WARS ARE won by strategy with the ultimate aim of defeating the adversary. Battles are won by superior leadership, tactics and man-technology harmony. Ultimately it involves achieving asymmetry at the point of decision by deception, ruse and other well known ploys which are very well-documented. Lord Krishna speaks of wars and battles. One is a strategy and other the tactics. The Pandavas opted for Krishna and the Kauravas for the Krishna's large army.

It was Krishna's superior mind which was effectively pitted against a large army. In the end, the Pandavas won a decisive victory and the Kauravas were defeated. There are a large number of anecdotes that show that Krishna used ruse to defeat the Kauravas. 'Ashavathama mar gaya' - the consequences are well known and need no repetition. The above strategy is still applicable albeit in a modified manner. The Chinese countered US superiority in modern weapon, sea and even space technology (the backbone of US superiority) by investing in anti-satellite and sea-denial technology thereby ensuring an extremely high penalty should the US venture to come to the help of aggrieved Taiwan. The US now fears operating without space support and passing through the narrow water channels of South-East Asia towards Taiwan - a move which would be successfully countered by the modem of asymmetry.

It may be desirable for the military leadership to learn from its own history or that of China's and work out a strategy where the nation is not forced to part with additional financial resources which are needed for priority ventures. Our leadership needs to look for superiority in areas where our nation excels rather than looking at matching ship-for-ship and sub-for-sub - which is the crudest way of fighting a modern war. In order to advise the forces, there is a need for think-tanks, historians and quality brains from the national resources. Otherwise the defence forces will keep making demands and the grateful nation and not-so-professional polity will keep doling out resources, much to the chagrin of helpless citizens desperately trying to provide for its basic needs.