The Indian Military and Social Change

Over the years, the Indian Army has been engaged in two important roles: external defence and the maintenance of internal security. As the Army’s emphasis has shifted from the latter to the former its structure and organization has changed; for structure and strategic role are immutably interlinked. New equipment has made the army more mobile, it is stationed primarily in forward positions, and recruitment is no longer based upon political loyalty. In recent years the reduction of the police role of the military has been hastened by the creation of quasi-military state and central armed police forces, and border security forces, all of which serve as a buffer between routine domestic civil unrest and the army itself.