'Can’t remain slaves to western concepts of war': CDS Chauhan quotes Ramdhari Singh Dinkar in Ranchi

The army chief stressed that India must chart its own strategic approach to modern warfare.

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan, on Friday, called for India to abandon dependence on Western models of warfare and instead develop its own strategic doctrines rooted in creativity, innovation, and self-reliance.

“We can’t remain slaves to Western concepts of war,” Gen Chauhan said while addressing the EastTech 2025 symposium in Ranchi. Quoting national poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, he added, “War is a science and an art. A warrior must be creative. We cannot lead the defence sector unless we are creative.”

The CDS underlined that although indigenisation of defence manufacturing in India began late, the country is now moving firmly in the right direction. “We have to develop self-reliance not only in platforms but also in weapons systems and networks. We may not have done so well in platforms, but we have done reasonably well in weapons systems,” he said.

VIDEO | At EastTech 2025, CDS Gen Anil Chauhan, quoting poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, says, "We can't remain slaves to Western concepts of war, war fighting, and warfare. War is a science and an art. A warrior must be creative. We cannot lead the defence sector unless we are… pic.twitter.com/0lA5bXwDHS

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He stressed that India must remain “innovative, inventive, and imaginative” to keep pace with evolving battlefield challenges. “This is captured in some verses of Ramdhari Singh Dinkar in his poem Rashmirathi,” Gen Chauhan noted, explaining that the poet’s call for imagination applies equally to soldiers, scientists, and industrialists.

“A soldier in his tactics and strategy, a scientist in weapon design, and an industrialist in cost efficiency and timely delivery, all must innovate daily to keep the nation strong,” he said.

The CDS further urged greater investment in research and development to equip the armed forces with “tomorrow’s technology” and pointed to policy initiatives in space and cyber warfare as critical to India’s future security. He also highlighted the role of eastern states such as Jharkhand and West Bengal in advancing defence goals, particularly under the Act East policy.