ABSTRACT
The twin challenges of nuclear weapons and insurgency and terrorism have disoriented many 20th-century armies, driving them to seek tactical nuclear munitions and pursue political approaches to guerrilla warfare without clear success in either. The Indian Army has confronted both these tasks since the late 1980s, with somewhat different outcomes than other militaries. The Indian Army has addressed the nuclear threat from Pakistan and China mainly with conventional weapons. At the other end of the conflict spectrum, the Indian Army has sought to escalate to conventional military options as well in response to the evolution of the insurgent threat into cross-border terrorism. The convergence on conventional military options from two ends of the threat spectrum shows extraordinary continuity in the Indian Army as an institution.
