This study explores the evolution of Indian defence policy since 1947. The author examines the domestic dynamics of the issue, concluding that India's defence policy is designed more as one aspect of the quest for great power status than as an attempt to acquire security at an affordable price.

Part 1 Introduction. Part 2 India - regional security from Aryan times to the present: from the Aryans to the British - the legacy of invasion; independence, partition and the war of 1947; statehood and insecurity; Indian security perceptions and international politics; territorial integrity and the threat from the north-west; Pakistan - limitations and capabilities; India's national security problems and Sri Lanka; the Himalayan kingdoms and Bangladesh; the China question; the Indian Ocean; domestic, regional and international - India and the seamless web of security. Part 3 Defence policy and practice - 1947-62: introduction; defence before independence; independence and the formation of defence policy; the blackett report; the Indian army; the Indian air force; the Indian navy; actors and institutions - the dynamics of defence policy; conclusion. Table 3.l Selected Indian air force and royal air force procurement, 1946-61; Table 3.2 Military expenditure and procurement of sophisticated armament in India and Pakistan, 1948-62. Part 4 From humiliation to regional hegemony - the maturing of defence policy, 1962-80: the sino-Indian war of 1962; defence policy; the 1964 rearmament programme; the strengthening of Soviet-Indian relations; the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war - consolidation and a new direction; the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war - the third round; the Soviet Union and India - burgeoning dependency; the Janata period - reduced dependency and increased procurement; Indian defence policy, 1962-80 - answers in search of problems. Part 5 Indian arms imports - 1980-88: the new cold war and South Asia; the Indian response; the Indian army; the Indian navy; the Indian air force; procurement in search of a policy? Part 6 India's defence sector, 1988-91 - the gravy train derailed: 1988 - the end of an era; the Indian economy and the road to debt; the defence sector in the late 1980s; the end of the rupee - rouble trade; India enters the arms bazaar. Part 7 Indigenous defence production - the failure of policy implementation: indigenous defence production in the South; making the commitment; indigenous production for the army; indigenous production for the navy; indigenous production for the air force; the light combat aircraft - forward to the past?; indigenous defence production - unfulfilled expectations. Part 8 Nuclear weapons and delivery systems: India and nuclear weapons - the early years; India and nuclear policy before the non-proliferation treaty. Part contents.

'The book certainly stimulates debate on the direction of India's defence policy since 1947. But it also underlines that many other countries will have to consider their own in the coming years. His thesis is clear: India could have achieved adequate defence at much less cost.' Turkish Daily News `elegant and wide-ranging guide to the evolution of India's defence policies since Independence ... Much that it took me four and a half years there to learn (and fail to learn) about India's preoccupation with her own security is explained here with clarity and concision' The RUSI Journal `the work is very well documented and constitutes a very reliable guide to Indian defence' NOD & Conversion `Mr Chris Smith ... has written a truly seminal book ... this is an astoundingly insightful analysis of India's defence system.' Sunday Herald `Smith's contribution appears timely and significant. The approach is historical ... Smith makes a forceful and perceptive comment on the nature of India's defence posturing since independence ... The part India played in this transforming of attitude leading to the emergence of the `new thinking' is a substantial element of this volume ... well researched ... will certainly be of much interest to those concerned with the restructuring of India's priorities in the region especially in the light of the collapse of the Soviet Union.' Journal of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics `a very welcome addition to the literature on the defence planning and management in India .. this is a very useful and timely book for students of strategic studies in India.' Hindu `If India ends up going to war over Kashmir, Chris Smith's India's Ad Hoc Arsenal will help obervers understand in what manner, and with what weapons, the Indian military can fight. Smith provides a comprehensive review of all major Indian weapons acquisitions, a summary of India's military history since partition, and an evaluation of its various defense policies.' ORBIS `Smith does a great deal with published material and defence white papers. He provides a clear, very well organized, and frequently insightful discussion of the disarray into which Indian defence policy has fallen even as its spending has accelerated over the past three decades. His opening chapter on the geo-strategic setting of Indian defence over the centuries is a model of succinct yet penetrating analysis.' Small Wars and Insurgencies `Chris Smith, a researcher and lecturer of considerable experience, has written a detailed and illuminating account ... bringing the story up to date in an orderly and understandable fashion.' Army Quarterly and Defence Journal