The NDA is a military nursery that has been nurturing a democratic ethos for 75 years

elves on the line for their men and the nation in the truest translation into action of the NDA motto ‘Seva Parmo Dharma’ or ‘Service above self’. One of the profound reasons for India’s success as a democratic nation was the complete absence from the minds and deeds of our military leaders of the greed for power that got emblazoned on the olive-green uniform of so many of the post-colonial militaries across the world.

The Services are a living example of the institutions that were shaped by the ideals of the founding fathers of the nation. Only an idealist can be ready to die for the nation, yet willing to hang up his boots when the time comes to go home and tell stories to the grandchildren. This idealism enshrined in the immortal values and traditions of our freedom movement is the hallmark of the Services. This has made NDA and its sister entry institutions among the greatest defence academies in the world that produce professional soldiers without exception. And, of course, some of them have distinguished themselves as world-class military leaders and thinkers.

The conduct of the armed forces in all the wars India has fought is the best tribute to their alma mater. If the Indian Army walked out of Bangladesh soon after the hard-fought liberation war without hanging on to ‘help’ govern the newly independent country, it had a lot to do with the leadership of Gen (later Field Marshal) Sam Manekshaw; but it is also a lesson that the cadets and alumni of the NDA cherish. The events of 1971 are often considered a ‘just war’ by those who firmly believe that it was a response to genocide and institutionalised rape committed by the Pakistani military. It achieved the liberation of Bangladesh and prevention of further violence against its population. According to Michael Walzer, the author of the seminal book Just and Unjust Wars, it was the 20th century’s only real humanitarian intervention. And the NDA built the moral spine of those officers who, along with others, fought this ‘just war’.

It is difficult to be kind to a vicious and barbaric enemy with whom you have just fought a war, and more so to be unhesitant in showing your genuine concern for his wellbeing while he is under your custody. The management of over 90,000 POWs, who surrendered after the 1971 war, was a gargantuan task.

The unstated message to every POW was that it was a victory of democracy over military rule and humanism over barbarism, with signature thoroughness in adhering to the Geneva Convention for POWs. As matters unfolded thereafter in Kargil and other battlefields, it would seem that this approach was to no avail. Alas, view this now against the current scenes of horror around the world.

Even when the Indian Peace-Keeping Force suffered severe fatalities in Sri Lanka, it did not open fire at groups of civilians among whom the LTTE terrorists were hiding. The Vietnam war is known for the My Lai massacre and other atrocities that were committed on innocent villagers, but the Indian story from similar war fronts has been to the contrary — an officer corps that is ready to inflict great pain on itself to ensure minimum civilian casualties. If this tradition carries on year after year in every battle with foreign aggressors and home-grown insurgents, it could only continue because of what our officers are taught about humanity and humanism at the academies.

The Indian soldier has consistently demonstrated resilience, courage and dedication. The Kargil war in 1999 showcased the Indian soldiers’ valour in high-altitude warfare against all odds and within the political writ to expel the aggressor without crossing the demarcated line. I am not aware of any other example in modern history where such daring and obedience were displayed in equal measure to ensure a hasty retreat and ignominious defeat of the adversary.

No wonder our institutions have produced leaders who refuse to sniff around in the corridors of power, awaiting their turn for crumbs. Shaping minds that remain disciplined even in the face of the greatest temptation — the lure of unquestioned authority — is no easy task and it is in this endeavour that the NDA has succeeded, thus becoming the gold standard for defence academies across the world.

As the NDA celebrates its 75 years, it is only appropriate that we salute our comrades-in-arms from other entry institutions. It is the wealth of a cumulative mix from all streams that makes us a formidable force and the cynosure of all eyes worldwide.

Born again, I would rewind at 16.

The author was commissioned on December 11, 1962 (22 NDA Course)

India and Maldives hold high-level core group meeting on issue | 88 Indian military personnel in island nation

PTI

Male, January 14

Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu has asked India to withdraw its military personnel from his country by March 15, a senior official here said on Sunday, nearly two months after Male sought their removal.

According to the latest government figures, there are 88 Indian military personnel in the Maldives.

