Ex Oriente Lux 2021

175 Махлаюк Артур Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет, Восточный факультет THEATERISATION OF INDIAN ARMED FORCES AND THE ISSUE OF NORTHERN COMMAND At the moment, India is undergoing the largest military reform since its inde- pendence. These novations are aimed at the structural reorganization of the armed forces, the result of which should be the formation of the so-called “integrated thea- tre commands”. These are supposed to be combat units geographically determined and formed of army, navy and air force units, which are to work jointly to combine the combat power of all three branches of the armed forces. The 17 existing com- mands (7 commands of army and 7 of air force, as well as 3 navy commands) will turn into 4 geographically unified commands: Western, Eastern, Andaman-Nicobar (existing since 2001), and Maritime theatre command. In addition, it is planned to create an Air Defense command. The restructuring process is extremely compli- cated. Although, in September 2021 General Bipin Rawat shed light on some details of the reform, mass media differs in interpretations. This paper analyzes the process and perspectives of "theaterisation" of the Indian armed forces. The main reasons for the transition to such structure are considered, as well as the problems with reorganization. One of these problems is the status of the Northern command which is given special attention to in this paper. So far, it remains outside the process of restructuring the armed forces because of the complex of tasks assigned to it, as well as the tensions in the region under its control (Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh). An attempt is made to analyze the possible perspectives for the reorganization or saving of this command. The analysis is based on the study of geographical location, assessment of threats from a potential enemy, as well as the capabilities of the unit.