On 29 June 2004, the IISS hosted a Special Round Table Discussion with Lt. General Vijay Oberoi (retd.), Director, Centre for Land Warfare Studies, and former Vice Chief of Army Staff, India.
General Oberoi was commissioned into the Maratha Light Infantry in June 1961. A graduate of the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington, he was an International Fellow at the U.S. Army War College in 1988-89. Following a tenure as Director General, Military Operations (DGMO) and Commander of a Strike Corps, he was appointed General Officer Commander-in-Chief (GOC-in-C), Army Training Command (ARTRAC), Simla. This was followed by appointments as GOC-in-C Western Command, Chandimandir, and Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS), Delhi.
In September 2001, General Oberoi retired as VCOAS. He is currently the Director of the newly-established Centre For Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), an Army-supported 'think tank' on military issues. He is also the President of the War Wounded Foundation, set up to work towards the meaningful rehabilitation of the war disabled. For over eight years, he was the 'Colonel' of the Maratha Light Infantry Regiment.
At the IISS General Oberoi gave a presentation on ‘The Future of Land Warfare in South Asia’. General Oberoi rejected the view that in recent years there has been a demise of conventional land warfare. Instead, he argued that the nature of warfare has changed with an increase in different types of low intensity conflict and non-conventional operations.
Even though the Indian military needs to be prepared to tackle the entire spectrum of conflicts, increased attention should be given to insurgency, proxy wars and terrorism. In general the Indian military has a good reputation; however its fighting ability has decreased in recent years. There is, therefore, an urgent need to rethink the quality v. quantity relationship and the future methods, structures and doctrines of the Indian military.
To carry out various counter insurgency and counter terrorism operations successfully, the Indian military needs to introduce joint and combined operations. There need to be improvements in battle space awareness and capabilities to engage in information warfare. The old doctrine of war of attrition should be replaced with an effective doctrine of war of manoeuvre, which is able to deliver quick and decisive victories. In particular, the role of well-trained special forces should be enhanced.
