By RSN Singh, Canary Trap, Special to Firstpost
In reply to a question in parliament, Defence Minister AK Antony stated that the present Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), Gen VK Singh, got his last three promotions officially predicated on 10 May 1950 as his date of birth. This statement is not in consonance with the records held in Army Headquarters (AHQ), which clearly indicate otherwise – 10 May 1951.
The defence minister’s statement may be construed as breach of parliamentary privilege . It is sad commentary on the health and vulnerability of our institutions that a simple issue pertaining to the date of birth of the chief of the apolitical Indian Army is being politicised not only by the government but by certain segments of the media as well.
An article in the 19 September issue of India Today is titled “Lies of the General”. It is the most obnoxious attack on Gen VK Singh, rather the office of the Chief of Army Staff of India.
The article claims to be based on documents obtained through RTI. If the article, and more so its title, has any credibility then the government should remove Gen VK Singh immediately, as no army can afford to have a ‘liar’ as its chief. And in case, at some stage, the article and its title are found to be motivated, then India Today must come clean for the sake of its credibility and prestige failing which the army must initiate legal action against the weekly for targeting the office of the COAS.
If, Gen VK Singh did not have incontrovertible and clinching material and evidence, and if there were no ugly dimensions being inflicted on a simple issue of date of birth (DOB), which does not involve ‘change’ but ‘correction’ in the legally insignificant Army List, four former and very honourable chief justices of India and a former solicitor general, all with unimpeachable records of personal and judicial probity, would not have given their opinion in favour of Gen VK Singh.
Defence Minister A.K. Antony. Reuters
The case is extremely simple and does not require a fantastic judicial mind to unravel the truth, based both on ‘proof’ and ‘motive’. Unfortunately, various military secretaries since 2006, goaded by their bosses to adhere to a particular succession plan, first raked up the issue after Gen VK Singh had put in 35 years of service and then gave convoluted and specious arguments to disfavour Gen Singh’s correct date of birth: 10 May1951.
In hindsight, the intention of the concerned authorities in the Army HQs seems to be suspect as they never wanted to accept their mistake and reconcile the DOB in respect of General VK Singh. On 25 January, a Joint Secretary in the MoD, Bimal Julka wrote to the military secretary: “…. a detailed inquiry may be conducted in to the matter to find out the correct date of birth of the officer immediately in consultation with the AG branch”.
But no inquiry was conducted.
Subsequently, in response to an RTI, the AG branch sought the opinion of the legal advisor to the ministry of defence, who in turn solicited the advice of the law ministry. Both confirmed that Gen Singh’s date of birth was 10 May 1951.
Curiously, the matter was referred again to the law ministry on the plea that the opinion given was by a junior officer. If a joint secretary to the government of India is junior, then one wonders who are ranked senior officers.
Matriculation certificate Vs UPSC form
On 23 May 1965, Gen Singh, who was a minor and had still not appeared for his matriculation exam, applied for the NDA. The UPSC form, as in the case of other students, was filled with the assistance of school staff. They erroneously had the DOB of Gen Singh filled as 10 May 1950 instead of 1951. In the absence of a matriculation certificate, a school leaving certificate from the school (Birla Public School, Pilani) and a certificate from the unit (14 Rajput) of the father of Gen Singh, i.e. Major Jagat Singh duly signed by the commanding officer, was forwarded to the UPSC, which clearly indicated the DOB of Gen Singh as 10 May 1951.
It was a clear case of erroneous entry and oversight as no sane individual will declare himself older contradicting what is contained in the documents supporting it. It may be emphasised that Gen Singh was eligible for NDA with both DOBs – 10 May 1950 and 10 May 1951.
According to the India Today article, the Attorney General stresses that the UPSC form is “to be filled in the candidate’s own handwriting, he has to declare …the statements are true”. The missing link between the words ‘declare’ and ‘the statements’ is mischievous. The correct sentence is “I hereby declare that the statements made in the application are true to the best of my knowledge and belief”. The words ‘knowledge and belief’ do cater to inadvertent human errors.
