Former Army Chief General VP Malik on Saturday called for the involvement of civilians to tackle terrorist situations that cannot necessary be handled with military power alone.Speaking at the `National Security Strategy’ panel discussion on the concluding day of the Military Literature Festival, Gen Malik touched upon multiple aspects of security, including internal & external security, infiltration from Pakistan, new challenges posed by cyber-crime, challenges posed by China, the expensive combat conventional strategy, insurgency and the role of the three armed forces.
Even as he lamented the lack of coordination between Military and Civil administration, Gen Malik identified slow decision making by the government as a major loophole in the security strategy of the country.Lt Gen Surinder Singh emphasised the need for a comprehensive national security strategy, which should be more transparent and also involve members of the public. Echoing these sentiments, Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi said the security strategy should be guided by the national goals. Lt Gen Aditya Singh also participated in this panel discussion.Meanwhile, the session on `Indo-Pak war 1965’ saw the key speakers debate on the rights and wrongs of the war, with Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Badal joining retired army officers in highlighting some of the key developments of the time.
Lt Gen T S Shergill, Lt Gen NS Brar, Air Marshal Bharat Kumar, Lt Gen Jagbir S Cheema and Brig Sukhjit Singh also answered questions from the audience.While TS Shergill spoke about the surprises and counter surprises unleashed by both India and Pakistan, Air Marshal Bharat Kumar highlighted the key aspects of the Indian Air Force and compared the number of sorties launched by both the nations and the resultant damage.Brig Surjit underscored the strengths and weaknesses of both the countries during the war, while Manpreet Badal talked about the selection of General Ayub Khan, who did not even figure among the four senior army generals from whom the president had to be selected. However, the one selected died in a plane crash and Ayub ended up as Pakistan’s president, said Badal.The session on `Indo-Pak War, 1971-The Western Front’ saw participants discuss, in detail, the war that redefined the relations between the two countries in many ways.Major Gen Amarjit Singh, Maj Gen AJS Sandhu, Col Ajai Shukla, Brig Sukhjit Singh, along with Zee Media Editor Dinesh Sharma, Ashali Verma and Sushant Singh participated in this session, which focused on the patriotism of the soldiers and the bravery of the Indian Army. The speakers discussed the gains and losses from the war in the backdrop of the comparative data of the two countries. Political, economic and social repercussions of the war were also debated at length.
In another session, `Anglo-Sikh wars’, the various battles fought between the Indians and the British took the centrestage of discussion. Amarpal Sidhu, Mandeep Rai-IRS and historian William Dalrymple were the panelists, who talked about the history of Sikhs and the Anglo-Sikh war.Amar Pal Sidhu, who has written extensively on the history of the Sikhs, enlightened the audience about the reasons for the fall of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s kingdom immediately after his death. He said that though Maharaja Ranjit’s rule of Punjab was unique, the absence of a competence and able leader to take over after his death led to the downfall of his empire.Role of revolts and betrayals, and its impact on making Punjab’s history, was also discussed during this session. Amar Pal said that Maharaja Ranjit Singh had a cosmopolitan army comprising Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims together fighting against the common enemy under the command of Ranjit Singh. Dr Sukhmani Bal Riar, who taught History at Panjab University, spoke about the rapid changes triggered in Punjab by Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s death.William Dalrymple gave the audience an insight into the intrigues in Maharaja Ranjit’s durbar. He spoke about the military techniques adopted by the British and Indians during the 17th and 18th centuries. He attributed the weakening of the empires of Ranjit Singh and Tipu Sultan in the face of the British onslaught to lack of unity, leadership and resources.