Troop withdrawal and new face of war

By Maj Gen V K Madhok (Retd)

The announcement regarding the troop withdrawal from the Indo-Pak International border (IB) made on Oct 15, 2002 after the Prime Minister' meeting with the NSAB (National Security Advisory Board) and the NSC (National Security Council) has raised many issues on India's philosophy and conduct of war. Has the Military ceased to be the only and decisive tool for conducting war? Does India continue to remain grooved in the traditional and conventional concepts for applying force and diplomacy? What aspects are leading to rapid changes in the mechanics of warfare? What is in store if India neglects these changes or fails to cope up with them?

In the new mechanics of war, economic threats, coercive diplomacy and technical domination have positioned the military as only one of the four options (although the most important one) at a State's disposal to seek a political decision. Because without the military other actions cannot be taken. Unfortunately, America is the only country which has the skills and resources to exercise all or one of the options to bring an adversary to his knees. India could have also done so if it had the vision and the right political and military leadership.

This is where the NSAB, NSC and the IDSA (Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis), designed to advise the CCS (Cabinet Committee on Security) supported with RAW, the MOD (Ministry of Defence) and the 4th largest armed forces in the world have to play their part. For one, the NSAB and NSC met one year after the Kargil disaster, while they should have been meeting regularly. Secondly, the CCS (PM, Raksha Mantri, Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Finance) have negligible knowledge about defence. And thereore, in the absence of interaction between the CCS and others adhoc decisions have been made in the past such as the deployment of army at the LOC. Which was really a political decision without any strategic objectives. Thus, we falled to bring around Pakistan. We are back to square one without achieving anything except suffering casualities while unloading and laying mines and will suffer more. And in the process the Nation has spent over 10,000-15,000 crores.

In our case we exercised a short sighted compromise formula with Army deployment for over a year against Pakistan without taking any diplomatic initiatives or other means of coercion and total absence of innovation.

Security has now become the Chief concern of India. It involves internal threats of dissension, quarrels and bitter violence, coercive diplomacy and active engagement by super powers and advanced countries to bring India around to their way of thinking, economic threats and competition to secure orders for superior military technology hardware and commercial markets. Finally, external military threats from China & Pakistan- in that order. Thus military is no longer the only arbiter of India's policies, although it will always remain the most important tool of decision.

Today, an opponent can be brought to his knees by economic sanctions, by denying him technology and using it to subdue one's adversary and monitoring his actions with the help of satellite surveillance, posting troops, aircraft and ships on pre-selected bases and even stocking these in advance for the contemplated action. In due course bases will be established on space stations, aircraft carriers and even on the Moon. Where the Americans are planning to establish a base within the next 5-6 years.

In fact we already see this happening at the global level. Where the US is trying to neutalise the Chinese influence or is in the process of engaging Iraq to control its oil resources, or is well on its way towards taming India and Pakistan.

In the case of China although Mr Bush visited Beijing in Feb 2002 and his visit was reciprocated by President Jiang in Aug-Sep 2002, both countries are far from reconciliation-- inspite of the fact that US's trade figures with China rose to 16.3 billion dollars in 2001. But Beijing has been expressing its fears and sees the US encircling it by means of US-Japanese military and economic alliances, positioning of troops in South Korea, Japan and now in the Philippines, increased arms sale to Taiwan, setting up bases in Uzbekistan and Kyrgystan, improving relations with India and Pakistan, rapid rise in military expenditure and more or less Americanisation of Afghanistan. It is evident, Chinese feats are not imaginary. US is in no mood to have China as a strategic competitor.

As regards Iraq, every effort is being made to bring Baghdad to its knees. With well established bases in Bahrin, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and the Gulf seething with US Naval ships, Iraq is being pushed to change the present regime or face unilateral action by the US should the security council fail to pass a tough, stiff resolution against Iraq to implement its earlier resolution.

Therefore, what is relevant today in our context or would be in the future is, that Pakistan and China can be engaged by various means, and ways should be found to do so. This raises a pertinent and crucial question, as to what is India going to do about reunification of its territories lying under occupation of Pakistan and China for the last 53 and 39 years respectively. Why is India not initiating any punitive action against those camps in Pakistan where militants are being trained and then launched across the LoC. Is India in a position to bring Pakistan to its knees by non military strategic means or to negotiate from a position of strength with China ?

Further, Science, technology and openings in space have thrown up new dimensions of warfare. With the 3rd largest scientific and technical manpower in the world at its disposal, the country awaits a lead in military technology. Because technology provides real time intelligence, means of mobility, ability to establish bases without conquering territory, missiles, smart bombs, satellite surveillance and a missile shield. A country with superior military technology will dominate its adversary. That is the message for the future. India's technological potential waits to be tapped. And this is where the country is capable of taking a lead over Pakistan and China.

India's polity, military leaders and various security agencies continue to remain hostage to the traditional aspects of conducting warfare and diplomacy. They are not applying their minds to the rapidly changing environment. The emphasis of polity continues to remain on ensuring consensus. This cannot be so because original and innovative ideas may not be within the domain of consensus. India has grossly erred by wearing out its Army and equipment by deploying and then withdrawing it after a year. It is a time for change. And to think of ways and means to deal with our adversary by various options instead of merely deploying the Army and refusing to negotiate.

