Invincibility, Challenges and Leadership

Invincibility, Challenges and Leadership
By Gen KV Krishna Rao (Retd)
Orient BlackSwan Private Limited, New Delhi

In its depth and analysis of the developments that give rise to empires, civilizations and nations, and the role played therein by great leaders of the world, Invincibility, Challenges and Leadership is a unique book. General Krishna Rao has covered a very wide canvas in his research and then used his knowledge and professional military and civil experience to write about several defining moments of the history, emergence of great leaders of that period, the challenges they handled under critical and complex situations, and the consequences of their intervention. He then goes on to discuss future challenges, emphasizing the need to learn from the past so that mistakes are not repeated.

He underlines the historical fact that in most crisis situations, political and military leaders have affected nations and their future. Nations which did not understand the very close connection between political and military spheres, or neglected it, ultimately met with disaster. Effective diplomacy, economic progress and internal stability always need the backing of appropriate military strength, and its deterrent and response value.

In Part 1 of the book, after briefly covering ancient civilizations, middle ages and modern nations,  the author sums up the essentials that enabled their rise and fall. The essentials highlighted with examples for the ‘rise’ are national unity and stability, economic strength, progress in science and technology. His two very relevant comments are: “While economic development is necessary, effective military strength is even more essential to survive and progress” and “Corruption, indiscipline, divisive activities and oppression destroy the confidence of the people.”  According to him, ethnic differences, racial hegemony, class conflicts, religious intolerance and bad governance weaken the nations and make them vulnerable to exploitation by adversaries. The conclusion in this part is “So, empires either arose or declined generally due to availability and use of force, or otherwise.”

His study of two world wars and major wars since then (including Indo Pak War 1971 in which he participated as a Division Commander) makes him believe that “Power is an irresistible allurement but in the larger interests of the people at large, has to be strictly controlled.” He recommends that war on two fronts must be avoided and that close cooperation and coordination between Army, Navy and Air Force as well as between civil and military are of vital importance. Also, “a supreme commander controlling the three services, as in the Second World War, is a great asset.”

In Part 3 of the book, he briefly covers life sketches and contribution of great political and military leaders of the world; starting with George Washington and ending with General Giap of Viet Nam.

In the last Part, the author analysis characteristics that made nations and leaders great, and the likely challenges to be met in future. Each characteristic is described and exemplified with actions of several leaders. For example, George Washington displayed ‘firm will power’ in defeating colonial masters and then laying solid democratic foundations for his country. Sardar Patel is credited with being a ‘visionary’ in forging the unity and integrity of India by making 565 princely states join the Indian Union. Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Nehru are included with those who displayed ‘outstanding moral character’. On future challenges, his arguments support President Obama who during the Nobel Award ceremony stated “violent conflicts would not be eradicated in our life times and nations would need to fight just wars.”

Invincibility, Challenges and Leadership is an absorbing book for those interested in learning what makes nations and leaders great.

A piece of interest: the author has donated the royalty proceeds of this book to the Army Central Welfare Fund.

Gen VP Malik, PVSM, AVSM (Retd) is former COAS

(The views expressed in the article are that of the author and do not represent the views of the editorial committee or the centre for land warfare studies).