Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
If the reporting about this paper is accurate, the higher leadership of the
military has called for the creation of a new multi-service body, the National
Strategic Nuclear Command (NSNC), which would not only control the entire
gamut of nuclear operations in peace and in war but, more interestingly, would
FIGURE 7 INDIAN MILITARY'S SUGGESTED COMMAND SYSTEM
provide an institutional opportunity for the military's claim to representation at
the highest levels of
command
itself. This level, which in the 'baseline' model
described earlier in
Figure 5
, was manned exclusively by civilian leaders, is now
sought to be expanded, with the service chiefs recommending that the National
Command Authority include the 'head of the proposed National Security
Council (NSC), the chiefs of staffs committee and the NSNC commander'
101
in
addition.
Such a claim is unprecedented, given the traditional pattern of civil-military
relations in India and the fact that the service chiefs currently do not have any
national command responsibilities. The sketchy reporting about this policy paper
further suggests that the reorganization proposed by the military would allow the
armed services to acquire physical
custody
of India's nuclear weapons as well,
albeit through the creation of a NSNC, which would be manned by military
officers in addition to other experts seconded from the Department of Atomic
Energy, the Defence Research and Development Organization, and the
Departments of Telecommunications and Information Technology.
Precisely because the distension of military power runs counter to the
established traditions of the Indian state, it is unlikely to be endorsed by India's
