Abstract
The 1962 defeat by China deeply traumatised India’s army, political leadership, and public. The military leadership, feeling national shame, attributed the loss to employment of soldiers on nonprofessional duties, inadequate training, and political interference. Thereafter, determined to redeem the honour, the army prioritised rigorous training, professionalism, and unit fighting spirit—and the army rapidly expanded.
Within three years, the transformed Indian Army defeated Pakistan in 1965, despite Pakistan possessing superior US-supplied weaponry. The same leadership inflicted a significant blow to China in 1967 at Nathu La and, in a unique military feat, helped Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) to become a separate nation in 1971 within 16 days. Since 1971, the army’s work culture, training, and leadership’s age profile have undergone immense changes, prompting a need to re-assess these transformations?
Keywords: India-China Relations, Transformation, Indian Armed Forces, Preparedness, India-Pakistan Relations
