This is an opportune moment for our polity to introspect and shorn of partisanship resolve that from here on, defence modernisation will be a solemn commitment

by Air Marshal B D Jayal (Retd)

The nation has welcomed the return of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman from Pakistan’s captivity. Before falling victim to enemy fire, he had managed to shoot down a contemporary F-16 jet from the cockpit of his ageing and almost obsolete MiG-21 Bison, a feat that must surely be a first in the annals of air combat.

But judging by the past, it is a safe bet that once the garlands are off and photo opportunities over, Abhinandan and his successors will be back in cockpits of ageing machines and our defence modernisation continue to stagnate. This is the sad truth of our politics and democracy.

Recall January 1963 when in memory of those killed in 1962, Lata Mangeshkar sang ‘Ae mere watan ke logon’ at Ramlila Maidan and PM Nehru shed a tear. At that time, there was genuine optimism amongst the uniformed fraternity that at least from then on, the nation would not send its men and women to battle without the necessary wherewithal to do so.

But nearly four decades on, as war cries once again reverberated across the subcontinent from the heights of Kargil, we were witness to a press conference by the then Army chief who pledged that the army would do its best with ‘what we have’! Clearly the then chief was bemoaning the cumulative effect of the Bofors syndrome, which had left modernisation and military procurement in the armed forces in a state of perpetual paralysis. A state which continues to this day.

Before the euphoria of Abhinandan’s return fades, there are three questions that the nation must ask of itself: Why was he fighting a war in a dated MiG-21 when his adversary was in a contemporary F-16? Why is the IAF so hopelessly short of its combat strength with many squadrons equipped with aged and obsolete aircraft? And do we have the courage and sagacity to stop moralising on and politicising defence purchases and let modernisation of the forces get on, such that their morale is not dented?

This is an opportune moment for our polity to introspect and shorn of partisanship resolve that from here on, defence modernisation will be a solemn commitment. History may well record such enlightenment as the Abhinandan Effect!