The Indian armed forces on Wednesday released two crucial doctrines, including one that reportedly deals with media management in a conflict situation as well as dissemination of information intended to remove ill-will among the populace in insurgency-hit areas besides other aspects.
Indian Air Force Chief and chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik, released the two joint operational doctrines called the “Joint Doctrine for Perception Management and Psychological Operations” and “Joint Doctrine for Air and Land Operations”. The doctrines have been formulated by the Doctrine Directorate of Headquarters of the tri-services Integrated Defence Staff. So far as the first doctrine (Joint Doctrine for Perception Management and Psychological Operations) — that reportedly includes the subject of media management — is concerned, the ministry of defence stated, “Military psychological operations constitute a planned process of conveying a message to selected target audiences, to promote particular themes that result in desired attitudes and behaviour which affect the achievement of political and military objectives.” The MoD stated, “The doctrine also provides guidelines for activities related to perception management in sub conventional operations, specially in an internal environment wherein misguided population may have to be brought into the mainstream.”
On the second doctrine, the government stated, “The Joint Doctrine for Air-Land Operations ... establishes the framework of concepts and principles to understand the approach to planning and conduct of air-land operation in a conventional war scenario.”
The fact that the two doctrines would be unveiled on June 16 was reported by this newspaper on June 2.