In a press briefing, Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim, the public policy secretary at the President’s Office, said President Muizzu has formally asked India to withdraw its military personnel by March 15, the SunOnline newspaper reported.

“Indian military personnel cannot stay in the Maldives. This is the policy of President Dr Mohamed Muizzu and that of this administration,” he said.

Maldives and India have set up a high-level core group to negotiate the withdrawal of troops. The group held its first meeting at the Foreign Ministry Headquarters in Male’ on Sunday morning.

The meeting was also attended by Indian High Commissioner Munu Mahawar, the report said.

Nazim confirmed the meeting and said the agenda for the meeting was the request to withdraw troops by March 15.

The Indian government did not immediately confirm the media report or comment on it.

Soon after taking oath as the President of Maldives on November 17 last year, Muizzu, who is regarded as a pro-China leader, formally requested India to withdraw its military personnel from his country, saying the Maldivian people have given him a “strong mandate” to make this request to New Delhi.

The request for the withdrawal of Indian military personnel comes amid a row between the two nations in the backdrop of derogatory comments posted by three deputy ministers of the Muizzu government against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Muizzu suspended the three ministers after their social media postings, which stirred concern in India and calls for a boycott by Indian tourists who ranked highest in numbers followed by Russia. Chinese tourists figured third.

During his just-concluded state visit to China, Muizzu sought to align Maldives closer to Beijing.

Speaking to the press on Saturday after returning from China, President Muizzu indirectly attacked India.

Without naming any country, he said, “We may be small, but that doesn’t give you the licence to bully us.”

He also announced plans to reduce the country’s dependency on India, including securing imports of essential food commodities and medicine and consumables from other countries.

“We aren’t in anyone’s backyard. We are an independent and sovereign state,” he said, addressing the reporters gathered at the Velana International Airport.

He said no country has the right to exert influence over the domestic affairs of a country, regardless of its size.

He vowed that he would not allow any external influence on the domestic affairs of the Maldives.

Male is also reviewing more than 100 bilateral agreements with New Delhi signed by the previous government here.

People living in the border areas and their leaders should be at the centre of discussions. Their fears should be allayed urgently.

Luv Puri

Ex-member of UN Secy-General’s Good Offices on Myanmar

REPORTS coming from Myanmar routinely indicate the surrender of Tatmadaw soldiers from some part of the country. This suggests that, in the last three years, the Tatmadaw leadership has failed to suppress the armed resistance as coordinated and pinpointed attacks on the army across the country have surprised everyone. The tacit support coming from Western quarters is also proving to be a hindrance in this regard.

With a population of nearly 55 million, Myanmar, a land where the majority adhering to the Theravada Buddhist tradition coexists with ethnic and religious minorities, is no stranger to military rule. Except during 1948-58 and 2010-21, the military, known as Tatmadaw, has governed Myanmar with absolute control for 73 years of its republican journey. The February 1, 2021, coup brought an end to the hope that Myanmar’s path towards democracy would be irreversible. The military took recourse to Sections 417 and 418 of the 2008 Constitution, which permit a military takeover in the event of an emergency that threatens Myanmar’s sovereignty or could ‘disintegrate the Union’ or ‘national solidarity’.

At the same time, one has to make sense of the reports from conflict-ridden parts of Myanmar as the veracity of the information coming from such areas, even at the best of times, can be questionable. The Myanmar military’s Regional Operations Command in Laukkai reportedly surrendered to the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army a few days ago. Six Brigadier Generals from the Myanmar army reportedly surrendered after Chinese mediation in Laukkai, the capital of northern Shan State’s Kokang Self-Administered Zone, as depicted in publicly available pictures. While some of these developments are gaining significant global attention, the fact remains that simmering conflict has been a consistent theme. Almost one-quarter of Myanmar’s population hosts one or more ethnic armed organisations that have consistently challenged the authority of the central government since the creation of independent Myanmar. So it is these areas inhabited by ethnic minorities where the Tatmadaw’s writ is weakening the most and some of these areas adjoin the Indo-Myanmar border.

