New Delhi 11 Nov. 2011: The 47th Foundation Day of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses was celebrated amidst much fan fare. Defence Minister and President of IDSA, Shri AK Antony presented the prestigious K. Subrahmanyam Award to Prof. Srinath Raghavan, currently Senior Fellow, Centre for Policy Research for his path breaking and insightful book War and Peace in Modern India: Strategic History of Nehru Years.
Six current and former IDSA scholars were also honoured with the IDSAPresident’s Award for their publication of a research article in a peer reviewed journal of international standing and repute. The scholars are as follows: Brig Harinder Singh, Wg Cdr Ajey Lele, Shri Anit Mukherjee, Laxman Kumar Behera, Shri Joe Thomas Karackattu and Dr Sarita Azad.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri NS Sisodia, Director General, IDSA, reiterated the need for investing substantially in capacity building and “encourage and incentivize officers from defence forces to join IDSA for a period of two to three years. This will enable a mutually beneficial interaction with our civilian scholars and help the potential leaders from armed forces in acquiring a broad based education, so essential for modern-day challenges.”
The foundation Day was also marked by a Panel Discussion on the IDSANational Security Strategy Project (INSP)’s working draft titled Towards a National Security Strategy for India”, chaired by Shri Shyam Saran, former Foreign Secretary and Special Envoy to the Prime Minister. The draft emphasises on the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to manage complex strategic issues through the three mutually reinforcing D’s – defence, diplomacy and development.
Presenting the draft, Mr. N.S. Sisodia reiterated the need for a synergy between these three instruments. Ensuring equitable economic development and fostering innovation are vital to achieve security in a comprehensive sense. He also asserted that the most vital bilateral relationship for India will be with the United States as both countries have converging interests.
In the discussion that followed, the participants underlined the importance for India to develop institutional capacities to deal with contemporary challenges. Shri Shyam Saran alluded to the opportunity India has today in shaping rules on global issues. The participants also pointed out the need for developing institutional capacities for strategic planning and to deal with cross-cutting national security issues. They stressed the need for bolstering communication capabilities to shape perceptions as well as to bring about coherence. The draft is expected to be published on the IDSA website within the next week to promote further debate and discussion.
Prof. Srinath Raghavan Wins K. Subrahmanyam Award 2011 at 47th IDSAFoundation Day