British Reforms to Its Higher Defence Organisation: Lessons for India

All is not right with the Indian Higher Defence Organisation (HDO) became public knowledge, perhaps for the first time, after the Kargil War in 1999. There have been significant changes in the geo-strategic situation and the nature of threat faced by India over the years and yet little has changed in the higher defence management and the HDO of the country. There is an urgent need for a greater understanding and a clearer vision of the security management of the country and the road map to implement the desired reform. It is in the area of the reform process, the HDO structure and the inter-relationship amongst the principal constituents of the HDO that India can benefit from the best practices available in United Kingdom and the world. This monograph is the first in the series of two monographs. The second deals with lessons for India from the analyses of the United States reforms to its HDO. The two monographs are intended to provide stand alone and focused studies to those interested in the higher defence management and study of HDO.

About the Author

Col Rajneesh Singh was commissioned in Infantry in December 1989 and has varied operational, staff and instructional experience. He has commanded a Rashtriya Rifles company and battalion in Jammu and Kashmir. He has been a military observer in Congo for a year. His staff experience includes tenure in the Military Operations Directorate and in Military Secretary’s Branch. The officer has also been an instructor at the NDA, Khadakwasla and at DSSC, Wellington. Col Rajneesh Singh is presently pursuing PhD at the JNU, New Delhi.