Broadly speaking, the Kuki, Chin and Mizo communities transcend the India-Myanmar border, maintaining ethnic and familial ties. In this context, there has been a constant flow of migrants from Myanmar’s neighbouring areas into Manipur and Mizoram in the last three years, although it is not a given that only members of these communities have come as refugees.

A large number of them are soldiers deserting the Myanmar army, whose main ethnic base is the majority Burman community. For instance, a total of 416 Tatmadaw soldiers crossed over to India in the last two months and were later returned to Myanmar. Part of the erstwhile British India till 1937, Myanmar shares a 1,643 km-long border with India.

On January 2, the Union government announced that it would do away with the Free Movement Regime (FMR) along the Indo-Myanmar border in four northeastern states and this triggered contesting reactions among the region’s myriad communities and their leadership. Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande asserted on January 11 that India was considering strengthening the fencing along the border with Myanmar.

Under the FMR, every member of the hill tribes, who is either a citizen of India or Myanmar and is a resident of any area within 16 km on either side of the Indo-Myanmar border, can cross the border on production of a border pass (valid for one year) issued by the competent authority, and can stay up to two weeks per visit. The FMR came into existence in 2017, but it had already existed in various forms on the ground in some states. The reactions indicate that modern, rigid nation-state boundary sensibilities are in conflict with the centuries-old porous nature of this geography, with ties transcending the present national boundaries.

The announcements don’t honour the spirit of the 1991 Look East Policy or the Act East Policy (2017), which aims to promote trade between India and East Asia. One component of this strategy has been to leverage the civilisational ties that bind India’s North-East with East Asian countries. A series of infrastructural projects are in the final stages of completion, including the 1,400-km highway that begins at Moreh in Manipur, passes through Myanmar and ends at Mae Sot in Thailand. These projects are delayed, partly because of the situation in Myanmar.

Apart from the rising concern over the transnational smuggling of arms and drugs, fresh changes in the realm of border management come in the context of the 2023 Meitei-Kuki clashes in Manipur. These clashes resulted in the death of at least 175 people and several acts of sexual violence. The Meitei leadership that controls the political structure of Manipur alleges that a large number of Kukis have infiltrated from Myanmar into Manipur and caused fresh demographic changes, a charge disputed by the Kuki leadership.

While India’s approach of siding with the Tatmadaw in the 1990s was defended on account of pragmatic thinking, the situation has become tricky now. Gradually, the issue will become more complex for India as it may have to navigate through the maze of the conflict-ridden country in diplomacy as well as on the ground. It cannot completely ignore the resistance forces as they control vast swathes of territory through which some of its infrastructural road projects traverse. The fact that the Tatmadaw leadership is traditionally aligned with China is another factor that should be considered in the Indian calculus, keeping in mind China strengthening itself strategically in India’s neighbourhood.

Given the complexity of the situation in Myanmar, the diverse ethnic ecosystem in India’s North-East and the overall regional economic potential, a sound border management requires multi-stakeholder consultations. People living in the border areas and their leadership should be at the centre of these discussions and their fears and concerns should be allayed with urgency. Such consultations and consensus should precede public statements on border management.

The federal government has been facing criticism for welcoming an increasing number of immigrants—both permanent and temporary residents

Ottawa (Canada), January 14

Amid the growing unemployment and housing crisis in Canada, Immigration Minister Marc Miller on Saturday said in the next few months, he will be looking at the possibility of putting a cap on the number of international students living in the country, CTV News reported on Saturday.

The minister didn’t specify the extent of reduction the government is planning on making in the immigration system.

In an interview to CTV’s Question Period host Vassy Kapelos, the minister said, “This is a conversation the federal government will need to have with provincial governments “to make sure that the provinces that have not been doing their jobs actually rein in those numbers on a pure volume basis.”

“That volume is disconcerting,” Miller said, with reference to the number of international students in Canada.

“It’s really a system that has gotten out of control,” he added.

Miller said he would be looking at the possibility of setting a cap on international students to help reduce the demand for housing in both the first and second quarters of this year.

Asked why his government is only considering a cap now when the idea was floated months ago, Miller said there’s a need to sort out numbers on a federal level before looking with “a little more granularity” at what individual academic institutions are doing in different provinces, possibly profiting off bringing in more international students, CTV News reported.