The UPSC form is only an ‘application form’. An application form can only be initially scrutinised. The details filled therein have to be verified by other documentary records, which in case of DOB is the matriculation certificate and is considered unimpeachable and of greatest evidentiary value in the eyes of law.
As per UPSC rules, primacy has to be given to the matriculation certificate for verifying the DOB. Had it not been for this the UPSC would not have raised a query to clarify the DOB in respect of Gen Singh. An Under Secretary of the UPSC, Sri Krishan, wrote to Gen Singh on 18 June 1966:
“With reference to your application for the above examination, I am directed to say that you have claimed 10.05.1950 as date of birth in Col. 5 of the application, whereas in the certificate submitted by you the date of birth is shown as 10.05.1951. You are required to clarify the discrepancy and intimate the correct date of birth”.
Subsequently, the matriculation results were out in June and Gen Singh’s father sent the ‘Provisional Certificate’ (DOB 10 May 1951) on 24 June 1966 through a special courier, which was acknowledged in writing by the UPSC. A copy of the acknowledgement letter is available with this author.
The matter was thereafter never raised by the UPSC. Such cases are not rare and the UPSC on receiving provisional certificate allows a candidate to continue on a provisional basis till receipt of the original certificate.
Therefore anyone, who, based on the UPSC form, contends that Gen Singh was born on 10 May 1950 and not 10 May 1951 is implying that Gen Singh is a liar, his father Major (later Lt Col) Jagat Singh was a liar, and the authorities at the Birla Public School, Pilani, were in connivance with the father and son, because ‘they could then foresee that a 14-year-old lad would be the COAS not for two years but three years! ‘This is legally and morally preposterous and reprehensible.
Not ‘change’ but ‘rectification’
On commissioning in 1970, Gen Singh was issued the Indian Army Identity Card by the Indian Military Academy, which endorses his DOB as 10 May 1951. It is obvious that consequent to the submission of his provisional certificate his DOB in the main record was corrected.
In 1971, when Gen Singh (then second lieutenant) visited his ancestral village after many years, as he normally spent his vacations at the place of posting of his father, he found his original matriculation certificate. The certificate had taken a tortuous journey – i.e. Rajasthan Secondary Board of Education – Birla Public School, Pilani – his father’s original unit (14 Rajput) – Rewa Recruiting Office and NCC, Narnaul (the two places his father subsequently served) – and finally to his ancestral village.
The certificate had remained unattended, as his father had moved out to Bhiwani where he expired. Gen Singh instantly submitted the original certificate to Army HQs AG Branch through his unit 2 Rajput. If the DOB in the original certificate was at variance with other records, the AG’s Branch would certainly have raised query.
The AG’s Branch has consistently and categorically maintained that all records available with it testify Gen Singh’s DOB at 10 May 1951. The AG’s Branch is the legitimate and official record holder of all documents. When a RTI query was raised in February 2011 on Gen Singh’s age record, it was directed to the AG’s Branch and not the MS Branch.
While Gen Singh was commissioned in 1970, he submitted his original certificate in 1971, and the Army List was published in the year 1974-75. Therefore, the consistent stand by concerned Military Secretaries (MS) that as per rules, “no request for change/correction of date of birth will be entertained after a lapse of two years from date of commission” is motivated and mischievous. Motivated, as there was a gap of four years between the commissioning of Gen Singh and publication of the Army List. Mischievous, because the word ‘correction’ was ‘inserted’ as Gen Singh had consistently maintained that he has not been asking for ‘change’, but ‘correction’ in one particular place, i.e. Army List.
Army List has no legal sanctity
Intoxicated by their bureaucratic power, they disdainfully dismissed the fact that they had no authority with respect to the DOB of an officer, the real custodian and authority being the Adjutant General Branch. In a letter dated 21 June 2008, the military secretary wrote to Gen Singh, “we are constrained to maintain your official date of birth as 10 May 1950, and same may kindly be reflected in all your records and documents. The AG’s branch is accordingly intimated to amend the records being maintained by them.”
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