The expanding military sphere in India

Another Lok Sabha, the 15^th in the series, has concluded its five-year tenure. Whatever business was transacted in the house was, indeed, exasperating and raucous. Unfortunately the house representing the democratic system has fallen by the wayside practically in all Asian countries.

In another three months, Indian voters will once again queue up before the polling booths to elect their representatives. Their quality has been wanting. But I am confident that the next house will be better in content because the emergence of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has changed the political scenario in the country to make it cleaner and transparent.

Yet, I do not like the increasing influence of the armed forces. Indian Defence Minister AK Antony was correct in saying that there can never be an army coup in the country. First Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru too echoed the same thoughts when he opted for the parliamentary way of governance after independence in August 1947. His argument was that the country was too large and too caste and religion ridden.

My worry, however, is over the say which the armed forces are beginning to have in the affairs of governance. Take the stationing of troops at the Siachen Glacier. Was it necessary, even after several retired top brass said that such a move had no strategic importance? Even otherwise, when an agreement had been struck by foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan, our armed forces should have followed the decision but they had it stalled. Instead of being a no-man territory, the soldiers of both countries at the glacier are suffering due to the inclement weather and losing men at regular intervals.

Take another example of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), which empowers the army to detain or even kill a person on suspicion without any legal action. The northeast has been under it for years. A government-appointed committee found it ‘unnecessary’ and recommended its withdrawal. But the armed forces have had their way and the AFSPA continues to be in operation.

Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has officially asked New Delhi to free the state from the law’s application. He has made the appeal publicly. But the central government has not relented because the armed forces want the AFSPA to continue. Even a marginal concession of releasing political prisoners as requested by the Jammu & Kashmir chief minister has been denied.

More recent is the inquiry into the ‘encounter’ at Pathribal in Jammu & Kashmir. The army is alleged to have killed five ‘terrorists’ while the local villagers have said that the deceased were innocent. The Central Bureau of Investigation inquired into the matter and has submitted its report before the Supreme Court. According to the report, it was a fake and cold-blooded encounter.

In fact, breaking his silence after 23 years, the then Kupwara deputy commissioner, S M Yasin, said recently that he had been threatened and offered promotions to change his report on the alleged mass rapes in Konam Poshpora in February 1991. It is strange that the army has claimed that there was no such incident. The self-acquittal by the top brass has only aggravated the sense of alienation and resentment among the people in Jammu & Kashmir. The government of India should still set up a judicial inquiry headed by a Supreme Court judge to investigate into what were perceived as fake encounters.

Hardly has the dust settled down on the Pathribal encounters when the story of a possible coup in January 2012 has become public. Two army units — one of which was an armoured battalion moved to Delhi from Agra. Any movement of troops in the periphery of the capital has to be made with prior permission. Still both units moved and were withdrawn only when the defence secretary summoned the Director General of Military Operations, Lieutenant General AK Choudhary, at midnight and conveyed to him that the top in government was very unhappy and concerned.

When a daily newspaper broke the story at that time, Defence Minister AK Antony rubbished it. So did some key army and civilian officials. Now, Lieutenant General AK Choudhary, after his retirement, has confirmed the story. More shocking is the confirmation by Air Chief NAK Browne, then heading the Air Force. He has said, “The paratroopers were being moved to check out the possibility of their marrying with the C-130 at Hindon air base, near Delhi.

Still the defence minister has said that it was “a routine training exercise.” When after telling the director general of military operations, the government sends a chopper to check if the troops were on their way back, there is more than what meets the eye. Since the date synchronised with the appeal to the Indian Supreme Court by the then army chief, VK Singh, on his birth date, the movement of the military units was given importance beyond proportions.

The entire matter has to be examined further by a team of top retired civil and military officials to reach the bottom of the ‘routine exercise’. It cannot be left at the mere denial stage despite Defence Minister Antony’s vehement denial. Even a limited say of the armed forces in civilian matters is ominous.

The armed forces are apolitical and this nature of theirs is a tribute to their training.

The Indian military knows and honours its place in a democratic polity. Still, the examples I have given should serve as a grim warning. True, the democratic temperament has got implanted on the Indian soil. But this should not be taken for granted. Even a small example of Bonapartism should be probed thoroughly. The armed forces are for the country’s defence and the decision to use them rests with the elected government. This is something basic and no compromise can be made in a democratic structure.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 3^rd, 2014.

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