Army seeks statecraft, military lessons from ancient Indian texts

This effort to establish the relevance of these centuries-old strategic doctrines in the 21st century is part of a project named “Udbhav”, or emergence, the officials cited above said

The Indian Army, the world’s second largest, plans to draw on treatises such as Kautilya’s Arthashastra, Kamandaka’s Nitisara and Tamil poet-saint Thiruvalluvar’s Thirukkural for lessons on statecraft, strategy, diplomacy and warfare from ancient Indian philosophy, officials aware of the matter said on Friday.

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This effort to establish the relevance of these centuries-old strategic doctrines in the 21st century is part of a project named “Udbhav”, or emergence, the officials cited above said.

The moves comes against the backdrop of a flurry of efforts by the government to encourage “Indianisation” in areas including education, health and science.

At its core, Udbhav seeks to bridge the historical and the contemporary, army spokesperson Colonel Sudhir Chamoli said in a statement on Friday at the inaugural panel discussion under the project. “The goal is to understand the profound depths of indigenous military systems, their evolution, strategies that have been passed down through the ages, and the strategic thought processes that have governed the land for millennia,” Chamoli said.

The discussion put the spotlight on the country’s rich and often understudied strategic and military heritage, the statement said.

“By reintroducing these classical teachings into the contemporary military and strategic domains, the Indian Army aims to nurture the officers to apply ancient wisdom in modern scenarios and allow a more profound understanding of international relations and foreign cultures,” it added.

The army described the event as an ambitious step to revitalise “knowledge creation from India’s rich classical heritage”.

“The scope of the discussion encompassed the study of ancient texts from the 4th century BCE to the 8th century CE, with a focus on Kautilya, Kamandaka, and the Kural,” its statement said.

This was the first step in a series of upcoming engagements to push Project Udbhav. “The aim is not limited to just rediscovering these historical narratives but also to also develop an indigenous strategic vocabulary, which is deeply rooted in India’s multifaceted philosophical and cultural tapestry. The overall aim is to integrate age-old wisdom with modern military pedagogy,” the statement added.

The army earlier supported a project related to the compilation of Indian stratagems based on ancient texts. This resulted in a book on 75 aphorisms, and another publication, Paramparik Bhartiya Darshan — Ranniti aur Netritva ke Shashwat Niyam, or Traditional Indian Philosophy — Eternal Rules of Warfare and Leadership. The army is encouraging all ranks to read this book.

The move comes at a time when the armed forces are also focussed on the indigenisation of military customs, and have taken some steps to erase colonial traditions. The navy, for instance, adopted a new ensign with the flag drawing inspiration from the seal of Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and dropped the Cross of St George. It also ended the practice of senior officers carrying batons. The defence ministry, in another example, launched a drive to rename British-era cantonments as military stations.