AT THE outset, I must thank honourable Members who participated in the discussion on Demands for defence, not only for participation but for unanimous support for Demands they gave. I do not propose to go into details of some of the administrative type of questions raised, but certainly I propose to deal with some major issues raised during the debate.
One point that I must immediately mention is the criticism about too much secrecy and lack of information. I would like to give a word of assurance to this House, that there is no question of having any attitude of mistrust in this House. When we do not give any information here, it does not mean any mistrust. It is only on the advice of those concerned with the information, that it is not considered to be in the public interest to disclose it, that such information is not given.
Here, I would like to make a mention about the size and significance of the demand for defence this year because it is just a beginning of our defence effort in this country. I think we will have to prepare ourselves, not only this House but the entire country, for the size of this defence effort has come to stay for the defence of our country. Possibly this type of confidence in our defence efforts will have to be permanently created in the minds of the people of our country.
It was said that there was nothing like defence planning in our country. It is rather an erroneous statement. Defence planning has always two aspects -- short-term aspect and long-term aspect. When we think of a long-term aspect, it is always based on certain principles. When we think of long-term defence planning, there is long-term aspect governed by foreign policy of the country. The foreign policy, besides serving other objects, also serves as a basic stratagem, basic mechanism, for the defence of the country. The foreign policy of any country, besides serving the other ideal objectives, also serves as a mechanism; it serves as some sort of arrangement of working of world forces, making a proper assessment of them and indirectly though not directly, affects the defence of the country. This country has realised that during the crisis in a limited sense, when we had to make a huge defence effort. I know some people have a sense of frustration, some people have a sense of despair and anger. During the crisis it has been proved that our basic approach to the world problems has contributed something effective for the defence of our country.
When we look at the world today, we see some new trends as compared to the position obtained many years back. The year 1962 seems to be a year of significance. That year produced two very significant events— one was in Cuba and the other was the Chinese aggression on India. I think the world has started appearing rather different, in very clear terms; not that it has started changing from that moment onwards, the forces were already working in that direction, but it started making a little different turn from the time of those two events. How? After these two events one can very clearly say that despite the conflict of ideologies, despite the historical enemities, many countries are coming together to save the world from war.
It is a very important thing, and it has created a very fundamental issue for us because, even countries believing in the principles of Communism and countries which are dead set against the principles of Communism are thinking on the same lines that it is necessary to co-exist. That has created a problem in the world in the form of China, because that seems to be the only country today which ideologically believes that there should be a war. Unfortunately, as geo-politics have placed us, the country which believes in the fundamental principle of having war happens to be our next door neighbour. That has given some sort of inevitability to the necessity of preparation of defence of our country.
There is no escape from making a conscious effort and being alert to safeguard integrity of this country from this neighbour. It started with border trouble. Let us hope the Chinese Government will accept Colombo proposals and some solution will be found.
In coming years– when I refer to planning, I am not only confining to this year– we will have to make efforts in three or four directions. I am now talking about short-term planning to be spread over a certain number of years. The immediate effort that will have to be made is four-fold. Firstly, we will have expansion of the army. Secondly, there has to be necessary expansion and modernisation of the Air Force. Thirdly, there will have to be a sufficiently strong base of production taking into consideration new capacities of consumption that we are producing in the defence sector. Fourthly, ancillary facilities like communications and transport also need to be expanded.
I should say it is our decision and determination to expand the army in the coming two years nearly to double the size of the present Army. An army is not just a collection of people, not even a collection of trained people. An army is trained people led by trained officers with necessary powerful equipment and many other things. Though our emphasis is on production to which I am coming a little later, naturally, in the immediate future we will have to depend upon support and aid of friendly countries. At this stage, I must make a grateful mention about spontaneous gesture made by many friendly countries like the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and many other friendly countries in the world, because the way they came to our help has some good quality about it. That only shows that dynamic non-alignment policy has succeeded without committing ourselves to any group or alliances.
Some Members mentioned about concept of Mountain Divisions that were to be raised as to what are they like etc. According to me, as far as I can see, there are two or three distinguishing features between the standard army Divisions and the Mountain Divisions. Strength is is practically the same. But it differs on points of mobility, fire power, special training, special acclimatisation, special use of special vehicles, etc. I am sure that by the end of this year we will be completing five Mountain Divisions that we have planned to raise this year.
