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The book answers a number of questions: How the idea of the formation of an air force for India was mooted? What problems were encountered in its formation? Why did it take such a long time for the first squadron to come up to its full strength? And finally, the reasons for the delays in the build-up of the IAF and formation of additional squadrons.

The initial part of the book covers the evolution of military aviation in India from 1901 when the first and the only balloon unit was inducted for purposes of reconnaissance work in the North West Frontier. The first lot of manned aircraft arrived in India for demonstration purposes in 1910. A Central Flying School was established in India as far back as 1913 and the ‘Indian Flying Corps’ saw action in Egypt and Mesopotamia (Iraq) in 1915 before its merger into the Royal Flying Corps.

A small number of daring young Indians served in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. This, notwithstanding the rules that only persons of European descent could join the armed forces. They left their indelible mark on the Indian military history and the stories of these young pioneers have been covered.

The RAF was in India right through from 1915 till India achieved her independence in 1947 – some units did leave in 1948. The history of the RAF in India during this period has been covered. The RAF’s role in the Third Afghan War, as well as in the Jalianwala Bagh massacre. It was the first-ever and the only time in India when unarmed civilians were bombed and strafed at Amritsar and Gujranwala immediately after the Jalianwala Bagh Massacre.

The British had to deploy at least two divisions on a near-permanent basis in the North West Frontier. The RAF was inducted into India mainly to assist the Indian Army in countering the problems posed by various tribes in the in the North West Frontier region. The British were never able to establish a durable peace against these tribesmen. The RAF was deployed to assist the Indian Army in the North West Frontier and engaged the tribesmen right from 1916 till the opening stages of the Second World War when the responsibility was handed over to the Indian Air Force squadrons. The author has described these operations in some detail.

With the Royal Air Force already in India, there was naturally fierce opposition to the creation of an Indian Air Force. The political pressures in India forced the British, and they had to relent in the end. The ‘skirmishes’ at the highest levels of the British bureaucracy and military hierarchy in the debate on the creation of the Indian Air Force have been described.

The book brings out the discriminations and British prejudices against Indians who joined the Indian Air Force and how they overcame those prejudices with grit and determination with their chins up.

 No. 1 Squadron, IAF came into being on 1 April 1933 but it took another nine years before the second and subsequent squadrons were formed. Expansion took place under the compulsions of the Second World War. The short histories of these squadrons, from their raisings till 1947, have been covered.

India was faced with a maritime threat during the initial years of the Second World War. The onus for the defence of the Indian seashores fell on the IAF and the RAF squadrons in India. Five Coast Defence Flights were raised for this purpose.

Air power played a decisive role in the Allied victory over Japan in Burma. in World War 2. The chapter on  “Japanese invasion of Burma and the Role Played by the Indian Air Force” recounts the role played by the Indian Air Force’s in the victory against the Japanese.

Indian Air Force Day is celebrated on 8 October. It was this day in 1932 that the formation of the Indian Air Force was notified in the Gazette of India. But, the book reveals that the origins of an air force in India can be traced to even before the First World War. There are other little known facts about the Indian Air Force, as well as the evolution of military aviation in India, that needs to be brought to the attention of the military aviation enthusiasts and especially those associated, in one capacity or the other, with the Indian Air Force.

The book has many new and hitherto not so well-known details about the growth of military aviation in India and that of the Indian Air Force.

•   the first tactical reconnaissance in the world (1911).

•   the first airlift of civilians from a besieged country (Afghanistan 1928).

•   the first-ever battle to be won by air power alone (Pink’s War 1925).

•   the first and the only instance of a war/battle being named after an individual (Pink’s War once again).

•   the first casualty air evacuation by helicopter (Burma on 21 April 1944).

Finally, the drama of the division of the Royal Indian Air Force and its reconstitution as the air forces of India and Pakistan has been described. The British put forward every argument for allotting seven squadrons to Pakistan and two to India instead of vice versa. But our stalwarts stood their ground and got the share India deserved.

About the Author

Air Marshal Bharat Kumar, PVSM, AVSM, is an alumnus of National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College and Vorsholov General Staff Academy, (Moscow). He was commissioned in the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force in December 1959. A veteran of 1965 and 1971 conflicts, he has held many command and staff assignments in his career. He commanded a MiG-21 Squadron, two major operational bases including the prestigious Mirage-2000-equipped Air Force Station, Gwalior, and was Air Office Commanding, HQ Maritime Air Operations. His staff appointments include Operations 1, Air 1, Senior Air Staff Officer at headquarters of operational commands; those at Air Headquarters being Director Operations, Director Plans and Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Inspection). He reached the pinnacle of his career when he took over as the Air Office Commanding-in-Chief Southern Air Command, IAF in 1995. He retired from the Service in 1997.

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Democracy, touted by intellectuals as the best form of governance, in fact, is one of the worst. The whole concept is based on Kafkaesque premises. It believes in the “wisdom of the majority”, ie, what the majority wants must be good for the whole. The fallacy of this premise can be easily proved. If school kids are asked whether they would rather study or play, the overwhelming vote shall be for play. Whether this is good for the kids is too obvious to debate. Democracy also depends on voting by all. Universal adult suffrage being the mantra for equality and the right to participation in decision-making. This premise presupposes knowledge, wisdom and nationalism present in all voters on attaining a certain age. This lends itself to voter manipulation by shrewd politicians and vested interests through bribe, lure, coercion and threat. Even if these manipulations are absent, the voters are auto-swayed by caste, religion, ethnicity or celebrity status of the candidate, leading to skewed voting.

Recently, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) party won all five seats it contested in Bihar without any manifesto or canvassing, merely because it fielded Muslim candidates in Muslim-majority constituencies. In modern geopolitics, government formation in one country impacts trade, commerce and economy of other countries. It tilts balance-of-power for or against a regional or global power. National elections are now events of international concern. The recent conspiracy of Muslim states and communists to oust a maverick Trump, who was single-handedly fighting China’s trade hegemony and Islamisation of America, is a case in point. The world shall soon realise the puppet-stature of Joe Biden, installed by powers inimical to American interests and opposed to what Donald Trump stood for.

