Publications

The Amity Journal of Defence & Strategic Studies (AJDSS) is a bi-annual journal published in June & December every year. Articles and Book Reviews may be sent to the Editor as per the guidelines contained in the journal. Advertisement enquiries concerning space and charges may also be sent to the Editor.

Editor:
Lt. Gen. S K Gadeock, AVSM (Retd.)
Director General, AIDSS
Email: skgadeock@amity.edu

The Amity Journal of Defence & Strategic Studies (AJDSS) is a bi-annual journal published in June & December every year. Articles and Book Reviews may be sent to the Editor as per the guidelines contained in the journal. Advertisement enquiries concerning space and charges may also be sent to the Editor.

Editor:
Lt. Gen. S K Gadeock, AVSM (Retd.)
Director General, AIDSS
Email: skgadeock@amity.edu

The Amity Journal of Defence & Strategic Studies (AJDSS) is a bi-annual journal published in June & December every year. Articles and Book Reviews may be sent to the Editor as per the guidelines contained in the journal. Advertisement enquiries concerning space and charges may also be sent to the Editor.

Editor:
Lt. Gen. S K Gadeock, AVSM (Retd.)
Director General, AIDSS
Email: skgadeock@amity.edu

Chinese Geopolitics in the 21st Century 'A Post Pandemic Perspective, Authored by Brigadier (Dr) Anand Tewari (Retd), HoI, Director & Professor AIDDS.  

Editor Brig Vikrant Deshpande, Ph.d Scholar, AIDSS

Author Brig Vivek Verma, Ph.d Scholar, AIDSS

Author Col Saikat Bose, Ph.D Scholar, AIDSS

It all probably was a tale.However, serious research does identify some events, from about a thousand years before the Common Era, that qualify as the bases of the epic's plot. Apparently, collective memory evolved significantly through the centuries before their stories, legends, and allegories took the forms that we know from the epic today.And yet, even if no set of historical events can be found to correspond with epic episodes, its many stories, legends, and allegories nevertheless conform to themes that were at one time authentic. In other words, whether or not epic episodes were historical, the ideas and concepts they represent were.It is with these ideas and concepts that Framing the Mahabharata weaves the pattern of South Asian society as it evolved through the cusp of the Bronze and Iron Ages, developing motifs we are familiar with today. Against this pattern, it reconstructs the military tactics, technology and sociology that marked the interplay of nomadic and sedentary folks, most poignantly depicted in the career of war-chariotry.

Author Col Saikat Bose, Ph.D Scholar, AIDSS

The books title has an apparent misnomer--boots were not used in early armies, at least as apparent from temple sculptures which depict bare-bodied and barefooted soldiers. But is it likely to have been true? Or social reasons led to suppression of footgear on temple walls? The book explores these and myriad other questions on the military experience of South Asia, hoping to construct a picture of how men, animals, and equipment were used on South Asian battlefields from the end of the Paleolithic till the dawn of our era. Further, as all that happens on battlefields is no more than the tip of the proverbial iceberg whose submarine mass conceals many cause-effect relationships in a wide variety of fields, the author, adopting a wide fronted approach, examines the evidence of anthropology, literature, mythology, folklore, technology, archaeology, and architecture, to reconstructs the military atmosphere of South Asia beyond the battlefield, which is the aim of this book.

By Lt Gen (Dr) SK Gadeock, AVSM (Retd)  and Col Nishant Sharma

Ex-servicemen are ‘role models’ of ethical leadership with ingrained morals and value systems focused on ‘Duty, Honour and Country’ contributing to society and nation building in substantial proportion with a great sense of commitment towards multi-faceted progression and excellence in all spheres of activities. Perhaps the first step in this direction is to identify the cardinal segment of the rural economy, which has so far not attracted adequate attraction of the policymakers but which deserve.

http://www.indiandefencereview.com/spotlights/socio-economic-transformation-through-ex-servicemen/

By Lt Gen (Dr) SK Gadeock, AVSM (Retd)  

For India to become a major power economically, technologically and militarily, it is imperative to nurture strong Armed Forces to effectively counter the multi-domain threat manifestation from its Northern and Western adversaries. This requires a planned integrated joint tri-service approach, combined with a pragmatic civil – military symbiosis for expedient Ministry of Defence (MoD) decision making process, under stewardship of the CDS, PC-COSC and DMA. The establishment of prospective Joint Theatre Commands in near future is mandated; attributed to the battlefield dynamics in the Indian sub-continental context, necessitating a joint doctrine paradigm. In a conflict scenario, the Western front is likely to be characterized by enhanced complexities of a volatile, ‘short window’ high intensity mechanized operations in an ‘autonomous’ warfare environment, having endemic surprise and deception mechanisms with technological capabilities to inflict unprecedented damage on the war fighting potential of the opponents. Multi fold advantages can be gained on employment of autonomous weapon systems embedded into the military combat structure, as force-multipliers towards accentuating strategic plans and mitigating large casualties by rationalizing the warrior resource interface on dangerous missions. They are capable to inflict ‘beyond the horizon’ damage, causing destabilization through remotely controlled weapon systems in a multi-dimensional perspective.

