Cong leaders, please leave the Army alone

When was Army Chief General VK Singh born? Was it May 10, 1950 or May 10, 1951? Two sets of official documents, both equally reliable, make separate claims. The army’s official record keeper, Adjutant General’s Branch, mentions the date of birth as May 10, 1951, while the military secretary’s branch maintains the year of birth as 1950. Gen Singh has been demanding that the year 1951 be considered correct. This gives him one year extra time in service, till 2013. The ministry of defence, following the bureaucratic practice of years, has stayed fast on 1950. It is a rather straight forward issue which only the judiciary can settle. There’s absolutely no reason why politicians must take sides here and unnecessarily raise the heat. Given the unique nature of the defence establishment, it should be a no-go area for our leaders. But the Congress, with an eye on votes in Punjab, has just done that. Captain Amarinder Singh, the man who could be the chief minister of the state if Congress comes to power, has thrown his weight behind the Army Chief, saying Gen VK Singh’s fight was for his izzat and he had the support of ex-servicemen in Punjab. He smelt dirty politics in the Army headquarters behind the mess. [caption id=“attachment_171142” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=" It is possible that Army Chief Vijay Kumar Singh is a victim of politics and if he goes to courts he is within his rights to do so. Reuters"]  [/caption] “We have over eight lac ex-servicemen in Punjab, where this issue remains an active topic, as it is, I am sure, amongst ex-servicemen in other states as well. Needless to say, General VK Singh continues to get support of the vast majority,” he was mentioned as stating, in a letter to Union Minister of Defence AK Antony by the Indian Express. “…When that honour is questioned, he must fight for it. This, I believe, is where the General’s battlelines are drawn. I must also say, this is where I too, fully agree with him,” the Express report quoting the letter said. Amarinder, an ex-army man himself, may be justified in being sympathetic with Gen Singh, who in any case seems to be on legally strong ground, but his timing is suspicious. Punjab goes to polls at the end of this month. With a sizeable number of ex-servicemen as voters, the Congress wants to use the issue as a vote-catcher. The controversy has been around for some time. What was the urgency behind Amarinder to write a letter at this point? It is possible that the political rivals would soon jump onto the bandwagon and start dragging the Army into their nasty political games. This is precisely what the country needs to guard against. The Army, as an institution, has its share of problems in the form of corruption, groupism, favouritism and serious power struggle and nasty politicking — it is possible that Gen Singh is a victim of politics within the establishment. But the involvement of politicians will have a polarising effect on the personnel and contaminate the institution with wrong influences. The defence establishments everywhere are kept insulated from the civilians. They have their own rules and in-house institutions to settle controversies and disputes in their ranks. This is not without reason. Given the nature of their duty, the unusual responsibilities they handle and the extraordinary risks they take, they are expected to think differently from the commoners. They are not supposed to get bogged down by the routine worries of the man on the street or his political views. The entry of politicians would damage the insularity. One hopes Amarinder does not take the issue too far. If Gen Singh wants to sue the government — a first in India’s civil-military relationship history — he is within his rights to do so. The problem is unique. Given the complexity of the case, it’s always better that the court decides the matter. There’s absolutely no point in taking sides. The earlier Amarinder understands it the better. His politics cannot be at the cost of the Army’s dignity. In a refreshing change, the BJP has not jumped in to take a position and gone into the usual government bashing mode. One hopes it stays away from this one.