Civil-military tensions in India
The general seems to have spilled the beans on the Indian defence’s unpreparedness. Instead of finding out why the armed forces failed to acquire the much-needed equipment, the government’s attention is concentrated on locating the media man who was able to pry into top secret papers and disseminate the leaked information.
The armed forces are like a sacred cow. No one in India, the media nor the political parties, comment on military affairs. We think that it is not in the interest of the country to say anything derogatory about it. We feel that even a limited criticism may demoralise the armed forces.
As a journalist, I feel proud that someone from my fraternity had the contacts to reveal what the general wrote in secrecy. A media person is a communicator and it is his or her duty to inform others about what happens behind the scenes. The journalist who has the courage to disclose any such information to his fellow countrymen should not be punished for doing so.
Free information is essential in a free society because it evokes free response. India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, said: “I would rather have a completely free press with all the dangers involved in the wrong use of that freedom than a suppressed or regulated press.”
Indeed, the unedifying controversy between General VK Singh and Defence Minister AK Anthony has exposed the system and those who occupy the domineering positions. Nearly all former top-brass members in the armed forces have taken the general’s side and those of the civil force have taken the minister’s side. Now, the debate has been reduced to a confrontation between civil and military forces.
The entire gamut of discussion is the stand taken by the general and its denial by Anthony. That both sides have mishandled the situation is an understatement. It looks as if the two have been going out of their way to hurt each other. Some of the observations made by ex-army officers smack of Bonapartism, which they should realise does not fit into the parlance within a democratic system.
Officials working in the defence ministry and the military headquarters are public servants, whether they belong to civil or military divisions. One cannot and should not try to score points against the other because this is harmful to the country. Both have been yoked to the same chariot and must walk in tandem to take it forward so that the armed forces are in fine fettle.
The matter of substandard equipment or not procuring the weapons in time is the fallout of petty differences between top civilian and military officials. They stand on false prestige and delay the supply of much-needed weapons. India lost the 1962 war against China because it fought with substandard equipment which should have been discarded much earlier. Then prime minister Nehru was not aware of this deficiency. Now, current Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has also been kept in the dark.
The letter by the general which was leaked out is categorical about the delay in the procurement of equipment. The general says in his letter that the artillery and tanks that make up the backbone of those formations are near-defunct and the air defence systems protecting them are obsolescent. The letter talks about depleted ammunition for tanks, inadequate air defence weapons and the infantry possessing outdated weaponry. That the enemy has come to know our deficiencies is no reason for closing the stable after the horses have bolted. The fault is unpreparedness, not its disclosure.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 7th, 2012.
COMMENTS (22)
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Man has made remarkable developments in nearly all fields of science. Man has invaded space. Man has known to fight the natural hazards such as earth quakes & disasters of the sea arising every now & then. But sorry to say man himself is as cruel, wild & tyrant as he used to be in the stone age. The war of human superiority over one another is destroying the world altogether.
Chinese soldiers were not better equipped in those days, they were just better led.
This is patently incorrect. The Indian Army was far outnumbered during the Sino-Indian war. It stood at 2-2.5 lakh soldiers in 1962 against Mao's build-up of the PLA to 1.5-2 million soldiers then.
Indian soldiers fought at heights of over 4000 meters in the Himalayas in November 1962 equipped with standard-issue woolen sweater, canvas shoes and .303 Lee Enfield bolt-action rifles. While the Chinese soldiers were not better equipped in terms of heavy weaponry, they did have insulated jackets, hats/gloves and boots suitable for the snow -- of course, this was in large part due to inclement winter weather conditions prevalent in northern China.
Also, since 1956, the standard infantry rifle of the PLA was the Type 56 assault rifle, a derivative of the AK-47. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_56_assault_rifle if you have doubts.
@G. Din:
I said "Brass" specifically. It is a popular informal expression. The word "Brass" means, not a Jawan, but a high ranking Officer, normally a General. Brij Mohan Kaul was "Brass" in that sense & duly indicted. Now, please read my post again with that explanation.
