War sells! Robot’s don’t

Short Story: Their concept note said that cross-border firing could be stopped if India and Pakistan agreed to substitute firing with elaborate war games, which could be played online. Instead of expending expensive ammunition and equipment, the generals on the two sides could test their strategies and flex their muscles, tanks, jets and bombs, in the online game, watched eagerly by the masses… No bloodshed. No casualties.

By Ajith Pillai

When Dr Anita Jacob was summoned by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for a meeting on May 11, the date's significance was not lost on her. As head of the Humanoid Military Project (HMP), she knew that it was exactly three years ago, to the day, that India achieved total ‘robotisation’ of its armed forces. It was a momentous occasion celebrated across the country with the PM announcing to the world that “India would no longer have to sacrifice human lives to defend its borders” and that this “noble task would henceforth be left to the care of our brave robot warriors”.

A month later, Pakistan responded by claiming “robotic parity”. It declared that its army, navy, and air force would also be manned by humanoids, which had been developed with the help of cutting-edge Chinese technology. A defence spokesperson in Islamabad even went so far as to declare that “Pakistan’s robot soldiers and pilots were better equipped for combat roles than their Indian counterparts because of superior design which ensured sharper mobility and response during operations”.

Dr Jacob recalled the fiery exchanges between New Delhi and Islamabad on the relative superiority of their robot armies. Thankfully, the matter was resolved after an international team of experts assessed the capabilities of both militaries and concluded that they were evenly matched.

Those were indeed hectic days when Dr Jacob was kept on her toes. She had numerous press briefings to attend, where she had to explain the robotisation programme and clarify concerns about it. Chief among them was that creating robot militaries would lead to prolonged and ruthless wars, resulting in enormous civilian casualties.

Luckily for her, with peace prevailing on the Indo-Pak border—save a few skirmishes—discussions soon petered out. Dr Jacob no longer had to field questions from the media or participate in discussions with anti-war activists. She could devote her time to her first passion—research and development.

She figured next week's meeting would probably be a review of the robotisation programme. A few casual calls confirmed that the defence minister and the chiefs of the army, navy and air force would indeed attend it. Since she would be the only technical person present, Dr Jacob took notes to help her chart what had been achieved and detail the work underway to update the skills of humanoids serving in the three forces.

“Please remember to bring up the topic of the soldier who can function for 1000 hours without recharging,” Chirag, her research assistant, reminded her as she boarded her robot-copter to attend the meeting on Thursday morning.

Dr Jacob reviewed the points she would raise at the meeting as the craft navigated through the crowded aerial traffic. Much of it was run-of-the-mill stuff, but what she looked forward to was unveiling a new proposal put together by her team of robot strategists. It was tentatively called WMS (War Minus Shooting).

Robot Jameel and Robot Ganesh, who headed the team, had recorded in their concept note that cross-border firing could be stopped if India and Pakistan agreed to substitute firing with elaborate war games, which could be played online.

“Instead of wasting robots and expending expensive ammunition and equipment, the generals on the two sides could test their strategies and flex their muscles, tanks, jets and bombs, and at the end of the game, one side could be declared the winner by judges appointed by the UN. Minus the shooting, there will be no loss of human lives, and people on either side of the border could live in peace and harmony,” Jameel and Ganesh had concluded.

Dr Jacob was impressed by the idea. Jameel-Ganesh had taken it a step further by contacting their counterparts in Islamabad, who gave the concept their thumbs up. It was left to the political masters on both sides to call off future wars and encourage sporting encounters between the generals, which could be shown live for public consumption.

Her thoughts about the war games were interrupted by the copter touching down at the helipad near South Block, where the PMO was located. She was escorted in a special vehicle to the highly secured office complex on arrival.

Within ten minutes of her being seated in the conference room, the PM made his entry. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he quickly got down to business. It did not take long for Dr Jacob to realise that the meeting was not the informal get-together she thought it would be. Instead, it was a crucial review that could, perhaps, even decide the fate of the military’s robotisation programme.

She got a hint of what was in store when General Ram Lakhan Bakshi, the Chief of Army Staff, made his opening remarks. As usual, he was cut and dry. The robotisation programme, in its present form, he declared, was a dismal failure. The feedback from field commanders was not very encouraging. The consensus was that robots were best suited for auxiliary duties and could not be part of the strike force.

“I know,” he said, turning to Dr Jacob, “that those who have invested their sweat and toil to raise the humanoid army will be disappointed with this assessment. But robots, I am afraid, cannot replace human soldiers on the front. They can at best assist and value-add to our effort. In fact, after giving it some serious thought, I am beginning to veer around to the view that there are far too many negatives when you leave the business of war completely to machines.”

