I had mixed feelings when I read the following statistics. It was like walking into a Lambo showroom and asking for the specs of a Murcielago, knowing what my annual salary is. The SL Army’s current strength is around 200,000. That’s almost double the size of the British Army (109,000), and larger than most western European armies. Gen Sarath Fonseka says he wants to increase the troop strength to 300,000. That’ll make the SL Army the tenth largest in the world! It’ll be a quarter the size of the Indian Army (approximately 1.2 million). India has a population of roughly 1.2 billion, while ours is just under 20 million. The next largest armies from ours will be Russia and Iran, with only 20,000 soldiers more than us. This will be the Top Ten:
1. China – 1,700,000
2. India – 1,200,000
3. North Korea – 900,000
4. South Korea – 560,000
5. Pakistan – 520,000
6. United States – 475,000
7. Myanmar – 325,000
8. Russia – 320,000
9. Iran – 320,000
10. Sri Lanka – 300,000
The combined armies of SL, Pakistan, and Bangladesh will equal the strength of the Indian Army. The Indian nuclear power stations at Kalpakkam, south of Chennai, are two hours flying time by SLAF MiG-27s based at Anuradhapura. The two new stations being built at Kudankulam, west of Nagarcoil, can be reached in less than an hour.
It is credible that with the proposed expansion of Sri Lanka’s Exclusive Economic Zone, the SL Navy will have to be beefed up, as will the SLAF. An overall Armed Forces strength of at least 500,000 is quite possible. 2.5% of Sri Lanka’s population will be under arms.
I know it’s nuts. I know it’s impractical. I know we can’t really afford it. But, dammit, doesn’t it look good?
the Blacklight Arrow 
It’s one thing to have a massive army at this moment, having just finished the war and everything makes it totally understandable. But, the plans, hopes, whatever you might call them, to increase the size by 50% just don’t feel right to me. It doesn’t seem appropriate that a country or government would be happy to shout about this when peace is so high on the agenda of so many people.
Not to mention the most battle hardened and battle ready Army with Special Forces Units that can teach how it is done to the so called elite forces units around the world…. not only does it look good it FEELS good too
I have heard and read about GOSL wanting to increase its army presence to 300,000 but seeing the stats against other armies is staggering! How on earth are we going to afford it?
wow .yes i feel gr8 abt it.wont u.
Shouldn’t more attention be given to rebuilding the country rather than reinforcing the army at this point?
Recruiting more soldiers would mean they’d need more funds for weapons and pay for each of them… Since the war is over this isn’t a priority and it’s just frittering away funds, I’d say.
Also it’s a bit unsettling the great deal of power to be bestowed on the Chief of Defence Staff… There’s something fishy going on, but then again when isn’t that the case.
you’re just a warmongering git. might is not right, just because you got assraped in bootcamp…
well we can fight our next war which will obviously be against India in style..lol
i too have mixed feelings about this. i wonder whats in the minds of Gen SF and Def. Sec. GR? any guesses?
I’ve no idea how they’re gonna fund a 50% increase in personnel. But on the other hand, there’ll be a drastic decrease in expended ammo and fuel too now that the fighting’s over.
Also, some sort of a joint defence pact with India or China would go a long way towards taking a dent out of the costs.
Apparently the garment industry lost hundreds of thousands of jobs over the past five years, so the Armed Forces will provide job opportunities, as well as cheap labour for rebuilding the North & East.
The armed forces are, in my limited experience, pretty good at the logistical and actually doing stuff end of rebuilding. I don’t think that’s what the extra troops are for, tho.
I think it’s basically for securings and, for lack of a better word, occupying the North. I suppose it’s good to prevent a Iraqi type fall apart, but there are other worrying things about such a militarized society
chk the following link :-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_active_troops
well to be in top 10 Sri Lanka armed force should increase to 484,000 military personals according to wikipedia!! 😉
By the Way where did you got your fancy ranking figures??
😛
Amazing and probably economically unsustainable.. and what about the costs of salaries, pensions etc for the deceased and seriously injured?
BTW, what happens to the LTTE injured? Is there a LTTE version of ‘Veterans Benefits’ funded by the Diaspora?
Ramith, look up the top 10 ARMIES, not armed forces.
Hey, if they start hiring old (but fit) geezers like me into the Volunteer regiments, I’m in.
For Canada the maximum recruiting age for regular army is 52 I think.
