By Praven Davaar
There is no doubt, whatsoever, that choosing the Army Chief, or any other service chief, is the prerogative of the government. Then why so much hue and cry over the selection of Lt Gen Bipin Rawat as the next army chief? Over three decades ago, in 1983, when Gen AS Vaidya superseded Lt Gen SK Sinha there was an uproar but not as much, in fact nowhere near now, anger amongst both the serving senior officers and military veterans cutting across all arms and services. This includes the infantry including the Gorkha regiment, the unit of the army chief designate.
Despite the fact that today the electronic and social media call the shots, the number of articles, editorials and columns of ‘letter to editor’ that are commenting on the controversy is much more than what it was in 1983. It was, perhaps, due to the fact Gen Vaidya, winner of Mahavir Chakra twice- in 1965 and 1971- had much greater battle experience than Lt Gen Sinha who only held staff appointments in the wars of 1947-48, 1962, 1965 and 1971. The supersession was fully justified. Since I was commissioned in the cavalry regiment of Gen Vaidya, the Deccan Horse, my view may seem baised by some military veterans. But there is no doubt that Gen Vaidya was an iconic figure of the Indian Army, especially the armoured corps, the arm to which the superseded Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi belongs. Ultimately, Gen AS Vaidya, India’s most decorated soldier made the supreme sacrifice, like Indira Gandhi and Sant Longowal, for ensuring that sword arm of India is not cut off from the rest of India.
But as the supersession raised a controversy which was not in the interest of the Army, it was decided during the premiership of India’s youngest PM Rajiv Gandhi that amongst the Vice Chief and Army Commanders the senior most will be chosen. Gen Vaidya’s successor, General K Sundarji, and all the successive Chiefs’ thereafter have been selected by both the Congress and non-Congress governments on the basis of seniority. The biggest advantage of following this principle is that nobody can accuse the government of the day of politicising the Defence forces or indulging in favouritism. Unfortunately, the choice of Gen Bipin Rawat, no doubt an outstanding officer, on the eve of Uttrakhand elections has raised eyebrows and led to an avoidable controversy. The only option before the government is to make Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi the CDS, or Chairman of chiefs of staff committee (CSC) and similarly accommodate Lt Gen P.M. Hariz in an advisory role where he will not be junior to Gen Bipin Rawat. Nobody, more than Gen Rawat, will be happier with this arrangement. This will be in the best interest of both the Army and the nation. The Army should be kept totally apolitical and secular. Otherwise there will be no difference between the armies of India and Pakistan where supersession is never surprising and has become an established norm.
The writer, an ex Armoured Corps officer, is Member, National Commission for Minorities. The views expressed by him are personal)