He was promptly supported by the Air Chief, who had this to add: “Humanoid pilots are perfect and effective for commercial operations. But when it comes to war, you must make tactical decisions in seconds. In such a situation, when directions from the ground are delayed, a human pilot will be far more effective in responding.”

Faced by the onslaught, Dr Jacob expressed surprise. She pointed out that this was the first time she had received negative feedback since the programme became operational three years ago. “Ever since the deployment of robot armies by India and Pakistan, there has been a de-escalation along the border between the two countries. Civilian casualties have been at an all-time low. The international community has been all praise for the initiative. The guns have even gone silent on the Chinese front. So where is the problem?” she said in defence of her programme.

At this, General Bakshi launched into how the presence of robots was impacting the army's morale. The Chief of Naval Staff supported him: “While undoubtedly the deployment of robots along the borders and in operating defence air systems and warships would cut lives lost in the event of war and peacetime operations, it would also considerably reduce human participation and involvement in the armed forces. In the long run, this would affect the morale of the forces. Why, even high-ranking officers have begun to fear the day when robots might replace them as strategists. We can’t let machines take over the military. The humanoid force must be disbanded forthwith!” he declared, his voice choking with emotion.

With the Naval Chief also throwing his weight behind this line of argument, it became clear to Dr Jacob that she was in a minority. However, she put up a stout defence.

It would have soon turned into an all-out war of words between her and the service chiefs, but for the intervention of the PM, who concluded the meeting by stating that a sensitive defence-related issue must be discussed dispassionately and at length before any decision is taken.

“We cannot disband the humanoid army we raised, as someone suggested. Neither can we suddenly reinstate the officers and men whose services we have terminated under the voluntary retirement scheme. We must first think things through before any decision is taken. And that decision must be in the best interest of the nation. Of course, we cannot ignore that Islamabad is also considering a similar decommissioning of its robot soldiers. However, we need not follow in Pakistan’s footsteps. What’s good for them does not always need to be good for us. We must consider why they are thinking along the current line…

“The long and short of what I am saying is this: the time has come for us to objectively evaluate the plusses and minuses of the robotisation programme without getting carried away. We must think with a calm mind and not reduce this exercise to a game of one-upmanship between the military and the Robotics Ministry. This matter concerns national security and must be addressed with all the seriousness it deserves--let us not bring our egos into it.”

The PM then scheduled a series of meetings, which domain experts and other stakeholders would attend. Meanwhile, he declared the present meeting concluded and invited everyone to a cup of tea and partake of the “delectable Gujarati snacks” being served.

TWO DAYS later, Dr Jacob was invited to the PM’s residence for a Sunday morning think session. The hand-delivered note did not specify the agenda but required her to be at 706,Mook Nayak Marg at 10 am on May 14.

She was there on the dot and, after going through security, was ushered into a study where the PM met visitors. “Welcome, Dr Jacob. You are the first to arrive. Make yourself comfortable—the others will be here soon,” an aide said, guiding her to her chair in the heavily furnished room.

“Do you know who the others are?” she politely enquired.

“Well, the defence minister, the home minister, the secretaries in the two ministries, the president of the Bhartiya Peoples Congress (BPC), and, of course, the prime minister,” he said.

Dr Jacob thought it was a pretty high-profile group. But where did she fit in? And why was the BPC president invited? Was there some major political decision to be made, or was this think session a precursor to that?

It was a good half an hour before the meeting began. It was dominated by two speakers—the PM and the BPC president, a swarthy, deep-voiced man known for his abrasive and crude rhetoric. The others in the room were reduced to silent listeners.

The PM started proceedings by outlining the concern expressed by the armed forces vis-à-vis the robotisation programme. “A few days ago, at a similar meeting attended by Dr Jacob, the army, navy, and air force chiefs had expressed their grave reservations about the continued deployment of humanoids in the three services. The chiefs were of the collective view that mechanical soldiers should be decommissioned and replaced by humans. But, before taking any decision, I thought it fit that some of you, including Dr Jacob, are enlightened about the impact of robotisation on the ground and the political price we have already paid through implementing the programme.

“It is for this reason that I have invited Vipin Shah, the honourable president of the BPC, to share his views. His input will be valuable since the political fallout must be factored into any policy decision or corrective measure the government will take. We are not here to blame anyone. On the contrary, we are all here to strengthen this great nation, which, more than anything else, requires the services of a fully motivated military.”

Shah took over. His presentation was chilling, to say the least.