The uselessness of parliamentary democracy, as a tool of public administration, is further established when one examines the role of the Opposition. There are two kinds of elected governments – the far fewer ones that work for the good of the people and nation and the more common ones that do not. The latter enjoy their term, line their pockets, promote nepotism and ignore the citizens and the state. The public throws out such governments in the next elections in a cyclical phenomenon known as the “incumbency factor”. When, however, a good government comes to power, the role of the opposition is reduced to somehow discrediting the government and making it fail. If the opposition does not do this and simply works as a “responsible Opposition” supporting the government on its every good initiative, it can kiss its chances of returning to power an enormous goodbye.

Any system that thrives on incumbency factor for enabling the opposition to come to power is intrinsically flawed, relying on negativity. The opposition in India, for the last seven years, has been engrossed in finding some weakness, corruption or misdemeanour on the part of the Modi government. Not finding anything worthwhile, the opposition has been forced to invent such charges, questioning the Rafale deal, blaming demonetisation for economic decline, denouncing Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), ridiculing Goods & Services Tax (GST) and even doubting actions of India’s armed forces against enemies. One cannot blame the opposition for resorting to these tactics. No sensible Ppposition can afford to support a good government without punching nails into its own coffin. The real problem lies in the fundamental structure of parliamentary democracy and how governments are formed therein. Further, unless voting is compulsory, most elected governments do not even represent the majority populace; just the most votes of those that voted!! In India, with hundreds of political parties and 30-40 candidates per constituency, a 25-30% vote share is enough to make a candidate successful. What kind of majority opinion of people is this?

Admittedly, monarchies and other forms of autocracies suffer from abject nepotism, leading to incompetent, haughty and boorish rulers ascending the throne. Alas, democracies are not insured against this malaise either. Dynastic rule in democracies is not the preserve just of the Nehru-Gandhis in India. The Kennedys, Fords and Bushs of USA, the Trudeaus of Canada, the Kenyattas of Kenya, the Rajapakshas of Sri Lanka, the Lees of Singapore, the Parks of South Korea are glowing examples of nepotism in democracies, globally. Not all nepotism is so prominent. Most beneficiaries occupy cushy positions with no responsibility and a plethora of perks. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, remained state governor, ambassador and India’s representative to the UN for 30 years from the moment Nehru became prime minister of India – all appointments requiring no qualification but affording a life of lordly perks and privileges. That Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit never went to college and had no training for a diplomatic or administrative assignment was no obstacle. She, after all, was Nehru’s sister!! Other nepotic beneficiaries of Nehru-Gandhi family are too many to recount.

Suffice to say, democracy is much less than it is made out to be.

Now, that the necessity for any Opposition to discredit a good government, for its own survival, is established, it is easy to understand the present outbreak of Covid in India – the so called second wave. The pandemic that has ruined many economies, killed lakhs and redefined the way we live life, has proved a boon for Opposition parties in India. Every death, every closure of a factory or business establishment, every fall in market index, every exodus of migrant labour helps the Opposition cause. Just as seedlings are cultivated in nurseries before planting in the field, the Opposition used two of the most densely populated cities of India – New Delhi and Mumbai – both in Opposition ruled states, as nurseries to cultivate and proliferate the waning Covid virus. It allowed the virus to flourish and spread by not implementing precautions strictly and not taking any action against violators. Captive news and social media flooded the environment with fake news, old pictures and videos to create and maintain panic. It hoarded essential supplies like remdesivir, vaccinations and oxygen to create artificial scarcity. It occupied hospital beds with fake or minor Covid cases, enhancing the panic. Eventually, it forced the government to order lockdown that paralyses the economy, forces labour migration and pours misery on the population. A study of the spread of the “second wave” would show its germination in Opposition ruled states – Maharashtra, Kerala, Delhi, Rajasthan and Punjab – spreading to neighbouring states of Gujarat, UP and Karnataka. Notably, peripheral areas of India like Ladakh, Odisha, the North-East, island territories, etc, have remained conspicuously unaffected by the second wave.

All this to discredit a good government so the Opposition has hope of winning the next election. One cannot blame the Opposition for these tactics. The system of parliamentary democracy is to blame. These tactics do not work in authoritarian dispensations as in China, North Korea and communist countries. Despite all its ills, alas, democracy still emerges preferable to autocracies, so long as bad governments keep coming to power and incumbency factor keeps rotating the Opposition. This way, Opposition does not have to resort to anti-national activities to oust a good government.

How does it affect India’s security?

After near six decades of a self-serving dynastic rule, India has got a prime minister and a government that is working for the nation. Basic fundamentals of a welfare state – health, education, welfare, cleanliness, probity in public-life, national pride, et al – are being revived and rejuvenated. The economy, hitherto dependent on imports, is being made self-reliant. Infrastructure development, sorely lacking so far, is getting a fillip with fast-paced development of highways, rail tracks, village roads, airports, railway stations, etc. Communication facilities are being improved with broadening of roads, bridges, tunnels and making rivers navigable. The woefully and deliberately neglected sector of land-revenue records is being tackled. Every known loophole of government-abetted corruption is being plugged by reducing cash transactions, linking PAN and Aadhar cards and making them compulsory for major transactions, tightening of high-value and simplification of low-value bank-loan procedures, direct-bank-transfer (DBT) of all government monies to beneficiaries, simplification of income-tax filing system and introduction of GST have all frustrated the elite and the powerful corrupt.

There is little hope for the Congress to return to power and no other party has the geographical signature to claim a national stature. The alternative to BJP, therefore, appears to be an unhappy amalgam of regional leaders betrothed to widely divergent ideologies, coming together with the sole aim of keeping the BJP out. No polity can survive with a negative agenda or a keep-BJP-out manifesto. Such an amalgam is itself a threat to India, as has been proved by the dismal performance of the Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra. The unity of purpose required for adhering to a focused foreign policy or a concentrated drive for economic development is bound to be diluted to accommodate the demands of the constituent parties. If each prong of a star pulls it in its own direction, the star is unlikely to make much progress in any direction. Coalition is a synonym of compromise. The biggest sufferer shall be India whose best interests shall be compromised at the altar of political compromises. This has been experienced during UPA times as well as during NDA times when BJP was not strong enough on its own.