“We need to be doing our jobs and making sure that we have a system that actually makes sure people have a financial capability to come to Canada, that we’re actually verifying offer letters,” Miller said, adding, “And now it’s time for us to have a conversation about volumes and the impact that is having in certain areas.” A cap on international students would not be a “one-size-fits-all solution” to housing shortages across Canada, Miller noted.

On the number of international students coming to Canada, far outpacing the number of homes the federal government is planning to help build, Miller also said housing is only part of the calculation when it comes to immigration targets. The pressing need to bring down the average age of the workforce also needs to be taken into consideration, he said.

While not going into specifics, Miller said a cap on international students is something the federal government is considering, “and will continue to consider.” “We have a sense of what those numbers would look like, what the reduction of those numbers look like, out of courtesy to my colleagues in the provinces, those are discussions that we’re first going to have around the negotiating table,” he said, adding that the financial needs of academic institutions is also a factor.

The federal government has faced criticism for welcoming an increasing number of immigrants–both permanent and temporary residents–while the country faces an acute housing shortage.

Meanwhile, CTV reported citing The Canadian Press, which cited the internal documents obtained through an access to information request, the federal government was warned by public servants two years ago that its ambitious immigration targets could jeopardise housing affordability.

The Liberals have set targets aiming to bring in 485,000 immigrants this year, and 500,000 in both 2025 and 2026.

Temporary residents, largely comprising international students and migrant workers, are another part of the equation, with more than 3,00,000 of them arriving in Canada in just the third quarter of last year. 

Another system to manage real-time intel collation

Ajay Banerjee

New Delhi, January 14

The Army has adopted artificial intelligence for two separate projects — to identify suspicious persons within a crowd, and to collate intelligence and ensure quick real-time decision-making on ground.

The first one, called ‘Seeker 2.0’, is an artificial intelligence-based biometric, identification and analysis system. “This can provide information on civilian population in high security or threat zones while restricting actions of anti-national elements,” states the Army’s list of “key initiatives” adopted for transforming itself into a tech-backed force.

Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande had on January 11 said, “2024 will be a year of technology absorption.”

The system can be employed for ensuring high-level security of critical military and civilian establishments and also at border crossings to identify suspicious people based on their biometrics.

It has been developed by the Army as a self-contained, state-of-the-art “made in India” system.

The AI-powered deep-tech analytic module of ‘Seeker 2.0’ enables processing of data from various sources, identify patterns and predict threats aided by accurate information collection and collation. An AI-backed deep-learning algorithm allows the ‘Seeker 2.0’ to function without the Internet and operate in wide range of environmental conditions.

The system has been tested and is now “operationally deployed”, says the Army.

The second project — ‘Bahirji’ — is an AI-based information collation and analysis software. “It has been developed by the Army as a cutting-edge solution to challenges posed by labour-intensive and time-consuming manual intelligence gathering,” the Army said.

The advanced software has been named after Bahirji Naik, who was a Maratha spy and head of the intelligence department in Shivaji’s army.

The innovation aims to achieve deeper situational insights by leveraging data.

“Bahirji revolutionises military intelligence by automating data extraction, facilitating real-time analysis and providing critical insights from raw inputs,” the Army said.

The system enhances data-driven decision-making abilities at the ground level for commanders and it can seamlessly integrate with the Geographic Information System to generate informative heatmaps for enhanced situational comprehension.

It can provide output in text format for predictive analysis, forecasting, validation of plans, anomaly detection and summarisation. “Bahirji stands ready for deployment,” said the Army.