Chinese soldiers were not better equipped in those days, they were just better led.Reg icicles hanging from noses and finger tips,it is the same story..In winter of AD1000 when Sabuktigin & his son Mahmud of Ghazani attacked from Khyber,King Jayapala lost & the reason provided was a sudden hailstorm had broken out and the Raja's men lost due to adverse weather & poor equipment. Point is, Ghazni's men too had hailstones drumming down their heads & on their poorly covered backs!
I do not know how much to set store by Henderson Report because its authors, Lt Gen Henderson Brooks & Brigadier PS Bhagat, were officers and there is a potential conflict of interest but I ought not to coment without reading it. AFAIK,it is yet to be declassified though summaries by Maxwell allegedly based on classified papers are circulating around..I have not mentioned Nehru. It is not my place or area of interest on this thread to assess his tenure.
Something we forget the point of the story is the civil military tension in India what CN has elaborate..and That is bad for India that civilian are creating all kind of hurdle for procuring of defense equipment.This delay is perhaps due to wrangling that who will take the kickback.
@Farah Shadat: "And here in Pakistan media has gone as far as using unethical words for the army. In Pak we have these so called liberal journalists who use bad language about the army and demoralize it." Indian Army, my friend, is a highly-disciplined, highly efficient even though highly ill-equipped, force which accepts and observes its subordinate role to the Civil Authority. Never once it has overstepped its bounds. It has won every war that was forced on it except the 1962 stab-in-the-back. Can you say the same thing about Pakistan army? No, it is exactly the opposite. It has foisted all wars on its neighours, lost everyone of them and yet jumps to grab civil power if it has half-a-chance. So, do not blame your media nor your liberal journalists. They are performing a yeoman service to Pakistan in trying to leash your army.
India doesn't need external enemy. If the Pakistanis/Chinese could spend few hundred crores and distribute cash among the politicians such as Mulayam Singh, Lalu Yadav, Chidambaram, Sonia Dynasty, Dickvijay Singh etc.. they will defeat the army within few months. Already they are at work now!
@Farah Shadat:
Astute observation indeed. IMO, after 1857 Mutiny the British Indian Army had shown great foresight in creating self contained Cantonments away from the Cities. Interaction with locals was deliberately at bare minimum. Consequently, civilians remained in awe of the strong, silent, mysterious dark men in khakis. Indian Army still follows that tradition somewhat. Pakistan broke the rule of the game. The day Pak Army moved from Cantonments to Civil Lines, and displayed itself, warts & all, to common man it became open to criticism, even derision. And the brass lost the sheen once the feet of clay stuck out from the jackboots.. Indian Army OTOH has stayed in barracks, taken orders from Civvies and has never crossed the line that divides the two. Therefore it has retained the mystique & aura & immense popularity with masses despite a few bungling. No Indian would ever commend a General to be his Master; but then no Indian would condemn a General,let alone a Jawan.
Many Indians thanks Chinese for the 1962 war. A war which India lost badly but it told the Indians (both Political class & the Army alike) that we need Army, a well equipped Army ! . Thanks for this lesson, by the time the 1965 war with Pakistan started, Indians were better trained and had some equipment to repulse not only the enemy but brought them to close to a brink of defeat. . Pakistani Army was equipped with the most modern tank of that time, the pattern tanks of US. until this war, pattern tanks were considered unconquerable ...
It is really ironic to listen that Indian media, politicians and civil society rather preffer to be quite on all the issues related with army And here in Pakistan media has gone as far as using unethical words for the army. In Pak we have these so called liberal journalists who use bad language about the army and demoralize it. Atleast on this front i really admire India.