A politically weak India shall be putty in the hands of India-baiters. The emergence of India, in recent times, as a force of some stature – eye-balling China at Doklam and Galwan; looking USA in the eye on matters of trade and purchase of military hardware from Russia; not kowtowing to Russia, EU, UK or any other power on matters of national interest; shaking hands with Palestinians as well as Israelis; joining hands with the Quad to contain China’s hegemony in South China Sea, et al, shall subside when a weak prime minister takes the helm in the Lok Sabha.

The emergence of Modi as a world leader of some clout is not only a thorn in the side of the Opposition in India; it is a looming threat to the established world order established by the USA, China, Russia and the EU. Hither-to-fore, a non-entity, India appears to be throwing her hat in world affairs in an unignorable way. The necessity to discredit Modi, thus weakening India is, therefore, not just a domestic requirement, it is fast becoming an international urgency. Small wonder then, the western media, the Islamic world and the communist machinery are flush with anti-BJP propaganda – declaring it divisive, unsecular and communal. This must be seen from the perspective of a frustrated Islamic world that has failed to convert India into a Muslim state for 800 years as well as from the exasperation of the communists who have not progressed beyond West Bengal and Kerala in over 70 years.

India was born a Hindu state, on Partition on religious lines at Independence. Socialist Secularism was thrust on her by a bipartisan Congress party, via a sly 42nd Amendment to India’s Constitution during the Emergency, on 2 November 1976. This notorious amendment also curtailed fundamental rights of the citizens. Since then, under the garb of secularism, the governments of Nehru-Gandhi clan have surreptitiously eroded the Hindu edifice in India and strengthened Muslim infrastructure. The bias towards Muslims has been executed brazenly and without any limit. Driving out Hindus from Muslim-dominated areas, as in Kashmir and many pockets in UP and the national capital region (NCR); populating Hindu areas with ever increasing Muslim “refugees” from Bangladesh, as in West Bengal and Kerala; fully subsidizing Hajj but no concession for yatras; taxing Hindu temples while funding masjids; paying salary to mullahs but not to pandits; autonomy to Muslim educational institutions; liberal grant of land for mosques and madrassas; ensuring Ram Janambhoomi issue remains unresolved; questioning the very existence of Ram and Ram Setu, etc. Though born as a Hindu nation on 14 August 1947, Bharat was gradually being turned into Hindustan by the Nehru-Gandhis – a Muslim clan dressed in Hindu garb.

The fallibility and fundamental flaws of parliamentary democracy cannot provide a solution to the situation Bharat finds herself in. A compromise solution may well be the American model of presidential democracy. A leader like Modi as “president of India” would have achieved wonders for the country if he had not been hampered by pitfalls of the parliamentary system. Of course, a despotic leader like Indira Gandhi, who promulgated emergency, denuded fundamental rights and brought in self-serving amendments to India’s Constitution, could exploit such a system even more effectively.

India has a long way to go before she can become Bharat. Unfortunately for the Muslims, she shall never become Hindustan even if it means she has to endure Mahabharat 2.0. Time has come for India, ie Bharat, to revisit its parliamentary system and adopt a presidential system with some improvements from the experiences of the Americans. Democracy may be terrible but brooks no competition from even worse alternatives.

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ALSO READ: India’s Judiciary and India’s Security (Part 1)

There is so much wrong with our judiciary that it is difficult to enlist any aspect of it that is good. Judicial reforms along with police reforms and reforms in the bureaucracy are exigent as these organs of the government are negating all the good work any government attempts to implement.

Courts are custodians of India’s Constitution and Equality before law for all citizens is enshrined in that Constitution. Yet, it is the courts that favour the rich and powerful and pooh-pooh the poor, loudly violating the very Constitution they are charged to defend. Law is servant of the rich and master of the poor, here!

There are just too many laws in India. India has more laws than has physics!! While the current government has attempted to remove some of the archaic, obsolete and redundant laws, the courts have taken no such initiative. Apparently, more the laws, more is the income of lawyers.

Everything that could go wrong with India’s judiciary has gone wrong. The intake into the legal profession is from that stratum of society that has failed to get their prized vocations. Of these, the best lawyers opt out of the judiciary for pecuniary reasons. Of those that join the judiciary, promotions and lucrative postings are available only to the well-connected. With this as the pedigree of material manning our judiciary for near seven decades, it is small wonder our judicial system has gone to the dogs of the pariah variety. Some urgent and extraordinarily strong measures are required to remedy this appalling situation.

So, what is to be done ?

Option 1 – Improve the System

Sweeping judicial reforms are a crying necessity. All and any artificial attempt to put them on a pedestal needs to be removed. Instead of robes, judges should wear national dress, like our president does. Judges should be addressed as “Judge” or “Sir” or “Shriman” or “Madam”, “Mahodaya” or “Mahashaya”. Lawyers may wear black robes to distinguish them as officers of the court but they should not be called “Learned” or “Faazil”. They deserve respect not adulation or worship.

The states or districts that do not have their High Court or District Court yet must have one on priority. This should be incumbent when carving out a new state or a district. If bureaucrats ensure a chief secretary in every state and a district commissioner in every district, notwithstanding its size, why not a HC or a District Court? Vacancies in all courts should be filled up on war footing. Quality cannot be a hindrance as it has not been in the past.

Judicial promotions should be done from district level judges upwards. Lawyers who opt not to become judges at district level should not be eligible for being judges in HC or SC. The NJAC should be reenacted by the Sansad and a similar machinery formulated for appointing judges at district level.

Courts provide an essential service. They should work accordingly. Law Ministry must prescribe a set of norms to be followed by courts at all echelons. The maximum time permitted for various types of cases and trials, if not enshrined in the relevant Acts, should be laid down and strictly enforced. Failure to dispose-off a case within the time limit should invite “Contempt of Justice”, to be dealt with by the Sansad or the state legislature, the supreme body in any democracy. The phenomenon of “Contempt of Court” should be revoked. Other government officers, charged with equally important state functions, do not have such a weapon.

