New Delhi: The Indian army on Friday (September 29) conducted its first panel discussion under an initiative dedicated to drawing from ancient Indian ideas of statecraft and strategy.
Named ‘Project Udbhav’, the initiative is meant to “rediscover the profound Indic heritage of statecraft and strategic thoughts derived from ancient Indian texts of statecraft, warcraft, diplomacy and grand strategy,” a release by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) said.
It continued: “It focuses on a broad spectrum including indigenous military systems, historical texts, regional texts and kingdoms, thematic studies, and intricate Kautilya studies.”
Kautilya, also known by the name Chanakya, was a third century BCE political guru who is said to have authored the Arthashastra, a treatise on statecraft.
The panel discussion itself was titled ‘Evolution of Indian Military systems, War Fighting and Strategic Thought – Current Research in the Field and Way Forward’.
Members discussed studying Kautilya’s texts as well as the classical Tamil Kural, PIB’s release said.
It also said that by reintroducing classical teachings into the present-day military, “the Indian Army aims to nurture the officers to apply ancient wisdom in modern scenarios and also allow a more profound understanding of international relations and foreign cultures.”
As part of a project started in 2021 to compile ancient Indian stratagems, the army has also released a book listing 75 aphorisms, as well as a scholarly work titled in English as ‘Traditional Indian Philosophy…Eternal Rules of Warfare and Leadership’, PIB said.
The Times of India reported that the government has previously directed the “Indianisation” of the armed forces, in accordance with which the army said last year that it would identify colonial and pre-colonial era customs and names for removal.
Earlier this year, the navy decided to stop its practice of officers carrying batons, saying it was a colonial legacy whose time had come.
“The symbolism of power or authority portrayed through holding the baton is a colonial legacy that is out of place in a transformed navy of the Amrit Kaal,” the navy said in a letter to all units according to The Tribune.
Last year, it announced a new naval ensign that discarded the Cross of Saint George.
“Till now the identity of slavery remained on the flag of [the] Indian Navy. But from today onwards, inspired by Chhatrapati Shivaji, the new Navy flag will fly in the sea and in the sky,” PIB quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi as saying during the ensign’s unveiling.