What is the need of Armed Forces in first place

Dedicated to all those MEN IN UNIFORM (Armed Forces including Paramilitary, Police and Intelligence) who are sacrificing their TODAY for our bright TOMORROW……

(Below is a dialogue between Emperor Chandragupta Maurya the Great and Mahamati Chanakya)

Chandragupta Maurya had the mightiest Army 2300 years ago....the gigantic size consisted of 30,000 Cavalry, 12,000 War Elephants, and 600,000 Infantry. And historians opine that they were one of the best paid and psychologically happiest armed forces in the world. One can understand the huge effort and expense even in those days, which must have been spent to maintain such a gigantic force.

The Mauryan Army had a very complex but extremely effective structure. They had 4 types of troops- elephant (gaja), chariot (ratha), cavalry (turanga), and infantry (pada).

The Army was broken into many units. The smallest unit was called a patti, and had 1 chariot, 1 elephant, 3 cavalry and 5 infantry. The elephant and chariot would typically be in the center with the cavalry and infantry surrounding them. Three Patti s made up a Sena Mukha and three Sena Mukha s made up a Gulma. Other divisions were the Gana, Vaahini, Pratana, Chamu and Ani Kini, each of which was thrice as big as the preceding one. The Akshauhini was composed of ten Ani Kini s and was considered as the largest unit in the Army.

Once looking at the expenses on the forces, Emperor Chandragupta wanted to drastically cut down his forces since for a long time no one attacked the Mighty Mauryan Empire, so maintaining the gigantic forces is just wastage of the resources of the State Exchequer, which could have been used for other developmental work. He asked his mentor Mahamati Chanakya about his idea, to which his mentor replied in the following lines. This is such a treatise that is the summary of all policies of Statecraft for time immemorial.

The Mauryan soldier neither enriches the Royal Treasuries nor fill the Royal Granaries, NEITHER he does any of the following....

-      He does not himself carry out trade and commerce nor produce scholars, thinkers, littérateurs, artistes, artisans, sculptors, architects, craftsmen, doctors and administrators.

-      He does not himself build roads and ramparts nor dig wells and reservoirs.

-      He does not himself write poetry and plays, paint or sculpt, nor delve in metaphysics, arts and sciences.

-      He does not do any of this directly as he is neither gifted, trained nor mandated to do so.

But he DOES something which silently helps the whole of the kingdom to run in order, below is something which happens because of the strong Mauryan Armed Forces:

- The tax, tribute and revenue collectors travel far and wide unharmed and return safely;

- The farmer tills, grows, harvests, stores and markets his produce unafraid of pillage & plunder;

- The trader, merchant and moneylender function and travel across the length and breadth of the realm unmolested;

- The savant, sculptor, painter, maestro and master create works of art, literature, philosophy, astronomy and astrology in peace;

- The architect designs and builds his Vaastus without tension;

- The tutor (‘acharya’), the mentor (‘guru’) and the priest (‘purohit’) teach and preach in tranquility;

- The sages (‘rishis, munis, and tapaswees’) meditate and undertake penance in wordless silence;

- The doctor (‘vaidyaraja’) tends to the ill and the infirm well, adds to the pharmacopoeia, discovers new herbs and invents new medical formulations undisturbed;

- The mason, the bricklayer, the artisan, the weaver, the tailor, the jeweler, the potter, the carpenter, the cobbler, the cowherd (‘gopaala’) and the smith work unhindered;

- The mother, wife and governess go about their chores and bring up children in harmony and tranquility;

- The aged and the disabled are well taken care of, tended to and are able to fade away gracefully and with dignity; cattle graze freely without being lifted or harmed by miscreants.

Thus Mahamati Chanakya's sincere advise to the mighty Emperor Chandragupta Maurya the Great was: 

“What you see as Mauryan success today is nothing but the impact of the military might, the day this might withers, the kingdom would wither away as well”

In addition to that if ever the Mauryan soldier suffers, that would call for a doom for the Great Mauryan Empire, so beware.

"If ever things come to an extent when, on a given day, the Mauryan soldier has to LOOK BACK over his shoulder (Simha Awalokana) prompted by even a single worry about his and his family's material, physical  and social well being, it should cause you and your  Council the greatest concern and distress. I advise you to take instant note and act with utmost urgency to address the soldier's anxiety. It is my bounden duty to assure you, My Lord that the day when the Mauryan soldier has to demand his dues or, worse, plead for them, will neither have arrived overnight nor in vain. It will also bode ill for Magadha. For then, on that day, you, My Lord, you will have lost all moral sanction to be King! It will also be the beginning of the end of the Mauryan Empire!" 

Source:

-      - Kautilya Arthashastra

-      - Bratrihari Niti Shataka

-      - Excerpts from Kautilya  Arthashastra  by Air Marshal SG Inamdar