All appellate cases should be decided within a maximum of one month since all evidence and arguments are already recorded. If fresh evidence emerges, the case should be reverted to the trial court. Appeals should be decided on whether the evidence has been correctly interpreted by the lower court and whether the sentence is appropriate. There is no requirement to reexamine witnesses or exhume the whole case.

Retirement age of judges should be enhanced to 70 years. If pilots can fly till the age of 65, judges can surely perform sedentary jobs in the interest of disposing off lakhs of pending cases. Judges should clock-in about an hour before the court-time to prepare themselves for the day’s work, just like pilots, surgeons, pro-players and other responsible professionals do.

At present the court culture is to give dates for hearings for many cases in a day. In most cases the lawyers seek time on some flimsy ground or the other and no real work is done. The longer the case drags, the more the lawyers earn. There should be a financial penalty, like a traffic challan, for inordinate postponements or wastage of court’s time. Repeat offences should attract loss of licence-to-practice for the errant lawyers. A similar roster should be maintained for judges enumerating the number of hearings postponed by them along with reasons. Lethargic judges should be cautioned, reprimanded and ultimately sacked. Judiciary needs to be handled as one would handle any other sarkari organisation. No extra quarter needs to be given.

The tenure of CJI should also be of a fixed minimum duration so he/she can make meaningful contribution to the administration of justice in India. Having seven CJIs in six years (between 2014 and 2021), purely based on retirement age and seniority, reduces the post of CJI to a non-effective figurehead. No other hierarchical government organisation makes such a mockery of its topmost office. Letting more people retire as CJIs may be good for the people concerned but it is not good for the country.

The system can be improved only via a thorough overhaul. Judiciary should be declared as a Central Service with direct recruitment through an exam by UPSC. Since all candidates would be law graduates, the written exam should be designed to test the judicial acumen of the candidates, not just the knowledge of law. Those that clear the written exam should be sieved through an interview system akin to the Services Selection Board. The candidates should undergo intelligence tests, comprehension tests, personality tests, aptitude tests, physical tests and a medical exam.

The selected candidates should undergo a Judgeship Course of 3 to 6 months to orient them for a judicial career followed by an internship with senior judges for a few weeks. The newly inducted judges should start their career at the lowest rung, Judge Class III, and earn their promotions in a graded manner. Lateral induction of lawyers as judges should be permitted only to fill urgent vacancies and not otherwise. Promotion to District Judge should be based on time-scale and on performance. Promotion to HCs and SC should be based on a minimum qualifying service plus a promotion exam.

Reversal of judgments by appellate courts should earn a blackball for the concerned judge and repeated instances should block further promotion. Appointment of Chief Justices of HCs and SC should be based on seniority on an all-India basis with an assured minimum tenure of two years and a maximum of five years. The age of superannuation of judges should be 70 years, extendable to 72 years.

Being an all-India service and adjudicating the same law prevalent all over India, all judges should be posted to all parts of the country. No judge should spend more than three years in any court or a state. No judge should be posted in a home-town or a home state. This would automatically erode nepotism and prevent judges from developing “roots”. The posting of judges should be computer-controlled and strictly enforced except on extreme compassionate grounds.

IAS should be divested of all judicial functions. They are neither trained for them nor have the aptitude for judicial functions.

The judges should get the best compensation package in the country to prevent them from being lured by bribes and other inducements. A Judge Class III, the junior-most judge, should start with a salary of Rs 2 lakhs, furnished accommodation for family, conveyance for self and family, free education for children up to Class XII, domestic help, free medical care, free rail and air travel with family twice a year, etc. In short, the state should look after them as if they were IAS officers. The compensation of District Court, HC and SC judges should be proportionately increased. SC judges ought to earn around Rs 6 lakhs to make them inducement-free. No judge should have any reason to fall for any bait. As a counter-measure, any judge caught taking bribe or copping any undue influence should be held to the highest standards of public probity and dealt with strictly, swiftly and in an exemplary fashion. The normal punishment should be akin to cashiering, with rigorous imprisonment for a minimum of three years.

Law Ministry, in liaison with the SC, should draw up timelines to be followed by the courts and the judges to dispose-off various types of cases. All cases must be decided within the permitted time-lines. A wrong decision is far better than no decision. Timelines are a crying necessity for deciding cases. Not only are they in concert with the axiom of “Justice delayed is justice denied”, they reduce undertrials in prisons, costs of litigation and save precious time of the courts. What purpose, if any, is served by not deciding cases for decades, is something only our judges may understand. The load of lower courts can be reduced by delegation of all minor cases like traffic violations, petty family feuds, accidents, etc, that form 80 per cent of the 4.4 crore pending cases in India, to Gram Panchayats to decide.

Based on severity or the monetary value of the cases, these should be filed in designated tier of courts. Smallest cases to gram panchayats or Judge Class III courts, followed by courts of Judge Class II and Judge Class I – all at district level. HCs should be the basic appellate authority and be immune from initial filing of cases except cases involving state government machinery and high value transactions. Similarly, SC should only handle cases involving interpretation of law or the Constitution, cases involving constitutional appointments, inter-state disputes and appellate cases from HCs. All cases should be capped at two levels of appeals, terminating at the SC. So, a judgment of Judge Class III should go in appeal to Judge Class II and finally to Judge Class I. The verdict of Judge Class I in this case should be final. Similarly, a case initially decided by a Judge Class II should be appealable to Judge Class I and the HC only and so on.

Option 2 – Resort to Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Law is an emotionless phenomenon that works on the letter of the law and irrefutable evidence. In many ways it is robotic, like a computer. It, consequently, lends itself very favourably to computerisation. Artificial Intelligence (AI) could and should be used to replace the judicial function of the judges. Human judges should continue to hear arguments and examine evidence, as hither to fore. The court-clerk should then feed the evidence into the legal-software. The verdict and the sentence is decided by the computer, quite akin to the jury-system, where a judge plays no part in the verdict but decides the sentence. In the proposed system, the computer shall decide not only the verdict, it shall decide the quantum of punishment too.

