Building a bridge between bureaucracy and Indian armed forces

In our minds the perception of armed forces is of an organization which protects us from external threats and safeguards our international boundaries. But armed forces are actually doing more than this. They let the businesses proliferate without worrying about foreign invasions/external threats. They let the policy makers decide what is right for the country without being compelled/bullied by any external forces. The aforesaid businesses and policies in turn make our country stand tall in front of other nations. Apart from the above mentioned duties, armed forces also play a pivotal role in disaster management and in relief work. The Army is also involved in many social welfare activities like running schools, shelter homes, hospitals, skill training centers etc. The armed forces are meant to be free from any kind of political interference, but in practice this ideology has dwindled. Armed forces are actually governed by politics directly or indirectly. The civilian bureaucracy controls the Indian armed forces and all the policies made for the defense sector are ultimately scribed down by the bureaucrats¹. In the last few decades bureaucrats and armed forces have seen confrontations at many fronts. This paper will make an effort to bridge the gap between the bureaucracy and the armed forces by proposing a few pragmatic approaches.