https://chanakyaforum.com/western-front-mechanised-operations/

By Lt Gen (Dr) SK Gadeock, AVSM (Retd)  

The Indian Army is conforming to the “Digitised Soldier” concept seriously, with immediate induction of new generation rifles, anti-tank guided missiles, latest ground environment Air Defence Systems, introducing futuristic modern light tanks & ICV variants for mountainous terrain, drones with combat, logistics & ISR 61 variants, self-propelled long range artillery battlefield support systems, introducing AI technologies by DRDO in the next year for designated military formations, which are deployed along the Western & Northern borders. MoD has established a high-level Defence AI Council (DAIC) tasked to provide strategic direction towards the adoption of AI in defence as modern force multipliers. The Defence Planning Committee and the CDS have been interacting towards leveraging defence readiness threshold of the India Armed Forces with enhanced combat power to meet the envisaged challenges presented by collusive offensive defence plans by the adversaries.

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://amity.edu/UserFiles/AIDSS/6b76AJDSS%20Volume%202,%20Issue%201%20-%20October%202020.pdf

By Lt Gen (Dr) SK Gadeock, AVSM (Retd)  

All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we can attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.” - Sun Tzu (Chinese Strategist)   Conflict prevention and mediation in international politics is the mainstay and one of the significant enunciated goals of the UN charter, which has been eternally committed to its objectives, thereby attempting to protect generations of mankind from the dreadful and pervasively atrocious impact of war. In the current...

https://chanakyaforum.com/india-and-united-nations-role-in-peaceful-conflict-resolution-of-the-russia-ukraine-war/

By Lt Gen (Dr) SK Gadeock, AVSM (Retd)  

‘The contemporary world presents a human society paradigm undergoing rapid transition in terms of evolving roles and high expectations. Governments address these issues by changing, reforming, or re-inventing themselves to ensure faster inclusive growth and rapid alleviation of poverty. However, globalization and liberalization policies have perceivably excluded many sections of the population, attributed to the deteriorating law and order situation, corruption and exploitation, raised the price index, criminalised politics, politicized the administrative machinery, produced mega financial scams, poor principles and social norms and degenerated the value system. To radically improve outcomes in rural infrastructure, ex-servicemen from the Armed Forces, who are the only credible and educated workforce in villages, characterized by self-motivation, rich experience, discipline and multi-talented persona could be meaningfully employed for scrupulous governance within a timeline of ‘augmentation and progression’. We need to establish 7,000 self-reliant village clusters through  the Rural Area Planned Integrated Development (RAPID) programme under a dynamic public-private partnership model to bring sustainable development and prosperity to rural areas and usher in smart villages. Mission-oriented thrust areas are potable water, optimised renewable energy sources, mitigation of infant and maternal mortality rates, multi-specialty health care, increased literacy level, and improved functional literacy of self-help groups and unemployed youth. Ex-servicemen are 'role models' of ethical and transformational leadership with veritable ingrained morals and righteous conduct focused on 'Duty, Honour and Country'. They are empowered crusaders of good governance, who believe in the Credo fundamentally, practise it religiously and live by it virtuously’. Ultimately, it emerges that the need for ‘Governance Augmentation and Progression’ can be brought about at the grassroots levels by ex-servicemen residing in villages of their respective states, who given their sense of commitment and ability to monitor execution of developmental projects, can mitigate the gravity of challenges faced during attainment of objectives, since they are conversant with environmental dynamics of most problems, as also having attended the Rehabilitation programmes to enhance their core competencies in specific domains, improving their enablement to deal with complexities and provide desired impetus to rural development. Thus, the potential of the leadership of ex-servicemen can be synergized in the entire process of governance, to bring about a national rural socio-economic transformation through civil-military fusion, as has been highlighted earlier in the prognosis.

By Dr Anu Sharma, Assistant Professor, Amity Institute of Defence & Stratergic Studies (AIDSS) 
 

As a key player in the turbulent region, Iran has remained in news for the last four decades. The ever-changing dynamics of the region along with the presence of large amount of hydrocarbon resources has dominated both Iran’s regional and foreign policy. Being targeted as the revolutionary power after becoming the first theocratic state in the Persian Gulf following a revolution (1979) and later labelled as one of the ‘axis of evil’ states, Iran has managed to survive tough international sanctions. The thaw in the US-Iran relations after the signing of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015 and the subsequent easing of international sanctions paved way for Iran’s integration into international economy. It also led to its enhanced engagement with its neighbours with in the region, extended neighbours in adjacent regions as well as with major powers such as Russia, China and the US. The civilisational and cultural affinity between India and Iran paved the way for better relations between the two nations in the post nuclear deal scenario. Definitely, for India, energy and Chabahar Port remain at the core of its relations with Iran. With a cautious approach India has successfully been able to engage with Iran which also courted India’s “Look West Policy”. This book tries to assess Iran’s foreign policy in order to better assess its relations with India. This study is an attempt to understand these factors that are propelling the two nations closer and whether in a region susceptible to power plays, how far India-Iran partnership can go. This book will be of interest to scholars of International Relations, Iranian Politics and Iranian Foreign Policy providing useful insights for policymakers and scholars.