Modern AI has reached unimaginable heights with pilotless aircraft, driverless cars, robotic industries, robot bartenders and waiters, right up to synthetic sex-dolls capable of near real-life experiences. A fair, unemotional and unperturbed AI-judiciary shall be a boon to the legal infrastructure. It shall eliminate all the ills of human-judges. Computers shall excel in recalling past judgments (precedences), cross-referencing various sections of the relevant laws, accept or reject legality of charges far better than human judges, in a swift and unbiased manner.

Computers cannot “interpret” law. So, SC shall require human judges for this important function. Even here, SC could and should use computers to sift, collate and present all the relevant facets of the law sought to be interpreted.

India’s Judiciary and India’s Security (Part 1)

The post India’s Judiciary and India’s Security (Part 2) appeared first on IMR.

COVID19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the healthcare system in every part of the world. The clinical effects of COVID19 range from asymptomatic infection, mild upper respiratory tract illness to severe pneumonia with respiratory failure, multi organ dysfunction and death. The unrestrained systemic inflammatory response in COVID19 triggers activation of inflammatory cells, this phenomena is commonly known as cytokine storm which inturn can induce Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) which is the leading cause of deaths. The COVID 19 pneumonia is different from other pneumonia in the way it progresses rapidly and in the exponential increase in inflammatory markers.

Thus It is of paramount importance to incorporate new treatment methods to augment the current treatment modalities. One such modality is the Low Dose Radiation Therapy (LDRT) which as per evidence of preliminary studies and trials conducted by several medical institutions is very promising.

Mechanism of LDRT[1-6]

Radiation therapy is immunomodulatory, at doses lower than 1 Gy it exhibits anti-inflammatory effects and at higher doses above 1Gy it exhibits pro-inflammatory effects.

Low Dose Radiotherapy at 0.5 Gy is a non-toxic, cost effective, evidence based anti-inflammatory therapeutic tool that has the potential to improve the respiratory complications and avoid the complications of cytokine storm.

Low dose radiation therapy and has an anti-inflammatory effect at low doses which is mediated by the suppression of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL6 (IL6 levels are elevated in severe cases of COVID 19) and induction of anti-inflammatory cytokines such as IL10.

LD-RT treatment (30–100 cGy) to the lungs of SARS-COV 2 patients could taper off the pneumonia associated inflammation by creating an anti-inflammatory environment and also lessen the probability of death.

Workflow of LDRT

The workflow of Radiotherapy is quite simple it includes :

1. Transport of patient to the radiotherapy unit

2. Treatment planning and scheduling

3. Treatment position immobilization

4. Treatment delivery and monitoring during treatment – the patient’s thoracic region is irradiated with low doses of radiation (less than 1Gy) by a radiotherapy device such as a linear accelerator (Linac).

5. Transporting back

This entire procedure may take up to 10-15 minutes.

How is Outcome Measured

1. Symptomatic improvement or deterioration by comparing NEWS score with post LDRT score on days 3, 4, 7 and 14

2. Length of hospital stay post LDRT

3. Number of ICU admissions/deaths

Advantages of LDRT

1. Single fraction treatment : short and quick

2. It’s a non consumable treatment : unlike vaccine or drug

3. It has no impact on viral mutation : No selective pressure is applied on the virus

4. Existing Radiotherapy infrastructure can be utilised

5. Preventing ICU admissions : Need of the hour and huge benefit for India

a. No ICU setup required

b. No ventilator required

c. Less need of ICU staff (minimise deaths in healthcare workers)

Challenges

1. Ethical Approval : Treating infection by radiation

2. Fear of infection among radiation team : non covid team (medical physicists, RT technologists ) being potentially exposed to COVID 19

3. Logistical Issues – Sanitising the RT machines and transporting the COVID positive patients to the radiotherapy unit.

4. Interference with treatment of cancer patients as the same radiotherapy machines will be used for LDRT purposes as well.

5. Cancer Risk : Radiation therapy being used for benign conditions does raise concerns about the risk of radiation induced carcinogenesis.

6. Determining the right time for intervention by this method – if this therapy is given at a very early stage of the infection, it might compromise the body’s ability to fight of infection on it’s own and might be futile if given very late.

Recent trials conducted by various medical institutions suggests that :

1. LDRT is safe and well tolerated by patients

2. No acute toxicities were observed

3. O2 demand reduces ealy on in majority of patients

4. Very good early radiographic response

Conclusion

LDRT can prevent cytokine storm (which leads to ARDS and multi-organ failure) thereby preventing further deterioration of the patient and reducing the mortality when given at the right time. It also has the potential to reduce post COVID lung sequelae. Furthermore, it can reduce burden on healthcare systems by reducing the dependence on oxygen, need of mechanical ventilation and intubation. With more trials, studies and data validating this approach, it can be considered as a potential standardised treatment for severe cases.

References

1. Calabrese E, Dhawan G. How radiotherapy was historically used to treat pneumonia: Could it be useful today? . Yale J Biol Med. 2013.

2. DN Sharma, Randeep Guleria. Low Dose Radiation Therapy for COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Pilot Study. 2020

3. Kirby, Charles, and Marc Mackenzie. Is low dose radiation therapy a potential treatment for COVID-19 pneumonia? 2020

4. Meziani, Lydia, and Charlotte Robert. “Low Doses of Radiation Increase the Immunosuppressive Profile of Lung Macrophages During Viral Infection and Pneumonia.” International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, 2021.

5. F. Rodel, B. Frey, U. Gaipl, L. Keilholz, C. Fournier, K. Manda, H. Schollnberger, G. Hildebrandt and C. Rodel, “Modulation of Inflammatory Immune Reactions by Low-Dose Ionizing Radiation: Molecular Mechanisms and Clinical Application”, Current Medicinal Chemistry (2012) 19: 1741. https://doi.org/10.2174/092986712800099866

6. Sharma, DN, and Rishabh Kumar. “Low-dose radiotherapy for COVID 19: A radioimmunological perspective.

Kartikeya Sethi is currently working on understanding the effects of low dose ionising radiation on the human body for treating benign conditions, primarily the COVID19 infection in order to make the treatment by Low Dose Radiation Therapy a safe option.

