The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), General Manoj Pande, who was to retire on May 31, has been given one month’s extension by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet under Army Rule 16A(4) of the Army Act, 1954. General Pande will now retire
on June 30.
The government has not done the right thing by giving General Pande a month’s extension, thereby making a senior commander wither away awaiting promotion. It is a step that may prompt senior military commanders to seek political favours; this move may politicise the military in some form.
In the national interest, the military should not be subjected to undesirable political interference for extending favours to some.
Undoubtedly, it is the government’s prerogative to select any person for a particular job. However, in the military, seniority matters a lot and is highly revered. Seniority in the defence forces forms the bedrock of tradition and discipline.
At such a senior level, where the service chief is selected from the pool of three or four top ranking officers, merit is never in question because all these officers have reached the top assumedly because of their competence. Then, seniority remains the sole criteria for selecting the top-most ranking officer of the
concerned force.
In India, the tradition mostly has been to appoint the senior-most General cadre officer after the incumbent service chief as the successor. But there have been instances in the past when seniority has been overlooked and a junior officer superseded senior officers to become the COAS.
Most recent example of it is former COAS and Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), late General Bipin Rawat. He superseded Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi, then the senior-most Army commander. There was disappointment in the officer cadre.
In fact, selection of General Rawat’s successor, after his unfortunate demise in a helicopter crash, also
raised eyebrows. The current CDS, General Anil Chauhan had retired as a Lieutenant General, and was working under the National Security Adviser.
His elevation to the post of CDS did not go down well in the military circles as a three star general was picked to head three four star general ranking officers from the army, air force and the navy.
Such apparent manipulation needs to be avoided in the best interests of the military and the country.
In the long run, the practice of superseding high-ranking officers for political motives will have an adverse effect on the military’s top leadership quality, which can have a bearing on national security. Hence, military is one field which must be kept insulated from politics.
Political jostling in appointments to higher ranks will do lasting damage to the military. Consequently, failure in war can lead to unimaginable disaster. No country/region knows more than India about the fallout of military defeats spread over centuries.
Also, one can’t understand as to why should the government delay till the last moment announcement of the name of the next incumbent of such an important position as late as a few weeks before retirement of the present incumbent. It must be announced minimum three months before for smooth handing/taking over and to avoid any glitches.
Such last minute supersession, if that is true, will definitely cast gloom in the officer cadre, especially in higher echelon and also to rank and file.
The military administration is closely knit. Even the smallest of the incident has a big repercussion.
In the entire military hierarchy the place of the Chief is the most venerated, taken as the guardian of the country. While people may not know the name of the cabinet secretary, they mostly know the name of COAS. One wrong move by him will have a catastrophic effect. We experienced it in 1962.
When COAS Prem Nath Thapar and the GOC-in-C Eastern Command, Lt Gen P L Sen, responsible for fighting against Chinese, could not measure up to Prime Minister Nehru to stop his utopian forward policy without proper preparation.
The army was shattered by the wrong policy of government and senior level of Army officers. The result was heavy defeat at the hands of the Chinese Liberation Army.
The Chief must be a person who can take a stand against the controversial decision of the government even at the cost of the job. But unfortunately they may lose their way in between.
At a time when we are surrounded by hostile neighbours and expecting a two-front war, the last thing we want is a demoralised force.
Modi Government is particularly tampering with defence forces – firstly by introducing most unpopular and damaging defence recruitment policy, Agniveer, which is demotivating soldier level recruitment and secondly, by tampering with selection process of the COAS. This government seems to be playing with fire.