Any thoughts David?
ha ha….I saw it sure Looks good DB…sure looks good remember looks mean everything ! Which means ya”l dont get into any fights in the north or east….ya might get a bullet up ur butt…cuz, everyone tom ,dick ‘n harry got military training ! But, seriously….we should send a bunch to UN Peace Keeping Missions…….or start an Army Corp of engineers to train in the developement sector ?
DB,Taking the “army” seems to be somewhat out of context, portraying the U.S. only as 6th largest in the world. Maybe an “armed forces” comparison might have been better. There are over 500,000 US Army personnel outside the the U.S. alone. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_armed_forces
That being said, its definitely cool, but all cool things, are expensive. A bloated army is like the chaps in Colombo that spend excess of Rs 20 million to drive a Hummer from Kotte to Kolpetty (only!). Looks cool but purposeful?
A large military needs to be disciplined and control by strong leadership (which we have at the moment), but all good things come to and end and when that happens, you’re sowing the seeds for a future wild wild west.
I would rather suggest a system such as singapore or israel where at the age of 18, you do two years training, and then you’re a reserve who can be called upon in case of emergency.
Flexibility is strength. And the current chaps are battle experienced. In 10 years, you’ll have a much smaller % those chaps in the combat-ready force, where having 100,000 green soldires could be whacked by 25,000 trained, experience hard opposition (theoretically speaking, to try prove that ‘bigger’ doesn’t equal ‘better’).
So you’re down to the fiscal implications and the pro’s and con’s of that are best over a long chat over a bottle of arrack! But nobody has given me a solid reason as to why we need such a big army (as a % of our population) POST-WAR. I remain skeptic, yet open to convincing.
SR, there’s no context to be in or out of. This post was just a reaction to how I felt when I read the stats. Nothing more. I’m not arguing for or against.
But to take up your points, good leadership doesn’t have to end with Fonseka. The next tier (divisional commanders) have proved themselves, and hopefully they’re promoting ability further down the chain.
National service certainly is the better option for a nation at peace (something that we may be premature in accepting), enabling a ready reserve that doesn’t have to be maintained year-round. However, weapons, ammunition, and kit need to be kept stockpiled in readiness for activation. National service, however, takes time to establish, and isn’t always popular. For now, recruiting a 100,000 troops is easier than setting up conscription. It could be changed in a year or two, with veteran troops of the current force being released into reserve, the retention of an experienced hard core cadre, and conscription making up the rest. All this takes time and a lot of planning. For now, a 300,000-strong Army is the easiest way to maintain control in the NE and ensure there are no more flare-ups. It also provides badly needed jobs.
Yes, flexibility is essential and a small, professional elite is better than a large mob. However, for that the SL Army needs to modernize fully and make use of technology, mobility (air, sea, land), and better firepower. Right now, the SL Army doesn’t even have a true field-grade airmobile capability, and for that, they will need an air corps. That takes money, too, and training, and a lot of infighting. This’ll take time, so for now it’s not viable.
A large army can never be a permanent solution. But for now, it’s probably the easier alternative.
Yay!
The most obvious of course is that a large force will be required to maintain law and order in the north.
The bigger picture is of course are we becoming another Pakistan where all our joy will be short-lived?
I wonder, time will tell…
Well, ideally law & order should be maintained by the police.
Btw, DD, you’ll be happy to know that yours was the 1,000th comment on my blog.
“1. China – 1,700,000
2. India – 1,200,000”
Man, Where did you get this ridiculous information?
You need to categorize them into three, Total Armed forces, Active Troops, Total troops.
India’s Total armed forces are – 2,414,700 (2nd)
Active troops are – 1,414,000 (2nd)
India’s Total Troops are – 3,773,300 (1st)
They consider only Active Troops – India comes second with 1,414,000.
If Srilanka the island nation added 10k more soldiers, it’s only total troops and not active troops. So stop bullshitting without quoting to any source dreaming on your own. Typical.
And also Mr. wanna be researcher,
Go to these link hereafter before you going to post something about the world army
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_size_of_armed_forces
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_active_troops
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_total_troops
Ben, first of all, please do not attempt to impersonate other commentators, you’re not fooling anyone. Your last comment was deleted for this reason. If you continue to do this, I’ll have to block you. As for what is on or off topic, I’ll decide that, thanks.
