By RSN Singh, Canary Trap
The SSC, Higher Secondary or 12th Standard board certificates usually serve as unimpeachable records confirming one’s date of birth (DOB). The Supreme Court, too, has ruled so in unambiguous terms.
But some vested interests inside and outside the country are desperately trying to turn this simple reality upside down in the case of the present Army Chief, Gen VK Singh. They have, for very long, been engaged in subverting the very institution of the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) by engineering a controversy about the age of the present incumbent, possibly with the idea of supplanting him with a convenient and pliable officer.
Indian Army General Vijaya Kumar Singh is dragged into a age controversy and questions are raised about his date of retirement. Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters
All through his career, till he became Lt Gen, VK Singh’s DOB (10 May 1951), as reflected in his matriculation certificate, was taken as true and valid. However, very late in his career, when he appeared on the scene as the strongest contender for the post of army chief, someone fabricated a controversy by claiming he was a year older, and that his date of birth was 10 May 1950, based on legally untenable arguments.
It is common knowledge in army circles that but for a specific succession plan initiated some years ago by a previous incumbent, the ‘age’ controversy in respect of Gen Singh would never have surfaced. Why did these vested interests place such a premium on their succession plan? Why did they try to prevent Gen Singh from becoming COAS?
The age controversy poses some very serious questions. Why is the discomfort level with Gen Singh so high in certain quarters? Is he being targeted for being non-pliable, upright and intolerant of corruption? Is there a design to weaken the professional moorings of the Indian army by manipulating and attacking its moral and social fabric?
Here is the inside dope.
It is about succession: The controversy is not merely about the age and tenure of the present chief. More importantly, it is about a succession plan scripted a few years back (in 2006) by none other than the then army chief. The succession script naturally attracted vested interests in the form of politicians, arms merchants, businessmen and other ambitious army officers. The controversy needs to be, therefore, understood in its entirety.
It is a moral issue: The controversy raises questions about the state of health of the Indian Army, denting its very edifice. Senior officers, depending on their career calculations, are divided over the issue. The lower rank-and-file members of the army perceive the controversy in the manner they are fed by the rival camps. The overall consequence is that the image of the army and the honour and moral authority of its chief has never been attacked so viciously by insiders and vested interests for non-operational reasons.
The Pakistani press is speculating about the issue, and has been raising doubts about the health of the Indian Army and its unity. When an army chief vouches for a simple detail like his date of birth, it should be accepted as such, unless there are huge reasons to doubt that person’s truthfulness. The point is, the psychological integrity of the army has been fraying over the years. Gen Singh’s ‘age’ controversy should thus not be viewed in isolation. It is actually a manifestation of the deterioration, misuse and subversion of the office of the COAS for nearly a decade.
Who created the controversy? An impression is being sought to be conveyed by Gen Singh’s detractors that he fudged his age just to ‘enjoy’ the office of COAS for an additional year. This is a travesty of truth. The fact is his age was never an issue throughout his career. Nor was the issue ever raked up by Army HQ or even the defence ministry as he rose to the rank of Lt Gen with his date of birth showing 10 May 1951. The issue was first raised in 2006, when the army chief prepared a succession plan going downwards several levels. It is well-known that he raked up the issue to ensure the passage of one of his favourites, apparently on sectarian considerations, to the office of COAS. In this case, he had planned for succession three interventions below.
The legal and financial implications: When preparing this particular succession plan, the said army chief went by the Army List, which gives Gen Singh’s date of birth as 10 May 1950. The Army List is prepared by the military secretary (MS) branch and contains minimal details. The branch otherwise deals with postings, promotions, deputations, and retirement, and is not the legal repository or otherwise of personal and family details of an officer. Right from the time an officer enters the training academy till he retires and even after, all records are maintained by the adjutant general (AG) branch. The AG branch clearly puts Gen Singh’s age as 10 May 1951.
It may also be pointed out that Gen Singh rose to the rank of Lt Gen after appearing before several promotion boards – all of which accepted his May 1951 date of birth. The boards which cleared his promotion from brigadier to major-general to lieutenant general were endorsed by the prime minister himself. If the contention of the military secretary branch is that Gen Singh was born in 1950, then all his promotions were illegal and have huge financial implications. In fact, the legality of his entire career comes under question.
On 14 December 2007, the defence ministry had queried the MS branch for recording Gen Singh’s date of birth as 10 May 1950, and asked for reconciliation with the previously accepted date of birth. The noting on the file was, however, found to have said: “Enquiry not to be conducted.” This indicates that vested interests were trying to settle the age issue without an enquiry.
Continued on next page
Pages: 1 2