In the Indian capital this week, retired Wing Commander Pushkal Vijay Dwivedi, a decorated Air Force officer and respected strategist, presented what he calls the “2.75 Warfare Doctrine.” Speaking before educators, bureaucrats, and policymakers at a conference of the Bhartiya Shiksha Anusandhan Parishad, where he serves as Director General, Dwivedi unveiled a framework that blends military preparedness with civilizational renewal.
His message went beyond conventional defense thinking. It was the articulation of a larger national narrative: security strategy woven into the cultural and institutional destiny of the nation.
From 2.5 War to 2.75 War
India’s late Chief of Defense Staff, General Bipin Rawat, once spoke of a “two-and-a-half front war”—a scenario involving simultaneous conflict with China and Pakistan, alongside half a war against internal extremism.
Dwivedi expands this framework further, identifying 2.75 fronts:
•China (1 front)
•Pakistan (1 front)
•Internal extremist forces (0.5 front)
•And an additional quarter front (.25)—the fight against what he terms anti-Sanatani governance, administrative, and institutional structures that India inherited from Mughal rulers and British colonialists.
This “quarter-front war,” he argued, is not fought on borders but within classrooms, courtrooms, and ministries—a battle against what he calls “mental colonization” that still permeates Indian systems.
The .25 Factor: The Hidden War
According to Dwivedi, the .25 factor is the most insidious of all. Its origins lie in discriminatory taxation and forced conversions under the Mughals, followed by British policies that divided Indian society by caste and imposed Macaulay’s education system.
These legacies, he argues, survive in today’s bureaucracy, judiciary, and academia, creating a persistent anti-Sanatani bias that weakens the majority culture from within.
“Unless India first wins the .25 war—by decolonizing governance and education—we cannot fully secure ourselves against external adversaries,” Dwivedi said.
Education as the Spearhead
For Dwivedi, education reform is the most urgent front. He attributes India’s alienation from its roots to Lord Macaulay’s colonial model, which, in his words, produced generations of “brown Englishmen—Indians by blood but Western in thought.”
He highlighted the formation of the Bhartiya Shiksha Board as a landmark reform. This national school body is tasked with replacing the colonial framework with curricula rooted in Indian languages, traditions, and knowledge systems. As DG of the Parishad, Dwivedi has played a role in shaping this vision. Notably, an all-new subject, Self Defence Science, conceptualised by him, has been introduced from Class I to Class XII—signaling the integration of cultural confidence with practical modern needs.
Backward Victory: Reversing the Wars
Dwivedi advances a striking strategy he calls “Backward Victory”:
1.First, win the .25 war—remove colonial-era biases.
2.Then, defeat the 0.5 war—neutralize internal extremist forces.
3.Finally, confront external adversaries—China and Pakistan—once India is internally united.
This sequencing, he argues, is crucial for ensuring strategic autonomy. India’s strength, he believes, rests on independent decision-making, which could mean reluctance to align entirely with U.S. positions in conflicts involving China, even while opposing Beijing in its own region.
Given Dwivedi’s senior background and his network within defense and governance circles, observers believe his doctrine could influence future national policies. If India consolidates unity by winning the .25 war, it could emerge as a far more confident, nationalist actor in South Asia—reshaping its ties not only with Pakistan and China but also with global partners.
A Nationalist Mood in New Delhi
The conference’s mood reflected more than a military discussion; it echoed a broader nationalist awakening. In recent years, the government has introduced sweeping reforms: scrapping colonial-era penal codes and replacing them with the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Bharatiya Suraksha Sanhita, while education policy has been reoriented toward “Indian knowledge systems.”
As one Western academic in attendance observed: “It feels like India is beginning to shed its colonial skin. The 2.75 war may be a metaphor, but the battle for India’s soul is real.”
India at a Civilizational Crossroads
Dwivedi’s intervention represents a wider intellectual trend: the belief that national security and governance cannot be separated from cultural self-assertion.
For India’s international partners, the implications are significant. A nation that defines its challenges in terms of decolonization and civilizational identity is unlikely to replicate Western liberal models. Instead, it seeks to carve a distinctly Indian path.
As Dwivedi suggested, India’s next great war may not be fought with tanks or fighter jets, but with textbooks, administrative reforms, and a renewed sense of cultural pride.
