The Indian Army, the world’s second largest, plans to attract on treatises comparable to Kautilya’s Arthashastra, Kamandaka’s Nitisara and Tamil poet-saint Thiruvalluvar’s Thirukkural for classes on statecraft, technique, diplomacy and warfare from historic Indian philosophy, officers conscious of the matter stated on Friday.

This effort to determine the relevance of those centuries-old strategic doctrines within the twenty first century is a part of a challenge named “Udbhav”, or emergence, the officers cited above stated.

The strikes comes towards the backdrop of a flurry of efforts by the federal government to encourage “Indianisation” in areas together with training, well being and science.

At its core, Udbhav seeks to bridge the historic and the up to date, military spokesperson Colonel Sudhir Chamoli stated in a press release on Friday on the inaugural panel dialogue beneath the challenge. “The goal is to understand the profound depths of indigenous military systems, their evolution, strategies that have been passed down through the ages, and the strategic thought processes that have governed the land for millennia,” Chamoli stated.

The dialogue, titled “Evolution of Indian Military Systems, Warfighting and Strategic Thought — Current Research in the Field and the Way Forward”, was organised collectively by the military and the United Service Institution of India (USI), the nation’s oldest suppose tank based in 1870. The keynote tackle was delivered by Lieutenant General Raju Baijal, director basic, strategic planning, whereas Lieutenant General Vinod G Khandare (retd), principal adviser, defence ministry, chaired it. The panellists included serving officers, former troopers and students.

The dialogue put the highlight on the nation’s wealthy and infrequently understudied strategic and army heritage, the assertion stated.

“By reintroducing these classical teachings into the contemporary military and strategic domains, the Indian Army aims to nurture the officers to apply ancient wisdom in modern scenarios and allow a more profound understanding of international relations and foreign cultures,” it added.

The military described the occasion as an bold step to revitalise “knowledge creation from India’s rich classical heritage”.

“The scope of the discussion encompassed the study of ancient texts from the 4th century BCE to the 8th century CE, with a focus on Kautilya, Kamandaka, and the Kural,” its assertion stated.

This was step one in a sequence of upcoming engagements to push Project Udbhav. “The aim is not limited to just rediscovering these historical narratives but also to also develop an indigenous strategic vocabulary, which is deeply rooted in India’s multifaceted philosophical and cultural tapestry. The overall aim is to integrate age-old wisdom with modern military pedagogy,” the assertion added.

The military earlier supported a challenge associated to the compilation of Indian stratagems based mostly on historic texts. This resulted in a guide on 75 aphorisms, and one other publication, Paramparik Bhartiya Darshan — Ranniti aur Netritva ke Shashwat Niyam, or Traditional Indian Philosophy — Eternal Rules of Warfare and Leadership. The military is encouraging all ranks to learn this guide.

The transfer comes at a time when the armed forces are additionally focussed on the indigenisation of army customs, and have taken some steps to erase colonial traditions. The navy, as an illustration, adopted a brand new ensign with the flag drawing inspiration from the seal of Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and dropped the Cross of St George. It additionally ended the follow of senior officers carrying batons. The defence ministry, in one other instance, launched a drive to rename British-era cantonments as army stations.