India's Neighbourhood: the Armies of South Asia / Vishal Chandra (Ed)
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
INDIA'S NEIGHBOURHOOD THE ARMIES OF SOUTH ASIA INDIA'S NEIGHBOURHOOD THE ARMIES OF SOUTH ASIA Editor Vishal Chandra INSTITUTE FOR DEFENCE STUDIES & ANALYSES NEW DELHI PENTAGON PRESS India's Neighbourhood: The Armies of South Asia / Vishal Chandra (Ed) First Published in 2013 Copyright © Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi ISBN 978-81-8274-706-7 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without first obtaining written permission of the copyright owner. Disclaimer: The views expressed in this book are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, or the Government of India. Published by PENTAGON PRESS 206, Peacock Lane, Shahpur Jat, New Delhi-110049 Phones: 011-64706243, 26491568 Telefax: 011-26490600 email: [email protected] website: www.pentagonpress.in In association with Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses No. 1, Development Enclave, New Delhi-110010 Phone: +91-11-26717983 Printed at Syndicate Binders, A-20, Hosiery Complex, Phase II, Noida-201305 Contents Foreword vii About the Contributors ix Acknowledgements xi Abbreviations xiii List of Tables and Figures xix Introduction xxi Chapter One Afghanistan’s National Army: Expectations and Scepticism 1 Vishal Chandra Chapter Two Bangladesh Army: Evolution, Structure, Threat Perception, and its Role 27 Smruti S. Pattanaik Chapter Three The Royal Bhutan Army 69 Anand Kumar Chapter Four Maldives’ Security Dilemma and its National Defence Force 82 Alok Bansal Chapter Five The Nepal Army at the Crossroads 97 Nihar Nayak vi India's Neighbourhood: The Armies of South Asia Chapter Six The Army of Pakistan: Dominant by Default 121 Ashok K. Behuria and Sumita Kumar Chapter Seven ‘Defenders of the Nation’: Evolution and Role of the Sri Lankan Army 145 M. Mayilvaganan Index 163 Abbreviations vii Foreword Armies play a significant role in the maintenance of unity and integrity of states. However, their role, reputation, status and importance varies from state to state, depending upon the nature of political system, strength of the civil society and the institutions of state, intensity of popular participation in the affairs of the state, and above all, the attitude as well as ambitions of the leadership of the armed forces. In advanced democratic states, the armies usually function under civilian control and help consolidate the process of nation and state-building. In many post-colonial states—struggling with the process of democratisation—on the contrary, the civil-military relations have often been strained and the role of the army has been rather controversial. The armies, in some of these societies, have usurped power from civilian authorities and impaired the process of socio-political and economic growth and development. In South Asia, the post-colonial record of the armies has been rather mixed. While the armies of India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan have largely stayed under civilian control, in Pakistan, Bangladesh and to a certain extent in Afghanistan, the armies have staged coups, derailed democratic experiments and played their role as willing accomplices in propping up authoritarian systems of governance. The ideas, ideologies and aspirations guiding the functioning of such assertive armies have posed serious challenges to security at the regional level. In certain cases, the armies have perpetuated threat perceptions about their neighbours to legitimise their hold on power. This has had grave implications for inter-state relations and regional security. In the South Asian context, therefore, it was felt necessary to study the armies of different countries in the immediate neighbourhood of India in detail, taking into account their origin, evolution, doctrinal orientation, viii India's Neighbourhood: The Armies of South Asia organisational principles, relationship with civilian institutions, and their future trajectories. Given the tendency in the countries in the neighbourhood to define their security in relation to India’s preponderance, and the temptation of the elites in these countries to project India as a hegemonic and interventionist power, such a study would be definitely useful for strategic analysts and policy makers in India. Keeping this in mind, the scholars in the South Asia Centre at the IDSA have put together this volume under the IDSA neighbourhood studies programme. I commend their efforts and especially that of Vishal Chandra who has conceptualised and edited this volume with adequate care and attention. I hope this study will be well-received in the wider strategic community in India and abroad. October 2012 Arvind Gupta New Delhi Director