Eastern Army Commander Gen Kalita outlines gravity of 'hard power' amid Russia-Ukraine War

Three months into the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of the Indian Army's Eastern Command Lieutenant General Rana Pratap Kalita on Tuesday emphasized the importance of hard power. While addressing an event, Lt Gen RP Kalita said that there are certain things that have been highlighted in the Russia-Ukraine war. The foremost important aspect is the significance of hard power as a nation would only be respected if, it possessed hard power.

Earlier this month, the newly appointed Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande Outlined three points for the Indian Army to focus on amidst the Ukraine war.

Lt Gen RP Kalita underlines significance of 'hard power'

"There was a myth that was being circulated that the era of open conflict has gone, but the Russia-Ukraine war has shown us that even now, the nation-states would pursue their national interests by resorting to an open all-out conflict. Ultimately, a nation would only respect if you possess hard power, " Lt Gen RP Kalita told ANI.

He further added that there was also a delusion that all future conflicts will be short-duration wars, but the Russia-Ukraine war which is going on for over three months now has proved this theory wrong. A nation has to fight alone in any case of future conflict. Therefore, there is a dire need of having an Aatmanirbhar Bharat that we have been talking about.

Lieutenant General Rana Pratap Kalita was appointed as the new Chief of Eastern Army Command in January 2022 whose headquarter is located in Kolkata  Earlier, he was commissioned in the 9 Kumaon Regiment in 1984. General Kalita succeeded Lieutenant General Manoj Pande who has been appointed as the new Army Chief of India.

Gen Manoj Pande outlines 3 points for Indian Army to focus on amid Ukraine War

On May 1, Army Chief of Staff, General Manoj Pande shed light on the lesson that the Indian Army could learn from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine War. Following his ceremonial Guard of honour at the South Block lawns, General Pande flagged three major issues which are-- conventional war's relevance, reliance on indigenous weapon systems and the significance of non-kinetic means of warfare. He added that with the constant change in the geopolitical situation, the Indian Army will have to be prepared to face massive challenges.

• Conventional war still relevant: "The ongoing conflict has clearly bought out that wars are there and still continue to remain relevant. The use of artillery guns, tanks, air defense guns, anti-tank guided missiles, drones, and counter drones. These weapon systems are still relevant and we should continue to focus on our capabilities development to fight a conventional war", said Army chief.
• Rely on indigenous weapon systems: "We need to rely on our indigenous weapon systems equipment and we need to develop that capacity. To that extent, we are clearly aligned with the Atmanirbharta and Make In India initiative. We believe going forward this is the way to build up our capabilities," he added.
• Non-kinetic means of warfare: "This conflict has again bought to the fore the Importance of non-kinetic means of warfare such as information and cyber warfare. These are the areas again in which we need to build our capabilities as we prepare ourselves for future conflict," said Gen Manoj Pande.

(Image: ANI/AP)