The row over the appointment of the next Army chief is motivated by the personal interests of one individual. It violates time-tested systems of the Army and is damaging to the military’s organisational integrity
But for the mischievous intervention by former Chief of Army Staff General VK Singh, lately inducted into the BJP, in the naming of the next COAS, this column would not have been necessary. The selection and appointment of this high office must never be exposed to politicisation. True to form, Gen Singh has not just encouraged his party to protest the Government’s intention and right to appoint the next Chief but also question the suitability of the present Vice Chief of Army Staff and senior-most lieutenant General, Dalbir Singh Suhag, for the job. The party has roped in the ever ready and unpredictable Subramanian Swamy, another recent (re)-inductee in the BJP, to carry the protest to President Pranab Mukherjee, the ceremonial Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. Meanwhile, both Mr Swamy and Gen Singh have taken to the media in denigrating lt Gen Suhag. When in office, Gen Singh was at his wiliest best in unsuccessfully preventing Gen Bikram Singh, and later, lt Gen Suhag, from becoming the COAS, so that his samdhi, lt Gen Ashok Singh, could reach the pinnacle.
The BJP sadly is being guided by a person who has inflicted considerable damage to the aura and image of the Indian Army as well as the office of COAS. He’s been telling the BJP leadership that were he to be made the next Defence Minister, he will clean the stables because he understands what’s wrong with it. This is a case of the blind leading the blind, so God help the Ministry of Defence.
Just to remind the BJP: Barely days before the party demitted office, on May 11, 2004, it announced the appointment of Admiral Arun Prakash as Chief of Naval Staff. Not a murmur was heard then about the propriety of the announcement or the calibre of Adm Prakash. The present row is singularly motivated by the personal interest of an individual. This is against the organisational and greater good of the Army and its time-tested procedures and systems in selecting suitable lt Gens to become Army chiefs. Since 1905, well before Independence and afterwards, seniority has determined the selection.
The appointment of the COAS is a political decision and the prerogative of the Government, but certainly without its politicisation. The culprit, historically in trying to manipulate the seniority principle, has been the Indian National Congress; meddling in promotions and appointments was former Defence Minister Krishna Menon’s forte. Probably the first instance when the seniority rule was technically breached was the extension of Gen Gopal Bewoor’s term to apparently sideline the vibrant and dynamic Victoria Cross winner, lt Gen Prem Bhagat, who was sent to the Damodar Valley Corporation. He died prematurely, nursing a grudge, as Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had told him he would become the next chief.
The line of succession having been broken, the Kashmiri General, TN Raina, became the COAS. If Indira Gandhi had hoped to curry favour with him, she was disappointed. During the Emergency, competing election rallies demanded resources and crowds. Defence Minister Bansi lal wanted the Army to provide water trucks, with its military symbols removed, and soldiers, in civilian clothes, for water duties at India Gate for a mammoth Congress rally. Gen Raina, of course, refused to oblige.
The only clear-cut case of supersession post-Independence was that of lt Gen SK Sinha when his ‘inside knowledge’ of the military and the MoD — he held an appointment at every rank in Army Headquarters — petrified the bureaucracy and the political class. The Government used the pretext of Gen Arun Shridhar Vaidya’s gallantry awards for bypassing lt Gen Sinha, who resigned. Gen Krishna Rao, who succeeded Gen Vaidya, became famous in his own right as an upright soldier, though he did break protocol by inviting Rajiv Gandhi, then an ordinary Member of Parliament, to be seated in the front row at an Army Day parade. While Rajiv Gandhi did not refuse his special treatment, Gen Rao himself later served several terms as Governor in Jammu & Kashmir and the North-East. After the 1965 war, External Affairs Minister Swaran Singh had wanted lt Gen Harbaksh Singh to become the COAS, but Indira Gandhi did not wish to supersede Gen Sam Manekshaw.
There are stories about how the post-independence vintage of senior officers zealously upheld the principle of seniority. When the first Indian Army chief was to be appointed, after the British General, Sir Charles Hamilton Boucher, demitted office, Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was not impressed with Field Marshal KM Cariappa. The senior-most and anglicised officer still had ‘very close links with the Pakistan Army’ and, as military and civil intelligence had reported, several ‘inappropriate contacts with Pakistani officers’. Instead, Gen Rajindersinhji’s name was proposed. When Gen Rajindersinhji heard about it, he came to Delhi, met Jawaharlal Nehru and told him that he could not supercede his senior. The matter was settled, and later, Gen Rajindersinghji succeeded Field Marshal Cariappa. Similarly, Gen SM Shrinagesh offered to forego his two-year term as the COAS so that Gen Rajindersinghji could continue in office on an extended tenure of four years, so that he would have the time ‘to get things done’. At the time, there was no vilification or vendetta... they were officers and gentlemen.
Fast forward. According to the grapevine, Defence Minister AK Antony will not allow the line of succession, that his Ministry has protected, to be broken. Gen Bikram Singh is to retire on July 31. His appointment, along with Admiral Nirmal Verma of the Navy, was made a clear three months in advance. Gen VK Singh himself got more than two months’ notice. All service chiefs-designate invariably get a minimum two to three months to familiarise themselves with the environment, which includes operational and administrative briefings and working with the incumbent. The selection procedure and its processing requires a minimum of two months which includes elaborate intelligence and ministerial clearances before the panel of names is forwarded to the Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet. Assuming the new Government is formed on May 17, working backwards it would require even by telescoping the process, three to four months. As Gen Bikram Singh retires on July 31, the new Government will have a little over two months, which is not enough.
The Government is expected to make the legitimate announcement next week. No political capital will be gained, except satisfaction of political ego, especially after being told not to do it. Saner leaders in the BJP must order closure of the witch-hunt and gracefully accept the writing on the wall.
