Equilibrium in Higher Defence Organisation and the Need for Restructuring

The article deals with the issue of the necessity of identifying and maintaining equilibrium between the two key constituents of the higher defence organisation (HDO) of the country, namely, the civil bureaucrats and the service officers. In India, the military and the bureaucracy share a very delicate relationship. Though the protocol issues between the various appointments have been defined by the government, there is a requirement of greater clarity in the working relationship between them. Lack of clarity on this has become a source for the undercurrent of hostility between the appointments, which is unhealthy for the system. The article seeks to highlight the imbalance in relationship between these two key constituents, which is largely a result of flawed structure of the HDO and its systems and processes, and if left unchecked may result in undesirable consequences for the country.