Naxal violence in central and eastern India, cyber threats, present status of arms acquisitions, doctrinal issues, counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and the North-east and defence preparedness vis-à-vis Pakistan and China will be some of the issues on which top Army commanders will be briefed at the five-day Army Commanders’ conference starting on Monday in the capital. This will be the first Army Commanders’ conference to be held with the new Army Chief Gen. V.K. Singh at the helm.
Areas in the country that are Naxal-infested come under the jurisdiction of the Lucknow-based Central or the Kolkata-based Eastern Commands and it is expected that one of these Commands will brief top generals on the security situation existing on the ground, defence sources said.
Interestingly, the government has so far maintained that the armed forces will not be deployed to tackle the Naxal menace. But with Naxals carrying out massacres of paramilitary forces, the government could soon find itself in a situation where it has to take a tough decision on whether to call in the Army or not. The Naxals have also mastered the strategies of jungle warfare and laying of landmines thereby causing maximum casualties to paramilitary forces like the CRPF which have been sent so far to fight them. The rising tide of infiltration from across the Line of Control and the Army’s response to Chinese transgressions (LAC) will be other aspects that are likely to be discussed.