Relationship between India's Geographic Element of Power and its Military Elementof Power

摘要

The geographic element of a nation is the base upon which all other elements arebuilt. Any analysis of a country's military element, therefore, must be done with a clear understanding of its geographic element. The author is of the opinion that many analysts have gone wrong in their analysis of India's military element due to a lack of proper understanding of its geographic element. Using the checklist and descriptive comparison methods, the author has examined India's geographic element to include its physical, economic and human components, thus identifying various imperatives that ought to shape its military element. He then reviews India's military element and matches the imperatives identified, to every relevant facet of its military element. The study shows that India's military element is indeed influenced largely by its geographic element, especially by the human component of its geography. Its organization, recruitment, training, employment, etc., vindicate the author's findings. There are also certain aspects that do not conform to geographic realities. The author feels that such non-conformity is a result of India's security perceptions and the country's national interests. In sum, the author has produced sufficient evidence to establish a link between India's geographic element and its military element.