The Army has initiated the process to induct Mandarin experts into the Territorial Army (TA), with a notification issued on Sunday inviting applications for six vacancies — five civilians and one ex-service officer. This follows a recent effort by the Army to increase the number of Mandarin speakers as well as offer courses in Tibetology for officers posted along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to orient them in Tibetan culture, traditions and practices.
The Army has recently obtained requisite approvals to induct Mandarin trained personnel in the TA, an Army official said. “With recalibration of the Indian Army’s strategic outlook towards the northern borders, the Indian Army has upscaled its Chinese language training and has synergistically enmeshed appropriate scaling of Chinese linguists within its overall strategy,” he added.
Stating that a slew of measures has been undertaken to improve its in-house Mandarin expertise, the official said the aim was to empower junior and senior military commanders to engage with People’s Liberation Army (PLA) personnel as and when the situation arose. “With improved Mandarin skills, Indian Army personnel will be better empowered to convey their points in a much more cogent manner,” the official noted.
Shortage of language experts in the Army has been repeatedly flagged in the past. Chinese language experts are a functional requirement at a tactical level and are required for providing analysis at the operational and strategic level while catering for futuristic needs and maintaining adequate redundancy at all levels, officials observed.
Since the beginning of the stand-off in eastern Ladakh, the two Armies have been regularly interacting at various levels to maintain peace and tranquility on the ground. In this regard, one official said that more Mandarin experts are required for better exchange of own viewpoints and understanding the PLA’s version of their activities during various interactions such as Corps Commander-level talks, flag meetings, joint exercises and border personnel meetings.
The Army has concluded Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) with the Rashtriya Raksha University, the Central University of Gujarat and the Shiv Nadar University for imparting Mandarin proficiency to its personnel. This is in addition to various Mandarin language courses being run at the Northern, Eastern and Central Commands as also increasing the vacancies at the Army’s Training School at Pachamarhi and the School of Foreign Languages, Delhi, the official explained.
Proficiency level testing of trained soldiers is being conducted through civilian institutes like the Langma School of Languages, New Delhi to assess the competence level of linguists in accordance with international standards, the official further explained.
The Indian Army now has a significant pool of Mandarin-qualified personnel drawn from all ranks, one of the officials added.