‘Seeker 2.0’

• The artificial intelligence-based biometric, identification and analysis system can provide information on civilian population in high security or threat zones while restricting actions of anti-national elements
• Can be used for ensuring high-level security of critical military and civilian establishments by identifying suspicious people based on their biometrics
• AI-backed deep-learning algorithm allows Seeker 2.0 to function without the Internet

‘Bahirji’: Named after Maratha spy

• n Named after Bahirji Naik, who was a Maratha spy and head of the intelligence department in Shivaji’s army
• n Aims to achieve deeper situational insights by leveraging data
• n Can extract data, facilitate real-time analysis and provide critical insights from raw inputs
• n Capable of providing output in text format for predictive analysis, forecasting, validation of plans, anomaly detection and summarisation

The attack marks the first US-acknowledged targeting by the Houthis since America and allied nations began strikes on Friday on the rebels following weeks of assaults on shipping in the Red Sea

AP

Dubai, January 15

Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired an anti-ship cruise missile towards an American destroyer in the Red Sea on Sunday, but a US fighter jet shot it down in the latest attack roiling global shipping amid Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, officials said.

The attack marks the first US-acknowledged targeting by the Houthis since America and allied nations began strikes on Friday on the rebels following weeks of assaults on shipping in the Red Sea.

The Houthis have targeted that crucial corridor linking Asian and Mideast energy and cargo shipments to the Suez Canal onwards to Europe over the Israel-Hamas war, attacks that threaten to widen that conflict into a regional conflagration.

The Houthi fire targeted the USS Laboon, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer operating in the southern reaches of the Red Sea, the US military’s Central Command said in a statement.

The missile came from near Hodeida, a Red Sea port city long held by the Houthis, the US said.

“An anti-ship cruise missile was fired from Iranian-backed Houthi militant areas of Yemen towards USS Laboon,” Central Command said. “There were no injuries or damage reported.”      

The first day of US-led strikes on Friday hit 28 locations and struck more than 60 targets with cruise missiles and bombs launched by fighter jets, warships and a submarine. US forces followed up with a strike on Saturday on a Houthi radar site. 

   NOWHERE  MAN

         AUTHOR- SHIVALIK BAKSHI                       216 PAGES

        PUBLISHED BY PENGUIN VEER 2023

  This is a book about courage, betrayal and hope. It is a book about someone we all- the Army, the governments of the time, society, the media- forgot. All, that is, except his family, especially his two sisters, and this book is an attempt to keep his memory, and the silence surrounding his disappearance, alive. Captain Kamal Bakshi, a 25 year old officer of the 5 Sikh Battalion , was last seen on the 6th of December, 1971 at his command post 303 in the Chhamb sector on the border with Pakistan, surrounded by an enemy battalion, tanks bearing down on his post, his platoon decimated. Company Havildar Ajit Singh, who had been ordered by Bakshi to retreat back to HQ, turned round for one last look and saw the Captain leap out of his trench and rush towards the enemy, firing all the time with his Sten machine gun. Since then he has disappeared into the maws of officialdom, declared dead, or missing, or a POW at different times. All efforts by his family to uncover the truth about him- indeed, even if he is still alive at the age of 77- have petered out into the arid desert of bureaucratic indifference, stoic silence and impotent diplomacy. For officialdom he is just a faceless number on some file buried deep in an army cabinet. This book (by his nephew) is an attempt to reveal the face behind this number, the introverted boy who grew up in an army family, the young man who wanted to do his family and his country proud, a soldier who loved books and nature.

  Kamal Bakshi was born in Rawalpindi in undivided Punjab in 1946, studied in Dagshai and Sherwood College, Nainital, joined the NDA (National Defence Academy) and was commissioned into the Indian army in 1966. The author has given us a glimpse- it was a short life of just 25 years that he was dealing with, after all- of Kamal’s life by interviewing his family, school friends, course mates, colleagues and superior officers. The picture we get is of a young man with extraordinary- sometimes contradictory-  traits: studious, fond of reading. a nature lover, adventurous (he once walked from Chandigarh to Shimla), a fitness freak with a spartan lifestyle, a man who loved challenges and would never give up. generous and giving to a fault- travelling on a train one bitterly cold night, he just gave away his sleeping bag to a shivering co- passenger who had none. Born into an army family (his father was a Colonel) he was always destined for the defence forces, his first choice was the Air Force but poor eyesight did not allow that. 

