Gurmeet Kanwal

img

Archive data: Person was Distinguished Fellow at IDSA

Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal was Distinguished Fellow, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi and a Delhi-based Adjunct Fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Wadhwani Chair in US-India Policy Studies, Washington, D.C. He was Director, Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), New Delhi (January 2008-March 2012), the Indian Army’s think tank. He has co-founded two Delhi-based think tanks: Forum for Strategic Initiatives (FSI) and the South Asian Institute for Strategic Affairs (SAISA).

Brig Kanwal commanded an infantry brigade in the high-altitude Gurez Sector on the LoC with Pakistan in northern Kashmir (Operation Parakram, 2001-03)and an artillery regiment in counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir Valley (Operation Rakshak, 1993-94). He has served as Deputy Assistant Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Doctrine, Organisation and Training) at HQ IDS, New Delhi; Director MO-5 in the Directorate General of Military Operations at Army Headquarters (dealing with threat, strategy and force structure); United Nations Military Observer in UNTAG, Namibia; Brigade Major of an infantry brigade and Instructor-in-Gunnery at the School of Artillery, Devlali.

He opted for voluntary retirement in December 2003 and joined the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), New Delhi, as Director, Security Studies and Senior Fellow. He has also served as Senior Fellow, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi; and, Senior Fellow, Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi. He has been a Visiting Research Scholar at the Cooperative Monitoring Centre (CMC), Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, USA, and in other think tanks in London and Singapore.

Brigadier Kanwal has authored several books: “Nuclear Defence: Shaping the Arsenal”; “Indian Army: Vision 2020”; “Pakistan’s Proxy War”; “Heroes of Kargil”; “Kargil ’99: Blood, Guts and Firepower” and, “Artillery: Honour and Glory”. He has also edited and co-edited several books. His forthcoming book is entitled “India’s National Security Strategy”.

In November 2012, he was nominated among 50 Thought Leaders by Mail Today. He has contributed extensively to various journals and leading newspapers, including a column in the Statesman for over two years. He is a regular speaker at well-known international think tanks and military institutions. Education: M Phil (Strategic Studies and Management), M Sc (Defence Studies).

Distinguished Fellow
Email: gurmeetkanwal@gmail.com
Phone: +91 11 2671 7983

Publication

Chief of Defence Staff must be Appointed Immediately

All major democracies have opted for the CDS and India cannot ignore it any further. In the prevailing battlefield milieu of joint operations, combined operations and even coalition operations, modern armed forces cannot be successful without a well-developed and deeply ingrained culture of jointmanship.

Pak Army Continuing Proxy War in Kashmir

Though the Pakistan army denies its involvement in raising violence levels along the LoC, the international boundary and in the hinterland, it is understood well that without the active support of the army and the ISI, no serious attempt can be made by the terrorists to infiltrate.

Debating the Doctrine of Military Intervention

The emerging doctrine of intervention is built around the ability of the international community, mainly the US-led western alliance, to impose its collective will in order to restore a deteriorating situation or to prevent a nascent conflict from burgeoning into full blown war with wider ramifications.

Needed: A Better Appraisal System for Better Leaders

There has been a palpable decline in the standards of morals, ethics and values as observed by officers in the armed forces and the bond between officers and men has weakened. This could be because officers with the requisite qualities are not adequately groomed to rise to the level of battalion commanders. The present appraisal system is largely to blame, it being based on a single Annual Confidential Report. A further drawback is that only superior officers report on a ratee. Inputs for appraisal need to be drawn from multiple sources geared towards a ‘360 degree evaluation’.

Pakistan’s Descent into Chaos

The terrorist strike on Minhas airbase in Kamra on August 16, in which one Pakistani soldier and nine terrorists were killed, is but the latest manifestation of the state’s inability to protect even its vital military installations.