Through the Lens of Operational Art

The Indian Army's decisive victory in East Pakistan in 1971 is a widely acknowledged as a sterling example of operational excellence. The Bangladesh campaign, as it is commonly known, is often compared with the German blitzkrieg campaign in World War 2, exhibiting multiple lightening maneuvers striking deep at the enemy's center of gravity, in this case Dacca, to overwhelm and disintegrate the entrenched Pakistani defenses. Resulting in the dismemberment of Pakistan and the creation of the new nation of Bangladesh, it altered the balance of power in South Asia, heralding India's rise as a regional power. As India aspires for a greater role in the region and beyond, commensurate with its growing economic and demographic profile, India's military, of necessity, has to transform itself to match rising national aspirations. Operational art forms the doctrinal foundation for this ongoing transformation, seeking to transcend the divide between the military's current tactical focus, limited operational horizon and the emerging strategic role. Drawing upon the evolutionary and contemporary understanding of the subject synthesized from the courseware, the monograph employs the 1971 Bangladesh campaign as a model to study the application of operational art in the Indian context. Its validation in a successful Indian campaign will help imbibe operational art in the Indian military doctrine, and thereby facilitate the transformation of the Indian military.