NEW DELHI: Emphasising that a balance between diplomacy and military capabilities is necessary for the country, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said India possesses “power of argument” as well as “argument of power”, and it will accordingly use the language which the other side understands.
In his address at a defence conclave here, he also said “soft power can be a complement to hard power”, but it cannot be its alternative in any way.
Singh said, in India’s tradition, the ideas of power and peace have not been at variance with each other. However, the “problem” started when, after Independence, a few leaders who were leading the nation, instead of taking the two thoughts together, “treated power (‘shakti’) and morality (‘naitikta’) as alternatives to each other,” he argued.
In the early 1960s, then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru himself had “acknowledged that we were out of touch with reality, and were living in an artificial atmosphere created by themselves only”, he claimed.
“Later, many other leaders leading the country did not learn from this, and did not make any change in strategy. In our security and defence policy, a kind of ‘false consensus effect’ was seen,” the defence minister alleged, without naming anyone.
This means, some people, who were leading India for a long time, had assumed that “akin to India, others too were in favour of peace,” he said at ‘DefCon’ organised by News 18 network.
But, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, there has been a “big change” in that mindset, Singh asserted.
“We have made it clear that we possess the power of argument as well as the argument of power. We will accordingly use the language which one (the other side) understands,” he added.
“And, today, through diplomacy, we are working to foster peace around the world. And, we are also preparing our defence and strategic capabilities to deal with any possible threat.
“We are proponents of resolution through democracy and diplomacy. But, for our security, we can take decisive action too, and we do so,” the defence minister said.
He cited the surgical strike, the Balakot strike of 2019 and Operation Sindoor conducted last year, saying they have clearly demonstrated that India, for its protection, possesses “necessary capabilities” as well as the “will power” to do so.
“I consider that without diplomacy, military preparation can cause confrontation and a security dilemma. But, without capabilities, moving ahead only on the basis of diplomacy is considered a sign of weakness, and it can also be fatal for national security. A balance of both is necessary,” Singh said.
The conclave was attended by various defence and strategic affairs experts, including Chief of Defence Staff Gen N S Raja Subramani, and other senior officials.
Singh said in the 21st century, the scope of national security has widened, as cyber attacks can impact critical systems and defence systems, and through smear campaigns and disinformation, attempts can be made to create unrest in society.
“National security is also linked with economic and energy security, and therefore, hostile actors can try to cause damage to our economy or disrupt energy supply chains. This is the reason, I think, that looking at national security only in the context of securing geographical boundaries is a ‘perimeter fallacy’.
“A perimeter fallacy means considering national security only in terms of guarding our physical borders,” he said.
The Union minister cautioned that the scope of national security has widened, and though “borders are fixed, the boundaries of threats have become very fluid”.
“Therefore, a holistic approach will have to be adopted to deal with challenges related to national security. And, with this thought, we are continuously moving forward, aiming to augment our defence preparedness and to make our armed forces future-ready,” he added.
Singh said India has harboured the idea of realism along with idealism in its tradition, the ideas of power and peace have “not been at variance with each other”.
“Many wars were imposed on India, in which our armed forces fought bravely. These conflicts gave us an understanding that a national security policy cannot be made on the basis of wishful thinking.
“For formulating a good national security policy, it is imperative to keep ground reality and national interest in mind,” Singh said.
He underlined that soft power can be a complement to hard power, but it cannot be its alternative in any way.
“Diplomacy is important, but diplomacy gets strengthened when it is backed by capability,” the defence minister said.
