NEW DELHI, May 19: The Indian Army’s recent ‘Operation Sindoor’ exemplified ‘smart power’ in its most comprehensive form, demonstrating a precise and deliberate application of national strength, Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi stated on Tuesday. The operation, which dismantled terror infrastructure and challenged existing strategic assumptions, concluded with a purposeful halt, reflecting strategic intelligence and coordinated national action.
Information was available with The Chenab Times that General Dwivedi, speaking at a seminar titled ‘Security to Prosperity: Smart Power for Sustained National Growth’ at the Manekshaw Centre, elaborated on the significance of the operation conducted on the night of May 6-7, 2025. He described it as a swift 22-minute engagement that integrated military precision, information control, diplomatic signaling, and economic resolve into a single, coherent national act. The operation’s impact, he noted, was amplified by the deliberate pause taken after its initial phase, allowing for strategic assessment and adaptation.
The seminar, hosted by the Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), brought together senior military officials, retired officers, and international representatives to discuss the evolving concept of ‘smart power’ in the context of national growth. General Dwivedi highlighted the increasingly complex global landscape, characterized by disorder and distrust, where power politics appears to be reconfiguring prosperity rather than economic interdependence deterring conflict.
He questioned whether ‘smart power’ remains the primary driver of sustained national growth or if the tenets of ‘hard power’ are reasserting their dominance. The Army Chief cautioned that understanding the current global order requires an objective assessment, free from wishful thinking. He pointed out the paradox of globalization, where forces intended to bind nations together have increasingly become instruments of coercion, citing the strategic use of semiconductors and contested shipping lanes as examples of power dynamics influencing global trade and security.
General Dwivedi emphasized that the distinction between security and prosperity has blurred, with contemporary conflicts placing sustained demands not only on armed forces but also on industrial production, research, and governance. He asserted that security is now a prerequisite for prosperity, rather than a cost that prosperity must bear. He articulated that India’s ‘smart power’ architecture must be designed to navigate this fractured, fast-moving, and unforgiving global environment.
Drawing upon Joseph Nye’s concept of ‘smart power’—the strategic wisdom to deploy national instruments of power with precision and coherence—General Dwivedi proposed an acronym, ‘SMART,’ to encapsulate India’s approach. This framework, he explained, is not a mere management construct but a living strategy for thinking, preparing, and acting in the current geopolitical climate. The ‘S’ in SMART stands for Statecraft, emphasizing the mastery of diplomatic, informational, military, and economic tools in coordination. ‘M’ represents Manufacturing Depth, underscoring the need for self-sufficiency in production to maintain strategic autonomy, particularly as supply chains become fragmented and technology is increasingly weaponized.
The ‘A’ signifies Accelerating Innovation, aligning with national initiatives for self-reliance and technological advancement. ‘R’ denotes Resilience, a critical component for enduring complex challenges. Finally, ‘T’ stands for Technology Primacy, asserting that dominance in technology will dictate future conflict outcomes. General Dwivedi urged India not just to adopt emerging technologies but to indigenize, operationalize, and lead in their development to secure its national interests and shape the global environment advantageously.
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