By Lt Gen (Dr) SK Gadeock, AVSM (Retd)

The promotion and encouragement of the private sector players by the GOI, spurring Public & Private sector Partnership (PPP) for the upliftment of the rural sector in India has certainly enhanced ethical, social, spiritual and environmental benefits. The GOI is to play the Model Role as a motivator, and a facilitator, to ensure numerous modern development initiatives are undertaken for quality progression with time lined implementation in entire rural India. Empowered exservicemen leadership villages would be working in tandem with gram panchayats, Panchayati Samitis & Zila Parishads towards contemporary rural infrastructure, transport & telecommunication services, modern schools and quality education, libraries, health centre and nutrition facilities, banking & loan services, vocational training centres, solar & wind power services, renewable energy, water harvesting, cottage industry, fish and vegetable farms, dairy and poultry farming, tea, coffee and cardamom industry, bee keeping, synergize multiple-agencies and budget funding for upgradation of rural and tribal sector, ensuring overall exponential growth (GDP) of state and the Indian economy.

By Lt Gen (Dr) SK Gadeock, AVSM (Retd)

The NE region is strategically important and holds great significance for India’s ‘Act East Policy’. Sadly, it has been marred by insurgency for over six decades and has not been able to keep pace with the developments in rest of the country. To bring it at par, the insurgency must be ended.

https://www.defstrat.com/magazine_articles/eternal-spectre-of-insurgency-in-north-east-ne-india/

With geo-political dynamics changing at a dizzying pace, India today faces threats from several quarters. It is time to take stock of the processes that make up the preparedness for a war which is increasingly becoming a multidimensional and all-encapsulating event

https://raksha-anirveda.com/preparations-strategy-and-planning-for-a-future-war/

By Lt Gen (Dr) SK Gadeock, AVSM (Retd).

Iran is a regional and middle power, which made rapid progress from being one of the oldest civilizations on this planet, with a geopolitically strategic location in the Asian continent. It is a founding member of the United Nations, the ECO, OIC and the OPEC. It has large reserves of fossil fuels, including the world’s second-largest natural gas supply and the fourth-largest proven oil reserves. Ever since the Islamic Republic of Iran came into being in 1979, it has been having constant confrontation with the USA.

https://chanakyaforum.com/iran-evolution-from-rich-cultural-heritage-to-a-regional-power-in-perpetual-conflict/

By Lt Gen (Dr) SK Gadeock, AVSM (Retd).

We need to be focused on military applications optimising autonomous systems and non-contact warfare in the emerging digitised battlefield, crack the crucible of conventionality on warfare technologies, especially in the context of hybrid warfighting strategies

https://raksha-anirveda.com/time-to-foolproof-our-defence-strategys-future-readiness/#:~:text=In%20my%20perception%2C%20it's%20vitally,Security%20Strategy%202023%3B%20implement%20the

By Lt Gen (Dr) SK Gadeock, AVSM (Retd) and Col Saikat K Bose.

New techniques of warfare appearing since the seventeenth century (siege warfare, firearms, artillery, coordination of battles, or management of logistics) required mastery over mathematics, geometry, physics, and account-keeping. Expertise in these subjects were not readily available with traditional nobilities. Rather, men of mercantile and industrial classes possessed such knowledge, who also saw in warfare a path to social progress and competed with nobilities to emerge as a professional class holding in trust specialised knowledge of management of violence. Militaries sought to internalise this expanding and diversifying corpus of professional military knowledge through academies and permanent staff establishments.
 

https://www.indiandefencereview.com/potential-of-wargaming-in-enhancement-of-professional-military-education/

By Dr Anu Sharma and Dr Aparaajita Pandey

Conflict within West Asia has been growing and a new set of events unfolded when the world saw Iran become a part of the Israel – Hamas conflict. Conflicts in this region of the world are seldom linear, unidimensional, or easy to decode. With a plethora of communities with varied identities competing with each other, meet a scramble for resources, and get mixed with a race towards political and economic superiority, on a backdrop of millennia of historical disputes; we get a region as enigmatic, difficult to decipher, and volatile as West Asia or the middle east.

https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/making-sense-of-the-israel-iran-con

undrum/3458832/