General, IDSA Abbreviations ix About the Contributors Dr. Arvind Gupta is Director General, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi, India. Mr. Vishal Chandra is Associate Fellow at IDSA. Dr. Smruti S. Pattanaik is Research Fellow at IDSA. Dr. Anand Kumar is Associate Fellow at IDSA. Capt. (IN) Alok Bansal is currently Senior Fellow at the Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), New Delhi. He was Member (Navy) at IDSA. Dr. Nihar Nayak is Associate Fellow at IDSA. Dr. Ashok K. Behuria is Research Fellow and Coordinator of the South Asia Centre at IDSA. Ms. Sumita Kumar is Senior Research Associate at IDSA. Dr. M. Mayilvaganan is Assistant Professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Formerly Associate Fellow at IDSA. Acknowledgements This study would not have been possible without the support, guidance and encouragement of Dr. Arvind Gupta, the Director General of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA). Despite his many pressing engagements, he would always make himself available whenever his personal attention and advice was requested, especially as I was finalising the manuscript of this book. I am grateful to him for all his assistance, attention and encouragement. I would also like to specially acknowledge the contribution of Dr. Ashok K. Behuria, Coordinator of the South Asia Centre at IDSA, in the successful completion of this book project. His vast scholarship on South Asian affairs proved to be an asset as I requested him to peruse through the final manuscript of this book. I would like to express my personal gratitude to him for his full cooperation and support. I would be failing in my duty if I do not acknowledge the contribution of anonymous external reviewers who offered their valuable inputs on the draft of the chapters. All seven chapters were reviewed by two subject experts and their inputs have been taken into consideration by individual authors while finalising their respective chapters. I would also like to thank Mr. Vivek Kaushik, the Assistant Editor, who ensured timely refereeing and copy-editing of the draft chapters. I must also place my special thanks to the publisher of this book, Pentagon Press, for bringing out this edited volume in a relatively short time. As editor, it is also my pleasant duty to personally thank my colleagues from the South Asia Centre who contributed chapters for this book, Dr. Ashok K. Behuria, Ms. Sumita Kumar, Dr. Smruti S. Pattanaik, Dr. Anand Kumar, Dr. Nihar Nayak, and our former colleagues, Capt. (IN) Alok Bansal and Dr. M. Mayilvaganan. October 2012 Vishal Chandra Abbreviations AAF Afghan Air Force AG Adjutant General AFD Armed Forces Division AIA Afghan Interim Administration AIT Advanced Individual Training ALP Afghan Local Police ANA Afghan National Army ANAAC Afghan National Army Air Corps ANAP Afghan National Auxiliary Police ANATC Afghan National Army Training Command ANNISU-R All Nepal National Independent Students Union- Revolutionary ANP Afghan National Police ANSF Afghan National Security Forces APC Armoured Personnel Carrier APCSS Asia Pacific Center for Strategic Studies APEC Army Physical Education Centre APPF Afghan Public Protection Force ARSIC Afghan Regional Security Integration Command ARTD Army Recruit Training Depot ASFF Afghan Security Forces Fund ATA Afghan Transitional Administration ATC Army Training Centre ATS Army Training School AWACS Airborne Warning and Control System BAG Budget Activity Group BATT British Army Training Team BBC British Broadcasting Corporation xiv India's Neighbourhood: The Armies of South Asia BDGIE Bangladesh Government-in-Exile BDR Bangladesh Rifles BICS Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir BIPSOT Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support Operation Training BMW Band & Music Wing BNP Bangladesh Nationalist Party BSF Border Security Force CA Constituent Assembly CARAT Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training CARs Central Asian Republics CCMR Center for Civil Military Relations CDF Ceylon Defence Force CEITS Communication, Electronics and Information Technology Service CENTCOM US Central Command CENTO Central Treaty Organisation (also often referred to as Central Eastern Treaty Organisation) CFC-A Combined Forces Command - Afghanistan CGSC Command and General Staff College CHT Chittagong Hill Tracts CJTF Combined Joint Task Force CLS Chief of Logistics Staff CMC Central Military Commission COAS Chief of Army Staff COGS Chief of General Staff COS Chief of Staff CPC Communist Party of China CPN-Maoist Communist Party of Nepal - Maoist CRS Congressional Research Service CSF Coalition Support Fund CSTC-A Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan CT Counter Terrorism CTS Combat Training