He can be contacted by email  at kartikaymsvv@gmail.com

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The exercise involved multi-faceted maritime operations by synergised employment of amphibious assault ships, surveillance platforms, execution of maritime air strikes and complex manoeuvres at sea. Airborne insertion of marine commandos of Navy and Special Forces of the Army, naval gunfire support, amphibious landing of forces and follow-on operations also formed part of the exercise.

The exercise was conducted under the aegis of Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) with participation of Eastern Naval Command (ENC) and Army Southern Command (SC) involving assets of Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard. The exercise involved participation and deployment of all forces of ANC, elements of Amphibious Brigade of Army’s Southern Command along with corvettes, submarine and amphibious landing ships of Navy’s Eastern Fleet and Marine Commandos.  Jaguar Maritime Strike and transport aircraft from Indian Air Force and assets of Coast Guard also participated.

The exercise commenced with maritime strikes by Jaguar aircraft, Para Commandos and Marine Commandos carrying out Combat Free Fall at Car Nicobar with an aim to validate air dominance and maritime strike capability within the area of interest in Indian Ocean Region (IOR). Prior to amphibious landing operations, troops of the Army, Navy and Air Force were mobilised and transported by sea and air in close coordination with all agencies.

As part of shaping the battle field, MARCOS along with their combat loads and Air Droppable Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (ADR) were dropped over the Andaman Sea, enabling the Marine Commandos reach the target with stealth and speed.  MI-17 V5 Armed Helicopters undertook precision targeting against designated enemy assets at sea and on land. The training exercise culminated with the beach landing operations by elements of Amphibious Brigade of Southern Command from INS Jalashwa, Airavat, Guldar and LCU MK-4 class of ships with  600 troops along with tanks, troop carrier vehicles and other heavy weapons. The logistic team demonstrated and validated the joint logistic system and its capabilities to respond to dynamic changes in operational situations and combat missions. The areas in which the exercise was conducted holds strategic significance for India.

The exercise also validated joint capabilities of intelligence gathering from space, air, land and sea based assets, its synthesis, analysis and near real time sharing to achieve battle field transparency for quick decision making. The joint force executed multi-domain, high intensity offensive and defensive manoeuvres in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal. The tri-services exercise fine-tuned joint war fighting capabilities and Standard Operating Procedures towards enhancing operational synergy.

In conjunction with Amphex 2021, a joint military exercise Kavach involving the Indian Navy, Army, Indian Air Force and Indian Coast Guard was held to train for high-density offensive and defensive measures in the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal and to achieve maritime domain awareness by employment of a multitude of sensors. In addition, they carried out amphibious landing operations, with helicopters transporting maritime special forces, and finally tactical follow-up operations on land.

The Kavach exercise will also involve coordinated air and sea strikes, coordinated applications of maritime surveillance assets, air defence and landing operations.

In addition to the Kavach exercise, a joint intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) exercise was also run concurrently under the aegis of HQ Integrated Defence Staff. ISR verified the intelligence gathering and information sharing capabilities from space, land, air and sea.

These joint exercises are important from the point of view of Armed Forces moving towards joint commnads. On the anvil is the Maritime Theatre Command (MTC).

The MTC, as currently conceived, carves out an expansive role for the navy. It will subsume into itself all the navy’s current forces and infrastructure, including what is under the tri-service Andaman and Nicobar Command.

The MTC will also include the air force bases at Sulur, Jamnagar and Thanjavur, and the amphibious warfare brigade — 108 Infantry Brigade — based in Port Blair.

Along with the Army’s static establishments and training schools in peninsular India, the 83,000-strong navy of today will expand into a 300,000-strong integrated theatre command.

India has a long coastline of about 7,500 Kms and this includes about 1,100 offshore islands. The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of India is enormous and measures approximately 2.01 million sq km. Indian Navy’s role are responsible for the overall maritime security of India, which includes coastal security, Islands and the offshore units. Accordingly, Indian Navy has evolved the capability to achieve superiority in a limited Regional conflict and as a forward-deployed naval power over the years.

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The French detachment for Ex Desert Knight-21 was deployed in Asia as part of their ‘Skyros Deployment’ and had ferried in forces to Air Force Station Jodhpur.

The French participated with Rafale, Airbus A-330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT), A-400M Tactical Transport aircraft and approximately 175 personnel.

The IAF participated with Mirage 2000, Su-30 MKI, Rafale, IL-78 Flight Refuelling Aircraft, airborne warning and control systems (AWACS) and airborne early warning & control (AEW&C)  aircraft.

In a press release issued on January 25, the French Ministry of Defense highlighted that the two air arms worked together to carry out aerial combat missions, as well as air-to-air refuelling operations. It quoted the IAF’s Chief of Air Force Staff (CAS), Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria as saying: “I am sure that our ability to work together will grow exponentially in the years to come. I call for the ever greater development of interactions between our two countries and our two air forces.”

The exercise marked an important milestone in the series of engagements between the two air forces. As measures to further the existing cooperation, the two forces have been gainfully utilising available opportunities to conduct ‘hop-exercises’.

Rafale aircraft from both sides along with Su-30MKI and Mirage-2000 aircrafts of the IAF undertook complex missions including large force engagements. Both air forces exercised in realistic settings with the aim of enhancing operational capabilities and interoperability. The exercise provided an opportunity to share best practices and evolve operational concepts; particularly for effective combat employment of the Rafale fleet.

The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Bipin Rawat, visited Air Force Station Jodhpur on 21 January 2021 and flew on-board the MRTT along with Maj Gen Laurent Lherbette, the FASF contingent leader. He was given an overview on conduct of the exercise and witnessed air-to-air refuelling operations by IAF and FASF fighters.

On 23 January 2021, Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria visited Air Force Station Jodhpur along with the ambassador of France to India, Emmanuel Lenain. The CAS appreciated the complexity of operations conducted and interoperability achieved by participants within a short span of four days. He also commended the planning, operational and maintenance staff from both sides for smooth and safe conduct of the exercise.