  Kamal Bakshi was initially declared killed in action and was also posthumously awarded a “mention in despatches”, but subsequently, partly due to the unceasing efforts of his father, was categorised as “missing in action”. In 1978, during the course of a statement in Parliament, the Minister of State for External Affairs admitted that he was secretly being held in captivity by Pakistan. The latter, of course, does not admit it, but the author speculates that Pakistan had probably held back the names of six or seven Indian POWs from the International Red Cross in 1972-74 when the exchange of prisoners took place. It apparently did so as an insurance against India (which had captured 90000 POWs in Bangladesh) acceding to the Bangladesh demand to hand over about a hundred Pakistani soldiers and officers to stand trial for atrocities committed. Ultimately, of course, this demand was dropped on the condition that Pakistan recognize this new country, which it did. But Pakistan has never accepted that it had given an incomplete list of POWs, or that some still remain in its jails. India’s frosty relations with the country do not make it easy to negotiate a solution to this vexed issue.

  But the issue of the missing Indian POWs, including Captain Bakshi, in Pakistani jails continues to haunt their families. Anecdotal evidence continues to surface from time to time of their presence in Pakistani jails. These include notes and letters smuggled out by some POW; one such letter by a Major Suri to his father from a jail in Karachi mentions that there are a total of twenty Indian POWs in that jail. An ordinary Indian criminal who had spent ten years in a Pakistani jail, told Indian officials when he was repatriated in June 1978 that he had met an Indian army officer named Kamal Bakshi in jail. There are even reports and eye witness accounts that Pakistan had sent some Indian POWs to Oman, but  neither the Indian nor the Oman governments have ever confirmed this. 

  Kamal’s parents have since passed away, waiting for their only son to somehow, miraculously, come walking down the driveway of their house in remote Mcluskieganj in Bihar. His sisters, Kiki and Niki, continue to pursue efforts to find out the truth about the soldier his country forgot, to attain that closure which has eluded them for the last 55 years. Successive Indian governments seem to have given up on our missing POWs even as they vigorously pursue extraditions of criminals and hunt anti-nationals abroad; even if a fraction of these resources and energy were to be spent on tracing out our missing soldiers it would provide comfort to their grieving families. A soldier, if alive, has the right to be acknowledged and protected by his nation, and if dead, the right to an honourable grave in his own country. This is all the closure that his sisters and friends want. They somehow hold on to the assurance given by the Buddha:

author

The author retired from the IAS in December 2010. A keen environmentalist and trekker he has published a book on high altitude trekking in the Himachal Himalayas: THE TRAILS LESS TRAVELLED. He writes for various publications and websites on the environment, governance and social issues. He divides his time between Delhi and his cottage in a small village above Shimla. His second book- SPECTRE OF CHOOR DHAR is a collection of short stories based in Himachal and was published in July 2019. His third book was released in August 2020: POLYTICKS, DEMOCKRAZY AND MUMBO JUMBO is a compilation of satirical and humorous articles on the state of our nation. His fourth book was published on 6th July 2021. Titled INDIA: THE WASTED YEARS , the book is a chronicle of missed opportunities in the last nine years. Shukla’s fifth book – THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER’S DOG AND OTHER COLLEAGUES- was released on 12th September 2023. It portrays the lighter side of life in the IAS and in Himachal.

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 13

As many as 24 medals for gallantry and 62 medals for distinguished service were awarded to Army personnel at the investiture of Western Command held in Chandimandir and New Delhi on January 12 and 13. Twentysix units were felicitated with Unit Citations for their performance in operational and administrative duties.

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, Lt Gen Manoj Kumar Katiyar, presented the distinguished service awards and unit citations at a function held at Chandimandir on Friday.

He later interacted with the awardees and their families. A number of families of gallantry awardees who had made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty were also invited to the ceremony and were felicitated, a defence spokespersons said here today. On Saturday, the second phase of the investiture was held at the Cariappa Parade Ground in Delhi Cantonment, where the Army Commander presented gallantry awards, including the Yudh Sewa Medal.

The Army Commander conveyed the gratitude of the nation to the families of the bravehearts. He also exhorted all ranks to continue their pursuit for professional excellence and remain committed to the security of the nation.

The award ceremony in Delhi was preceded by an impressive parade consisting of eight marching contingents of the Army, including an all-woman combined marching contingent from the Armed Forces Medical Services and the Corps of Military Police.

Ajay Banerjee

With Indian sea trade facing increased threats from Somalian pirates and Yemen-based Houthi rebels, the Indian Navy has heightened its presence in the Arabian Sea and is now fielding its biggest peace-time deployment at sea. Its warships are aided by live feed from powerful long-range UAVs and maritime surveillance planes that keep a 24×7 eye on the sea trade routes. India’s 95 per cent trade and more than 80 per cent of its hydrocarbon imports — crude and natural gas — are routed through the sea. Also, with more than four million fishermen, India is the second largest fish-producing nation in the world. In these past six weeks, the Navy has gone up from having two warships, positioned for years in the Gulf of Aden and at the mouth of Persian Gulf, to fielding 12 ships on patrol duties in the Arabian Sea. According to Vice Admiral AK Chawla (retd), former Southern Navy Commander, “The deployment, by numbers, is unprecedented”. It also signifies a strategic step-up to join the ‘global high table’ as nations are pumping in resources — warships, men and planes — to tackle the threats from pirate ships.

Indian Navy reacted in early December and started adding numbers to its existing patrolling duties in the Arabian Sea. By the third week of December, it had a fleet of five warships. In the later part of December, a series of attacks on Indian interests occurred, triggering another round of additions by the Navy, taking the number to 12 warships.

Capt Sarabjeet Singh Parmar, who retired from the Indian Navy and is now a Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Military History and Conflict Studies, United Service Institution of India, says, “At any given time, the Navy has several ships deployed in our areas of interest. Mission-based deployments now stretch across the Indo-Pacific”

Strong signal from India

The deployment, by numbers, is unprecedented. It is sending a strong signal that India is keen to ensure free flow of trade not just for itself but all others too… So far, our position is consistent that military ops will be only under UN mandate. — Vice Admiral AK Chawla(retd), former Southern-Navy Commander

On December 23, MV Chem Pluto destined for Mangalore refinery from Al Jubail Port in Saudi Arabia was hit, 400 km west of India. The US said the merchant vessel was ‘hit by a one-way drone’. A day later, MV Sai Baba, a Gabon-owned Indian-flagged crude oil tanker, destined for India, reported that it was hit in the southern Red Sea. All this while, the government craftily steered away from joining the US-led multi-nation coalition conducting ‘Operation Prosperity Guardian’ in the Red Sea. In the wee hours of January 12, the coalition launched air strikes on Yemen. Had India joined the coalition, it would have dented its position of neutrality. Since 2008, when the Navy first started anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, the governments of Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi, respectively, stayed away from any military coalition to protect the sea trade routes.

The operation in action

Navy created two separate ‘task groups’. Each of the Indian warships carries helicopters, teams of Marine Commandos (MARCOS), relief material and are connected via satellite to the operations room of the Navy. All equipment to launch an attack on land, at sea or thwart an attack, is on board. The ships are connected via satellite.

The fleet of maritime surveillance planes, Boeing P8I and MQ9B UAVs are on duty for constant surveillance from air. These scan the area and provide live feed to the naval operations’ room on land.

Thanks to the separate agreements with the US and Oman on logistics sharing, naval warships have the option of re-fuelling at US bases in Bahrain and Djibouti, the latter on the east coast of Africa, besides the port of Duqm, Oman. The Navy also has its own fleet of ‘tankers’, carrying fuel and rations, to be supplied mid-sea to the warships.

At land, in Gurugram, the Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) processes maritime information from 25 partner countries, including the US, France, Italy, Oman, Kenya, the Seychelles and South Africa. This provides information on vessels of interest and allows naval armies to secure the global sea routes. In June 2022, India joined the Bahrain-headquartered 39-nation Combined Maritime Force.

Suspicious rogue ships

Captains on Navy ships out at sea have been tasked to keep an eye out for rogue ships sailing mid-sea as these are suspected to be used by pirates to launch attacks and could have possibly been used to launch drones.

