ABSTRACT
The Indian Army always had a two-front problem, first between East and West Pakistan, then between Pakistan and China; but the real two-front problem for the Army has been the balance between internal and external security. While some have contended that the Indian Army had been unable to develop an effective counterinsurgency doctrine because it was predisposed to fighting external wars, the Kargil Review Committee report, however, notes in the other direction that local commanders failed to recognise the size and scope of the Pakistani invasion that led to the 1999 war. The Army commanders were stuck in a counterinsurgency mindset: they were expecting small numbers of terrorists to cross the border in support of the Kashmir insurgency. This chapter examines the two key challenges faced by the Indian Army - nuclear weapons and terrorism - before drawing conclusions for the prospects of change.
