The nation goes about its way of life nonchalantly even as dark ominous clouds build up due to the standoff with China at Doklam. The issueis now more than eight weeks old.
The Chinese and we Indians are two old civilizations and loss of face is considered a let-down for both the ancient civilizations, thus the question of who blinks first.  There are other ominous signs building up, Pakistan is increasing shelling on the line of control, and the rhetoric from China is getting louder and louder, a slight miscalculation and the situation may go out of hand.
To the man on the spot, morale and commander’s intent matter, thus it is the time to stand up and be counted with our men and women in uniform. National will has a simple definition and that is the degree with which a nation supports the action of its government in war and peace. The Chinese rhetoric called for three stage psychological warfare, which is certainly building national will, while a studied silence from New Delhi is giving an air of calm.
National will is a vital component of national power, but it takes time to build it up. National will can be built up through formal methods like the ballot box or through informal methods, currently radio, television, newspaper, and social media will play a part.

Has “national will”, got a link with morale of the forces in a short duration war? Certainly not, as events move rather fast. The armed forces are well insulated and morale ever high to take on any threats. Over a period of time it adds up when men and women in uniform come home on leave and inter act with the environment and go back to active service, they carry signals of national will.
Thus those of us who get a chance a meet the service personal now during these trying days must display a positive national will.  Morale in military terms is unit cohesion which generally stays high.

The intricacies of fighting a two front war are going to be very demanding on commanders and historically armies may wage a two front battle but two front wars are disadvantageous to the defender in the long run. Military history bears testimony to the fact that two front wars are best avoided.
Morale comes with confidence and military power comes from the barrel of a gun. One of the actions of the Ministry of Defence to open up the purse strings for ammunition is a good sign; the effect may take some time in reaching the man on the spot.
Most of us veterans have some time or the other in our professional careers come across such adverse situations, but this time it’s a little different. The difference arises from our complacency that “all is well”. The average person looks at the international picture and the local tactical picture, in between lie shades of grey and that is where the problem lies.
India maintains a studied silence diplomatically yet on the other hand even at the cost of being an alarmist those of us who do per chance meet and greet military personnel must display positive national will. Small actions during the upcoming festivals will definitely send very positive signs.
(The writer is an Indian Army veteran who has authored books Gorkha: In Search Of Identity and Gorkha: Society and Politics)