THERE-WILL-BE-NO-COMPROMISE

In his first detailed interview after taking over as Chief of Defence Staffon January 1, GENERAL BIPIN RAWAT tells Executive Editor SANDEEP UNNITHAN about what his Department of Military Affairs (DMA) has achieved, the border standoffwith China, his plans to transform the armed forces, the road ahead and the resistance to change.

- SANDEEP UNNITHAN

Q Looking back at the past year, what has been your biggest achievement as Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)?

We’ve been able to get all the services on board on the issue of integration. It has dawned on everyone that—to be combat effective—unless we operate together, we won’t be able to apply our combat power the way we should. It’s good to have individually strong services, but it shouldn’t lead to lopsided development of one service. Finally, we have to realise that each service has to operate in a synergistic, coordinated manner with the other services. Wars are fought for ensuring territorial integrity, hence the army is supported by other services to ensure victory on land.

Q. Within four months of taking charge, you faced a crisis on the border with China. How did the office of the CDS help in this situation?

Earlier, there was hesitation on sharing information between the services or it was unduly delayed. With the CDS coming into the picture, the three services always kept everyone abreast of what was happening from the start.

Q. Did the fact that the Indian Air Force (IAF) was in theatre almost immediately have something to do with this information-sharing?

Yes. Not just that, even the navy was raring to go and ready for any task. We were able to coordinate the action and make sure everybody knew what the other service is doing. To that extent, we were able to bring about unity in effort.

Q. And this would not have been possible without the office of the CDS?