Politicos uninterested in national security issues, rues Admiral Prakash

Politicians are largely uninterested in national security issues in India, where armed forces remain detached from the Ministry of Defence, leading to a half-empty arsenal and an outdated higher defence organisation, former Navy Chief Admiral Arun Prakash said.

“Intense political activity seems to leave the contemporary Indian politician with little time or inclination to deal with national security issues. A manifestation of this neglect is the total absence of Parliamentary debate on security matters and the short shrift given to most recommendations of its Standing Committee on Defence,” he said. “This disinterest has led to the de facto delegation of decision-making responsibility to civilian bureaucrats, not all of whom are adequately conversant with complex security matters,” he said at the annual seminar on ‘Geostrategic Shift of Global Centre of Gravity: Security Imperatives of India in 21st Century’ at College of Defence Management in the city. 

He disapproved of veterans returning and burning medals against “diluted” OROP scheme, and favoured avenues like negotiating with government to push their demands or going to court. “I am not familiar with the details of government notification about OROP. But it seems that substantial progress has been made towards satisfying the demands of the veterans,” he said.