Army, Centre ties: Put the past behind

Considerable space has been claimed in recent weeks by a protracted public discussion on civil- military relations, with a broad consensus emerging that the ties between the country’s civilian leadership and the forces, particularly the Army, are in need of repair. But the way things have turned out on the whole, it may be best to move on while addressing some of the key questions that can be quantified, such as the filling of crucial inventory and ordnance gaps.

The sense that all may not be well was centred primarily on the dispute that arose between the Chief of Army Staff, General V. K. Singh, and the government, on the question of his date of birth as evident from official records. This was a matter that concerned an individual serving officer and not one that took in military questions or defence policy. And yet the issue gained an extraordinary profile, took surprising twists and turns, and gained astonishing momentum, thanks to the Army Chief’s decision to take the government to court. This was a trigger for many unrelated questions — some of them unseemly with suggestions of a military coup, others relating to allegations of corruption in defence purchases, and still others concerning the lack of defence preparedness — to be publicly aired.

But given the Chief’s posture, it may be time to put a closure on vague doubts and futile conjectures. Gen. Singh has now asserted in an interview that civil- military relations are good, throwing cold water on prognosis of diving ties between the government and our armed forces. He has also observed, “There is nothing wrong. I am on the same page as the government. We enjoy good relations, and I have no differences with the Raksha Mantri.” Nothing can be clearer than this. The statement is clearly intended to convey to all ranks that they need have no worries about the way the government approaches armed forces personnel. This is a gesture of statesmanship.

At the same time the Army Chief has pulled up “rogue elements of the bureaucracy” for “wanting to blow things up”. It is to be hoped that defence minister A. K. Antony will take the cue and staff his bailiwick with senior officials who are more sensitive to the legitimate needs and grievances of the services. Equally, the minister and the Chief should proceed to come down on the factionalism that appears to have crept into the top rungs of the Army. Senior political leaders of the country also need to show awareness of the sensitivity of the situation and not harp on “the deep trust deficit” in civil- military relations as BJP stalwart L. K. Advani has done in his blog. A bad past has to be put behind us.