@Ozymandias:
I have heard of this side of the story also that it was India that started it. In the 70's the Naxalites in India had a similar version. Naxalites were also saying that China's intention was to wake up India so that India could realize how ill prepared India is militarily. I have seen this in some of the Red Books the Naxals were distributing. However, the fact is that not a single military equipment was being manufactured in India until China woke up India. May be the Naxals were correct. Gun & Shell factory in Calcutta was making buckets, which I know for sure as I have heard it first hand from those who had worked there. Nehru was more interested in winning Noble Peace Price than anything. He did many good things for India though. After independence when USA asked how they could help india militarily or otherwise, he did not want any military aid and asked US to set up technical institutes in India on the pattern of MIT. This was the start of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) which, even today, is a pride of India. Nehru also brought in core industries, like Iron & Steel with Russian assistance. He did many good things for India but militarily he thought that preaching peace would secure the borders. He thought McMohan Line was real boundary but China did not think so. Both may be correct in their own way. Nehru was a visionary in many respects but did not have any foresight on military matters.
@Dr Priyanka: Be careful what you wish for. You may just get it.
High time the armed forces in India are bestowed with more powers.
@Raj - USA: Hm, I don't know what history you've been taught, but China attacked because India was trying to encircle their outposts. Nehru had falsely assumed China would simply take it as a fair accompli, but he clearly hadn't read his Sun Tzu. Mao, on the other hand, knew the Art of War.
Wonder how Antony feels about I'll equipped soliders. The brave soliders have this fellows sense of personal honesty.
India lost the 1962 war against China because it fought with substandard equipment
Meaning no disrespect to KN: That India lost in 1962 only because of poor equipment, though based on a few grains of truth, is an overblown myth perpetuated by many,the Army included, to explain away the debacle of the Brass..Generations have grown up with such incomplete information. It suits everybody today to keep adding to the myth with fantastic claims and invented details now. Apart from hurt ego factor it is also a political/propaganda ploy used cleverly. Fact is, it was poor intelligence-the bane of Indian Army be it in '62 or at Kargil-and poorer leadership of the Generals which caused the set back. The Generals had gone bit too soft & fat around the waist. The bristling moustaches, Sandhurst accents, dexterity in eating peas with fork and swigging a burra peg while talking of strategy in next days chukkers at regimental polo games were all fine for beating up Naga rebels. The machismo evaporated when faced with a real army of hungry & lean Chinese in larger numbers that were as poorly equipped, but far better led, trained & motivated.
If we donot have KN in Pakistan we may borrow it from India to train our media persons.
"India lost the 1962 war against China because it fought with substandard equipment which should have been discarded much earlier."
What to talk about equipments. The Jawans did not even have proper boots. Many died due to frost bites on their legs. The Gun and Shell Factory in Calcutta was not making amy gun shells but were actually making iron buckets to carry water. Those days only iron buckers were in use. Plastic came much later. Nehru taught that Bhai Bhai slogans are enough. When attacked by China, Nehru was shocked and felt betrayed. He never recovered from this shock and died a few months later. The credit goes to his daughter Indira Gandhi who made India stronger.
Looks like that Indian COS General V. K. Singh was trained at the Pakistan Military Academy. No he was not. Well, except Musharraf all tin-pots were actually trained at Sandhurst or Dehradun. I also hope Ijaz Mansoor was not the letter-carrier this time.
"Then prime minister Nehru was not aware of this deficiency. " Utter balderdash. Our 1962 debacle was squarely the result of ineptness and stupidity of Nehru and his Defence Minister, Krishna Menon. They had between themselves decided to gut our armed forces and dazzle the world with their brilliance by taming the Dragon by cooing bhai-bhai slogans to it. Even threats of C-in-C Thimayya to resign did not deter the idiotic duo. Death of thousands of our poorly-clad, poorly-equipped young jawans who faced the enemy steadfastly on the icy heights of Himalayas shall forever remain a blot of shame on the party that this author represented during his diplomatic career. And now, he has the temrity to defend such conspicuous criminality of his masters. have you no shame, sir! When the search parties reached those heights, those jawans were found frozen to death with their fingers still clutching the .303's they were given to defend their country with. Shame! Utter, utter shame! We shall NEVER, NEVER forget! We have still not learnt. Look at another Krishna reassuring China how India supports its stranglehold on Tibet. The same party, the same lily-livered leadership, the same anti-armed forces biases!
Nice to see u sir again and weapons do get old and specially south asian countries buys it the cheap and old one. and we are most smart peoples on earth (like crow is very smart considered but allways dich on sh.....