As for research, Ben, I think you need to find some better sources than Wikipedia 😀 Do you work for the Sunday Times?
My post is about the size of the SL Army and its ranking in the world, measured in size (personnel strength). This isn’t a discussion of whether the troops are active, reserve, or whatever. Neither is it a discussion on the size of the Armed Forces. The former is part of the latter, as I’ve explained to Ramith already. Armed forces also include paramilitary ground forces, while an army does not. For instance, China’s total active military personnel is 7.2 million, and the United States’ 3.3 million (Global Firepower), which includes their entire armed forces and paramilitary troops. But China’s army is only 1.7 million and the US Army less than half a million. Perhaps comprehension is not your strongpoint.
Here are some sources:
Esprite de Corps
Yahoo Answers
Fighter Jets
There are many more.
And before you get your panties in a knot, remember that the figures for Iraq are pre-2003. Currently the Iraqi Army is below 300,000.
Here’s a discussion on the subject:
Military Quotes
But fear not, there are lots of people out there, just like you, who don’t know the difference between the army and the armed forces of a nation, but still like to write about military stuff:
Albion Monitor
Do try and educate yourself a bit on the subject first, Ben.
Digressing slightly, having looked at your site, Ben, I realise now what a curse Flash is on the web… sorry 🙂
I guess a good army is a nice thing to have, and history has always taught us that a millitarily strong country has a strong sense of nationalism amongst the people. Is that not what we need? And like somebody had said earlier, an Army is not just to fight wars but also to be part of the process of rehabilitation. Its a strong labour force that can double up for security. So its not such a bad thing…and hey when the world is on its knees, its a very good thing that we will use our best set of workers to develop an almost non-existent infrastructre. Lets get them in and help them out.
most orthodox economists (and yes that would include Krugman and Delong as well as Hanson, Buchanan, Cowen, Kling, Vernon Smith, etc.) wouldn’t define a person being paid by the army to dig ditches (to use an example) as actually being employed–that is, such a ditch digger is essentially suspended from commerce and adds no value to any private enterprise. There is no incentive to dig faster or deeper and also none to make individual diggers more productive. The army-employed digger faces no competition from private sector diggers because his work is paid for by the public’s purse and backed by teh most powerful entity on the island–thus no increased competition, no improved products or services. You could think of the centrally set wages of Spain as a similar case where wages increased dramatically due to the construction boom but productivity was stagnant. That just sets you up for a more painful dip in growth later rather than sooner and the sudden realization that your hordes of army-employed diggers might as well be filling in the holes they’ve just excavated.
also, the reason why so many textile jobs were lost is because of the distorting effects of being a most favored nation int he EC–there isn’t sufficient pressure to become more efficient and more productive; a more globally-sensitive industry would have felt the pressure early, adjusted and come out ahead. Here in the US, we’re actually paying GM employees to remain where they are, producing cars that nobody wants, with higher operational and overhead costs than foreign competition and no way of closing the gap short of wholesale liquidation of physical assets and disregarding the disastrous committments made to union employees in the 50s and rammed down the throats of all domestic mfg competition in the subsequent decades.
i’d hate to see SL’s textile biz have to make the drastic and earth shaking adjustments that our domestic car mfgs will have to take in order to merely survive.
David,
You won’t believe the Wikipedia source, but you believe some BS answer in Yahoo? What kind of researcher are you anyway? Typical.
Reagarding the Wikipedia, no one can ‘NOT’ edit a country’s details like you do in a normal article. Only Wikipedia staffs can edit em.
If you have any doubts in this link..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_size_of_armed_forces
Manually go to all the country’s armed forces page and check whether it is true or now. Don’t ask me to believe some websites in the corner. Wiki is way way better than those.
And BTW may be I have no idea about what ia an Army and what ia an Armed force of a country, but I am not a wanna be researcher who write lies for the sake of blogging.
is lanka trying to get full air mobile capability at least for
one division? if so is it the 68th.. have we signed a deal worth about 300 million $ to buy mi 17 mi mi 24 heli’s for this purpose? mig 27 will probably be located in eranamadu because runway in anuradhapura is too short and they are expansion problems.. no such things in eranamadu i guess.. and
will we have seperate corp system with 4 brigades for each corp?? mr. DB where is u ar new book? i’m tired of clancy’s bull.. and what do you know about the expansion of navy?
are we getting those advanced automated fright thngs frm korea?? and sarr 4.5 from isreal?
