I had recently been to Burma, now called Myanmar. One fact that stood out was that the Burmese army had a constitutional role in the government of the state. I came to know that 30% of the seats in Parliament are reserved for the army and only the remaining 70% is up for grabs. This means that the Army controls Burma. In addition to defense, border relations and home affairs remain under the control of the Army. I am deliberately giving the example of Burma, which is a Buddhist country and not Pakistan. The matter does not end with Burma and also in Thailand, which is again a Buddhist country, the Army is in the driver’s seat.
indian neighbors
Thus, in Southeast Asia, two of India’s immediate neighbors are controlled by the military. It can be safely said that if the military were not in power in these two states, chances are high that there would be very little progress and the country could have degenerated into a violent place. This fact cannot be denied. Pakistan is the twin of India and the roots of both nations can be said to be the same as they both inherited a British Indian Army, but in Pakistan after 1957 when General Ayub Khan took office as President, the army of Pakistan has a constitutional role in the governance of Pakistan. As things stand now, Pakistan is beset by extremist jihadist warfare supported by the Pakistani Taliban and ISIS. I can safely say that if the army had not moved against them, the state of Pakistan would have fallen long ago and become a totally theoretical state.
Many people have asked me about India? Here, too, fissiparous tendencies rear their heads and the country, despite its enormous size, is incapable of exerting itself even against Pakistan, which is one fifth the size of India. Even a small country like Sri Lanka catches Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu with impunity and the Indian government is still sitting on its hind legs.
what the story says
A look at history will give us some insights into the role of the army in India. During British times, the Commander-in-Chief of the British Indian Army was the second most important person in India after the Viceroy. The Indian Army literally perpetuated the Raj that is the reason why the Commander in Chief used to stay at Teen Murti’s house which was later occupied by Pandit Nehru simply because there is a direct route from Teen Murti to Vice Regal Lodge and the commander in chief. -the boss could easily meet with the governor-general for any political decision. Without it being explicitly stated, the Army was part of the ruling process in India during the days of the Raj.
After independence in 1947 the set of leaders who took power at the helm in India were men with very little strategic horizon and in any case, they knew nothing of power politics nor did they hear the name of Clausewitz. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who took over as Prime Minister, was highly suspicious of the army and began taking steps to dismantle the army’s control over the country. In this effort, unfortunately it must be noted that the successive heads of the Army headed by General Cariappa played ball with Nehru. Cariappa set things in motion when, along with General Rajinder Singhji, they agreed to have the C-in-C office abolished. Cariappa was indebted to Nehru, as he had been appointed head of the army when he was not the senior general. Nehru at that time replaced Lieutenant General Kulwant Singh to make Cariappa the head of the army. Obviously, he was in no position to oppose Nehru. This state of affairs began from then on and successive generals including the infamous General Bewoor agreed to a 30% deduction from Indian soldiers’ pensions without a murmur.
marginalizing the army
Nehru and the Congress Party also put in place a series of checks and balances whereby generals who were outspoken or strong never stood up. There are plenty of examples of generals like Bhagat and Sinha being replaced. The Indian Army literally became a shadow of its former self during the days of the Raj. The government also made sure that anyone who rose to the rank of colonel would be a man who would be docile with political leadership. Nothing wrong with that, but the fact is that the political leadership had ulterior motives to keep the Army toothless. This had disastrous effects as India lost a war against China in 1962 and lost almost 40,000 square miles of Indian territory to the Dragon. India also lost Tibet as a buffer state and due to vacillations of political leaders, India also lost 40% of Kashmir. Unable to realize the gravity of a Maoist revolution, the political leadership allowed internal insurrection to flourish and even now this continues with almost 30% of the land in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand under Maoist control. The political leadership has made a complete mess in central India. This is not all, as there is an insurrection in Nagaland and North East since 1955 and it is still simmering.
Toothless Army Leadership
All this could have been avoided if the army leadership had asserted itself and worked out a method by which it would have a say in the running of the government. But most of the high hierarchy of the Army was not interested and their only interest was to move up with the result, the Army never pressured the government for anything. Giving a small example, a benefit like free rations for officers has been discontinued and Army Commanding General Rawat has been unable to do anything about it. If an army general cannot exert himself in such a case, one can well imagine what he will have to say in matters of policy. The political leadership has ensured that although India may play second fiddle to China, they will not allow the Army a say in shaping India’s politics. Since 1947, despite the words, the political leadership of the Nehru era has been suspicious of the Army.
Much of this sorry state of affairs falls on the top brass of the army officer corps. Now it’s very funny to read some of the retired generals and admirals saying that the constitution is sacred and the army should be happy with whatever they get. They are also opposed to a good commotion started by General Satbir Singh over a rank one pension. As yet, OROP is not sanctioned by the government and most of these retired dignitaries still insist that there should be no agitation against the government. The reason is that these men, when in service, never strove like their own nest and now they feel ashamed of their background and oppose a good cause that Satbir Singh is leading.
future
If India has to advance, there is no choice but for the army to assert itself. Old generals and admirals to talk about the constitution being sacred would mean there should never be a revolution. These are the men who would even like something like the French Revolution or the Chinese Revolution to never happen. This is a great danger for India, we cannot accept the status quo which speaks of caste and class divisions in society and divisions on the basis of language and religion. The army must assert itself and be part of a constitutional process like that of Pakistan, Burma and Thailand.
I don’t see this happening in my life, but I am optimistic and I am sure that the time will find the man. Chances are high that in the next few decades, a revolution will happen in India, it may not be with a gun, but if India is going to move forward and be a nation, there is no choice but for the army to take over and participate in the government. of this great nation.
