One of the cardinal principle in dealing with the military is not to projects to it false promises and consequently generate false hopes. Troops take the word of their leaders and commanders as the ultimate truth and then act, regardless of the consequences. So commanders and those dealing with the militaries have to weigh their words carefully and diligently to ensure that what is said and projected is true and implementable. It is trust and faith in their leaders that propel them to attempt the impossible, often with their lives on the line. Once cracks appear in this trust, it takes lots of effort and time to repair these.
Unfortunately, *India's political leadership has little knowledge and understanding of these essential features of dealing with the militaries*. So it is a common occurrence to find India's political executive make all manner of promises which they have no interest in carrying through or simply cannot push these past bureaucratic opposition.
So Mr Modi, at an election rally of veterans at Rewari, makes all manner of promises and then again as PM, addressing soldiers at Siachin, incorrectly informed them that the pre-election promises (OROP for one) have been fulfilled. Not only has *OROP been turned on its head*, but has become a joke with *Justice Reddy holding circus shows, all over India*: clowning and making a fool of the veterans.
More recently the prime minister, addressing an election rally, with an eye on UP elections, informed the audience, how in foreign countries soldiers are given much respect, at air ports and railway stations etc and called upon the gathering to start doing the same in India. On the other hand, MoD vide its letter of 18 Oct 2016, has further lowered the status of defence services officers working at armed forces HQ, vis-à-vis civilian officers at the same HQ.
Lt Cols have been downgraded to the status of a deputy director, Cols to that of joint director and so on where Maj Gens rank with principal director.
Lt Cols have been downgraded to the status of a deputy director, Cols to that of joint director and so on where Maj Gens rank with principal director.
Dy Director is the first designation when a Gp B civilian babu gets promoted to Gp A service, which has now been made equivalent to Lt Col who has minimum 13 years of Gp A service under his belt. A Capt has been sought to be equated with civilian Gp B Section Officer (SO)/ PS and Lt with civilian Assistant SO/ PA. This upsets the equations set by the group of ministers in 1968, then headed by the present supreme commander of Indian Armed Forces. It may be the final bugle call for the demise of the military in India.
Now the RM tells the Press that he is not aware of this letter dated 18 Oct 2016, issued by his ministry. While the letter says that it has the approval of the RM! How could such an important policy letter be framed and issued by his ministry without he reading it properly. Obviously, the bureaucracy is completely out of control of the political executive and with the bit between its teeth, is galloping away to self-promotion!
At the same time the recommendations of 7th Central Pay Commission and subsequent review of these by his government, is disadvantaging and disparaging the military and its war wounded in every possible manner. In fact his government's actions are in line with the continuing policy of down grading defense services at all levels: in pay, allowances and status. The defence minister, who has a propensity to keep his foot close to his mouth, appears to be out of his depth, with his ministry out of control.
Now the RM tells the Press that he is not aware of this letter dated 18 Oct 2016, issued by his ministry. While the letter says that it has the approval of the RM! How could such an important policy letter be framed and issued by his ministry without he reading it properly. Obviously, the bureaucracy is completely out of control of the political executive and with the bit between its teeth, is galloping away to self-promotion!
At the same time the recommendations of 7th Central Pay Commission and subsequent review of these by his government, is disadvantaging and disparaging the military and its war wounded in every possible manner. In fact his government's actions are in line with the continuing policy of down grading defense services at all levels: in pay, allowances and status. The defence minister, who has a propensity to keep his foot close to his mouth, appears to be out of his depth, with his ministry out of control.
Not to be left out, the defence minister informs the nation that the military has lost public respect because there has been no war for many years. He himself has no respect even for military's ceremonials staged to honour him, when he inspects a guard of honour in slippers with hands in his trouser pockets.* Further, he links the recent surgical strikes, to the RSS culture imbibed by the PM. Then he goes on to compare Hanuman's crossing the sea to Sri Lanka only on being told of his capability to do so. Thereby implying that it is only on his telling the military that it has such a capability that the latter undertook these strikes and that these are the first ever attempted by the Indian troops. The defence minister may as well know that these surgical strikes are a minor operation.
This persistently disadvantaging and downgrading the military is doing great disservice to national interest and national security. We seem to be harking back to the fifties where the then intelligence czar persistently misled the prime minister, Pandit Nehru on national security issues and kept adding to his existing disdain for the military. Then the Chinese delivered a shock in 1962, pulling the PM out of his make believe world. At the last Republic Day, Modi, speaking from the ramparts of Red Fort eulogized the work of the police and its sacrifices and at the same time pushed back the Delhi Area Commander from his designated place in the ceremony, are the signs similar those on display in the fifties.
The present government has been most unfair to the military and equally its policies on national security have been unwise. As in the fifties, connect between diplomacy on one part and need for matching military power, for a country of India's size, on the other is missing. This government like the one in the fifties does not seem to be alive to the dangers to national security lurking around the corner, and the string of pearls tightening around the country's neck.
Military service in India, as a career, has become the last choice for the youth. Politician's and bureaucrat's children in any case keep military service at arm's length and what the military is able to draw are those who can find no other employment avenue. This will surely and adversely impact national security. At the same time efforts by this government, engineered by the bureaucracy, are creating cracks in the cohesiveness of the military as a fighting force. Such moves by the bureaucracy, through the medium of pay and allowances and adopting the policy of divide and rule will adversely impact the fighting potential of the military.
(Emphasis added.)
* Comment: But in national dress when being given a guard of honour in Japan! Had he
even
dared to try this stunt there he may well have been shunted off from the scene. This disdain is apparently reserved for the Indian military.
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Posted by: Colonel Srikant <colonelsrikant@gmail.com>
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