Nayagan – Not sure what your point is in your first comment. Do you mean that using military personnel to rebuild portions of the NE is self-defeating because it removes said personnel from the pool of labour available for private economic enterprise? As for your second comment, I think many industries in SL need to adapt to real world conditions. Some of those changes could very well be painful.
Ben – In my earlier response to you, I speculated that comprehension was perhaps a challenge to you. It seems you’ve confirmed it. I didn’t say that Wikipedia was untrue, but that it’s often unreliable. You need to back it up with other sources. As I already have pointed out to Ramith and you, the Wikipedia pieces are talking about the armed forces, not army. Since you’ve already conceded you don’t know anything about the subject, let me use an example you might find easier to get your head around. If I were to claim that a particular computer had the tenth fastest processing speed in the world, it would be patently absurd of you to tell me I was wrong because you had a Wikipedia entry that claimed that said computer had only the 20th biggest hard disk memory space in the world. One doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the other. If you have an upto-date source that contradicts mine in personnel figures for world armies, please provide it. If not, please don’t waste my time.
As I said before, Ben, find out about the subject matter instead of making a fool of yourself. Also, try and take time to read and comprehend what is being said before typing a response. It’s not too late.
Mahesh – the SL Army needs to first have full airmobility for a brigade, never mind a division. A fully capable airmobile force needs to be modeled on a mechanized force — ie, it needs its own transport and strike capability (tanks, AFVs and APCs for mech troops, and transport, gunship and attack helicopters for the airmobile). For that, the SL Army will need an air corps. A combined SLAF/Army brigade (as I’ve fictionalized in my book) isn’t really practical in the long-term. So buying new aircraft alone isn’t the answer. With Fonseka as the new CDS, perhaps he can overrule the SLAF’s stubborn retention of all air assets, but it’ll take time and money.
So far there has been no move towards a corps system in the SL Army. Even the divisional system is fairly new. However, it’s a logical route to take with the proposed expansion, and at the moment the Security Forces commander of an area (eg SF Commander Jaffna) acts as a corps commander. This is only administrative at the moment, and not really a combat command. A corps will be made up most likely by multiple divisions, not brigades.
The SL Navy and SLAF also need to be expanded if the GoSL’s plan is to project power and mount an effective defense against external forces. SL is a maritime nation, and our defences will always hinge on our ability to control the seas around us. A large army is useful only when the fighting has reached our shores (in the case of defence), or when the fighting has reached the enemy’s shores (in the case of offense), but you can’t invade a foreign country (or even strike at it) or effectively defend an island without a strong navy and air force. The US Army and Marine Corps is a fraction the size of its entire armed forces. The US Navy and USAF are each at least double the size of the US Army. However, for internal security purposes, the police and Army is the most important component, with the other forces in support.
DB,
Yes, that is mostly what i’m saying. I’m of the rather unpopular opinion that no gov’t department’s funding is nondiscretionary (as defense and social welfare is considered here) and that, in peacetime, a drastically smaller and less expensive military (or rather one focused on the most pressing needs)is optimal for growth. SL isn’t making it’s own fighter planes, munitions and firearms so the old war stimulus trick is of extremely limited utility.
In your response to Mahesh, you stress that as a maritime nation, SL needs to control the shipping lanes which encircle it. How will that be possible with Chinese ships at Hambantota and the Indian fleet northwards? Zheng He was but a pitiful preview for what it is to come.
Nayagan – Yes, I agree that a smaller, less expensive, active Army is what we need in a (hopefully) peaceful future. But as I pointed out to SR earlier, that’ll take time to achieve. A large Army is the quick, temporary solution. Also, using military personnel to build bridges and roads is a quick and cheap solution. The SL Road Development Authority is incapable of proper road engineering, not without direct foreign supervision of the project. Whereas the military is capable of such projects, as was seen during the SAARC Summit.
In my response to Mahesh, I was trying to point out that having the tenth largest army in the world is useless to a maritime nation without the necessary naval and air forces — except in the internal security role. It was also my attempt to point out that this post isn’t meant to be a positive military analysis of the Army’s expansion. It is merely my gut reaction to the news. If I had written a poem about it, we probably wouldn’t be having this discussion.
