'Even Trump doesn't know what he'll do tomorrow': Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi

Indian army chief General Upendra Dwivedi

Underlining the growing unpredictability of the international order and the evolving security challenges, Indian Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi in a reference to US President Donald Trump said “even Trump doesn’t know what he is going to do tomorrow.”

The Army chief addressing students at TRS College, Rewa, emphasised that the challenges in the future would be marked by “instability, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.”

“Challenges are emerging so rapidly that by the time you address one, another arises, and that’s exactly what our military faces. These range from border conflicts, terrorism, natural disasters, and cyber threats to newer domains such as space warfare, satellites, and chemical, biological, radiological, and information warfare," he added. Gen Dwivedi also noted that during Operation Sindoor in May, fake news was rampant, adding that the volume of false information was so high it often appeared real.

Speaking about endless the speculations that floated during India's successful conduct of Operation Sindoor, Dwivedi remarked: “During Operation Sindoor, there were rumours that Karachi had been attacked. So much of it seemed real, even to us. Where did it come from, and who was behind it? Amid all these challenges, you have to be prepared to operate on land, in the air, and at sea.”

"As you heard in Operation Sindoor, Karachi has been attacked. So much such news came, which seemed like news to us too. Where did it come from, who did it?... In the scope of all these challenges, you have to work on land, sky, water and all three," he added.

He said the armed forces face the same challenges “whether at the borders, through terrorism, natural disasters, cyber warfare, or the new frontiers like space warfare involving satellites, and chemical, biological, and radiological threats”.

Making a plea to Generation Z, Dwivedi said: “Generation Z is digitally fluent, technologically advanced, socially aware, and globally connected. They have access to information from all over the world. If such a powerful generation receives discipline and proper guidance, India could advance by several generations in just a moment, leap ahead by many ages. So, it means that in the coming days, Generation Z will be the fuel that drives India forward."