• People ask me, 'How come your friend JJ spends so much time and energy on the special forces?', which got more attention during your time. I tell them he commanded the Marathas -- and all of Shivaji's doctrine was special forces, special operations.

Yes, light forces that came in from unexpected directions at unexpected times and broke contact after striking. He was very successful at irregular warfare, if I may say so. The huge monolithic army he was fighting found it couldn't match his speed.

• But at times our army finds itself at the other end of the equation. It has to fight people who are nimble, who break contact quickly.

There's a saying, 'To beat a guerrilla, you have to be a guerrilla yourself.' Our training schools and pre-induction schools teach our soldiers about this.

• How did you focus on the special forces? What did you do for them?

In the future we will need more and more special forces -- special forces in the real meaning of the word. Not really commandos, but those that operate behind the lines. They need very special equipment and we are on the way to getting that. Modernisation is a continuous process and I have achieved something in my tenure.

• If I may say so, the Americans have been of great help.

They have some equipment and I think in a few years our special forces will be well-equipped. As it is, in performance, they are the best in the world.

... contd.