From Hydaspes to Kargil

Warfare has determined the fate of India from the dawn of civilization. Battles like Tarain and Panipat have altered the course of history. The army has always been one of the biggest government employers and the military constituted the principal item of expenditure for the state. Nevertheless, military history remains marginal within the academic discourse. In this volume the aim is to show the interaction between war as an institution and society. Along with society, ecology remains a crucial integer in shaping the scope and mode of warfare. A long duree approach along with cross-cultural comparisons is undertaken for understanding the specificity of Indian military history. This book is a work of synthesis and argues that several Military Revolutions had occurred outside India since the time of Alexander. None the less such developments by themselves were unable to guarantee military success to the foreigners due to specific conditions within the Indian theatre of warfare. Only those powers which were able to synthesize the elements of Military. Revolutions with the traditional Indian System of Warfare, were able to dominate the subcontinent. This book also contains guidelines for contemporary military management. Hence it is hped that this volume will not only be useful from a strictly academic perspective but would also be of interest to the policy makers.