India, Nov. 9 -- A recent opinion piece has raised alarms about an alleged "ideological fusion" within India's armed forces, accusing them of blurring the line between national defence and regime protection. It paints a dark picture of think tanks turned political platforms, of temple visits choreographed for optics, of military operations conveniently timed to aid electoral narratives. These are serious charges. Yet, on closer examination, what the critics describe as "ideological capture" is, in truth, the manifestation of an adaptive professionalism a military evolving to meet the demands of multi-domain warfare, technological change, and national integration in a democratic framework.

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