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In an era where perception defines power as much as firepower, the Indian Army’s Southern Command has taken a pioneering step to institutionalise India’s national effort toward narrative dominance. Its recent two-day seminar, ASCEND 2025 (Aligning Strategic Communication for Enduring Narrative Dominance), held at RSAMI, Pune, over the weekend, marked a significant stride in shaping India’s strategic communication framework for the information age.
Conceived as more than a military event, ASCEND 2025 represents an effort to bridge the gap between operational success, national messaging, and global perception, an idea that gained clarity during Operation Sindoor, where coordinated information handling amplified the operation’s strategic outcomes. The lessons from Sindoor now form the foundation for a broader institutional rethink on how India projects its story at home and abroad.
Narrative as a Pillar of National Security
Delivering the keynote address, Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command, underlined that strategic communication has become a core function of national security. He noted that India’s story must remain “rooted in truth, anchored in our values, and aligned with firm actions” to achieve enduring narrative dominance.
The seminar’s focus on aligning communication with national power resonated strongly with the broader vision of Viksit Bharat @2047, where information superiority and cognitive resilience will be as crucial as military readiness.
From Operation Sindoor to Cognitive Preparedness
The significance of ASCEND 2025 stems from the Army’s recognition that the next battles will be fought as much in the information domain as on the battlefield. During Operation Sindoor, the Indian Army’s ability to synchronise communication, control the narrative, and counter misinformation set a precedent. Its briefings to global military leaders during the ongoing Army Chiefs’ Conclave of UN Troop Contributing Nations further underscored India’s emerging competence in this arena.
The experience reinforced the need to develop a Unified National Strategic Communication Framework that ensures coordinated action among the military, government, and civil institutions to clearly and confidently project India’s strategic intent.
A National Dialogue on Strategic Communication
The fireside chat between Alok Joshi, Chairman, National Security Advisory Board (NSAB), and senior journalist and defence strategist Nitin Gokhale, offered critical insights into India’s evolving information environment. Joshi called for a whole-of-government approach and a national roadmap for building communication resilience. Gokhale highlighted how fragmented messaging and delayed response mechanisms often allow adversarial narratives to dominate, stressing the need for trained communicators, data-driven influence tools, and cultural coherence in storytelling.
The seminar’s panels, chaired by former R&AW Chief Vikram Sood and Lt Gen Gautam Moorthy (Retd), tackled themes ranging from countering misinformation and hostile propaganda to integrating emerging technologies like AI and data analytics into information operations. Mayank Sharma, Financial Advisor (Defence Services), shared empirical insights from his research on the economics of influence and strategic communication in national power projection.
Institutionalising Strategic Communication
What makes ASCEND 2025 distinct is its effort to move beyond academic discussion and build institutional coherence in India’s approach to communication. Participants across the spectrum, from defence and media to academia and policy, agreed that cognitive preparedness must become an integral part of leadership training and strategic planning.
The seminar, organised in collaboration with the Pune International Centre (PIC) and the Centre for Advanced Studies in Current & Strategic Affairs (CASA), concluded with a consensus: strategic communication must be institutionalised as a core component of national power, not treated as an afterthought to military or diplomatic operations.
A Defining Step Towards Narrative Resilience
ASCEND 2025 represents the Indian Army’s growing recognition that wars of the future will be fought not just with weapons, but with words, ideas, and information. By initiating a national dialogue on strategic communication, Southern Command has positioned itself at the forefront of India’s cognitive security effort, ensuring that the nation’s story is told, understood, and believed on its own terms.
As India moves towards 2047, this initiative reflects a maturing understanding of power in the information age, one where narrative dominance is as decisive as battlefield victory.
ASCEND 2025 is not merely a seminar. It is the beginning of a national journey, towards owning India’s story, protecting its truth, and projecting its strength with conviction.
Team BharatShakti
