Indian Army Chief will have to retire in 2012

 Indian Army Chief will have to retire in 2012   

The Indian law ministry’s latest observation about Gen VK Singh’s actual date of birth puts Indian defence ministry in an awkward position

NEW DELHI: With the Indian law ministry’s latest observation on Indian Army Chief Gen VK Singh’s actual date of birth, it seems that the general will have to retire on May 31, 2012.  

The law ministry has reaffirmed its view that Singh’s DoB should be May 10, 1950 and not May 10, 1951. It is notable that two dates of birth of Gen Singh are recorded in the army records. Singh was commissioned in the army in 1970 but it was only in 2006 that the military branch asked him about the two dates of birth in his official records.

The law ministry’s observation, based on the army rules of 1954, which state that any change in the date of birth can only be entertained within two years of joining service, has put Singh further in a difficult position.

Gen Singh has claimed that that after getting his school leaving certificate in 1971, he had got his date of birth immediately corrected in the army records. But, the ministry has found that the army list of officers published for 1974-75 also mentioned 1950 as Singh’s year of birth. This contradicts the claim of General Singh.

Moreover, Gen Singh has taken three promotions on his 1950 date of birth which took him to a senior position in the army, but all of a sudden he realised that the date was wrong.

The legal arm of the government has also drawn the defence ministry’s attention to the two undertakings given by General Singh in 2008 and 2009 that he would abide by the army’s decision on treating 1950 as his year of birth, said the report.

The law ministry also raised serious objections to Singh’s claim that his application form to join the armed forces was filled by his teacher.

The law ministry has also raised questions on the army’s decision to seek an opinion directly from a legal advisor without its approval on the Right to Information (RTI) query on General Singh’s date of birth in February this year. It has also objected to the army directly referring the matter to two former chief justices.

In fact, the issue of Singh’s actual date of birth is getting murkier day-by-day and is maligning the image of the army and government globally.

In April, media pressure was exerted in the union ministry of defence to resolve the unseemly controversy that had arisen with respect to the actual age of Singh.  Newspapers had reported the commitment of the defence ministry to clear the case within two days. Now, more than two months on, the matter is still hanging.

 As with other matters of national importance, the UPA government seems to be confused and vacillating in this matter also. The reason behind this lack of decisiveness is unfathomable and the action being taken by the defence ministry is shrouded in secrecy.

In fact, it is not very clear as to why the matter was raised in the first case. It is said that the process was put into motion on the basis of an RTI enquiry that was sent to the ministry of defence. The contents of the RTI enquiry have not been made public.

In any case, an RTI is disposed of by giving the relevant information to the applicant who can then raise further issues in court or through official channels on the basis of the information accessed.

In this case, the defence ministry seems to have unilaterally gone into a mode of taking corrective action where none is required. It should have simply given the details to the RTI applicant and put the matter to rest till such time that redressal on some issue was not officially sought.

In other words, there seems to be no reason for the defence ministry to rake up an issue which should have been, and was, resolved before the appointment was made.

The endless vacillations are causing immense harm to the morale and functioning of the Army.  After all they are also human beings, they also have emotions and they cannot stay under suspense in perpetuity. There is bound to be a trickledown effect on the rank and file. The loss of credibility of the Nation in international defence circles is incalculable.

India has become a laughing stock in the international arena. The only silver lining is that those affected have maintained a dignified silence hence a media circus of claims and counter claims has not been ignited. However, such patience may not be forthcoming in case a decision is taken to change the DOB and this will mean more embarrassment for the government and the country.

Not only in the matter of the Chief’s age, the defence ministry has delayed the approval of the promotion to the rank of Lt General for the latest batch in contention which led to many posts lying vacant for a number of months.

Even today, an officer who will ultimately take over as an Army Commander is cooling his heels without work due to this lopsided policy. He has been divested of his post because a newly commissioned officer was to be appointed and the post for which he has been earmarked is still occupied by the previous incumbent who may retire in a month’s time.

As a result this very senior officer is spending time in the golf course with no work to do. The ministry of defence needs to pull up its socks and desist from making the Army a laughing stock because of its internal wrangling.