Dear Friends,
This has reference to an article in The Times of India (Delhi Edition) , page 7 dtd 19th Aug 09, titled – ‘Pvt guards to learn Israeli combat skills’.
Well, the article begins with an affirmative that Indian Security Agencies especially into guarding, lack pragmatic and effective training in crisis & emergency situation management skills much needed when situations such as 26/11 strikes. There is a definite need and it is time that our Private Security tier of defence too hones up its skill levels to counter such threats without wasting precious time waiting for the state run or central agencies to come in to help – pro-action is always better than reaction. Having said that, it was really unfortunate to read that to address these training needs, ‘Israeli Commandos’ would train them.
There is no denying the fact that the combat techniques used by the Israeli Defence Services have given them good results in surviving hostile situations in their context. But aping them senselessly in our scenario is no answer to our training needs. Who understands our training needs better than us? What we need is the right mix of the best from around the world nicely customised for our specific needs. Fortunately we do have people here in India (Indians) to do that for us, who understand the psyche, culture and actual requirements in our geography & setting and are trained in finest combat arts from across the globe.
It is time to get out of this colonial legacy syndrome and show the world that we are no less and if given adequate opportunity and encouragement we can be better than the best!