BANGALORE: The political leaders and policymakers are entitled to the benefits of research and knowledge that emerges from the defence science community, the former Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister, V.S. Arunachalam, said here on Thursday. Scientists should be serious on war gaming, simulation that can forecast a situation that may arise 25-50 years from now.

Dr. Arunachalam, who was the head of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for a decade in the 1980s, and worked with five Prime Ministers, was delivering the keynote address at a national conference on "IT for Defence — Force Multiplier" organised by the Computer Society of India.

Stating that information technology in defence had immense potential that should quickly be translated into policy and practice, he said this was because the Internet had changed the definition of war and defence rapidly. He likened this change in the way knowledge and information had become widely accessible, and "democratised and empowered" human society to the 16th century arrival of the printing press. The printing press, not only released Europe from the tyranny of religion, also brought Newton and the wonders of physics that changed the world irrevocably.

New definition

Expanding on the theme of the new definition of defence, he said: "Our Generals thought it would be a walkover in Sri Lanka, but it was not so."

Not an easy task

In games simulated by computers, several factors were fed to generate probable scenarios for the armed forces. "It is not going to be easy," he said.

But simulation helped in knowing "what steps should be taken in the next five years for the challenges that emerge in the next 30 years."

He said India should also work on building secure communication networks. "It is not just the role of the defence but also Indian IT firms which have to play a role in this," Dr. Arunachalam said.

This was because the Internet was useful and accessible, but vulnerable too. Applications of the Internet in defence were still substitution-oriented, and this should change, because today, defence of the country was not merely strategy-making and preparing for the possibility of a nuclear war. India should be kept safe and defended against the onslaught of environmental disasters and debilitating phenomena such as greenhouse gases and climate change.

Knowledge power

Knowledge was defence, and with its power, the policymakers would be able to draw the blueprint of India's economic progress with sustainable development, he said.

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