Indian General Affirms Cold Start Doctrine

General Bipin Rawat, the Indian Chief of Army Staff, admitted on January 11 that the Indian Army continues to follow the doctrine of Cold Start. This revelation came to light during an interview with India Today in early January. Until now, Indian politicians and army officials have denied the existence of the Cold Start doctrine.

The Indian Army created the Cold Start offensive doctrine in 2004 to respond to an inability to end insurgency, considered by many to be a proxy war with Pakistan. The Cold Start doctrine aimed to punish Pakistan in small, concentrated attacks for any proxy attacks on India, in an effort to avoid prolonged conflict and steer clear of provoking a nuclear strike from Pakistan, one of the only nuclear-capable countries without a clear policy on the use of nuclear weapons. India, like most other nuclear-capable countries, has a policy of using nuclear weapons only in retaliation.

In a strong departure from prior public stances, General Rawat said that “the Cold Start doctrine exists for conventional military operations. 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.” The controversy lies in the doctrine’s assumption that India can invade and occupy parts of Pakistan and launch attacks on military targets without escalating to full-scale war. However, this doctrine is more likely to provoke further escalations than to contain the conflict.

Pakistan and India have a history of tense relations, including a number of wars. Neither side, however, has deployed nuclear weapons, despite numerous threats. It is in the best interest of both countries not to go to war again. The escalating potential of the Cold Start doctrine can only further hurt both countries.