Entrenched interests have overcome reform efforts, impacting Indian defense policy.
20 The
pro tempore approach to defense planning, originating from within the system, has led to aimless arming.
21 The problems persisted because “reforms are announced, credit taken, and victory claimed without sufficient attention to the institutional challenges” to implementing initiated reforms.
22 Due to these systemic debilities, defense reforms remained ad-hoc, incremental, and disoriented.
23 The root cause of these problems is the flawed design of the HDO.
The above quote sums up in my opinion the problem with Indian military discussions and debate both within and from outside India. The notion that any country can just jump atop the military food chain and become both military and economic superpower without adequate SUSTAINED INVESTMENTS in R&D and serious military reforms that takes decades to manifest and eternity to implement are beyond delusional. Not to mention the necessary investments in HUMAN CAPITAL in education qualitatively. What I have read on Indian military literature and its supposed strategy is full of jingoistic pronouncements coupled with unrealistic excited announcements about military programs as if they were already achieved along with retired military officers showering their public at large, especially online, extraordinary claims of their fictious achievements while constantly underestimating and overestimating its enemies Pakistan and now China.
I can only count a handful of times where I managed to read a sober and frank analysis from an Indian people. There maybe more but in today's India such voices are not at all encourage lest they risk to suffer the wrath of their countrymen. It's difficult to glean and source Indian material or western source for that matter in todays day and age since Indian sources are just plain propaganda and they're not even hiding it. While the west seems to be doing its darndest best to puff up and stroke India's ego to ensure it can be used against China so it does not want to write or examine India's actual military critical deficits in military affairs. 2 front war? LOL with what money? where's the investment in defense? IAF that has yet to fulfill its mandated 42 SQUADRONS (current number is 32 SQUADRONS). It's NAVY and Defense minister talks about adding a 3rd A.C. while other military comedians talk about the need to have 6 as if their economy is guaranteed to have a sustainable growth rate of 6% or more for at least 2 decades. When in reality, the most unfortunate truth is that UNEMPLOYMENT, INFLATION are quite rampant with no end in sight. While the growth of its economy can't be denied, the main beneficiary are the wealthy and wealthiest members of the country while the poor becomes even poorer.
No wonder one of the main exports of India is HUMAN CAPITAL OUTFLOW to the rest of the world, whether that's in Western Asia, Europe, Australia, ASEAN country like Singapore, soon Taiwan, North America (U.S. & Canada) creating actual issues within those countries and continents trying to absorb the influx of people from India. Yet, we are told and bombarded on the daily that India is a superpower, an economic global power etc.. There's a sever disconnect from what the media says and the usual propagandists offline and online that do not jive with the reality on the ground.
When can India and Indians at large make an honest appraisal of itself and not just constantly boast and make bold ridiculous pronouncements when 90% percent of the claims never materialize, if at all.
