India

War Resisters' International is coming back to India, this time for its International Conference: "Nonviolent Livelihood Struggle and Global Militarism: Links & Strategies". The International Conference is where the WRI network comes together to strengthen the International and plan new lines of action. Through this newsletter we will keep you updated on the preparations for the conference. You should also regularly check WRI's website (http://wri-irg.org) for information on the conference.

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International Confe­rence, Ahmedabad, India, January 2010



War Resisters' Interna­tio­nal is cooperating with Indian partner organisations for an international conferen­ce investigating the links between local nonviolent livelihood struggles and global militarism, including war profiteering. This parti­cipatory conference will bring together campaigners from all over the world to analyse the role of states and multinational corpora­tions in depriving local com­munities of their sources of livelihood, and learning from the experience of nonviolent resistance at various levels – from the community to the global – and at various phases, from preventing displacement to planning for return.

In the early morning of March 22, three peace activists were arrested at Saab Aerospace Systems’ weapons factory in Linköping, Sweden. Martin Smedjeback, Annika Spalde and Pelle Strindlund were on their way to disarm Jas 39 Gripen fighter jets intended for export to India, Thailand and South Africa.

The peace activists, who are all part of the anti-militaristic network
Ofog, entered Saab’s industry area in Linköping, 200 kilometers from the

The 10-12th of February a conference titled 'Disarmament for Peace and Development - Warfare or Welfare' was held in Bangalore, India by peace and solidarity organisations in India. It coincided with Aero India 2009 - Asia's biggest display of military aircrafts. The disarmament conference spelled out the need for India to put more money on social security rather than military spending since 80 % of the population are living in poverty. Also because of the great tragedy with 12 people dying every day in India because of gun violence.

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Hundreds of members of the "Dongria Kondh":/tribes/dongria tribe, together with many tribal and non-tribal allies, formed a human chain at the base of their sacred Niyamgiri mountain on 27 January to prevent British mining giant Vedanta from bulldozing it.
Some reports put the number of people taking part in the protest at over 10,000. Placards carried by the protesters bore slogans including 'Vedanta, go back' and 'Stop mining in Niyamgiri'.

How do armies outside Europe/North America recruit?

Although Europe and the United States might have their armies all over the world – and if not their armies, they surely use economical “cooperation” and development “aid” backed by their military force to maintain their political and economical influence – they are not the only countries with Armed Forces. In fact, most states in the world maintain Armed Forces. How then do other major military players recruit for their Armed Forces?

Aluminium's countless applications in modern civilian life tend to mask its numerous uses in weapons technology, which make it one of a handful of metals classed as “strategic” by the Pentagon, meaning that a top priority of the world's most powerful Governments is to ensure its constant supply at lowest possible cost.

India's chief of the army Kapoor hinted on 14 January 2008 on the possibilty of conscription to solve the shortage of officers in the Indian army. He said: "If things don't improve, the government may have to take a view on it." However, he also said that "we have not come to that stage yet".

According to official figures, the Indian army is facing a shortage of 11,238 officers, against a sanctioned strength of 46,615 officers - a staggering 25% shortfall. And it's not the army alone that is confronted with a dearth of officer corps.

The Defexpo India exhibition was conceptualised in the year 1998 by the Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence Government of India in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry with an objective to promote defence exports from India at the same time exhibit the capabilities of Indian Defence R&D and production.

India boasts the third largest armed forces in the world, with 1,3 million active troops in the Indian Army alone. While recruitment is voluntary, the economical situation in the country - with more than a quarter of the population officially living under the poverty line - guarantees a high number of potential recruits.

According to information provided by the Indian Army, an infantry private (sepoy) receives a starting salary of between Rs. 3050 and Rs.

According to a report in the Hindustan Times from 25 November 2006, the Indian military is short of about 12,000 officers in the army. Chief of Army Staff General Joginder Jaswant Singh said: "The reason for shortage of officers is because of new units coming up such as Rashtriya Rifles, which have to be manned by officers from regular army. As a result, there is a redirection of officers in the combat units".