Water: source of food security

By Som Dutt

Access to water is one of the most pressing issues today. That is why Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) highlighted the importance of water in this year's World Food Day (October 16) theme, ''Water: Source of Food Security''. FAO recognises the essential role fresh water plays in feeding the global population and ensuring food security. Currently, more than 800 million people do not have enough to eat.

The theme serves as a call to Governments, civil societies and international communities to recognise the importance of water in achieving food security. It aims to raise awareness about problems of hunger and to work out a long-term solution to guarantee food for all.

Policies and strategies to guide water use in agriculture are needed at international, national and local levels. And when major sources of water cross borders, international agreements help regulate how much water is allocated to each country or region. At the same time existing local traditions of water management and access need to be respected and incorporated into policies and supporting legislation. To back up water policies, investment is required. Governments need to establish conditions to attract such investment. Innovative forms of credit will help poor to take advantage of improved water management techniques.

Water is a precious and finite resource. Although it covers three-quarters of the earth, only a small fraction is accessible as fresh water. Of the total amount of water withdrawn, almost 70 per cent is needed to produce food crops that fuel human activities.

Limited access to water is increasingly becoming a constraint to food production. With growing population and food demands, the FAO estimates that by 2030, the world would require 60 per cent more food. About 80 per cent of that increased food will come from intensified agriculture supported by irrigation facilities.

More than half the world's population relies on water originating from mountains for drinking, growing food, producing electricity and sustaining industries. While human demand for water increases, human activity threatens its future availability. Deforestation of mountain woodlands, mining, urban sprawl and global warming are taking a toll on mountain watersheds. As the lead United Nations agency for the celebration of International Year of Mountains (2002), FAO is working to increase awareness about the importance of mountains and mountain communities too.

FAO also recognises the upcoming International Year of Freshwater in 2003. It would also be present at the Third World Water Forum in Japan next year and deliver this message, ''We can find enough water to feed the world, but we must pool our resources and strengthen our commitment to managing water more wisely.''

Water is already scarce in many countries. Ninety-three developing countries are already withdrawing water supplies faster than they can be renewed according to FAO. Of these, 10 countries are in a critical stage. It means they withdraw more than 40 percent of their total water resources for agriculture and another eight are water stressed, withdrawing more than 20 per cent. At the same time, competition for water from industrial and domestic users continues to grow.

FAO is convinced that the solution to meet future food and water needs is to improve agricultural productivity and water-use efficiency. By using better seeds, boosting soil fertility and improving on-farm water management, farmers can produce higher yields and get optimum gains from precious water supplies.

But even where water is plentiful, access to it is inequitable. Therefore, special attention should be paid to women, who represent majority of farmers in developing world, yet are often excluded by trading from owning land and managing water.

Ensuring equitable and fair access to water is quite essential. One way to improve access to water may be to treat it as an economic good as well as a social right. A pricing policy that makes wasting water expensive is one of the best incentives to save water. And small farmers with limited resources must be treated fairly. They should not have to pay the full cost of water nor they should get it free.

Most important concern is keeping water use within limits, so that use in one area does not deprive people of access in another. The environmental impacts must also be kept to a minimum. While irrigated farming can yield 2-3 times as much as rainfed lands, attention must be paid to proper drainage to prevent waterlogging and salinity build-up, says an FAO expert.

At the same time agriculture must compete for water with municipalities and industries. Currently, industries claim 20 per cent of total water withdrawals and municipal users the remaining 10 per cent. Agriculture will be under increasing pressure to use water more efficiently and to improve the quality of the water that it returns to watercourses and aquifers.

Improving irrigation efficiency will also be vital. The common forms of irrigation--flood and sprinkler-- can result in more water being applied than can be taken up by crops.

Efficient and localised method such as drip irrigation, which put water only where it is needed, can significantly reduce water demand for agriculture. Rainfed agriculture benefits from agricultural practices adapted to uncertain water availability. By constructing water harvesting structures-- small furrows to dams-- farmers can conserve rainwater and direct it to crops. This practice can boost the yield of all crops 2-3 times than conventional methods of irrigation.

FAO has initiated a number of efforts to manage water-use efficiency in many countries. The communities in the arid province of Guelmine in Western Morocco have traditionally depended on flood irrigation to divert water to their crops. But years of drought and wind erosion took its toll on canals and dams. Since water resources fell in the province, so too did agriculture and livestock production.

Imparting training to farmers in water management is FAO's priority. With development partners like International Programme for Technology and Research in Irrigation and Drainage (IPTRID) FAO is helping member countries to set up technology research programmes, organising workshops and training sessions and establishing networking activities so countries can exchange information about best practices.

And to ensure that women and men benefit equally from policies and programmes concerning water, FAO's Socio-Economic and Gender (SEAGA) initiative holds workshops and produces training manuals based on three principals--different roles of men and women are key; disadvantages people are a priority and successful training requires participation. PTI Feature