedly enriching, and will probably offer much to the casual reader, those with some degree of familiarity with Indian military history, and high expectations of both, the title and Singh's own personal stature, will perhaps not take away too much that is new in the first half of the book, which only highlights the lack of strength and acute neglect of our borders by the military and political leadership, contrasted with the unwavering patriotism and zeal of the average jawaan, to whom "surrender" and "yield" are foreign words indeed, And how the unparelled achievements of a few generals, notably JFR Jacobs, were initially given no support and later subsumed by the top brass. It is the second half of the book where it truly comes into its own, insofar as we get a direct look in the mind of the man responsible for the masterful handling of the Kargil crisis, and whose task it was to oversee the great security challenges of the new millennium, including the Kandahar hijack and the parliamentary attack, both as Minister of defence and external affairs.
3/5
December 1, 2017
Emotional lamentig over bygone times and past 'glory'. Hoped for something more analytical.
April 17, 2019
One of those books I didn't feel like reading till end. Very biased and no solid foundation.
June 12, 2014
clearly I expected more from the author. but atleast reason and sense would have been enough after the high sounding title and the initial thoughts shared. till that time the author builds on the expectations that this is going to be a great disectomy of security issues, cutting frontiers based on reason and free of prejudices and pre judged stances. But thats where it ends. and honesly there comes a time wen one can't accept the distortion of historical facts or the lack of them.
Only the last portion about his stint as foriegn minister then lightens the pain of a history enthusiast who carries in vain through all this.
From a persona of such stature especially after the initial towering claims I expected more. sadly this turns out to be another in the series of propaganda publications which in subcontinent are I guess taken in patriotic zeal.
Only the last portion about his stint as foriegn minister then lightens the pain of a history enthusiast who carries in vain through all this.
From a persona of such stature especially after the initial towering claims I expected more. sadly this turns out to be another in the series of propaganda publications which in subcontinent are I guess taken in patriotic zeal.
February 28, 2014
A fine book that gives the lay person a deep insight into the governance of India, particularly the security issues that our state has faced in the recent past. It actually reads as a sad tale of misgovernance, and happy happenstance. God willing we'll turn the corner in the near future, and take our due place in the world at large.
April 28, 2016
The book by Jaswant Singh starts off well, but meanders along the way into a critique of the UPA and a glorification of the (brief) NDA tenure. An ok read but could have been much crisper. Do read this to get an idea of why India is a soft state
July 18, 2016
Did not enjoy reading , the topics covered were good but it could have been more well written.
April 10, 2017
Informative
Gives an insight into how/ what actually goes into preparing a calibrated approach or policy with Foreign nations. Good read!
Gives an insight into how/ what actually goes into preparing a calibrated approach or policy with Foreign nations. Good read!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews