Chitinase military scholars feel that the Period of the Warring States in China, when Su Tzu (or Sun Zi) wrote his Sun Zi Bing Fa (Sun Tzu's Art of War) is very much analogous to the present era of a multi-polar world order, and that there are valuable lessons to be learnt from that period of military-doctrinal ferment that are so very relevant today. Sun Zi is the primary source of the Chinese strategic military culture and his book of thirteen chapters is still considered a classic on the art of warfare. The amazing fact is the degree of influence it still has on Chinese military thinking, practice and strategic discourse. It constitutes a way of war that is uniquely Chinese.
In fact, Col Liu Chungzi of the Strategic Department of the Chinese National Defense University (NDU) states that 'the Multi-Polar world of today is amazingly similar to the Warring States era.' Sun Tzu's The Art of War was the product of a multi-polar power structure in China some 2500 years ago. There are surprising number of similarities between Sun Zi's time and the contemporary Multi-Polar trends. In the 1990s, the world, Col Liu felt, entered a multi-polar era, very similar to the period of Sun Zi.
Further, Gen Gao Rui, vice president, Military Sciences Institute, said: "That era is extremely distant from modern times but still shines with the glory of truth.' The director of research at the General Staff Department of the PLA published six volumes of studies on ancient statecraft in 1996 that contained advice on how to comprehend the current and future security environment, based on the ancient past. Sun Zi's magnum opus contains advice on how countries achieve dominance without firing a shot. Current day Chinese military doctrine calls this 'Non-Contact Warfare. The simple fact is that if the current Chinese PLA leadership can seek inspiration from their ancient texts on warfare going back to 450 BCE, why can't Indian generals refer to ancient Indian texts on war like the Mahabharata and Kautilya's classic (Arthashastra) which was also written in periods of multi-polarity in India, when 16 Mahajanapadas were at constant war with one another. In fact, Kautilya's magnum opus constitutes India's quintessential Strategic Culture that we must study and understand, because it actually has overwhelming relevance for us today. In fact, when I was the CISC in 2008, I had ordered a study to define the Indian Way of War to understand our own military heritage and strategic culture. Gen Bakshi had taken an active part in the seminar on this subject, then organized by Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS). I am so happy to see that he has continued to work on this most seminal subject and has done vital and much needed value addition towards enhancing our knowledge of this subject. This is of singular importance for our armed forces and all those concerned with India's National Security.
I compliment Maj Gen (Dr) G. D. Bakshi on this laudable effort to trace the roots of our military heritage and Strategic Culture. India is a world power of consequence now and it is time we shed the apron springs of the colonization of our minds. The Prime Minister has taken a most valued and long overdue Initiative to promote Atma Nirbharta or Autarky in our weapon systems and military equipment. We need to do the same in the vital sphere of Doctrine and Strategic Culture. I truly look forward to many more such books on an 'Indian Way of War.'
The Century of Asia
The most significant historical event of the 20th century was the palpable shift of the centre of gravity of Global Power politics from the Euro-Atlantic region to the Asia-Pacific. The rise of China and India as significant economic and military powers, underlines this qualitative paradigm shift in the Euro-centric orientation of world history.
With the meteoric rise of India, China and Japan, the 21st century is bound to be the Asian Century, and in the decades that lie ahead the major conflicts that shape the global security architecture will all be played out on the Asian landmass.
Historical Legacy
When we seek to analyse the rise of major military and economic powers in the continent of Asia and map the trajectory of their future growth, we will have to factor in the aspect of their historical legacies.
In his eminently perceptive paper, titled 'Towards a Great State in Asia, Stephen. P. Cohen had written: 'The relevant historical legacy of China, India and more recently, Japan, is that they were once triumphant states or empires with a continental reach. This is critical to their emergence as great powers. Each of these states has a great tradition of imperial or continental power.'
Herman Kulke and Deitmar Rothermund state: 'Indian history is the fascinating epic of a great civilization. It is the history of amazing cultural continuity. Today it is the history of one sixth of mankind." They elaborate further. The state, in India, is based on a great tradition. The small kingdoms of the Gangetic plains, the great empires of antiquity (the Mauryan and Gupta Empires), the Mughal and British Empires, and finally, the Union of India, contributed, each in their own way, to state formation in India.
The Impact of Techno-Economic and Techno-Military Triggers
Indian history can be scientifically studied in terms of the impacts of a series of techo-ecnomic triggers that generated phase transitions in the historical process. These techno-economic triggers ushered in the onset of the Agricultural or the Industrial Revolutions (and more recently, the Electronics Revolution). The techno-military triggers ushered in Revolutions in Military Affairs (RMA) that decisively shaped the contours of history, not just in India but elsewhere too, on the continents of Asia and Europe. So, what precisely is an RMA? Let us see the American and Russian definitions of RMA.
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