Must institutionalise war studies: RSS mouthpiece

RSS mouthpiece Organiser has batted for institutionalised war studies in India as in the US and European countries and stressed on the need to involve people in counter-terror pursuits.
It said some "secular, pacifists" may argue that it is "war mongering", but a nation that fails to learn from history, does not have future.
In the latest edition, it has invoked political and strategic thinker Kautilya to argue that in the face of emerging terror threats, the country can't solely rely on the government-run establishment for protection and must involve people in defending the nation.
The Organiser editorial points out, "As Kautilya said, the strength of a nation lies in the people. Our defence considerations are too government centric.

"Of course, government institutions, including armed forces are most important instruments for defending a nation but unless there is a capacity building and participatory approach within the society, real national defence cannot be assured.
"We cannot forget that from 1947 infiltration to the Kargil misadventure by Pakistan, it was the local people who provided information. With the emerging threats of terrorism, such vigilance is all the more essential," it said.

It rued that India never concentrated on developing war studies centres as the US, UK, China and Europe did.
"Even 50 years after the hard fought war in 1965, there are claims and counter-claims about the outcome. This is not because Pakistan says so but for the reason that we are not particular about our war histories.

"In the US, the top Universities have war studies centres, with 16 institutions offering post-graduate programmes. British top universities do the same. China, believing in the Art of War, has a centre for Cold War Studies. There are numerous think tanks on war strategies in many European countries.
"In Bharat, barring couple of institutions, that too attached with defence establishment, there is no attempt to systematically study wars," the article states calling for war studies as a dedicated academic discipline.