THOUGHTS FROM THE THEATRE OF WAR

A UKRAINIAN INSIGHT, THANKS TO RUSSIA

Valson Thampu

The effectiveness with which the supposedly inferior and comparatively poorly-equipped Ukrainian army has resisted the Russian army affords us an insight worth noting.

The Russian army is not only better equipped but also more regimented. They are hardwired to be submissively dependent on superiors, which makes them less spontaneous and innovative. When soldiers are so regimented, they need to be directed in every detail from the highest available centre of authority. This has two consequences, both of which have become apparent in this war. (a) The logistics must be perfect for the Russian army to be effective. (b) The top brass must be in, or near, the scene of action, which accounts for the surprisingly large number of Russian generals who have died in this war already.

Consider a couple of analogous situations to see this more clearly. If you are a tennis player, you have two options open to you. The first is to secure the best coach available and to depend on him for your winning strategies. This makes court-side coaching crucial. (Alas, that is unlawful in serious competitions). The second strategy is to perfect your intuitive feeling for the sport and court creativity (or court-craft) so that you think through each game as it progresses. Arguably, the second strategy works better. Not only that. It is the only strategy that works, if you are pitted against an innovative or unpredictable player.

Suppose you are a public speaker. Here too there are two possibilities. Specialize in certain core areas, arm yourselves with an arsenal of ideas, and master a set of illustrations. The other option is to develop yourself in an all-round, eclectic fashion and continually fine-tune your power of communication and capacity for spontaneous thinking. The former approach may seem to have the advantage of putting yourself on surer ground in the sense that you have a ready-made arsenal. However, this will work well only in a limited range of situations. Ultimately, it is your quality as a thinker and communicator that makes the difference.

There are other, even more familiar, illustrations. I refrain from citing them to avoid stating the obvious.

Seen in light of the above, the Ukraine-Russia war, of ‘special operation’ if you will, can serve as a parable on the harmful effects of the rigid regimentation that is now sought to be imparted to people’s thinking and understanding in our country. Consider the spokespersons of various parties. If there are a hundred of them for a party, each of them will not only take the same stand on the issue, which is understandable, but also utter the same sentences, from one end of the country to the other! The more ‘effective’ or surgical a party wants to be, the more this happens.

Time will prove –and we won’t have to wait for long- that this inhibition of human intellectual freedom and spontaneity of spirit is seriously harmful to the country. On the one hand, we pay lip service to the importance of developing the capacity for innovativeness. On the other, we resort to regimentation. It is assumed that somehow the two will work wonders as if one can run east-ward and west-ward at the same time in an Olympic sprint event and win gold!

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