MANEKSHAW PAPER No. 82, 2019 JANAPADA Territory and Its Importance in Ancient Indian Warfare and Now D W LAN ARFA OR RE F S E T R U T D N IE E S C Kritika Punia CLAWS VI N CT IO OR VIS Y THROUGH D W LAN ARFA OR RE F S E T R U T D N IE E S C CLAWS VI N CT IO OR VIS Y THROUGH KNOWLEDGE WORLD Centre for Land Warfare Studies KW Publishers Pvt Ltd New Delhi New Delhi Editorial Team ND WA Editor-in-Chief : Lt Gen (Dr.)LA V K Ahluwalia RFA OR RE F S E T R U ISSN 23939729 T D N I D WA LAN RFA E OR RE F S E T R U T D N IE E S C E S C CLAWS VI N CT IO OR VIS Y THROUGH Centre for Land Warfare Studies RPSO Complex, Parade Road, Delhi Cantt, New Delhi 110010 Phone: +91.11.25691308 Fax: +91.11.25692347 email: [email protected] website: www.claws.in CLAWS Army No. 33098 The Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), New Delhi, is an independent think-tank dealing with national security and conceptual aspects of land warfare, including conventional and sub-conventional conflicts and terrorism. CLAWS conducts research that is futuristic in outlook and policy-oriented in approach. CLAWS © 2019, Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), New Delhi V Disclaimer: The contents IofC this paper are based on the analysis of materialsN accessed from open sources and are the personal TviewsO of the author. The contents, therefore,SIO may not be quoted or cited as representing the views or Rpolicy of the Government of India,VI or Integrated of the Ministry Y H of Defence (MoD) (Army), or the CentreT forH LandRO WUarfareG Studies. KNOWLEDGE WORLD www.kwpub.com Published in India by Kalpana Shukla KW Publishers Pvt Ltd 4676/21, First Floor, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi 110002 Phone: +91 11 23263498 / 43528107 email: [email protected] l www.kwpub.com Contents Introduction 1 Evolution of the Concept of Territory in India; from Ancient Times to Present 2. The Economy of War; from CattleND toW LandAR 2 3. Territorial Aspect of the LStateA FA 3 OR RE 4. Territory in the Psychological F Domain S 4 E T 5. Case Study ofR Magadha: Understanding the Evolution of theU Concept of TTerritory D 5 N IE E Dynamic Way of Looking at Territory S C 6. Beyond the Land Frontier 7 7. Territorial Fixation 8 8. Changing Attitudes; Solving Indo-China Border Dispute 8 Importance of Janapada (Territory) in Warfare 9. War as Fundamental Function of State 11 10. Methodology 12 11. Changing Arena or Battlefield 15 12. Role of Territory in Twenty-firstCLAW CenturyS Hybrid War 15 V Importance of Foot Soldiers IC N 13. Declining Role of FootTO Soldiers? SIO 16 R VI 14. Dynamic Way of Looking Yat SToldiersHRO UGH 18 15. India is Largely a Land-Based Power and a Land-Based Force 18 16. Man or Machine? 19 17. Way Forward: Transforming India’s Armed Forces 21 18. Important Take-Aways 22 Notes 23 Acknowledgements 24 References 24 D W LAN ARFA OR RE F S E T R U T D N IE E S C CLAWS VI N CT IO OR VIS Y THROUGH JANAPADA 1 Territory and Its Importance in MANEKSHAW PA Ancient Indian Warfare and Now P ER Janapada = jana (people) + pada (where they put their feet). In simple terms, N O. 82, 2019 territory or land. D W Territory is integral to nationalistLAN discourseARF Afor its symbolic role in building national identity.O RIt is a multidimensional RconceptE which can be F S studied from a rangeE of perspectives. In addition to having Teconomic value it has social, geopolitical,R institutional and sentimental value.U These values D attached to territoryT make it an important projection of state. Both in the N IE past and at present,E this has made territory the prime reason forS war and chief componentC of warfare strategy. It also promotes peace, by defining borders, fixing identity and delineating sovereignty. Territory divides. Us from them. And it unites. By forging bonds of oneness. Introduction “Janapada” or territory is a multidimensional concept. Origin of the word territory can be traced to the Latin word “territorium” meaning agricultural and grazing land. This reflects an economic construct of the word. Territory is also deeply embedded in social relationsCLAWS and practices. It revolves around societal questions of power, ideology, and authority. This provides a social V connotation to territory.IC A politico-institutional understandingN of territory can be developed by lookingT at its close relation to theI Onotion of state and OR VIS sovereignty. This adds anotherY dimension THRO toU GtheH concept. In the context of India, we see a gradual evolution of territory from a socio-economic entity to a political symbol of state. It evolved from jana (group of people) to janapadas (people in a defined territory) to mahajanpadas (empire/state system) to the modern Indian state. These economic-socio- political values attached to territory made it the prime reason for war and the chief component of state warfare strategy. Although significant research has been done on the doctrine and methodology of modern Indian warfare, one aspect has not been satisfactorily JANAPADA: TERRITORY AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN ANCIENT INDIAN WARFARE AND NOW addressed. This gap is the temporal understanding of evolution of India’s 2 warfare strategies. Study of the past can help us view the present and build MANEKSHAW PA the future on firm footing. This paper attempts to undertake a comparative analysis between the Ancient Indian Warfare Strategy and the Modern Indian Warfare Strategy. Kautilya’s Arthashastra constitute the basic source material for ancient India, supplemented by other texts such as Mahabharata, Ramayana and Dharmashastra to provide a holistic picture. The paper has been divided into the following four parts: y P Evolution of the Concept of Territory in India; from Ancient Times to ER Present N y Dynamic Way of Looking at Territory O. 82, 2019 y Importance of Janapada (Territory) in Warfare D W y Importance of Foot Soldiers LA N ARFA OR RE While looking at F these four dimensions an attempt Shas been made to E T contextualise differentR facets of warfare and understand their interrelationships.U In particular, caseT study of the ancient Indian janapada of MagadhD (part of N I present Eastern India) has been undertaken to provide a spatial context.E Specific E S attention hasC been paid to locate the extent and form in which “janapada” and foot soldiers were and continue to be essential to Indian warfare. Evolution of the Concept of Territory in India; from Ancient Times to Present The evolution of the concept of territory in India, from an economic entity to one with politico-institutional and sentimental value, was a gradual one as summarised below. The Economy of War; from CCattleLAW Sto Land Approximately 3,500 years ago during the Early Vedic age (1500 BCE- 1200 BCE) the mainV source of wealth was cattle as it was a mobile pastoral IC N community. There wasT no concept of land territory as IthereO was no defined OR VIS state territory or centralised Ypolitical THR control.OUG WH ar was fought for control of cattle wealth and not possession of territory. This is the reason for the fact that while the term Jana or people appears many times in Rig Veda, Janapada does not appear even once. Absence of the concept of territory meant that there was no regular standing army for its defence, the military functions being invested in the Vedic assemblies. By the Later Vedic period (1100 BCE-500 BCE), land became an important source of wealth due to establishment of settled agricultural communities. It also became an important source of state revenue (bali, bhaga, shulka and KRITIKA PUNIA kara). Ancient Indian texts (Arthashastra, Dharmasutra) mention territory of the state as the wealth of the nation (kosh). Kautilya’s “Saptang Theory 3 of State” mentions kosh as one of the seven vital elements of state, others MANEKSHAW PA being Swami (ruler), Amatya (minister), Danda (army), etc. Thus territory becomes an important limb of the state. Even today land is an important source of revenue in terms of land tax, agriculture and forest produce, etc. It is a source of wealth and development for the country and an important basis for sustaining war efforts. The slogan “Jai Jawan Jai kisan” displays the importance given to farmers, land P and soldiers in the Indian political discourse. Thus land continues to be an ER important aspect of the economy of war. N O. 82, 2019 Territorial Aspect of the StateD W LAN ARFA The territorial aspect ofO theR state appeared by the LaterR EVedic period. By 500 BCE there was rise of Flarge tracts of consolidated territory, S janapadas, under E T the rule of a monarchR or ganasanghas (clans). These janapadasU combined to form mahajanapadas.T With the evolution of the state withD defined set I of borders, theN need for a standing army to defend the territoryE arose. A E S well-definedC institution emerged led by Senapati with specialised officials for different divisions—Padadhyaksha (infantry), Asvadhyaksha (cavalry), Navadhyaksha (navy), Ayudhagaradhyaksha (armoury). The division of the armed forces for the purpose of efficiency and specialisation exists even today. This was the beginning of the state system as we know today. It was characterised by a defined set of boundary, citizens that paid taxes and were governed by the law of the land, a political class for governance and a military for its defence.