As part of Indo-French defence cooperation, the Indian Air Force and the French Air and Space Force held six editions of air exercises named ‘Garuda.’

The FASF and IAF have come together regularly since 1953. In recent years, the two air arms have notably participated in Australia’s multinational Pitch Black exercise in 2018, along with the biennially-held bilateral Garuda exercise, which was last held at Mont-de-Marsan Air Base (Base Aérienne 118, BA 118) in southwestern France in July 2019.

The French Air and Space Force deployment, while ferrying to Australia for Exercise Pitchblack in 2018, was hosted by the IAF at the air force stations in Agra and Gwalior for exercise with fighters and MRTT aircraft.

This time, the French Air Force brought one A330 MRTT (Phénix) tanker for training purposes. The IAF plans to lease one A330 MRTT tanker from France for training purposes and five more to act as aerial refuelers for their fighter jets.

India and France also conduct hop exercises, in which, if India or France are moving to a third country for a joint exercise, a short joint exercise is conducted if the other country falls en route. For example, in 2018, while going to Australia for a joint exercise called Pitch Black, France conducted a joint exercise with India. The exercise provided an opportunity for the two sides to learn from each other›s best practices, besides improving interoperability. Interoperability is an essential component in multinational task force operations either as part of the UN or regional grouping.

 IAF and FASF are also scheduled to participate in Ex Desert Flag hosted by UAE Air Force along with other friendly countries in March 2021.

India is also slated to take part in a French Navy exercise “La Perouse” in the Eastern Indian Ocean from 5 to 7 April 2021 with INS Satpura, Kiltan and a P-8I long range maritime patrol aircraft. Navies of the US, Japan and Australia have also planned their participation.

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The sudden and very significant break-through in this period has been the successful disengagement talks between India and China over the Pangong lake North and South banks. Disengagement started 10 February and was completed by 20th at surprising speed. The eagerness with which the PLA executed the rearward movement could be indicative of two things. First, the PLA has had a very tough time in the Ladakh winter and was keen to pull back troops. The second is, given that India had gained a significant tactical advantage South of the Pangong Tso – China was in a hurry to clinch what it clearly felt was a favourable deal. In fact, there were considerable misgivings that India had given away its strongest bargaining chip very early on in the talks. Indeed, India had gained a significant military advantage by securing the Kailash Range heights of Rezang-La – Rechin La in end-Aug 2020, which enabled us to dominate the Chinese Moldo garrison and the traditional invasion route to Ladakh via the Spangur Gap. The tactical advantages of the South bank far out-weighed those the Chinese army had gained in the north bank. So what was critical was – what would happen next in the other friction points in Depsang, Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) and Hot springs area? As expected, the Chinese seem to have dug in their heels there. Initial talks about these have been inconclusive.

It is now time to take stock. What were the Chinese motivations for the sudden and large scale incursions in Eastern Ladakh last year? One surmise is that the Chinese were genuinely perturbed over Indian assertiveness in Jammu & Kashmir as demonstrated by the cross-border air-strike at Balakote, the abrogation of Article 370 and trifurcation of J&K. They had to view this also in relation to India’s major push for long over-due infrastructure development in Eastern Ladakh. This, they felt, posed a threat to their Aksai Chin road as also their China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). In my view, this major military coercive exercise was designed to primarily reassure Pakistan that it was not alone and China would definitely step in to aid that beleaguered ally against an increasingly assertive India. The express purpose was to encourage Pakistan to resume its asymmetric warfare in J&K & Punjab. So, this was a large scale coercive deployment exercise designed to brow-beat India and cow it down without a shot being fired.

If so, it largely fail to achieve its purpose. Though India was initially taken by surprise due to the Covid backdrop, it reacted strongly. To begin with, it carried out a rapid counter-mobilization and soon mirror imaged the Chinese deployment. It matched the PLA tank for tank, soldier for soldier and gun for gun. The Air Force also responded aggressively. In fact, India went for emergency induction of some 30 MiG-29 and Su-30 fighters and speeded up induction of Rafales and S-400 SAM systems. India was ready for a fight if China wanted one. Then came the high-profile Galwan clash in June 2020, where China used lethal force and some 20 Indian soldiers were martyred. Though no firearms were used, it was a major incident that trash-canned all the peace & tranquility accords from 1993 onwards and completely destroyed mutual trust between the two countries. The nation was outraged. Our boys had counted some 65 Chinese soldiers being carried away on stretchers. It was difficult to ascertain how many were fatal cases.

India enhanced its build-up and in end-Aug last year undertook a surprise, pre-emptive manoeuvre to occupy the Rezang La – Rechin La Ridge directly overlooking the Chinese Moldo garrison. This was a brilliant move that unhinged the Chinese. They were stupefied and rushed up tanks in a bid to sweep off the Indians. They were surprised to see Indian T-90 tanks there and a major face-off ensued – which has only been resolved now.

So what has made the Chinese blink? Their initial calculations of a low cost operation to coerce India seem to have gone awry. India refused to cow down and counter-mobilized. The situation escalated and soon became a stalemate with advantage – India.

Chinese strategic thinking lays emphasis on just one main strategic direction at a given point of time. Right now this is focused on Taiwan-South China Sea and the east coast of China. China clearly is not in a mood to open another major front on its western flank in Xinjiang. It defies common sense and all strategic logic. Hence, its quest for a face-saving pull-back from a futile coercive deployment that singularly failed to coerce India. Not surprisingly, Pakistan has also sought de-escalation on the Line of Control.

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Covid came as a curse upon mankind. It virtually destroyed the global economy, infected over 113 million people and left over 2 million dead. Was it a natural epidemic or a diabolical biological warfare exercise unleashed by China? That still remains to be established. What caused China’s overtly aggressive behaviour all along its periphery in the times of Covid? Was it a panic aggressive – defensive reaction to the mounting pressure by the Donald Trump administration in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang? It almost started a kinetic conflict in Eastern Ladakh and serious military tensions in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea. So will the change of guard in Washington change the stance towards China? It may, for a time. But geo-strategic logic and the balance of power considerations are sure to ensure the emergence of a bi-partisan consensus in Washington. China is a rising power and a major threat to US primacy in the world and no amount of wishful thinking can alter that harsh geo-political reality.