I too am opposed to using the military for internal security, but our corruption-riddled, politically-crippled police force cannot do it. The military is probably the most efficient GoSL arm in the country. Who else can we turn to for internal security? I hope it’ll be different someday.
and you would find most American patriots to be violently opposed to the notion that the Army is critical to maintaining ‘internal security.’ Posse Comitatus, Mad King George III bunging his soldiers into private residences and all…
“Rehani”, you know perfectly well why your comment was deleted. I don’t like impersonations. Also, this is a blog, not a transvestite bar. Whatever you wanna be on your own blogs, is your business, but on this one, I insist you comment under your real name.
DB good points, but subjective (which is cool, thats what blogging is all about!) regarding the quantum of force required to maintain control over the east.
However, agree on most points, s.a. job creation, need to maintain control, using this opportunity to solidify, even further, the SL military foce and capability and the time it will take to have the mechanization and mobility to be smaller & elite.
Introspecively (if there is such a word) I would say the hesitance in supporting 300K+ plan stems from fear of “absolute power corrupts” syndrome. But as you pointed out, successful field commanders in the pipeline to assume command over time should prevent abuse of power.
Loved the book by the way. Hope another one is in the works.
SR – Yes, absolute power is a worry. The SL Army (and the Armed Forces in general) were always politically divided, and the British regimental system ensured command was decentralized. Now, with a divisional system asserting itself in parallel to the regimental one, and with Fonseka as CDS, the Armed Forces, for the first time in Sri Lanka’s post-independence history, could more easily be unified under a single individual. It remains to be seen where the divisional commanders such as Prasanna de Silva, Sahvendra Silva, Jagath Dias, etc go. There will certainly be strong competition for the new Army Commander’s slot, and this and other postings will reveal the power structure within the Army and the Armed Forces, and whether this structure will follow the actual command structure.
Into the Top Ten.
What is the criteria?
In this case, troop strength.
Soldiers to get involved in politics. This is a bad joke, right? David, any truth to this report?
http://www.thebottomline.lk/2009/01/14/index%2047.htm
http://tinyurl.com/83qbcc
Does the GOSL have a knack for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory? If this report from Jan 2009 is to be believed, MR wants to …”enable soldiers who today are safeguarding the integrity and sovereignty of the country, also to take part in politics.
The Minister has said …. in every election in the future, senior officers from the armed forces would be considered for nomination and they would be encouraged to play an active role in the Sri Lankan politics.“
There’s a good reason why the armed forces should be kept away from politics. They have access to armed force! Can you imagine a situation where different senior officers supports competing parties and use their men and officers and and weapons to promote a particular political party?
The armed forces of this country are a unifying force. If it enters overtly enters the political process, it will be a guaranteed disaster for the country.
I cannot imagine a more insane policy than this. If you look at other countries where the armed forces have overtly entered politics, it almost always results in disaster. Do we want SL to end up like Pakistan? I hope this insane idea will quickly be relegated to the dustbin where it belongs.
Mango – Not sure that’s legally possible. Even if it isn’t, there’s nothing to prevent military officers resigning their posts to stand for election, and in that situation, votes from the military could be manipulated.
Amit – Yes, numbers.
Numbers?
I wonder whether the North Koreans feel even better about being in the Top 3.
I am a frequent visitor to your blog, agree with a lot of what you say, and accept that it is usually well-informed even if I don’t always concur. But on this I believe you have truly lost your judgement.
But, “dammit, doesn’t it look good?”. I hope that is a purely flippant remark , and even if it is, it does you a dis-service?. This is surely too important a subject to not be serious about – as an ex soldier you should know this more than most. In no shape or form does this look an appealing idea. Surely, this is just an armed forces “Napolean complex” being manifested in a pissing contest.
If the present numbers can defeat the LTTE, just what exactly would the additional numbers be able to accomplish?. Just what would there be TO actually accomplish : More soldiers standing on streets? More soldiers standing at sheds?
Sri Lanka simply can not afford a military expansion. Already the economy is at breaking point. Exports are down, tourism is down, foreign revenues are down whilst inflationary prices and unemployment are up. Yes, there is an external economic worldwide downturn causing much of this, but this is the current reality here. The IMF loan if it comes should be used for re-construction, the economy, the infra-structure, and a general helping of Sri Lanka as a whole, rather than playing toy soldiers.
Terence, I think I’ve answered most of your queries in my previous responses.