Pirate attacks are taking place far from the coast, leading to suspicion of rogue ships being out there. In the past two weeks, MARCOS of the Navy have boarded suspicious vessels and searched these for pirates, guns and weapons. In a statement on January 3, Navy spokesperson Commander Vivek Madhwal said, “In the past one week, task groups deployed in the area have investigated a large number of fishing vessels and boarded vessels”.

The December 23 attack on MV Chem Pluto added to doubts about a rouge ship. The merchant ship got hit some 400 km west of India, off the coast of Porbandar, Gujarat. The spot was 926 km from the Iranian coast. The Yemen coast is 1,592 km from the site. A strike that far out at sea would need high-end technology, or else a rogue ship launched it. The attack on MV Lila Norfolk on January 4 took place 850 km east of Africa’s Somalian coast, again indicating that a rogue ship was being used by the pirates.

A probe into the hijacking of MV Ruen on December 14 said, “Somali pirates hijacked a dhow (small ship) operating off Somalia and utilised the same for hijacking MV Ruen.”

Since October 17 last year, Houthi rebels, based out of Yemen, have allegedly attacked merchant ships and also the US warships in the Red Sea. The US Central Command, headquartered at Bahrain, in a tweet on January 12, mentioned a missile attack on January 11, saying, “This is the 27th Houthi attack on international shipping since November 19.”

Yemen sits at the eastern edge of narrow straits of Bab-el-Mandab, which connect the Arabian Sea with the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal-Red Sea alignment. Pirates based out of Somalia in East Africa have upped their game.

Adding to the costs

All this has added to the operating cost for shipping companies and for naval forces in keeping the trade routes secure. Shipping on the Asia-Europe-US trade route via the Red Sea stands disrupted, pushing up the insurance costs. A majority of merchant vessels are now using longer routes for the Asia-Europe-US trade, and that is via South Africa. It is 10 days longer than the traditional Suez Canal route, which means more manpower and fuel cost, besides slowing down shipping.

In mid-December, four major shipping companies, which account for half the global maritime trade, stopped using the Red Sea route, which goes through the Suez Canal. The 193-km-long canal accounts for 12 per cent of the global trade, including 30 per cent of all container movement.

The London-headquartered International Chamber of Shipping says some 11 billion tonnes of goods are transported by shipping globally each year. This represents 1.5 tonnes per person, based on the current global population.

Each year, the shipping industry transports nearly 2 billion tonnes of crude oil, 1 billion tonnes of iron ore — the raw material needed to create steel — and 350 million tonnes of grain, says the Chamber.

New law on piracy

The Maritime Anti-Piracy Act 2022 — the first domestic law to empower Indian authorities and courts to deal with piracy and pirate ships on the high seas — was passed by both Houses of Parliament in December 2022.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, speaking at the passing of the Act, said in Parliament, “Ensuring maritime security is key to safeguarding India’s security and economic well-being.”

The Act allows Indian authorities to take action against piracy in the high seas, including the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of India, the EEZ of any other state, as well as all waters beyond the jurisdiction of any other state — that is international waters. EEZ is an area of the ocean between 22 km and 370 km from the coastline of India.

Proactive role

In October 2008, India sent its first anti-piracy patrol to the Gulf of Aden.

“India was one of the first nations to deploy a ship on anti-piracy patrols. Subsequent ships were deployed based on the requirement as threats evolved and challenges posed over a period of time,” adds Capt Parmar.

In January 2009, India became a founding member of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS), which was set up as a group of nations, industry associations and multilateral agencies to check piracy in the Indian Ocean region through a UN Security Council resolution.

The Indian Navy and Coast Guard have provided armed naval escorts to ships moving in the area. Merchant ships are escorted along the entire length — 907 km long and 37 km wide — Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) in the Gulf of Aden.

In 2011, piracy shifted eastwards towards India, increasing what is Additional War Risk Premium (AWRP) on insurance. The Navy ramped up and took aggressive action to drive away the pirates. The Defence Ministry proposed a proactive role under the United Nations flag to tackle the threat to maritime traffic from piracy.

“India is in favour of strengthening multilateral cooperation under a UN framework to meet the complex challenges of maritime security,” said the Annual Report for 2010-11 of the Ministry of Defence laid before Parliament.