Dr Jacob broke into a cold sweat as he spelt out the rationale for re-inducting humans into the armed forces. It was a cold and brutal speech, shorn of all niceties. This is how the party president started:

“I will not beat about the bush. Robots, being mere machines, are not technically citizens of any country. They are stateless. Hence, a war between two sets of machines is not the same as a battle between humans. You can’t have robot cricketers of one country competing against similar mechanical beings from another nation. It would stop being a real game. Similarly, war minus humans would be like a 3-D virtual reality show.”

He then noted that the robotisation programme has led to a serious job loss that the nation can ill afford. It is true, he said, that a reduced soldier strength eases pressure on the defence budget. Unlike humans, robots don’t require pensions or retirement benefits. Also, recharging is the only nutrition they need, and new humanoid recruits can be inducted fully programmed and trained. So, the party president admitted, it makes perfect economic sense. However, he added that the disruption caused is a serious issue when there is a massive demand for jobs.

“Despite the introduction of Universal Basic Income covering all citizens, it seems people want something to keep them occupied. And the military provides honourable employment,” he said.

Shah paused to take a sip of water from his glass, looked through his notes, and said that due weightage must be given to the fact that the Army has kept the very idea of India alive and throbbing since Independence. The Indian soldier, he said, stands for courage, sacrifice, and devotion to the nation. He or she is the very soul of what India is. No machine, however efficient, can replace the soul.

He emphasised that our forces and their role in nation-building are being negated without human participation. “It is true that super robots can walk, talk, think and even behave like humans. But machines cannot be heroes. They cannot be martyrs because it is beyond them to make the supreme sacrifice. A mechanical being or device is merely destroyed. It has no life force within it to have a biological ending.

To drive home this point, he refreshed the memory of those at the meeting about the public response to humanoid soldiers being shot down in skirmishes along the border with Pakistan last month. “The press reported it as bots neutralised in action. And when their mangled metal bodies were brought to Delhi for a state funeral, the crowd turnout was abysmally low. One columnist even described the scene as lacking in any emotion. In her words, it was almost “akin to the response one could have expected if destroyed equipment was being disposed of”.

Indeed, without heartbroken parents, wives, husbands, children, and mourning relatives, there was not even a solemn touch to the proceedings. Some environmental groups even demanded that the remains of the humanoids be sent for recycling!

Shah then raised his voice to emphasise the point that serious thought must be given to why Pakistan is also planning to revoke the robotisation of its military. Intelligence inputs from across the border suggest that it is for the very reason why India is considering a U-turn. The tepid media response to the recent parading in Islamabad of some of India’s humanoid pilots shot down over Pakistani airspace was what triggered a rethink.

“In the past, such an event would not only have attracted international attention, but we would also have demanded our aircrew back. But not this time. Our attitude was almost as if we didn’t care. We were more concerned about having lost our aircraft. That tells a story.”

He ended his presentation by reiterating the need to reinstate humans in the military. “Those officers and men forced into voluntary retirement must be recalled. New blood must be recruited, and the glory of our armed forces restored. We need fighting fit, patriotic and committed men and women in uniform—not robots. It is one thing to pin a medal on a living hero of a battle and another to decorate an inanimate piece of machinery,” Shah said in conclusion.

After the meeting concluded, Dr Jacob emerged shattered and speechless. As she mulled over all that had been discussed that morning, she realised that blood needed to be spilt to make political capital out of armed conflicts. Martyrs were required on this side of the border, and casualties on the other side. Politicians saw in war an opportunity to score victories and win elections. But the battles had to be won by heroes in flesh and blood, not by giant gun-wielding Lego warriors.

When she reached home, Dr Jacob was a changed person. She decided to quit her job as director of the Humanoid Military Project and dedicate her life to saving the world from ruthless war-hungry politicians. Perhaps, she could create robots to help her in that mission.

All characters and contexts in this short story is a work of fiction authored by the writer. The views expressed in this story solely belongs to the author, and do not necessarily reflect the editorial opinion of this media portal.

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A seasoned journalist working in the mainstream media profession for 40 years, Ajith Pillai has reported out of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Andhra Pradesh and Kashmir on a broad spectrum of events related to politics, crime, conflict and social change. He has worked with leading publications, including The Sunday Observer, Indian Post, Pioneer, The Week and India Today, where he headed the Chennai bureau. He was part of the team under Editor Vinod Mehta that launched Outlook magazine and headed its current affairs section till 2012. Under his watch, Outlook broke several stories that attracted national attention and questioned the government of the day. He has written two books—’Off the Record: Untold Stories from a Reporter’s Diary,’ and a novel, ’Junkland Journeys’. He is currently working on ’Obedient Editor’, a satirical novel on the life and times of a ‘compromised’ journalist. The short story presented here is from a collection that is awaiting publication.