3 Review(s)

In India’s Military Conflicts and Diplomacy: An Inside View of Decision Making, General V. P. Malik, Chief of the Indian Army from 1 October 1997 to 30 September 2000, writes about his personal experiences in the army and the major strategic events in which he was involved. Summary of the Book In the book, the author focuses on the decision making processes that are followed both at the military strategic and political level as well as the operational level. The author further mentions that these decisions and strategies are never made public in India and are seldom recorded. This makes it increasingly difficult to analyze these decisions and events and learn from them for the future generations. The author addresses the problems that are associated with poor planning and lack of a proper decision making process. The problems get magnified for the armed forces because despite the important role they have to play, the armed forces are rarely kept in the loop at the planning and decision making level. And even if they are included it involves only a handful of the senior officers. This book will provide the readers with valuable information about about defence and military diplomacy along with a historical and futuristic perspective on India’s defence management. About V. P. Malik General V. P. Malik was Chief of the Indian Army from 1 October 1997 to 30 September 2000. He is an alumnus of National Defence College. He has served as the Deputy Director General, Military Operations and was played a key role in Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka and Operation Cactus in the Maldives. He has traveled extensively on military diplomatic missions and to address military and and civil institutions.