Persistent rumors the Pakistan Army is about to launch a cross-border "surgical strike" across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) to maul the Indian Army is again raising the question as to how the Indian Army will respond to this assault.
Could the Indian Army's answer be "Cold Start?"
A limited war doctrine developed by the Indian Armed Forces in the event of a war with Pakistan, Cold Start's goal is to create conditions that will allow the Indian Army to launch massive all-arms counterattacks against the invading Pakistan Army. Another aim of Cold Start will be to deny Pakistan a pretext for using tactical nuclear missiles on the battlefield.
In Cold Start, Indian Army "pivot corps" backed by other conventional forces will strive to hold the line against tank-led attacks by the Pakistan Army across J&K. Buying time with Indian blood will enable counterattacks by Indian Army all-arms Integrated Battle Groups (IBGs) along with other fighting units of the Indian Armed Forces, especially the Air Force. These counterattacks are expected to take place within 48 to 72 hours.
But wait! How can Cold Start attain these grand aims when it doesn't exist? At least, that's what former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) from 2010 to 2012 General V.K. Singh said when he held this post.
Gen. Singh asserted there "is nothing called 'Cold Start'. As part of our overall strategy, we have a number of contingencies and options, depending on what the aggressor does. In recent years, we have been improving our systems with respect to mobilization, but our basic military posture is defensive."
Gen. Singh, however, was later contradicted by the current COAS Gen. Bipin Rawat, who admitted the existence of Cold Start.
"The Cold Start doctrine exists for conventional military operations," affirmed Gen. Rawat. "Whether we have to conduct conventional operations for such strikes is a decision well thought through, involving the government and the Cabinet Committee on Security."
To confuse matters further, there's the Indian Army's three other doctrines: the new "Land Warfare Doctrine;" the COINOPS (Counter Insurgency Operations) doctrine and the Joint Doctrine of the Indian Armed Forces released in 2017.
The Land Warfare Doctrine focuses on the ABCs of the land war against Pakistan. The Army sees its IBGs supplementing the combat power of the pivot corps along the LoC. It intends that within 72 hours after the start of the war, IBGs and the pivot corps will penetrate three to five kilometers into Pakistani territory. Meanwhile, three strike corps will reinforce the success of the IBGs and pivot corps.
Which of these four doctrines will the Indian Armed Forces resort to when the shooting starts?
