The Defence Makeover: 10 Myths that Shape India’s Image

These are only four of the ten popular ‘myths’ surrounding India’s national security that the author systematically shatters in this unusual, topical and forcefully argued book. The author maintains that there is a vast separation between how things are and what they are thought to be, between the military and defence policy making, between defence analysts and the ground realities. This book constitutes the author’s "search" for the ground realities. The book is divided into five parts. Each of them has two chapters dealing with a particular subject. The first part covers the whole gamut of India-China relations. China is, the author warns, a real and immediate military threat. He argues that, by signing the 1993 Peace and Tranquillity Treaty, India has walked into China’s trap, and how, by accepting that the MacMohan line does not exist, it has opened the way for China to gradually nibble away at Indian territory. Part two deals with Kashmir. The author debunks India’s long-held belief that the Simla Agreement can resolve the problems between India and Pakistan. Pravin Sawhney also looks at the current situation in Kashmir, especially the role of the Taliban cadres. The third part considers the likelihood of an all-out conventional war between India and Pakistan, while the next part covers the two limited wars between them—the ongoing Siachen war and the Kargil war. The lat section addresses two questions pertaining to the role of nuclear weapons: are they facilitators of confidence-building measures with Pakistan; and do they enhance India’s security? The book ends with a chapter entitled ‘The Bottomline’. This is not crystal-gazing, nor is it pontification. Rather, it speaks holistically about what the individual chapters imply for India’s makeover.