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Politics And The Indian Military

By Major General (Retd) S.G.Vombatkere

20 August, 2014
Countercurrents.org

The political character of the Indian military has occupied the minds of thinkers, both civil and military. In newly independent India, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Defence Minister Krishna Menon, appear to have had some apprehensions, later understood to have been baseless, that the Indian Army may take control of government. This apprehension could have been aggravated by the Pakistan Army, commanded by officers trained alongside Indian officers of the undivided Indian Army, taking political control in Pakistan. The bureaucracy of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), wishfully called the “steel frame” by Nehru, apparently laboured under the same misapprehension.

The Constitution of India places the Indian military under civilian control, meaning under control of the union cabinet. In practice however, with the Defence Secretary (not the Armed Forces chiefs) being responsible for the defence of the nation, and the existence of a trust deficit between the military and the political class, the bureaucracy is the controlling link between the military and the national political leadership. Manipulative bureaucratic control and the absence of a working relationship based on trust and understanding between the political leadership and the nation's military, has actively degraded military status and vitiated national security.

Notwithstanding, the Indian military has been constitutional and steadfastly apolitical over the years. This is a source of some wonderment especially because the Pakistani military has been in formal control for more than half of Pakistan's existence.

Advice in 1932

In this writer's view, the apolitical character of the Indian military is rooted in pre-Independence times. Indian troops had proved their excellence in many military engagements and especially in the First World War (1914-1918), when they were commanded by British officers. After decades of effort, India's political leaders succeeded in getting the British rulers to agree to allow Indian officers to command Indian troops. This resulted in the establishment in 1932, of India's premier military training institution – the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehra Dun – for training Indian youths to become military leaders and commanders.

It is necessary to quote in full [Ref.1], the advice given by the British Commander-in-Chief, General Sir Philip Chetwode on 10 December 1932, to the first batch of Indian trainees during the inauguration of the IMA:

In wishing well to this Academy, and especially to the first batch of Gentlemen Cadets, I venture to offer you two pieces of advice.

Firstly, the Indian young man of education seems very attracted by politics. May I urge you to remember that politics do not, and cannot, find any place in Army life.

An army can have no place in politics. It is the paid servant of the people, and is at the disposal of the Government of the day, whatever may be the political complexion of that Government. Once there is any suspicion that an Army, or any part of it, is biased politically, from that moment the Army has lost the full confidence of the nation who pays for it. It is no longer impartial, and that way lies chaos and civil war.

Secondly, I would ask you to remember that you have come here to have your first lessons in three principles which must guide an officer of a National Army, and they are: First, the safety, honour and and welfare of your country come first, always and every time. Second, the honour, welfare and comfort of the men you command come next, Third, your own ease, comfort and safety come last, always and every time.

I wish all success to the Indian Military Academy, and to all those who are now commencing their military careers within its walls.

Notably, Chetwode recognized the attraction of politics (for Independence from British rule) amongst educated Indian youth of those turbulent times, and also the need for a National army. Even more notably, he went on to advise that politics has no place in army life, that the army has no place in politics, that the army is the paid servant of the people, and that it should be available to the government regardless of the politics of that government. Finally and memorably, he stated what has become an article of faith for the Indian Army officer who graduates from IMA:

The safety, honour and and welfare of your country come first, always and every time,

The honour, welfare and comfort of the men you command come next,

Your own ease, comfort and safety come last, always and every time.

The maturity and political understanding of the British C-in-C of the Indian Army is perhaps an important cause of the Indian military remaining apolitical even 82 years later.

Reference

1. Brig M.P.Singh; Speech of General Sir Philip Chetwode, C-in-C of the Indian Army, on the occasion of the inauguration of the Indian Military Academy on 10 December 1932; “History of the Indian Military Academy”; Unistar Books, Chandigarh, 2007; Appendix D, p.226-231.

S.G.Vombatkere graduated from the Indian Military Academy on 10 December 1962, precisely 30 years after it was inaugurated, and was commissioned into the Corps of Engineers. He retired on 30 September 1996, in the rank of Major General from the post of Additional Director General in charge of Discipline and Vigilance in Army HQ, New Delhi. The President of India awarded him with Visishta Seva Medal (VSM) in 1993 for distinguished services rendered in Ladakh. E-mail:[email protected]


 




 

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