After Galwan, India has been amply warned that a two-front war scenario could well emerge as an ominous reality. We simply cannot afford to neglect a long delayed military modernization any longer. We have to rebuild our Air Force and fill the gaping voids in our squadron strength. After the Galwan warning, if we still neglect our defence modernisation – it will only reflect a civilisational death wish. The Gandhian mind-set could well become an invitation for a civilizational disaster. Forget about matching up to China. We allowed even Pakistan to overtake us in critical military technologies like beyond-visual-range (BVR) missiles. The replacement of our Soviet-era equipment should have happened in the 1990s. Unfortunately, our economy collapsed that year and delayed our military modernisation by two decades. The UPA-era refusal to modernise our military for another decade has created a most dangerous situation, which may well tempt our neighbours to press home their advantage. The trouble in Eastern Ladakh has come as a badly needed wake up call. This should give us an opportunity to rapidly fill all dangerous voids in our air power and firepower. The Armenia-Aizerbaijan conflict has driven home the urgent necessity to have armed UAVs. I cannot understand why we consigned them to a purely recce role for decades. How could we ignore military developments around the globe so blithely and for so long?

We have finally put a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) in place and are trying desperately to catch up. The availability of a CDS enabled us to make emergency purchases during the Eastern Ladakh crisis. We had to go in for emergent induction/purchases of Rafales, Su-30s and MiG-29s. We will urgently need to speed up induction of Tejas aircraft and possibly go in for the Su-35s. We urgently need BVRs and get out of the dog-fight era mindset. Balakote was adequate warning. The Army needs to mediumise the artillery and rapidly induct the Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS). We need two more aircraft carriers. We are still to see a full and proper reality check in New Delhi. The paltry increase in defence budget this year is stupefying. Does the Indian civilization have a death-wish? Why is it deliberately opening windows of vulnerability which could invite attack? The saving grace is that China’s main threat and strategic orientation is towards the east coast, Taiwan and the South China Sea, presently.

Which way will the Biden administration go is now is the critical question. Pure strategic logic calls for a bipartisan consensus in USA about the threat from China. However, it was baffling to see sections of the new administration supporting Khalistani terrorists to break up India. Ossified habits of thoughts in Washington are leading to calls for a reset of relations with Pakistan, which is now firmly in the Chinese camp. That defies logic. Maybe this confusion of the early days will soon resolve itself into coherent and logical strategic policy choices. The initial indications however are not reassuring. India will have to drastically speed up its progress towards autarky in weapons systems and real self-reliance that goes beyond the tokenism of assembling knocked-down kits. We will have to take serious steps to involve the private sector in a very major and decisive way in our defence manufacturing. We have to turn ourselves from the biggest importers of arms to a major exporter. Mercifully, this process has started at long last. We cannot afford to drift any longer.

A major problem area is the basal Gandhian mindset of non-violence and pacifism that has taken deep roots in our bureaucratic steel frame. That is the main stumbling block towards creating a realist mind-set in the Indian State. Since Nehruvian times, our foreign ministry has assumed the role of waging peace around the globe. That seemingly puts it at loggerheads with the armed forces designed to wage wars to defend India. The modern Westphalian system of nation states is premised upon the monopoly of violence. We are the sole state that has invented a false narrative premised upon non-violence and pacifism as the foundations of a modern state. That is a basic contradiction in terms. We have to sadly graduate from this contrived Gandhian narrative to the realism of Subhash Chandra Bose. It would be the most fitting tribute in his 125th birth anniversary year.

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Indian Navy’s largest war game – the biennial theatre-level operational readiness exercise (TROPEX 21) – commenced in early January, with participation of all operational units of Indian Navy including ships, submarines, aircraft as well as units of the Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Coast Guard. The exercise will culminate by third week of February.

The exercise was conducted over a vast geographical expanse in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) including its adjunct waters and was aimed at testing combat readiness of the Navy in a complex multi-dimensional scenario set in the context of the current geo-strategic environment. The theatre-level exercise also aimed to validate the Navy’s offensive-defence capabilities, safeguard national interests in the maritime domain and promote stability and peace in the Indian Ocean Region. The conduct of TROPEX was overseen by Naval HQ with participation from all three Commands of the Indian Navy and the Tri-Services Command at Port Blair.

TROPEX was progressed over distinct phases that also tested the Navy’s transition from peacetime to hostilities. In the first phase, the Indian Navy had conducted coastal defence exercise ‘Sea Vigil’ along the entire coastline and Island territories of India on 12-13 January 2021. This exercise aimed to validate the coastal defence setup of the country, which was entirely revamped after the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai. The exercise witnessed large-scale participation from the Indian Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Police of 13 coastal states and Union Territories along with other stakeholders in the maritime domain. Valuable lessons emerging from the exercise were incorporated in the existing procedures to further fine-tune the coastal defence architecture of the country.

Exercise Sea Vigil was followed by a large-scale Tri-Service joint amphibious exercise AMPHEX-21, which was conducted in the Andaman & Nicobar group of Islands from 21-25 January. The amphibious exercise was aimed at validating India’s capabilities to safeguard the territorial integrity of its Island territories and enhance operational synergy and joint war-fighting capabilities amongst the three Services.

The Weapon Workup Phase of TROPEX witnessed multiple ‘on-target’ ordnance deliveries including missiles, torpedoes and rockets from frontline warships, aircraft and submarines and demonstrated the lethal firepower of the Indian Navy and reaffirmed the Navy’s capability to carry out long-range maritime strikes in the IOR, a capability that is central to meeting operational challenges and ensuring safe seas and secure coasts.

The exercise put to test and validated the Navy’s concept of operations in various conflict scenarios, honed its war-fighting skills, bolstered its role towards maritime security in the wider IOR and was in keeping with the theme of being a ‘Combat Ready, Credible and Cohesive Force.’

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