Some Members said, “Are we still waiting to make our planning till the decisions of this NEFA Committee are out? What are we doing in between?” I can assure the House that we are not just idly waiting for these recommendations to come and then to take lessons and then start learning them. Army Headquarters have already from their observations made their own studies about the problems and they have drawn certain lessons and efforts are being made on the basis of those lessons learnt. The rapidity and the suddenness with which those events happened in those days have certainly some good lessons to teach us. We found that it will be necessary to improve the quality of planning for campaigns and those well-thought-out plans will have to be backed by logistic support, rather well-prepared in advance.
The other important point is that there ought to be some sort of a close understanding and collaboration and co-operation between the army and the air force. They have also to tally their own plans for that purpose. Much detailed thinking has been done in this respect as well. The question of acclimatisation has been undertaken in mountain areas.
Another important question is about the closest relationship between officers and men. Much care has been taken to see that this tendency is cultivated and encouraged. Nobody can deny the importance of intelligence. But, the machinery for intelligence cannot be created overnight. It requires very thorough planning. I can assure the House that more and more methods have been found to collect information, collate it, disseminate it and make it useful.
I would like to mention here the other question about promotions of officers. Above the level of Lt Col, postings are made by selection. Appointments above the rank of Major Generals are made by the Government by selection. Appointments of Brigadiers and Major Generals are made by the Chief of Staff with approval of Defence Minister. Of course, there will be case of supersession. When promotions to the ranks of active officers are to be given, naturally, one has to go by the capacity of the man concerned, about his leadership. It is not merely by seniority you can kick people upwards and sometimes hang yourself.
Much has been said about Technical Aid Mission that visited India. The discussions will be followed further by my colleague T T Krishnamachari who is visiting the United States in a few weeks. We cannot afford to produce the types of aeroplanes or the machinery or the equipment that we need immediately. I am sure, if these efforts succeed, we should have a reasonably strong air arm to support our army, if there is an aggression. Naturally, as the Air Force is going to expand, problems of necessary manpower, training facilities for pilots, training facilities for ground engineers and training facilities for other airmen also become very important. Steps have been taken in the last few months to start new schools for these training facilities. A chain of air-fields has been constructed in strategic places. I am sure that expanded air force will be working effectively immediately when it becomes available.
One Member concentrated his entire speech on the importance of the Navy. I can assure the Members, some of whom have mentioned about the problem of sub-marines, that the sub-marine is not necessarily an offensive weapon; it is also a defensive weapon. And we have made a beginning by having some training facilities for sub-marine, and, if we can afford and if our efforts succeed, possibly we may have sub-marines.
About defence production there is some misunderstanding. I do not understand how a big Army that we propose to have or a big Air Force that we propose to have can always depend upon the process of imports; it just cannot be done. Your Army cannot be made to depend upon the arms and ammunition to be supplied by somebody. One must be very clear in one’s own mind that in these matters we shall have to depend upon our own technological development, and our scientific progress and the training of our own people. At present, 21 ordnance factories we have got and some aircraft manufacturing factories are really doing very good work. In addition to this, planning has begun to have six new ordnance factories for arms and ammunition. To streamline administration for production effort, we have recently reorganised our administrative set-up to a certain extent by- delegating more powers to the people on the spot, by starting some new training centres at different ordnance factories.
Now, about the NEFA enquiry. The intentions certainly are to make a sort of military appraisal and to draw some military lessons from it. If at all we have to make this serious effort for national defence, should we still go on in the mood of a witch-hunt? Supposing there are mistakes, should we not be ready to forget some mistakes and come together to look to the future? I do not want to discuss my predecessor because I shall also be predecessor to somebody. It is just like taking a dig at each other.
You cannot understand the history of a country by merely looking at the material facts. What this country requires today is the determination not to lose nerve. Difficulties are there, without difficulties you cannot make a nation. Those difficulties will have to be overcome. We are all there for that. This Parliament is there to overcome the difficulties, the people are there to overcome the difficulties. No individual, no single person, can overcome difficulties.
If we want to achieve what we really want to achieve, we must have that cool, stubborn, stout confidence in our hearts. I know that road to our destiny is rather long, hazardous. There are perilous precipices on the way. But unless with smiling face and with head high, and with courage, we walk that difficult road, we shall never reach that destiny. I have no doubt in my mind that whatever the difficulties, whatever the deficiencies, we will be able to do so. There will be deficiencies. But, we should see that those deficiencies do not reach the people on the front but that they are taken by people at the back or at the training centres. Unless we are prepared to face this problem with courage, we cannot do it. The way our country has lived for the last 5,000 years is such that this country must remain an independent country, and will remain an independent country. So if we continue with these efforts, the time will come when any potential aggressor will think twice, ten times, a hundred times, before thinking of any aggressive intentions against India.
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