SOLDIER, SAILOR, RICH MAN, THIEF

by Brijesh D. Jayal
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It is dangerous to ignore corruption in the armed forces, writes Brijesh D. Jayal
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The army recently held a three-day exhibition in Ahmedabad named Know Your Army. Reportedly, the seniormost army officer posted in the state showered praises on the chief minister, who was the chief guest, likening him to an army commander who sets targets and then sets about to achieve them. Praising him for his vision for the development of the state and the nation, the major-general then requested the state to follow the example of other states in allocating land for the Army Welfare Housing Organization to help serving and retired military personnel. Looked at objectively and not through heavily tinted political lenses, all that the general was doing was softening up the chief minister before going in for the request. Perfectly fair tactics.

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Judging by media reports, this rather innocuous incident pushed up eyebrows in Lutyens’ Delhi and the ministry of defence sought an explanation from the major general for allegedly violating the army code of conduct, which does not allow soldiers to make political statements of any kind.

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When this writer was commanding South Western Air Command then located in Jodhpur, the area of responsibility extended through the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa. This was in the early 1990s and the then Gujarat chief minister had been supportive in offering the air force a large tract of land in the Ahmedabad area to set up permanent headquarters for the command, which has since shifted there. On more than one occasion the undersigned had openly acknowledged the generosity and help that the chief minister and the state government were extending to the services. Earlier, when commanding Eastern Air Command, one recalls public occasions when similar platitudes were exchanged. The national political climate was relatively benign then.

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None of these instances drew unnecessary debate because they were seen for what they were: genuine respect by the armed forces for the civilian leadership in the wider context of civil-military relations. Indeed, in the true apolitical ethos of the armed forces, all that mattered was to use civil-military relations for the larger good of the forces serving within the state’s borders and maintaining a good working rapport should a situation warrant unforeseen aid to the civil authority. The recent episode in Gujarat possibly followed the old spirit. It is the fractious and recriminatory politics of the country that is drawing the armed forces into its ever-strengthening vortex.

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Since healthy civil-military relations are the bedrock of a vibrant democracy, this brittleness at a time of mounting security challenges, both internal and external, does not bode well for the Indian state.

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Today, unbridled corruption has become the hallmark of the democracy. It is no longer limited to the political, bureaucratic and corporate worlds, but has engulfed the fourth estate and the armed forces too. Yet the nation across political dispensations has shown no determination to stem this rot. The conclusion is obvious — all are to some degree complicit and are beneficiaries.

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So it was with considerable cynicism that the nation watched the two Houses of Parliament indulging in a supposedly serious debate over what is called the ‘cash for votes scam’. The incident occurred in 2008 in the run-up to the debate on the controversial nuclear deal. It was public knowledge that trading in members of parliament had taken place. A parliamentary committee to look into the allegations did not find conclusive evidence and recommended further investigation. For three years, the law was taking its own course. And this happy state would have continued, had not the cables from the American embassy in Delhi been revealed by the media courtesy WikiLeaks.

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Suddenly the conscience-keepers of the nation were aroused — leading to a futile debate in Parliament. The only meaningful point in it was when the prime minister expressed sadness that he was addressing the House when the country faced enormous challenges: “I thought that this august House would use this opportunity to reflect, not in a spirit of partisan upmanship, but as one, as people charged with the responsibility of governing this country to work out a viable strategy as to how we should and we can deal with these emerging events.”

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The prime minister, having made a point of national import then failed to follow up — presumably because even he does not really care. Otherwise, he could have drawn the attention of the House to the decline in the one national institution that must remain untouched by the rot that is eating into the vitals of our polity, the armed forces.

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To drive home the point, he could have said that in the recent past no less than three erstwhile service chiefs, six lieutenant generals and three major generals have been put under investigation for gross irregularities. Of these, one lieutenant general has been committed to trial for divulging sensitive information to vendors, and another to three years’ rigorous imprisonment for a scam relating to rations. An Indian air force officer was found taking bribes to show favours to a French company at the Aero India show and a top secret file relating to the lucrative combat aircraft purchase was found on the roadside. These are not individual aberrations but reek of systemic rot. It is possible that just this one statement would have aroused a clamour for a full debate. The prime minister, in turn, would have emerged a moral crusader for offering a constructive platform to prepare for the challenges he cautioned against.

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The brittleness of civil-military relations is evident from the unresolved issues relating to the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and the army’s consequent unwillingness to commence training in Chhattisgarh until the government issues clear rules of engagement with respect to any Maoist interference — something the civil authorities will find difficult to resolve in the climate of trust deficit that prevails.

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Grievances of veterans have been ignored for years even when the Supreme Court has issued favourable judgments. Today, at regular intervals, veterans are returning their medals to their Supreme Commander — who has not once thought fit to meet them. No self-respecting democracy is so callous towards the sentiments of its veterans. This lack of respect is not lost on those serving; it is also received with some glee across our borders. But to our politicos and parliament this means little.

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The fragility of civil-military relations has other adverse effects. Modernization will continue to be sabotaged by vested interests which will raise the bogey of wrongdoing at critical times in the process of procurement. The lack of consensus on the appointment of a chief of defence staff ensures that we cannot develop an integrated fighting capability so crucial to combating modern security challenges. Inability to set up a national defence university ensures that we are denied the opportunity to educate and train leaders, both military and civil, who will be better prepared for the emerging security challenges.

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It is crucial for the nation to decide what place it wants to accord its armed forces in the national scheme of things. This writer had pleaded in these columns (“Through thick and thin”, June 3, 2009) for a Blue Ribbon Commission to make recommendations to Parliament, which could then take a final call.

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Now that the debate in Parliament has shown the country how fragmented our polity is and how unreal our priorities, perhaps on the issue of national security and the role of the armed forces there is an opportunity for our polity and Parliament to redeem themselves and display that elusive unity. This is one debate that the guardians of our nation’s borders — the armed forces — will watch with great interest as will our friends and potential foes. But it will need more than poetry and innuendoes.

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The author Brijesh D. Jayal is a retired air marshal of the Indian Air Force
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The article sent by CK Sharma
seekayess@gmail.com