Jaipur, Jun 15 (PTI): Kicking up a storm, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Sunday said that the Indian Army’s importance has diminished because the country hasn’t gone to war in the past 40-50 years.
“Soldiers were facing immense difficulties because people's respect for the army has reduced during peacetime,” he said at a seminar in Jaipur.
However, he clarified his statement saying that he doesn’t endorse wars.
“I have written to many chief ministers (over defence matters). Some have acted on it and at many places it (response) has ended. The primary reason for this is that we have not been to war for 40-50 years. I don't mean to say that we should go to war. I mean to say that without war the army's importance has diminished,” he added.
He also said that two generations of officers have retired without seeing a war.
“A country that fails to protect its Army cannot progress.”