Dragon On Our Doorstep

in Book Review — by Abdul Majid Zargar — July 20, 2017

‘Let alone China, India cannot win a war against Pakistan. And this has nothing to do with possession of
nuclear weapons-the roles of nuclear & conventional weapons are separate in the war planning of India,
China and Pakistan.”

These are the first three lines taken from

‘Prologue, of the recently published book ‘Dragon
on our doorstep’ by Pravin Sawhney & Gazala
Wahab. The book has assumed extraordinary
significance in view of the stand-off between China
& India at Dhoklam plateau-a disputed territory
between China & Bhutan where India has strategic
interests. But before attempting a substantive
review of the book, a few word about its authors.

Pravin Sawhney, who took to journalism after after

thirteen years of commissioned service in India Army,
has been editor of FORCE (a magazine on national
security and defence) since 2003. The author of two
books—The Defence Makeover: 10 Myths That Shape
India’s Image and Operation Parakram: The War
Unfinished—he has been visiting fellow at the Royal
United Services Institute for Defence and Security
Studies, United Kingdom, and visiting scholar at the
Cooperative Monitoring Center, United States. Ghazala
Wahab is executive editor, FORCE, where she writes on
homeland security, terrorism, left-wing extremism and
religious extremism. A career journalist, Ghazala has
worked with The Telegraph and Asian Age
.

Now coming back to India’s inability to win a war

with either China or Pakistan, the authors makes a
distinction between the two concepts of ‘military
force’ & ‘military power’. According to them, military
force involves mere building of troop strength &
war waging material’ while the latter means optimal
utilization of that military force. He further explains
the concept of military power as understanding of the adversaries, the quantum of threat, the nature of
warfare, domains of war etc. The books laced with facts makes it abundantly clear that India is far lagging
behind Pakistan & China in this sphere and hence bound to loose. In effect the authors fully subscribe and
endorse the famous Chinese proverb-“Know your enemy, know yourself, in 100 battles, you will never be
defeated; if ignorant of both your enemy and of yourself, you are sure to be defeated in every battle”.

The authors also make a mention of an interesting event of August 6 1947. When the partition of the
subcontinent had become a certainty, a party to bid farewell to officers assigned to Pakistan army was in
full swing in Delhi. On the menu, apart from food were choked emotions, frequent hugs & promises to stay
in touch forever. But the events in Kashmir took such a turn that friends of yesterday became foes of each
other overnight.

The author also makes a mention of little known ‘Operation meghadoot’ launched by Indian army in 1983
to evict Pakistani forces from Siachin Glacier, though he criticizes the move as .It traces the history of
Siachin Glacier to late 70’s when Foreign mountaineers would seek permission of both India & Pakistan to
visit the Glacier. With the passage of time, United States Air force maps and certain reputed world Atlases
started showing the Glacier as part of Pakistan. Even Foreign mountaineers would now seek permission
only from Pakistan. This alarmed Indian Army which sent out a military reconnaissance patrols in the area
to notice, to its horror, Pakistani army stationed there. This set in motion the operation Meghadoot. The
author reveals that when Indian Army started to shop for glacier specific items like boots & clothing in
Europe, it was stunned to find Pakistani army already there shopping for the same items. The message
was loud & clear. Indian army launched an assault to evict Pakistani forces from the area & also take
control of unoccupied areas. Siachen is since then a bone of contention between the two armies & also
responsible for huge causalities of jawans on both sides, without fighting any war.

Yet another interesting but strange proposal by Indian army to then CM Farooq Abdullah, when he took
office in 1996 with elections rigged & facilitated by Indian army & renegades, to appoint senior army
officers as commissioners & deputy commissioners in the state is also revealed in the book.

The authors also analyze the military strategies of the three Asian countries in the region in the back drop
of their geopolitics. Out of the three— the two, India and China—have cultural and economic relations that
date back to the second century BC. But over the years, despite the many treaties and agreements
between the two nations, border clashes (including the disastrous 1962 war) and disagreements over Tibet
and Jammu and Kashmir have complicated the relationship. Till 2008, China kept a low profile when the
world recognized it as an economic power. Since then China has become assertive. Today, this
Himalayan balancing act of power is clearly tilted towards China, in whose view there is room for only one
power in Asia. In this rise, Pakistan has emerged as China’s most trusted and crucial partner.

The authors also reveal complete interoperability (ability to operate as one in combat) military
arrangement between China and Pakistan. In their view, Pakistan & Chinese armies have achieved this
unique capability to fight as one unit, should the need arise. Their relationship is further cemented by close
economic cooperation with geostrategic design unfolding through the wide-sweeping One Belt One Road
project.

The book has also some rare & interesting photographs. One such photograph depicts construction of
gravel roads, as against tar roads, by Chinese right upto LAC which, besides being cost effective, are
better able to withstand rain & snow at high altitudes. India cannot build such roads because the terrain
on its side, unlike China, consists of sharp slopes and loose soil prone to land slides. At the same time
India cannot build Tar roads on its side because of various treaties which bind both sides not to build
permanent structures close to LAC. This is a very precious & strategic advantage to Chinese.

This book is a must read for those who are interested or involved with the subject of military capabilities or
war-planning between three nuclear armed Asian neighbors.

Book Title: Dragon on our doorstep

AuthorS: Pravin Sawhney & Gazala Wahab

Publisher: Aleph Book Company

Pages: 488

Year of Publication: 2017

(The reviewer is a practicing chartered Accountant. E mail: abdulmajidzargar@gmail.com)