"India A Peace-Loving Nation, But Not A Pacifist": Defence Chief On Operation Sindoor

In reference to Operation Sindoor, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan said that while India is a peace-loving nation, it must not be mistaken for being pacifist and added that "peace without power is utopian."

Speaking at the Ran Samwad Tri-Services Seminar at Army War College, in Madhya Pradesh's Dr Ambedkar Nagar today, he also emphasised that India needs to be armed, secure and self-reliant to fulfil the vision of Viksit Bharat.

He said, "India has always stood on the side of peace. We are a peace-loving nation, but don't get mistaken, we cannot be pacifists. I think peace without power is utopian. I like to state a Latin quote which translates as, 'if you want peace, prepare for war'."

He further said, "As a Viksit Bharat, we also need to be 'Sashastra' (armed), 'Suraksit' (secure) and 'Aatmanirbhar' (self-reliant), not only in technology, but also in ideas and in practice. Hence, there is a need to increase awareness on all fragments of our society on doctrinal and conceptual aspects, that's the academic pursuits of how war is fought and practical and actual war fighting techniques and tactics."

General Anil Chauhan, Chief of Defence Staff delivers the Keynote Address at #RANSAMWAD2025, themed 'Impact of Technology on Warfare'. #CDS highlights the ascedency of technology over strategy, elucidating that the future battlefields will not recognise service boundaries; calls… pic.twitter.com/dj86wW4YmB

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Citing examples from history, the CDS emphasised the importance of wisdom along with weapons during war.

"We have always spoken about 'Shastra' and 'Shaastra' in the same breath. They are actually the two blades of the same sword. We know that a combination of military strategy and warriors is essential to win, and the foremost and best example of this are the Mahabharata and the Gita. We are aware that Arjuna was the greatest warrior, yet he needed a Krishna to guide him towards victory. Similarly, we had Chandragupta who needed the wisdom of Chanakya," he said.

Gen Chuahan added, "India has been a land of Gautam Buddha, Mahavir Jain and Mahatma Gandhi, all champions of non-violence."

Further, he asked contemporary military scholars to engage in discourse on military strategy and operations in all dimensions of a war.

"India has been a fountainhead of knowledge and ideas in ancient times. In contemporary times, we have literature on the history of wars being fought by us, but very little literature on scholarly analysis of these wars for scholarly discourse on strategy and operations. Serious research needs to be done on all dimensions of war," the Chief of Defence Staff said.

CDS Gen Chauhan also called for harmony between the technological ideas brought in by the young generation and the experience of the veterans.

"Today's generation is much more aware of technological advancements and the tactics; it is necessary to hear their point of view. We need harmony between the old and the new. New ideas which are tempered by the experience of the veterans. Ran Samvad must encourage debate," he said.

Ran Samwad 2025 is a two-day Tri-service dialogue on war, warfare and warfighting held at the Army War College in Dr Ambedkar Nagar. The event will bring serving military professionals to the forefront of strategic dialogue, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh delivering the plenary address on the final day, according to a press release.

A few Joint Doctrines and the Technology Perspective and Capability Roadmap will also be released during the event.

The event has been curated by Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff and Centre for Joint Warfare Studies, in conjunction with the Army Training Command, under the guidance of CDS.

The event is expected to feature the participation of top military leadership from all three Services, alongside renowned defence experts, leaders from the defence industry and international security professionals.

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