No single face to name the fight,

It creeps along, unseen at night.

In this war, no front lines stand,

The battlefield is every land.

Hybrid warfare, sly and sly,

Where tactics shift, and boundaries lie.

A blend of old, a twist of new,

In every shade of grey, it gradually grew.

Hybrid warfare is defined as the use of a combination of conventional and non-conventional tools of warfare. Conventional warfare is the typical kind of war where countries openly fight with each other using traditional weapons and battle strategies. In contrast, non-conventional tactics include things like economic pressure, cyber-attacks, individual attacks, encouraging local protests, and using financial strategies like debt to gain control.

China's 'Debt trap diplomacy' against the countries and forcing them to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI); ISI's activities in Syria and Iraq; Russia's actions in Ukraine in 2014; propaganda against our country (Bharat) by influencers on social media are some of the examples of hybrid war fare.

It aims to target areas which are highly vulnerable and seek maximum damage with minimum effort. It usually involves non-state actors in subversive roles supported by the states.

Reason for Resorting to Hybrid Warfare-

1. Difficult to trace: It is difficult to trace the origin of the hybrid attack, such as cyber-attack from non-state actors outside the country, and lone wolf attacks (A lone wolf attack is a mass murder carried out by a single individual in a public setting. The perpetrator plans and executes the attack without the help of a terrorist organization or government).

2. Difficult to hold accountability for an attack: Hybrid warfare intentionally exploits ambiguity, creativity, and our understanding of war to make attacks less 'visible', hence it is very difficult to react after an attack and take a necessary action.

3. Target Vulnerable areas: Hybrid warfare target vulnerability in society. For instance, in 2014 the Russian hacker group Cyber Berkut exploited cyber vulnerabilities like routers, software and hard drives of the Ukrainian National Election Commission to undermine the credibility of the elections.

4. Attack on political sovereignty: Hybrid attacks can be used to change the power center in a country with the help of non-state actors, supporting local rebellions without directly engaging in war. Recent incidence of Bangladesh can be categorized under it.

5. Expands the horizon of warfare: It provides enough flexibility to indulge in warfare, internally as well as externally. For instance, China's cyber-attack resulted in a power cut in Mumbai, at the same time, it created pressure along the border of Eastern Ladakh. So, this can be threating internally as well as externally

6. Long-term war strategy: Hybrid warfare is less visible and has fewer casualties with less cost hence it can be used as a long-term strategy to destabilize the enemy nation, similar to slow poison.

7. Means of Psychological warfare: It uses platforms like social media to ideologically attract local youth against their own government. This tactic is used by Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir (must read about Kashmiri Hindu Genocide- Our Moon Has Blood Clots- A book dedicated on the same incident).

Potential Threats to India-

1. New forms of terrorist attacks: New forms of threats such as State sponsored lone wolf attack, creation of 'sleeper cell', attacks on railway and other critical infrastructure.

2. Cyber-attacks: Targeting government networks and databases along with attacking digital critical infrastructure. For example, the recent power outage in Mumbai due to a cyber-attack by China and attack on Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu

3. Interference in democratic processes: Use of techniques from campaigning through the media and social networks to securing financial resources for a political group that may indirectly influence the outcome of an election process.

4. Disturbing social fabric: Strategies such as disinformation, fake news and yellow journalism (a style of newspaper reporting that sensationalizes and exaggerates news to attract readers and increase circulation) can be used to propagate communal sentiments. This might cause disturbance in society, hampering the unity and integrity of the country.

Solution-

1. Holistic government approach: It refers to joint activities performed by all stakeholders, at all levels of governance to build confidence in local people and save them from false propaganda.

2. Active participation of civilians: It is not possible for the Indian army and law enforcement agencies to deal with all threats hence there is a need for a civilian force with a proper mandate which involves members from all backgrounds like engineering, medicine, administration, and diplomacy to deal on multiple fronts.

3. Regularly checking sector-specific vulnerability: For instance, periodic vulnerability checking of IT infrastructure, and social vulnerability in areas like Jammu and Kashmir.

4. Modernizing armed forces: Indian armed forces and police forces need to train for special battle techniques, use of technologies like drones, Use of social media for early threat perceptions and sensitize armed forces to local issues.

5. Infrastructure building: Building cyber and critical infrastructure, infrastructure to fight against AI warfare with dedicated cyber-wing in forces is the need of hours.

6. Strengthening democracy: Strengthening democratic ideals like equality, freedom, and free and fair election are major ways to fight against different tactics of hybrid warfare.

7. Media and mass literacy: Media plays a major role in spreading information and educating masses. Indian media has been criticized for paid news and yellow journalism. Hence the government needs to help the media with resources to investigate sources of information without hampering their autonomy.

Conclusion-

In conclusion, hybrid warfare represents a modern and multifaceted approach to conflict, blending traditional military force with unconventional tactics such as cyber-attacks, economic coercion, disinformation, and the use of proxy forces. This complex mix allows states and non-state actors to achieve strategic objectives without engaging in full-scale war, often creating confusion, disrupting societies, and undermining international stability. As hybrid threats continue to evolve, it is crucial for India to adapt its defence strategies, strengthen resilience across military and civilian sectors, and foster international cooperation to counter these unconventional and often unpredictable forms of warfare.

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