I like your blog and you write well … but to be titilated by the size of our army is a bit like being impressed by the size of your dick (excuse the profanity could nto help it ).. what matters is what you can do with it … the last thing Sl needs now is for the military to have more power in the country … the military combined the with the current govt only spells trouble for the future of SL … journalists being beaten up and or killed … people being being taken from the IDP camps with no record of where they are being taken to … scary shit … we should be careful and vigilant … good blog respect …
I wonder if the ethnic makeup of the armed forces will change with this expansion. I have my doubts – I have a feeling Indi is right, the military will be used to secure the north under the guise of rebuilding. It will still be 99% Sinhalese and their presence in predominantly Tamil regions will seem more like an occupying ethnic force than a national military.
I also have no idea where the money is going to come from for this. Large, developed economies can plausibly borrow on the promise that the ship will be righted eventually. Sri Lanka has a harder time making that case. There will have to be a reckoning at some point, but I see the plan is to try to stave that off for as long as possible and let the post-Mahinda leader carry that weight.
Hmm “so you think you can tell, heaven from hell, blue skies from pain….
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?
How I wish, how I wish you were here.
We’re just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year,
Running over the same old ground.
How we found? The same old fears.
Wish you were here.”
First 300K then 500K then conscript da hole fockin nation. Next stop is the Maldive Islands… bunch of arrogant bastards…. yeah ha! we’re gonna take over them islands and teach them a lesson. In’ it?
Maldives? They’ll be gone in a few years thanks to global warming. I say Australia — if we land somewhere close to Darwin, the Aussies won’t even notice for a couple of years.
hey, Darwin is great… i know few knock joints there..DB,let me know if the Army plans to land there.. i can send the directions of them knock shops..good meat.. i tell ya..
True. We should fight the Tectonic sepratist movement and reclaim what is rightfully ours. We can herd the Australians into refugee camps in PNG or some other god-foresaken island now that we’ve gained some considerable experience in this area.
Hey, I got an even better idea! Why don’t we take all the cash that we don’t have as a country and start building a nuclear bomb? Now how good would that look? We can have tea with Dear Leader and Ahamadinejad and discuss the finer points on how do you successfully piss everyone else off.
We Sri Lankans are really a funny bunch aren’t we?
That we are.
Army needed to keep country under jackboot. The monarch will rule for decades like his pals in Burma or Iran.
If SF gets CDS then coup will be on the cards.
dear georgethebushpig, i like your visionary ideas.. can you come and give a lecture at the next Royal Asshole(nee Asiatic) Society ‘Visiting Assdamic” Lecture ?
pls contact me via my bog..
DB, pls pls don’t deleate this comment.. i’m the real Ooorumiyaa not Nibaras Bawa..hehe..
Great post DB, stop posting bullshit and work on your next book.. its about time for that…
Srilanka not even considered as a competitor. After all it is an island.
And some crazies here(including the one who wrote this crap) comparing theirselves with Indian Army.
TOTAL BULL SHIT.
Hey Ram
Ah yes the Indian Army.When a handful of terrorists took over a Hotel your “special” forces the elite of the elite took four days to clear it!! What the f.cK! Did they make dinner reservations and order room service?! A bloody disgrace.
Give us a call when you need some real counter terror forces.
This must feel very strange coming from an Indian but I don’t care too much of military expansion.. frankly it seems to make the civilians fat and useless. Warrior clans consisted of warriors and they didn’t need an army… But unfortunately they could be defeated by armies who although not as skilled in martial prowess followed orders and acted as a unit together.
I would say lower the strength of Indian army.. we certainly don’t need indian army as large as it is.. infact stop the pensions and you’ll know who was really patriotic enough to join it.
All that cash can be used for investment in growth and development. We are decades behind other countries in research and technology.. our best minds become our most costly exports. We need to focus on renewable sources of energy, agriculture upheaval, education, and massive infrastructural changes… we are yet to take advantage of all the required mining opportunities ..
People fighting is detrimental to the country but it is an intrinsically tribal thing to do and we seem to be wanting to perfect killing. What then? Do we all just murder each other or let some chaps who we elected to clean our streets make military decisions.
Lets focus on growth… harmony and creating and chasing utopia right here in this subcontinent.. why the hell would we move to first world countries.. we can create something even better here.. not the dystopian landscape presented as a facade like in the West. No matter what they say it always seems they’re miserable due to some reason.. all their western philosophy on society never really worked eh?