Army and Nation draws on comprehensive data to explore how and why India has succeeded in keeping the military out of politics. It uncovers the command and control strategies, the careful ethnic balancing, and the political, foreign policy, and strategic decisions that have made the army safe for Indian democracy. Wilkinson goes further to ask whether, in a rapidly changing society, these structures will survive the current national conflicts over caste and regional representation in New Delhi, as well as India's external and strategic challenges.

This is one of the most important books to have appeared on the Indian armed forces.